That government is best which governs least.
While we may debate its originator ”“ Jefferson, Paine, Thoreau ”“ we agree with the line itself.
The quote came to mind recently during a discussion about commercial real estate. The Business Journal hosted “The Real State of Real Estate” ”“ an event that brought seven industry pros around the table for a frank and in-depth discussion on the markets in Westchester and Fairfield counties.
The conversation flowed from the evolution of the office markets here to the loss of the Fortune 500s to the current climate and what”™s in store for the industry and the region.
“Until you look back, it is very difficult to plan for the future,” one panelist remarked.
Precisely the point. Our panel addressed issues of housing, local government cooperation in zoning, corporate transitions, aging inventory and adaptive reuse.
Much of the discussion came down to regulatory processes.
“Money”™s available, there”™s no shortage of equity capital,” said Robert F. Weinberg, president of Robert Martin Co., a mixed-use development company in Elmsford. “There”™s only a shortage of getting government out of the way. Government is our biggest problem. It is our obstruction. ”¦ Get out of my way, just get out of my way. ”
And that view of government as “obstructionist” bolsters the image of a county ”“ and state ”“ chillingly unfriendly to business.
It wasn”™t always this way. In fact, several panelists recounted tales of government embracing business.
Case in point: In the late 1970s, Texaco was scouting around for a site to build a new headquarters and it selected Harrison. Texaco “could have located anywhere,” said panel member Alfred DelBello, an attorney who was then Westchester”™s county executive.
“It would have been very normal of them to locate in Houston, Texas. And they came to Westchester County and I asked the CEO John McKinley why he selected Westchester County out of the whole world and he said, No. 1, New York state is a mature state in its relationship with the corporate world.”
A mature state.
DelBello, now chairman of the Westchester County Association, said he found that statement “very telling” and, regrettably, no longer true.
There has been action at the state and local levels in terms of attraction and retention ”“ including some hefty incentive packages ”“ but the perception is not easily altered.
“The environment is an environment of instability and lack of confidence,” another panel member commented.
All the while, members of the private sector are going about their business, as evidenced by projects cited by our panelists.
A telling panel, indeed.
