Ramapo/Suffern Would Make a Great Home for Amazon HQ2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUFFERN - Suffern welcomes Amazon HQ2 to their new destination to live, work, and play. “All roads lead to Suffern,” said Mayor Markunas. “Considered the gateway to New York State, Suffern’s location offers Amazon HQ2 unfettered access to all major highways, strategic proximity to all major airports, outstanding passenger train service to the New York metropolitan area, an integrated bus transportation system, as well as freight lines advantageously located west of the Hudson River. By selecting the Suffern location, Amazon HQ2 will have ready access to all of New York’s regions and worldwide markets. As Mayor, I am proud to welcome Amazon HQ2 to the beautiful, historic and thriving Village of Suffern.”
“We are committed to pursuing this opportunity to grow Ramapo’s tax base, support our villages and help the Suffern Central School District,” said Supervisor Ullman. “I believe this is the perfect location for Amazon, and that HQ2 would be great for our community. I applaud Mayor Markunas for his leadership in preparing this proposal, and for his vision in building a sustainable future for our communities. I look forward to working with him and our partners at the state, county and village level to bring Amazon to Suffern.”
Nestled at the foothills of the Ramapo Mountains, Suffern Partner’s combined 225-acre site boasts a 585,000-square foot facility with a cafeteria, conference rooms, and a fitness center. “Suffern Partners is grateful to the Village of Suffern as the coordinating municipality and thank all of the local officials who worked together in the development of the Amazon HQ2 proposal”, said Amy Mele, Representative for Suffern Partners. Previously utilized as a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant, the current campus occupies approximately 50 acres of the 225-acre site with room for substantial expansion to accommodate Amazon’s need for up to 50,000 jobs. Suffern also offers Amazon unique renewable energy options including geothermal cooling and solar power utilizing the Suffern Quarry as the ideal site for generating energy by means of floating solar panels. “These strategic features, unique to Suffern, make our location an outstanding choice for Amazon HQ2” said Mayor Markunas.
New York State in conjunction with the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Council has taken an industry-based initiative that seeks to attract and retain quality jobs in the Region’s mature and emerging clusters including biotech, advanced and high-tech manufacturing, information technology, financial and professional services, and distribution, and to match them with the Mid-Hudson’s highly-educated workforce. New York and New Jersey’s investment in its technological future will provide a global advantage to Amazon HQ2 now and in the years to come with short and long-term regional labor statistics indicating favorable to very favorable employment prospects in all of Amazon H2Q required job categories.
In a region focused on educational excellence, Suffern’s stellar public-school system, Suffern Central School District, is ranked among the best in the State. Suffern is the proud home of Rockland Community College, one of the State’s top ten community colleges. With an outstanding faculty, including several Fulbright Scholars, Rockland County College is strategically located to offer Amazon HQ2 a highly educated and community focused workforce. "Rockland Community College is the place where students learn to become both strong citizens and productive workers. We are a destination for high-return credentials because we partner with business and industry to meet their unique needs. In contributing to the regional talent ecosystem in fields of economic importance, we are a ready partner to welcome Amazon to the community and to provide the educated workforce that can promote its continued success”, said Dr. Michael A. Baston, President of Rockland Community College. Suffern’s proximity to New York and New Jersey’s Ivy League institutions, elite private, and top public colleges and universities, will provide Amazon HQ2 additional presence and support for the rapidly changing advances in science and technology through educational methodology designed for the technological demands of an increasingly diverse and global culture and economy.
“I am proud to have worked closely with Supervisor Ullman in our efforts to assist Suffern Partners in the preparation of their Amazon HQ2 proposal” said Mayor Markunas. “Supervisor Ullman and I, along with Suffern Partners, welcome Amazon HQ2 to its amazing new home.”