The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council now knows how it would spend a $500-million state award, if it wins.

Seven Upstate regions are competing for money through the state’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative. Three regions will each get $500 million. 

The Finger Lakes council has spent the past few months preparing, and today, it approved the final wording of its application to the contest. The document is basically a narrative explaining how the region would use the money, and how the funding would lead to massive private investment. 

Under the proposal, the region would direct $250 million to specific industry areas. Of that funding, $50 million would be invested in the region’s optics, photonics, and imaging cluster; $75 million would go toward the local agriculture and food processing industry; and $125 million would be directed to next-generation manufacturing and technology.

The other $250 million would support other key council objectives: $100 million would be invested in workforce development and Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative programs; $75 million would be put toward entrepreneurship and development initiatives; and $75 million would be used to support higher education and research.

The council has already identified some potential projects and initiatives in the above areas. 

The application will be submitted to the state and released publicly on October 5, said Vinnie Esposito, Finger Lakes regional director for Empire State Development. The state will announce the winners in December.

This article appears in Sep 16-22, 2015.

Covers county government and whatever else comes my way. Greyhound dad; vegetarian; attempted photographer with a love for film and fixer; sometimes cyclist.

3 replies on “Finger Lakes council refines plan for economic contest”

  1. Why should we compete for $500 million when Buffalo got $1 billion? Seriously, who does this? I think Governor Cuomo is dangling a prize from a string with the threat of yanking it away if we don’t behave.

    If, on the other hand, we see this competition favorably, then I hope the Finger Lakes council isn’t advocating too many smaller projects. I remember Cuomo himself saying that the biggest projects had the best chance. Shouldn’t we be trying to make Governor Cuomo happy? Why can’t we come up with a few really big transformational projects and select the best one?

  2. Andrew Cuomo gave a billion taxpayer dollars to Buffalo, and Erie County was one of only 11 upstate NY counties to vote for his re-election last November. Hmmmm. Now he comes up with a ‘competition’ in which seven upstate regions (defined by Cuomo) will try to out-beg each other for three $500 million “awards” (winners to be chosen by Cuomo). And there are strings attached as to how the money must be spent. Four losing regions will get NOTHING. Why didn’t Buffalo have to compete? Why do any regions have to compete? Upstate is being killed by income taxes, property taxes, state mandates and punishing business regulations. Yet we have to dance to Cuomo’s tune and beg for table scraps for his amusement! We are gladiators sentenced to fight each other in Emperor Cuomo’s Coliseum!

  3. A contest that we could win with our own money?

    You can’t make this stuff up.

    The government can,….and does.

    Compete,….win,…..or YOUR/OUR money will go somewhere else.

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