In First Ever 'State of Upstate,' Spitzer Pledges $1B To Aid Area
BUFFALO — Governor Spitzer pledged $1 billion yesterday toward restoring upstate by getting land ready for development, helping universities cash in on research, pushing farmers' goods to market, and cleaning up parks.
In New York's first ever "state of upstate" speech, the governor detailed an agenda of programs and investments that he said grew from a year's worth of conversations in communities.
"While I realize that this is a large amount of money in tough fiscal times, I also know that it's at these very moments when investment matters most, when the urgency is so great that we simply cannot afford to wait," Mr. Spitzer told an audience of mayors, business leaders, and elected officials at Buffalo State College.
The upstate economy has struggled for most of the past two decades against manufacturing and population losses despite gains in service sectors like health care and hospitality and a new focus on high-tech.
The $1 billion Upstate Revitalization Fund to be included in Mr. Spitzer's budget next week offers point-by-point solutions to the region's ills — a dearth of shovel-ready sites, aging infrastructure, high-energy costs, and lack of broadband access in rural areas. It also aims to capitalize on the region's strengths, funding business incubator programs at colleges and universities, and tapping into nearby Canada for investment.
"It is a strategy that comes from us in the local communities, which is why it's such an exciting strategy," the mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown, said. Buffalo is in line for one of four new crime analysis centers and an expansion of the University at Buffalo into the downtown medical campus.
The speaker of the state Assembly, Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat and Spitzer ally, was an early supporter, traveling to Buffalo for what he called "a historic day."
The majority leader of the state Senate, Joseph Bruno, said the governor is right to want to address upstate's ills — but remained behind the Senate majority's own "Upstate Now" program of tax cuts, capital spending, and energy subsidies.
