A New York City advertising agency paid $300 for a photograph of South African construction cranes that the Cuomo administration used in a state report to illustrate economic development in New York.
A copy of the receipt for the photo obtained by The Associated Press shows the agency bought the image in July 2016 from Getty Images. The photo's cost is listed as $575 on the stock photo company's website. The ad agency paid a discounted price for it.
The picture, titled "Forest of cranes #2," shows seven towering construction cranes. It appeared across pages 5 and 6 of the 2017 annual report released last month by Empire State Development, the state's economic development agency.
ESD officials said Tuesday that the ad and marketing firm provided the image to the state agency, which compiled the 127-page report.
(C) 2018 AP
