Paterson: "We're going to revitalize Buffalo"
"Our commitment will not change." And with those words, Governor David Paterson sought to assure all of Western New York that he will follow Eliot Spitzer's plans when it comes to Western New York.
Just two months ago, Spitzer announced a one billion dollar fund to help revitilize upstate.
Paterson says that despite looming spending cuts as he tries to balance the state's upcoming budget without raising taxes, the billion dollar upstate fund will not be touched.
"We're going to revitalize Buffalo," he said.
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Paterson: "A lot of times you have a building that's not in use, what you need to do in those cases is to demolish it and rebuild before a company would come in and run it. What businesses say is 'we shouldn't have to clean up your mess,' so we'll (the state) clean up our own mess, and then for a lot of companies, once you do that, they'll have interest in coming in."
As part of the state's commitment to the area, Paterson on Thursday announced that Tops will be bringing 140 white collar jobs to Amherst, doubling the size of its headquarters here.
Now, I know that this specific piece focuses squarely on western New York, but the fact that Paterson is making this pledge is significant for all of upstate. He wants us to know that he will not deviate from the plans that Spitzer first set forth for upstate.
Many people had problems with Spitzer and (maybe) rightfully so. But one of the things he deserves credit for is the focus on upstate. Now, Gov. Paterson will make this a focus of his and try to achieve the goals created with the upstate fund.
