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Upstate New York has been declining economically for decades, relative to both the rest of the state and to the nation as a whole. Upstate cities, reeling from a significant long-term loss of jobs and people, are among New York's most fiscally distressed municipalities. What do the latest economic data tell us about the path of the upstate economy? What are the prospects for a revival of the region and its cities? To what extent might natural gas "fracking" boost growth? We invite you to join us for the presentation of a pair of Empire Center reports delving into those questions -- culminating in a keynote from an internationally recognized leader in entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth. Read More

What conditions are preventing upstate communities from experiencing a new wave of economic growth? That question will be addressed by Carl J. Schramm, an internationally recognized leader in the study of entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth, as keynote speaker at an Empire Center policy forum in Albany this Wednesday (June 5). The Empire Center forum, which starts with registration at 9 a.m. at the Albany Institute of History and Art, will examine the economic decline of the upstate region and prospects for its revival, including the possible gains from natural gas exploration. Read More

Leveraging his clout as sole trustee of New York State’s $160 billion Common Retirement Fund, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is making increased use of corporate shareholder resolutions to push political and social agendas that have little or nothing to do with corporate performance Read More

It’s “big”! It’s “bold”! It “could really make a difference“! It’s Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Tax-Free NY proposal, subject of some of the biggest, boldest gubernatorial rhetoric since … well, since Cuomo’s launch two weeks ago of round three of the state Regional Economic Development Councils, which in turn came on the heels of a resort gaming destination plan in early May, neither of which should be confused with the “new day” proclaimed by the governor at last year’s yogurt summit. Read More

By wrapping up a gambling agreement with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe this week, Governor Cuomo moved another step closer to implementing his “resort gaming destination plan,” which he says can “supercharge” economic development. Read More

The one promising new wrinkle in the upstate economic development plan unveiled today by Governor Andrew Cuomo is the offer of full (if impermanent) exemptions from state business and personal income taxes, as well as sales taxes, to firms that expand into designated Tax Free Zones at colleges, universities and “strategically located state-owned” properties. Read More

Twenty-seven* school districts were seeking to override the state's property tax cap in yesterday's school budget votes. Twenty of these districts -- or 74 percent -- failed to collect the needed 60 percent supermajority to pass, according to news accounts. The closest result was in the Cornwall School District in Orange County, which fell two votes short of an override supermajority. Read More

Financial disclosure filings made public yesterday have revealed that Governor Andrew Cuomo has a net worth of at least $1.75 million. But in one sense, that doesn’t actually make him unusual among New York government employees at his level of education and experience. Read More