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Thank You, Governor Cuomo

Kudos to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a strongly worded message to the state Legislature in the aftermath of his announcement that Athenex will locate a new plant in Dunkirk.

Athenex – a global specialty oncology pharmaceutical company – will invest a minimum of $1.52 billion in the Dunkirk plant to manufacture high-potency oncology drugs for shipment, as well as oncology pharmaceutical products that often show up on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage list. The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute will kick in $200 million to create the state-owned facility, according to a news release from the governor’s office. Cuomo has made it known publicly that he won’t sign a budget that doesn’t include the $200 million state investment in the project.

This is a crucial investment in Chautauqua County. While the state’s investment is relatively small in the grand scheme of a $1.52 billion project, the state’s involvement likely closes a funding gap in the project. Without the state’s help it is entirely possible Athenex and its 900 jobs go somewhere else. We know state Sen. Catharine Young, R-C-I-Olean and Senate Finance Committee chairwoman, and state Assemblyman Andrew Goodell will do all they can to keep that $200 million in the budget. We hope Cuomo’s support carries weight with Assembly Democrats.

Athenex doesn’t replace the gaping NRG-shaped hole in the budgets of Chautauqua County, Dunkirk or the Dunkirk City School District, but it’s a nice start. We hope the 900 jobs mean people buying houses in Chautauqua County and spending their money in Chautauqua County businesses. We hope it gives a reason for some of our college-trained students to come back home and reinvest in their hometown. We really hope it brings some spin-off businesses that create their own ripple of jobs in our area.

We often disagree with the governor on matters of state policy. Without Cuomo’s efforts, we’re not sure all of that hope we mentioned in the previous paragraph would exist. Hope is important in an area that has had the type of economic news we have had in the past 18 months. Thank you, Mr. Cuomo. This area really needed the good news.

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