Upstate Biz Leaders To Paterson: Don’t Forget Us
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- May
- 21
Leaders of Unshackle Upstate are saying that they are cautiously optimistic about Gov. Paterson’s recent public statements that upstate will not be forgotten in the pending changes to the Empire State Development Corp
But they are urging Paterson to retain the upstate presence within the agency.
Coalition leaders from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica reiterated their earlier statement that any restructuring must maintain a high-level executive with the full authority to hire and fire staff, allocate resources and approve projects.
“Gov. Paterson made a point of traveling upstate last week in an effort to explain his commitment to our region. While his words were encouraging, his actions regarding ESD will show the extent of that commitment,” said Andrew J. Rudnick, president and CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
In their press release, the business leaders urge that they do not want to see ESD “return to its former days in which upstate needs were largely ignored through decades of a Manhattan-centric approach which controlled economic development initiatives.”
“Who reports to whom, who is the top ESD executive and where that executive has his or her office is not what’s important,” said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance. “What matters is that ESD is structured so that Upstate New York gets the attention needed to move our economy forward.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 at 5:07 pm by Joseph Spector.
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