Below is the press release issued by Empire State Future on September 1 regarding the signing into law of the Public Infrastructure Priority Act. This Act has been Empire State Future's primary legislative pursuit since its founding in 2007.

(September 1, 2010)-- With the stroke of his pen, Governor David Paterson codified a new law that requires New York State Agencies, Authorities and Public Corporations to screen their infrastructure programs and investments to ensure that they are not funding inefficient, redundant, and costly development known as "sprawl."  The "Smart Growth" bill was sponsored in the New York State Assembly by Sam Hoyt of Buffalo and in the New York State Senate by Senators Suzi Oppenheimer, Velmanette Montgomery and Carl Marcellino.   

This law is a significant step for New York's efforts to revitalize its cities and villages, and to revitalize and preserve its suburban and rural communities. For decades across New York, land has been developed at many times the rate of population growth, causing an array of economic, ecological, and social consequences. Especially severe in this "sprawl" pattern has been the excessive burden on governments and taxpayers stemming from the need to maintain the excess "built environment." New Yorkers need to know that their limited public infrastructure dollars build the communities we will need in the future.  This bill does that.

"We are grateful for Assemblyman Hoyt's leadership.  New York is now in the forefront nationally in the effort to ensure that we have robust growth that is economically and environmentally sustainable.  The Public Infrastructure Priority Act's signing into law is a huge step to stopping costly sprawl at its source" says Peter B. Fleischer, Empire State Future's Executive Director.  He added that "going forward, we absolutely must ensure that state agencies conduct the required 'sprawl screens' properly and thoroughly to be certain that state funds aren't used anymore to fuel more development that drives up our taxes and stresses our environment."

To view the bill, click here (New York State Assembly site) or here (New York State Senate site).

As this year's fight to pass a Smart Growth infrastructure law in Albany draws to a close with legislation being sent to Governor David A. Paterson, the subject got some major exposure in the Sunday, August 22 edition of the Albany Times Union. A story on page one of the business section presented the views of supporters and detractors regarding enshrining Smart Growth policy in state law ("Saving Central Cities"), and quoted Empire State Future Executive Director Peter B. Fleischer as saying the change the law would provide would be significant. "It's going to force a change in the thinking of every state agency that's got money," he told the paper. "That's really big. That's fundamental change."

Under provisions of the bill, state agencies would be required to observe Smart Growth policies by aligning their capital construction projects with Smart Growth principles, or report to the Governor regarding the reasons they could not. Although the measure had overwhelming support in both the Senate and Assembly, opposition voices on the part of the Business Council of New York State and a contractor who sits in the Assembly surfaced in the TU article.

The Public Infrastructure Policy Act passed both houses of the State Legislature this session, and was sent to the Governor's desk on August 18. He is widely expected to sign the bill, although he vetoed an earlier Smart Growth proposal in 2009. At the time he had objected to specific provisions of that bill which supporters of Smart Growth claimed were too weak to begin with. The Hoyt-Oppenheimer proposal that passed the current session has elicited wide support among the Smart Growth constituency.

by Bruce Fisher
reprinted with permission of Artvoice Buffalo

Editor's note: Given Empire State Future's quest to illuminate and eradicate the "SWOG" (Sprawl Without Growth) phenomenon and the economic, ecological, and social problems it causes in Upstate regions and communities of all kinds, we asked Bruce Fisher and Artvoice if we could reprint this piece, which expertly details the reality and consequences of the rampant over-retailing of an Upstate region. 

American civilization has its perfect expression in Union Road, in the entirety of its run from Orchard Park to Williamsville. Union Road is a succession of strip malls that link the marquee suburbs of Western New York. It is what the anti-suburbanites call "Generica," and it is a refutation of every fond hope for "smart growth," "new urbanism," "transit-oriented development," and "green infrastructure," because Union Road is all about automobiles. 

The statewide coalition of 39 member organizations that's been leading the citizen effort to improve New York's economic and civic potential through Smart Growth -- Empire State Future -- is now in its third year!

With planning, environment, and business groups who are interested in advancing the many principles of Smart Growth, the new coalition is working to turn them into reality in cities, towns and villages all across the Empire State.

The coalition builds on the generally accepted Smart Growth ideas that cities need nurturing, suburban sprawl has been straining local services while consuming our landscape, and it's no longer possible to build our way out of traffic congestion.

Empire State Future compliments and expands on efforts to bring progress and sanity to the way we plan our future. And a big element of our work involves communications: we work to provide the Smart Growth constituency and the general public with a lively Web site that is current, informative, and easily used.

We strive to help establish a better public understanding of the links between land development patterns and the high cost of government services -- as well as the contribution of sprawl to ongoing environmental degradation.

People visiting our site for the first time might ask, "What do you mean by Smart Growth, and why is it important?"

To us at Empire State Future, it's the effort to build a healthy economy that offers real choices in transportation, housing, and education while respecting farmlands, open space, and our many natural and historic resources. By building more homes and businesses in already-existing communities, we can save valuable open space and conserve money spent on our roads and costly utility infrastructure. All of which makes Smart Growth important for our future, and for our children's future.

Linking land use decisions with existing development is good because it can take advantage of a multitude of public investments that are already in place, avoiding the need to duplicate them. Sprawl is bad because it tends to reward land speculation in the marketplace without regard to areas where development may be better suited -- and oftentimes much preferred.

Why shouldn't it be simpler for us to work toward a more attractive and economical civic future? A future where

• new development is constructed in places that maximize existing public investment in schools, roads, water and sewer service, transit facilities and information infrastructure.
• workers have good jobs that are within walking distance or an easy commute by bike, bus, rail or automobile
• farm land is protected from encroachment so it can continue to be used to raise livestock and crops, providing a continuing and strong agricultural sector, and rivers, lakes, streams and ponds are pollution-free and provide recreational opportunities for residents and tourists alike
• people can choose to live in older, thriving communities that are beautiful and unique, and that validate the reality that this is still the Empire State!

Empire State Future is striving to reach these values through public education, citizen action, and petitioning our government. Working together, especially during this period of significant economic challenges, our coalition has high hopes for New York's future!

      Foreclosed properties and other abandoned buildings in the Hudson Valley city of Kingston will be listed on a new registry designed to target eyesores and get them cleaned up, according to a story in the Daily Freeman. City officials say the "Empty House Hotline" registry will be used to target unsightly properties that have been abandoned, with the goal of getting the cleaned up.

      Some properties on the list have already been cleared of unsightly growth, according to Kingston Fire Chief Richard Salzmann, who heads the city's Building Safety Division, who is quoted in the story. Under the new program, property owners are contacted by the city and instructed to clean up their land and address any other issues that may be present. If the owners fail to comply, cleaning of the properties is thereafter completed by members of the Ulster Count "YouthBuild" group, which partners with the city as part of the program.

       Abandoned properties have become an increasing problem in urban areas, with foreclosed properties owned by banks high on the list of neglected sites. And otherwise well-kept areas are suffering when absentee landlords cease maintaining structures, causing a gradual decline in the attractiveness of neighborhoods and in property values.

       All four of the buildings involved will see renovations completed by the middle of 2011, according to their owners, the paper reported. The first one is already up and running, housing a karate studio, and city officials say the effects of the rehabilitation will be felt beyond the single block.

        Other nearby construction, including a new parking garage for downtown, will mean a transformation for the area, city officials and owners predict. Mayor David Roefaro is reportedly seeking a Main Street grant from the State of New York to replace dilapidated sidewalks in that part of the city, according to the article.  "I think it's going to look like the kind of vibrant, urban landscape that people see in other cities and wonder why you can't do that here," said city Community Revitalization Director Robert Sullivan.

      Urban reclamation and infill projects form the basis of  Smart Growth goals in Downtown areas because they offer an economically attractive alternative to continued sprawl, bringing with it the attendant increased costs for new or expanded municipal services. 

      The announcement by Bass Pro, the giant outdoor retailer that had been the anchor tenant of a major, decade-long effort to development Buffalo's waterfront on Lake Erie, is a setback, but one that will be overcome, according to officials.

      The Springfield, Missouri company cited "numerous critical reasons for our position, including the fact that several major issues fundamental to successful completion of the project remain unresolved, "according to a letter from the company's president that was reported in Buffalo First, a Western New York Business Newspaper.

       The project was unusually contentious in recent times, with several public disputes over community issues including proposed living wage agreements and the level of employment of local residents. Pronouncements by the Mayor of Buffalo and its City Council leaders had seemingly hardened the positions of supporters and detractors. The head of the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation, the sponsor of the proposed development, said his group is "committed to this project and will move forward with our plans for a revitalized waterfront" despite Bas Pro's decision to abandon plans for a 150,000 square foot store that was said to have a planned opening in 2012, employing 400 people in full and part-time jobs.