Cuomo: New York to Offer $250 Million for Upstate Airports to 'Think Big'

May 20—New York State will offer $250 million in awards to upstate airports in a competition to get regions to rethink what they offer.

"You have to think big," Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said during at stop at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga on Thursday. "You have to think transformatively."

Cuomo said airports should try to rethink their purposes in the way of entertainment centers and tourism centers before stressing that airports need to increase their capacity for public health screening in the wake of Covid-19.

"Covid came in through the airports. Remember how Covid got here," the governor said, before listing other viruses. "They don't start in the United States, they come through our airports."

Cuomo said that applications for the awards are due Sept. 15.

It is not yet known if the $250 million fund represents new money above and beyond regular state airport development dollars that agencies such as the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority rely upon.

Cuomo lauded the Buffalo Niagara International Airport's ongoing expansion, saying, "what is happening at this airport is extraordinary, and it is going to make a big difference."

Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown also spoke at the news conference, offering platitudes for the governor and the airport.

" Buffalo pre-Covid was on a roll, a historic roll," Cuomo said. "We have to regain that momentum and build on it. I believe there is a special opportunity for Buffalo. We were already thinking big and getting things done."

Cuomo also announced a new program that will offer scratch-off lottery tickets to people who get shots at the state's Covid-19 vaccination sites.

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