Economic councils to hold first meeting
Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s recently appointed Mid-Hudson Valley Regional Economic Development Council will begin its task of drafting a strategic plan that brings state funding awards and job-creating businesses to the seven-county region at an inaugural meeting Aug. 9 on the SUNY campus in New Paltz.
The mid-Hudson region is composed of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Sullivan and Westchester counties.
Due Nov. 14 in Albany, the 21-member council”™s economic development plan will compete with those of nine other regional councils across the state appointed by the governor and headed by Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy. Four regions with the highest-rated plans in December will be awarded up to $40 million each ”“ including $25 million in capital grants and $15 million in tax credits to employers from the state”™s Excelsior Jobs program ”“ from the state”™s $200-million economic development pot. The remaining $40 million in incentives will be divided among the other six regions.
At their meeting in New Paltz, mid-Hudson council members will begin to identify key regional issues and opportunities and start to shape a regional economic vision.
The council is co-chaired by Dennis Murray, president of Marist College in Poughkeepsie, and Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO of the state”™s largest biotechnology employer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., headquartered in Westchester County.
“The charge Gov. Cuomo has given us is basically ”˜jobs, jobs, jobs,”™” Murray said. “Cuomo is correct in saying this is an important issue, not just for New York but for the nation. It is the singular, most important, national issue. Look what”™s happening across the country ”“ economic expansion is the answer, creating new business and creating new opportunities.”
Murray said council members were assured “that our recommendations are going to carry weight.” The governor also “stressed the need for transparency and input from a variety of constituents in the counties we cover.”
Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress in Newburgh and a regional council member, said the governor”™s newly launched program “is ambitious enough to rethink not just how economic development is going to be development, but how state government can truly be a supportive partner.”
Council member Ned Sullivan, president of Scenic Hudson Inc., said he is most excited about the prospects for waterfront development, green technology and the region”™s agricultural economy. “We have a $4.7 billion tourism industry and an agricultural industry worth $800 million a year,” he said.
Payal Malhotra of Café Spice GCT Inc. in New Windsor, one of the 21 members of the council, will be adding her strategy for growing new business.
“We are a successful startup, and I believe that”™s why Café Spice was chosen. It”™s really an honor to be involved.”
Café Spice, a family owned business involved in the food industry for four decades, had to make a decision when it outgrew its 5,000-square-foot warehouse in Long Island City. Move to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or stay in New York? “We wanted to stay here,” said Malhotra, “because New York is our home and because ”“ well ”“ it”™s New York. We live here, we work here, and we wanted to stay here.”
The company bought a 50,000-square-foot former meatpacking plant on Little Britain Road in New Windsor four years ago, where its owners invested more than $4.5 million renovating the building and getting certified as a U.S. Department of Agriculture-approved facility.
“We started out with between 15 to 20 employees, but we continued to grow our business, branching out from Indian food to include Thai, Mexican and vegan items,” Malhotra said. “We now have 85 employees and expect that number to grow to nearly 100 soon. All our foods are made by hand, so it is very labor intensive. We sell a small retail line of refrigerated Indian foods to Whole Foods, Adams Fairacre Farms and other supermarkets. It really is a unique and growing industry. People are increasingly concerned about the quality of the food they eat and what”™s going into it. All our chicken is antibiotic and hormone-free, and everything is taste tested to make sure it is restaurant quality but also affordable.”
The bulk of Caf̩ SpiceӪs business is direct to the restaurant industry, where its five trucks make deliveries in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, as well as express ship to other areas of the country.
With sales growing and expanding into different regions and hiring people, Café Spice expects it will continue to grow its New Windsor location. “We have 11 acres of land here,” said Malhotra, “so we plan to keep growing.”
Mid-Hudson Regional Council
Regional Co-Chairs:
Dennis Murray, president of Marist College
Leonard S. Schleifer, president and CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
General Members:
Ӣ James Bernardo, president and CEO, Candela Systems Corp.
Ӣ Vincent Cozzolino, president and CEO, The Solar Energy Consortium
Ӣ Robin L. Douglas, president and CEO, African-American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties
Ӣ Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO, Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress
Ӣ Tom Endres, president and COO, Continental Organics
Ӣ Carol Fitzgerald, president and CEO, Life Medical Technologies Inc.
Ӣ Aleida Frederico, chair of the board, Commerce Bank
Ӣ Marsha Gordon, president and CEO, The Business Council of Westchester
Ӣ Maureen Halahan, president and CEO, Orange County Partnership
Ӣ Wiley C. Harrison, founder and president of Business of Your Business L.L.C.
Ӣ Ken Kleinpeter, director of farm and facilities, Glynwood Farm
Ӣ Payal Malhotra, vice president of marketing, Caf̩ Spice GCT Inc.
Ӣ Mary Rodrigues, owner, A.J. Rodrigues Group Inc.
Ӣ Cliff L. Wood, president, SUNY Rockland Community College
Ӣ Paul Ryan, president, Westchester-Putnam Central Labor Body
Ӣ Al Samuels, president and CEO, Rockland Business Association
Ӣ Ned Sullivan, president, Scenic Hudson Inc.
Ӣ James Taylor III, CEO, Taylor BioMass L.L.C.
Ӣ Teri Ward, president and CEO, Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce
Elected officials (non-voting members):
The county executives from Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester; Yonkers mayor; chairman of Sullivan County Legislature and the town supervisors of Monroe and Ramapo.
John Golden contributed to this article.