ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo’s prized Start-Up NY jobs program, which he promoted using tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded ads, produced a paltry 408 jobs over its first two years.
In a classic, pre-holiday weekend bad news dump, the Cuomo administration quietly posted a report late Friday afternoon that showed the pricey program — now in its third year — was only expected to produce 4,140 net new jobs by 2020.
“If the man wasn’t an economic illiterate, he’d recognize how embarrassing this is and he’d shut it down,” said Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R-Rensselaer County), a frequent critic of Cuomo’s program.
McLaughlin called the program “a total fraud, a scam, a joke” that was designed to boost Cuomo. He derisively said the jobs created under the program is “one afternoon of job growth in Texas.”
Cuomo administration officials defended the program, arguing its impact on the state’s economy will grow over time. They also noted the report showed the 408 new jobs paid a total of $32.2 million in wages statewide.
“It is not sham, it is far from sham,” insisted Leslie Whatley, who heads the Start-Up NY program for the administration.”It is succeeding.It is sustainable.”
The program, inaugurated in 2014, creates tax-free zones for new or expanding businesses on university campuses and other specially designated zones. So far, 159 businesses have enrolled in the program, according to the report.
“It is changing the public-private partnership model in this state,” Whatley said.
