The doubts crept in, just a year into the life of the tax-break program known as Start-Up New York, with revelations that New York State had spent nearly $50 million to promote a job-creation initiative that in its first year had created all of 76 jobs. Read More
Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2013 rolled out what he said would be a “game-changer” for the ailing upstate economy, a 10-year tax break for companies that open shop in certain areas of New York. But after a report showing the program created only 408 jobs in two years after a $50 million taxpayer-funded ad campaign, the governor is seeking to overhaul the program. Read More
New Yorkers have gone from Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” to Bob Marley’s “Exodus.” Read More
It’s a New York state of decline. Read More
The only reason many of these broader details are known is because the Empire Center filed an open records request in June seeking information as to where all the money has gone. The think tank recently posted on its website, SeeThroughNY.net, a database of the nearly 6,000 projects. Read More
To start the holiday season off on a cheery note, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday presented his constituents with an early gift. Read More
E.J. McMahon, research director for the conservative Empire Center for Public Policy, said Cuomo will enter the year facing his steepest financial hill since 2011, when he inherited a $9.3 billion shortfall from his predecessor, Gov. David Paterson. Read More
Observers of state government say the practice of loading up the governor's staff with people not officially on its payroll has been ongoing for decades. E.J. McMahon, research director of the fiscally conservative Empire Center for Public Policy, said it has quietly allowed governors to expand their staffs while escaping criticism for increasing their budgets. Still, the full extent has not been previously known. "It's an accountability and transparency issue," McMahon said. "It's done so that the Executive Chamber staff doesn't look so big. That's the only conceivable reason they'd do it." Read More