I am very pleased to announce that as part of the recently enacted 2005-06 state budget, $2 million will be applied toward "The Essential New York Initiative," an economic development plan targeting a 12-county Central New York region developed by the Metropolitan Development Association. For over a year now, I have fought for this $2 million allocation so that the MDA could help bring Central New York to the forefront of high-tech job creation.

These funds will be distributed to several different projects within the Initiative, including:

• The Grants for Growth program – linking university and industry by providing critical funding to eligible businesses to use for applied research projects to commercialize new technologies; and
• The continued development of the region’s six technology clusters; environmental systems, biosciences, digital and electronic devices, packaging, precision metalworking and information technology.

The Essential New York Initiative is a regionally tailored, comprehensive economic growth strategy that focuses on innovation and partnerships that employs the unique strengths and assets of this region of the State – from an outstanding university system including Syracuse, Clarkson, SUNY ESF and Cornell to a first-rate workforce and abundant natural resources. By merging our regional assets, we will construct an economy that will attract businesses and talent to Central New York and provide the jobs and opportunities that will enable our best and brightest to remain here in the Empire State.

As chairman of the Assembly Task Force on University-Industry Cooperation, I have been working to solidify collaborative ventures between businesses and our world-class colleges and universities to facilitate job growth here in Central New York. In fact, in recent years I’ve helped secure funds for the following programs:

• $37 million for the Syracuse Center of Excellence
• $2.5 million for the Workforce Development Initiative
• $2.3 million for the New York Indoor Environmental Quality Program
• $240,000 for the daVinci program, which attracts high-tech workers to the area
• $100,000 for the Syracuse University Renaissance Internship & Recruitment Program
• $95,000 for the MDA Vision 2010 to review our information, bio- and electronic technology sectors

The Assembly has long championed an economic development strategy in which the regional strengths of our communities are taken into account. I am proud to finally deliver this investment that demonstrates my commitment to intelligent economic development and targeted job creation. For more information on the Essential New York Initiative please visit www.essentialny.com or feel free to call my office at 428-9651.