RyeCity REVIEW THE
September 24, 2021 | Vol. 9, Number 36 | www.ryecityreview.com
AG takes 57 guns off streets at Westchester buyback
League goals! Luca Parrode fires a shot on net during Rye’s Sept. 18 game against Yonkers. The Garnets topped the Bulldogs 5-0 in their final game before a stretch that sees them take on a host of league foes. For story, see page 16.
Photo/Mike Smith
Business, industry leaders ‘Reimagine Westchester’ Experts worldwide agree the biggest trends impacting commercial real estate are e-commerce, cannabis legalization, adaptive reuse and alternative sectors such as biosciences. As the business hub of the Hudson Valley, Westchester County is poised to gain tremendous market share in these verticals—can the infrastructure support it? The Fordham Real Estate Institute and The Business Council of Westchester brought together top business and industry experts from the region Sept. 17 to “reimagine Westchester” as new sectors locate here, bringing opportunities for growth and expansion. Hundreds of business professionals registered for “Reimagining Westchester: E-Commerce, Distribution, Cannabis, Health, Biotech, Real Estate and Infrastructure to Support Future Growth,” a virtual panel of industry leaders who shared insights into market trends, how best to capitalize on these sectors and what the developments mean for the county’s future.
“These innovative entrepreneurs and companies are helping reshape Westchester’s landscape and adding to our already robust and diverse business community,” said Dr. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester. “We want to ensure we’re well-positioned to seize new opportunities as we move forward with these growth sectors.” Bridget Gibbons, director of Economic Development for Westchester County, noted the resiliency of Westchester’s business community and cited some of the innovative programs the county launched during the pandemic, including a $14 million grant to help companies recover. “Our Westchester businesses are so smart. It’s amazing how they have pivoted, adapted, used grant money and found other ways to keep their businesses going,” Gibbons said, pointing to a Department of Labor report showing the metro area had the third-highest growth rate in the state, at 6.1%, comparing August 2021 to August 2020.
Clarapath, a medical robotics company in Hawthorne, recently expanded into Westchester. Matthew Claster, the company’s vice president of Strategy and Corporate Development, cited aspects needed to support and encourage more innovation. “It comes down to incentives,” Claster said. “The county has done a fabulous job with incentive— opportunities for grants, recruitment support. A lot of people want these types of tenants—the sector is hot—but landlords need to be prepared because we’re not traditional tenants. We require specialized space, power, ‘clean’ rooms – it’s a big endeavor. If landlords want to attract the companies, they’ve got to put in the investment.” Another emerging sector in Westchester is cannabis and Justin Singer, a partner with the law firm Feuerstein Kulick LLP, in New York City, noted opportunities for growth. “All eyes are on New York right now,” said Singer, referring to the recent passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation
Act that legalized recreational cannabis in New York. “This is poised to be a huge, multibillion-dollar market and there’s a ton of opportunity within Westchester and a ton of interest from clients across the country who want to bring their brand and their operations to this area.” In terms of Westchester’s office market, Andrew S. Weisz, executive vice president of RPW Group Inc., in Rye Brook noted county government and local municipalities “embracing more diversified uses.” “We’ve seen Wegman’s open, Life Time [athletic resort] open, we see the growth of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and, lately, residential development,” he said. “As importantly, we’ve seen a great influx of new families, young families, and a lot of these folks are looking to work closer to home. That’s who companies are looking to hire – to retain and hire good talent, and also get employees back in the office. We’re bullish about Westchester and where we’re headed.” (Submitted)
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Friday, Sept. 17, that 57 firearms were turned in to law enforcement at a gun buyback event hosted by her office, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Westchester District Attorney Miriam Rocah and the New Rochelle Police Department. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) accepts—with no questions asked—working and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site. To date, Attorney General James has taken more than 2,100 firearms out of communities through gun buyback events and other efforts since taking office in 2019. “The threat of gun violence continues to loom over our neighborhoods and endanger our families and children,” said Attorney General James. “From taking down violent groups responsible for causing harm to hosting gun buybacks and working with organizations addressing this crisis — we are doing everything we can to eradicate gun violence and protect our communities in Westchester and throughout the state. My office is fully committed to preserving public safety, and we thank our partners for their invaluable support and shared commitment in this effort.” “Thank you to Attorney General Letitia James for once again showing her commitment to keeping our streets safe,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “Since 2017 in Westchester County, we have seen a decrease in index crimes by 11 percent and an increase in
weapons secured by our county police by 370 percent. Programs like this gun buyback, coupled with the hard work of our men and women in law enforcement, result in fewer lives lost due to senseless gun violence. I look forward to future collaborations, like this one, to further ensure the safety of all Westchester residents.” “Every gun that was brought in today will make our communities safer,” said Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah. “Allowing people to safely remove unwanted guns from their homes can help reduce many of the risks associated with having a firearm, including suicide, domestic violence, and unintentional deaths of children. It will also help prevent these guns from falling into the wrong hands and making our streets less safe. We thank New York Attorney General James, the County Executive, and the New Rochelle Police Department for partnering with us on this essential public safety initiative.” “We are hopeful that the gun buyback program will have an impact on violent crime in New Rochelle,” said New Rochelle Police Commissioner Robert Gazzola. “We know that collecting unwanted guns will be beneficial to our community.” Today’s community gun buyback resulted in 57 guns being collected, including 25 handguns, 29 shotguns and rifles, two assault rifles, and a non-working gun. Since 2013, OAG has hosted gun buyback GUNS continued on page 4