Finally, Locals Speak with Cuomo Over Future of Utica Nano

More than five weeks after the devastating news broke that a chip manufacturer no longer planned to invest and create jobs in central New York, local leaders met with Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday about the future of Nano Utica, and furthering the state's investment in the SUNY Poly campus in Marcy.

Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi told WIBX First News with Keeler in the Morning that the meeting included Senator Joseph Griffo and Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.

''We had some good conversations with him about our concerns over the area, our concerns about the AMS announcement and how we're going to put aside some of our differences and work together to make sure things happen here,'' Brindisi said.

''I feel better after meeting with him and hearing his plans for the area and what he's doing to bring a company to [the Marcy] site, working with Empire State Development and EDGE. There are more leads on the nano site  now then there probably have ever been in the last ten years - there's a lot of interest out there. They're very close to getting the Quad C building up and running which is something that's been promised for a long time. That's a good thing that's going to happening in the next few months, hopefully.''

''So, things are moving. He is committed to the area, and he's certainly heard our pleas. He wants to act and is concerned this area is experiencing the same kind of economic success as you're seeing in Buffalo or Long Island, or other parts of the state,'' Brindisi said.

The future of the proposed Nano Utica has been in limbo, with no public comment coming from the Governor himself since news broke last last year that one of the promised tenants, AMS, decided it was backing away from it's plan to bring hundreds of jobs and investments to the SUNY Poly site.

Local officials said the tech company had grown frustrated when the state began missing deadlines to build a facility in Marcy that could be used for high-tech chip manufacturing. Those missed deadlines and delays surrounded news and indictments of several state officials for alleged big rigging of deals to construct other facilities around the state.