For many families in Westchester County the first hints of autumn are met with a trip to Leibman’s Children’s Clothing Store, which since 1926 has been outfitting generations of kids for the first day of school.   Jonathan Newman, a New Rochelle native who has been running this local institution since 2008, says the Fall rush is both eagerly anticipated and the busiest time of the year. 

Though business is brisk, historically high cotton prices this spring have driven Newman’s merchandise costs up this year.  Jonathan, typical of many small business owners across New York, is constantly on the hunt for ways to reduce monthly operating costs without cutting corners.

One of his best finds came through the New Rochelle Business Improvement District (BID). Liebman’s was able to take advantage of a ConEd direct install lighting program for small businesses to upgrade commercial lighting.  “This ConEd program was a no brainer.  They covered 70% of the retrofit costs and my business gets to save money month after month after month – excellent,” Newman added.   Through the program, Liebman’s upgraded more than 100 lighting fixtures – replacing the ballasts and the bulbs too – throughout his store.

Newman notes that while he had some reservations before seeing the new lighting, the upgraded fixtures and bulbs produce slightly brighter light which is particularly good for the merchandise areas. “The store looks amazing – ConEd and the installer did an excellent job,” he says.  Newman adds that while he may look to swap out the light in the bathroom for something less bright, overall the lighting quality is very good. The lighting upgrade was completed in July and the ConEd energy experts projected that he’d see a 30% decrease in lighting costs.  “I’ve talked to some other businesses and they’re seeing cost reductions that are higher than anticipated – around 35% to 40% improvements. “

This kind of reduction in energy costs, “will help improve cash flow in months that business is less robust,” Newman adds.