2 | PUMPED UP JUNE 15, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 24
31 | ABOVE THE BAR
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Tourism takes summer vacation BY EVAN FALLOR evan@westfairinc.com
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The Hyatt Place hotel in the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers will hold its grand opening June 16.
hile many area residents are busy exploring the sandy beaches of Cape Cod or staying at their secluded weekend homes during their summer vacation days, the owners and employees of Westchester’s tourist attractions are busy trying to reel in a temporarily shrunken customer base. Tourism, though a $1.7 billion industry in Westchester County, reaches its nadir during the summer months, according to tourism and hospitality officials. Many of the county’s 53 hotels that normally thrive on corporate clientele in the other three seasons see a major drop in bookings between June and late August. The county’s attractions generally lend themselves more to a fall crowd, and some experience their lowest turnouts during the summer. During the spring months, nearly
15,000 visitors head to North Salem to see Old Salem Farm’s annual horse shows, and two of the county’s most popular attractions, Sleepy Hollow and Kykuit, the John D. Rockefeller estate in Pocantico Hills, thrive during the fall. The Katonah Museum of Art, which hosts 45,000 visitors a year, sees attendance sag in the summer. Its busiest time, Executive Director Darsie Alexander said, coincides with the school year, when field trips account for a significant portion of visitors. To combat the lull in foot traffic during the summer, Alexander said the museum is hosting an exhibit featuring collections from five selftaught artists from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation in July. The museum is also involved in the Katonah Chamber of Commerce and has collaborated with the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville to » TOURISM, page 6
Purchase company vies for New York medical marijuana license BY REECE ALVAREZ ralvarez@westfairinc.com
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company headquartered in Purchase is among 43 businesses vying for five licenses to be the first producers and sellers of non-smokable forms of medicinal marijuana in New York. The state Health Department, which is overseeing the state’s medical marijuana program, will winnow the applications down to five winners in July. Applicants, required to submit 10 copies of their voluminous documents, hauled cart-loads and vans full of paperwork to meet the state’s June 5 filing deadline. Companies were required to submit $210,000 in application fees, of which $200,000
An artist’s rendering of Valley Agriceuticals’ proposed marijuana growing facility in Wallkill.
is refundable if the organization is not approved for a license. Applicants must prove that they will be able to provide highly technical quality control measures, strict security systems, proof of access to or ownership of adequate property
for the business or a $2 million bond. Among other considerations, state officials will weigh the “moral character and competence of board members, officers, managers, owners, partners, principal stakeholders, directors and members » MARIJUANA, page 6