It’s hard to defend the indefensible, and Howard Zemsky proved that in spades last week when state lawmakers grilled him about the state’s pathetic job-growing efforts.
As chief of Empire State Development, Zemsky oversees Albany’s jobs programs — which left him stretching beyond all reason to answer tough questions even from Democrats.
Start with his defense of Gov. Cuomo’s signature jobs program, Start-Up New York — which waives taxes for 10 years for companies that open or expand in state-favored areas. Why did it create just 408 jobs since its inception in 2014, despite $53 million in taxpayer funds to promote it?
It’s too soon to judge the job-creation program by how many jobs it’s created, Zemsky said with a straight face. After all, he insisted, it has “dramatically changed” perceptions. Before Start-Up, the world thought New York was “not open for business” — now it knows differently.
Of course, Zemsky provided zero evidence for that claim. Because there is none.
Lawmakers wanted something more concrete: “At this point, we’re not seeing a whole lot of return on investments,” said Assemblywoman Addie Russell (D-Theresa). “Folks in my area are looking for jobs, not perception,” calling 408 jobs a “paltry” result.
No, it’s not at all too soon to flag Start-Up’s failure. After all, its goal even after five years is only 4,100 jobs, a mere 820 a year. Even if it meets that mark, it’ll have grown the state’s 8 million-job rolls by just 0.05 percent. At a cost of millions.
Worse, another Democrat, Robin Schimminger (Kenmore), doubts even the 408-job figure. Data from the employers, he says, suggests some of those jobs were in the pipeline pre-Start-Up or are transfers from other places.
Zemsky also had to defend the state’s Excelsior program, which similarly gives breaks to firms that promise jobs. Audits by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli have questioned its value, too — saying it’s not clear the program created the promised jobs or deserved the breaks.
Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” — state money meant to jump-start the economy in Buffalo and Western New York — likewise came under fire. No wonder: US Attorney Preet Bharara is probing it for corruption.
The attacks soon prompted the governor to offer his own bizarre defense: He claimed the programs are working and lawmakers are just trying to “get a headline by bashing Buffalo.” Huh? Who’s bashing Buffalo?
Cuomo and Zemsky won’t accept reality: Ads and tortured tax breaks won’t change the Empire State’s anti-business reputation — because that rep is deserved.
To change New York’s image, lawmakers have to change its high-tax, heavy-regulation reality.