A deal to allow the State University of New York (SUNY) Farmingdale to lease part of its campus for the development of a privately operated pharmaceutical facility is expected to be approved by state lawmakers during the finalization of the state budget, Senator Charles Fuschillo, Jr., (8th Senate District), reported this week.

A bill drafted by Fuschillo and passed by the Senate authorizes SUNY Farmingdale to lease the land, which is part of 20 acres set aside for a biotechnology research and development park. After weeks of talks, Fuschillo, a member of the Higher Education Subcommittee for the Budget, last week persuaded the Assembly to pass his bill and make final language amendments during the budget finalization.

"We made a deal on Thursday. What they have to do first is pass my bill in their house. Once that is done, the governor will sign that into law. In the budget, we've agreed on other amendments - technical amendments, language changes. That's going to be done in what's called the Article 7 proceedings in the budget," said Fuschillo. "But there is an agreement, and it's going to go forward."

After making the agreement on Thursday, July 22, the Higher Education Subcommittee announced it when it made a report to the General Budget Committee the following day.

In pushing for passage of Fuschillo's legislation in recent months, SUNY Farmingdale officials have argued that providing a home for an emerging biotechnology company would promote the growth of the industry on Long Island, and would provide valuable internship opportunities for its students.

Fuschillo added that the measure would help create well-paying jobs for Long Islanders.

"What's good about this benefiting SUNY Farmingdale and other universities on Long Island, is that we're educating kids in the high-tech industry, and now we're going to be able to provide them with jobs right here on Long Island," the senator said. "And that's so important to our economy and to the future of Long Island."

As permission to lease the land to a private user gets closer to becoming a reality, a related aspect of SUNY Farmingdale's biotechnology dreams is also nearing fulfillment. Construction crews are working at full speed to erect a 50,000 square-foot facility, which would host emerging biotechnology companies as tenants, at the campus's biotechnology research and development park, known as Broad Hollow Bioscience Park.

The construction has been under way since this April, and its completion is expected by spring. Last year, the state gave the college special permission to undertake that project, which is a collaboration between SUNY Farmingdale and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, since its scope went beyond the college's traditional academic role by promoting economic development. The state also provided $15 million to fund it.