JAMESTOWN – Less than a year after it was initially announced, a new manufacturing facility is now up and running on Fluvanna Ave. in Jamestown.

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul at the New Flyer welcome ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 27 in Jamestown, NY.

On Thursday Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul came to Jamestown to join several local officials and business representatives in welcome New Flyer to its new facility at the former Quality Markets supermarket on Fluvanna Ave.

New Flyer is a Canadian based company that is considered a leading heavy-duty bus manufacturer. The local plant in Jamestown makes component parts for the company, which are then sent to another plant to be used in the final assembly of buses.

Lt. Gov. Hochul explained that getting New Flyer in Jamestown was a group effort between local, regional and state officials. She also said that on Wednesday she was in New York City to deliver the governor’s budget message, and she shared details about the new buses that would be coming to the big apple.

“Guess what got the biggest applause? When we told them that we would be investing in new buses which, little did I know, were going to be made where I was going to be the very next day,” Hochul said. “So there’s a connection here. People are very excited. The fact that this company is responsible for over 2200 buses over the last 20 years, I guarantee you every New York has been on one of your buses.”

Hochul also explained to the more than 30 employees who were on hand that they’re work is going to have a big impact on New York City.

“I admire the innovation of the people at this company, who are becoming the global leaders in new forms of powering our public transportation,” Hochul said. “I can not tell you what a big deal this is, so know that here in Jamestown, your work is having a profound impact all across the country but also in New York City. They’re very excited about what you producing here.”

New Flyer Vice President of Manufacturing Kevin Wood talking with the audience, which included the estimated 40 workers who are employed at the new plant on Fluvanna Ave. in Jamestown.

New Flyer Vice President of Manufacturing Kevin Wood also shared details about how Jamestown was selected as the location for the company’s newest division.

“The reason that we’re in the state of New York is because we want to build buses for the city of New York,” Wood explained. “It’s a competitive advantage for us to be in New York. We also took a look around to decide where do we want to build this facility and it was settled that we would build in Chautauqua County, in Jamestown. That’s a lot to be said, because what we look for is something more than a building, we look at the community we want to invest in and we look toward the people we can invest in.”

Among the partners who helped to bring New Flyer to the area were the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, the Jamestown Local Development Corporation, Jamestown Community College and its the Manufacturing Technology Institute, the Start-Up NY program, the Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Investment Board, and Shults Real Estate, which owns the building and committed $2.2 million in renovation work on it to prepare for the New Flyer operation.

Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared at JCC in July 2013 to discuss the Start-Up NY economic development agenda. (Photo from Gov. Cuomo’s Press Room)

JAMESTOWN – Part of the reason why the New Flyer bus company set up a manufacturing division in Jamestown is due in large part to Start-Up NY.

The program, which was launched in 2013 and included an appearance by Gov. Andrew Cuomo at Jamestown Community College, partners with colleges across the state to identify areas in the community to invest in and develop new businesses, which then receive a 10-year tax break from the state when the move into the area and create new jobs.

However, despite being launched more than three years ago, the program saw criticism last year because it had created just over 400 new jobs across the state, despite a more than $50 million being spent on marketing.

Following the presentation welcoming New Flyer to Jamestown, WRFA asked Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul about the program and what it means to finally see it put to use in Chautauqua County.

“The premise behind it was to create a linkage behind the business community and universities, colleges and community colleges to make sure that the skills are being taught that the businesses need, and that’s exactly what is going on here,” Hochul explained. “We heard that from the president of JCC. We heard that this program is the reason this company came to New York State and came to Jamestown. They would not have come here but for this program, because in their words they said it gave them a competitive advantage. That’s what we want to hear. This was the genesis of this whole program, to give us an advantage over other states.”

WRFA also asked Hochul what assurance can be given that this won’t be the only Start Up NY program in our area.

“That actually took a little while for JCC to prepare for this, and they mentioned that. They wanted to be involved and they had some work to do on their end,” Hochul said. “Now that that’s been accomplished, I don’t think there’s any limit to how many companies can take advantage of this. Again, it’s working. They are going to bring in JCC students as interns, give them hands-on experience, so that when they graduate they are going to have hands-on experience for these jobs of tomorrow.”

According to the Lt. Gov., more than 200 different businesses across New York have benefited from the Start Up NY program since its inception.

While Start Up NY will continue to be in operation for the forseeable future, it will do so under a new name. As part of his budget message last week, Gov. Cuomo said the program will now have a new name and will be known as the Excelsior Business Program.

A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held Thursday morning for New Flyer, the Canadian transit bus company that opened a manufacturing location at the former Fluvanna Quality Markets.

The event is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m. with Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul expected to be on hand, along with city and county development officials and representatives from Ed Shults Real Estate, which owns the property and is leasing it to New Flyer.

The New Flyer project is the result of the Start-Up NY project, along with funding support from both the county IDA and Jamestown Local Development Corporation.

Currently 34 people are already working at the facility, which makes parts for the New Flyer bus lines.

Last Friday, Lt. Gov. Hochul was in Jamestown to present the governor’s 2017-18 state budget and highlight the initiatives that would impact Jamestown and Chautauqua County.

Thomas DiNapoli

ALBANY – New York State is not doing a proper job in overseeing how its tourism and marketing money is being spent.

That’s according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who released a scathing report Monday against the Empire State Development Corp (ESDC).

DiNapoli’s says what began as a $50 million ad campaign by BBDO USA LLC, an advertising and marketing agency, to promote tourism and business has mushroomed into a $211.5 million boondoggle with little proof that the ads have generated jobs.

The comptroller said that when government spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to promote the state as a place to visit and which is open for business, it should have clear objectives, but, he said that ESDC’s attempts to measure the results of the campaign were weak at best.

Officials with ESDC – which is controlled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo – responded by citing increased visits to their websites and focus group results showing that business executives in and out of the state have recalled the TV ads promoting the state.

The ESDC oversees economic growth efforts ranging from tourism promotion to the START-Up NY tax break program for new businesses.

On Wednesday college officials announced that the Fredonia College Foundation has been gifted a 25,000-square-foot office building that served as headquarters for the Cliffstar Corporation prior to its sale to The Cott Corporation in 2010.   The facility, a gift of the Star Family, was formally appraised in late 2013 as having a value of $1.65 million.

The two-story office building is located at 60-62 Franklin Ave., in Dunkirk, N.Y.  It is approximately 18 years old, and its adjacent parking lot accommodates 100 cars.  It will be used to assist in recruiting one or more businesses to the community through the state’s new Start-Up NY economic development initiative.

To be eligible for the Start-Up NY program, a business must either be a new company in New York State; an out-of-state company that is relocating to New York; or, an expansion of a company that already has employees in New York and is capable of demonstrating that it is creating new jobs, as opposed to moving existing jobs from elsewhere in the state.  New companies cannot be in direct competition with existing area businesses.

Governor Andrew Cuomo

JAMESTOWN – The top elected official of New York State will be in Jamestown today. Governor Andrew Cuomo will be making an appearance at Jamestown Community College to discuss the proposed Start-Up NY (previously known as Tax-Free NY) program and Economic Development in Western New York.

The governor announced the plan earlier this year as a way to give tax breaks to businesses on or near college campuses. It was approved last month by the legislature prior to the end of the spring session.

The governor’s appearance is slated for 12:15 p.m. at JCC’s Hamilton Collegiate Center.