S1052

Senate Print 1052, sponsored by Senator May, which would direct the Department of Economic Development to relocate the Central New York Welcome Center to the Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn, was laid aside without debate or vote on Calendar Number 446.

The New York State Senate passed legislation Tuesday directing the Department of Economic Development to relocate the Central New York Welcome Center from Destiny USA mall in Syracuse to the Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn, with a vote of 47-15. The bill, sponsored by Sen. May, faced significant Republican opposition led by Sen. Walczyk, who argued the mall location—one of the nation's top 20 most-visited shopping centers with over 20 million annual visitors—is strategically superior for welcoming tourists to New York. Walczyk contended the Heritage Center, which receives approximately 8,000 annual visits, is an inferior location and questioned whether the relocation serves primarily Democratic interests. Sen. May defended the measure as the state's responsibility to fund the building it constructed and argued the Welcome Center at Destiny is located in a remote corner with minimal foot traffic. She characterized the relocation as smart economics and infrastructure investment in upstate cities. The bill passed largely along party lines, with all 15 nays coming from Republican senators.

The New York State Senate passed legislation Tuesday to relocate the Central New York Welcome Center from Destiny USA shopping mall in Syracuse to the Equal Rights Heritage Center in Auburn, with a vote of 57-4. Senate Print 1052, sponsored by Sen. May, directs the Department of Economic Development to move the welcome center to the Auburn facility, which was originally designed for that purpose but has lacked dedicated operating funds since a previous administration redirected them to the mall location. Sen. May argued the welcome center currently receives minimal foot traffic at its second-floor mall location despite Destiny USA's 26 million annual visitors. She contended the Auburn site would attract significantly more visitors through school field trips and tourism related to the Harriet Tubman National Historic Park and Seward House Historic Site. The facility already houses a Taste NY component and interactive displays on local history and the suffrage and abolition movements. Sen. Walczyk cast one of four opposing votes, expressing concern about the relocation's impact on the Taste NY agricultural product program's visibility and criticizing the lack of formal consultation with municipalities across Central New York, including Syracuse, Onondaga, Oneida, Madison, Oswego, Cortland, and Cayuga counties. He also noted the potential loss of a valuable state partnership with Destiny USA. Sen. May countered that Taste NY products would remain available in both locations and that the move would ultimately serve more visitors while preserving operating funds for the Auburn facility.