NEWS
SUNY campuses approve governor's economic initative By Hanaa’ Tameez Assistant News Editor
New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s plans to jumpstart the state economy are centered around SUNY campuses. And the university system could not be more elated. On June 19, Cuomo, along with Senate Majority Coalition coleaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver unveiled their agreement to the legislation titled, “STARTUP NY,” which stands for “SUNY Tax-free Areas to Revitalize and Transform Upstate NY.” The economic initiative is designed to bring new businesses to the areas surrounding SUNY and other university campuses in
the state of New York by creating “the opportunity to operate completely tax-free – including no income tax for employees, no sales, property or business tax – while also partnering with the worldclass higher education institutions in the SUNY system,” according to the governor’s website. “Tax-Free NY will put together all the positives of New York, the history, the geography, the diversity, the educated workforce and combine all we have to offer with a tax-free environment,” Cuomo said in a press release. “This proposal will make our state more competitive than ever before and supercharge our economic development efforts to rebuild Upstate New York.”
The bill states that companies participating in START-UP NY will be exempt from taxes such as business taxes, sales taxes and property taxes for 10 years and employees of participating companies will be exempt from income taxes for five years. It also says that for the next five years, “employees will pay no taxes on income up to $200,000 of wages for individuals, $250,000 for a head of household, and $300,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return.” In order for a business to participate in START-UP NY, it must not only “be aligned with the academic mission of the campus, college or university,” but it must also display a positive economic effect on the community, which
EZRA MARGONO / THE STATESMAN
The bill requires universities to put any business revenue toward student financial aid.
“Years from now, New Yorkers will look back at START-UP NY as the game changer that returned New York’s competitive edge in the global marketplace.” -Andrew M. Cuomo
New York State Governor
includes creating and maintaining new jobs. Businesses are required to apply to the participating academic institution in order to establish their business and have until Dec. 21, 2020 to do so. Excluded from the list of eligible businesses are retail and wholesale businesses, restaurants, doctors and dentists, law firms, financial services, accountants and utilities. The bill also requires that any money the campus, college or university makes from a participating business must be used for “financial aid for students who are eligible to receive a tuition assistance award or supplemental tuition assistance … and to support additional full-time faculty positions.” Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. praised the governor’s ambitious plans at Cuomo’s Long Island “START-UP NY” bill signing. “Stony Brook University stands ready to implement Governor Cuomo’s vision to create new business in the high technology areas and utilize our experience
in advancing research into the marketplace,” Stanley said. “Years from now, New Yorkers will look back at START-UP NY as the game changer that returned New York’s competitive edge in the global marketplace.” Stanley partnered with other presidents of colleges and universities on Long Island to pen an opinion piece in Newsday, addressing some of the controversies surrounding the governor’s plan, which is said to be the first of its kind in the United States. With W. Hubert Keen (President of Farmingdale State College), The Rev. Calvin O. Butts, III (President of SUNY College at Old Westbury) and Shaun L. McKay (President of Suffolk County Community College), Stanley said, “Tax-Free NY offers a plan as innovative and exciting as the ideas it is designed to turn into economic growth,” the presidents continued. “We welcome the challenge it offers: Keep producing great innovations, and the state will help them grow and prosper on and near SUNY campuses.”
New center on campus advancing Parkinson's research By Steven Rossin Staff Writer
When Thomas Hartman, affectionately known as “Father Tom,” was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he founded the Thomas Hartman Foundation as a way of using his illness as a gift to others, raising money to support research efforts to combat the disease. As Father Tom’s health began to fail, his foundation looked for a home where his legacy and goal to continue aiding researchers could be solidified. After his foundation raised over $2 million in conjunction with the Simons Foundation, Stony Brook University officially dedicated the new Thomas Hartman Center for Parkinson’s Research in June. “We were very excited when the Hartman Foundation decided that Stony Brook would be a great place for their center,” Craig Evinger, a professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior and a leading researcher at the new center, said. “We think this is going to be very significant in the long run as we go forward researching the disease.”
Funding for the new center will help two leading researchers who were already studying the effects of Parkinson’s: Evinger and Professor Lorna Role, a co-director of the Institute for Advanced Neurosciences and a chair in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. In addition, 10 investigators new to Parkinson’s research have been added to bring different ideas, Evinger explained. University President Samuel L. Stanley said in a press release that together"their research covers new ground both in basic science and in clinical applications to increase the quality of life for those afflicted with the disease." The creation of the center comes at an opportune time for researchers. Evinger says it has always been a challenge trying to secure funds for research, but especially more so since the budget of National Institutes of Health (NIH) was cut. The NIH provides the majority of monetary support for biomedical research in America. “Even worse the sequestration is really making a mess of things at the moment,” Evinger said. “When
you apply for NIH grants they like to see some preliminary data, and it takes a little bit of funding to collect that data. “One of the things the center
has been doing is allowing people to get sufficient funding to collect this data so you can get the grants you need to run your lab for three to five years.”
PHOTO CREDIT: SBU MEDICINE
Left: Doug Manditch, Joe Collins, Father Tom Hartman, Ernie Canadeo and President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. unveil the new Parkinson's Research Center at Stony Brook.
Evinger is currently working on a method called deep brain stimulation, which sends electrodes directly to the portion of the brain disrupted by Parkinson’s and electrically stimulates it. He says this treatment has a remarkable effect on movement problems in patients. Researchers have figured out how the method works but Evinger is conducting research to improve it so that deep brain stimulation can become a more effective treatment option. The university and researchers at the new center are hopeful that they can make significant breakthroughs by working together. “Parkinson’s disease is progressive and gets worse all the time and we would like to stop that progression and improve the quality of life,” Evinger said, “The center has the long term goal of finding the cure for Parkinson’s disease.” According to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, an estimated 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with the disease every year, with reportedly thousands of cases going undiagnosed. There are more than one million people in the United States who suffer from the disease.