Governor Cuomo brought his regional state of the state message to Syracuse Wednesday, where his localized proposals ranged from transportation to the creation of high tech jobs.
The governor says 7,700 jobs have been created in Central New York since 2010. And now, 260 more are coming as a military defense and civil security company looks to expand its presence in the eastern suburbs.
"Saab will enter a partnership with the state, where the state will invest $30 million, and Saab will establish their North American Headquarters for Defense and Security division right here in Onondaga County," Cuomo said to applause.
Saab will invest $55 million of its own money as part of the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
On the transportation front, Cuomo says the state will award nearly $36 million toward a $45 million dollar proposal to revitalize Hancock Airport into a more appealing hub.
"The drop-off canopy is a tad dark and unwelcoming. The main entrance doesn't communicate to the travelers that they've arrived to a growing and vibrant regional economy," Cuomo observed. "So we are going to partner with the county It is a brighter, more welcoming airport, it is state of the art. It is going to have sustainable designs."
Hancock earned the award through a competition aimed at improving air travel upstate.
Lastly, Governor Cuomo wants an independent expert to study the feasibility of the options to replace the I-81 viaduct in Syracuse, including a tunnel, community grid, or depressed highway.
"They will also be studying a combination of the community grid plus a tunnel, and the community grid plus the depressed highway to see what is the most feasible and what does the most good," Cuomo said to applause. "Once that report is done, it'll be shared it with the public, we'll have a conversation, and we'll make a decision."
The state DOT is currently conducting its environmental review of the options after previously rejecting the tunnel as too expensive.
Cuomo says there is no doubt that Central New York has gone through difficult times. But he says signs of recovery are everywhere.
"Hotel Syracuse. The new airport that will be built. The New York State Fair that looks different for the first time in 50 years. Saab coming to Syracuse with the initial technology for the drone industry. Just think about it. The Onondaga Lakeview Amphitheater," Cuomo said. "These are all positive signs of progress that are undebatable. All we have to do is keep it going."
GOVERNOR WRAPS UP TOUR; 35 SIGNATURE PROPOSALS
Gov. Cuomo rolled out nearly three dozen proposals in his 9-day tour of the state. Below are highlights provided by his office, with links to details:
PROPOSAL 1: Make college tuition-free for New York’s middle class families at all SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year colleges. The Excelsior Scholarship will be the first of its kind in the nation and will help alleviate the crushing burden of student debt while enabling thousands of bright young students to realize their dream of higher education.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 2: Transform JFK International Airport into an airport equipped to meet the demands of the 21st century and worthy of the State of New York. The vision plan lays out a comprehensive, airport-wide framework to create a unified, world-class airport in order to accommodate the dramatic expected growth at the airport in the coming decades and keep New York’s economy moving forward.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 3: Create a new Enhanced Middle Class Child Care Tax Credit that will help more than 200,000 middle class families make their child care more affordable. For many families, limited access to these programs can force parents to choose between providing safe, quality child care arrangements and work.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 4: Protect New Yorkers, as well as government entities, from the ever-growing threat of cyber-attacks. The package includes the strengthening and modernization of cybercrime and identity theft laws, as well as the creation of a new Cyber Incident Response Team to provide cybersecurity support to state entities, local governments, critical infrastructure and schools.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 5: Protect senior citizens throughout New York from financial exploitation and foreclosure. The plan includes establishing an Elder Abuse Certification Program for banks located in New York State, amending the banking law to empower banks to place holds on potentially fraudulent transactions, and strengthening legislation that will protect senior homeowners with reverse mortgages.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 6: Further protect consumers from egregious and deceptive behavior in the financial services industry by pushing to empower the state Superintendent of Financial Services to ban certain bad actors from the banking and insurance industries for misconduct like that seen in the Wells Fargo scandal.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 7: Further strengthen New York's efforts to crack down on wage theft by holding the top 10 members of out-of-state limited liability companies personally financially liable for unpaid wage. Further, the Governor will advance legislation to empower the Labor Commissioner to directly enforce all wage liabilities on behalf of workers with unpaid wage claims. Combined, these measures will get more money back into the hands of the hardworking New Yorkers who earned it.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 8: Promote electric vehicle use in New York through the construction of 500 new workplace charging stations and 69 new charging stations along the Thruway. Creating an expansive network of electric vehicle charging stations is key to increase adoption of zero-emitting electric vehicles.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 9: Launch the Democracy Project to modernize New York’s voting system. The action would allow early voting, and adopt both automatic voter registration and same day voter registration to streamline voter registration services, remove unnecessary barriers that prevent participation in elections and increase accuracy within the voting process.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 10: Close the Indian Point Energy Center by April 2021. The aging 2,000 megawatt nuclear power plant, located 25 miles north of New York City has presented numerous threats to the safety of over 20 million residents and the environmental health of the area. The state will continue to closely monitor Entergy to ensure public safety and mitigate safety risks associated with the plant, including for storage of spent nuclear fuel.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 11: Invest $650 Million to Fuel the Growth of a World-Class Life Sciences Cluster in New York. The state will provide $17 million in capital funding to launch JLABS @ NYC – a collaboration between Johnson & Johnson Innovation and the New York Genome Center to build a 30,000 square foot incubator with capacity for up to 30 life science startups.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 12: Launch the “New York Promise” Agenda to Advance Social Justice and Affirm New York’s Progressive Values. The agenda includes a sweeping, unprecedented package of reforms to advance principles of social justice, affirm New York’s progressive values, and a set a national standard for protections against all forms of discrimination.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 13: Create a $35 million pilot program to create 22,000 new after-school slots in high-need areas across the state.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 14: Lower the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Cap by 30 Percent Between 2020 and 2030.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 15: Invest in regional projects throughout New York City to focus on the health and future growth of communities, from preserving affordable health care to promoting urban recreation to moving economic development projects forward.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 16: Invest $500 million to expand of the Buffalo Billion initiative to continue building on the renewed economic engines and reinvigorated civic spirit throughout Buffalo and the entire Western New York region.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 17: Launch the Clean Water Infrastructure Act of 2017 to invest a record $2 billion in critical water infrastructure across New York State.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 18: Expand access to ridesharing services throughout New York. Currently, a number of ridesharing companies have successfully operated as livery services in New York City over the last several years, however, these companies are not authorized to provide ridesharing anywhere else in the state.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 19: Establish a $10 million, multi-year Photonics Venture Challenge in Rochester. This business competition will aim to support start-up companies that commercialize these rapidly developing technologies through a business accelerator program and a top award of $1 million to the most promising start-up company.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 20: Complete the Hudson River Valley Greenway and Erie Canalway trails by 2020 to create the Empire State Trail, the largest state multi-use trail in the nation. To achieve this, the state will develop 350 miles of new trail in three phases to create a 750-mile pathway for hiking and biking along scenic vistas and through charming, historic communities.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 21: Build the Town of Woodbury Transit and Economic Development Hub. The project, which will create nearly 600 jobs, will expand the Route 32 corridor, replace the Route 32 bridge over Route 17, reconfigure the ramp leading to the New York State Thruway, and add a solar-powered bus station and a commuter parking lot and an interconnected traffic system to improve access and allow for increased commercial activity.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 22: Extend the Empire State Excellence in Teaching Awards to honor 60 additional teachers.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 23: Reduce property taxes by empowering voters to approve locally-designed plans that eliminate duplicative services to lower the cost of local government.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 24: Invest $160 million in transformative projects on Long Island. The proposal includes $120 million for the LIRR - to provide state-of-the-art enhancements to 16 stations and improve system connectivity - and $40 million to build sewers that will support economic growth and environmental sustainability in Smithtown and Kings Park.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 25: Build a 90 megawatt offshore wind project 30 miles southeast of Montauk and develop up to 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. The project will be the nation's largest offshore wind farm and the plan will outline the path forward for this unprecedented commitment to offshore wind and will be completed by the end of 2017.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 26: Combat every angle of the heroin and opioid crisis in New York State and build on the success of the legislative package the Governor signed in June. The proposals aim to eliminate insurance barriers and further expand access to effective treatment, curb overprescribing, and get fentanyl and other synthetic opioids off the streets.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 27: Implement the nation’s strongest mandate for the purchase of American-made products by state entities. Under the Governor’s “Buy American” plan, all state entities will be required to give preference to American-made goods and products in any new procurements more than $100,000. This will be the strongest commitment to growing the manufacturing sector, and supporting the men and women who work in it, nationwide.
More information available here.
PROPOSAL 28: Saab will invest $55 million to relocate the North American headquarters of Saab Defense and Security USA, LLC, to East Syracuse, Onondaga County. The move, in conjunction with other planned activities, will result in the creation of nearly 260 new, high-tech jobs, as well as the retention of Saab’s existing local workforce of more than 450 employees in Central New York.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 29: Undertake a new, independent study to determine the feasibility of tunnel options to replace the aging I-81 viaduct in Syracuse.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 30: Award Syracuse Hancock International Airport with $35.8 million in funding to drive forward a $45.1 million transformation of the airport. This investment will turn an archaic facility into a state-of-the-art transportation hub that meets the needs of the 21st century traveler.
More information available here.
PROPOSAL 31: Grow New York’s burgeoning industrial hemp industry and host the first-ever Industrial Hemp Summit in the Southern Tier to bring manufacturers, farmers, researchers and other stakeholders together to identify challenges and opportunities to grow the industry and boost the agricultural economy throughout the state.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 32: Award $38 million through Round Two of the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition to jumpstart Plattsburgh International Airport’s $43 million overhaul of the North Country aviation gateway.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 33: Protect New Yorkers from the soaring prices of prescription drugs by: preventing prescription drug prices from gouging in the Medicaid program; imposing a surcharge on drug manufacturers that charge exorbitant prices; and regulating intermediaries in the industry to protect taxpayers.
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 34: Launch the Empire Star Public Service Award – a $5,000 professional development scholarship for public employees who have distinguished themselves through meaningful contributions to state government
More information is available here.
PROPOSAL 35: Advance strong ethics and good government reforms to rebuild the public’s trust and restore confidence in New York’s elected representatives.
More information is available here.
