Managing Setbacks, Coming Back Stronger

As we approach the end of 2020, one I am sure most would agree could not come soon enough, some shifts have emerged in how we do business now and into the future; permanently impacting our local economy.

In this edition of In the Know, you will notice a common theme: howSullivan County businessesand organizations havecircumvented the challenges presented by COVID-19 tokeep their business— and our economy going.

Nearly twenty years after 9/11, protocols remain to helpensure safe travel in the airline industry. No doubt,

COVID-19 safety measures will endure far beyond the pandemic. Our economy and the industries within it are intertwined. Like a domino board, when one product, one service, or an educational or healthcare institution drops out of the mix, the pieces tumble and affect every aspect of our daily lives. It profoundly underscores the importance of Economic Development and our collective effort to attract investment and jobs. Those who were tepid or even opposed to the casino efforts now hopefully understand the economic impact of closures

continued...Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development | 845.794.1110 | SCPartnership.com 3

New Opportunities Emerge During COVID Pandemic

at Resorts World and Kartrite. Or how the small specialty shop, gym, or corner restaurant operate on such thin margins that their forced months-long closures could wipe them out entirely despite safety protocols.

Fortunately, Sullivan County businesses have developed a form of herd immunity. As our new Chairman Randy Resnick iterates, we have been through so many challenges that we go into an adaptive reflex mode to figure out a new way to conduct business and make the best of an awful situation. Throw in a sudden dose of folks leaving the metro area to establish roots here, a renewed interest in sites suitable for E-Commerce business, the continuation of projects that began before the pandemic, and the formula for a Sullivan Catskills economic comeback is coming together.

Add to that the attraction of an IT company, a production facility, a small e-commerce company, and a specialty processing company, and the future looks promising.

Overriding it all are external influences: the national election, and how soon a vaccine can be approved and distributed. Yet there are unanticipated positive trends in an electrified real estate market and a flurry of new

niche tourism venues that kept local businesses going, particularly in the western Sullivan areas.

Work from home continues, and there is a window of opportunity for us to serve a demand by finance and insurance firms seeking to exit the metro area. Improving our water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure is critical to economic growth. We must make every effort to grow broadband to position the Sullivan Catskills for future growth, attracting industries and jobs that can flourish here and provide an extraordinary work/life balance now front and center in the new workforce’s minds.