New York's Senator
CHARLES E. SCHUMER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 16, 2001


SCHUMER: SITE SELECTOR MEETING COULD MAKE CENTRAL NEW YORK A HOTBED FOR NEW INVESTMENT

Economic development officials pitch region to consultants who advise businesses on where to locate

US Senator Charles E. Schumer today brought the consultants who advise businesses about where to locate to Syracuse today to meet with the Central New York Regional Compact. Schumer said the meeting is intended as a "pitch session" for local economic development officials to sell the region to site selector consultants from the Wadley-Donovan Group, Ernst & Young's Kenneth Leventhal Real Estate Group, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"One of the first things I learned when I became Senator in 1998 was the important role site selectors play in determining where a business will settle down or relocate," Schumer said. "These consultants can make a region with Central New York's labor pool a hotbed for new investment."

Although the area has rebounded from job losses suffered during the recession of the early 1990s, 76,000 area residents are underemployed which means that they are overqualified for the jobs they currently hold. Schumer said that high underemployment is one of the best selling points a region can have because of the critical role a strong labor force plays in influencing a site selector's recommendation.

"My goal is that the first-hand knowledge these site selectors will gain from this meeting will translate into new investment and opportunity for Central New York," Schumer said. This is the third site selector meeting hosted by Schumer. The first two were primarily consulting sessions for economic development officials to learn how to improve their respective efforts to attract new business to their areas. One of the key points cited by site selectors at these meetings was that Upstate communities often have incompatible approaches to economic development which undermine efforts to attract new employers.

In Central New York, the Regional Compact has adopted a unified strategy for promoting the region. The premise behind this six-county collaborative effort is that if a company invests in any one part of the region, the entire area benefits. Tuesday's meeting gives economic development officials from Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and Onondaga Counties the opportunity to sell the area as a good spot for corporate locations.

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