Tag: State Government

Mar 29

2017

Lack of scrutiny for subsidy programs

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This is the final part of a series that began Sunday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » State and local economic development agencies in New York give away billions of dollars in subsidies to businesses every year but do little to assess what taxpayers are getting for their money. “What politician doesn’t want to stand there with a shovel in their hand and a hard hat on their head to announce new jobs coming to their district?” said Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, a labor-backed think tank. “The[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 29

2017

Lackadasical vetting of subsidy seekers

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This is the third part of a series that began Sunday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Craig Bernier had only been bagging grain at Harbor Point Minerals in Utica for a few months when the company started sending him inside its silos to “walk down” the grain to help it flow to the bottom. Bernier, 24, was claustrophobic and hated being in the dark, closed structure, but Harbor Point told him he would have to go back in, his father said. “He told his mother, ‘I don’t want to go to[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 28

2017

Heaney talks subsidies with ‘Pressroom

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Susan Arbetter of The Capitol Pressroom interviews Jim Heaney on the “State of Subsidies” series being published this week by Investigative Post and select newspapers across the state. They were joined partway through the interview by E.J. McMahon, research director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, and Ron Deutsch, executive director of the Fiscal Policy Institute.

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 27

2017

Corning masters the subsidy game

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This is the second part of a series that runs through Thursday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Rita McCarthy could finally relax. After months of speculation and negotiation, strategy sessions and late night phone calls, Corning Inc. announced in the spring of 2013 that it would expand its factory in Erwin, New York, where McCarthy serves as town supervisor. Corning is the largest employer in Steuben County, within the economically struggling region of western New York that stretches along the Pennsylvania border, known as the Southern Tier. Assuaging McCarthy’s fears that it would[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Mar 26

2017

State of Subsidies

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This is the first part of a series that runs through Thursday. The full lineup of stories, columns and radio interviews can be found here » Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sunk a lot of taxpayer money – $25 billion by his estimate – into recharging upstate’s moribund economy. The governor has increased spending on subsidy programs to record levels, launched bold policy initiatives and crisscrossed upstate to announced projects he has frequently described as “game-changers.” “Economic success is shared all across the state. It’s not just New York City that’s doing well, it’s the entire state,” the governor declared in his[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Sep 19

2016

SUNY Poly plays by the rules — or, guidelines

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Editor’s note: A version of this story published Sunday in the Times Union of Albany. Two state-affiliated development corporations at the center of a federal corruption probe operated for years without rules commonly used by government agencies to promote competition, discourage favoritism and get the best deal for taxpayers when choosing companies to do business with. As a result, they’ve used unusually loose procurement policies to select developers for multimillion dollar projects, an Investigative Post analysis shows. Some of their contract awards – often to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s major campaign donors – are now being investigated by state and federal[...]

Posted 8 years ago

Jun 22

2016

More stonewalling, then vote for transparency

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Fort Schuyler Management Corp., the state-controlled development agency that is overseeing a number of major state-funded construction projects, including SolarCity, barred reporters from covering its board meeting Tuesday. Jim Heaney of Investigative Post tells Scott Levin about his experiences trying to obtain public records from Fort Schuyler. The nonprofit development corporation subsequently voted to adhere to the state Open Meetings Law and its board chairman suggested it will adhere to the Freedom of Information Laws, as well, although no vote was apparently taken. The New York Committee on Open Government had previously said it was obliged to honor the FOI[...]

Posted 9 years ago

Feb 29

2016

State money for lead won’t go far

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State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced over the weekend that his office is “investing” $346,825 in the Buffalo Green and Healthy Homes Initiative. This is the attorney general’s first financial commitment earmarked for lead programs in Buffalo since the initiative launched in 2009. About 40 low-income, owner-occupied homes will benefit from the attorney general’s funding. That’s in addition to the 882 homes already made lead-safe since the program’s inception. While those numbers represent a degree of progress, consider there are 85,000 housing units in Buffalo at risk for lead hazards. In other words, about 1 percent of the homes were[...]

Posted 9 years ago
Investigative Post