News & Media

The Journal News and lohud have partnered with the Westchester County Association to host two forums for Democratic candidates seeking their party's nomination to run in November's general election for the 17th Congressional District seat being vacated by Rep. Nita Lowey, who plans to retire at the end of the year. The nomination will be determined by a June 23 primary vote. The forums, planned for June 4 and to be introduced by WCA CEO Michael Romita and hosted by veteran lohud/Journal News political correspondent Mark Lungariello, will be hosted live on lohud.com, as well as on our Facebook page: facebook.com/lohud.

Although there still is no definitive time line for the reopening of Westchester County businesses, an effort to help lay the groundwork for economic recovery has been launched by the Westchester County Association (WCA). The Post-Pandemic Working Group (PPWG) is a committee of business, nonprofit and academic leaders. Among the initial members are representatives of Nonprofit Westchester, BCM Corp., Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, CBRE, Cuddy & Feder LLP, Entergy, Mercy College, Simone Healthcare Development, Sterling National Bank, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Rand Commercial, Suburban Hospital Alliance of New York State and White Plains Hospital.

Reopening our businesses and institutions will be a precursor to the necessary action. Westchester and the lower Hudson Valley is one of the state’s leading economic drivers and it will need to lead the economic road back. While there will be challenges, the post-pandemic environment will also present opportunities to reevaluate and advance priorities to rebuild a stronger and more resilient economy. In order to address these challenges and opportunities head on, the Westchester County Association has convened a Post-Pandemic Working Group (PPWG) of businesses, non-profit, and academic leaders to help our professional institutions recover and prosper in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Working collaboratively, the PPWG will cultivate a series of pragmatic legislative, regulatory, and developmental solutions for our region that will focus on the regional business and nonprofit issues both caused and highlighted by the current crisis.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities or CARES Act is a sweeping two trillion-dollar federal stimulus passed in response to a sudden financial crisis caused by a poorly understood enemy. The Act focuses more on the acute economic impacts of the crisis than its long-term implications. It is more triage than treatment. Accordingly, once the damage is stabilized and the economic harm can better discerned, the federal government will need to step up again, and in a big way.

The Westchester County Association and Community Capital New York streamed a Facebook Live event Thursday about loan programs for small-business owners strapped for cash during the coronavirus crisis. Kim Jacobs, executive director of Elmsford-based Community Capital New York, hosted the informational session on the Westchester County Association's Facebook page. She was joined by WCA President Michael Romita at the event.

Michael Romita settles into a chair on Day One at the helm of the Westchester County Association, ready to talk about priorities and concerns, from the digital divide to the coronavirus to the shutting of Indian Point and housing in Westchester

A partner in a Washington, D.C.-based federal government affairs and public policy consulting firm has been selected to become the next president and CEO of the Westchester County Association, taking the position formerly occupied by William M. Mooney Jr., who recently retired after 15 years on the job. Michael N. Romita, who is a resident of Harrison, will assume the position effective March 1, it was announced today by William P. Harrington Jr., WCA’s chairman.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed plan to charge tolls to people who pass through a very short stretch of Greenwich while driving on Interstate 684, which is mostly in New York, will add an unwarranted financial burden to hundreds of thousands of people in our region.

If the turnout of more than 600 business, community and political leaders on Nov. 13 to honor William M. Mooney Jr., retiring president and CEO of the Westchester County Association, didn’t send a strong enough message, New York’s Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo attended and presented Mooney with the Excelsior Medal, the state’s highest honor for public service.

Since Montefiore Health System announced plans to close Mount Vernon Hospital last week, replacing it with a new $41 million dollar healthcare complex on Sandford Boulevard that will modernize local care, there has been some negative reaction that claims the health system is turning its back on the community and leaving residents exposed without adequate medical services. In my opinion, just the opposite is true, and some Mount Vernon residents, politicians, and activists are taking a shortsighted view that is not based on facts or reality. No one is served by misinformation.

The “Best Practices for Reopening Westchester” online event series will support the ongoing efforts of the WCA’s Post-Pandemic Working Group (PPWG) to rebuild a stronger and more resilient economy for the region.

The Post-Pandemic Working Group is pursuing a comprehensive and cooperative approach to the region’s economic development challenges that were both created and made more apparent by the coronavirus crisis. It will cultivate and advance a series of legislative, regulatory, and developmental priorities focused not just on getting our economy restarted but also making sure it grows stronger and more resilient for the long term.

We await the findings of the Medicaid Redesign Team and we are dedicated to working with our State representatives to ensure that the team’s recommendations do not unduly burden Westchester’s health systems or place patients and others in need at unnecessary risk.

William P. Harrington, Jr., Chairman of the Westchester County Association (WCA), announced today that Michael N. Romita will become the next President & CEO of the WCA, the County’s leading economic development and business advocacy organization, effective March 1, 2020.

The Westchester County Association (WCA) – Westchester’s leading economic development and business advocacy organization – today announced the appointment of twelve new members to its board of directors, a new vice chair of its board of directors, and three board members to its executive committee.

Nationally-renowned experts and local stakeholders will convene to discuss innovative solutions to the region’s employer recruitment and retention challenges at the Westchester County Association’s (WCA) first-ever Regional Workforce Development Summit, to be held at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, NY, on Thursday, January 16th at 8 a.m.

William P. Harrington, Chairman of the Westchester County Association (WCA), announced today that John E. Ritacco, a financial services executive who was the former President and CEO of CMS Bancorp Inc., a publicly traded financial institution, will be appointed as Interim President/CEO of the WCA, effective January 1, 2020, as the search for a new leader progresses. Ritacco will remain in the position until a successor to William M.  Mooney, Jr., the current President and CEO, is found.

County’s leading business advocacy association embarks on a vigorous process to find its new leader as economic activity burgeons in the region.

Westchester County Association hosts annual wine pairing dinner to support healthcare advocacy initiatives

White Plains, N.Y. (July 22, 2019) – Jason Chapin has joined the Westchester County Association (WCA) as Director of Workforce Development. Before joining WCA, Mr. Chapin coordinated and managed federal, state and foundation grants for The City University of New York, The State University of New York and The WorkPlace, a nationally recognized not-for-profit based in Connecticut. In addition, he has managed state-wide education, training and employment programs in New York and Connecticut that have served more than 25,000 adults and their families.