YNN Governor pledges one billion dollars for WNY economic development

1-4-12: Courtesy of YNN. As part of his state of the state address Wednesday, Governor Cuomo announced a one billion dollar commitment to economic development in the Buffalo region. Local politicians and development planners are calling it a game changer for Western New York.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - "We believe in Buffalo. Let's put our money where our mouth is. We're ready to invest one billion dollars in an economic development package for the city of Buffalo, to bring business back to Buffalo," said Governor Andrew Cuomo, (D).

During his state of the state address in Albany Wednesday, Governor Cuomo said Buffalo's economic problems have been ignored by the state government for too long.

Buffalo mayor Byron Brown said the region hasn't seen an investment, like the billion dollars Cuomo pledged, in decades.

"This will literally change the fortune and the trajectory of the city of Buffalo. It will make a difference. It will inspire hope and optimism in this community and it will literally put thousands of people to work in this city," said Brown, (D).

Cuomo said Albany's economic turnaround could be used as a model. The capital city focused money and resources on a burgeoning nano-technology industry.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said in Buffalo they'll identify projects that can leverage even more money.

"There's not one particular industry that this is limited to. I think that's the great thing about this potential program. The government of New York state is saying, we'll invest one billion dollars, with the private sector investing up to five billion dollars, and it's open to everyone," said Poloncarz, (D).

"It's not about one project. It's about a strategic plan, so it's about identifying sectors like advanced manufacturing, like cultural tourism, like bio-medical research, our universities," said Aaron Bartley of the Western New York Council.

This money comes on top of a plan to give the region $100 million in state funds through a series of projects sketched out by a regional council. It focuses among other things on the Buffalo-Niagara Medical Campus and its surrounding neighborhoods.

"That demonstrated to him that there was a regional conversation coming together about what to do about the region's problems," said Bartley.

The Empire State Development Corporation says the money will be used to build the entire Western New York region, including Niagara Falls.

More specifics on how everything will be implemented is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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