Merchants Start Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce

For those who have followed the business mood in New Castle, there has been a desire to do more to support merchants. On Friday, a group of business owners in town announced their plan: The Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce.

Rob Greenstein, a Chappaqua resident and chamber member, spoke recently about its mission. The chamber will be active in a number of ways, including advocacy for merchants on issues in town and in supporting more events.

“What’s not being addressed is a lot of community events that we’re not even having," he said.

The launch is the culmination of an effort that has taken two months of quiet planning, including the creation of a business list that will include about 300 entities in town, according to Greenstein, who also made a bid last year for a New Castle Town Board seat.

In late May, an early meeting was held for interested businesses in preparation. A provisional chamber board has been established, according to a launch announcement posted on New Castle NOW. The members are: Rob Greenstein, Tara Mikolay from , Dawn Greenberg from , Rich Glotzer from and Roy Reeves from . For now, the local news site will be hosting the chamber's online operations, Greenstein announced.

Greenstein hopes that having a chamber will boost the vitality of New Castle's two downtown hamlets.

“It’s not going to happen automatically, but it’s going to help with having the merchants speak with one voice," he said.

In the New Castle NOW announcement, objectives specified include working with the town on its master plan update, brainstorm for commercial development of Chappaqua Crossing, improving cooperation among groups such as landlords and mechants, and informing members about regulatory issues.

Being townwide and covering multiple hamlets, the chamber takes a different approach from those of others in the region with similar geography. In contrast, the Town of Bedford's hamlets, such as Katonah and Bedford Hills, have separate groups.

“These are the challenges of any chamber of commerce,” Greenstein said, when asked about how the chamber will represent both Chappaqua and Millwood. He felt that getting competitors in similar industries together will be more challenging.

Greenstein wants to see that when merchants are eventually asked to write a check, that they'll see there's value.

“They’re going to see right then and there that the value’s there ready for them," he said, explaining that businesses will already see what the chamber has to offer.

Linda Degelsmith, a Chappaqua resident and home business owner, has been tasked with handling the group as an administrator, according to the New Castle NOW announcement. New Castle Deputy Supervisor Elise Kessler Mottel will be the town board's liaison to the group.

Degelsmith noted that the chamber's networking value for businesses will be important.

“It’s all about networking,” she said, adding that the bonus of it is how they can get the community involved with keeping the businesses alive.

The town also has an existing group called the Chappaqua-Millwood Business Association, which was founded and headed by Family Britches owner Barry Mishkin. Its public presence centers around sponsoring annual events, such as Chappaqua's annual summer sidewalk sale and the Raggamuffin parade before each Halloween. Greenstein explained that the two groups are different.

“So we’re not looking to replace him," he said. "He [Barry Mishkin] can do what he’s doing and we’re going to do what we’re doing. This is going to be the chamber of commerce and that’s going to be his organization.”

Degelsmith said they are not going to compete with each other.

In contrast, Greenstein described the new group's approach as being more like a traditional chamber.

Initiatives that the chamber will undertake include having merchants offer weekly deals and holding a ChamberChat online news update, according to Greenstein.

The first regular meeting of the chamber, and for those interested in joining, is set for June 6, at 6:30 p.m. at in Chappaqua. The chamber also has a Facebook page and a Twitter account.