The latest iteration of Cuomo’s plan, which he will include in his State of the State address and budget proposal Wednesday, would significantly expand the state’s current college-in-prison offerings, which allow about 1,000 inmates in state prisons to receive college-level instruction. It will be implemented in 10 upstate cities with the highest poverty rates in the state including Albany and Troy.
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Syracuse had 34 percent of its population living in poverty in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Mulrow didn’t specify how the state will pay for the ambitious development projects, which are expected to cost more than $100 billion.
“To make them state-of-the-art so we get more flights, more business coming into upstate New York”, Cuomo said.
The program is modeled after Rochester’s anti-poverty task force.
Cuomo has been releasing plans in a host of areas in advance of his State of the State speech. A larger pot of funding – $20 million – would assist cities with investments and matching private funding sources.
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The Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative was announced Sunday by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul at True Bethel Baptist Church in Buffalo. The $25 million program would bring together local and state government with different non-profit groups to help reduce poverty rates.
