New York SBDC Research Network

ust before the July 4th weekend, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a press release on the state of tourism. The release covered tourism in its totality and did not address specific sectors like adventure tourism, winery tourism, historic tourism, and LGBT tourism, the four pillars of I Love NY promotions. It also did not differentiate between business, vacation, or shopping travelers. (Macy’s chief executive Terry Lundgren in 2013 called Macy’s “ a tourist place” with roughly 6,000,000 tourists a year). That being said, the number of travelers to the Empire State from elsewhere is impressive and the economic impact is substantial. The headline of the press release boldly declares: NYS Tourism Impact Exceeds $100 Billion Tourism Employment Increased By 16 Percent Since 2011 New York Remains Most Visited State by Overseas Travelers for 14th Year in a Row See more at New York History blog

Dear Fellow New Yorker, Hundreds of business leaders and CEOs from around the globe came together today for the official launch of START-UP NY – the most ambitious economic development program in New York State’s recent history. This game-changing initiative, starting today, will create tax-free zones to attract and grow new businesses across the state. START-UP NY seeks to accelerate entrepreneurialism and job creation across the state on a large scale, with a particular focus on Upstate New York. In a tax-free environment, no one can match what New York has to offer. We are leveraging our world-class SUNY system and prestigious private universities to partner with new businesses, providing direct access to advanced research, development resources, experts in high-tech and other industries, and all with zero taxes for ten whole years. Click here to learn more about START-UP NY . Businesses that are looking to startup or expand, and most importantly create jobs, should look n

From HERE : Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order Monday requiring state agencies to catalogue data and take steps to make it public on the website: open.ny.gov . The site was first announced in February. “Open.ny.gov creates unprecedented transparency across all levels of government and gives the people user-friendly access to vast quantities of information on our State,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This new website will dramatically increase public access to one of our most valuable assets—data. As it expands and evolves over time, Open.ny.gov will spark innovation, improve efficiency, promote accountability and bring the people back into government.” Thirty agencies are already participating, including the State University of New York and the Department of Health. The state Education Department is preparing to display data on the site.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will send a team of officials from at least six agencies — including the departments of State, Labor, Taxation and Finance as well as Empire State Development, State Liquor Authority, and the Workers Compensation Board — to every region of the state to talk about rules and programs intended to help small businesses. The program is a subset of the state’s economic development efforts; it’s dubbed NY Open for Business. One of the first sessions will be held in the Capital Region on 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 4, at Schenectady County Community College, 78 Washington Avenue in Schenectady. For more information on the sessions and the initiative, visit HERE . “This program is all about creating jobs because when small businesses do well, New York does well,” Cuomo said in a statement. “It so important for us to get out of the office and go into communities to see how we can help anyone who wants to start, grow or improve a business and that’s what this program will do.”

From the New York State Executive Chamber: Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the FreshConnect program in 2011 to create new farmers' markets and provide support to existing ones. In addition to providing farmers a consumer outlet, the FreshConnect program helped create local jobs for youth in urban areas and facilitated an increase in the sale of locally-grown food. After the success of last year's program, the initiative is now expanding to include not just farmers' markets, but other innovative projects that connect underserved communities with New York farm products. Click here to learn more. Potential expansion projects include: programs to increase access to farm products at food pantries delivery programs that send farm goods to areas in need programs for low-income individuals to access food directly from a farm new farmers' markets that are located in underserved neighborhoods satellite markets that purchase produce from an existing

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo delivered his second State of the State address on Wednesday, continuing his commitment to make government work for the people again. His new agenda includes plans to: *Create tens of thousands of new jobs across the state by investing state resources to leverage billions of dollars in private investment through public-private sector partnerships that drive economic growth. *Reimagining the state government to ensure it gets results for the people while protecting taxpayer dollars. *Strengthen New York’s legacy as the progressive capital of the nation. Click here for the State of the State press release , and click here to watch video of the event . "New York State is on the way to coming back stronger than ever before," Governor Cuomo told the crowd of New Yorkers and legislators at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. "Now is the time to get to work, building a New New York together." Join Governor Cuomo in building a New