|
|
| |
|
| ||
(ALBANY) - Alan Gerry has ``no partners and no attachments'' when it comes to developing the Woodstock concert site in Bethel, but he does have appointments with state officials in Albany to talk about his project. While Gerry said he has no firm idea yet what the Woodstock development will look like, he may want to know what New York state can bring to the project.
And if Gerry is creating jobs, the state could potentially bring a lot to the table.
Gerry said Wednesday he's arranged to meet with various people in Albany in upcoming weeks, including Charles Gargano, head of the Empire State Development Corporation, the office under which all state economic development programs have been consolidated. John Melia, director of public relations for the state's development corporation, said the office does not discuss specifics of upcoming meetings with business people, but said there are a number of programs that could potentially be available to Gerry.
``When business people come to us, we're here to hear them, and to see whether or not assistance with the creation of jobs could be provided, he said. Melia said Gargano's office can potentially help a large-scale project such as Woodstock with job-training grants, low-interest loans, capital improvement and infrastructure money.
Gerry's Woodstock development could also be included in all state tourism literature.
Melia said Gerry could also be looking to talk to the Governor's Office of Regulatory Reform. A spokesman for Pataki could not be reached yesterday.
Several politicians from the mid-Hudson said yesterday that they were eager to help Gerry, although they were somewhat vague about how they would go about it. State Sen. William J. Larkin Jr., R-C New Windsor, has known Gerry for years and had a copy of the Woodstock announcement on his desk the same day Gerry made it. ``If there's anything I can do for Gerry I would do it,'' Larkin said. ``He loves Sullivan County. He stuck it out here.''
Since the news about Woodstock broke, Larkin said ``I've been on the phone. Let the key players take a look at it and see what they can do.''
In the aftermath of the defeat of a bill that could have legalized gambling in the Catskills, many lawmakers have said they want to assist Sullivan County and its failing economy.
State Sen. Charles Cook, R-Delhi, said Gargano's office could possibly help Gerry with bonding to finance construction.
``The point is the local people now have taken the first step,'' Cook said.
State Sen. Joseph R. Holland, R-C New City, a gambling foe, said he was certain that he, Cook and Larkin would work together to help Gerry contact anyone he needed. Assemblyman Jake Gunther, D-C Forestburgh, who authored the gambling bill that died in the state Senate, said he told Gerry he's ''delighted'' with the news. Gunther recently requested $17.5 million from the state for Sullivan to develop a performing arts center at the Bethel site.
With Gerry's announcement, Gunther said he'll push to keep some of that money earmarked for possible infrastructure funding, which he called ``key.'' The Bethel area is largely zoned residential and agricultural, and it's rural pastures have little in the way of water and sewer lines. Building access roads could also be crucial.