The Journal News - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Speaks About Business, Economy in Rye Brook

News Article

By Ernie Garcia

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand spoke with Westchester County's business leaders this morning about her efforts to promote high-technology industries, roll back taxes for small businesses and get health-care costs under control.

Attendees filled the fourth-floor atrium at 800 Westchester Ave. at an event hosted by the Westchester County Association, a business advocacy group based in White Plains.

Gillibrand told the association's members and guests that one of her priorities is transforming New York into a leader in 21st-century technologies.

Gillibrand spoke of "enormous opportunities" in advanced manufacturing in Westchester County such as the opening of Acorda Therapeutics' new headquarters in Elmsford on Thursday after locating in the county in 1998 as a small start-up.

Gillibrand also cited efforts by the New York Medical College in Valhalla to open a biopharmaceutical-business incubator.

"These are the kinds of examples of success," she said. "New York really is well poised to be the next high-tech capital of the world. Here in Westchester we focus a lot on biotechnologies, further north throughout the Hudson Valley we are now at the forefront of semiconductor manufacturing, throughout western New York and central New York we are at the forefront of energy technologies and optic technologies. This is our future, advanced manufacturing, because it's far more efficient to manufacture...here in the U.S. as opposed to sending it to China."

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