The Business Council of Westchester (BCW), the county’s only business membership organization focusing on economic development and advocacy, applauds Governor Kathy Hochul for including a $240 million increase in investment for approved private schools serving children with disabilities in her upcoming 2022-2023 Executive Budget. During the course of the 2021 legislative session the BCW urged the State Legislature and the Governor to focus on this important issue, which would provide much-needed financial predictability and stability for approved school-age and preschool programs serving children with disabilities, which in turn, will allow them to adequately recruit and retain qualified teachers and staff. With […]

A total of 26 Westchester applicants were recipients of more than $15.8 million in Empire State Development grants awarded this week by the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council. The awards were part of the $196 million awarded to support 488 projects across New York State from state agency programs that participated in Round XI of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative. The awards complement the $81 million in rolling Empire State Development funding previously awarded to shovel-ready regional projects. This year, $525 million in resources from state agencies was made available to support community revitalization and business growth consistent with […]

Opinion Piece by John Ravitz and Thomas Carey New York is still firmly in the grips of a pandemic-induced economic crisis characterized by unacceptably high unemployment. According to the state’s Labor Department, over one million jobs have disappeared in New York because of the pandemic, and the unemployment rate still stands at 6.9 percent – nearly double the pre-pandemic level of  3.8 percent. The governor and state legislators must do everything in their power to promote immediate job creation, particularly family-supporting jobs. One of the easiest steps the state can take is to create a quick pathway for awarding the […]

The Business Council of Westchester hosted a major energy conference on Wednesday that assembled local energy experts to discuss how New York will achieve aggressive carbon-neutral goals. Bringing Power to Westchester was a four-hour virtual event hosted by BCW Executive Vice President and COO John Ravitz, who kicked off the event by outlining the BCW’s years of energy advocacy, particularly around the debate about the Indian Point Energy Center, which permanently closed in April. “Now we have no choice but to make sure we build that renewable energy infrastructure….to make sure we don’t have the same problems we’ve seen in […]

CLICK HERE to watch Bringing Power To Westchester – Virtual Energy Conference – Part 1/2. CLICK HERE to watch Bringing Power To Westchester – Virtual Energy Conference – Part 2/2.

CLICK HERE to watch Tompkins Mahopac Bank Power Breakfast: The Power of Brand Evolution.