Volume 1, Issue 1
Table of Contents

Miscellaneous
• From The Publishers
• Last Look: Syd Farber

Cover Story:
Where’s Everybody Going?
What’s causing some small businesses to pack up and leave? And what should we
be doing to stop them?

Feature Story:
The Excessive Costs of Doing Business in New York
A productive Small Business Day in Albany, but worries still exist for Rockland-ites and other New York based businesses.

Feature Story:
How’d They Do That?
Follow Provident Bank CEO George Strayton’s strategies for success.

DEPARTMENTS:

Economics Roundup
• The Smart Investor
• Money Talk

Business Roundup
• Unlock Your Potential
• Marketing By Design

Retail Round-Up
• Talking Shop
• Odds & Ends

Ask the Expert
• Estate Planning
• Mortgage Advice

Invest in Your Community
• The Bottom Line
• First Annual Non-profit Leadership Summit

Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:

The President’s Desk
A new voice for Rockland County and a new advocate for its hottest issues and concerns.

Pinnacles of Success
RBA’s best honored at the
Third Annual Pinnacle Awards.

RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members

The high cost of doing business is forcing a migration of small and large businesses out of Rockland and into neighboring counties, particularly those to the north, say county business and community leaders.

Among the contributors to this are rising housing prices, a scarcity of available land for commercial construction and rising property taxes. Education, business costs, competitiveness and economic development are there too, but guess what? Rockland is not alone in these concerns. According to Linda Sanford, chairman of the Business Council of New York State (BCNYS), these concerns are chief among New Yorkers from all regions of the state.

So what does that mean for Rockland’s many small businesses?
Jan Degenshein, a Rockland-based architect, planner and Chairman of the Government Relations Committee of the RBA, is straightforward with some grim news: “We have three issues: the brain drain, housing costs and local employment,” he says. Degenshein has long been a voice on behalf of affordable (median) housing and believes that the issue is at least finally getting some of the attention that it deserves.

According to the 2000 Census, 54 percent of the Rockland labor market is employed within the county. This can be considered a high margin, in that Rockland is often thought, incorrectly, as being a so-called ‘bedroom community’ to New York City. Yet, more than 70 percent of the jobs in Rockland are held by its residents.

Still, the bottom line is that the county is seen as increasingly unaffordable, he feels. A contributing factor to the median housing shortage is the cost of available land, which in turn is reflected in the cost of the housing itself. A partial solution, says Degenshein, is for municipalities to increase densities, which mitigates the high cost per unit. Some municipalities are more willing to do this than others, however. Degenshein adds that an increasing number of municipal leaders are looking for creative solutions to the problem of what is known almost interchangeably as workforce, median income or affordable housing, to help cut down on the brain drain.

Clarkstown Town Supervisor Alex Gromack is among the municipal leaders working with developers to set aside units or the money to build them. Housing advocates hope the practice will catch on.

It will also allow “...the blue collar and lower management white collar workers—and this includes teachers, nurses, police and fire officials—to be able to work here,” says Gromack. “Not only do these persons perform a vital service to the community, but this will, in some cases, encourage the new commercial construction that leads to jobs. After all, construction often follows the workers or stays close to where the workers are. So we have stabilized our base,” he says.

Degenshein adds that the workforce leaving Rockland for neighboring mid-Hudson and New Jersey counties is not the whole problem. Other factors include New York State itself, which he said still practices over-regulation, and therefore unintentionally discourages new business creation, and the fact that workers are leaving not only the State but the entire Northeast. He contends this fact is sometimes missed because much of the Hudson Valley is not only in relatively good shape, but is carrying much of the state economically. But it cannot afford to do so indefinitely.

“And when businesses anywhere in the state start to leave, it has a domino effect, particularly if there is no relief coming from State government: “It just keeps getting harder and harder to live and do business. And if you travel upstate, you’re not just in another world; you’re in another universe.”

There are a lot of people in that other universe. According to RBA President/CEO Al Samuels, 2,000 people on average leave Rockland each year for new addresses in Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties alone. Of the three, Orange is the primary beneficiary of this migration. Others move elsewhere, or leave New York State altogether.

Does this mean that former Rockland-ites won’t continue to work in the county once they move out? Not at all, and in fact, most of those who relocate outside of Rockland will choose—at least at first—to remain working here. Samuels’ fear is that once they become accustomed to new surroundings, they may look for opportunities closer to their new homes.

Reasons for the “brain drain”
A recent study by Marist College in Dutchess County established that there are as many as 200,000 under-employed persons throughout the Hudson Valley, which includes from Westchester to the northerly portions of the valley, just south of Albany. Among the applicable assumptions are that these workers could move up quickly—career-wise—and take a higher-paying job closer to home, if those jobs were to become available. It would allow workers more leisure time, and in some cases, make for a lighter commute.

As long as better jobs and more affordable housing are available outside both the county and the region, stresses Samuels, Rockland will continue to see a brain drain as qualified and skilled workers move to these areas.

Another contributing factor is the lack of space for commercial growth and expansion. Due to its size—Rockland’s the second smallest county in the state—the county has less available space in which to create the commercial business centers that provide these jobs.

Transportation: Can you get there from here?
One of the main obstacles to creating and keeping a solid workforce in Rockland is the issue of transportation. The county workforce has difficulty commuting into counties closer to Manhattan, and even into New York City itself. While good jobs are being created in downstate counties, many of which would be taken by Rockland residents, the lack of a one-seat commuter option is preventing many from exercising that option. The theory is, if Rockland residents had a ready, easy and quick commute, it would make the county a more attractive place to live, and thus help cut down on brain drain.

And since mass transit runs both ways—into and out of the county—another result of the lack of viable transportation options is that employers in the county, or those looking to come into it, will worry about the availability of a skilled labor pool, particularly in emerging industries.

In other words, if Global Excellence X Company is wondering how its employees will get to work, it doesn’t make the county an attractive option.

The solution: A new Tappan Zee Bridge with a light rail component that will provide a one-seat ride into Westchester and eventually midtown Manhattan. Samuels notes that three carriers provide direct one-seat service (meaning that changing trains is not necessary) into midtown Manhattan from Westchester. But, when it comes to Rockland, it’s often a simple case of not being able to get there from here. While the RBA is hopeful that a new Tappan Zee Bridge would provide this needed light rail component that would ease, if not solve, the problem, it may be more likely that an East-West rather than a North-South network would eventually prevail.

Education
Education is an issue in Rockland and throughout the state—not the quality of education, but more precisely the availability of skilled workers for area employers. In a recent speech in Rochester, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer touched on this problem, saying too many young people are leaving the state, while many businesses complain of a lack of skilled workers. “This disconnect shows the failure of our workforce training system and highlights the need for a ‘demand-driven’ workforce development policy,” Spitzer said.

There is also great concern in Rockland that those young people who attend college outside the county will not return here to live and work once they graduate. This is not to say that Rockland does not have quality schools. It does. Still, it is common for younger people to be lured by the opportunities in the areas they attend college. Thus, the brain drain persists, deepens and grows.

Add to this dilemma the fact that housing is increasingly expensive in Rockland, and you understand why it’s not uncommon for commuters to hopscotch from one county to another in search of affordable (also defined as working-class) housing. Although housing prices have cooled somewhat recently, according to the New York State Association of Realtors, the average house price in Rockland was $475,000 in March of this year, down from $522,500 in February. Over the past few decades, homebuyers, especially those in the northern portions of the Hudson Valley, have been more willing to travel distances to find a home within their price range.

As Mike Di’Angelo, Rockland’s official statistician notes, Greene and Columbia Counties, which even a few years ago would have been considered well outside commuting distance, have now become attractive to home buyers and renters. Business and political leaders throughout the entire Hudson Valley now talk about the need for median income housing in the same tone that only lower Hudson Valley residents once did.

A blessing in disguise
Rockland has a double-edged characteristic that some other counties in the region do not. It’s blessed with a large amount of open space and parkland, and largely this is a good thing because it contributes to an enhanced quality of life. But quality of life also depends on jobs and housing, and the quest to preserve open space often limits the ability to create new jobs and new housing opportunities by restricting new commercial construction.

Many stress that this forces land prices up because parkland is preserved by government and cannot be built upon. Add to this the fact that Rockland has the smallest land mass of any county in New York State. And the greater the scarcity of buildable land, the more expensive the available land becomes.

Voters in the county have also voiced a need for senior citizen housing (both government-subsidized and market value) in apparent preference to commercial development, even though commercial construction provides a better return on jobs provided and tax ratables. In fact, it is far less costly in terms of dollars spent on infrastructure and other services because of its density.

This is not to say that senior housing, or more exactly the lack thereof, is not a serious problem. The senior population is growing. In fact, Rockland has the greatest percentage of growth in the total population among older residents in all of the New York State counties. Samuels also understands that when senior housing developers come to town that many municipal boards sometimes don’t think through what is most needed, as long as it is construction.

At other times locals don’t want construction at all, just more open space. “It can be very difficult to say no,” says Samuels, “Especially when that construction will address a perceived housing need, or the lack of it makes for very desirable parkland.”

What can be done? Samuels’ response is to advocate for balanced growth. RBA officials are making the rounds, pitching the balanced growth solution to political, civic and community groups. Samuels believes that municipal leaders respond more positively to calls from the voters for more open space, because—many times—they appear to have the largest voices or greatest numbers.

Is the glass half full, or half empty?
Di’Angelo and former Rockland County Board of Realtors President Sharon Tucker see the proverbial glass as half full. While some may be leaving Rockland, others are coming into it. And Tucker says they are doing so ‘in droves.” According to the U.S. Census of 2000, there is an inflow from Manhattan, the Bronx, Long Island, Westchester and Queens, as well as from portions of New Jersey, such as Bergen. In fact, Rockland County is growing in population by about 9,000 per year.

Sometimes people just decide to stay put. According to the 2000 Census, 54 percent of the Rockland labor market is employed within the county. This can be considered a high margin in that Rockland is often thought, incorrectly so, as being a so-called ‘bedroom community’ to New York City. Yet, more than 70 percent of the jobs in Rockland are held by its residents.

Retirement is another reason for outflow. North and South Carolina and Florida appear to be particularly popular for retirees, according to Di’Angelo, who says that while Rockland statistics track where people are moving to, it is not easy to pinpoint why they move. Di’Angelo sees “the housing factor, retirement, job and college opportunities” as contributing factors. RBD

Staffing Companies Need to Fill Their Vacancies—Fast!

The good news is that there are jobs to fill in Rockland County. According to the latest New York State Department of Labor report, recent unemployment figures were the lowest in five years—and job growth is strong. In the Rockland-Putnam-Westchester area, the number of jobs has increased by 7,200, or 1.3 percent, since March 2005. The largest gains were in educational and health services, professional and businesses services and finance—key areas of employment right here in Rockland.

But increasingly, companies are finding it difficult to hire qualified staff. “With the qualified applicant pool shrinking, companies continue to look for ways to fill vacancies, and often need to accelerate their hiring decisions,” says the owner of a local staffing firm. As the pool of applicants continues to shrink, many companies utilize “temp-to-perm” programs to fill their requirements. The employer has an opportunity to see how a particular candidate performs before a permanent offer is extended. In other words, it helps to ensure a perfect fit.

“The shelf life of a qualified candidate is now measured in hours or days, where it used to be measured in weeks or months,” says Roy Rizzotti, president of RJ Staffing in Nanuet. “Companies that believe they can take 2 to 4 weeks or longer in their hiring process will usually find that the candidate is no longer available to them because they have accepted another offer,” Rizzotti says.

“Potential employees are a valuable commodity, and as such, are susceptible to the laws of supply and demand,” he notes. As with any competitive process, wages are, to a large degree, dictated and controlled by the market. Paying the correct wage is also critical to successfully filling any open positions.

In his capacity as Rockland Research Coordinator, Mike Di’Angelo calculates a range of data to determine growth patterns and assist economic development. Here are some of his recent findings:

• One in five county residents are age 65 or over.
• One in five are foreign born.
• One in three of these foreign born have arrived more recently than 1990.
• One in three (nearly) speaks a language other than English in the home.

Some of these numbers indicate an inflow and ability to capture an emerging labor market, assuming that there is appropriate job training or re-training available in the area.

Younger Residents are Looking to Stay in the County

Realtor, Sharon Tucker, who has offices in Nanuet and Suffern, and presently chairs the Professional Standards of the Realtor organization, believes that younger Rockland-ites want to stay in the county if they can. They like the overall quality of life, schools, shopping, recreation and proximity to Manhattan, as well as other elements. “But housing can be very expensive,” she admits. “So many people travel up the Thruway and the Hudson River, particularly to Orange County, which appears to be the largest single beneficiary among neighboring counties. This is much as Rockland benefited from flight from more expensive downstate counties prior to now.”

Regarding seniors, Tucker said that many want to trade down to a smaller home, condo or other unit, but often may not be able to afford to do this. “People who are used to a 3,000 square foot house don’t want something that much smaller. They feel constricted, and they don’t want to give up many of the things that they have collected over the years,” the veteran realtor notes.

“Some people are moving in while others are moving out or moving on to other parts of the nation due to retirement,” Tucker continued. “Clearly, some want to remain in the county and become part of the affordable or median income shortage. Many counties are playing catch-up to make certain that housing prices are affordable as possible, and Rockland is no exception.”