[Previous entry: "Going green isn't enough"]

12/23/2007: "Eye from Albany December 2007"

It's One State II

By Paul M. Bray

In my May 2006 column "New York-it's one State, Stupid" I pointed out strengths of upstate and the New York City metro area and the mutual advantage of fostering "the linkages and connections between upstate and downstate".

Not much has changed either on the divide between upstate and downstate and realizing the benefits from capitalizing on our common political and physical attachments. But "not much" is better than nothing and let us take a look at what is and might happen.

First remember the NYC Greenmarket that is a bonanza for truck farmers in the Hudson Valley selling directly in the Manhattan Greenmarket. Desire for healthy eating and carbon reduction benefit from eating local foods is greatly growing the market for local foods

Then think carrots. Schoharie County has great carrot growing soil and it has been selling its carrots in recent decades to the Green Giant type processors. According to an interesting article in the Times Union, farmers in Schoharie County are now trying to sell their carrots to the NYC School System-from upstate farms to NYS children. Upstate apple slices are already finding a market in NYC schools.

Nice idea, not so easy. The tiny carrots the NYC schools are providing students can't easily be carved from the type of carrot grown in the Schoharie Valley. A way needs to be found to process and package the carrots so that they can easily be distributed in city schools. Apparently, the farmers working with the upstate processor of the apple slices came up with away to krinkly cut the carrots and package them. The process will source this job out of state until he is sure the business will be large enough to justify buying the equipment needed to do the krinkly cut. A farmer was quoted as saying it took 40 years to change from marketing locally to selling to national processors and it may take 40 years to get back to marketing in the State. But do we have 40 years to go back to the future?

Recently, I heard a bigger idea for getting upstate farm products to NYC markets. How about an upstate farmer’s train filled with produce going across the State from west to east and then down to Hunts Point market in the Bronx? Hunts Point Cooperative Market is primarily involved in the production, processing, distribution, and sale of meat and meat products throughout the tri-state area. Fish is also available. It is one of the major facilities in the world's largest wholesale food distribution center and is located on 60 acres of property in Bronx, New York. At this point the Market is alive through the night and quiet during the day when it could become a major and festive retail market for fruit and produce, fish and meat. The upstate farmer’s train could be an attraction selling directly for specially designed rail cars and a gold mine for upstate farmers having this direct access by climate change friendly rail to the large City market.

Upstate-downstate linkage could also help the flow of capital to upstate as is starting to happen as Chinese investment is coming from New York City to Central Avenue in Albany. As reported in The Business Review, a Chinatown is taking shape in Albany. Drawn by affordable real estate, Albany’s place at the center of State Power and an attractiveness Wellington Chen, Executive Director of the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corporation in New York City, points out in the Review when he says, “Upstate is attractive. Upstate has what China does not have: clean air and clean water.” Image that, Mr. Chen believes our natural environment is an economic asset.

Tourism should also blaze a trail across the State from the two very popular State international destinations of New York City and Niagara Falls. At present the rest of the State between these two destinations is a black hole despite its great waterways, mountains, valleys and heritage. At a travel agency in Rome I saw a travel book of tours for Europeans starting in New York City and going to Boston or Philadelphia. No tour when north up the Hudson River.

The upcoming Hudson-Champlain 400th anniversaries of the exploration in the corridor between Canada and New York Harbor should solidify the State’s rightful claim to be “where America began” and why America has flourished. It isn’t too late for the State to get its act together and showcase the whole State beginning with its heritage and its waterways.

Given what might be, it is a huge failure that so little is done by our so-called economic development leaders to bridge the upstate-downstate divide. Why, for example, aren’t there annual conferences upstate and downstate to identify and tap marketing opportunities within the State. Why aren’t economic development incentives fashioned to jump start intra state development such as marketing upstate agricultural products in New York City and tap the potential of Chinese and other investment from the City to upstate.

So much opportunity, yet so far to go to make New York State the more integrated and productive economic unit it could be.