The county’s Office of Economic Development is charged with promoting and improving the business environment and stimulating the local economy. They track job creation and job retention and market Onondaga County as a great place to live, work and do business. The last two years there has been a focus on films and the technologies used to produce them. The state has made an investment in some emerging technologies, which has led to a local partnership with the film industry. The economic impact is noticeable. 

This year, the county oversaw some major projects that created and retained hundreds of jobs in Central New York.  G&C Foods in Van Buren and JMA Wireless in Clay will create a combined 200 jobs while remodeling their facilities. Tessy Plastics is continuing its success in Central New York with the addition of a 246,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. This project will retain more than 800 jobs and create 50 more. Blue Rock Energy is relocating downtown, upgrading and remodeling unused office space in the Onondaga Towers Building. A new 124-room Hampton Inn & Suites is being built on Buckley Road, which will create 35 new, permanent jobs. Nine separate projects are investing approximately $121 million to new or existing facilities.

In 2016, several movies were filmed in Central New York, including post-production at the Filmhouse in East Syracuse. More than 20 potential projects are considering Onondaga County and the CNY Film Hub as primary filming locations. Film Hub projects like “American Dresser,” “Mohawk” and “Pottersville” contributed more than $2.5 million in local hotel, restaurant and shopping spending. These initiatives also involved the hiring of more than 500 people. The film “Mohawk” was shot mostly at Highland Forest and Pratts Falls. The Central New York Film Commission is encouraging an interesting, new industry that is truly impacting local dollars.

Brian May represents the first district, which includes the town of Lysander and the western portion of the town of Clay.