September 22, 2026 - New York Weekly

Who Gets Hired In Marketing Could Become A More Open Question

NY Weekly Staff on September 22, 2026

Hiring a marketing partner often starts with a surprisingly small pool of information. A company may know an agency through its reputation, encounter a marketer through LinkedIn or receive a recommendation from someone in its network. From there, the selection process typically moves toward portfolios, pitches and references.

Marketing Crunch is launching with a concept that could add another step to that process. The platform will review PR firms and individual marketers, creating a dedicated place where companies can research marketing professionals before deciding who to work with.

By positioning itself as the “Rotten Tomatoes of tech marketing,” Marketing Crunch is taking a familiar consumer behavior and applying it to a professional industry.

Discovery Is Only The Beginning

The internet has made it relatively easy to discover marketing firms. Search engines, social platforms and professional networks can produce hundreds of potential options within minutes.

The harder problem is determining what to do with that list.

A company may find an agency with an impressive website and recognizable clients, but that does not necessarily tell the entire story. Marketing is a service business, and the quality of the working relationship can matter just as much as the services being offered.

Reviews can potentially fill part of that information gap by adding perspectives that are separate from a firm’s own marketing materials.

A Marketplace For Reputation

Marketing Crunch is effectively creating another layer in the marketplace for marketing services. Instead of simply asking which firms exist, companies can potentially use the platform to investigate how those firms and individual professionals are perceived.

That distinction could change how marketers think about their online presence. A website, social profile and portfolio are controlled largely by the marketer. A review platform introduces information that exists outside that controlled environment.

For established firms, that could make reputation management more important. For newer marketers, it could create another opportunity to establish credibility and differentiate themselves from a crowded field.

The Individual Becomes A Brand

The inclusion of individual marketers is particularly relevant in an era when professional identities are increasingly portable. A marketer can build a following, develop expertise and establish relationships without remaining tied to one agency for an entire career.

That creates a market in which personal reputation can be almost as important as corporate branding.

Marketing Crunch’s model reflects that shift by treating individuals and firms as separate subjects. A company searching for help may ultimately care less about the size of an organization than about the specific people who will actually be responsible for the work.

A platform that allows both to be reviewed could make that distinction more visible.

What Happens When Marketers Get Reviewed?

There is a natural tension in the concept. Marketing professionals spend their careers helping companies influence how they are perceived, but a review platform puts the professionals themselves under scrutiny.

That does not necessarily change the fundamentals of the industry. Companies will still examine experience, capabilities, relationships and previous work when selecting a partner. But reviews could become another factor in the research process.

For Marketing Crunch, the opportunity is to turn an informal part of marketing, the conversations people already have about which firms and professionals they trust, into something more organized.

The platform is starting with a simple proposition, but the broader idea is larger: make the marketing industry easier to research by giving reputation a place of its own.

Governor Hochul Awards $67.5 Million in Playground Grants to 89 Communities Across New York State

NY Weekly Staff 2 on September 22, 2026

Governor Kathy Hochul on September 22 announced $67.5 million in capital grants for 89 playground projects statewide, distributing the full allocation of the NY PLAYS program to municipalities and nonprofit organizations across all 10 regions of New York. The grants, issued through the New York Places for Learning, Activity, and Youth Socialization initiative, will fund 36 new playgrounds, 23 major expansions, and 30 renovations designed for children of all abilities.

Key Takeaways

The 89 NY PLAYS grant recipients will share $67.5 million in state capital funding, with individual awards ranging from $100,000 to $2.5 million per project.
More than $36 million of the total is directed toward playground projects in underserved communities across the state.
Combined with required local matching funds, the state investment will generate more than $145 million in total playground construction and renovation activity.
New York City secured $15 million for projects in Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn, while the Mid-Hudson region received the second-largest regional share at $15.5 million.
NY PLAYS is part of Governor Hochul’s Unplug and Play initiative, which now exceeds $350 million across three capital programs targeting playgrounds, swimming facilities, and community centers.

$145 Million in Total Investment Spread Across All 10 Regions

The $67.5 million in state grants will leverage an additional $77.5 million in local matching contributions, pushing total investment past $145 million. Every grant recipient was required to demonstrate a 20 percent match toward total project costs as a condition of the award, a provision the Governor’s Office described as a way to ensure local commitment and financial readiness before construction begins.

The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York, which administers the program in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, evaluated applications based on project readiness, community need, public benefit, and overall impact. Applications were accepted from May 4 through June 15, 2026, following a competitive review process that began in January when Governor Hochul first opened the funding opportunity.

DASNY President and CEO Robert J. Rodriguez said the authority is proud to administer NY PLAYS and support communities through a program that gives children and families more opportunities to get outside, stay active, and connect with one another.

New York City and Mid-Hudson Lead Regional Allocations

New York City and the Mid-Hudson region each received $15 million, the two largest regional shares in the distribution. In New York City, the Department of Parks and Recreation secured three $2.5 million grants for a new playground at Gwen Ifill Park in Queens, an expansion of Lozada Playground in the Bronx, and upgrades to the Kaiser Park playground in Brooklyn.

The Mid-Hudson allocation includes a $2.5 million award to Orange County for a new playground at Camp LaGuardia County Park, $2.1 million to the Central UTA of Monsey, and $2 million to the City of Newburgh for a destination playground at Delano-Hitch Park. The Finger Lakes region followed with $8.2 million, led by a $1.2 million grant to the City of Rochester for the Jackson Recreation Center playground renovation.

Long Island received $6.1 million, anchored by a $2.4 million award to the Town of Riverhead for a new adaptive children’s playground and $1.61 million to the Village of Hempstead for renovations at Kenny Memorial Park. Western New York secured $5.5 million, with $2 million going to the City of Buffalo to create a fully accessible play space at Kingsley Park.

Unplug and Play Initiative Now Exceeds $350 Million in Statewide Commitments

NY PLAYS is the third major capital program under Governor Hochul’s Unplug and Play initiative, which the Governor’s Office launched to encourage children and families to reduce screen time and engage in outdoor recreation. The initiative now includes the Statewide Investment in More Swimming, which has awarded nearly $260 million to 79 swimming facility projects, and the Building Recreational Infrastructure for Communities, Kids and Seniors program, which distributed $100 million to 30 community center projects in its first round and recently opened a second round with $75 million in additional funding.

The combined spending represents a sustained push from Albany to direct capital dollars toward recreational infrastructure, an approach that aligns with broader state capital commitments aimed at stabilizing municipal budgets and expanding community services. The FY27 state budget allocates an additional $20 million for NY PLAYS and another $20 million for NY SWIMS, signaling that the pipeline of playground and swimming facility projects will continue to grow beyond the current round.

State Parks Commissioner Kathy Moser said the NY PLAYS grants will help communities create more opportunities for children and families to enjoy the proven benefits of outdoor recreation, encouraging young people to head outside, meet new friends, and make physical activity part of their daily routines.

Underserved Communities Receive Majority of Funding

More than $36 million of the total $67.5 million allocation is directed to playground projects in underserved communities, exceeding the program’s original floor of $35 million for equity-focused spending. The provision was built into the NY PLAYS request for applications from the outset, with scoring criteria that weighted community need and equitable access alongside project readiness and design quality.

State Senator José M. Serrano, who chairs the Senate Committee on Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation, called the initiative an important investment in safe, high-quality outdoor recreational spaces. Serrano noted that access to these spaces supports health, community connection, and overall well-being, and credited Governor Hochul and colleagues in state government for maintaining and expanding the program.

The complete list of NY PLAYS grant recipients and individual award amounts is available through DASNY at dasny.org/PLAYS. Construction timelines will vary by project, with recipients now entering the grant disbursement agreement phase before breaking ground.

FAQs

What Is the NY PLAYS Initiative?

NY PLAYS stands for New York Places for Learning, Activity, and Youth Socialization. The program is a $67.5 million competitive capital grant initiative that funds the construction, expansion, and renovation of public playgrounds across New York State. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York administers the program in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Who Was Eligible to Apply for NY PLAYS Grants?

Municipalities and nonprofit organizations in New York State were eligible to apply. For-profit entities were not eligible. All grant recipients were required to demonstrate a 20 percent match toward total project costs, provide evidence of site control, and submit detailed project budgets with supporting documentation. Nonprofit applicants also needed prequalification through the Statewide Financial System.

How Much Funding Did Underserved Communities Receive?

More than $36 million of the $67.5 million total was awarded to playground projects in underserved communities, exceeding the program’s original commitment to reserve at least $35 million for equity-focused projects. The scoring criteria used during the competitive review process weighted community need and equitable access to outdoor recreation.

What Other Programs Are Part of the Unplug and Play Initiative?

Governor Hochul’s Unplug and Play initiative includes three capital programs: NY PLAYS for playgrounds, the Statewide Investment in More Swimming (NY SWIMS) for swimming facilities, and Building Recreational Infrastructure for Communities, Kids and Seniors (NY BRICKS) for community centers. NY SWIMS has awarded nearly $260 million to 79 projects, and NY BRICKS distributed $100 million to 30 projects in its first round with a second round of $75 million now open.

Jan Raeder: What 30 Years on the Mat Taught Her About Wellbeing

NY Weekly Staff on September 22, 2026

By: Matthew Kayser

Long before Jan Raeder built a framework or wrote a book, she spent more than 10,000 rounds sparring on a mat. Thirty five years of it, most spent running two martial arts locations herself.

“Don’t duck. Don’t flinch,” she says. It’s the line that anchors one of her signature keynotes, and it didn’t come from a psychology textbook. It came from the dojo floor.

Corporate wellness audiences battling burnout hear that same line now, usually right before Raeder asks them where in their own week they have been ducking instead of standing their ground. It lands harder coming from someone who has actually taken the hit.

Raeder is the SelfCare Sensei, a wellbeing educator, keynote speaker, and author behind the M.O.R.E. framework, her plain-language translation of positive psychology research. Before any of that, she was a National AAU Karate gold medalist and senior instructor at US Budokai Karate, building a business on the mat for decades before she ever wrote a page about wellbeing.

She retired from competitive martial arts in 2018. What she carried out the door wasn’t a trophy case. It was a way of handling pressure that later became the backbone of everything she teaches.

On the mat, the moment a fighter takes a hit personally is the moment they lose their center, she says. Off the mat, the principle holds just as well, whether the pressure is a sparring partner, a difficult boss, or a bad morning.

“How’s that working out for you?” is one of her most repeated lines, aimed at anyone still fighting a battle that stopped serving them a long time ago. It’s blunt on purpose. Raeder built her reputation on being direct, not comforting.

That same refusal to look away shows up in one of her clearest stories. Raeder defended her master’s thesis over Skype, in front of three professors. Two of them left only their photos on screen, cameras off, for the entire defense.

“If you don’t want to be here, why are you here?” she remembers thinking. “This was a lot of work to do what I did.”

Half attention was never good enough for her, on a screen or on a mat. That standard is now built into the engagement pillar of M.O.R.E., her framework drawn from Martin Seligman’s positive psychology research. Engagement, in her definition, means showing up fully, the same discipline she once drilled in sparring, just applied to everyday life.

Running two dojo locations also shaped how she prices her own work today. Raeder describes the old model as community college prices for an Ivy League education, high value without unnecessary cost, and she says that same standard now shapes her book, her keynote fees, and every program she builds for corporate wellness clients.

She earned that thesis the hard way. In 2013, while running two dojo locations, raising a family and working another job, Raeder went back to school. Her first semester alone carried 19 credits. She finished both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in four years.

“You do the work you have in front of you,” she says. It’s the same instruction she gives every audience now, whether they are new to a mat or new to a boardroom.

That discipline followed her out of the dojo. After she retired from competition, Raeder began teaching a college course built on wellbeing theory, then turned it into Strive for M.O.R.E., a 139-page book available on Amazon built to work for a high school senior and a PhD without talking down to either.

That instruction is also why Raeder refuses to aim her message at one type of person. In the dojo, she watched four-year-olds figure out which hand goes where and eighty-four-year-olds light up over the exact same small breakthrough.

“You can’t put it into words,” she says. “It’s an energy you feel from the person. All I’m doing is giving them the information. They’re the ones doing the work.”

From four to 84 has become her shorthand for a simple belief. Wellbeing is not a demographic. It’s a daily practice open to anyone willing to do it, whether they’re stepping onto a mat for the first time or stepping into a boardroom already worn down.

Discipline beats motivation every time, she says. Motivation fades. Discipline holds up under pressure long after the feeling that started it is gone, like a technique drilled ten thousand times holding up under a real hit.

That is the resilience piece most burnout advice leaves out. Raeder tells every audience the same thing before they leave the room. The mat never cared about excuses, and neither does a Tuesday morning with a full inbox and a hard conversation still waiting.

The uniform came off in 2018. The discipline didn’t, and neither did the standard behind it: show up fully for whatever is in front of you, then do it again tomorrow. That’s the only black belt anyone actually needs.

To learn more about the M.O.R.E. framework or book Jan Raeder to speak, visit selfcaresensei.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Day: September 22, 2026