Governor David A. Paterson has proposed a comprehensive economic recovery agenda intended to stake New York's claim to its share of the massive infrastructure spending plan under development by the incoming Obama Administration. "No state has been more severely impacted by this crisis than New York, the home of Wall Street and the global capital of business and finance," the Governor said in a letter to the President-Elect.
"New York State alone has at least 1,922 infrastructure projects, totaling $11.7 billion that can be 'ready-to-go' (i.e., federal funds can be obligated within 180 days)," the Governor stated. "Of these 'ready-to-go' projects, 481 are traditional infrastructure projects (i.e., transportation and water), totaling $5.0 billion. Using the broad definition of infrastructure that you have proposed, New York has an additional 1,231 'ready-to-go' projects for school modernization, affordable housing, state parks, rural broadband, and health information technology, totaling $5.3 billion."
A statement from the Governor said he will continue to work with New York's congressional delegation and local officials to develop a list of infrastructure and development priorities important to them. A first draft of the list of so-called "shovel-ready" projects released by Albany drew criticism from a number of local leaders, who said that some projects already in the funding pipeline or under construction had been included, while others of high local interest were not.
In the statement, the Governor noted that while President-elect Obama's plan would not earmark money for specific projects, New York's list will be a starting point to prioritize both state and local projects competing for funds from the Administration's economic recovery proposal.
The full text of the letter is in a press release from the Governor's Office at: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_1229081.html
