The BCW’s Annual Day in Albany: Advocating for Westchester’s Business Community

The Business Council of Westchester (BCW) hosted its annual Albany Day, bringing together a strong and engaged delegation of business leaders to advocate for the region’s economic priorities.

The goal of the Albany Day is to give BCW members the opportunity to meet and discuss key issues that impact their business sector with members of Westchester’s state legislative delegation, members of the governor’s administration and other key state policy makers.

The day began with a visit to the New York State Assembly Chamber, which was holding their daily legislative session. The BCW Members were introduced and welcomed to the chamber by the assembly speaker pro-tem and had the opportunity to meet with the members of the Westchester Assembly Delegation.

Throughout the course of the day, participants engaged in a series of productive meetings which included briefings from Alison Kabir, Senior Vice President / Policy, Legislative Affairs, and Green Initiatives with the Empire State Development, Zoe Jacobs, The Associate Director for Regulatory Reform the Executive Chamber, New York State Deputy Budget Directors, Mark Massaroni and Matt Howard. Politico’s Albany Bureau Chief, Nick Reisman, was the keynote lunch speaker and provided timely insights into the current legislative and political Albany landscape.

It was a particularly dynamic moment to be in Albany, as the state budget, originally due on April 1, remains under active negotiation. This provided BCW members with a valuable opportunity to gain real-time updates on key issues shaping the budget and to better understand the decision-making process behind it.

Discussions throughout the day focused on the most pressing challenges facing the business community, including workforce development, rising operational costs, energy and insurance expenses and infrastructure investment. Members shared firsthand perspectives on how these issues impact their businesses and the broader regional economy.

“The BCW’s annual Albany Day’s main priority is to give our members the opportunity to have a front row seat to see how state government operates and impacts their daily life. The BCW remains committed to ensuring that Westchester’s business community is represented in Albany and that our collective voice continues to be heard where it matters most,” said John Ravitz, Executive Vice President and COO of The Business Council of Westchester.

See it in action:
Be sure to check out videos of member testimonials and photos with elected officials from the day, highlighting the impact and energy of BCW’s advocacy efforts here and on all our social media pages.