Governor Signs Bioscience Park Expansion Bill Into Law

Governor Cuomo has signed into law a bill that will allow to enter into lease agreements to expand Broad Hollow Bioscience Park, a biotechnology research park on campus that houses OSI Pharmaceuticals.

"Thanks to Governor Cuomo's support, this bill ensures that Broad Hollow Bioscience Park will flourish and provide meaningful opportunities
for the next generation of scientists, both great advances for Long Island," said Farmingdale State President W. Hubert Keen.

The legislation, authored by Sen. Charles Fuschillo, R-Merrick, and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney, D-Lindenhurst, passed in both houses of the New York State Legislature back in March.

It will create a total of 787 direct and indirect jobs and an annual payroll of approximately $50 million for the region.

 “This law will result in a tremendous investment into Long Island’s
economy," Fuschillo said. "The Broad Hollow Bioscience Park is a proven economic development tool which has created jobs, helped new companies grow, and provided opportunities to students. Continuing its growth will create hundreds of
new jobs and tens of millions of dollars in new revenue for Long Island’s
economy at a time when both are sorely needed."

Farmingdale State has held a strategic partnership with to operate the facility on campus since 2002. The company offers internships to students and provides money for scholarships.

"The synergies between the Broad Hollow Bioscience Park and the campus have enhanced greatly the exponential growth of our bioscience program, added to the research achievements of our faculty and students,and provided scholarships that enable meaningful opportunities for the next generation of scientists, all great pluses for Long Island," President Keen said.

OSI Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Astellas Pharma Inc, a multinational pharmaceutical company, last year. Astellas is looking to expand OSI’s presence at Farmingdale State to nearly 40 acres.

“Astellas and OSI Pharmaceuticals are excited about the many possibilities,
including our potential future growth at the site, that will result from
this new strategic partnership between OSI and the University and the State of
New York," said Chief Executive Officer of OSI Pharmaceuticals Naoki Okamura.

"It is a major step toward assuring that OSI will remain our anchor tenant, with all the job creation that it entails, and it positions Broad Hollow Bioscience Park to be a long-term contributor to the development of biotech innovations," said George LaRosa, board chair of Broad Hollow Bioscience Park.

The state government allowing SUNY colleges to more readily engage in private-public partnerships, like this one, is a topic Chancellor Nancy Zimpher spoke about in her

“We must be anchors in our local communities, in many cases our community’s largest employer, consumer of goods and services and a massive source of construction jobs,” she said.

Bioscience Park was originally developed on the campus in conjunction with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a premiere genetics research institution where Nobel Prize winner James Watson gave the first public presentation on the double-helix nature of DNA

"With this legislation, we move one step closer to making Long Island a leader of the biotechnology industry," Sweeney said. "This is the prescription to help heal Long Island’s economy."