NY economic chief puts focus on small biz

New York State should concentrate its economic development programs on small- and medium-size companies because they create the most jobs, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's choice to spur growth said Tuesday.

Kenneth Adams, president and chief executive of the Empire State Development Corp., vowed to make his top priority the helping of companies already in the state through grants and lobbying for less government regulation. Such a strategy, he said, would be more effective than trying to lure businesses here.

"We need to do more to take care of our own," Adams told members of the State Senate's corporations, authorities and commissions committee. "If we can find ways to deploy our economic development tools more efficiently to help these businesses -- they are the ones where job growth will really happen."

Adams spoke in Albany to three committees and then was confirmed by the full Senate. The job of economic development chief pays $175,000.

The 62-member Senate also confirmed Cuomo's appointment of Darrel Aubertine, a former senator from Cape Vincent, near the St. Lawrence River, to run the Agriculture Department. He lost his re-election bid last year.

Adams, 50, is the former head of the Business Council of New York State and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. He lives in Brooklyn and has a second home in Hampton Bays.

Echoing Cuomo's 2010 campaign speeches, Adams said Tuesday that "New York has no future as the tax capital of the nation. We must turn the tide by lowering the tax burden . . . reforming regulations and removing obstacles to private-sector job growth."

If this is done, Adams said, the cost of doing business here would be reduced and produce greater benefits than government development initiatives. New York spends about $1 billion per year to help companies but the state's economy surpasses $1 trillion. "It's kind of a drop in the ocean," he said, referring to the programs.

Senators expressed skepticism about Cuomo's proposed reorganization of the economic development agency, where Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy will lead 10 regional councils that will compete for funding for projects.

Adams said the efforts would be coordinated.

The creation of the councils, comprised of executives, community leaders, politicians and educators from a region, has sparked controversy because they will not make the final decision on how state grants are distributed.

Of the council's advisory power, Sen. William Larkin (R-New Windsor), said, "I think that will have a negative impact."

Adams replied, "The structure of these councils is frankly a work in progress. . . . Their role would be advisory, but to me it's more than that." He said each council will devise a development strategy for its region and provide "direction" to state officials.

At the finance committee meeting, Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) urged Adams to bring to New York the manufacturers of windmills, solar panels and other equipment used to generate alternative energy. "I look around our state and we don't make anything. . . . We import things," Marcellino said.

Later, on the Senate floor, Sen. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) said more attention should be given to underemployment, which often is overshadowed by the large number of jobless.