2 | HOME STRETCH AUGUST 17, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 33
15 | SPECIAL REPORT westfaironline.com
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Bee tending business grows BY COLLEEN WILSON cwilson@westfairinc.com
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he bees swarmed around the hives on a recent warm afternoon seemingly unbothered by D.J. Haverkamp. And equally unfazed was Haverkamp as he walked around holding a silver tin can puffing with a burnt brushwood aroma as he examined the file cabinet-like boxes that house the honey-makers. “When they’re disturbed, there’s certain bees that will emit a chemical from their bodies. It’s called pheromone, and that chemical will alarm the other bees and cause them to become aggressive, ward off the attacker,” Haverkamp said. “If we put some smoke in the air, it makes it hard for the other bees to be able to smell or sense that alarm pheromone.” The whole concept of the stainless steel smoker, he said
D.J. Haverkamp inspects a bee hive. Photo by Colleen Wilson
while checking on his hives at the Greenburgh Nature Center, is “helping the bees to stay a little calmer, not become agitated.” And there is no question that the honeybee species has been more than a little agitated in recent years. Around 2007 is when colony collapse disorder became something of a household phrase. The name was coined to be affiliated with the unusual and virtually noexplanation phenomenon of disappearing honeybees in the U.S. The Apiary Inspectors of America reported that from October 2009 to April 2010 honeybee colony losses were around 33 percent. During the same time, 28 percent of beekeepers reported that 44 percent of their colonies collapsed without a trace of dead bees. As scientists have struggled to understand what could have caused this syndrome, others in » BEE, page 6
Start-Up NY slow to take in Westchester BY COLLEEN WILSON cwilson@westfairinc.com
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wo years ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation approving the proeconomic development Start-Up NY program on the Purchase College campus and said to the audience that it would be a “gamechanger for the people of this state.” Not much has changed in Westchester County since the signing. In fact, statewide fewer than 80 jobs have been created. Purchase College and three other participating schools in Westchester County have not yet finalized company collaborations through the program – though partnerships may be on the horizon, according to some of the schools.
The higher education-business alliance program has taken flak in the media for its overall slow start, but proponents of Start-Up, which is run by the Empire State Development Corp., have said this is a program that is supposed to take time. Start-Up NY was created to spur economic growth, especially upstate, through partnerships among higher education schools and businesses by creating tax-free zones with the promise of thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in investment. Start-Up NY companies that open an office or start a business on an approved campus do not pay business, corporate, sales, property, state or local taxes and no franchise fees for 10 years. In addition, there is no income tax for the company or its employees over those 10 years.
To take part in the program, a company must meet the following requirements: • Be a new business in the state or an existing one relocating or expanding within the state. • Partner with a state college or university. • Create new jobs and contribute to the economic development of the community in which they are located. In its first year with 30 companies enlisted, the program netted 76 jobs at a taxpayer cost of $45.1 million in advertising, according to an audit released in May by the office of state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. As of the end of July more than 120 businesses have signed on across the state, though disproportionately. Of New York’s 10 regions, » START-UP, page 6