Empire State Development launches database of economic incentives

Housed on state’s award-winning Open NY platform, database ‘complements’ ESD's library of public data, providing public with ‘dynamic, user-friendly & searchable’ database of economic development projects

Empire State Development on Thursday announced the database of economic incentives is now live on Open NY, New York’s award-winning public data platform. It said the database is an accessible, searchable catalogue of ESD’s economic development projects: “This dynamic platform further increases transparency into projects that receive ESD support.”

ESD Acting Commissioner and President and CEO-designate Eric Gertler said, “The database of economic incentives provides the public with the most comprehensive index of economic development projects undertaken by ESD to move New York’s economy forward. The full-service platform, in a centralized portal, contains thousands of datapoints enabling New Yorkers to know more about the work of our agency and our commitment to public transparency.”

ESD said, “The database of economic incentives provides the public with comprehensive information on ESD loan, grant and tax credit incentive projects that support infrastructure, innovation, place-making and revitalization, tradable sectors, and workforce development. The database, containing over 1,000 projects, will be updated quarterly and includes instructional materials to help users navigate the platform and analyze the data.”

Each project in the database includes information such as the project’s location, the recipient of the assistance, the type and amount of assistance awarded, and, where applicable, progress and compliance status of any job or investment commitments associated with ESD’s assistance.

The projects in the database highlight a total public/private investment of $18.4 billion, of which 82% of invested funds are leveraged private sector and non-ESD investment, and 18% are ESD awarded dollars.

The database of economic incentives is hosted on Open NY as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Open NY initiative. ESD said, “The award-winning website is a hub for one-stop access to information that helps the public better understand what is happening in government. There are more than 645 million records available published by 58 state agencies and authorities on the Open NY platform.

“The Database of Economic Incentives is another example of ESD’s commitment to sharing information about its work on behalf of New Yorkers. The ESD reports page contains updates on program activities and includes more than 50 quarterly and annual reports that ESD issues each year, detailing key New York state economic development projects and initiatives. In addition, ESD maintains a comprehensive archive of public meeting videos and materials in the ESD media center.

“Based on the number of records and data fields available, New York’s Database of Economic Incentives is among the largest and most comprehensive state-level datasets of economic incentives in the nation.”

The database is accompanied by additional resources to help a user navigate ESD project-level information: 

• Database Overview: Provides a summary of the database, and its contents 
• Data Dictionary: Provides a list and definition of all data fields in the database.
• Data Snapshot: Includes summary statistics for all projects featured in the database. 
• FAQ: Answers frequently asked questions on the database 
• Webinar: Provides additional context on the projects in the database in the form of an introduction and user orientation webinar.

Empire State Development is New York’s chief economic development agency. Its mission is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the state and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York state. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of "I LOVE NY," the state’s iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit regionalcouncils.ny.gov and esd.ny.gov.