The Remarks Of Speaker Sheldon Silver

IBM/Intel Announcement

Empire State Plaza, Hart Lounge, Albany, NY
Tuesday, September 27, 2011


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Speaker Silver (at podium) joins Governor Cuomo (second from left, seated) and other state officials at the State\'s Open for Business event to announce the IBM, Intel, Global Foundries, Samsung and TSMC partnership that will invest $4.4 billion in New York State over five years. This investment will support nanotechnology research at the SUNY Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Yorktown Heights, Fishkill, Utica and Canandaigua. The joint venture is expected to create and retain 6,900 jobs.

On behalf of the New York State Assembly, I congratulate and commend our partner in state government, Governor Andrew Cuomo, for his leadership and for recognizing that even in difficult times, there are investments that must be made to ensure long-term economic growth and job creation throughout our state.

The Governor and I have been working on this agreement together for more than a year and I am delighted that our hard work has paid off.

Our congratulations as well to Doctor Alain Kaloyeros and to our partners at CNSE on achieving this history-making agreement.

On a day devoted to regional economic development, this morning's announcement will mean jobs in the Mohawk Valley, jobs in Central New York, jobs in Rochester, jobs saved and jobs created in the Hudson Valley and throughout Upstate New York.

This is an especially proud day for me, for my Assembly colleagues and particularly, for the members of our Capital Region and Upstate New York Delegations.

About a decade-and-a-half ago, we listened to a pitch from an enterprising, young physicist by the name of Alain Kaloyeros.

As strong proponents of regional economic development ourselves, we took a chance on his vision. We made an initial investment of five million dollars in something he called "the regional center for interconnects."

This small investment of state funds - and our ongoing investments in our public/private partnership - have helped to make the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering the largest, most state-of-the-art, high-tech complex in the academic world, and helped us to forge a partnership that already includes SUNY IT in Utica/Rome, Lockheed Martin in Syracuse, and Rochester's Center of Excellence in Smart Systems Technology and Commercialization.

Our success has not gone unnoticed over the years.

Today, the giants of semiconductor manufacturing - IBM, Intel, Global Foundries, Samsung, TSMC - are right here, investing $4.4 billion in the State of New York, which the state is leveraging with $400 million in public funding.

You've heard the key elements of the agreement. Clearly, this is a regional economic development model that works! New York State is indeed "open for business."

So, let me express my gratitude to IBM and its Senior Vice President John Kelly, to Intel and its Senior Vice President Brian Krzanich, and to all of our corporate partners including Global Foundries, Samsung and TSMC, for believing in and investing in the State of New York.

Albany's emergence as a world capital for the engineering of matter on an atomic scale was, to say the least, unimaginable in my early years as a legislator. Now, it is the kind of success I believe - that my Assembly colleagues believe - can be replicated in all of our great cities, provided that we make the most of our outstanding public colleges, universities and community colleges.

We are delighted the Governor shares this vision. We are delighted that he believes in the capacity of high technology to be a powerful job-creating engine in this state. We are delighted that he has dedicated himself to advancing this agreement.

To all of the leaders present today to hear from President Clinton, please remember, our doors will always be open to our regional economic development councils and that the Assembly is committed to working with you to help rebuild our Empire State economy region by region.

That said, I and my Assembly colleagues are proud to be early investors in Albany Nano.

We look forward to working with the Governor, Doctor Kaloyeros, and with our corporate partners to create the opportunities and jobs for New Yorkers, and to ensure that our state has the highly skilled workforce of the 21st Century.

Thank you.