Robert DeNiro is talking to America about New York’s rebirth. Alicia Keys and Jay-Z sing of an Empire State of Mind in another national TV ad. New York has the promise of becoming the Greek-style yogurt capital of the world. Everywhere this summer, a “new New York” is being proclaimed.

“This is a new day,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo told farmers and producers at Wednesday’s “first yogurt summit ever in the history of the state of New York.” He added: “This is a historic day.”

Such heated hyperbole can be important. For example, the “yogurt summit” for all its fanfare and pretentiously silly name attracted national attention. It showed New York is serious and manufacturers will find a willing partner, handing out tax breaks while promising dairy farmers that some costly environmental protections will be relaxed.

That attitude can help the economy because optimistic consumers and employers spend more and hire more.

But New Yorkers on the front lines have heard these cheers before, even as more jobs disappeared while the cost of maintaining a big government rose.

The July Siena College poll shows some caution. It’s true, as Cuomo and legislators running for re-election say, that most New Yorkers finally think the state is headed in the right direction. But it’s a bare majority at 53 percent in the poll with a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points. And 80 percent of those polled found the state’s fiscal condition fair or poor, with just 19 percent calling it “good.”….

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