about the world. what is happening in europe, looking back what our experience was in 19 0, the crisis we have, and the crisis we had in 1990s. this is very big issue. first of all, i agree entirely with christine that nobody is immune. we are all connected with each other. >> and you can see this whole discussion at 8:00 p.m. eastern tonight. we'll have more from the world economic forum tomorrow, including a panel on the political and economic future of africa. plus eos of several major corporations talk about the role their countries are playing in the global economic recovery. >> new york governor andrew cuomo delivered his second state of the state address at the empire state plaza convention center in albany in january. the governor reviewed 2011 and

released his agenda to boost new york's economy during his second year in office. he announced plans for the nation's largest convention center in new york city, a $1 billion jobs initiative for the city of buffalo plans to repair 2,000 miles of bridges and roads. his speech is about an hour. >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. happy new year, new york. it is going to be a good one. 1st lt. governor bob duffy, isn't he great just listening to the lieutenant governor?

he is when we started the administration, we has three call words, performance, integrity, pride that you see behind me. bob is the personification of that. he was a great, great mayor. of the sti -- city of rochester. he's been a phenomenal lieutenant governor. he's been everywhere. he's truly a superstar. our great controller who a really important job at one time. he was a former seemp man, thomas dp 'napoli. another gentleman who had an important job when he was a state senator, still has an important job, attorney general eric snyderman. a pleasure to be with him. majority leader dean scalas. talking about ball players.

the last person to have a rookie season like dean scalas was derek jeter. he has been a phenomenon. pleasure to be with you, senator scalas. assembly speaker sheldon silver. he had two rookies to deal with last year, the speaker both myself and dean and i can tell you this. the speaker was always, always constructive. it's not that we always agree on everything, but the question is, are you positive and are you constructive and are you working towards a solution. and the speaker was also constructive and he was always supportive of me personally. we all owe him a debt of gratitude for a great job last year. assembly speaker sheldon silver. my friend senate minority leader john sampson. pleasure to with you, john. thank you for being here.

assembly minority leader brian kolb is here. brian, thank you very much for your service. all the judges of the court of appeals. especially chief judge lippman. honor to be with you, chief judge. and as a point of personal privilege, i hope you've noticed there's been a certain amount of restoration that's been going on in the capitol and here at the concourse. the ogs, offices of general services team, has done an outstanding job heading by commission ker rohand estito. >> the assembly never forgets their own. did you ever notice that? executive deputy commissioner joy sef robito, mark shamming from the museum has done an outstanding job, harold holzer

from the metropolitan museum. give them a big round of applause. thank you for all your help. to all of you, my fellow new yorkers, thank you for taking the time to be with us today. it was just about one year ago today that we gathered just in this room at this point to talk about the state and the trajectory of the state. and we said at that time that the state was at a cross roads. that new yorkers were hurting. about 800,000 people unemployed or underemployed. the committee had wreaked hardship and anxiety all across the state and people needed help. the government, however, was filled with scandal. it was ineffective. it was rife with partisanship. and the state was divided in many ways. divided up state, down state, millionaires, middle class, gays straight middle class democrats and republicans.

we had a fiscal deficit, which was the most pronounced problem. but maybe even a more difficult problem was the trust deficit, the performance deficit, the integrity deficit that the state was also suffering from. new yorkers deserved better than they were getting. and new yorkers knew it. our capital was a symbol of the deterioration and the decline. it was under renovation for 11 years, believe it or not. scheduled to take four more years. by the time the renovation was finished we would have had to start a renovation all over again. the situation was grim. our people had problems, and our government didn't have the capacity or the credibility to be of sofs. we were at a crossroads. we had a choice to make, and we made the choice. we could he have remained dysif you thinkal and divided or come together to re-establish the government of the state of new

york. and to go forward to rebuild our state. well, we made the right choice. we chose to begin to change the culture of albany. to put people first. to rebuild the trust. to restore our deteriorating capitol. the 234th legislative session had a historic success for the people of this state, period. let me ask the men and women of the assembly and senate, please stand so we can recognize you and give you a round of applause for the great work you did in this legislative session. you restored the faith of the people of this state. and we thank you. we all thank you.

thank you. thinking back on what we accomplished makes me tired. we started by closing a $10 billion deficit with no taxes and we got a budget done on time. we enacted the first ever property tax cap after 20 years of debate and discussion. we closed -- clap, tom, clap. we closed 3,800 prison beds because we finally realized that prison operation is not economic development. we eliminated the mta payroll tax for most small businesses across the state. we passed the toughest rent regulations in 30 years. we launched the new york open for business campaign in regional councils that are energizing the entire state.

we passed an affordable energy policy with recharged new york on financing and after eight years, we passed article tin. we provided desperately needed flood relief for homeowners and small businesses. we passed ethics reform to restore trust in government and we attacked chronic high unemployment among disadvantaged inner city youth with and i knowvative jobs program. we restored new york's reputation. as the progressive capitol of the nation. we had landmark achievements in the area of social justice and economic justice. millions of new yorkers had been treated as second class citizens for too many years. we ended the injustice. we stopped the discrimination. we made history. we led the nation. we passed marriage equality for all new yorkers, and we did it

together. but we didn't stop there. for decades new yorkers were burdened by an unfair tax code. under our old tax code, whether you made $20,000 or $20 million, you paid the same tax rate, believe it or not. it was just plain wrong. we brought fairness to new york. our principle is very simple. the more you make, the higher the rate you pay because a flat tax is just not a fair tax, and that's what's we understand and believe in the state of new york. under our new fair tax plan, we

added new brackets to protect the middle class. and a high earner bracket and under the fair tax plan we stimulated the economy by providing a middle class tax cut. everyone agrees to stimulate the economy, whether it's president reagan, president barack obama, that a tax cut stimulates the economy. and everyone agrees that the middle class has been struggling for too long without any help and without any assistance and we provided a middle class tax cut for the lowest rate in 58 years. now 58 years, just think about that. it was a really long, long time ago.

the year was 1953. tom dewey was governor of the state of new york. the first color television sets were just being sold. jackie robinson was playing second base for the brooklyn dodgers. the first corvette was created. i was just a twinkle in my father's eye. maybe a double twinkle in my father's eyes. and majority leader dean skelos was only 4 years old. but a dapper lad he was, wasn't he? speaker silver was only 8 years old. but even at 8, speaker silver

was speaker silver. but what is very heartening is that even then you should know they were both working together hand in hand in a spirit of bipartisanship. let's give them a round of applause. [ applause ] 2011 will go down in the history books as an extraordinary success. and the members of the legislature should be very proud of what they accomplished. unfortunately that wasn't the only story of 2011. 2011 was also a very challenging year for the state in many, many ways. especially outside of albany. we had a terrible situation with tropical storm lee and hurricane irene that caused terrible

damage in parts of the state that could really least afford it. the mid hudson, the north county, the southern tier sustained terrible damage. but maybe in our darkest hours new yorkers shined the brightest, the way new yorkers came together and the spirit of community and the volunteerism was inspiring. the way our first responders came together. all across the state. as models of courage and models of public service. when every instinct in your body says run to safety, the first ronders ranton provide safety to other neighbors and other new yorkers. if it wasn't for the extraordinary work of the first responders, what we went through would have been much, much worse.

we are joined today by many of the first responders who saved lives during that terrible period for the state of new york. i'll ask them to stand at this time, and let's give them a big round of applause and thank them for their currently, and their service and their volunteerism. [ applause ]

2011, we accomplished much. there is no doubt. 2011, we've been through much. there is no doubt. but there's also no doubt we've only just begun to do the work that this state needs done. we've established credibility. we reversed decades of decline in the state. but now is the time to actually get to work building a new new york. we have big problems in new york. we also have big solutions in new york. today i'm going to put together -- put forth a three-part plan to make our new new york a reality. part one the next phase in the economic blueprint for our economic growth. part two, a reimagined government that can make it a reality, and part three, a new york vision for progressive future.

when it comes to economics can and getting the economy moving our challenge for 2012 is this, how does government, any government, the state government, the national government, but how does government spur job creation in a down economy while limiting spending and maintaining fiscal discipline? the answer is create public-private sector partnership to generate billions in economic growth and create jobs. and that is the challenge we face. spurring the private sector to create jobs without spending state resources that would hurt the economic situation of the state. let's begin by building on our economic strength. we know that new york is a destination location. tourists spent $50 billion in new york in 2010 alone. new york is the place to be. new york is the place people want to come to.

but new york just stay ahead of the competition. convention centers are important economic generators. right now when you look at the list of where new york is in terms of convention centers, sadly, new york's convention center, the jakub jab vitz convention center on the west side of manhattan is down at the bottom of the list, literally number 12 after places like anaheim, california, washington, d.c., los angeles, there's new york. right now the jakub javits convention center is not competitive. that hurts the new york economy. because we're just not getting the shows here. the largest convention center in the country is in chicago mccormick place at 3.1 million feet. you see javits is 832,000 square feet. this is not a new problem. we've talked about it for years. we talked about expanding the

center. it's hard to expand because it's locked. the hudson river is on the west side. there's development to the north. there's development to the east. today is different. today is different because we're not just going to talk about our problems. we're not just going to talk about the challenges. we're going to talk about the opportunities. and today is different because we're not just going to talk about this challenge. we're going to do something about it. let's build the largest convention center in the nation, period. we believe we can attract $4 billion in private sector investments to build a state of the art convention center at the aqueduct racetrack. it will be all about jobs, jobs, jobs. thens much thousands of joks, building the number one convention center in the country. we'll go from number 12 to number 1.

because that's where we deserve to be, the number one state in the nation, period. we can then transform the current jakub javits site and master plan the 18 acres to revitalize new york city's west side. we'll follow the battery park city model, which is a tremendous success. battery park city. the government master planned the project. the private sector actually developed. battery park city has residential units, hotels, recollection recreational facilities, parks. they teach about battery park city in the urban planning and design schools around the country. we would follow that model for the site. we believe we can attract $2 billion in private sector development to give you a sense of the aftervitz site, it's 18

acres. the united nations is 17 acres and the world trade center site was 16 acres. so the javits center is a very, very large tract of land and has great potential for the westside of manhattan. it's also bordered by the hudson yards and moynihan station projects, which are under way. when you put javits, moynihan and hudson yards together, you're talking about a comprehensive revitalization of the west side of manhattan, which could make a major difference. while we're investing on our strength, we also have to invest in the struggling areas of our state. and many of our struggling areas have been ignored for too long. new york is stronger when every region of the state is strong. we must address the crisis in western new york and in buffalo, specifically. [ applause ]

buffalo, my friends, has the third highest poverty rate in the nation. in the nation. not in new york. in the nation. behind detroit and cleveland. 28% of the people in buffalo are living in poverty. at a time when the state population was growing, buffalo lost 10% of the population. this is another issue that has gone on for many, many years, while the state sat by and did not take dramatic action. it doesn't have to be that way. >> 25 years ago, the capital district region, the region we're in today, albany, had a struggling economy. the state began investing in albany's high-tech industry. today, albany is home to a world class center for nanotechnology as the speaker mentioned, we just signed a new agreement with

intel and ibm bringing thousands of additional jobs. and there's a vibrancy in the capital district region around nanotechnology that would not have happened but for the state's investment. if we did it in albany, we can do it in buffalo. we believe in buffalo. let's put our money where our mouth is. we're ready to invest $1 billion in an economic development package for the city of buffalo to bring business back to buffalo. it's gone on for too long! it's going to stop today. that is a big "b," standing for buffalo and standing for billion. we're going to work with the regional councils, which have been a great success and the buffalo regional council is working very well to create thousands of jobs, attract

companies internationally or nationally, and we will put together an economic development package that works for that cluster economy. we believe our 1 billion can leverage at least $5 billion in economic activity. last year we got serious about economic development all across the board. and we had a two-part strategy. we had a macro top down strategy. new york open for business. where new york state sets the template, sets the table and a microbottom up strategy in the regional councils. it's worked very well. the regional councils have exceeded everybody's expectations. there's an energy that is out there. there is an optimism. there is a hope. there are partnerships. local governments are talking. the private sector is working with the public sector. people of different parties are talking. even yankees fans are talking to mets fans. it's unbelievable. it's working.

and the credit for this great, great accomplishment goes to one man specifically, a phenomenal public servant, our lieutenant governor bob duffy and we want to give him a round of applause. it has worked so well. that we want to keep it going. we want to launch a second round of competitions for an additional $200 million. there's great momentum. especially in upstate new york. let's authorize a second round and grow that he momentum even stronger. on the new york open for business campaign, it's going to be expanding this year and go global.

espc and the port authority already will coordinate an effort to boost international competitiveness because we're not just competing with other states. we're competing with countries all across the globe. we have to realize that. we have to be prepared for the competition. the open for business campaign will also be expanding to promote tourism and we'll be running television campaigns to attract people to our state highlighting our regional trerns like the adirondacks, the catskills and our long island beaches. we have the greatest sites in the country. let's promote tourism throughout the state. especially in upstate new york. another potential economic engine for the state is casino gaming. when it comes to casino gaming, i believe we are living in a state of denial. it's time we confronted reality. it is not a question of whether or not we should have gaming in

the state. we have gaming in new york. we have tribal casinos all across the state. we have racinos all across the state. we don't realize it. we don't regulate it. we don't capitalize on it. but we have gaming. as a matter of fact, we have 29,000 electronic gaming machines. that is more than in atlantic city. that is more than any state in the northeast or the mid-atlantic. so the debate, well, we don't want to go into the gaming business, is just not true. we are in the gaming business. we're not doing it well. we're not doing it as well as we should be doing it, but we are in the gaming business. we're also surrounded on every border of the state by casinos.

massachusetts just legalized casinos. so not only do we have gaming within the state, we surrounded by gaming. and for us, this is not about chips and cards. this is about the jobs that the casino industry generates. we estimate $1 billion in economic activity for the state of new york if we actually recognize the reality and regulate and capitalize on gaming the way we should. let's amend the constitution. let's do gaming right. let's make it safe. let's protect our people. but let's get the jobs back in new york. and let's take the first step this year. we have a great opportunity to

rebuild new york. we need jobs. we need to be competitive. we need to be safe. we need to rebuild our infrastructure. 32% of the bridges are rated deficient. 40% of our roads are rated fair or poor. 83 he was of state parks and dams are in a state of disrepair. we have much work to do. and we need a new approach to get it done. i'm proposing setting up the new york works fund and task force. this task force will be made up of leading public and private sector experts and members of the legislature. it will coordinate for the first time all the state's capital construction. right now, believe it or not it, agencies and authorities do their own construction, their own development, their own master plan all disconnected one from the other. without even any conversation. so the mta ha