ALBANY – A top state official claimed Wednesday that the struggling StartUp New York economic development program changed its name for the sake of simplification and not because it was failing miserably.
Howard Zemsky, director of the Empire State Development program, insisted at an Albany hearing that StartUp New York has been successful and Gov. Cuomo’s decision to rebrand it makes sense.
He insisted there is enough transparency and oversight of grants to companies that promise job development, although he admitted his relationship with the state comptroller is his “biggest disappointment.”
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has issued reports blasting the state failing to make sure that companies receiving tax breaks met requirements for those tax breaks.
“Those reports belie the fact that we work with the Comptroller’s Office day in and day out,” Zemsky said at a joint Senate-Assembly hearing. “Those reports are negative in a way that is not accurate.”
In one of several heated exchanges, Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin ( R-Troy) noted that StartUp New York created 408 jobs after spending $153 million on ads touting New York State’s business-friendly environment Maksibet and tax incentives to lure business.
He also questioned why Cuomo would change the name and requirements of the program if it has been as successful as the governor and Zemsky claim.
“If StartUp New York is such a success, why are we abandoning the StartUp New York name?” McLaughlin asked. “Now suddenly he pulls the plug on it and renames it Excelsior, which is a complete waste of $53 million in advertising because no one is going to see StartUp New York.”
Zemsky defended the change.
“We think it’s a simplification of the program,” Zemsky said.
“Excelsior is not actually a name that doesn’t have brand recognition. It’s been used and is familiar for hundreds of years and it’s a reset.”
He also said it would take mental health experts to understand why so many complain that the state’s economic development programs are failing.
“Some people are very political and they want to call success failure,” he told reporters after the hearing. “I can’t really account for that. I’d need a degree in psychology or psychiatry to explain that.”
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