Yorktown Roundtable Brainstorms Local Development Ideas
Businesses and property owners shared their ideas about how to enhance the local economy at a roundtable discussion today with Yorktown officials.
The event at the Northern Westchester Executive Park was co-hosted by the Town, the Business Council of Westchester and the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce. Its goal was to elicit suggestions about short- and long-term actions that local officials can take to stimulate and grow the local economy. Ideas offered at the meeting included updated signage rules, more flexible land uses and more accurate market studies of the area.
“This was an opportunity for our businesses and property owners to share honest feedback. We need to know if there is anything on our end that is preventing them from growing or reinvesting in our community,” said Supervisor Slater after the event. “We are taking the comments we received back to Town Hall and preparing an action plan to address our business leaders’ concerns.”
The event was moderated by John Ravitz, the CEO of the Business Council of Westchester. Ravitz told the attendees that businesses and municipal officials must cast aside old ways and creatively adapt to the emerging economy.
“We must not let the status quo rule the day,” said Ravitz, who urged the business and property owners to push back against a Not-In-My-Backyard mindset known as NIMBY that often thwarts change. “Your voices must be heard. It’s a very small group of people that always says no.”
Andrew Greenspan of GHP Office Realty and representatives from the Jefferson Valley Mall said that the Town must update its rules about signage to better welcome visitors and to help the public find their business or retail destinations.
Participants pointed to the need of streamlining approval processes to minimize applicants’ soft costs. One idea for speeding up the approval process was to eliminate a stand-alone public hearing for a project and combine it with another meeting. Brad Toothman, director of leasing at the Jefferson Valley Mall, said that a simple change to the mall like the installation of a new patio for The Peekskill Brewery should not have required the mall representatives’ attendance at three Town meetings.
Some attendees asked about the proposed overlay zoning districts for Yorktown Heights and Osceola Lake. Councilwoman Alice Roker told the attendees that more flexible land uses allowing residential construction on top of retail are essential to attracting more young adults to Yorktown, which has a higher rate of senior citizens than the state or nation.
“Companies don’t want to come in if all you have are old people,” said Roker.
Another concern was the inaccuracy of market studies in Yorktown that do not truly capture the volume of people who visit and drive through the community on a weekly basis. The failure of market studies to reflect the true numbers of people and vehicles passing through the town has led some national brands to decide against opening outlets in Yorktown, said representatives from the mall.
Overall the property owners did report their buildings were at or near capacity. Representatives of the Jefferson Valley Mall put its occupancy at nearly 90%. GHP executives shared how it reimagined space previously occupied by Mercy College. On Monday GHP received a parking approval by the Planning Board which will pave the way for a regional wine distributor to take space.
Contact: Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater, 914-962-5722 x201 or mslater@yorktownny.org
