Delivering his annual State of the County address on Wednesday, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced the opening next month of a county economic development office in midtown Manhattan to recruit businesses exiting the city to Westchester.
Astorino said the county Office of Economic Development will operate from an office at 125 Park Ave., directly across from Grand Central Terminal. The building is owned by SL Green Realty Corp., whose suburban Reckson division is a major commercial office landlord and manager in Westchester.
- Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino delivers his State of the County address Wednesday night.
Astorino said the midtown office will aggressively promote the county”™s assets, offerings and competitive advantages to companies and entrepreneurs looking to leave New York state.
“Our message is simple,” he said. “To those companies in New York City looking to Fairfield County or Jersey City, or perhaps the Carolinas, Florida or Texas, before you decide to leave New York state, you need to take a look at Westchester.”
Astorino in his speech also pointed to the accomplishments in the past year of the county”™s Industrial Development Agency and Local Development Corporation, both of which operate within the Office of Economic Development. The county IDA assisted on 16 economic development projects that generated more than $400 million in private investment and served to retain or create 3,400 permanent and construction jobs, he said. The LDC financially assisted on projects that generated $129 million in investment in the nonprofit sector at organizations accounting for 1,600 jobs.
The county in May also will launch its “A Job”™s Waiting for You” training program to match long-term unemployed workers with hard-to- fill jobs in health care, Astorino said. Trainees are guaranteed a job upon successfully completing the program.
Astorino said the program goal is to place 500 people in jobs in four years and ultimately expand the program beyond the health care field.
Announcing a new Safer Communities initiative, Astorino said a new mobile phone application, the Westchester Safety App, is in development and is expected to be available later this summer. The app will provide real-time traffic, weather and storm reports and disaster preparedness tips over smartphones.
The safety app is being developed by Interlecta, an IT company with offices in Bulgaria and Westchester, in conjunction with the county”™s Department of Public Safety. Astorino said the app can be downloaded free of charge and there is no cost to taxpayers.
The county executive repeated his annual pledge not to raise the county tax levy, despite the increasing costs to Westchester of state-mandated services not funded in Albany and the automatic escalation of labor costs. “It”™s a pledge I have kept for five years and I am making it again tonight, because county government has to be on the side of every young person, couple, senior and business in Westchester that is struggling to make ends meet so they can stay here,” he said.
“Westchester is a place we love,” Astorino said in closing, “where we raise our families, run our businesses and call home. Our past is a source of pride, our future is bright and together we will continue to make Westchester smarter, safer and stronger.”
The Business Council of Westchester in a statement Thursday applauded Astorino”™s priorities outlined in his address.
“So many businesses in our area have been forced to tighten their belts in recent years and make tough spending choices,” said Marsha Gordon, Business Council president and CEO. “We”™re pleased with County Executive Astorino”™s business-like approach and we are firmly behind his efforts to keep taxes at bay and control spending while simultaneously seeking to attract new businesses to our county and growing its tax base.”
