A public push is underway by a U.S. Senator in New York, who claims thousands of jobs may hang in the balance. YNN's Bill Carey says Kirsten Gillibrand is touting a new company's efforts that could mean jobs in Central New York, the North Country and Western New York.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

CENTRAL NEW YORK -- It is the technology and the jobs that we have been told are on the horizon for Upstate New York. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand says the Treasury Department needs to move quickly to approve tax credits for a company planning to build wind turbines.

The head of D'Arcinoff Group says, "The company expects to bring 15,000 long term energy industry manufacturing jobs to the state of New York and thousands more jobs across the country."

"These aren't government jobs. These are private sector jobs. The government is just creating a better landscape so they can grow," Gillibrand said.

D'Arcinoff says old auto industry plants could be re-tooled for the effort.

This type of project could not come at a better time for places like New Process Gear in DeWitt. This plant has been phasing out workers and production for months. The total workforce is now down to about 700 in a facility that once employed thousands. If all goes according to the current schedule, this plant could be completely shut down by the end of the year.

The DeWitt facility is being looked over, as are factories in Ogdensburg, Rochester and Buffalo and the company has been talking to the hard hit autoworkers union about the needed workforce.

The UAW's region 9 director, Scott Adams, said, "The project has proceeded much closer to conclusion and will create a very productive and effective relationship with the UAW." He says he hopes "to announce definitive news in the near term."

Gillibrand says she's hoping those who have scoffed at government programs to encourage new industries are watching closely.

"Now that we've gotten through that budget debate, we can now move to the better and more important work right now of creating a growing economy. And making sure that we have these R & D tax credits in place, tax incentives for green energy. These are enormous job generators," Gillibrand said.

Those new technologies and jobs are still on the horizon. But the horizon may be a bit closer.

Senator Gillibrand says phase one of the D'Arcinoff Group plan would create 800 jobs in DeWitt, 1,200 jobs in Ogdensburg, 2,000 jobs in Buffalo and 6,000 in Rochester.