Growing Our Economy in 2015

As I mentioned during my 2015 State of the County message last Tuesday, putting our fiscal house in order is good stewardship and helps us regain the trust of the people. It also builds confidence in Rockland County as a place to invest and realize one’s dreams. Creating new jobs and building a stronger, more diverse local economy has been one of my top priorities since taking office.

This year, our concentrated and strategic efforts to grow our economy will focus on four specific areas: innovation, location, support and talent. To help us achieve the mission of attracting and retaining investment through these efforts, we’ve hired Lucy Redzeposki as Rockland’s new Director of Economic Growth.

Lucy recently served as Vice-President of NADAP in New York City, where she was responsible for the overall management of several functions, including strategic planning, human resources and operations. As we looked for a skillful leader to coordinate our efforts, Lucy stood out because of her extensive experience in business development and her strong ties to Westchester County and New York City’s economic growth initiatives.

Ms. Redzeposki’s main task will be to enhance our strategy for economic growth and business recruitment, as well as position the county for the global, modern marketplace in partnership with the Rockland Business Association, the Rockland Economic Development Corporation and the Rockland County Industrial Development Agency.

In 2015, Rockland County is poised for tremendous growth in the high-tech data center business. Our community is uniquely situated to become a “cloud hub” with the development of the Bloomberg Data Center in Orangeburg and approved IDA incentives for two others. These three data center projects involve nearly $2 billion in investment in Rockland County in the next year alone. Lucy Redzeposki will lead the charge to build on our advantage and position our county for growth in this burgeoning industry with new incentives.

Ms. Redzeposki will also represent Rockland County in talks with Merlin Entertainments Group as the developer considers a LEGOLAND theme park and resort in Haverstraw.

Bringing ratables and wealth into Rockland County in a smart, sustainable manner decreases government’s reliance on ever-increasing taxes. Lucy will be an asset to the county, as we lay the groundwork for future economic prosperity for the next generation.