Volume 1, Issue 2
Table of Contents

Cover Story:
Putting All The Pieces Together
County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef keeps Rockland in his sights as he looks ahead to the Governor's race.

Feature Story:
Everybody's Going Downtown
What four of the county's villages are doing to encourage economic development.

Feature Story:
The Expo's Coming!
Annual Business-to-Business event partners RBA with Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce.

DEPARTMENTS:

Economics Roundup
• What's Your Investment Behavior?
• Taxes and Long-Term Care Insurance

Business Roundup
• HVCFI Accepting Applicants
• The Fine Art of Advertising

Retail Round-Up
• It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• New in Town

Ask the Expert
• Human Resources
• Legal Matters
• Workplace Hotline
• Information Technology

Invest in Your Community
• Make-A-Wish Foundation
• JCC-Y of Rockland's Capital Campaign
• Other News

Odds & Ends
• From The Publishers
• PR Patter
• Reaching Out to Small Business
• Rockland Joins the Empire
• Big News for Local Small Businesses

Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:

The President’s Desk
Empire Zone designation, grant programs drive new opportunities for business.

The Investor Hotline
Avoid these three common mistakes

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

I trust, by now you are all aware that Rockland has received its Empire Zone designation. This has been a long time coming and a lot of people worked very hard to make it happen. You can be especially proud of your association's involvement in this effort.

Having an EZ means Rockland now gains a critically needed tool in its efforts to attract significant commercial projects. This is especially important because we are a border county with New Jersey and often find ourselves in a competitive situation when trying to attract companies also considering our neighbor to the south.

Rockland must now insure that the best possible individuals are named to the Zone Administration Board, and that we project a positive, pro-active outreach for new businesses.

Because we are a small county—geographically—we have too often stated that we have limited (land) inventory for economic development. This not only is subjective, it's negative and doesn't serve us well. Of course, we have less available land than other counties with far greater acreage, but what is available in Rockland is in closer proximity to New York City and offers a quality of life that rivals any in the competitive market. We do promote those factors, but we must insure that we frame them in positive terms relating to the land we have available for economic development.

Rockland now can embark on a new level of involvement in the area of economic development. We have been given the competitive tool we so desperately needed and there are grant programs available to us that can enhance this new advantage.
All we need is the will to make it happen, tempered with some new vision
and a willingness for collaboration.

Also, we must start availing ourselves of the programs that can enhance our attractiveness to site developers. New York has a marvelous program called Build Now-NY. This is a competitive grant program, providing up to $100,000 per initiative, for the pre-permitting of sites in order to make them more attractive to companies considering locations for expansion or new facilities. Nine new sites were recently designated in the Hudson Valley. We need to get onboard.

To encourage our local officials and developers to consider the advantages of this initiative, we are joining with the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., in a new educational program advancing the benefits of pre-permitted sites.

New York also has Wireless Communities and a Wired Buildings Program that has just been infused with an additional $2.5 million. This grant program has already committed over $5.4 million in funding to 74 projects across the state. Rockland needs to tap into this program, as well.

According to Governor Pataki, “Throughout New York State, wireless internet access can now is found in professional office buildings, in parks and even on water. These additional grants will further break down geographical barriers, allowing for communities around the state to conduct commerce with the world. These communities or buildings that have hot spots for web connections will be extending a high-tech welcome to businesses and providing a platform for competing in the global economy.”

The Rockland Business Association is committed to seeing this realized in our county. We are working with our town supervisors and village mayors in assisting them pursue grants under this program. Our Technology Initiative, co-chaired by Les Neumann and Howard Reis, is playing a leadership role in this activity.

Rockland now can embark on a new level of involvement in the area of economic development. We have been given the competitive tool we so desperately needed and there are grant programs available to us that can enhance this new advantage. All we need is the will to make it happen, tempered with some new vision and a willingness for collaboration. The people of Rockland need this to happen and our business community can accommodate no less. The RBA will continue to pursue these goals.

 

Al Samuels
President/CEO
Rockland Business Association