Cuomo Quietly Rebrands Start-Up NY Program Aimed at Creating Jobs Upstate

Governor Andrew Cuomo is quietly rebranding his Start-Up New York program that has aimed at creating jobs in upstate New York but has been attacked as a failure by the governor's critics. Zack Fink filed the following report.

New York State spent $53 million on ads promoting Governor Andrew Cuomo's Start-Up New York program.

But this week, Cuomo proposed changing the name of the program to "Excelsior Business" and tweaking the eligibility requirements for companies looking to relocate or start their businesses in New York State.

The change comes months after a report found that Start-Up had only created 400 jobs, far less than the thousands that were promised.

Critics say the program was doomed to fail because it picks favorites.

"We have the 49th-ranked business tax climate. We are going to acknowledge that, and then the rest of us are going to have to pay the full freight of that harsh tax burden," said Douglas Kellogg of Reclaim New York.

This is not the first time the tax-free program has been rebranded. Before "Start-Up," it was actually called "Tax-Free New York" back when Cuomo first proposed it in 2013.

Cuomo made the latest change in the proposed state budget, but didn't mention it in his public presentation.

"What we saw with the governor's move in the budget is another disturbing sign of the secrecy we see in Albany, and the governor trying to cover himself rather than give straight answers on the Start-Up New York program," Kellogg said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for New York's Economic State Development program says, "This program remains in place and the proposed adjustments, which are based on feedback from businesses, will help it reach its full potential. We remain firmly committed to the model."

Since its inception, people close to the governor have been saying that it will be years before Start-Up New York will produce the number of jobs promised in the legislation. But critics say these changes are a tacit acknowledgement by the governor that the program in its current form has been a failure.