WASHINGTON—As expected, in a procedural vote the House of Representatives approved the Tax Cut and Jobs Act on Wednesday. The controversial measure passed 224-201, with no support from Democratic Congressional representatives. A total of 12 House GOP members voted against the bill. The Senate passed the bill earlier in the morning by a 51-48 margin.…
Read MoreAfter Bringing County Back From Financial Brink Day Looks to Advance Key Policies in Second Term NEW CITY—The chief focus of Rockland County Executive Ed Day’s first four years in office was to implement governmental and budgetary reform to improve county government operations and put the days when county government was on the brink of…
Read MoreTARRYTOWN—Westchester County Executive-Elect George Latimer met with county business leaders on Dec. 12th and said that Republicans and Democrats in county government must work together to face new business and political realities. He also said that because the county budget for 2018 has yet to be finalized, he feels somewhat “hamstrung” in trying to implement…
Read MoreALBANY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Dec. 13 that the Mid-Hudson region was selected as top performer among the state’s 10 regional economic development councils, landing a total of $84.8 million in state funding for 113 projects. More than $755 million in economic and community development funding was awarded through Round VII of the Regional Economic…
Read MoreNEW CITY—Rockland County Executive Ed Day presided over the permanent closure of the six-story Sain office building here on Dec. 5th where he urged county lawmakers to facilitate the multi-million dollar sale of the property to make way for a senior assisted living facility. Day announced that the last of the county departments operating at…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Mastercard, which is headquartered in Purchase, is significantly expanding its operations in New York City, signing a lease to occupy approximately 212,500 square feet of space at a Fifth Avenue office building. The deal nearly triples the company’s presence in New York City. The new lease deal will have the credit card giant occupy…
Read MoreHARRIMAN—New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Orange County on Wednesday to announce the impending start of construction on the long-awaited Exit 131 project adjacent to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets. New York State officials announced that Yonkers Contracting Co. Inc. and subcontractor design firm HNTB were awarded the Design-Build contract. A spokesman for Yonkers Contracting,…
Read MoreSCARSDALE, NY—Ginsburg Development Companies has sold the retail condominium component of its Christie Place mixed-use project across from the Scarsdale Metro North train station. Knowledgeable sources have informed Real Estate In-Depth that the deal was valued at $17 million. The sale to an unidentified private investor was announced by brokerage firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.,…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS— White Plains Hospital unveiled its recently completed addition to its Central Clinical Services operations totaling 20,300 square feet of space at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on Nov. 20th. The new space at the center of the hospital, from floors three to six, was designed by Perkins Eastman Architects and complements the hospital’s ongoing…
Read MoreTHOMPSON, NY—The tourism industry in the Hudson Valley will likely never be the same in just a few months because in mid-February a new player in the casino gaming industry in the Northeast will arrive—the $1.3 billion Resorts World Catskills casino resort. The first delivery of what will eventually be 2,157 high-tech slot machines arrived…
Read MoreNEW YORK—Public and private institutional construction starts in New York City through the third quarter of this year totaled approximately $4.2 billion, well above the $3.7 billion this sector produced all of last year. Paced by major projects, such as the $1.2-billion Jacob K. Javits Convention Center expansion and other major initiatives, the total for…
Read MoreWHITE PLAINS—Tenant demand by health care, technology and communications concerns, particularly along the I-287 corridor, are helping bolster Westchester County’s commercial office market. Commercial brokerage firms Houlihan Lawrence and JLL recently released respective third quarter 2017 market reports for Westchester County. For the most part the two firms agreed on a number of positive prevailing…
Read MoreYONKERS—Empire City at Yonkers Raceway has retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to identify a strategic partner or perhaps explore a possible sale as it looks transform the highly successful racing and casino venue into a global gaming and entertainment destination. In its announcement released on Nov. 15, Empire City Casino officials said that JP Morgan…
Read MoreCHICAGO—Commercial prices will plateau and may fall in large markets, but secondary markets will experience sustained demand and stable real estate prices, according to Lawrence Yun, National Association of Realtors chief economist. During a commercial real estate forecast session held on Nov. 3rd at the 2017 Realtors Conference & Expo here in Chicago, Yun and…
Read MoreHARRISON—In recent months, industry experts and media outlets have claimed the same thing: retail is dead. Brick and mortar has seemingly been replaced by omni-channel shopping, with many industry cornerstones and “Mom and Pop” shops shuttering doors across the country. While many in the industry have started to pull away from the retail sector, commercial…
Read MoreCARMEL—The Alliance for Balanced Growth, a standing committee of the Putnam County Economic Development Corp., has been engaged in tackling key issues affecting economic development in Putnam County. The ABG celebrated its one-year anniversary on May 12th. Since its inception it has been holding regularly scheduled informative sessions on key business trends and topics that…
Read MoreGOSHEN, NY—On Oct. 25th Merlin Entertainments, the developer of the proposed LEGOLAND New York theme park here, and New York State announced their respective commitments to move the $500-million project forward. On the one hand, Merlin Entertainments announced it will begin construction on the project in early 2018 after recently securing site plan approval from…
Read MoreYONKERS—Fashion retailer Century 21 Stores has entered the Westchester County market with the opening of a new store at the Mall at Cross County here. The department store chain held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Oct. 24th for the more than 70,000-square-foot store. The store at 750 Central Park Ave. occupies two floors and features…
Read MoreCARMEL—The Putnam County Visitors Bureau went live in September with a re-launched and much improved website at visitputnam.org that features a host of new tools for visitors to take advantage of to plug into the many destinations and events taking place year-round in Putnam County. Bruce Conklin, executive director of the Putnam County Visitors Bureau,…
Read MoreBREWSTER—Last month, the Putnam County economy and business community got two shots in the arm that will provide significant benefits for years to come. On Sept 11, the newly reorganized Putnam County Industrial Development Agency approved granting incentives in the form of a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement, as well as sales tax and…
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