Hochul announces $200 million investment in I-90 corridor workforce

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Gov. Kathy Hochul held a press conference Monday morning at the PPC broadband facility in East Syracuse to announce New York State plans to allocate more than $200 million to workforce development along I-90.

At the conference, titled “Our New York, Our Future: Investing in Central New York,” Hochul said the workforce development project will increase manufacturing involvement in central New York. The city of Syracuse will be the “flagship” for this workforce development, she said, preparing people to work at Micron Technology’s new plant.

“Never forget that we are risk takers, dreamers and doers here,” Hochul said, referring to Micron’s investment. “We were also smart enough to launch and execute the largest economic development project in our nation’s history.”

Hochul said he chose to hold the conference at the PPC facility because PPC has invested more than $7.3 million in expansion and plans to create more than 100 new jobs at the Syracuse facility. He said PPC was one of the only manufacturers to remain in the area after several companies retreated to offshore labor and unemployment rose in central New York.

“Geographically, Syracuse is the center of New York state,” Hochul said.

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Throughout the press conference, Hochul highlighted several projects to boost the state’s manufacturing industry, which he said is “at the heart of (New York’s) DNA.” Randy Wolken, president of the Central New York Manufacturers Association and co-chair of the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council, said New York State is on track to be one of the top five manufacturing states in the nation. He said he was on board.

The company announced plans to invest more than $100 billion in the state in 2022. As part of the collaboration with New York, Micron agreed to build an on-site child care center to support employees. Hochul said he believes the partnership with Micron will have a similar impact on the state as the Erie Canal.

Hochul said New York state has earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars to repair roads and improve public transportation in central New York. Most recently, the state announced it would continue its Interstate 81 viaduct removal project. The project was previously halted due to a lawsuit from Renew 81 for All.

Hochul said the state is trying to “make up for lost time” now that it can continue removing the viaduct. She said she hopes the effort will “reconnect neighborhoods” and remove “visual reminders” of Syracuse’s historical racism.

“This is probably the most significant infrastructure project Syracuse has seen in a century,” Hochul said. “First, we must right the wrongs of the past.”

Hochul’s conference comes on the heels of the announcement of a $233 billion state budget for fiscal year 2025, the largest in New York state history. During Monday’s conference, Hochul shared the progress of these investments with the public and explained their specifications in further detail.
Hochul divided the conference into five sections: mental health, fighting crime, education, housing and transportation, and infrastructure.

Hochul said crime in New York state has returned to pre-pandemic levels, noting that the shooting death rate and homicide rate in Syracuse have decreased by 37% and 25%, respectively. Although crime rates have decreased, the state “cannot be satisfied” with the results, Hochul said.

Hochul said the state will continue to invest $347 million to combat crime and gun violence in the state. He discussed details of investment allocations in the 2025 budget, including $40 million to combat retail theft, $40 million to combat domestic violence, and $35 million to combat hate crimes.

New York City will also continue its $25 billion five-year plan to build and preserve 100,000 homes across Central New York. Hochul said the budget will contribute to the state’s mission to provide 1,000 units of affordable housing.

The state will advance multiple statewide beautification and infrastructure improvement projects, with $50 million dedicated to improvements to the canal system and $200 million to state parks, the governor added.

After reviewing each section, Hochul noted the ongoing fight against child poverty in upstate New York. She said nine of the 10 ZIP codes with the highest rates of child poverty in the state are in upstate New York, two of which are in Syracuse. The state is actively gathering feedback from the community about her $50 million investment to address this issue in Central New York.

“Their destiny should not be limited by the zip code in which (they) were born,” Hochul said.

Throughout the event, Hochul emphasized the importance of revitalizing central New York, which had “lost its luster” in the past.

“We have this strong bond because we remember the good times, the bad times, the really, really worst times, and now we remember the recovery…the rebirth,” Hochul said. “These communities have endured incredible hardship, but they have never lost hope.”