(2013-08-05) Ithaca Town And Gown Economic Development

Ithaca Ny is the upstate exception: a successful liberal enclave in a largely conservative region troubled by unemployment woes, declining or stagnant population, and post-Detroit talk of bankruptcy... Much of that optimism comes from a reciprocal relationship (Town And Gown) with two institutions — Cornell University and, to a lesser degree, Ithaca College — which have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy and created thousands of jobs for everyone from professors to landscapers, and also fostered new companies... Ithaca’s model of education as an economic engine is one that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a priority this year as a strategy for all of upstate, where there are dozens of universities. In June, he signed a bill that would allow State University of New York (SUNY) branches and some private schools to offer Tax Free Zone-s for new businesses that open on or adjacent to campuses. Ithaca’s mayor, Svante Myrick (Cornell University class of 2009!), who was invited to speak alongside the governor when he promoted the plan in May, playfully challenged other leaders of Ivy League cities in the Northeast to come to his.