Cuomo spent $161 million on tourism, business ads

[hrmjustin]

Jimmy Vielkind

ALBANY—New York has spent $161 million on ads promoting tourism and its business climate since Governor Andrew Cuomo took office in 2011, records released to Capital late Thursday show.

The largest block amount of money was devoted to airing ads related to the Start UP NY program, which exempts new or expanding businesses from property, payroll and state income taxes if they locate in designated areas on or near university campuses. A state tabulation shows $28 million was spent to air this campaign, which began last December and at one point was continuing at the pace of roughly $5 million per month.

The spending has become an issue in this year's election campaign, with Republicans including gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino saying they are little more than a taxpayer-funded political boost for Cuomo, a Democrat who is campaigning in part on his work to revive the state economy, particularly upstate.

The manner in which the information was disclosed has provided another example Cuomo's opaque governing style. Capital requested records related to the ads in January under the state's Freedom of Information Law in, and had to pester a spokesman for the Empire State Development corporate more than three dozen times before initial information was released in March.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/07/8549195/cuomo-spent-161-million-tourism-business-ads

[hrmjustin]

1. Read the FOIL Response: State doles out $161M on ads

Joseph Spector

The state came clean last night and said it spent $161 million out of a $237.5 million pot on ads to promote the state’s business climate and tourism industry.

The five-page document that details the spending is below.

Empire State Development released the details after Gannett’s Albany Bureau filed a Freedom of Information request a year ago that sought records about the campaign.

http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/07/18/read-the-foil-response-state-doles-out-161m-on-ads/

[hrmjustin]

2. Astorino Knocks Cuomo For Ad Spending

http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/07/astorino-knocks-cuomo-for-ad-spending/