Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 7, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 5 B R I E FS Commercial flights return to Worcester airport, as JetBlue to restart NYC, Fort Lauderdale nonstops JetBlue Airways teased a May 26 announcement related to the Worcester, but ahead of a midday press conference, direct flights from Worcester Regional Airport to New York City, as well as Fort Lauderdale, Fla. were already available for booking, beginning Aug. 20. e Worcester Regional Airport hasn't had commercial airline service since October, aer all major carriers servicing the airport halted flights, in- cluding JetBlue, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, as the impact from the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the com- mercial airline industry. e Worcester airport had been offering direct flights to New York City, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Florida. It had been uncertain, since the flight stoppage, when service might again resume. On the JetBlue website, direct flights from Worcester to John F. Kennedy International Airport were available starting on Aug. 20. Fares start at $44 each way. e service starts with a single 9:25 a.m. flight to JFK, followed by an 8 p.m. flight back to Worcester. e ser- vice switches to twice daily in October. e flight will use a 100-seat Embraer E190 jet aircra. Direct Worcester flights to Fort Lau- derdale start booking for Oct. 22 on the JetBlue website. at service starts with a single 6 a.m. flight to Fort Lauderdale, followed by an 8:30 p.m. flight back to Worcester. Bookings start at $79 each way. Passengers looking to fly into Worcester from New York City and Fort Lauderdale can do so starting the day before the first outbound direct flights out of Worcester. e first JetBlue flight from JFK to Worcester leaves on Aug. 19, while the first nonstop flight from Fort Lauderdale to Worcester leaves on Oct. 21. JetBlue, which is based in New York, did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the morning of May 26. e Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns and operates the Worcester airport, deferred an inquiry to the planned press conference. During the press conference, officials confirmed the details on the flights listed on Jet- Blue's website. e 12:30 p.m. press conference, which coincided with the Worcester airport's 75th anniversary, was attended by Joanna Geraghty, president and COO of JetBlue; Massport CEO Lisa Wieland; Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito; Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester); Lew Evangelidis, Massport board chairman and Worcester County sheriff; Massport Aviation Director Ed Freni; Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty; and Worcester Chief Development Officer Peter Dunn. In March, Worcester Regional Cham- ber of Commerce President and CEO Timothy Murray wrote a letter asking JetBlue Founder David Neeleman to consider bringing his forthcoming bud- get airline, Breeze Airways, to Worces- ter. Breeze ended up not choosing Worcester in its initial launch, which was announced in May. e availability of August flights also comes, separately, aer an agreement between JetBlue and American Airlines, approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Jan. 10, allowing the two airlines to coordinate service to the Northeastern United States. at agreement included a caveat specifically allowing JetBlue to opt out of service to Worcester as part of the formalized rela- tionship between the two major airlines. JetBlue said in January the agreement reflected its current service stoppage to Worcester, but would not affect future plans for the company's plans to service the city. Until JetBlue ceased service to Worcester because of the coronavirus pandemic, it offered nonstop service to New York City, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Worcester dentist, under indictment for fraud, sells Lincoln Plaza office for $450K Healthcare and medical staffing company MSG Staffing, of Worcester, has purchased the former Lincoln Plaza office of a Worcester dentist currently under federal indictment for Medicaid fraud, at a discounted price of $450,000. e seller of 562 Lincoln St. officially was Anthony Realty Corp., which is an entity registered to Anthony DiStefa- no III under the same address as the property. In January 2020, DiStefano, his office manager, and a Chelmsford dentist were all indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and one count of healthcare fraud. DiStefano was also charged with two counts of aggravat- ed identity the and one count of tax evasion. e Justice Department alleges aer being denied access to treat patients from the MassHealth insurance program due to the quality of that treatment, DiStefano recruited the Chelmsford dentist, Scott Cale, so that DiStefano could submit MassHealth invoices through Cale's practice. e buyer of DiStefano's Lincoln Plaza office was Shamool, LLC, which is registered to MSG Staffing Inc. Worces- ter commercial real estate firm NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs represented both the seller and the buyer. e building is 3,100 square feet and sits on a 30,000-square-foot parcel of land. e property was last assessed by the City of Worcester at $455,800 in 2021. U-Haul billionaire buys Lancaster roller skating rink for $2.5M About a month aer Lancaster recreation center Roll On America shut its doors – aer over four decades in business – the property at 90 Duval Road was purchased for $2.5 million by Five SAC Self-Storage Corp., a corpo- ration presided over by Mark Shoen, a billionaire owner and vice president of self-moving company U-Haul, accord- ing to public documents. e seller, Giggles and Grins LLC, is managed by Donald Perkins, who owns the business with his wife, Susan Perkins. e sale was finalized on May 11. Roll On America announced its impending closure on March 18, in a Facebook post. "As we head into retirement, we were hoping to have Roll On America live on with a new owner; however COVID-19 and extended closures have not allowed that dream to become a reality," the duo wrote. "It is extremely difficult to say goodbye and close our doors to all the fun times our skating family has given us." e final skate took place at Roll On on April 5. e property's new owner, Shoen, is #752 on the Forbes list of billionaires. e magazine estimates he is worth $3.8 billion, and reports he owns one-fih of U-Haul's parent company, Amerco, as well as his own self-storage company. e property on Duval Road was last assessed at $1.07 million in 2020, according to state records. We're going to WooSox games Will you attend a Worcester baseball game this year? Baseball is officially back in Worcester this spring as the Worcester Red Sox celebrate their inaugural season and the Worcester Bravehearts return to the city after a brief departure to Leominster last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Fans in Worcester now have two options to choose from when looking for opportunities to enjoy America's pastime. When polled online, more than 70% of WBJ readers said they plan on attending a WooSox game while another 37% said they will see the Bravehearts this year. F L AS H P O L L Yes, I plan to attend at least one Bravehearts game. 18% Yes, I plan to attend at least one WooSox game. 52% No, I won't attend any Worcester baseball games this year. Yes, I plan to go to both WooSox and Bravehearts games. 19% JetBlue and MassPort officials celebrate the return of commercial flights to Worcester Regional Airport Continued on Page 6 6% 5% No, I don't care for baseball.

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