Westchester County Business Journal 072417

Page 1

5 | MADE IN WESTCHESTER JULY 24, 2017 | VOL. 53, No. 30

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS

13 | AIRPORT PROTEST westfaironline.com

Sides drawn on net neutrality rollback plan BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH rdeffenbaugh@westfairinc.com

T

HISPANIC PROGRESS PAGE 2 Juan Avalos operates the tortilla-making machine at his Middletown restaurant, The Taco Factory. Photo by Aleesia Forni

he Federal Communications Commission is considering rolling back net neutrality regulations approved in 2015 under President Barack Obama. If it does, there will likely be implications for business in Westchester, according to Jonathan H. Hill, dean of the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems at Pace University. “Westchester is a really important tech hub, in health care R&D, telemedicine, financial technology, even the startup scene,” Hill said. “Westchester is getting to be a really exciting place. And all of those business-

es thrive on open access to the internet.” Net neutrality refers broadly to a series of regulations meant to ensure all internet traffic is treated equally. The 2015 regulations prevent internet service providers from selling speedier internet access, known as “fast lanes,” to certain companies over others. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants to repeal those net neutrality rules, which classified internet service providers as utilities. The FCC in May voted 2-1 to advance that plan. The commission is seeking public input on the matter and has already received more than 9 million comments. The original regulations are » NEUTRALITY , page 6

Plans revived for former Teutonia Hall site in Yonkers BY ALEESIA FORNI aforni@westfairinc.com

A

developer is reviving plans to transform the former Teutonia Hall site in downtown Yonkers into a 25-story apartment complex.

The site’s owner, Teutonia Buena Vista LLC, an affiliate of DM Capital in Yonkers, plans to construct a 361-unit multifamily rental building on the property at 41-53 Buena Vista Ave. The project, which gained approval from the city in 2012 before those approvals expired last

year, will also include an automated garage and surface parking for 365 vehicles. The apartment complex will include 75 studios, 253 onebedroom and 33 two-bedroom units. Amenities may include a fitness room, conference space, leasing center, recycling area, rooftop recreational space and mechanical equipment space. The developer has applied to the Yonkers Planning Board to renew the previously expired approvals. At its July meeting, the Planning Board declared its intention to act as lead agency

for the review process. “We are not starting from square one with the plans,” developer Eric Wolf said. “Consequently, we anticipate a shorter time for the approval process because much of the work on our end is already done.” The transit-oriented development, about one block from the Yonkers Metro-North Railroad station, encompasses six lots on the west side of Buena Vista Avenue. The site is the former home of Teutonia Hall, a GermanAmerican music and social hall

built in 1891. The site was later used for a variety of purposes, from a garage with underground storage tanks to a knitting mill, a toy manufacturer and a printing facility, before it sat vacant for decades. The site’s industrial past resulted in a large amount of contamination on the property. A cleanup included the excavation of more than 20,000 pounds of soil. The remediation of the former brownfield site was a large reason the development plans stalled, said Wolf, a partner with » YONKERS, page 6


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.