ALIGN

Governor Cuomo announced the membership of the new Western New York Regional Economic Development Council today. Regional Councils are the state’s flagship job creation program, and it’s expected that the Governor will announce appointments to the Finger Lakes Regional Council when he stops in Rochester and the Central New York Regional Council when he stops in Syracuse later today.

The announcement comes several days after the release of a fifty-two-page plan for Regional Councils, which laid out more detail about their operation and how membership on the Councils will be structured.

Capital Tonight, By Liz Benjamin, July 26, 2011. As we learn who will serve on some of the state’s regional economic development councils, the Alliance for a Greater New York says there are not enough viewpoints included on the councils. As Allison Duwe of the Coalition for Economic Justice explains, they want to see more labor and community organizations working alongside business leaders.

Capitol Confidential, by Jimmy Viekland, July 26, 2011. During a swing through Upstate America, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the members of Regional Economic Councils covering Western New York, the Finger Lakes and Central New York. Cuomo first promised these councils in January, and is finally unveiling their make-up after announcing “phase II” of his administration last week, with a top priority of “jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Brooklyn Courier-Life, by Alex Rush, July 26, 2011. Opponents of Walmart’s move into Brooklyn are accusing the state of giving a developer a sweetheart deal when it renegotiated the sale of state land the big-box retailer is believed to be eying. Assemblywoman Inez Barron (D–East New York) — a staunch foe of the superstore — says that the government slashed its price on a 14-acre plot off the Belt Parkway — after the zoning was changed from residential to commercial, which should have increased the value of the land.

Albany Times-Union, Op-ed by Frank Natalie, July 24, 2011. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently released an outline for how 10 regional economic development councils can better coordinate job creation efforts and craft long-term strategic plans for each region in New York. This could bring much-needed sanity to the Capital Region's economic development initiatives, but the devil is in the details.

Advocates Question Potential Impact of New Regional Economic Development Councils New York City and Buffalo, NY—Members of the Getting Our Money’s Worth Coalition responded today to Governor Cuomo’s announcement of the launch of new Regional Economic Development Councils in New York State.…

The Epoch Times, By Tara MacIsaac, July 21, 2011. Wal-Mart Free NYC reported on Thursday that Wal-Mart representatives had met with development company Related Companies in Brooklyn this week. The group rallied in Brooklyn to protest any negotiations that might lead to the corporation securing a location in the city.

NY1, by Michael Herzenberg, July 21, 2011. Several dozen protesters hit the streets Thursday to denounce Walmart once again. This time they took aim at another company, as well, handing a letter to a representative of Related Companies to demand that it stop negotiating with Walmart to lease a property in East New York to the big box chain.

PolitickerNY, by Azi Paybarah, July 21, 2011. The legal options to block Wal-Mart from opening a store in East New York are rather limited. So, opponents are trying to win (or hold onto?) public sentiment that the big megastore will drive smaller, well-liked stores out of business. A labor-backed  anti-WalMart group is out with a video today, featuring Councilman Charles Barron and other local residents talking about their appreciation for local store owners who go out of their way to help local residents.

The Langar Hall, by Brooklynwala, July 21, 2011. I just got an email from the Working Families Party (a progressive political party in NYC) about the latest developments in mega-corporation Walmart’s latest attempts to set up shop in NYC.  One of the biggest real estate development companies in the city called Related is reportedly in discussions with Walmart about building its first NYC store in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York.   The below video put together by ALIGN, the Alliance for a Greater New York, features a Sikh business owner, Iqbal Chhabra.