Westchester County Business News, March 9, 2016

Chappaqua Crossing Development Breaks Ground—Finally

After 11 contentious years of community opposition, town reviews, and lawsuits, Chappaqua Crossing, a development combining high-end retail stores, office space and luxury housing, broke ground earlier this week on the $50 million retail component of the plan. About 75 people, including Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein and three former New Castle Town Supervisors who were in office during the project’s review process, as well as Deputy Westchester County Executive Kevin Plunkett, joined developers Connecticut-based Summit/Greenfield Partners for a groundbreaking ceremony on the former Reader’s Digest campus off Bedford and Roaring Brook Roads. The project will include more than 500,000 square feet of rental office space (current tenants include Northern Westchester Hospital and Mount Kisco Medical Group), 120,000 square feet of retail space featuring a Whole Foods Market, Life Time fitness center, shops and restaurants, 91 luxury townhomes plus 28 units of affordable housing located in the property’s signature cupola building, 50 acres of permanent open space surrounding the site, and a shuttle connecting to Chappaqua’s Metro-North station.

Balducci’s Coming to Rye Ridge

Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market has signed a long-term lease for more than 18,000 square feet of the space at the Rye Ridge Shopping Center; the space was recently vacated by D’agostino’s Market. The Rye Brook location will be the latest prototype and the sixth full-service Balducci’s in the US, joining area locations in Westport, Greenwich, and Scarsdale. The chain currently operates locations in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. Balducci’s plans to open this Fall.

$70 Million in State Grant Funding Will Go To Three Westchester Hospitals

Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins recently announced that three hospitals, two in Yonkers and one in New Rochelle, will receive nearly $70 million in state grants. These resources will be designated to improve patient care and invest in these facilities’ long term sustainability. These funds have been committed from a $1.5 billion statewide fund set up by Governor Cuomo to improve New York’s health care facilities. The $70 million in state resources will be allocated to the Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital will receive $44 million, and in Yonkers, St. John’s Riverside Hospital will receive $16.5 million and St. Joseph’s Hospital $9.3 million. “These investments in our local medical facilities are vital to ensuring area residents have access to the health care they deserve. I thank Governor Cuomo for working with the Legislature and committing to these local hospitals and the communities they serve,” Stewart-Cousins said.The grants have been made available through programs created by Governor Cuomo to implement the Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP). The goals of DSRIP include reducing healthcare costs, improving the health of New Yorkers, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and emergency room visits by 25 percent by 2020, and ensuring the financial sustainability of safety net health care providers.

Strong Private-Sector Job Growth in Westchester

Numbers from the latest New York State jobs report show that Westchester—as well as Rockland and Orange counties—was among the places where private sector jobs grew most rapidly over the past 12 months. The Westchester-Rockland-Putnam region boasted 2.1 percent job growth, making it the fourth-fastest growing region in New York State, behind Kingston (3.8%), Watertown-Fort Drum (3.8%), and New York City (3.0%). Statewide, according to the report from the NY State Department of Labor, New York’s private-sector job count increased In January 2016 by 14,600, or 0.2 percent, to 7,868,100, a new record high.

Yonkers Installs US’ First Wind- and Solar-Powered Streetlight

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano recently announced that the city will install ‘OmniLED,’ a hybrid wind- and solar-powered streetlight at JFK Marina. Powered by Omniflow technology, OmniLED is a fully autonomous smart lighting system that uses a vertical wind turbine to transform power from the wind and sun into useful electric current. By combining both wind and solar power sources, and including features like self-saving standby mode, the streetlight has the capacity to provide autonomy for up to six days without wind or sun. The light is the first innovation of its kind in Yonkers and the first installation by Omniflow in the United States. In addition to powering the streetlight, OmniLED has the capacity to internally house and power small electronics like Wi-Fi routers, IP security cameras, cellular antennas and weather stations. It also serves to provide autonomous lighting and communication during power outages. OmniLED differs from solar-based lighting due to the fact that it can generate and store energy during the day and evening because of its hybrid wind and solar technology. Solar-based lighting produces electricity during daytime hours only; during winter months, when daylight hours are shorter, less production of solar energy occurs at a time, presenting a challenge to this kind of system.

Boutique PR Firm Robin Leedy & Associates Rebrands As RLA Collective

Robin Leedy & Associates (RLA), Inc., an OTC health and wellness integrated marketing agency, has announced the change of its corporate name and brand identity to RLA Collective, Inc. The agency’s rebranding officially marks the evolution of the company from that of a consumer health public relations consultancy to a fully-integrated marketing “collective” specifically focused on health and wellness brands across all channels. “We began as a PR agency 30 years ago, and still continue that service for many clients, but have evolved way beyond that based on client needs and the changing marketing landscape for health and wellness brands,” says Robin Russo, president and founder, and one of 914INC’s 2015 Women in Business honorees. “Our new name – RLA Collective – reflects the true collective of marketing services, expertise, results and vetted industry partners that can fully service brands emerging into or already in drugstores and mass market retailers nationwide.” For more information, visit www.rlacollective.com.