Westchester County’s Element 46 Program is getting big boost. This week the County Office of Economic Development announced a partnership with leading accelerator group Cela Innovation to amplify and enhance the Element 46 incubator program. The new program will be known as the Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Cela. The Element 46 Tech Accelerator Powered by Cela will curate a network of investors and successful entrepreneurs specifically committed to mentoring the startups accepted into the program. It will accept up to 10 startups based in Westchester per cohort for a 10-week program with curriculum, pitch events, press opportunities, and special technology […]

The BCW bids a fond farewell to Manhattanville College President Michael E. Geisler who has announced that he will retire effective June 30.  Geisler ushered the school into a new era and guided it successfully through the pandemic. “Dr. Geisler brought and instilled a vision to merge the traditional strengths of a liberal arts curriculum with the modern requirements of training a humane workforce for tomorrow’s market,” said Michael C. Dunn, an alumnus and Chair-elect of the Manhattanville College Board of Trustees, speaking on behalf of the Board. “Far more than an administrator, Dr. Geisler immersed himself in the culture […]

The Business Council of Westchester this week joined with a statewide coalition of regional chambers of commerce throughout New York led by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership and the Business Council of New York State calling on the federal government to reinstate a ban on assault weapons. The united stand by business organizations follows the racist mass shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo on May 14th.  During the attack, the shooter used an AR-15 to kill 10 people and injure several others.  The same kind of weapon was used only weeks later in a Texas school shooting that left 19 […]

Remarks by John Ravitz, Executive VP & COO The Business Council of Westchester On behalf of the Coalition for Westchester County Airport   I am John Ravitz, Executive Vice President & COO of the BCW. I am speaking to you this evening on behalf of the BCW and our Coalition for Westchester County Airport With the onset of the Covid Pandemic and the concurrent drop in air traffic, discussion about the Westchester County Airport, long a hot topic, largely slipped off the radar screen. That lull, however, has come to an end as County Executive Latimer has initiated a series […]

William O’Shaughnessy, one of Westchester’s most colorful business leaders and owner of Westchester radio stations WVOX and WVIP, died at his home in Litchfield, Connecticut last Saturday. He was 84. “William O’Shaughnessy was one of a kind.  A great community contributor and builder. His radio station is still one of the last around being by community and about community. He was always so supportive of the BCW. We are proud to have the BCW’s Westchester Means Business weekly program on his radio station for the past 20 years. Bill will be missed and always appreciated,” said BCW President and CEO […]

As the New York State Legislature ends its session this week, the BCW continues to urge its members to get in touch with their legislators and implore them to once again block passage of the New York Health Act. “This disastrous plan comes with a price tag of as much as $250,000,000 per year and will cost 161,000 jobs in New York,” said BCW Executive Vice President and COO John Ravitz. He urged BCW members to “contact legislators today and tell them to reject this job-eliminating legislation. They should be working to create and retain jobs instead of eliminating them.” […]