LESIGLATIVE MEMO
PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY
New York, New York
May 17, 2010
Power for Jobs Program
The Partnership for New York City represents international business leaders and major employers who are dedicated to working with government, labor and the not-for-profit sectors to strengthen the economy of New York City and State. The Partnership’s members employ 1.3 million people throughout the state and contribute $202 billion a year to the state GDP.
We write to urge your support for the continuation and modification of a Power for Jobs Program with equitable distribution of benefits throughout the state. The two primary disincentives for locating jobs in New York State are tax burdens and energy costs. The Power for Jobs program has been an effective tool in providing access to low cost power for businesses but unfortunately, cheap power is not always allocated in strategic ways.
In the current economic climate, it is critically important that the investment of scarce taxpayer dollars be allocated on the basis of a project’s contribution to the state economy and tax base—regardless of where it is located. Moving forward, power allocations should only be made to companies that make substantial capital investments, strive to meet energy efficiency standards, and create new jobs.
Further, we have concerns that certain upstate interests are seeking to limit access to low cost power in downstate communities. Downstate subsidizes New York State in many ways and is the economic engine that, with statewide strategy and cooperation, can stimulate the revitalization of the upstate economy. A great example of this is the New York Building Energy Sustainability Systems Consortium, a group that was established to apply for a $129M federal grant to help fund an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster in New York State. The application outlined a regional effort to develop and deploy energy efficient building system technologies and addressed how these technologies will serve as an economic development tool for the entire New York region. It builds on a Center of Excellence project at Syracuse University that was funded by New York State, but will never achieve the resources it needs to be a successful research hub without support from the downstate communities. We have unconditionally provided such support.
The Partnership for New York City respectfully urges the legislature to develop a program that strengthens cooperative efforts in job creation, rather than divides us, to reinvigorate the statewide economy. Thank you for your consideration.