Economic Development

November 15, 2018. Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo continued to defend the multi-billion dollar deal, funded by New York taxpayers, to have Amazon bring 25,000 jobs to Long Island City in Queens. While many are receptive to Amazon coming to New York, there are plenty of folks concerned with the deal. "I think all economic development programs and the corruption surrounding them have united the left and the right on this very issue because we all know this a waste of money," said Ron Deutsch, [...]

November 15, 2018. This article discusses the incentive package that the Governor is offering Amazon choosing to move "HQ2" to Long Island City. According to the article, the package includes a helipad and $1.5 billion in incentives, which New Yorkers and political leaders are angry about. New Yorkers are infuriated the only infrastructure improvement they will see from the city’s deal with Amazon is apparently a helipad for Jeff Bezos and his lieutenants at HQ2 (and-a-half). It’s not the biggest item in the memorandum of [...]

November 15, 2018. This article discusses the incentive package that the Governor is offering Amazon choosing to move "HQ2" to Long Island City. According to the article, the package includes a helipad and $1.5 billion in incentives, which New Yorkers and political leaders are angry about. New Yorkers are infuriated the only infrastructure improvement they will see from the city’s deal with Amazon is apparently a helipad for Jeff Bezos and his lieutenants at HQ2 (and-a-half). It’s not the biggest item in the memorandum of [...]

November 15, 2018. In an interview with ABC News 10, Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, discusses the new Amazon HQ plans. Link to the video on ABC News 10.

November 15, 2018. In continuation with the lukewarm reception of Amazon's plan to relocate their HQ to New York City, multiple government watchdogs and economic development experts weigh in on whether the decision will give the expected results. New York City beat out dozens of other cities, some that offered incentive packages even more lucrative than the one on the table here. Many city residents and elected officials aren't convinced that the multi-billion dollar offer is worth it, and that some say the state shouldn't [...]

November 14, 2018. This article discusses the tax subsidies that Governor Cuomo and Bill de Blasio agreed to provide Amazon for moving one of their headquarters to Long Island City. This article highlights the subsidies which include $1.2 billion in “Excelsior tax credits” under New York's Excelsior jobs program, $505 million in capital grants to repay Amazon for their construction costs, and the creation of a General Project Plan for the state to take control of the land which will not require Amazon to pay property taxes [...]

August 7, 2018. A new report from the Fiscal Policy Institute and Make The Road New York takes a look at the racial disparities in the state’s economic development spending. Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, and Ben Wolcott, Campaign Researcher at Make the Road New York discuss the findings on WCNY's Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter. Here is a link to the radio episode.

August 6, 2018. The Fiscal Policy Institute and Make The Road New York's new report discusses how investments by the regional economic development councils in predominantly white communities vastly outweigh those made in communities of color. In a new interview with Capital Tonight on Spectrum News, Ron Deutsch of the Fiscal Policy Institute and Yatziri Tovar on Make The Road New York talk about how New York State's economic development shortchanges people of color. Here is a link to the article and video on Spectrum News.

August 2, 2018. This article discusses a new report written by The Fiscal Policy Institute and Make the Road New York which shows that areas with a higher concentration of people of color across New York State are awarded less than their fair share of economic development funds. Additionally this study found that white males are massively overrepresented on the Regional Economic Development Councils which allocate these funds. “The regional council competition is one of the largest sources of economic development money in the state,” the [...]

July 12, 2018. This articles discusses the outcome of the bid-rigging trial, reaction from the Governor and good government watchdog groups who have long pushed to end the corruption in Albany. The outcome of the trial saw the conviction of Alain Kaloyeros, former SUNY Polytechnic Institute President, and two other COR Development executives and a Buffalo building developers. While the Governor dismissed the trial's outcome, saying that fraud should not be tolerated, government watchdog groups, including the Fiscal Policy Institute, say that New York continues to [...]

June 30, 2018. This article discusses the failure of the New York State Legislature to pass the package of economic development accountability and transparency reform bills during the legislative session. It appears no one outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration is pleased with the Democrat's economic development policies, except for the recipients of some of the billions of dollars in taxpayer funds awarded each year to boost employment. The criticism comes from the left and the right, from conservative think tanks and liberal fiscal watchdogs, and [...]

June 11, 2018. As the state legislative session wraps up in a few days, several bills related to expanding oversight of contracts and greater transparency over economic development projects remain stalled and have not made it to the Assembly floor despite their successful passage on the Senate floor several weeks ago. The Fiscal Policy Institute has long supported accountability and ethics reform for economic development projects in New York, especially in light of the recent bid-rigging scandals by top economic development officials. The labor-backed Fiscal Policy [...]