Regional Outreach: What We're Hearing from Our District

Our team begins by listening to the voices of citizens, businesses, and community leaders in our District. Only then can we help define the issues, examine the data, and explore solutions with organizations who share our vision for change.
Southern Tier: Housing and Population Challenges
June, 2024 — An economic development leader in the Southern Tier noted that housing, workforce development, and innovation are the top strategic priorities for the area. Many parts of the region are challenged by a lack of affordable workforce housing and an aging and declining population leading to labor shortages. As a result, leaders are focused on partnerships with grassroots organizations, technical schools, universities, and employers in the area to market the unique assets of the region and develop pathways to deploy historically underserved populations into critical job industries such as agriculture, tech, logistics, cyber security, and advanced manufacturing.
Brooklyn: Planning for Green Jobs
April 2024 – Panelists at an Earth Day Forum at the Brooklyn Navy Yard discussed New York City’s recently released Green Economy Action Plan, which includes plans to invest in “green talent” that officials say would result in 400,000 green jobs by 2040. Officials said the plan would grow the city’s green economy and provide jobs with a “family sustaining” wage. To attract young people to these jobs, panelists said it’s important for students to see and experience the jobs on site and in learning centers. Private-public partnerships are also critical to the success of the plan, officials said.
Staten Island: Population Growth and Transportation Concerns
April 2024 – A conversation with economic development leaders focused on overall population growth. Notably, leaders said Staten Island was the only New York City borough to experience growth each decade between 1950 and 2000. Leaders expressed concern about a perception that residents and small business are leaving for lower-cost areas in the U.S. They also noted that transportation, including the high cost of tolls to get on and off the island, remains a primary concern for residents. Finally, they said progress is underway for mixed-use development of the North Shore that, when completed, may result in thousands of new homes and jobs.
Shelton CT: Regional Cooperation
March 2024 – In meetings with civic, community, and business leaders, employers said they are having trouble hiring due to the area’s high cost of living, especially for housing. Leaders said they see strong regional cooperation, with vibrant partnerships between businesses and nonprofits. For instance, a local wholesale food distributor supplies food to several food pantries, using another local company’s loading dock and volunteer help from other local businesses. Leaders said it was difficult to spread the word about community services without a local newspaper.
New York City: Investing in Infrastructure
February 2024 – At a recent infrastructure conference, New York State and city officials discussed the continued redevelopment of the area’s three main airports and major projects underway at the Midtown bus terminal, subway stations, and subway lines. Participants discussed efforts to improve broadband access, reliability, and affordability throughout New York City, with one official noting that public school students were given devices for remote learning on a recent snow day but, without internet access, “you might as well have a brick.” Another key theme was procurement enhancements, like cutting down time and cost in awarding bids, including more minority- and women-owned businesses, and encouraging community involvement and “overcommunication” throughout the process.
The North Country, NY: New Program Provides Job Training for Veterans
January 2024 – The North Country Regional Economic Development Council recently won a New York State competition to build a workforce pipeline for transitioning soldiers and their spouses. About 3,600 service members from the area retire each year, most of whom have job skills that are in high demand locally, including law enforcement officers, accountants, and maintenance workers. The program aims to provide training and degrees to keep retiring service members–and their families--in the area and add an estimated 46,000 people to the region’s workforce over the next decade. Separately, economic development leaders say the North Country is marketing itself as an optimal U.S. location for Quebec-based businesses that want to grow in the U.S market. Municipal officials also observed an influx of federal grants for rural areas to expand broadband access. One official noted, “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for rural areas to be able to apply for grant money and create their own destiny from a broadband perspective.”
Westchester County: Making Plans for Growth
November 2023 – Speaking at an event in White Plains, several Westchester mayors covered population growth, jobs, and transit. New Rochelle, now the fastest-growing city in New York State, is redesigning its MTA station to provide better access. A new Target in Yonkers is expected to create 300 jobs, the vast majority of which will go to Yonkers residents. Mount Vernon is developing a comprehensive plan to help reimagine its downtown and add housing options. In Peekskill, there is proposed development of parcels of waterfront land, with a pier under construction that might allow for tour boat services and connect the city’s downtown with the Hudson River. In White Plains, residential leases are in high demand, and the city is requiring that 12% of new units built are affordable.
Grand Central Madison Speeds Long Island Commutes
November 2023 – Leaders of the MTA and Long Island Rail Road said Grand Central Madison, a commuter terminal that opened in January 2023 in Manhattan’s East Side, has been a “game changer,” providing more trains at peak hours and offering a faster commute to the East Side. Transit leaders said the hub gives workers better reverse-commuting options to Long Island. Separately, transit leaders also indicated interest in developing affordable housing near train stations, including by developing current parking lots.#
High Cost of Living and Administrative Challenges Delay Growth on St. John
November 2023 – Residents noted the high cost of living on the island, with many workers unable to afford to live there and instead commuting from St. Thomas. Community leaders also said administrative challenges continue to block community and small business development on the island. One entrepreneur said she has been trying for two years, unsuccessfully, to get a permit for a restaurant. A local council said that because it is a nonprofit, it has been unable to obtain insurance for projects, including a proposed children’s playground.
Top 2024 Challenges for Black and Latino Business Owners on Long Island Include Access to Capital and Finding Qualified Workers
October 2023 – Black and Latino business owners said the business community was not prepared for the pandemic. For instance, several said they did not know who to turn to for guidance on PPP loans and other emergency needs. Several owners noted that many still struggle with start-up fundamentals, including corporate formation, state registration, and obtaining an employer identification number. Top challenges the business owners see for 2024 include access to and cost of capital, growing their business, and finding qualified workers.
Real Estate Development Continues in Norwalk CT
October 2023 – The city’s real estate market remains active, with development progressing. City officials say the retail and office markets have been stable. Smaller office users and the movement of companies into leased space rather than owned properties are offsetting Class A office vacancies. The area’s economic development discussions covered the first rezoning effort in more than thirty years and the adoption of a waterfront development plan along the Norwalk Harbor, which has drawn concern over adding density in an area with flooding challenges. The city will take on a resiliency study to further unlock development potential within the flood plain.
Brooklyn Nonprofit Leaders Say They Face Worker Burnout
September 2023 – Nonprofit leaders said they face challenges finding the time and money to build their organizations’ skills through workforce and professional development. Nonprofit leaders also said staff burnout is a challenge.
New Loan Program in the Bronx
August 2023 – The Bronx Economic Development Corporation recently created a $10 million community advantage loan fund for businesses in the South Bronx empowerment zone, which includes Hunts Point, Port Morris, and Yankee Stadium. Loans will range from $5,000 to $350,000, with the goal of helping businesses grow through investments in payroll, inventory, and equipment.
Hunts Point Produce Market
August 2023 – The produce market is the largest in the country and an important part of local and national food infrastructure. Every year, 2.5 billion pounds of produce pass through the wholesale market, which is a cooperative of multi-generational merchants. That produce, sourced from 49 states and 55 countries, feeds 22 million people and supplies more than 23,000 restaurants. In order to keep up with demand and increase distribution, the market is expected to undergo a $650 million redevelopment that would double its refrigerator space, expand pallet capacity, and facilitate the conversion from diesel to electric freight trucks. The redevelopment will support the creation of 1,000 new high-paying union industrial jobs. After a tough first half of the year, when the market operated at a loss for the first time since the 1960s, business is stabilizing.
A Vision for the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx
July 2023 – NYC’s Economic Development Corporation recently completed a nine-month community vision process to help determine the future development of the Kingsbridge Armory, a 1917 military facility in the Bronx. The building, owned by New York City, has a 180,000 square-foot drill hall and 120-foot ceilings—roughly the height of an 11-story apartment building. The community’s top preferences for the building’s use are prioritizing youth, jobs that pay well, and fostering intergenerational relationships. Possible sectors that might be interested in the building are emerging technology, film, sustainable manufacturing, and urban agriculture.
Long Island’s East End: Tourism and Labor
July 2023 – Tourism rates on Long Island have returned to pre-pandemic levels of 2-3% year-over-year growth after experiencing double digit growth over the last couple of years. Agriculture and wine businesses say wage increases and labor shortages are hurting profits, adding that a lack of affordable housing makes hiring harder.
Yonkers Jobs Spotlight
June 2023 – A bakery that uses an open hiring model—no resumes, no required skills or experience, no interviews, no background checks—has a list of 500 people interested in jobs. Separately, a casino applying for a table gaming license may need approximately 2,000 more employees if the application is granted.
Film Industry Grows in Yonkers
June, 2023 – The film industry in Yonkers has grown to rival New York City’s, driven by Yonkers’s lower costs. Yonkers officials told the New York Fed’s Regional Outreach team that a one-million-square foot film production campus has opened with Lionsgate as the anchor tenant. The campus will also include a new Yonkers public school that would teach film and TV production in addition to the regular public school curriculum.
Making it Easier to Build Affordable Housing in New Rochelle
April 2023 – To encourage more construction of affordable housing, the city changed its zoning and streamlined its permitting and approval process, resulting in thousands of approvals for housing permits in the last few years and with some approved in less than 90 days.
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