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Rockland Courts Chinese Execs, Hopes To Spur Business Investment, Tourism

NEW CITY, N.Y. -- County Executive Ed Day recently hosted a delegation of Chinese executives as part of the Rockland’s ongoing efforts to encourage both tourism and foreign business investment.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day meets recently with Chinese business executives. The county says it is hoping to spur foreign investment and bolster tourism.

Rockland County Executive Ed Day meets recently with Chinese business executives. The county says it is hoping to spur foreign investment and bolster tourism.

Photo Credit: Jane Lerner

"These are business leaders with money in their pockets who are looking to make an investment in Rockland," Day said. "We are showing them what we have to offer."

The executives were from the Jilin province, an industrial center in northeastern China that is home to 20 million people.

Their visit was arranged by Lucy Redzeposki, the county’s director of economic growth and tourism.

Redzeposki worked with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which was hosting the delegation along with the Jilin Chamber of Commerce of America.

Day’s office said that The Empire State Development Corp., the Rockland Industrial Development Agency and Rockland Community College also worked with the county to arrange the visit.

The executives attended a breakfast meeting hosted by Day and also met with Thomas P. Della Torre, associate vice president of academic and community partnerships at Rockland Community College.

Torre unveiled plans for a Rockland “business incubator,” Day said.

They also went to Pearl River where they met with representatives of Industrial Realty Group LLC, the real estate and investment firm that now owns part of the former Pfizer campus there. IRG is working to develop a mix of science, technology, educational and retail businesses, the county said.

John Cunningham, and other IRG officials, gave the group a tour of the facility and a presentation about the company.

The visitors also took part in discussions about business opportunities.

Stony Point Supervisor Jim Monaghan accompanied the group later as it toured the former site of Letchworth Village in North Rockland.

A state institution for people with developmental disabilities, Letchworth was closed in 1996. Part of the land is now available for development.

The delegation wrapped up their visit with a stop at The Time, a brand-new boutique hotel in Nyack that the village’s mayor, Jen White, has said she hopes will kickstart the local economy and bolster regional tourism.

"We hope these visitors liked what they saw and decide to come back to Rockland to visit or to invest," Day said.

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