Suite Talk: Michael Romita, president and CEO, Westchester County Association
The optimist looks beyond the current socioeconomic and political environment and calls out a light at the end of the tunnel. The pessimist might acknowledge that despite the distant light, we are still in the tunnel. And the fatalist might view that distant light as belonging to an oncoming train.
As president and CEO of the Westchester County Association, Michael Romita is neither the optimist, pessimist or fatalist. But he is a realist about the state of the county”™s economy. In this edition of Suite Talk, Business Journal Senior Enterprise Editor Phil Hall joins Romita in a discussion on where Westchester”™s economy is heading.
What is the state of Westchester”™s business community at this point in time?
“There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about the business environment in Westchester. We”™re showing some resiliency, unemployment has bounced back from its nadir in late spring and early summer, and the real estate industry is holding its own. But let”™s face it, the economy in Westchester, the Hudson Valley and nationally is under a tremendous amount of stress because of the pandemic. And the most frustrating thing for local business leaders and civic leaders and politicians is that this is caused by reasons that, for the most part, are out of our control.
“The two most important remedies to try and get us back are also fundamentally out of our control: The size and scope of a federal stimulus package, which continues to be in flux and the pace and efficiency of the administration and distribution of the vaccine. Until we can solve those two issues, we”™re going to have a lot of uncertainty surrounding the local economy.”
What are the strong points of the regional economy?
“We have a very diverse ecosystem and the strong sectors of the economy are going to continue to play an important part for the foreseeable future. With the health care industry, you”™ve got a lot of world class health care providers and institutions that continue to see tremendous opportunity in Westchester. The real estate industry is also very diverse ”” and residential real estate, in particular right now, is very hot. It”™s white hot and not just for single-family homes, but also for multifamily developments.
“And then you”™ve got world-class institutions of higher learning, great outdoor arts and cultural institutions ”” all of the things that anybody can tell you about how great it is to live, work and play in Westchester. I grew up here, so I”™m still a firm believer in all that Westchester has to offer.”
On the flip side, what parts of Westchester”™s economy could use some improving?
“When the pandemic hit, the Westchester County Association put together its post-pandemic working group, which is a consortium of thinkers from the business, nonprofit, educational and political communities to address those issues. We came up with what we call the four foundational pillars of rebuilding the economy and working toward a stronger future.
“The first is continuing to provide strong support for the health care sector and life sciences, with a specific emphasis on workforce development. The second foundational pillar was real estate and affordable housing. We have an affordable housing crisis here in Westchester ”” I think that the county”™s most recent housing needs assessment concluded that we need over 11,000 units of additional affordable housing. And so we”™re a strong proponent of things like adaptive reuse and repurposing commercial space for mixed use development to try and solve that problem.
“The third pillar is digital connectivity and helping to close the digital divide. Obviously, it”™s becoming increasingly important to have a robust broadband infrastructure. And then lastly, we have challenges in the area of energy and sustainability. So, those are the things that we”™re trying to focus on.”
Many New York City residents have moved from the Big Apple into Fairfield County during the pandemic. Is Westchester losing population, as well?
“No, we haven”™t seen an exodus of population. Although the population is pretty stable, it”™s not expanding tremendously rapidly. And it”™s also aging.
“I think that that”™s a reflection of a couple of things. We have very high taxes in Westchester and that tends to be a little frightening for some people. And some moves that were made recently by the federal government, particularly the limitations placed on the SALT deduction, are making Westchester an even more expensive place to live. But if we can solve affordable housing and start to attract young professionals back to the county, I think that that”™ll help a little bit.
“I don”™t want to see New York City crater. And at the end of the day, we”™re still a satellite economic sector. We”™re not necessarily competing for jobs and businesses with New York City ”” we”™re competing with Bergen County, we”™re competing with Fairfield County and places like that.”
What about the small-business community? Are you seeing a lot of small businesses being created in Westchester at this time?
“I think that small businesses are struggling. The greatest challenges right now are for small businesses, for entrepreneurs and individual sectors like hospitality and food services. I think the small businesses are going to be challenged and I think that that”™s reflected by a lot of the grant and loan opportunities that are being championed by county government and by state government to try and help these folks.”
Are you seeing more entrepreneurs, starting businesses who are women and people of color?
“I don”™t think there”™s been enough support given to women and minorities who want to start small businesses. I know that this is a big focus of the county and they have to start throwing some money and some heft behind it. There are programs out there to help these businesses. But, you know, we still face, on a national level, institutionalized disadvantages for those sectors of the population. I don”™t think that there”™s enough opportunity out there for women and minorities, and I think that”™s something we need to work on.”