Larry Cosenza, 60, holds a PhD in biology from Boston University. He owns Jamestown-based biotechnology company C2Biotech and teaches anatomy and physiology at SUNY Ulster. On weekends, he runs the family business, venerable Midtown watering hole The Shamrock Tavern.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Kingston Wire: How did you or your family come to Kingston?

Larry Cosenza: I was born here, my mom and pops were born here. I think my great, great grandfather came over from Italy. I moved back here from Alabama to start the company because my family is here and I figured if it failed at least I would have some support. Also, Ulster County is kind of the gateway to New York City for energy, you have a lot of energy company’s moving through here.

KW: What do you like about Kingston?

LC: There’s a tremendous amount of history in the area, lots of places to go and see, a lot of places along the water and little parks. [The Shamrock] is one of my favorite watering holes, I also like going to Duffy’s and Mariners. The rooftop at the Front Street Tavern is nice and I have to say, Frank Guido’s has some really good coffee.

KW: What would you like to change about Kingston?

LC: I went away to school and when I came back a lot had changed. I left when IBM was still here. Now a lot of people are struggling for jobs. Now there’s a little bit of a revival, new people coming in with new ideas. I just spoke to the Mayor about a week ago, he’s doing a lot of what I guess you’d call green incentives, working hard to bring that kind of momentum. I’m working at the college now and I’m hoping that we can bring what we’re doing [At C2 Biotechnology] there as a program. With young people, there’s a problem where there’s a drain to the city and Albany. It’s stressful because a lot of people want their kids to be able to live here.

KW: How do you think the pandemic changed Kingston?

LC: It turned everything upside down, especially in this industry. You had a lot of stores that had a lease and they were under a lot of pressure. They just couldn’t make the rent and they went out of business. We were OK because my uncles own the building. We shut down, we even turned the water off, that’s how tight it was, other people couldn’t do that, and I feel for them.