The Governor announced the launch of New York State’s $150 million workforce development grant programs, administered by the newly-formed Office of Strategic Workforce Development within Empire State Development. The $115 million Pay for Performance Grant Program and the $35 million Workforce Development Capital Grant Program are designed to meet New York State’s workforce needs, increase the capacity of workforce training providers, and position New Yorkers to fill high-quality, in-demand jobs.

The full program guidelines and links to the Consolidated Funding Applications are available on the Office of Strategic Workforce Development’s website here. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis and awards are expected to be announced every two months beginning in December. The deadline for applications for the first round of grant funding is November 14, 2022.

Governor Hochul said:

Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Release Report on the Role of Online Platforms in the Buffalo Shooting

The Governor and Attorney General released a report on the role of online platforms in the tragic Buffalo mass shooting at a Tops grocery store where 10 Black individuals were killed and three others were injured. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) reviewed documents and social media content to examine how the alleged shooter used online platforms to plan, prepare, and publicize his attack. This investigation and subsequent report were completed in accordance with a referral from Governor Hochul.

Governor Hochul and Attorney General James are calling for federal and state reforms to combat online extremism and violence, including state legislation that would criminalize graphic images or videos created by a perpetrator of a homicide and penalize individuals who reshare or repost those same images or videos. In addition, Governor Hochul and Attorney General James are recommending changes to Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act to increase accountability of online platforms and require companies take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful violent criminal content from appearing on their platforms.

Governor Hochul said:

Attorney General James said:

Governor Announces Winners of Accelerator and Start Up Competitions

Winners of the Luminate NY optics, photonics, and imaging startup accelerator competition and the eighth annual 43North Finals were announced by the Governor this week. The Bochum, Germany-based Lidrotec received the “Company of the Year” award at Luminate Finals 2022, which was held live during Optica’s Frontiers in Optics + Laser Science conference in Rochester. The company will receive $1 million in investment from New York State through the Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative. As required by the award, all winners of the competition will commit to establishing operations in the region for at least the next 18 months. Luminate NY, which is administered by NextCorps, is the world’s largest business accelerator for emerging companies that have optics, photonics, and imaging enabled technologies.

Winners of the eighth annual 43North Finals were also announced. 43North is a $5 million startup competition held in Buffalo in which five companies are each awarded a $1 million investment. In addition to the financial investments, the five winners will relocate their companies to Buffalo and work out of the 43North incubator.

Winners include:

Agape Wellness – Rochester, Monroe County, NY – Agape is a relationship wellness company that uses personalized questions to spark meaningful conversations.

AMPAworks – Santa Monica, CA – AMPAworks is a camera that uses computer vision A.I. in order to have full inventory visibility in pharmacies, medical device companies, surgery centers, clinics, and hospitals.

Mod Tech Labs – Austin, TX – MOD helps enterprise companies create universal 3D content at scale by digitizing the real world using photos.

Otrafy – Chicago, IL – Otrafy is an AI-powered SaaS supplier management platform with the ability to automate compliance and identify risks.

Phood – New York City – Phood integrates with universities’ card services to create a connection between students’ flex dollar accounts and the gig economy.

Federal Judge Blocks New York From Banning Guns in Church

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on part of the new concealed carry laws. The suit is separate from a decision that has been temporarily stayed in which many components of the law were called unconstitutional by a different circuit court judge. In this case, the judge ruled more narrowly that the plaintiff’s lawsuit which challenges the ban on carrying a concealed firearm in a place of worship is likely to succeed on the merits and ordered the state be temporarily barred from enforcing it, while the merits of the case can be reviewed, and a decision rendered. The Attorney General is likely to appeal the decision.