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GAMALIEL
NY
ACTS
Syracuse
• ARISE Capital Region • LION Long Island
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 19, 2005
David
Rusk Releases Report Calls on NYS to Change “Rules
of the Game” to Reinvigorate Regional Development
Albany, NY (May 19, 2005) – Urban
consultant David Rusk has released a new study of urban and suburban
sprawl in
upstate New York that calls on New York State to change the rules of
the game to
stop the steady erosion of the economy and quality of life.
“In an age of sprawl, New York State
has created the worst possible combination of rules of the game,” says
David
Rusk. “New York’s 18th century system of government stands
in the
way of achieving its 21st century vision.”
Rusk points out that the state is
divided into 1,545 cities, villages, and towns with inflexible
boundaries that
cannot adapt to changing demographic and economic conditions. There are
no
state standards for regional growth management, and local governments
are in an
intense and wasteful competition with one another for taxable
properties,
called “rateables.”
In recent years, these state “rules
of the game” have contributed significantly to minimal net growth in
the wealth
and real income of whole metropolitan regions. He calls on the state
legislature to institute wide-ranging reforms to end inter-municipal
conflict,
eliminate wasteful duplication of infrastructure expenditures,
accelerate
regional economic growth, and share benefits of such growth more
equitably
among municipalities.
The report calls on the Legislature
to empower county governments to develop comprehensive, county-wide
land use
and transportation plans that will curb urban sprawl and redirect
investment
back towards core cities, villages, and inner-ring towns. “The state
should
require municipal governments to conform municipal plans and zoning
maps to the
county-wide plan,” he says.
Other recommendations in the report
include a “fair share” plan for balanced housing development that
serves all
levels of the workforce throughout all municipalities and empowering
county
governments to take the steps necessary to stop the bleeding of
resources.
These steps include the following:
“If the legislature is unwilling to
mandate such a system,” says Rusk, “it should at the very least provide
clear
statutory authority and state financial incentives by which a county’s
citizens
can elect to institute such a system by county-wide referendum.” Such an arrangement, typically called a
“regional compact,” has been successfully implemented on Long Island
and in the
Catskills, and is currently being discussed in Erie County.
The report and the events
surrounding its release was funded in large part by an $11,500 grant
from the
Central New York Community Foundation to ACTS (Alliance of Communities
Transforming Syracuse), the Gamaliel Foundation affiliate in Syracuse,
along
with a $1,000 grant from Verizon Foundation to ARISE, and additional
support
from Charter One/Citizens Bank.
Gamaliel New York is a coalition of
regional community organizing projects (ARISE - Capital Region, VOICE
Buffalo,
Lockport Area VOICE, ACTS Syracuse and LION - Long
Island) which formed a new alliance to combat the
continuing
decline of urban areas across the state. The alliance was formed
following a
bipartisan hearing on April 5, 2005, focusing on the economic future of
core
cities and population centers in New York State.
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