Over the course of two consecutive sessions, ASA advised a consortium of eight universities to advocate for Governor Hochul’s vision for the Empire AI Consortium: a collective $340 Million in State capital funding which -- when combined with $200 Million in private university operating funding over 10 years  -- will procure and operate what will eventually be the most powerful public AI supercomputer in the world to conduct groundbreaking academic research exclusively in the public good. ASA helped implement a government relations and public relations strategy, educate lawmakers, and negotiate budget language, and in the end the initiative was successfully included in the SFY 2024 and 2025 budgets. The Alpha version of the Empire AI Supercomputer, which is already the 134th most powerful supercomputer in the world, was up and running in a temporary facility on the University of Buffalo campus in October of 2024. The full Empire AI computing center is scheduled to be completed at SUNY Buffalo in 2026.

Calvary Hospital, New York’s only federally designated Extended Neoplastic Disease Care Hospital, delivers specialized palliative and end-of-life care to adults with advanced cancer and terminal conditions. Despite its critical role in patient care, its Medicaid rate was rooted in 2005 cost data, meaning reimbursement had long ceased to reflect actual operating costs.

In response to growing health concerns regarding the pervasive use of PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances) in a dizzying array of products, our firm helped our longstanding client FASNY successfully reduce firefighters’ exposure to hazardous chemicals through enactment of a ban on these substances in turnout gear.

Acadia Realty Trust faced significant challenges in redeveloping a 19-acre site at 1330 Broadhollow Road in Farmingdale, directly adjacent to Republic Airport. This site sat dormant for decades while prior development plans stalled and failed due to FAA and Republic Airport constraints. Because the property overlapped with runway protection zones and takeoff protection areas, the FAA’s guidance on land use near airports made the site particularly difficult to develop. The New York State Department of Transportation was hesitant to approve the necessary curb cut permits, concerned that doing so could violate FAA grant assurance rules and potentially put federal funding for the airport at risk.

Defending Bail Reform: In the budget cycle following the winter legislative session, Governor Hochul introduced sweeping changes to New York’s landmark 2019 bail reform law—proposing to expand judicial discretion and roll back key pretrial protections. These proposed rollbacks, part of a broader public safety package, sparked fierce debate and risked undermining the gains of criminal justice reform advocates. Through a comprehensive campaign alongside FWD.us, ASA orchestrated vigorous coalition building, strategic messaging, and targeted outreach. We conducted retail lobbying of legislators across the state, convened key meetings with legislative leadership and high-level staff in both the Governor’s office and the Legislature, and traveled statewide to engage moderate members, business groups, and unions. While the final budget included some concessions to tougher provisions, our efforts significantly softened the blow—narrowing the scope of rollbacks, securing critical clarifications, and preserving much of the integrity of bail reform.

Albany Strategic Advisors was proud to support The Bronx Defenders and coalition partners in the Driven by Justice campaign, which successfully secured passage of legislation to end the suspension of driver’s licenses due to unpaid traffic fines and fees. Prior to the reform, tens of thousands of New Yorkers—disproportionately people of color and low-income individuals—were at risk of losing their ability to drive, jeopardizing their jobs, schooling, and family responsibilities. The campaign sought to address this inequity and ensure that no one would be punished for poverty.

Immediately following the COVID-19 school shut down in March of 2020, Public Broadcasting stepped up in a huge way to ensure students did not fall behind. PBS assisted schools, students and parents with high quality digital learning tools through their PBS Learning Media platform, replaced regularly scheduled programming with live teachers, teaching current curriculum, and created new digital and on-air content. The value of PBS was felt in a big way.

Farmingdale State College (FSC) sought to develop a multi-field athletic complex in partnership with Dynamic Lacrosse on 15 acres of unused land on its campus where they planned to host large tournament events that historically drew thousands of families to the area. This public-private partnership would seed significant investment in infrastructure leading to the creation of jobs, opportunities for students and generally positive outcomes for the College, including exposure for the campus to potential applicants.

Long Island’s Farmingdale State College (FSC), the SUNY system’s largest College of Technology, consistently broke a troubling enrollment trend throughout SUNY for years: while enrollment across the system was consistently down, FSC continually trended up, and they were quickly running out of room to house their popular growing programs. They sought State capital funding to construct a Center for Computer Science and Information Technology (C-SIT).

When the Governor and SUNY announced the opportunity for capital funding through the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program in 2011, UAlbany had the vision to bring together scientists and entrepreneurs from across disciplines to collaboratively find solutions to society’s most complex challenges. The plan was to open a research and development complex centered on UAlbany’s core strengths including Climate and Atmospheric Science and Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity.