Startup Tech Central Officially Opens

Allison Eichler| October 22, 2025

On October 20, faculty, staff, alumni, local officials, and student entrepreneurs and innovators gathered at the Midge Karr Fine Arts Design Center for the grand opening of Startup Tech Central. This new hub for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Academy provides maker spaces, mentorship programs, startup training, and more.

From left: Glen Cove Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, President Jerry Balentine, and Mayor of Old Brookville Bernard Ryba celebrate New York Tech receiving a Town of Oyster Bay citation.

In addition to a $5 million venture fund to support startup companies through the Academy, Startup Tech Central provides New York Tech’s budding entrepreneurs with a dedicated space, offering access to resources to help transform big ideas into real-world impact.

“We want to make sure that all our students secure jobs, have careers of their dreams, and are successful,” said newly-installed New York Tech President Jerry Balentine, D.O.“Startup Tech Central and the Academy are for those students who want to start something on their own. This is for those students and their creativity.” The event was hosted as part of Inauguration Week—five days celebrating community, innovation, entrepreneurship, and research as New York Tech’s fifth president is formally installed.

Just as the Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center (ETIC) empowers students to create impressive prototypes for the university’s partnership with NASA, among others, Startup Tech Central will enable students—especially those taking part in the course NESTS: Necessary Eleven Steps to Tech Startup—to indulge in imagination, innovation, and local economic development as they get their small businesses off the ground, said Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing Sciences Babak D. Beheshti, Ph.D.

“The opening of Startup Tech Central marks a major milestone in our committee’s work to highlight New York Tech as a go-to school for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Thomas J. Van Laan (M.B.A. ’84), an entrepreneur, Board of Trustee member, and co-chair of the Board’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee. “We have always been a home for aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs. We have always been on the cutting edge of technology. New York Tech has long-instilled students with the skills and mindset to build something of their own.”

Van Laan envisions big things for Startup Tech Central, listing startup pitch competitions, mentoring sessions, business accelerators, coworking spaces, hackathons, and more among its opportunities to help students achieve their goals.

ETIC student worker Russell Wetzler shows his project, Foot Pedal Controller, to event guests.

After congratulatory remarks from government representatives, such as Congressman Thomas R. Suozzi’s District Director Cindy Rogers, Governor Kathy Hochul’s Nassau County Regional Representative Joseph Ramirez, Mayor of Old Brookville Bernard Ryba, and Glen Cove Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck (M.P.S. ’80). Additionally, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino (B.S. ’93, M.A. ’95) presented the university with a Town of Oyster Bay citation honoring New York Tech for its continued success in preparing students for a wide variety of careers.

Next, those involved in the space’s ideation and construction gathered to cut a ribbon, officially opening Startup Tech Central on the Long Island campus. Student entrepreneurs, including those from previous NESTS courses as well as ETIC student workers stationed themselves around the hub, showcasing what they’re capable of and giving guests a look at how Startup Tech Central will only improve opportunities for student success.