Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.
Ask Rusty: About Income Tax on Social Security Benefits
Dear Rusty: I just started receiving my Social Security [benefits] in February of 2023. I am also working part time at a company 24 hours a week. My question is: I feel like I missed something when I signed up for Social Security because they are not taking any taxes out. What did I miss? […]
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Dear Rusty: I just started receiving my Social Security [benefits] in February of 2023. I am also working part time at a company 24 hours a week. My question is: I feel like I missed something when I signed up for Social Security because they are not taking any taxes out. What did I miss? How do I go about fixing it so I don’t get hit at the end of the year? They are taking taxes out of my paycheck now; do they still take it out of my Social Security because I am working? Please help if I am not doing something right.
Signed: Conscientious Senior
Dear Conscientious: Unfortunately, when the Social Security Administration (SSA) processes your application for benefits, it doesn’t usually inform you that your Social Security benefits may become part of your taxable income. I expect that’s because your benefits only “may” become taxable — they do not definitely become taxable, because Social Security benefits are taxed only if you exceed a certain income threshold.
The thresholds at which Social Security benefits become part of your taxable income are different depending on your income-tax filing status — those who file as an individual have a different threshold from those who file as “married — filing jointly.” And to further complicate matters, there is more than one threshold for both individuals and joint filers. Here is how it works.
If you file your income tax as an individual and your “combined income” from all sources is more than $25,000, then 50 percent of the Social Security (SS) benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your overall taxable income at your particular IRS tax rate. But if your combined income as an individual tax filer is more than $34,000, then up to 85 percent of the SS benefits you received during the tax becomes part of your overall taxable income.
If your income-tax filing status is “married – filing jointly” the thresholds are higher — if your combined income from all sources as a married couple exceeds $32,000, then 50 percent of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year becomes part of your taxable income. But if your combined income as a married couple exceeds $44,000, then up to 85 percent of your SS benefits received during the tax year are taxable.
“Combined income” is also known as your “modified adjusted gross income” or MAGI. Your MAGI is your adjusted gross income on your tax return, plus 50 percent of the Social Security benefits you received during the tax year, plus any non-taxable interest or untaxed foreign income you had (note that withdrawals from a Roth IRA are not included). If your MAGI exceeds the above thresholds, some of your Social Security benefits are taxable; if you are under the first threshold for your IRS filing status they are not.
The SSA doesn’t automatically withhold taxes from your monthly benefits, and the FICA taxes being withheld from your earnings are not used for that purpose. Everyone who works and earns must pay SS tax on his/her earnings, which are mandatory contributions supporting the federal Social Security program. But that FICA payroll tax has nothing to do with income tax on your Social Security benefits. If you are working 24 hours per week and also collecting Social Security benefits, you will likely exceed the threshold for your tax-filing status, which means that at least some of your 2023 benefits will become taxable. That could, as you suspect, result in a surprise “hit” when you file next year’s income-tax return. Nevertheless, fixing this is quite easy.
Download IRS form W-4V from the IRS website here: www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4v.pdf. You will be able to choose the percentage of your Social Security benefits you wish to have withheld for income-tax purposes. Complete the form and mail it to your local Social Security office (get the mailing address here: www.ssa.gov/locator). The SSA will then start withholding income tax from your monthly Social Security benefit payment, which will mitigate any additional tax due when you file your 2023 tax return next year.
Russell Gloor is a national Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). The 2.4-million-member AMAC says it is a senior advocacy organization. Send your questions to: ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.
Author’s note: This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). The NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity.

Proposed ONSHORE Act seeks to breathe new life into Upstate industrial sites
SULLIVAN, N.Y. — The Town of Sullivan has been trying to develop the Harbor Lights Business Park for decades to make it shovel-ready for employers. But it has “lacked the funding” to be able to complete the needed infrastructure upgrades, the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) said. With Micron Technology’s (NASDAQ:
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SULLIVAN, N.Y. — The Town of Sullivan has been trying to develop the Harbor Lights Business Park for decades to make it shovel-ready for employers.
But it has “lacked the funding” to be able to complete the needed infrastructure upgrades, the office of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) said.
With Micron Technology’s (NASDAQ: MU) $100 billion investment in nearby Clay, Sullivan is now considering the park for high-tech opportunities, and programs like those created in Schumer’s proposed ONSHORE Act “could help bridge the gap needed to land these major employers in Madison County.”
On June 26, Schumer revealed the ONSHORE Act, a proposal targeting federal investment to “breathe new life” into industrial sites across upstate New York and bring good-paying manufacturing jobs back from overseas.
ONSHORE is short for Opportunities for Non-developed Sites to Have Opportunities to be Rehabilitated for Economic Development, Schumer’s office said.
Specifically, the new federal legislation would provide $100 million per year for five years in dedicated funding for a “critical” supply chain site-development grant program within the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Through this program, EDA would provide assistance for site and utility readiness, workforce development, distribution, and logistics, to prepare strategic mega sites and regionally impactful sites across places like upstate New York for new industrial investment.
Schumer spoke at Chapman Park at 1463 Route 31 in the Bridgeport area of the town of Sullivan in Madison County.
“The Onshore Act will help sites like the Harbor Lights Business Park take the final step to being ready for businesses to move in. Thank you to Senator Schumer for working with communities to remove the barriers in the way of developing shovel ready sites here in the U.S. It is now more important than ever to strengthen and grow domestic manufacturing. This will not only protect our economic future but also our national security,” Madison County Board Chairman and Sullivan Town Supervisor John Becker said. “Harbor Lights Business Park has so much to offer with a great location, modern infrastructure, high speed internet, and a supportive community. Thanks to this bill, this business park can become prime real estate for any potential Micron spinoff business. Making Harbor Lights Business Park a reality has been a longtime coming.”
Schumer said that this proposal would help provide “much-needed” federal support with “major” site-readiness and workforce development that can boost sites like Harbor Lights Business Park in Madison County; White Pine Commerce Park in Clay; and the Marcy Nanocenter in Oneida County, per the lawmaker’s office.
“Micron’s historic investment as well as investment’s like Wolfspeed’s at Marcy Nanocenter, are proof positive that with increased support for shovel-ready sites and workforce development, in tandem with the federal incentives I led to passage, we can bring manufacturing and good-paying jobs back from overseas to Central New York and the Mohawk Valley. The ONSHORE Act is about preparing our industrial sites and workforce to tap into Upstate NY’s amazing assets to power the revival of American manufacturing. Upstate NY can tap the ONSHORE Act to supercharge critical industries like chips and clean technology and ensure they are made in America, including right here in places like CNY and the Mohawk Valley,” Schumer said in a news release. “The ONSHORE Act will build on the historic new investments and manufacturing boom that Upstate NY is already seeing from the bills I pushed through into law last Congress, and I will fight tooth and nail to lead the ONSHORE Act to passage to continue to deliver federal investment in manufacturing across Upstate NY.”
For his announcement, Schumer was joined by Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon; Madison County Administrator Mark Scimone; Becker; Madison County IDA Executive Director Kipp Hicks; Robert Simpson, president and CEO of Centerstate CEO; and New York State Senator Joe Griffo (R–Rome).

Syracuse–area native serves as U.S. Navy fighter pilot
Lt. Shawn Picciott, a native of the Syracuse area, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 122. The command is a strike fighter squadron located aboard the U.S. Navy’s largest master jet base. Picciott joined the Navy four years ago. Today, he serves as a pilot. “I wanted to find a direction after
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
Lt. Shawn Picciott, a native of the Syracuse area, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 122. The command is a strike fighter squadron located aboard the U.S. Navy’s largest master jet base.
Picciott joined the Navy four years ago. Today, he serves as a pilot.
“I wanted to find a direction after high school,” says Picciott. “I saw attending the Naval Academy as a chance to serve and attend a prestigious college at the same time.”
Growing up in Camillus, Picciott attended West Genesee High School and graduated in 2015. Today, Picciott relies upon skills and values similar to those found in Central New York to succeed in the military.
“Growing up in Syracuse taught me how to live and work in a diverse environment,” says Picciott. “The Navy is extremely diverse, with people representing a variety of different backgrounds.”
These lessons have helped Picciott while serving with the Navy.
Members of VFA-122 fly and maintain the F/A 18 Super Hornet, one of the most advanced aircraft in the world. The Super Hornet takes off from and lands on Navy aircraft carriers at sea and is capable of conducting air-to-air combat, as well as striking targets on land.
Operating from sea aboard aircraft carriers, the Super Hornet gives the Navy the power to protect America’s interests anywhere, at any time. The versatile jet has the ability to destroy targets located hundreds of miles inland. Super Hornets are an all-weather aircraft used as an attack aircraft as well as a fighter. In its fighter mode, the F/A-18 is used primarily as a fighter escort and for fleet air defense; in its attack mode, it is used for interdiction and air support.
With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber-optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the U.S. is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.
As a member of the Navy, Picciott is part of an organization focused on maintaining maritime dominance, strengthening partnerships, increasing competitive warfighting capabilities, and sustaining combat-ready forces in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“The Navy is critical to national security and superiority at sea,” says Picciott. “F-18 pilots can travel across the world at a moment’s notice, which is a unique capability in the Navy.”
Picciott and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.
“I was extremely proud to earn my wings as a fighter jet pilot,” he says. “There are many challenges to overcome in order to become an F-18 pilot, requiring a significant amount of dedication and perseverance.”
As Picciott and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the U.S. Navy.
“Serving in the Navy means purpose and dedication,” he says. “My work in the service is part of a larger effort and I am proud to contribute to a greater goal.”
Picciott is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I would like to thank my family from Syracuse, who has been there every step of the way,” says Picciott. “I am also extremely grateful for my Naval Academy family, who continue to provide me with a community wherever I go.”
“Making the most of every situation is critical,” added Picciott. “Having an open mind and building relationships can make every Navy challenge great.”

Telecom company opens new Clinton office
CLINTON, N.Y. — Smart Carrier, a telecom-compliance manager and service provider, recently cut the ribbon on its new office in Clinton. After working for several years from the Mohawk Valley Community College thINCubator in Utica, it was time for the company to expand into space of its own says chief marketing officer and co-founder Rachelle
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
CLINTON, N.Y. — Smart Carrier, a telecom-compliance manager and service provider, recently cut the ribbon on its new office in Clinton.
After working for several years from the Mohawk Valley Community College thINCubator in Utica, it was time for the company to expand into space of its own says chief marketing officer and co-founder Rachelle Guitán, who operates the business with her husband Orlando Guitán.
Smart Carrier started as a part-time venture about 13 years ago as a telecom and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) consulting firm. In 2019, Orlando Guitán says they began to work on understanding the new Secure Telephone Identity Revisited/Signature-based Handing of Asserted Information Using toKENs (STIR/SHAKEN) protocol issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
All telecommunications providers were required to implement the protocol by June 2021. It’s a framework designed to validate the authenticity of phone calls in order to stop unauthorized spoof calls.
“It turns out there wasn’t any software to do this,” Orlando Guitán says. It took his company about four months to figure out a solution, working in partnership with Amazon Web Services, which provided some funding for the project.
Now Smart Carrier offers its solution to U.S.–based small- to medium-sized phone companies, call centers, and others so they can make the calls required for their businesses.
“Every phone call needs to have a token attached to it,” Guitán says. Smart Carrier provides that token for its clients, which lets the carrier at the other end of the call know that it’s a legitimate one.
“We like to keep the good guys in and the bad guys out,” Rachelle Guitán says. This helps Smart Carrier customers keep their contact rates high and helps them regain consumer trust after years of receiving junk robocalls and other spam calls trying to scam information.
In simple terms, Smart Carrier’s technology allows the automated call from your doctor’s office reminding you of an upcoming appointment to go through, she says, while blocking the “you’ve won a cruise” junk call. It also makes it easier for people to just go ahead and answer the call instead of having to screen every call in case it’s junk, she adds.
It may not seem like a lot, but Smart Carrier conducts about 25,000 token transactions every second.
With the new office space in Clinton, Smart Carrier is hoping to connect with more Oneida County businesses, Rachelle Guitán says.
Currently, Smart Carrier occupies two offices in shared space at 43 College St., with hopes of adding a third office soon, she says. The company also operates an office on Williams Street.
Smart Carrier has 13 employees, including contractors, and is also working hard to be involved in its new Mohawk Valley community. The company participated in several June events including a blood drive, a benefit for the Neighborhood Center, and the Heart Run & Walk. It also sponsored a Clinton Little League Community Day in conjunction with the Utica Blue Sox.
Smart Carrier’s solutions also include Smart Caller ID, AI answering detection in conjunction with Khomp International, and more.

Oneida County announces broadband expansion project in Vienna
VIENNA, N.Y. — Nearly 1,000 homes and 2,600 residents will now receive high-speed internet services as part of Oneida County’s $2 million in broadband-expansion projects, County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. announced. “We are committed to bridging the gaps the became evident during the pandemic,” Picente said in a news release. “Lack of high-speed internet
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
VIENNA, N.Y. — Nearly 1,000 homes and 2,600 residents will now receive high-speed internet services as part of Oneida County’s $2 million in broadband-expansion projects, County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. announced.
“We are committed to bridging the gaps the became evident during the pandemic,” Picente said in a news release. “Lack of high-speed internet creates an inequity that puts students at a disadvantage, leaves businesses unable to modernize, and limits growth in communities. Broadband is something that everyone should have access to, and this is a step toward making that a reality for everyone in Oneida County.”
The expansion projects cover 10 areas including six towns — Forestport, Ava, Boonville, Remsen, Augusta, and Vienna — working with two internet-service providers selected through a request for proposals (RFP) process. Adirondack Techs will handle nine project areas and Charter will handle the remaining area.
The $1,950,967 capital program includes $150,000 in internet-service provider (ISP) investment and nine of the projects include a 2 percent revenue share to offset a percentage of the cost to the county.
An extensive mapping analysis between Oneida and Herkimer counties, the Tug Hill Commission, and Mohawk Valley Economic Development District allowed the Oneida County Department of Planning to identify 2,079 Oneida County homes in about 32 areas with clusters of 20 or more homes. This first step of the initiative will reach 46 percent of the unserved homes identified.
Oneida County offered municipalities the opportunity to partner financially and leverage the funding to expand coverage even further into their communities. The Town of Vienna was the only municipality to take the county up on the offer, which led to the town securing $226,761 to service 111 homes.
“Since becoming town supervisor, the expansion of internet service is something I hear about most often from residents and was an issue I have looked to tackle since day one,” Town of Vienna Supervisor Michael M. Davis, Sr. said.
Oneida County is utilizing American Rescue Act funding to expand internet service to underserved areas of the county. The federal funding must be allocated by 2024 and spent by 2026 on projects, initiatives, or programs that address issues exacerbated by the pandemic.

SUNY Poly joins UB on Internet of Things lab project
MARCY, N.Y. — Faculty at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and the University at Buffalo (UB) have partnered on a project called SUNY OpenIoTLab: The SUNY Laboratory Federation for Wireless Intelligent Internet of Things. The project received a $60,000 SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology grant. The initiative will develop UnionLabs, an open, cloud-enabled federation of heterogeneous testbeds for
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
MARCY, N.Y. — Faculty at SUNY Polytechnic Institute and the University at Buffalo (UB) have partnered on a project called SUNY OpenIoTLab: The SUNY Laboratory Federation for Wireless Intelligent Internet of Things.
The project received a $60,000 SUNY Innovative Instruction Technology grant. The initiative will develop UnionLabs, an open, cloud-enabled federation of heterogeneous testbeds for sharing data, code, software, and hardware resources for research in next-generation networks and wireless Internet of Things.
The joint effort is led by UB’s Zhangyu Guan and Nicholas Mastronarde, along with SUNY Poly Associate Professor Timothy E. Busch of the electrical and computer engineering program. Other key project personnel include associate professors Michael J. Medley, Daniel Benincasa, and Arjun Singh with Adjunct Professor Chester Wright.
“Given the evolution of wireless network systems in recent years and the impact on our daily lives, there is a great need for a shared resource for collaboration, education, and experimentation of these systems,” Busch said in a press release. “Significant efforts have been made to fill the void, and this project between SUNY Poly and the University at Buffalo is yet another step forward. We are grateful for this grant and for the support we have received from our peers, project partners, and institutions.”
The proposed UnionLabs initiative will provide the Air Force, UB, and the wireless community an open experimental ecosystem where researchers and engineers can collaborate and share resources. Once deployed, UnionLabs would serve as the global entry for academia, the U.S. Department of Defense, and industrial researchers to conduct experimental research in the field of next-generation networks and wireless Internet of Things.
UnionLabs’ objectives include: creating a collaborative campaign to democratize access to wireless research testbeds with heterogeneous hardware resources and network environments spanning aerial, ground, underwater, and underground domains, and in a wide range of frequency bands, from sub-6 GHz up to the mmWave and terahertz bands, per the release. It also seeks to deploy a federation plane that will be hosted in the Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud to bridge the testbeds and users and enable researchers to share, remotely access, and control their resources and conduct experiments collaboratively via a unified user interface. Another goal is to build a two-tier cloud, comprising a public cloud powered by AWS and edge computing resources at individual wireless systems to allow researchers to share experimental datasets, wireless communication, networking and sensing algorithms/code, and evaluate them over heterogeneous testbeds.
UnionLabs’ federation plane APIs will be made available for other wireless testbeds to join the federation. The team also plans to eventually commercialize it by launching a startup.

Genius NY finalists begin prepping for October pitch event
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The seventh round of the Genius NY business-accelerator program at the Tech Garden in Syracuse has five finalists looking ahead to the final pitch event in October. Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York. The teams are from New York City, Maryland, Michigan, the United Kingdom, and
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The seventh round of the Genius NY business-accelerator program at the Tech Garden in Syracuse has five finalists looking ahead to the final pitch event in October.
Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York.
The teams are from New York City, Maryland, Michigan, the United Kingdom, and Florida, Empire State Development (ESD) announced.
The program is described as the “largest business accelerator for the UAS industry in the world.” An uncrewed-aircraft system (UAS) includes a drone and equipment used to control its flight. A drone is also referred to in the industry as an unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV.
The five finalists are the following startups.
• Voltela is from the Brooklyn borough of New York City and provides connectivity assurance for commercial drones. “Remote pilots must rely on reliable Command and Control connections. The mobile network was not built for aerial connectivity and changing the infrastructure is not viable. Voltela’s patented software operates with off-the-shelf modems enabling prioritized connections with guaranteed low latency via any mobile network. Voltela’s superior connectivity performance achieves aviation-grade reliability levels and is the foundation for building the Aerial Virtual Network Operator,” as described in an ESD news release.
• Aloft from Silver Spring, Maryland is an FAA-approved UAS service supplier (USS) for LAANC (low altitude authorization and notification capability), “powering the vast majority of recreational and commercial airspace authorizations … Through state-of-the-art technologies and sophisticated data services, Aloft aims to enhance the safety and efficiency of drone operations, facilitating their integration into the National Airspace System,” ESD said.
• Blueflite from Detroit, Michigan is a company designing and manufacturing a logistics drone platform to solve the “modern-day challenges in the logistics industry. Blueflite’s drones offer faster and greener deliveries at a lower cost compared to conventional transport. The unique and patent pending tiltrotor design features vectored thrust giving it unrivaled maneuverability and the ability to operate under challenging conditions. The digital element of the platform allows for integration into an all-automated supply chain for high-speed deliveries at scale,” ESD stated.
• Greenjets from Milton Keynes, United Kingdom is building next generation electric propulsion systems for advanced air mobility. Its “ducted fan propulsion technology is the quietest, safest and most efficient of its class. The Greenjets team has over 300 years of deep domain knowledge carried over from Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems & Formula 1. Learnings from these experiences are reflected in a unique design & manufacturing methodology, which allows production of propulsion systems at an unrivaled pace, the release contended.
• Votix of Weston, Florida is an “American Enterprise Drone Orchestration and Automation platform and the first universal (hardware-agnostic) drone operating system for commercial operations at scale. “VOTIX integrates the entire drone ecosystem, ensuring high-quality results, and safe and robust operations, guaranteeing compliance with regulators and stakeholders, creating synergies within the industry’s ecosystem, reducing process time and generating superior intelligence. VOTIX supports VLOS/EVLOS while enabling BVLOS operations, autonomous flights, real-time cloud video streaming and AI, precision landing, drone-in-a-box integration and much more,” per the ESD description.
Starting July 12, the five selected companies were scheduled to move into downtown Syracuse where they will begin to refine work on their business cases, which they’ll present at the pitch finals event on Oct. 4.
The five finalists were selected from a pool of more than 450 submissions. They will compete for $3 million in direct investment, with one grand prize of up to $1 million and four $500,000 awards.
Supported by the CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative and administered by CenterState CEO and the Tech Garden in downtown Syracuse, these startup, uncrewed-systems industry companies will participate in a yearlong program.
“The GENIUS NY accelerator has helped to establish Central New York as a hub for uncrewed aerial systems by attracting the next generation of innovative entrepreneurs,” said Empire State Development president, CEO, and commissioner Hope Knight. “New York State’s ongoing UAS investment will ensure that continued industry leadership, bringing top-quality jobs and growth to the region and beyond.”
Genius NY participants are required to commit to operating their business in Central New York for at least one year.

Schumer details how Congress can harness AI’s benefits
It was a speech outlining his vision for how Congress can harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and protect society from its “potential harms.” U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) on June 21 spoke on the topic of “SAFE Innovation in the AI Age” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
It was a speech outlining his vision for how Congress can harness the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and protect society from its “potential harms.”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.) on June 21 spoke on the topic of “SAFE Innovation in the AI Age” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., his office said.
The Senate leader was joined by Manish Bhatia, executive VP of Boise, Idaho–based Micron Technology Inc., which is building a semiconductor campus in Clay, and Jonathan Adashek, chief communications officer and senior VP of IBM.
Schumer said that as AI transforms the world around us, leading manufacturers and innovators of semiconductor chips like Micron and IBM “will be at the center,” and the increased demand for their products will help “boost business” for the companies in the years ahead.
Portion of Schumer’s remarks
In his address, Schumer outlined a two-part proposal to move the nation forward on AI: one part on framework, one part on process.
“First, Congress needs a framework for action…what should our framework be? What issues within AI should we look at to prepare legislation?” Schumer pondered.
After months of talks with more than 100 AI developers, executives, scientists, researchers, workforce experts, and advocates, Schumer shared his proposed blueprint for action.
He calls it the SAFE Innovation Framework for AI policy.
“The SAFE Innovation Framework. I call it that because Innovation must be our north star. The U.S. has always been a leader in innovating on the greatest technologies that shape the modern world,” the senator said.
He went on to say, “But if people think AI innovation is not done safely, if there are not adequate guardrails in place, it will stifle or even halt innovation altogether. So it is SAFE innovation that we must seek.”
Second, Congress will also need to invent a new process to develop the right policies to implement the framework.
“AI moves so quickly and changes at a near exponential speed, and there’s such little legislative history on this issue, so a new process is called for. The traditional approach of Committee hearings play an essential role, but on their own won’t suffice. We will need help from creators, innovators, and experts in the field,” Schumer noted. “That is why later this year, I will invite the top AI experts to come to Congress and convene a series of first-ever AI Insight Forums, for a new and unique approach to developing AI legislation.”

Hodge rejoins MACNY as director of Partners For Education & Business
DeWITT, N.Y. — MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, recently welcomed Taylor Hodge back to the team as director of Partners for Education & Business, Inc. Stepping down from her role as director, Tanya M. Eastman will remain with MACNY as senior advisor for STEM workforce initiatives, the association said in a June 26 release. Hodge was
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
DeWITT, N.Y. — MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, recently welcomed Taylor Hodge back to the team as director of Partners for Education & Business, Inc.
Stepping down from her role as director, Tanya M. Eastman will remain with MACNY as senior advisor for STEM workforce initiatives, the association said in a June 26 release.
Hodge was hired at MACNY in January 2021 as a workforce-development specialist. In October of the same year, the organization promoted her to associate director. In her role, Hodge will oversee and support the expansion of Partners for Education & Business Inc.’s initiatives, while also contributing to MACNY’s overall workforce-development goals.
During her time away from MACNY, Hodge served as the assistant director and Lock 4 program manager for ERIE21 at Le Moyne College. Hodge also has experience as the program manager for adult and continuing education at Cazenovia College, where she spent more than six years.
“We are thrilled for Taylor to return. Her expertise and previous experience at MACNY will ensure a smooth and seamless handover for our internal team and external partners. We are also excited to continue to work with Tanya in this new capacity as we grow our programs from Central New York to across New York State,” MACNY President and CEO Randy Wolken said in the release.
Hodge holds a bachelor’s degree in inclusive elementary education from Cazenovia College and a master’s degree in education from SUNY Potsdam. She serves on the Leadership Council for the Women’s Fund of Central New York and has previously served on the executive board for Cazenovia Children’s House.

MACNY appoints Pipes as chief growth & development officer
DeWITT, N.Y. — MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, recently welcomed Kyle Pipes to the organization as its chief growth & development officer. He started in his position on July 1. Pipes brings MACNY experience in helping develop organizational culture. He is especially skilled at assisting organizations through assessment and development of relational habits, leadership, healthy systems,
Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.
Click here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article.
DeWITT, N.Y. — MACNY, The Manufacturers Association, recently welcomed Kyle Pipes to the organization as its chief growth & development officer. He started in his position on July 1.
Pipes brings MACNY experience in helping develop organizational culture. He is especially skilled at assisting organizations through assessment and development of relational habits, leadership, healthy systems, and organizational practices, the association said. Prior to building his own coaching and consultancy business, Pipes gained relevant experience developing energy projects with hospitals, universities, and major corporations. In that role, he worked with a number of current MACNY member companies.
Pipes’ expertise will continue to round out MACNY’s executive-level leadership offerings, with an emphasis on building and maintaining healthy workplace cultures, MACNY President and CEO Randy Wolken, contended. “We are excited to bring Kyle on to the team to expand our workplace development offerings. Kyle brings a unique perspective that will assist our membership in gaining a competitive advantage and operating more effectively,” Wolken said in a June 13 news release.
Pipes said he is excited to get to work, “Central New York is positioned for a dynamic future. I look forward to working with such a vast network of talented leaders to achieve this together. MACNY is doing inspiring work and I am grateful to be joining the team,” Pipes said in the release.
The first training Pipes will facilitate in his new role is titled: “Listening So Others Feel Heard,” which will take place on July 26 and Aug. 2 from 9-11 a.m. This training is designed to reinforce the value of listening, teach four practical habits to improve as a listener, and give insight into designing and structuring teams, meetings, and environments for deeper listening, MACNY said. More information, including how to register, is available at: www.macny.org/events.
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.