At the time of this writing last week, representatives of the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council went to Albany to push a strategic plan to create jobs and drive economic development.
The council ”“ which represents the seven-county mid-Hudson region, including Westchester ”“ is vying with nine others in a statewide competition for a share of $1 billion in project funding. Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed the councils last summer.
The state will award $40 million to each of four regions judged by an independent panel ”“ independent as politics allow ”“ to have the top five-year strategic plans.
Another $40 million in capital grants and employer tax credits will be divvied among projects proposed by the other six councils.
Representatives of the mid-Hudson council met with the Business Journal recently to make their case for winning in Albany.
The council has proposed three priority projects ”“ a biotech incubator lab and research center at New York Medical College in Valhalla, a cloud computing center at Marist College with support from IBM Corp. and a high-risk assessment clinic for autistic children at the private, nonprofit Center for Discovery, which is Sullivan County”™s largest employer.
“We came up with a broad-based strategy we think will grow economic development,” said Dr. Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Greenburgh, who co-chairs the 21-member volunteer council.
The incubator, which would be the second phase of a project under way at the college, is a natural fit for Westchester and could help boost the cluster of biotech that”™s taking hold in the region.
The cloud computing center is another good bet and indeed could help the region stay ahead of the high-tech curve. “Look at why companies and regions fail,” Schleifer pointed out. “They thought they were doing something that lasts forever. Forever came sooner than they thought.”
The third project, the expansion of the Center for Discovery, is intended to have a dual purpose. Obviously, the goal is to better serve special-needs children. At the same time, the council sees an economic potential, too. In the long term, the clinic could help offset the enormous cost to the state in providing special-needs care ”“ which totaled some $1 billion over the past five years in in-state and out-of-state care.
The results of the competition are expected by mid-December. We, of course, hope the mid-Hudson council is successful. And we look forward to learning more specifics about the council”™s projections for jobs creation, which is critical.
The timing is right to build on recent momentum. Westchester”™s unemployment rate was at 6.2 percent in October, its lowest level in nearly three years. And, since October 2010, net employment in the Westchester-Rockland-Putnam region has increased by 4,900, most due to private-sector growth in education, health services and hospitality.
We realize there are 10 councils competing for a share of the funding, so each will have to get something. We only hope this doesn”™t become a big bureaucratic process. Our region needs this financial support.
