Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Economic Development

Economic Development

  • First Annual State Economic Development Report Falls Short, Watchdogs Say

    Zemsky economic development

    Howard Zemsky (photo: Govenor's Office)


    Starting this year, the state’s central economic development agency is required to produce an annual comprehensive report of all of the state-funded programs it oversees. The requirement of Empire State Development (ESD) was part of the state budget agreement reached last April amid intensifying criticism of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approach to economic development.

    With the report due on December 31 of each year, ESD must compile the past fiscal year's “aggregate totals” for each economic

    ...
  • The real value of New York Islanders’ Belmont deal? Cuomo administration won’t say

    Cuomo Long Island Islanders

    (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor’s Office)


    A more transparent administration would reveal rival bid, economic estimates.

    When Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a triumphant press conference on Dec. 20 to announce that the New York Islanders would return home to Long Island, building a new arena and ancillary retail, office,

    ...
  • What’s The [Data] Point? $3.2 Billion, with James Patchett

    whats the data point


    What's The Data Point? Episode 26 -- $3.2 Billion, with James Patchett [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    patchett and ben

    James Patchett is the President and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the city's nonprofit arm dedicated to spurring job and industry growth, managing special

    ...
  • Contrary to Cuomo Claim, Upstate Economy Faltered This Century, Not Last

    Cuomo upstate jobs

    Gov. Cuomo upstate (photo: The Governor's Office)


    Governor Cuomo described the Upstate New York economy as suffering from a “bad 50 years “ as he tried to explain why it was hard to stimulate rapid growth in the region’s economy, which has grown far more slowly than the rest of the state and nation (see my prior column: Upstate New York is Home to Heavy Voter Turnout, Major State Investment, and

    ...
  • Brooklyn Armory Deal, and Larger De Blasio Development Debate, Move Toward Term Two

    bedford union armory rendering via bfc

    (Armory rendering via BFC) (photos within piece by Rachel Holliday Smith)


    Following years of ferocious debate, negotiation, protests and anguish, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo was finally ready to vote “yes” on the redevelopment of the publicly-owned, vacant Bedford-Union Armory.

    At very nearly the last minute, she and the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio worked out a deal for the Crown Heights building with the city’s chosen developer, BFC Partners, the night before a crucial City Council land use

    ...
  • Upstate New York is Home to Heavy Voter Turnout, Major State Investment and Minimal Job Growth

    Cuomo Buffalo Western New York

    photo via The Governor's Office


    Responding to criticism that his administration’s efforts to help the economy in upstate New York have been ineffective, Governor Cuomo recently stated at a luncheon in Glens Falls, a small upstate city, “It’s been a bad 50 years.” He added, “You’re not going to turn it around in a couple of years. But have we changed the overall trajectory? Yes.”

    A great deal

    ...
  • Assembly Takes Stock of State Economic Development Programs Ahead of Next Negotiations

    34868772685 4a41dee04d z

    Howard Zemsky in Buffalo (via Governor's Office)


    Ahead of the 2018 legislative session, the New York State Assembly’s Economic Development Committee held a hearing Monday in Albany to evaluate the progress of the state’s multitude of economic development programs and hear testimony from companies and organizations that have benefited from state grants.

    Taking center stage was Howard Zemsky, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s economic development czar as president and CEO of Empire State Development, who defended the state’s jobs programs and was

    ...
  • What's The [DATA] Point? 348 and 74

    whats the data point


    What's The Data Point? Episode 18 -- 348 and 74 [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    348 74 277

    This week's data points are 348 and 74 as we bring you a two-part show, each featuring the author of a new CBC report out this week.

    348 is the number of Local Development Corporations and Industrial Development Agencies in

    ...
  • City Council Passes Bills Expanding Oversight of Economic Development Spending

    dmw7vyeuqaayxfq.jpg large

    CM Garodnick speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony (photo via @DanGarodnick)


    [editor's note: the bills discussed in this story have passed the Council since its publish; the headline has been tweaked to indicate that fact, but the story remains unchanged from its publish]

    The New York City Council is set to pass a package of three bills that will expand its oversight of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, a city-affiliated non-profit that is instrumental in the city’s efforts to stimulate business and create jobs.

    The

    ...
  • Top City Electeds Skip Letter Wooing Amazon

    wtc orange amazon via edc

    One World Trade Center lit up orange for Amazon (photo via NYC EDC)


    New York is laying out the red carpet to entice online retail giant Amazon to locate its new corporate headquarters in the state. Governor Andrew Cuomo promised a slew of incentives to support four official proposals from different regions that were submitted to the company on Wednesday, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio lit up the city in orange at night as a fawning branding appeal.

    New York City’s own ...

  • On New York’s Amazon Wishlist? More Homegrown College Graduates

    amazon go via amazon dot com

    (via amazon.com)


    Bids are due today for Amazon’s new headquarters and it seems cities across North America have joined the fray. The suitors are lining up with billion-dollar bouquets, and with good reason. What mayor could resist the promise of 50,000 well-paying jobs and all the economic energy that comes with the headquarters—a massive

    ...
  • Where’s the Mayor’s Jobs Plan?

    de blasio jobs tour

    Mayor de Blasio in the Bronx (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)


    Kicking off his week in the Bronx, Mayor Bill de Blasio said May 22 that his administration’s efforts to fight inequality are working and that while unemployment has dropped significantly in the borough, there is more work to be done. “The Bronx has borne the brunt of that inequality crisis in many ways,” the mayor said, but what his administration is doing is “disproportionately benefiting the Bronx.”

    The mayor told those sitting with him -- senior administration officials and

    ...
  • Murky Definitions for Government Entities Undermine Transparency

    15148467608 52cf785b4f z

    Gov. Cuomo in Buffalo (photo: The Governor's Office)


    When Rockland County Democratic Party Chair Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky fills out her annual state disclosure forms, she consults her husband for question six, which requires the listing of contracts held with a state or local agency held by the filer, filer’s spouse, or unemancipated child.

    Evan Stavisky, a partner in the prominent Albany lobbying firm The Parkside Group, after checking with the firm’s lawyer, has told his wife that his company does not represent any government

    ...
  • Comptroller Examines Uneven Economic Growth in Gentrifying Neighborhoods

    stringer presser

    Comptroller Stringer (photo: Samar Khurshid/Gotham Gazette)


    The 15 neighborhoods that experienced the highest rates of gentrification in the city between 2000 and 2015 showed a monumental increase in new businesses and job growth but with an inequitable distribution of the accompanying benefits, according to a new

    ...
  • Ramped Up Economic Development Funding, Less Transparency in New State Budget

    Cuomo Buffalo

    Gov. Cuomo in Buffalo (photo: The Governor's Office)


    The new state budget, passed nine days into the fiscal year, is by many accounts a win for New Yorkers, with the inclusion of, among other things, significant new funding for education and affordable housing, college affordability measures, billions for clean water infrastructure, and important criminal justice reforms.

    The agreement hammered out by Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature also included major provisions central to what is perhaps the governor’s top ongoing priorities. When he

    ...
  • A Big Bet on 'Revitalizing Downtown'

    far rockaway richards

    Officials announce the Far Rockaway plan (photo: @DRichards13)


    With individuals constantly moving in and out of the state, New York’s population remains one of the most dynamic in the country. This fluidity changes the makeup of communities and the character of neighborhoods - lately, more people are leaving New York than coming, even leading the state to ...

  • In Wake of Charges, Cuomo Promises Change, Offers Few Details

    Cuomo gaggle teacher award night

    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    A day after United States Attorney Preet Bharara unveiled a myriad of corruption charges against two of his closest allies and some of his biggest donors related to their abuse of the state’s economic development programs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Buffalo to announce he was expanding the program that sparked Bharara’s investigation.

    Cuomo publicly acknowledged the “truly disappointing” allegations and told the gathered crowd that his

    ...
  • Federal Corruption Charges Confirm Systemic Flaws in State Economic Development System

    cuomo topping off buffalo

    Cuomo in Buffalo (photo via The Governor's Office on Flickr)


    After laying out multiple corruption and bribery charges against nine players involved with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature economic development program, including his former aide and close friend Joe Percoco, family friend and confidante Todd Howe, and a number of major developers and Cuomo donors, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara refused to say whether the governor is a target in the probe or if it is reasonable to hold him accountable for the conduct of the people he empowered.

    ...
  • Improving Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Hispanics Will Be a Boost for the City

    pichardo presser

    Assemblymember Pichardo, one of the co-authors


    New York City is, and always will be, one of the world’s economic powerhouses. Yet that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. In fact, although unemployment across the city has fallen faster than the rest of the country since the recent recession, areas like the Bronx still lag.

    While the Bronx has seen some progress, there is still much work to be done for shared prosperity and economic opportunity for all. With the right tools and policies

    ...
  • Role of Cuomo’s ‘Independent Investigator’ Remains Unclear

    cuomo purple tie

    Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin, Governor's Office)


    In trying to stifle the blaze that has become U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s investigation into the Buffalo Billion economic development program, Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly invoked the name of Bart Schwartz, a former federal prosecutor the administration has retained (or is in the process of retaining) to carry out an “independent” review of the project.

    In acknowledging that people close to him were being investigated in relation to the Buffalo Billion, Cuomo announced Schwartz’s hire on

    ...
  • A Closer Look at BQX Funding Plans

    bqx presser bdb

    photo via nyc.gov


    In his State of the City address on February 4, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a major new transportation project: a “state-of-the-art” streetcar that will run the waterfront on a 16-mile route between Sunset Park in Brooklyn and Astoria in Queens. This Brooklyn-Queens Connector, or the BQX, has drawn a somewhat mixed response. The de Blasio administration quickly publicized support from a variety of business and civic leaders, elected officials, and several transportation advocates. Some transportation experts and residents of the

    ...
  • The City's Next Steps to Ensure Vibrant, Creative Communities

    nyc culture

    photo via @NYCulture


    Earlier this month, the city's Department of Cultural Affairs announced a promising new program aimed at strengthening cultural organizations in targeted neighborhoods. The initiative, known as Building Community Capacity, was introduced in conjunction with Mayor de Blasio's rezoning proposal in East New York, where the program will be launched.

    The new initiative is

    ...
  • Cautious Optimism Ahead of Hearing on Citywide Ferry Plan

    ferry DOT

    (images: NYC DOT/EDC)


    Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed expansion of the city's ferry system, announced in February, appears to be one of the least politically controversial initiatives of his term. Ahead of a City Council hearing on the topic scheduled for Monday, no Council member has publicly opposed the plan, while some have loudly praised it.

    But this support comes despite concerns from transit advocates that ferries may not be the most cost-effective form of transportation for New Yorkers and that other investments in buses or bike lanes should not be overlooked. Meanwhile,

    ...