Cuomo launches council to spur jobs

Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council on July 27 to redefine the relationship between the state government and businesses, in order to stimulate regional economic development and create jobs statewide. Cuomo made his announcement at SUNY Old Westbury.

The governor has been traveling around the state over the past several weeks, announcing 10 regional councils, which were created through executive order: the Capital Region, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mid-Hudson, Mohawk Valley, New York City, North Country, Southern Tier, Western New York and Long Island councils.

The LIREDC will be co-chaired by Stuart Rabinowitz, Hofstra University’s president, and Kevin Law, president of the Long Island Association, and will coordinate the economic development of both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

“Today we are putting into action a regional plan that confronts head-on the specific economic challenges facing Long Island,” Cuomo said during the announcement. “These councils will have the tools they need to initiate regionally tailored projects that take advantage of our state’s many resources and create jobs for New Yorkers. For too long, economic development efforts have not met the needs of New York’s diverse regions, but with this new approach we will once again open New York for business.”

According to Cuomo’s office, the councils represent a fundamental shift in the state’s approach to economic development, from a top-down development model to a community-based approach that emphasizes regions’ unique assets and harnesses local expertise. The councils were also created to empower each region to set plans and priorities.

Currently, Cuomo said, the state’s economic development efforts are managed through dozens of state and local agencies, and there is no thread connecting all of the branches of government, which makes it difficult to execute economically sustainable plans regionally. The councils, he said, will bring together regional stakeholders to serve as a coordinated point of contact for economic development.