"Westchester's reputation was absolutely terrible," said Salvatore J. Carrera, looking back to 1998 when he became director of economic development for the county.
Teri Waivada, deputy director of economic development for the county and executive director of the development agency, noted that many of the employees in the company's life insurance and annuity operations who are being transferred hold positions beyond entry level and will have disposable income to spend in local restaurants and shops.
Its fate became something of a cause célèbre last December, when the county decided to evict both the paddling and rowing club and the canoe club -- which Sal Carrera, director of real estate and economic development for the county, views as one and the same.
Another father figure then emerged in Phil Kingsley Jones, a coach in charge of rugby development for the Counties Manukau Rugby Union.
For instance, development of the county park and municipal complex also brought a new road, John T. O'Leary Boulevard, named for the mayor, that connected those projects to the city's downtown and opened up the rest of the southern waterfront to development.
All of the economic optimism notwithstanding, the issue of urban sprawl hangs heavy on planners, like Mallie J. Combs-Snider, executive director of the Hardy County Rural Development Authority, the economic development organization for the county.
Mr. Suozzi laid out his economic development plan for the county more than a year ago and has spent the last year holding town-hall style meetings across the county to share his vision for "a new suburbia" with local community leaders and to talk about projects and goals specific to their communities.
Aubrey D. Thagard, an economic development official for the county, said the property near Interstate 95, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the Capital Beltway allows quick access to Capitol Hill, the White House and the National Security Agency, as well as to the region's airports and highways.
Iron mining spurred the early development of the county, notably in Morristown, the county seat.
Land that is still available for development in the county's northern towns will continue to fuel the demand for housing, he said, which in turn will continue to swell school enrollments.
As strip malls spread and large houses dot the hillsides, 10percentt of Rockland County's land is left for development and the county is experiencing a push to save its remaining open space, said County Executive Scott Vanderhoef.
