New York’s new Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will be the point person in the Cuomo administration when it comes to economic development upstate.
"Upstate continues to be one of the highest priorities of Governor Cuomo's administration. And when he selected me as an upstater, as someone who'd been educated here in Syracuse, I know this area, I represented seven upstate counties in Congress," Hochul said.
The former Buffalo-area congresswoman made her first stop in central New York this week, meeting with economic development officials and visiting one of the biggest development projects taking place in Syracuse.
"Nobody is sugar-coating the problems."
Hochul took part in the first Economic Development Council meeting of the year in Syracuse Wednesday. She’s following in the footsteps of her predecessor Robert Duffy, and says the governor has set her loose when it comes to promoting state programs that can help boost areas still struggling economically.
“He’s asked me to continue that work. And to continue it and to really amplify it. We really believe that we are going to hear some good news in the State of the State next week -- about more opportunities for upstate here,” Hochul said. “And I’ll be overseeing that as well.”
Hochul got a tour of the Hotel Syracuse during her stop in central New York. The landmark is undergoing a $57 million restoration that wouldn’t be possible without almost $20 million in state funding.
Developer Ed Riley says the weather has put the project slightly behind schedule, but a March 2016 opening is still planned. And he says central New Yorkers should be seeing signs of work soon.
"Within the next couple of weeks, you’ll see something very visual outside the buildings,” said Riley. “Because when we start taking off a lot of the mechanical equipment off the roof, and we start the clean-up work on the roof, it’s obviously going to be nuts and bolts. You’re out there doing work.”
