User:Eneslow/Eneslow

Eneslow (pronounced N-S-LOW) is a New York City Shoe Store. Founded in 1909 by Edward and Nellie Stone Low, Eneslow owns 3 stores in the New York: two in Manhattan and one in Queens. This is America’s largest pedorthic retailer; where there is the largest selection of comfort shoes in New York and also a team of pedorthists dedicated to complete foot care. Eneslow, accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics & Pedorthics (ABC) is not only a shoe store but has various functions; it includes a custom laboratory where shoes and orthotics are made-to-order, modified and repaired; and finally the brand also houses the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute, a pedorthic education and training center, in its Park Avenue headquarters. Eneslow makes it a point to carry a variety of comfort shoes, including some that are not widely distributed; or models that are not widely available. Among the brands they carry are MBT, Mephisto, New Balance, Ecco and Rockport, Aetrex, Alden, ARA, Aravon, Arche, BeautiFeel, Birkenstock, Brooks, Dansko, Drew, Durea, Finn Comfort, Helle Comfort, Kumfs, Markell, Munro, Neil M, Oh! Shoes, Otabo, P.W. Minor, Pedag, Pas de Rouge, PediFix, Riecken’s, Rieker, SpringBoost, Thierry Rabotin, Waldlaufer, Xsensible and Z-Coil.

Their goal is to help everybody, no matter what problem they may have.

Eneslow, The Foot Comfort Center
Eneslow, The Foot Comfort Center, provides total foot care for both normal feet and those suffering from common, and not-so-common foot ailments or injury. In addition to NYC’s largest selection of comfort shoes, available in virtually every size and width imaginable, Eneslow offers orthopedic and therapeutic footwear, foot orthoses and related devices, and shoe modifications. Eneslow’s mission is to "improve the quality of life, from the foot up". Eneslow’s staff of forty includes fifteen board certified pedorthists (C.Ped.), who are available to solve foot problems and fill prescriptions for the more than 200 doctors who regularly send their patients to Eneslow.

Medical Director:

Eneslow’s medical director is Justin Wernick, DPM, C.Ped. Dr. Wernick is professor and past Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Sciences at the New York College of Podiatric Medicine (NYCPM). At Eneslow he oversees training and education to healthcare professionals and Eneslow’s pedorthic staff.

Origins and History
Eneslow, originally known as N.S. Low, was founded by Edward and Nellie Stone Low in 1909. The company initially sold medical devices on Avenue A: trusses, and then segued into surgical products. In 1914, Nat Low joins Edward Low, and the business is incorporated.

The shoe department was introduced in 1926 in the midst of America’s infantile paralysis epidemic when braces and splints were a common remedy, was an off-shoot of the medical category. This shoe department introduction has been possible because Sol joined Eneslow. The same year, Eneslow moves to 220 East 23rd Street. By the 1940s, Eneslow had made quite a reputation for itself and attracted the attention of Paul Schwartz, who owned the wholesale business Apex Foot Health Industries, which sold foot products, particularly orthotics and arch supports. As a wholeseller, he sold his products to Eneslow. In 1968, when Eneslow’s retail division became available, Paul and Charles Schwartz bought and moved Eneslow’s headquarters to 695 6th Avenue. At that time, Eneslow has two other locations, one in Brooklyn since 1949 and one in the Bronx since 1937. In 1973, Robert S. Schwartz (the current President and CEO) joins Eneslow after a 10-year career in sales and marketing. In 1975, Robert S. Schwartz and his brother Richard B. Schwartz, each own 50 percent of Eneslow and Apex. By the mid-1980’s, when he and his brother, Richard, split the company he became the sole owner of the retail division; he turned Eneslow into a regional chain with eight stores. But when New York State slashed Medicaid reimbursements for medical shoes and orthotics, Eneslow lost 50 percent of its business and Schwartz decided to shutter all but his flagship store located at 924 Broadway, NYC. In 1983, the two businesses – Eneslow and Apex – are split up. Robert S. Schwartz buys out Richard B. Schwartz to get full ownership of Eneslow. In 1985, Eneslow buys Classic Mold Shoe Company, makers of custom molded and custom orthopedic dress shoes and sandals and merges it into Eneslow. In 1995, Eneslow Pedorthic Institute (EPI) is founded. In 2003, Eneslow buys a retail store from Selby Fifth Avenue at 254-61 Horace Harding Expressway in Little Neck, Queens; changes its name to Eneslow and opens its second store.</li><li> In 2006, the company moves its long-time Broadway headquarters location to 470 Park Avenue South at 32nd Street.</li><li> 2009: The Centennial, On May 1st Eneslow opens a third store on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at 1504 Second Avenue between 78th and 79th streets.</li></ul>

Locations
Eneslow’s locations are all in New York with three different stores: two in Manhattan and one in Queens (Little Neck).

Eneslow’s headquarters is located at 470 Park Avenue South at 32nd Street since 2006. The 15,000-square-foot flagship includes the company’s biggest store, the Eneslow Pedorthic Institute (EPI) classroom and the main custom shoe department in an 1000-square-foot area. The Little Neck, Queens, location opened in 2003. This is a 5000-square-foot shopping center store at 254-61 Horace Harding Expressway in Little Neck. The last store opened by Eneslow is the second Manhattan location. It is a 2000-square-foot store on the Upper East Side at 1504 Second Avenue between 78th and 79th streets, a residential neighborhood.

The Eneslow Pedorthic Institute (EPI)
The Eneslow Pedorthic Institute was founded in 1995 by Eneslow and its President & CEO Robert S. Schwartz to fill a gap in the understanding of the design, manufacture, modification, and proper fit of shoes and foot orthoses. The mission is to educate the health-care community and the public about the role of proper footwear in promoting overall health and well-being. EPI sponsors courses, conventions and seminars on an on-going basis. This institute was a necessary creation according to the statistics; there are only five such centers in the United States and this is the only one in New York City.

EPI trains aspiring pedorthists, drawing students from around the world. In addition to pre-certification courses, it offers reviews for the pre-certification exam and teaches certified shoe-fitter courses. Podiatry students and orthopedic surgeons have attended the institute to learn how pedorthics can help achieve high quality patient outcomes.

The classes, which are accredited by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC) and the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC), as pedorthic pre-certification courses, are taught by Eneslow Medical Director Justin Wernick, Eneslow President Robert S. Schwartz, Eneslow staff and pedorthists, podiatrists, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, endocrinologists, shoe designers and diabetes educators.

Pre-certification Pedorthics Course:

The pedorthic pre-certification courses are designed to prepare an individual to sit for the exam to become a certified pedorthist.

Shoe Makeovers: The custom department and shoe modification
The Eneslow Custom Department is a place where your shoes can undergo modifications and repair to a total shoe makeover. After being under the craftsmen’s hands, they are better than “good as new”. Structural and cosmetic modifications are done to all kinds of shoes; orthotics are fabricated as well.

Amid the whir of machinery in the 1,000-square-foot shop, a small team of craftsmen – manager Khaled El Masry, C. Ped., master technician German Jaramillo, all technicians: Hagop Kehyayan, Grazio “Rocco” Sena, Raymond Martinez and occasionally the members of the Eneslow Pedorthic staff– work their magic in mini-assembly-line fashion.

In addition to making stilettos feel like sneakers, the workshop technicians can widen, deepen and lengthen shoes; raise and lower heels; add special materials to reduce impact and shear forces, control motion and redistribute pressure; and breathe new life into old soles by performing a variety of repairs.

While minor repairs can be as little as $10, custom orthotics run about $500 to $600; custom ankle foot orthotics are $500 to $3,000, and custom shoes are $900 to $3,000. Shoe makeovers that transform beautiful, painful shoes to full comfort and beauty are $100 per shoe.

Eneslow’s main factory is located at 470 Park Avenue @ 32nd Street flagship store;the other stores have their own shops for minor work. Each technician has his own specialty; El Masry, for instance, is a certified pedorthist as well as an orthotist. In addition to making orthotics from the foot’s cast, he also makes ankle-foot orthotics and foot-to-knee braces. Jaramillo, an Eneslow employee since 1986, takes casts of customers’ feet for custom shoes and makes every adjustment imaginable. Kehyayan, who has worked for Eneslow since 1983 and has been a shoemaker for six decades, actually makes the shoes. Sena does the external modifications including shoe repair to please just about any wearer.

And heel to toe; it all comes together in only four to five days to four to five weeks.

Net Working: Charities, Events & Organizations at Eneslow
Soles 4 Souls

Eneslow is one of the major supporters of this charitable organization. Every day of the year, Eneslow collects lightly worn shoes for the needy. The shoes go to the organization, Soles4Souls, who distributes new and gently used footwear around the world to those in need. Since 2008, when Eneslow started the shoe-raiser at its flagship store, it collected more than 200,000 pairs of shoes valued at more than $1 million.

Foot Care Events

Eneslow hosts a series of foot-care programs and educational classes, which are open to the public and health professionals. Their annual Foot Health Awareness Month (May), and National Diabetes Awareness Month (November), are examples of the ways Eneslow works with the community to bring about improved foot care.

Eneslow tremendous efforts to support the less fortunate

In addition to its retail services, Eneslow provides free footwear, socks, and insoles for relief workers, disaster victims, and the homeless. Eneslow offers customers incentives to bring in their old shoes and boots for distribution to agencies in the New York City metropolitan area, and worldwide. One such charitable organization is the "Coalition for Concerned Medical Professionals"

23rd Street Association 

Robert S. Schwartz serves as President of the 23rd Street Association and their meetings are hosted by Eneslow at its Park Avenue location. Incorporated in 1929, the 23rd Street Association assists in the improvement and development of the area bounded by 18th and 32nd Streets and the East and Hudson Rivers. The Association concerns itself in matters of public interest and civic affairs, cooperating with other civic and business organizations to protect the interests and quality of life for companies, organizations, and individuals in the area. 23rd Street Community Project “Waste Not, Want Not Initiative”

Waste Not, Want Not is committed to improving quality of life for the future by working with allied organizations and the government to reduce waste, conserve energy and increase preservation.