Recognizing that New York State’s path to economic recovery and prosperity lies in job creation and the broadening of economic and career opportunities for all citizens, the New York State Senate created a Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation and Entrepreneurship and has appointed Senator Kenneth P. LaValle a committee member.
“I am honored be named a member of this important committee,” Senator LaValle said, and added, “I look forward to helping develop strategies for nurturing financially stable firms capable of economic expansion and job creation and to increase collaboration between the State’s academic institutions, private foundations, and municipalities.”
The concept of business incubation and business development programs originated in New York in 1959 with the opening of the Batavia Industrial Center. There are now an estimated 1,400 incubators in North America and 7,000 across the world.
Senator LaValle helped conceive and won the funding for the Calverton Incubator and the just opened Agriculture Consumer Science Center (ACSC) at the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton. The Calverton Incubator was conceived as an economic engine to enhance Eastern Long Island’s agricultural, aquaculture and environmental industries.
The ACSC, an 8,300-square-foot annex to the Calverton Incubator, provides regional food and wine producers and local entrepreneurs access to shared processing areas. It also facilitates contact with collaborating researchers, scientists and professionals from Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and the NYS Small Business Development Center, all of which can guide and advise from a business concept all the way to commercialization.
In addition to championing the Stony Brook University Incubator at Calverton, Senator LaValle was instrumental in creating The Long Island High Technology Incubator at Stony Brook University.
The Long Island High Technology Incubator is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping new technologically-innovative companies to grow by providing them with a variety of support resources and services. Since opening in 1992, the Incubator has been associated with more than 70 businesses, and 44 companies have graduated successfully from the LIHTI program, contributing more than $2.5B to the national economy and creating jobs for more than 500 employees.
The Select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation and Entrepreneurship was created by the New York State Senate on February 27, 2013 and will be composed of 11 Senators.
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