Good News on Horizon: Business, Technology and Academic Partnerships Will Drive Economy, Create Jobs. Two Projects to Launch, Council Planned.

As the state wrestles with passing an on-time budget, marked by painful cuts to close a $10 billion budget gap,  Long Island could be getting good news this Spring when two components in New York State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle’s Innovation Highway are set to get underway.

LaValle says that the engine to drive the creation of new jobs and boost the economy is right in our backyard. “This Spring,” LaValle said, “two projects, The Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton and The Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center are scheduled to bloom.” The projects are part of LaValle’s Innovation Highway – a tech corridor stretching from The Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton to North Shore Hospital in Manhasset .

“I have been a strong advocate for and created  public private partnerships throughout my senate career,” LaValle said, “and this Spring two major economic drivers will emerge.”

LaValle said the Agricultural Consumer Science Center at The Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton is slated to break ground, and the  Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC)  in the Stony Brook Technology Park is slated to open later this Spring.  

The Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center , LaValle said, will develop cutting edge technologies to explore new ways to produce clean energy, enhance production from renewable sources, and find efficient methods for distribution and storage of energy with minimal impact on local eco systems.  

The Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton  fosters the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies by providing them with an array of business support, resources and services. A planned 8,500 foot extension for the Agriculture Consumer Science Center will give farmers and wineries a facility to commercialize their crops. LaValle secured a $3.5 million state grant for the project in 2008 and said the center will give Long Island’s agricultural community the tools needed to develop “new marketable consumer items and enhance their product lines.”

LaValle also said he is creating a coordinating council, The Long Island Technology and Economic Coordinating Council (LITECC),  that will bring together Long Island’s rich technology resources – Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor Labs --  business and academic resources to help entrepreneurs grow ideas from “drawings on a napkin to a product in the marketplace.”  

“We need to get all of our resources: academia, business groups, all levels of government and entrepreneurs together  to discuss programs, share ideas, set goals and ultimately launch new businesses and products,” LaValle said.