As Chairman of the New York State Senate Committee on Commerce, Economic Development and Small Business it is important that I play a large role in the creation of as many business opportunities for this region as possible. I would like to discuss several projects that I either originated or helped create to do just that.
In April, my office announced the introduction of Bill #S4085 in the Senate. This Bill makes it mandatory for funds secured through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to be used to purchase American made goods like steel and iron whenever possible and within existing limitations.
If these federal funds are intended to create jobs and stimulate the United States economy then they must be used to purchase products made right here in America, New York State and hopefully western New York. We understand that pricing and availability could at times affect the purchase of American iron, steel and other products. However, we have laid out guidelines within the Bill to make the purchase of these goods preferred and required whenever possible.
Another project I am involved in is the state’s Brownfield’s Smart Growth “Spotlight Communities” Initiative. I had the pleasure of attending a local workshop that was recently held featuring Secretary of the State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Mayor Byron Brown and Senator Antoine Thompson at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Headquarters in Buffalo.
This initiative is designed to advance, through a state-local partnership, existing state programs that can support and complement local efforts to redevelop brownfields. Buffalo is one of three communities state-wide that has been selected to be a part of the “Spotlight Communities” Initiative.
The South Buffalo area was chosen because of our community’s united approach to redeveloping a large area once used by the steel manufacturing industry, but is now largely unproductive. For example, my office has worked diligently to secure funding for clean up and relocation of rail on the former Bethlehem Steel site. The Brownfields Smart Growth initiative and workshop addressed the finalization of restoring this area and once again making it a valuable and productive area of our waterfront.
We also took part in hosting 63 international trade representatives from 37 countries at the University at Buffalo at the beginning of the month. I had the opportunity to speak to the largest international trade mission in the history of the state about the merits of setting up business in western New York. We spoke to the group on the resources available to new business in the region and the excellent relationship the University at Buffalo enjoys with the international business community. I believe we greatly impressed the assembled representatives with what our region has to offer.
It has been a productive month addressing some of the issues facing economic development in our area and I intend on maintaining this pace. In the next several weeks we should also have some exciting announcements concerning future development and some legislation that could help address the critical financial issues we all face.
Finally, the month of May not only recognizes mothers, but also those who have fallen in the service of their country. Let me salute all of those brave men and women who gave their life in defense of our great country and let us all honor them on Memorial Day, May 25th.
