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October 13, 2014 | VOL. 50, No. 41
NEW RO PICKS MASTER DEVELOPER
INSIDE
2014
CFO
Long Island partnership to lead reshaping of downtown
OF THE YEAR AWARDS
AND THE WINNERS ARE • 9
T “Building any gaming facility so close to ones that already exist is a losing bet for New York,” said John Ravitz, the executive vice president of The Business Council of Westchester. “Allowing a developer to get a gaming license so close to Yonkers would essentially cannibalize an already-successful business.” The Orange County Partnership, a not-forprofit economic development agency based in Goshen, issued a statement saying that the Westchester-based opposition to casino development in Orange County is about protecting the Rooney family’s business. “We at the Orange County Partnership
he skyline of New Rochelle is likely to change dramatically in the coming decades under what the mayor called the single most ambitious development project in the city’s history. Mayor Noam Bramson, a Democrat, said the architectural design of new developments will serve as the best advertisement that the city’s economy is thriving. “It’ll be an image that is recognized throughout the region,” he said. The City Council on Oct. 7 chose a master developer to oversee two development clusters in the city’s downtown in an effort to send a holistic jolt to the downtown infrastructure that will include mixed-use developments and vertical growth in the city’s skyline. RDRXR, a development partnership between Long Island companies RXR Realty LLC and Renaissance Downtowns, set an ambitious timeline of having shovels in the ground within 18 to 24 months. Partnership representatives told the City Council it planned to open a project office and would work with existing business owners and community stakeholders before finalizing its overarching plan. Brandon Palanker, vice president of marketing and public affairs, told elected officials the partnership would use its “crowdsourced placemaking” process to gather input from residents and build consensus. He said as master developer, the partnership was not looking to replace existing buildings and oust current businesses but spark projects that would encourage them to build up as well.
Casinos, page 6
New Rochelle, page 6
DOCTORS DEAL • 21
THE CHINA CONNECTION PAGE 2
SHOWTIME IN YONKERS • 7
Houlihan Lawrence Realtors, from left, Tianying Xu, Elizabeth Nunan and Lesli Hammerschmidt outside a Chappaqua home listed for sale at nearly $6.5 million. Photo by John Golden
TURF WAR
Westchester officials don’t want Orange County casinos approved BY LEIF SKODNICK lskodnick@westfairinc.com NOBODY PUTS YONKERS IN A CORNER. That’s the message local legislators and business advocates delivered at a press conference at the Empire City Casino in Yonkers on Oct. 8, arguing that the pending license applications to put casinos in Orange County would result in local jobs and funding for education being lost. Empire City Casino generates close to $300 million per year in funds that go toward education and provides jobs to 1,400 residents of the Bronx and Westchester.
BY MARK LUNGARIELLO mlungariello@westfairinc.com