The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About20200735 Excelsior Ave Aparment Public Comment `��, �� RESTAURANT �� ASS�CIATIC�N September 27, 2022 City of Saratoga Springs Planning Board Hon. Mark Torpey, Chair City Hall 474 Broadway Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 To Chair Torpey and members of the Planning Board: I am writing to you on behalf of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA). We are a trade association representing food and beverage establishments around the State of New York. We are the largest hospitality trade association in the State, and we have advocated on behalf of our members for over 80 years. Our members represent a large and widely regulated constituency, and our industry continues to be disproportionately hurt by the lingering impact and losses of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vibrant restaurant industry in Saratoga Springs, like much of the rest of the State, is still undergoing a daunting rebuilding process after being decimated by the pandemic. Prior to COVID, the restaurant industry was one of the largest private employer groups in the state, employing more than 650,000 New Yorkers. That number is significantly less now. Communities like Saratoga Springs rely on these businesses to provide jobs and serve as the economic engines of local downtowns. Business is tough right now, and is only being hampered further by the ongoing labor shortage. Countless eateries have had to make dramatic changes to their operating hours because of their inability to find help. Less hours means less business, and less business means smaller margins and less tax revenue. This is a real problem that needs real solutions to try and turn it around. One thing that would greatly aid our industry's efforts to find workers in Saratoga Springs is more affordable housing options for our workforce. The current market is inaccessible to many who work in the hospitality sector, making the region unattractive for those who work in this area. If we want to continue to see a revitalized Saratoga Springs with restaurants as the beating heart of the post pandemic revival, we really need to consider options like the Beacon Communities' proposed project for Excelsior Park that would allow more hospitality workers to find housing in Saratoga Springs. This project, and the 52 units of affordable workforce housing it would bring to Saratoga Springs, would be a great help in developing a sustainable and reliable housing market that appeals to those in the hospitality sector, and we are writing to urge the planning board to move this project forward. i• - ��• - ! � •. � ��i � • . • • . - ' w �it . • • `��, r��° �� T�� RESTAURANT �� ASS�CIATIC�N Unemployment rates are at all-time lows for many regions around the State, and Saratoga County is no different. This past summer the County saw an unemployment rate of just 2.8%, which while great in some respects, does illustrate how tough it is for restaurants to find employees. If we want the hospitality sector to truly recover, we need to be doing everything we can to attract more workers to the area. Affordable housing projects like this one will go a long way in helping us in that goal. We ask that you grant the necessary approvals to allow this important project to move forward. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Melissa Fleischut President and CEO i• - ��• - ! � •. � ��i � • . • • . - ' w �it . • •