WCA in the News

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.

WCA continues to fight for our regional hospitals and all patients/employees against the abuses of the health insurance companies

The 99-year-lease with developer Fareri Associates is for 60 acres of undeveloped county-owned land called “The North 60” on the Grasslands campus near Westchester Medical Center.

In this special issue of City & State, we take a closer look at the lesser-known – but no less influential – movers and shakers of Westchester County. Since we cover politicians on a day-to-day basis, we limited this list to those who are not strictly in government but instead influence it from the outside.

The Westchester County Association (WCA) has completed a transition from a business membership organization to an economic development entity. In a press release announcing a rebranding, the 70-year-old group said the move would better reflect its policy and “action-oriented identity.”

On Sept. 10, to better reflect its policy and action-oriented identity, the WCA unveiled its first major brand realignment since its founding in 1950.

The WCA has completed a years-long transition from a leading business membership organization to Westchester’s most powerful economic development entity.

White Plains, New York - (November 10, 2023)….Over 450 members of Westchester’s professional community packed the Westchester Marriott ballroom on November 9th for the Westchester County Association’s 73rd annual leadership event.

White Plains (October 12, 2023) More than 300 job seekers lined up to meet with over 40 employers and resource providers at a regional career fair October 12 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.

Connect Westchester is Westchester County’s Office of Economic Development’s new initiative to bridge the digital divide through providing essential digital resources, education and affordable internet access to low-income residents.

White Plains, New York - (September 22, 2023)…In his keynote address at WCA’s “Toasting to a Healthy Westchester,” Michael J. Dowling, CEO, Northwell Health appealed to 250 key leaders in healthcare and business attending this annual dinner to try to solve what he called the social determinants of health, such as gun violence, poverty, obesity, and drugs and alchohol abuse. “If we don’t solve theses issues, we will never improve the health status of Americans,”he said, citing the pressures facing the industry today.

White Plains, New York -- (June 5, 2023) Close to 200 business, nonprofit, and government leaders attended the WCA’s 2nd Annual Sustainable Business Conference hosted in partnership with Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The event, held June 1 at the law school, focused on new opportunities in sustainable investing and real estate, navigating an evolving regulatory landscape, and the connection between sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion. New this year, a “Sustainability Bootcamp” workshop served as a primer for businesses of all sizes to get started with practical tools to develop a sustainability program.

White Plains, New York - (December 8, 2022) Susan Fox, WCA Board Chair, President & CEO, White Plains Hospital, and Michael N. Romita, President, and CEO of the Westchester County Association (WCA), announced this week that the WCA, the county’s premier business membership organization, will welcome eight new board members representing important industry sectors to bolster the WCA’s economic development and advocacy work.

White Plains, New York - (November 21, 2022)…. Westchester’s professional community packed the Westchester Marriott ballroom on November 17th for the Westchester County Association’s annual leadership dinner to honor Westchester’s most influential leaders and celebrate another year of impactful work by the WCA, the region’s premiere business advocacy and economic development organization.

White Plains, N.Y. (February 25, 2022) During the Annual County Executive’s Breakfast hosted by The Westchester County Association (WCA) on Thursday, February 24, 2022 at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel & Conference Center in Tarrytown, New York, County Executive George Latimer and WCA President & CEO Michael N. Romita jointly announced the launch of the Healthcare Talent Pipeline Program (HTPP).

The Westchester County Association (WCA) joined community leaders from Nonprofit Westchester (NPW), the Building and Realty Institute of Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region (BRI), the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley (CIC), and the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR) to put forth an advocacy letter urging government officials to find statewide solutions to Westchester’s housing crisis.

Yonkers, N.Y. – Today, the Westchester County Association joined community leaders, elected officials, and project partners in a press conference at the Yonkers Public Library to highlight the latest developments since the launch of the Y-Zone (Yonkers Zone), a broadband pilot program funded by US Ignite and Schmidt Futures as part of Project Overcome.