Gov. Cuomo launches council to spur jobs, development

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To support the councils, Cuomo made changes to the state’s economic development grant application process, and through a new consolidated funding application — which combines resources from dozens of existing programs — each council can apply for $1 billion in state funding for projects that are part of their strategy.

Under Cuomo’s plan, regional councils, businesses and other organizations will be able to apply for funding using the same application. The state will work to align state resources and policies, eliminate unnecessary barriers to growth and streamline the delivery of government services and programs to help development plans be carried out.

Dan Perkins, vice president of government affairs for the Long Island Association, explained that of the $1 billion included in the program, $200 million will be available each year for regional councils, following the submission of a five-year regional plan — due this year on Nov. 15. The top four regions, decided by a state analysis, will receive $40 million each, and the remaining $40 million will be dispersed among the other six.

Perkins said that each plan is required to follow a nearly 60-page handbook created by Cuomo’s office.

“It’s a competitive process,” Perkins said, adding that the LIA believes that Long Island can thrive in that competition thanks to its world-class research institutions, including the Northshore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Hofstra and Stony Brook universities, the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. “We tend to have a more highly skilled work force, a more high-tech bio-industry, more employers and more diversity,” he said.

According to Perkins, the LIA has already contacted local research institutions in the interest of creating a research-business partnership, as part of the LIRC. Brookhaven and Cold Spring are currently proposing scientific research that could have a commercial application, he added. “We want to start businesses on Long Island based on that research and that know-how,” he said.

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