Covid-19: Rapid Growth in Cases Exposes Vulnerabilities

Although the Northeast, particularly New York State, was the epicenter of the Covid-19 outbreak in March and April, states like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts imposed stringent measures that limited personal interactions, such as closing all non-essential worksites, limiting gatherings to groups of 10 or less, and requiring people to wear masks in settings […]

Despite Agitation to Reopen Businesses, Upstate Covid-19 Cases Are Not Declining

Upstate areas are seeing increasing pressure to reopen currently closed businesses as the economic damage from Covid-19 restrictions increases. With millions of New Yorkers unemployed and businesses facing the prospect of permanent closure, there is real need for relief. But reopening should take place in a way that does not lead to significant growth in […]

Reported Covid-19 Cases Increase in Upstate New York

Although New York State is seeing a decline in the number of new reported Coronavirus infections, the decrease is concentrated in downstate New York. Reported new Covid-19 cases in upstate areas are increasing. The increase is associated with an increase in the availability of tests for the virus. New Cases Decrease Statewide New Covid-19 cases […]

New Covid-19 Cases Decline Throughout New York

The number of new reported cases of Coronavirus in New York State has begun to decline. The chart below, which shows the three-day moving average of new cases, indicates that after plateauing from April 3rd to April 10th, a decline began, with cases decreasing from a peak of more than 10,000 to less than 5,000 […]

Coronavirus’s Impact in New York State – The Curve Flattens

Although Coronavirus cases continue to increase in New York State, the rate at which they are increasing is slowing, most likely because the State and Federal actions requiring social isolation have slowed the transmission of the disease. The decrease in the rate of increase is evident in both downstate and upstate metropolitan areas. But, the […]

Countering the Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic

We have seen alarming estimates of the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on disease and death, as well as on our economy. Some have suggested that more than half of our population could be infected – more than 160 million people and that one or two percent of those could die. The President’s Treasury […]

New York’s Amazon Debacle – Some Lessons

Amazon’s decision to abandon its HQ2 project with 25,000+ future jobs in New York City led to acrimony with opposing politicians and some commentators blaming the company for abandoning its effort. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an early project opponent, tried to re-frame her stance, saying, “We do not have to settle for scraps in the greatest […]

How the State Senate Gerrymander Ultimately Hurt Upstate Residents

The November election brought a marked change in the composition of the New York State Senate that will have significant implications for upstate New York residents. Tom Precious in the Buffalo News noted, “Majority party rules and minority party lawmakers are left with table scraps when it comes to funding and policy matters. As a […]

How Amazon Could Help Upstate New York

One of the Thanksgiving meal discussions at my house involved Amazon’s new HQ2 and why Governor Cuomo didn’t get the company to locate its new facility in upstate New York. And, though my argument that upstate metropolitan areas lacked technology focused labor pools of sufficient size to be seriously considered by a technology based firm […]

Amazon HQ2 – A Good Deal for New York?

It is not surprising that the decision by Governor Cuomo to give Amazon $1.8 billion in grants and refundable tax credits to come to New York City for half of their second headquarters generated controversy. Some have questioned the need to subsidize Amazon given New York’s labor pool advantages[1], and the amount of money given […]