Published: May 10, 2008 12:02 am      

DEVELOPMENT: WNY officials stake claim to Upstate czar

With news that Gov. David Paterson may consolidate economic development offices back into one statewide position, local officials said Friday they plan to lobby for the new czar to be stationed in Western New York.

Niagara Falls Mayor Paul Dyster said he’s hoping that despite the consolidation, Paterson will honor the commitment he has previously supported to locate Empire State Development’s headquarters in Buffalo. It was former Gov. Eliot Spitzer who initially made that commitment.

“If that doesn’t happen, I would consider it a betrayal of that commitment,” Dyster said.

Paterson announced earlier this week he is considering ending Spitzer’s year-old system that gave equal powers to upstate and downstate chairmen within Empire State Development. Currently, Daniel C. Gundersen is based in Buffalo and serves as the Upstate Development chairman for Empire State Development. The downstate chairman, Patrick Foye, resigned when Spitzer left office in March following a sex scandal with a high-level prostitution ring.

Dyster said he hopes Gundersen is awarded the unified job and continues to be based locally.

“Chairman Gundersen has driven over 50,000 miles on the road visiting communities in Upstate New York in the past year,” Dyster said. “He’s a breath of fresh air and inspired confidence in all of us.”

Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, D-Lewiston, agreed keeping Gundersen on staff is key for the Niagara region.

“We’ve made tremendous strides with him in that position,” she said. “Without him, we may lose some of the standing we have gained over the past year and a half.”

Gundersen also serves as chairman of the board of directors for USA Niagara Development Corp., the state agency that oversees revitalization in the downtown Niagara Falls area.

Both Dyster and DelMonte share the same concern that if the unified position is located somewhere downstate, like New York City, it would mean a lack of economic projects and funding for upstate communities — a handicap that was addressed by Spitzer through the creation of the dual positions and a $700 million Upstate Revitalization Fund.

“The last thing I want to see is a Manhattan-based chairman,” DelMonte said.

Christina Orsi, regional director for Empire State Development Corp.’s Western Region office in Buffalo, told the crowd attending Thursday’s Niagara County Summit for Economic Success that the changes Paterson is considering will not impact the $700 million earmarked for development projects upstate.

However, local officials and residents will have to wait and see what effect the change will have on future state budgets and funding proposals.

“Right now, things are in a state of flux,” Dyster said.

The mayor attended a rally in Rochester to support Paterson just days after the former lieutenant governor took over for Spitzer. At that event, Dyster said Paterson reaffirmed Spitzer’s commitment to having an upstate economic development chairman stationed in Buffalo and sympathized with the difficulties of being part of smaller communities that are typically last in line for funding.

Dyster said he’s now expecting Paterson to hold true to those statements.

“If there had never been a commitment by former Gov. Spitzer, and reinforced by Gov. Peterson, to take this bold step with an upstate czar, then maybe this would be acceptable,” Dyster said, “but I don’t think there’s any turning back now.”

Leaders of the coalition “Unshackle Upstate” also are voicing their concern over the possible changes. In a released statement Friday, leaders from Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica said the more than 45,000 businesses represented by the coalition feel strongly that the upstate region has been much better serviced by the co-chaired structure.

“The current structure provides the upstate region with a government official with the power to hire and fire staff, approve projects and allocate resources; the powers necessary to effectively move the Upstate economy forward,” said Sandy Parker, president and CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, a founding partner in Unshackle Upstate. “To dilute those powers in any way would be a huge step backwards in terms of Gov. Paterson’s commitment to Upstate business owners struggling to stay afloat and the people they employ. How can we have a revitalized economy if Empire State Development packs up its bags and heads home to mid-town Manhattan again?”

Contact reporter Rick Forgione at 282-2311, ext. 2257.