Orange County Partnership Helps Lead Effort to Support SEQRA

Orange County Partnership President & CEO, Conor Eckert delivering an address at the New York State Capitol Building in Albany

Leaders from across the region gathered inside the New York State Capitol, filling the Million Dollar Staircase with a clear, unified purpose: advancing meaningful SEQRA reform.

Conor Eckert, President & CEO of the Orange County Partnership and the City of Kingston Mayor, Steve Noble, helped organize dozens of local leaders who showed up in strong support. The message was direct: New York must modernize its approach to economic development.

The focus was clear in Eckert's remarks - efficiency, certainty, and competitiveness.

“The current process is unnecessarily long and unnecessarily costly,” he said. “We need to add predictability to the current SEQRA process. Predictability is how you set your community up for success.”

He emphasized the broader impact of inaction.

“The cost of delay is not just poured on the project or the developer, you’re losing jobs, you’re losing potential critical housing, you’re losing infrastructure investments, and you’re losing people.”

For Orange County, the stakes are immediate and real. The Orange County Partnership remains focused on advancing projects that bring quality jobs, attainable housing, and critical infrastructure to the region. By supporting Governor Hochul’s efforts, the Partnership is advocating for a more predictable and efficient process that allows Orange County to compete, grow, and deliver results for its communities.