Former Knicks Star Watches How Spectrum Designs Changes Lives
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Former New York Knicks star John Starks knows a little bit about overcoming the odds.
Starks was passed over by every team in the NBA draft coming out of college but managed to fashion a successful 13-year career, including a trip to the 1994 Finals and other memorable moments with the Knicks.
On Tuesday, he visited Spectrum Designs in Pleasantville, a custom apparel and promotional products organization that trains and employs neurodiverse workers, most of whom are on the autism spectrum, to watch firsthand how the staff have become valuable members of the operation.
“They do a terrific job, and like I said, their goal is to get them to do things on their own and you have to commend Spectrum and their mission statement to give every individual an opportunity to do something with their lives, and for them to take on people with disabilities is amazing,” said Starks, who visited Spectrum’s Pleasantville warehouse on Tompkins Avenue in recognition of Autism Awareness Month.
About 60 percent of Spectrum Designs’ 70-employee staff across the organization have disabilities, co-founder and CEO Patrick Bardsley said. Its original location is in Port Washington on Long Island with about 20 workers in Pleasantville.
There is no shortage of work that needs to be done. Currently, the staff is busy producing the rally towels and t-shirts that are being handed out to fans attending the home playoff games this spring for the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Rangers. They must produce about 20,000 for each game.
Bardsley said the work may get a bit intense if at least one of the teams has a long playoff run. There may be instances where there will be less than 48 hours’ notice to produce the items for a game if a series is extended.
“We do as much as we can do,” he said. “We always have the habit of saying yes and then figuring it out later. But that’s with the greater mission in mind of creating even one extra hour of employment for people on the spectrum is worth it to us.”
Spectrum got the work through a Long Island-based sports branding firm Coyote Promotions, Bardsley said. Staff is expected to produce the goods on time for each game. The nonprofit organization isn’t a place that provides busy work just to make their workers feel good about themselves, he said.
“This isn’t charity, this isn’t play,” Bardsley said. “We want to be seen as a real business and that’s what we are. So it’s a good message.”
The work for the Nets and Rangers isn’t the only job Spectrum is currently handling. They’re also in the midst of producing 60,000 face masks for the state Department of Transportation and it is the official licensed vendor for New York State Parks for all their retail merchandise.
Spectrum also embroiders the apparel for school districts around the state and some colleges.
Tim Howe, Spectrum’s chief operating officer, said the work allows employees to become more self-reliant while giving them a sense of purpose. For many with autism, they’ve been told since high school that they might never find work, forcing to be on Medicare or Medicaid their entire adult lives, he said.
With the unemployment rates among those on the spectrum upwards of 70 percent, the organization is trying to change their employees’ outlook in life.
“Along comes Spectrum Designs and says ‘We see you, you’re capable and you can thrive in this environment because we built it for you. We built it around what we think you can do, so just come show us,’” Howe said. “To be part of that, it’s just beyond.”
Starks, who works in the Knicks’ front office in marketing and runs his foundation that provides scholarships to high school students in the tristate area, said it was inspiring to see the work that Spectrum and its employees do.
“Spectrum Designs is amazing,” he said. “Coming here and seeing the workers and being productive, these guys do terrific things to help out people with disabilities.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
