BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The woman who heads up START-UP NY said in Buffalo Wednesday that "we're on a roll" as she defended the often-criticized job-creating program.
Governor Andrew Cuomo started START-UP NY, which allows new or expanding companies that partner with universities in the state to operate tax-free for 10 years.
Leslie Whatley, executive vice president of START-UP NY, moderated a forum at UB's Gateway Building in Downtown Buffalo on Wednesday. She praised UB, which has signed up 48 companies, which promise to create more than 1,500 jobs over the next 5 years.
"This community is making a resurgence, and they (UB) have done a lot with their assets," Whatley said.
The latest figures show 71 colleges and universities have been approved by the state to be part of the program.
Across New York, 121 companies are participating in START-UP NY, and they committed to create 3,340 net new jobs.
But critics say the jobs have come at a high price. Empire State Development, the economic development arm of the governor's office, spent $53 million on advertising and marketing for START-UP NY.
Republicans have blasted the program, calling it a waste of money. An opinion piece in Forbes said in the headline, "With Only 76 Jobs Created Cuomo's Start-Up NY Is A Bust", referring to the program's annual report, which showed only 76 jobs created in 2014.
Whatley fired back against that criticism.
"We had to build a program from scratch, and we had to do it in a thoughtful way," Whatley said. "A tremendous amount of that first year was spent building the program."
She pointed out more companies have joined the program in the first half of 2015 than all of last year.
"We're on the right track," she said.
Up-to-date jobs figures aren't available, because companies only report that information once a year. It won't be until April 2016 that we get an official count of how many jobs were actually created from the 121 companies that so far have signed up.
