While vendors at the recent Rockland Business Association”™s Spring Tabletop Expo at the Suffern Holiday Inn lamented the loss of business during the recent snowstorms, RBA president Al Samuels doesn”™t need a weatherman to let him know which way the wind is blowing.
Business is hurting and the economy is flat.
Yet, there is a silver lining in the clouds. That silver lining is the Hudson Valley Regional Coalition, Samuels said, made up of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.
Samuels noted new Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino faces a $166 million shortfall, adding, “Rockland, is not sure what its own shortfall will be,” he said. “We”™re hearing a lot of numbers being bounced around, but the bottom line is, when we finally emerge from this recession, things are going to be changed forever, and not for the better. We are the first generation that will probably not leave a positive legacy for the next one.”
Samuels said those who will feel the pain of the state”™s proposed cuts are “those who historically have been kept out of the fray: nonprofits, schools and health care. There are going to have to be some tremendous adjustments made. Each county in the Hudson Valley is realizing it has to look inward to build its economy. The Empire Zone is closing down 18 months before it was supposed to end, and the Excelsior program is not a business attraction. We see Westchester is fighting to keep Starwood Resorts from leaving with its 900 jobs. What if Pepsi decides to pull up stakes? That”™s another 2,000 jobs this region cannot afford to lose.”
But the new coalition is something Samuels feels positive and excited about. “What initially brought our counties together was the fight over the MTA payroll tax, but it has blossomed beyond that,” he said. “We are seriously working together to brand this region and to create a voice that will be heard on a state and national level. The level of collaboration is terrific. Mike Oates from the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, Pattern for Progress and John D”™Ambrosio, the president of Orange County”™s chamber of commerce, have really been spearheading this group and doing a terrific job.”
The fight over the MTA tax is far from over, but the Hudson Valley Regional Coalition”™s next task is to take on U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey”™s proposal to have the Hudson Valley designated as a national park. “Many of us are very concerned and feel this will inhibit commercial growth. We”™ve expressed this to Hinchey.
“We are also fighting the charge on our utility bills; they are really nothing but taxes tacked onto these bills as additional fees, and many businesses don”™t even realize they are on their bills,” Samuels said. “The fact that these seven counties are working together as a group is the key. That”™s the real positive that has come out of this recession.”
Another opportunity for change will come in the fall. “The answer begins with Nov. 2,” said Samuels. “The voters will come out. Let”™s see what happens then.”
