New York City is the subject of yet another review commission, this one assembled to study the future of the Big Apple and to develop strategies to reverse the economic decline that threatens to further roil the city's business climate.
Senate Majority Leader Ralph J. Marino, R-Muttontown, announced last week the creation of Senate Majority Advisory Commission on the Future of New York City.
"With over half the population and 43% of the jobs in New York State, the economic vitality of New York City is of paramount importance to the economic health and well-being of the State of New York," Mr. Marino said in a statement. "There can be no healthy state economy without a viable city economy."
Just two months ago, Mayor David N. Dinkins and Gov. Mario M. Cuomo announced the creation of a joint effort to study the fiscal and program relationships between the state and the city and see how these ties can be improved in the next few years. And over the last two years, the state and the city have separately appointed commissions, panels, and task forces -- which include members of the public and private sectors -- to study a variety of topics, including productivity and labor issues.
This latest commission will not include public sector officials, said John McArdle, a spokesman for the Senate majority. "This is something we are creating that will only involve people with the private sector," he said.
The makeup of the panel was arranged this way to offer the Senate majority a distinctly private-sector perspective on the city's future, Mr. McArdle said.
To that end, Mr. McArdle noted, the majority leader appointed David Cornstein as chairman of the commission. Mr. Cornstein is president and chief executive officer of Finaly Enterprises Inc., a national leased fine jewelry company based in Manhattan.
Mr. Cornstein also is a member of the New York State Advisory Council on State Productivity. He was appointed to that panel by Mr. Marino.
Mr. McArdle said four other members of the private sector will be appointed to the commission in the next few weeks. The advisory commission will convene a series of symposia, hearings, and conferences that will focus on such topics as economic development, labor, infrastructure, housing and real estate, and demographic trends.
The commission is expected to make a report to the Senate early next year.
