As we have for over 100 years, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is proud to focus on our mission of sustaining Saratoga County’s economic success. Leading and working alongside our partners in the public, private and impact sectors, we’ve helped create one of the most vibrant and enviable economies in the US. This position of strength makes our chamber an extremely effective advocate for important issues with local, regional and statewide impact. 

Our Visible & Vocal Advocacy includes:

• Two years ago, our “Whoa Cuomo” campaign and successful bipartisan advocacy effort to reprivatize NYRA ended state government control over the Saratoga Race Course. Our advocacy success ensures that the Saratoga Race Course will continue to have an annual $240 million economic impact on the region, extending from Columbia County, to the Capital Region, to Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties.
• Today, we’re leading a public-private coalition to restore the Old Champlain Canal, in the Village of Schuylerville, as part of an overall effort to establish this area as a year-round center for family friendly outdoor recreation. This effort began with organizing a meeting with EPA Regional Director Pete Lopez and securing EPA’s approval to have GE test this canal to determine if there are any contaminants that might need to be removed as part of the restoration plan. In fact, we have been told that testing will begin on or about May 1, 2019. We've traveled to Washington DC to brief Congresswoman Stefanik and Congressman Tonko. Depending on what is learned, we will then turn our attention to securing the funding required to move this economic revitalization project forward.
• In 2012, we led the creation of a public-private partnership that built the 450-space Woodlawn Parking Structure, in downtown Saratoga Springs. Since that time, we’ve been supporting the Saratoga Springs City Center’s efforts to construct their own parking structure as part of a comprehensive plan to add new parking supply on underutilized surface parking lots. When completed, these two projects will have added nearly 1,000 new parking spaces for use by residents, visitors and downtown employees in the urban core of the City of Saratoga Springs.
• With $450,000 secured by Senator Marchione during the 2018 budget for the benefit of US Navy Sailors stationed in Saratoga County, the Chamber was asked by the Senator to be the lead applicant to secure these grant funds from Empire State Development and to work with the US Navy to determine the best use of these funds. After more than one year, Saratoga County Chamber leaders along with officials from the US Navy, Saratoga County, the Chamber's Veterans Business Council and the City of Saratoga Springs, broke ground in early April 2019 on a new US Navy Fieldhouse on the US Navy base, in Saratoga Springs. Beyond state and federal approvals, this project also required the City of Saratoga Springs to issue a building permit to the Chamber and Saratoga County has provided the Chamber with a $10,000 grant for expenses not covered by the state grant. The US Navy has an annual economic impact that is more than $500 million within Saratoga and the larger region. This project demonstrates our community's commitment to the US Navy Sailors and their families stationed here.
• Whenever we talk about the impact of our advocacy, we ask one question - - do you pay for parking in downtown Saratoga Springs? Every few years, the City explores paid parking. The Chamber has consistently opposed paid parking. The impact of our local advocacy is obvious anytime you pull into one of our parking structures or an open space on the street in downtown Saratoga Springs and their are no meters to feed.
• We continue to be one of the most visible and vocal advocates for securing DOT’s support to contract with Amtrak to allow bikes and roll-on bike service on all Amtrak trains in New York State. With New York State now constructing the Empire State Trail, we believe more cyclists will use this statewide trail system if they can take their bikes on the train. Cycling tourism is a huge industry that fits the Saratoga target market. If cyclists were to take the train from NYC or Montreal to Saratoga, they'd likely be riding through and spending money in other counties along the way. 
• When local restaurants and their employees wanted to meet and organize to stop the elimination of the Tip Credit, they called the Saratoga County Chamber and met with us in our conference room. We have nearly 200 restaurants that are members of the Chamber. The Saratoga restaurant community mobilized larger and louder than most in the state and we were with them the entire way. We recognized as they told us and anyone who would listen that ending the state's tip credit would do more harm to their employees than good. It was bad for employees and the employers. We continue to monitor this issue and stand ready to make even more noise to stop this in the future should the need arise.
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