Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino Meets Latino Business Owners at Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce Breakfast

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino met with about 20 Latino business owners at the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce today to share how county government can help grow their businesses, to answer questions about county government and to listen to concerns.  Astorino was joined by Westchester County Industrial Development Agency Director Jim Coleman, who outlined resources and programs available to county businesses. 

“We are reaching out to the Latino business community to make sure everyone has easy access to our full suite of economic development programs and to provide information that can help launch or grow their businesses.  It is important for county government to disseminate useful information to soon-to-open Latino businesses and to assist existing Latino business owners who want to expand,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino.

The County offers business support and development programs ranging from microloan referrals, grant applications, and business planning, to name a few.  The county is also uniquely positioned to assist businesses during the permitting and approval processes involving county departments if necessary.   Those in attendance were also encouraged to register to do business with Westchester County government at www.westchestergov.com. Additional resources are available at www.thinkingWestchester.com.

Wilfredo Morel from Hudson River Health Care and Alan Dillon of Dillon & Dillon LLC, both members of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, helped organize the event.  Several business owners in attendance already made appointments with county officials to learn more about the program offerings and another meeting has been scheduled at the chamber to discuss local concerns of the Latino business community. 

Since Astorino is fluent in Spanish, the meeting was conducted primarily in Spanish at the request of the participants. Spanish language literature was also distributed at the meeting and Astorino pointed out that there are easy-to-use Spanish-language links on the County’s website.

“We appreciate County Executive Astorino’s efforts to reach out to the Latino businesses in this part of the county.  We recognize that our Hispanic businesses are an integral part of our family, community and professional lives, and we want to see them grow and prosper alongside our other chamber member businesses,” said Deb Milone, Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on joining the Chamber of Commerce or its Hispanic Advisory Committee, visit: www.hvgatewaychamber.com or call 914-737-3600.