May 1
2013
Spitzer jabs Cuomo on economic development
Former governor takes the current one to task for patronage hiring at Empire State Development Corp., and a taxpayer funded advertising campaign. A report from Politicker.
May 1
2013
Former governor takes the current one to task for patronage hiring at Empire State Development Corp., and a taxpayer funded advertising campaign. A report from Politicker.
Apr 8
2013
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz has emerged as a leading critic of local economic development practices. Investigative Post Editor Jim Heaney interviewed Poloncarz on April 2, 2013, to discuss his concerns in-depth. _____________________________________ Heaney: We’re going to do a special focus today on economic development. I’ve been covering economic development in Buffalo for probably 15 years and it’s been a status quo environment. I’ve asked the county executive on it because you’ve really been a voice of reform that I really haven’t heard out of anybody in your position. There’s been some folks that have kind of talked a[...]
Apr 3
2013
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz decries “multi-multi-millionaires who feel they are entitled to do a project without paying one red cent in tax.” The expanded interview will air Saturday on WGRZ’s Daybreak. The full interview and transcript will post to this website over the weekend.
Apr 1
2013
Robert Gioia is one of Western New York’s consummate insiders. At present, he holds two key positions, president of the John R. Oishei Foundation, Western New York’s largest philanthropic organization, and chairman of the Erie Harbor Canal Development Corp., responsible for developing Canalside and the Outer Harbor. Gioia’s career has straddled the public and private sector. His family operated the Gioia Macaroni Co. and he was a principal with the Food Group of Strategic Investments and Holdings Inc. from 1992 to 2007. On the government side, he chaired the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority during its construction of the new airport terminal in Cheektowaga[...]
Apr 1
2013
Investigative Post editor discusses the state of subsidy deals granted to developers, including Yahoo and the Buffalo Sabres, on his monthly installment of Press Pass.
Mar 19
2013
George Hasiotis is one of Western New York’s most interesting – and plain spoken – economic thinkers. He’s been in the news of late spearheading a proposal to build a multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex on the Outer Harbor that would house the Buffalo Bills. But his economic development credentials go well beyond the stadium proposal. He’s an expert on cross-border trade issues and co-founder of the Economic Club of Canada. He’s worked as a public affairs consultant for 20 years advising clients on international business matters. Locally, he’s an owner of Antoinette’s On The Hill Inc., whose holdings include the popular Antoinette’s Sweets[...]
Feb 17
2013
Alain Kaloyeros works in Albany but is emerging as a key player in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s effort to revitalize the Western New York economy. Kaloyeros is the senior vice president and CEO of the College of Nanoscience and Engineering at the University of Albany. Since 1988 he has lead the effort to develop a nanotechnology sector in the capital region, and by extension, the state, which has resulted in the creation of some 18,000 jobs. “He has spent the past two decades building the nano facility as the most advanced research complex of its kind at any university in the world,”[...]
Feb 15
2013
I’ve been reporting on economic development in this town for more than a decade and the way Andrew Cuomo and Co. plan on spending the first installment of the $1 billion they’ve pledged to revitalize the Buffalo area economy is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I mean this in a good way. Gov. Cuomo in December announced a state investment of $50 million to set up a drug research facility to attract Albany Molecular Research to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. State officials have refused to discuss details since then. Until now. Alain Kaloyeros, architect of the successful effort to[...]