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Hochul travels the state pushing governor's economic development agenda

Ellen Abbott
/
WRVO News (file photo)
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul visits Inficon in East Syracuse.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul says upstate New York is reaping the economic benefits of renewed attention from the Cuomo administration.  

Inficon, a company out of East Syracuse that makes scientific instrumentation, has been around for 25 years. And in that time, it’s quadrupled sales. So at this point, there were some tough decisions to be made according to the company’s president Peter Maier.

"It was time for us to either expand here, or somewhere else. Of course we prefer to do it here,” said Maier. “So it was a story of whether we could expand and where we could do that."

Maier says the decision was made to stay in upstate New York, to the tune of an almost $19 million expansion, in part because of property tax relief and grants worth $1.5 million from New York state.

These are the kinds of stories Hochul likes to highlight as she crisscrosses the state pushing the Cuomo administration’s economic development agenda.

"This is where the rebirth of New York state is coming from -- businesses like this one. And I’m hearing that people like where we’re heading,” said Hochul.

Hochul has just passed her sixth month anniversary as lieutenant governor. In that time, the former Buffalo- area congresswoman has visited more than 30 counties, and she expects to visit all 62 counties by the end of the year.

The next big pot of money heading for upstate economic development is, the Upstate Revitalization Initiative that will hand $50 million to three different regions this fall.

There are some critics of the Cuomo administrations strategy, who contend that one-time tax breaks and competitions don’t really improve the state’s traditionally poor business climate.

Ellen produces news reports and features related to events that occur in the greater Syracuse area and throughout Onondaga County. Her reports are heard regularly in regional updates in Morning Edition and All Things Considered.