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Chamber of Commerce Despite the popularity of regional shopping centers and strip malls, Rockville Centre's business district continues to prosper. The occupancy rate downtown is about 90 percent and a growing number of professionals, small corporations and financial services companies are renting office space in the buildings that ring the commercial area. Our location, upscale demographics and easy access to major roads and public transportation are key factors in attracting businesses to the village. Additional incentives, I believe, are the quality and variety of municipal services and the low electric rates. The confidence of the business community in our village's economy is reflected in its willingness to invest improving downtown property. In the past 16 months, for example, the building department issued 48 permits for commercial improvements valued at $1.9 million. A substantial portion of that renovation work involved restaurants and other food services facilities. At last count, there were about 150 such businesses in the village, everything from gourmet food retailers and delicatessens to full-service restaurants and specialty take-out shops. It is the rapid expansion of the restaurant business that prompted the board of trustees early this spring to enact a 90-day moratorium on new food service locations. This gives us the time needed to assess the impact of future expansion on public parking and the growing need for village services in the downtown area. With an estimated 3,000 residents and visitors shopping, eating or going to the movies on an average day, calls for police and emergency services are increasing and extra time and money are required to maintain and clean the streets and parking fields. Members of the village staff and traffic engineering specialists are reviewing the village's options and researching actions taken successfully by other communities to meet similar challenges. My colleagues on the board expect to review the staff's study this month and develop a plan for public discussion by early summer. Despite the growth of restaurants and the high traffic for the multiplex theatres, downtown remains a diversified and vibrant business district. There are some one-of-a-kind specialty boutiques, yet there are choices galore to meet the needs of any family -- supermarkets, dry cleaners, hair stylists and barbers, hardware stores, florists, drug stores and gift shops. The area provides jobs for 7,000 people and about one of seven of those employees are in retail businesses. There are 10 banks with 12 locations in the village, and there are services to meet most business needs -- printing, office supplies, computers and cleaning services. Commercial property is an important part of the Rockville Centre tax base, and it is for just that reason that the village government pays attention to keeping the business district a safe, clean and attractive place to operate a business that will attract customers from other communities as well as our own. Keeping the business district vibrant is a high priority that prompts
us to work closely with the chamber of commerce to keep current businesses
successful and to attract new investment in our compact commercial area.
Chamber of Commerce Rockville Centre P.O. Box 226 Rockville Centre 11570, 766-0666 Ray Buksbaum, President President's Message My name is Ray Buksbaum, and I have the honor of being the chamber president, this year. I would like to take a moment to explain what the chamber is and what we do. The Rockville Centre Chamber of Commerce is the central agency that corrals the business and professional forces of the community together for the betterment of the village. It is a voluntary organization celebrating its 90th year. Our main thrust is to help the growth of industry and trade, by helping to attract more businesses to the area through a very active public relations program as well as by sponsoring many and varied activities in the community. Our open meetings are held every other month. This year we have changed the format of these meetings to include the honoring of outstanding members of the community. The honorees can be students, business people, residents, or members of the village service departments. We are sponsors of the 10K run, the RVC Street Fair, and the Mother of the Year Contest, to name a few of our projects. I strongly recommend that if you own a business in Rockville Centre, you explore the benefits of chamber membership. A strong chamber is a strong voice in the community. I also urge the business owners and residents of Rockville Centre to do business in town. We have a wide variety of stores, services and professionals right at our fingertips, and if we support each other, we can create a profitable and friendly environment in which to work and live. Finally, I want you to know that the chamber's doors and minds are open. Please contact us with your thoughts, comments, complaints, and praises. Best regards, Members Chamber of Commerce
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