Rockland Begins Lengthy Effort to Bring New Jobs to Pfizer Campus

Rockland has begun working with one of its largest employers,
Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, to re-use buildings and office space on its
Pearl River campus as the company prepares to close many operations there. But officials say the process will take several years and won't be easy.

County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef touted the effort to bring jobs back to the massive manufacturing campus Tuesday at the annual discussion of county executives at Dominican College in Orangeburg.

"We are working with leaders at Pfizer to insure that its transition of the Orangetown campus to one of five global manufacturing centers is
as productive as possible," Vanderhoef said. "We're seeking
similar companies from Orange and Westchester Counties, as well as
around the Hudson Valley region, to relocate to Rockland and keep Rockland County's economic base vital and strong in this difficult economic climate."

The Rockland Economic Development Corporation has
partnered with Pfizer officials to help lease or sell excess buildings
to bio-pharmaceutical and bio-technical companies from around the
region, Vanderhoef said. REDC President Ron Hicks said Pfizer also has hired a real estate consulting firm to assist the effort.

In May, the drug manufacturer announced the closure of its biotechnology and consumer healthcare plants by the first half of 2014. Pfizer had warned of a possible 40-percent reduction in employees in R&D and additional job losses in its manufacturing division, resulting in the elimination of more than 600 jobs in the past year at the Pearl River location. Last month's announcement brought the number of jobslost in Rockland to 1,250.

Pfizer also recently added 40 new jobs in its pharmaceutical division,
Vanderhoef said, transferring 18 employees to the company to insure a
smooth transition.

"Although this is a temporary blow to our commercial economic base,
we remain optimistic that we can work with Pfizer as a good corporate
partner during this transition to bring in new business and benefit both
our County and one of its largest and most valued employers,"
Vanderhoef said.

Vanderhoef said the effort to bring new business to the campus will be implemented in the next two to four years as Pfizer's transition progresses. He said the effort is designed to attract new business to Rockland as well as keep the buildings occupied,
thereby avoiding a drop in Orangetown's commercial property tax base.

Hicks said the REDC is in almost daily communication with Pfizer in the effort to bring businesses to the campus. He noted there is a great deal of interest in the campus in the bio-pharmaceutical and bio-technical companies from around the
region.

"I am very optimistic this is going to work out and this will be a good thing for all of us in the longrun," said Hicks.

However, Hicks said Rockland is not going to have an easy time attracting businesses because of changes or proposed changes to incentive programs that have been previously used in the county.

Hicks noted that the state's Empire Zone business development incentive program is expiring this month, without a replacement plan in the wings. Additionally, Hicks said proposed changes in the laws governing local industrial development agencies - including the one in Rockland - would hamper efforts to attract business.

The IDA changes, which were slated to be reviewed by a state Assembly committee today in Albany, call for requiring that projects using IDA funding pay prevailing wages for construction jobs and also pay "living wage" standards for all jobs within the facilities created.

Hick said the Rockland IDA already uses the prevailing wage standard for its projects, but he said the living wage requirement - which would be a minium of $16.34 per hour in Rockland - will scare off businesses looking to participate in IDA programs. With the requirements of IDA projects, participating businesses could be locked into the living wage requirement for as long as 35 years, Hicks said.

Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City, said he supports the IDA reform proposals being considered in Albany, but he too has concerns with the language of the current bill. 

"The IDA reform bill that is currently in the Legislature has many components to it including: increased transparency, accountability and disclosure, ethics standards for board members, participation requirements for board members, uniform standards for awards and enforcement and oversight by the Attorney General," Zebrowski said. "I understand and share the concerns of Mr. Hicks and REDC.  I have been in contact with the bill's sponsor and the Local Governments Committee chair Sam Hoyt in the past and have advocated for both sides to negotiate on the prevailing/living wage component.  I do, however, believe that taxpayer funded business incentives should be going to companies and projects that pay a decent wage.  In Rockland County, we would like to see taxpayer funded incentives providing good jobs for Rockland residents." 

Zebrowski said that in light of the disagreements that remain over this issue and his concern over projects such as Pfizer, he has asked Hoyt to pull the bill from committee and try to find a compromise that institutes the needed reforms but preserves the ability of IDA's to attract businesses. 

Hick noted that the Rockland business community has also been hit hard by rising utility costs and the implementation of a new payroll tax to help fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Rockland County officials have called for the repeal of this tax, saying it only adds to the inequities involving the MTA.

Rockland has long complained that the county gets too little service from the MTA for the taxes paid to support the transit system.