Regional Economic Plan is Making a Difference in CNY

By Randy Wolken

Randy Wolken is president and CEO of MACNY. He is the co-chair of the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council.

Syracuse Post-Standard‍

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On Jan. 1, I was appointed as the incoming co-chair for the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) of Central New York. As a member of the council since its inception in 2011, I am both honored and humbled to be taking on a leadership role with my co-chair, SUNY Upstate Medical University President Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena. I am the president and CEO of MACNY – The Manufacturers Association. We are the largest manufacturers association in New York state, serving over 300 manufacturing and technology companies in 26 counties.

Our Central New York Region has been blessed with many attributes that make our REDC efforts productive: a robust and engaged business community; dedicated and passionate legislative leaders; a powerhouse of academic institutions and healthcare facilities; world-class companies, resources and quality of life; and most importantly – a passionate workforce and citizens within our region. These attributes help make us a resilient community. When we work together, as we do in our REDC process, we have limitless potential for growth. In establishing the REDCs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo put these decisions back into the hands of local community leaders and stakeholders, and for that I thank him.

And we are seeing success and progress in our implementation of our regionally designed CNY Rising plan and the execution of priority projects. For our priority projects alone, since year one, we have helped create more than 1,400 new jobs; 72 percent of projects have been completed or are on-schedule; and we have leveraged over $1.27 billion in private investment.

That impact is magnified further when you look at all state agency supported projects (Consolidated Funding Application or CFA projects) awarded funding since year one. More than $2.34 billion in private investment has been leveraged and a full 79 percent of those projects are completed or are on-schedule. We are proud of our track record of success with these projects so far and our efforts to collaborate with the state and the private business community to leverage the public funds awarded. We seek the greatest impact on both individual projects and with companies so as to encourage broader regional growth. Because of this, Central New York is indeed rising.

From the beginning, our efforts have been guided by three underlying goals that are the basis for our strategic planning, decision making, and project selection. The three goals are:

• Strengthening targeted industry concentrations that leverage unique economic assets: The region is investing in projects that will produce jobs and economic activity focused on the industries that are deeply interconnected to our region’s assets and communities.
• Improving competitiveness in, and connections to, the regional, national and global economies: We continue to build on our region’s history of innovation and strengthen our global competitiveness.
• Revitalizing our region’s urban cores, Main Streets and neighborhoods: We are focused on investments that further develop municipal centers, improve established neighborhoods, and harness the talent that is in our region at all levels.

A lot has been accomplished over the last seven years of the REDC. However, we still have much more we want to do. We will not be satisfied until each person is a part of our economic resurgence. I look forward to working with the Regional Economic Development Council members and the entire community as we continue to invest in our future. Thanks to all who do so much to help our community grow.