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Westchester

Westchester County Announces Additional Funding for Local Businesses, Nonprofits

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$4 million in Business FIRST grants will support organizations impacted by COVID-19

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY (Dec. 15, 2020) – The Westchester County Office of Economic Development has announced a second round of funding for county-based small businesses and nonprofits facing challenges as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. The county has secured $4 million in additional funding to support 175 eligible organizations seeking relief. In addition, 20 of the county’s Chambers of Commerce applied for and were each awarded a grant to be used for providing business services.

The funds are part of Westchester County Business FIRST: Financial Investments for Recovery and a Sustainable Tomorrow, a grant program designed to offer immediate financial relief to organizations in Westchester County that have been negatively impacted by the pandemic. The county last month awarded a total of $10 million to 262 county-based small businesses and nonprofits. Based on the substantial number of applicants, the county expanded the program to enable additional awards to eligible organizations that had applied to the initial program. Businesses did not need to submit a second application

“Due to the tremendous response we received for financial assistance, we knew we needed to expand our Business FIRST grant program,” said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. “We are so pleased we were able to secure additional funding to assist even more small businesses and nonprofits, and our Chambers of Commerce as we work together toward a sustainable future.”

The grant program, launched in September, was open to businesses and nonprofits with 99 or fewer employees. Eligible entities could apply for up to $49,000 to cover expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, employee salaries or benefits, working capital, equipment and other COVID-19-related expenses. The 262-recipient organizations comprise industries such as restaurants/food service; arts, entertainment and recreation; social services and education. A full list of awardees will be made available once each awardee has signed their grant agreement.

The Westchester County Business FIRST grant program is being administered by the County Office of Economic Development through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The county is currently working to secure additional funding for the program.


Bridget Gibbons, Westchester County’s Director of Economic Development, announces that the county has secured $4 million in additional funding to support nearly 200 small businesses, nonprofits and Chambers of Commerce through the Westchester County Business FIRST grant program.

“It is so important to provide a financial boost now, to enable these organizations to work through the difficult times so they can plan for a better tomorrow,” said Bridget Gibbons, Westchester County’s Director of Economic Development. “As ‘The Catalyst’ for economic growth and vitality, the Office of Economic Development is committed to supporting our business and nonprofit sectors and getting our economy back on track.”

For more information on available county programs and assistance, visit https://westchestercatalyst.com/business-first-programs/.

 

About Westchester County Business FIRST

Westchester County Business FIRST: Financial Investments for Recovery and a Sustainable Tomorrow is a grant program designed to offer immediate financial relief to small businesses and nonprofits in Westchester County that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second grant opportunity being provided by Westchester County as part of an ongoing effort to support businesses and nonprofits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Westchester County Office of Economic Development works to improve the County’s economic well-being and quality of life.  This includes a broad range of activities to attract, create and retain jobs, and to foster a resilient, pro-growth and inclusive economy. For information, visit https://westchestercatalyst.com/.

 

The above information was made available to the Inside Press via a news release on behalf of The Westchester County Business FIRST grant program

County Reports Westchester Residents Making Huge Strides in Recycling Efforts

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“Recycling revenue was up a whopping 107% in September compared to September 2019 and is up almost 10% for the year.”

The County Continues to be a Regional Leader in Environmental Management with Record Curbside Recycling and New Food Scrap Recycling Programs

Sunday, November 15 is National Recycling Day, providing the perfect opportunity to applaud Westchester’s residents for their commitment to recycling their household waste.

Due to the dedication of our residents, Westchester consistently posts some of the highest recycling rates in the region. This year, with so many residents at home and students attending virtual classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Westchester residents have recycled at an unprecedented rate.

County Executive George Latimer said: “When I was elected to lead Westchester, I made a commitment to improving the environment for all Westchester residents. Our team at the Department of Environmental Facilities (DEF) has taken this commitment seriously. Together, we’ve developed a way to host public events with COVID-19 precautions, established the Transportation and Disposal program to allow communities previously unable to afford food scrap recycling a path to do so, and envisioned CompostEd to provide composting education for all County residents.”

According to data compiled by DEF, the agency responsible for managing the County’s refuse disposal and recycling programs, residential curbside recycling was up almost 31% in September compared to September 2019. For the year, curbside recycling is up over 10.5% compared to last year. Revenue from the sale of recyclables has also increased significantly, with the recyclables market beginning to rebound after being mired in a deep recession the past couple of years. Recycling revenue was up a whopping 107% in September compared to September 2019 and is up almost 10% for the year.

DEF Deputy Commissioner Louis Vetrone said: “We’re fortunate in Westchester that our residents are diligent in cleaning recyclables and separating them properly. This dedication combined with the state-of-the-art equipment we’ve installed at the County’s Material Recovery Facility allowed the County to continue to sell its recyclables over the past couple of years, while programs around the country faltered. With the added material collected these past few months, we’ve been in a position to take advantage of the markets.” As a result of the increased revenue, the County’s Refuse District is able to offer new programs related to food scrap recycling.

DEF’s two new food scrap initiatives include the Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal (RFSTAD) Program and CompostED. Under RFSTAD, any District municipality can participate in food scrap recycling for the same– or less than– the transportation and disposal cost of garbage. Incorporating grant funding from NYSDEC for start up materials, allows local municipalities to start these programs for a few thousand dollars.

The County is also near to breaking ground on CompostED, DEF’s new Compost and Education Facility in Valhalla. CompostED will be a small scale compost demonstration facility, offering educational tours and classes on the benefits of composting and for municipalities on incorporating food scraps in municipal yard waste composting activities.

In addition to the uptick in curbside recycling, DEF has also seen record numbers of residents utilizing the services offered at the County’s Household-Material Recovery Facility (H-MRF) at 15 Woods Road on the Valhalla Campus. Between August 1 and October 31, the H-MRF had 4,703 households visit, including a record number of 1,670 in September, delivering over 262,000 lbs. of household waste.

The H-MRF accepts most items that are not collected curbside, including household cleaning supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, Freon-containing appliances, mercury-containing devices, tires, propane tanks, and electronic waste. In addition, the H-MRF offers document shredding services daily and medication drop-off on the first Tuesday of each month. The facility is open by appointment Tuesday-Saturday from 10am-3pm. For more information on the H-MRF or to make an appointment visit https://environment.westchestergov.com/facilities/h-mrf. 

Additionally, on October 24th DEF conducted a Household Recycling Day (HRD) Event at FDR State Park in Yorktown that attracted 840 households delivering household hazardous wastes and 550 utilizing the shredder. Residents can bring all of the same items to the HRD Events that are accepted at the H-MRF. The next HRD Event is scheduled for this Saturday, November 14th at Playland Park. For more information visit our DEF Facebook page at Facebook.com/WestchesterCountyDEF.

News courtesy of the Westchester County Executive

 

“Restaurant Relief” Site Seeks to Help Hard-Hit Local Restaurants

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One-stop website lists Northern Westchester restaurants’ gift-card vouchers–so customers can “buy today, eat later”

Mount Kisco, NY– March 24, 2020 – Restaurants have taken a big hit from the Covid-19 crisis, as they’ve had to suspend their businesses and lay off hourly staff. Most restaurants don’t have two to three months of capital in the bank to weather this storm.

With that in mind, the Mount Kisco–based website designer Laura Kelly had an idea: What if local patrons could pay for a dining experience at a favorite local restaurant now–then enjoy it later, when the restaurant has reopened?

This week, Kelly launched RestaurantRelief.net, a one-stop site that makes it easy for northern Westchester diners to support their favorite restaurants by buying digital gift cards today when the restaurants most need support, to be redeemed later. The site has already pooled together restaurant listings and gift-card links for 18 eateries in Mount Kisco, Pleasantville, Croton-on-Hudson and other northern Westchester towns. Kelly plans to continue adding restaurants’ gift-card links to the site. “All area restaurants are welcome, and it doesn’t cost them anything to be included,” she says.

Before launching the site, Kelly discussed the idea with a number of local restauranteurs and got enthusiastic feedback from owners such as Bobby Epstein, who runs Kisco River Eatery and Muscoot Tavern. “I just had to furlough 20 people,” Epstein said. “These people rely on a paycheck, and this support would help me give them a stipend.”

Kelly is spreading the word about Restaurant Relief through local press and via social media platforms such as Nextdoor.com. “There are thousands of us in northern Westchester who love to go out to eat in our communities and have gotten to know the people working in those restaurants,” she says. “While we’re all cloistered at home with our smartphones in hand, I wanted to find an easy but meaningful way to show support when it matters most to these folks.”

RestaurantRelief.net will be adding to the list of northern Westchester dining gift-card links. Since not every area restaurant has a digital gift-card or voucher program already in place, RestaurantRelief.net will offer free tech assistance to help restaurants quickly set up secure digital gift card transactions. If a restaurant wants to be listed on the site or wants help with a digital gift-card offer, contact info@restaurantrelief.net.

This story is courtesy of Restaurant Relief.

CARE Urges Drug Takeback to Curb Opioid Abuse in Teens and Young Adults

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This Saturday, April 28, is the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, where communities are urged to remove unused prescription drugs from their home and dispose of them properly. A local NYC non-profit, Center for Adolescent Research and Education (CARE), has created an emotional film and website that exposes opioid addiction in the home and how this relatively unknown, but deadly killer is growing in youths. Interestingly, the film’s director was personally impacted by this issue. You can view the film here.

Misuse of prescription drugs by young people is growing and too often these addictions start in the home. In fact, a new study conducted in Toronto revealed that 1 in every 6 deaths in young adults is opioid related. As Take Back Day approaches, CARE is hoping to increase awareness of the day and the importance of protecting homes and families from addiction. Additionally CARE is currently forging relationships with innovators to construct an opioid lock box prototype for homes and pharmacies, and with national pharmacy chains to discuss in-store initiatives that can make “taking-back” prescription drugs easier for families and communities.

 

 

 

Benefiting Mental Health And Music Education: A Call for Entries Announced

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For ‘Living Proof’: A New Multi-Arts Evening of Performances

TARRYTOWN, NY (November 2017)—The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), The Lagond Music School, and Music & Miles: Changing Minds are pleased to announce a call-for-entries for Living Proof, a new multi-arts evening of energizing performances.

To be held on Saturday, March 10, 2018 at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center, Living Proof will feature individuals sharing their personal and inspiring stories of resilience, recovery and mental health issues. The evening of expressive arts will benefit the Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund and The Mental Health Association of Westchester while demonstrating the power of the arts as a vehicle in sharing one’s story of healing in the face of adversity, as well as a significant tool for recovery.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund, established to honor and remember Miles Applebaum, a guitar student who majored in music performance at Lagond Music School and later the Boyer School of Music and Dance at Temple University. During Miles’ year studying music abroad, his studies were interrupted by an onset of symptoms associated with trauma and depression. Ultimately, the depth of his emotional pain proved too powerful for his gentle soul, causing him to take his life in 2014 at age 21. The Scholarship Fund was established last year to carry on Miles’ dream of providing aspiring musicians the opportunity to ignite their passion and study music at Lagond Music School, a nonprofit musical haven for students of all ages.

Proceeds will also benefit The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA), a community-based non-profit that provides behavioral health services for more than 12,000 children, teenagers, adults and families each year. In addition to its direct services and advocacy work, MHA hosts numerous suicide prevention, intervention and post-vention trainings and discussions throughout the year.

Expressive arts submissions may be in the form of a monologue, essay, music, dance, poetry, improvisation, photography, drawing or painting. Applicants who wish to be considered for the performance may find more details and the application form at www.musicandmiles.org. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017. Applicants who are chosen to advance will be notified, and, if selected, an interview will be scheduled to meet with representatives from the agencies.

For more than 70 years, The Mental Health Association of Westchester has promoted mental health in Westchester through advocacy, community education and direct services. MHA offers a range of services that are recovery-oriented, trauma-informed and individualized to promote recovery and wellness. To learn more, visit www.mhawestchester.org.

Lagond Music School is a charitable organization dedicated to music education and live music performance. Lagond seeks to identify and serve a diverse community of students, and provide a stimulating, creative environment that generates enthusiasm and motivation for music. It is innovative and dynamic, taking a professional approach in teaching not only the technical and theoretical knowledge of music, but the application of it in the professional world. For more information, visit www.lagondmusic.org.

Music & Miles: Changing Minds celebrates life and supports music education and performance while raising awareness for mental health and suicide prevention among teens and young adults. Proceeds raised by Music & Miles: Changing Minds benefit The Miles Applebaum Music Scholarship Fund at Lagond Music School, as well as behavioral health nonprofits. For more information, visit www.musicandmiles.org.