Published: January 29, 2008 08:57 pm      

UPSTATE: Dyster joins Spitzer’s coalition

Falls mayor visits Syracuse to support economic fund plans

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster made an impromptu trip to North Syracuse Tuesday to rally in support of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s plans for a $1 billion economic revitalization fund dedicated to upstate growth.

Dyster was contacted by the governor’s office Monday afternoon and asked to make the trip and join forces with fellow upstate mayor Matt Driscoll of Syracuse. The two mayors and Spitzer visited the Syracuse Research Corporation, where the governor urged members of the Manufacturing Association of Central New York to join with businesses and municipalities across upstate in support of the fund’s creation.

“The burden of proof is on us to demonstrate to our fellow New Yorkers that creating the Upstate Revitalization Fund is the right thing to do,” said Dyster. “Once we’re successful, it’s their responsibility to do the right thing. If not now, then when?”

Spitzer’s comprehensive economic plan for upstate cities, from Buffalo to Schenectady, includes a $350 million Regional Blueprint Fund that makes commitments to development-ready sites, reforming the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program and creating “the nation’s best small business loan program for machinery, equipment, real estate and other needs.”

Dyster said he believes the proposed initiatives are carefully crafted to remove the immediate obstacles to economic growth and will help push upstate communities, specifically Niagara Falls, over the “tipping point” for economic development.

“The governor has put together a program with all the right stuff,” Dyster said. “I know, because I’ve been meeting with potential developers for weeks. ... Whether the issue is providing new housing downtown, preparing brownfield sites for new uses, rebuilding transportation infrastructure or stimulating creation of new ‘green collar’ jobs, the Upstate Revitalization Fund has something good to offer.”

Dyster said he’s looking forward to working with Driscoll and his upstate colleagues in the days ahead. He believes it’s the job of everyone from all political parties to join in creating a strong coalition in Albany to make the programs a reality.

“When, in the 1970s, New York City needed help from the rest of the state to get back on track economically, the rest of the state answered the call,” Dyster said. “Now the timing is right to do the same for upstate.”