By Joseph Hernandez
For decades, New York State has lived with a widening economic gap. Downstate, driven by finance, tech, and service industries, continues to thrive. But many of our Upstate communities, the same cities and towns that once powered the nation, have seen a slow and painful erosion of jobs, opportunity, and population.
Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Binghamton, Elmira, Utica, Rome, Gloversville, Troy, Schenectady: these were places that produced world-changing technologies, aircraft systems, materials science breakthroughs, and industrial goods. When the factories shut down and investment dried up, too many of these communities were left to fend for themselves.
For families living there, decline is not theoretical. It is the empty factory that once employed thousands. It is the young family leaving because work left first. It is the quiet main street that looks nothing like it did 40 years ago.
As a candidate for New York State Comptroller, I believe we must finally confront this imbalance and rebuild the Upstate economies that were allowed to deteriorate. And we must do it in a way that is fiscally responsible and fully aligned with the Comptroller’s core duty: protecting the financial security of the state’s pensioners.
That is the purpose of the Empire Renewal Investment Plan. It is a ten billion dollar, market-driven investment strategy that uses the strength of our two hundred and ninety billion dollar pension fund to help spark economic revival in Upstate communities while delivering strong financial returns for retirees across the state.
The premise is simple: New York should invest in New York.
Not through giveaways. Not through political subsidies. Not through risky bets.
We should focus on disciplined, high-return investments in sectors where Upstate already has an edge and where the country has real strategic need:
- Advanced manufacturing and industrial technology in Buffalo and Western New York.
- Semiconductor supply chain facilities connected to Micron’s planned Syracuse project and GlobalFoundaries continued expansion in Saratoga County.
- Clean energy and battery production supported by federal incentives.
- Aerospace and defense systems anchored by companies such as Moog, BAE, and L3Harris.
- Logistics, cold storage, and food processing, capitalizing on New York’s international border and robust agricultural industry, with 30,000 working farms.
- Biomanufacturing and medical devices along the Thruway corridor.
These are not speculative fields. They are national priorities, with growing demand and strong export potential, in which New York already possesses a competitive advantage.
This strategy would support new manufacturing campuses, supplier parks, logistics hubs, and industrial real estate. It would help acquire and modernize undervalued Upstate companies in aerospace, materials science, optics, and precision manufacturing. And it would strengthen industrial corridors in Syracuse, Binghamton, Elmira, Buffalo, Rochester, and Utica.
Independent economic modeling indicates the plan can create between one hundred and fifty thousand and two hundred thousand jobs, generate more than a billion dollars in new annual tax revenue, and increase Upstate property values by six to ten billion dollars. That is not just an Upstate victory. It is a statewide one.
Equally important, it will strengthen the New York State and Local Retirement System for the retirees the Office of State Comptroller is entrusted to serve.
These investments are projected to produce net returns of twelve to fifteen percent. That is well above traditional asset classes and in line with the top-performing private equity and industrial real estate strategies used by the strongest funds in the country. Strengthening long-term pension performance reduces pressure on taxpayers and ensures that every pension check, whether it goes to a corrections officer in the North Country, a police officer on Long Island, a sanitation worker in Western New York, or a county employee in the Hudson Valley, is secure.
And when Upstate grows again, the entire state benefits. A balanced economy means lower volatility, stronger revenues, and healthier public finances. It means relief for beleaguered state taxpayers, instead of new levies to bail out Albany’s annual budget deficits and the MTA. It means downstate businesses gain shorter supply chains, lower shipping costs, and more opportunities for professional services.
The Comptroller’s office is not a ceremonial post. It is the financial engine of New York State. It oversees contracts, audits public agencies, and manages one of the largest pension funds in the world. For too long, this office has lacked strategic vision and has been content to monitor decline rather than reverse it.
I am running to change that.
We cannot accept a New York where half the state is left behind. We cannot rely on a pension system tied too closely to Wall Street alone. And we cannot watch other states profit from advanced manufacturing and federal investment while Upstate New York sits on the sidelines.
The Empire Renewal Investment Plan is more than an economic strategy. It is a commitment to retirees, taxpayers, and every New Yorker who believes our best years are still ahead.
New York’s comeback must be a statewide comeback. And as Comptroller, I will make sure it happens.