Subsidy Sheet: August means corporate handouts in NY + Trump Opportunity Zones redux

Why did the taxpayer-owned NY Green Bank, an investment fund for NYSERDA that is supposed to be fostering a large-scale green energy transition, buy half of a Saranac Lake luxury hotel? Adirondack Explorer investigates – and the Times Union Editorial Board weighs in.

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The Citizens Budget Commission called on Governor Hochul to veto or seek an amendment to a bill that would extend NYC’s Industrial and Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP) tax break, which costs New York City about $500 million a year in lost revenue. Reinvent Albany also opposes extension of ICAP and will publish our memo to the Governor shortly. See coverage in New York Focus and The City. 

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Biz Journals made a list of New York State’s largest tax incentives.

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Local labor orgs said that the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) is giving too many exemptions to companies to let them hire from outside the area (Rochester Business Journal). 

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The Communications Workers of America says there has been “no meaningful progress” in contract negotiations with Micron, the chip manufacturer getting billions in state subsidies. (Syracuse Post-Standard). The NYS pension fund is also urging the company to take a position of “labor neutrality,” meaning Micron would not interfere with union organizing (Bloomberg).

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The Daily News Editorial Board argues that handing out billions to real estate through 421-a tax breaks was worth it for increasing NYC’s housing stock. In other 421-a news, a tenants’ group filed a lawsuit against a firm benefiting from the tax break, arguing that the developer illegally manipulated rental rates (Crain’s).

A developer for a building in eastern Nassau County, Long Island with 40% vacancy is seeking over $550,000 in tax breaks to renovate the property (Newsday).

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Opportunity Zones are back in the news due to Trump’s presidential campaign – and the NYT has a long piece detailing the program’s many shortcomings:

So far, there is no concrete evidence that poverty has declined more in opportunity zones than elsewhere. Although one study found greater employment growth in the zones than in similar areas, most of the new jobs probably went to residents who lived outside them.

Chick-fil-A is also setting up shop in Puerto Rican Opportunity Zones – and could, as our Guns, Oil, and Crypto report showed, benefit from NYS tax revenue.

And Americans for Tax Fairness published a fact sheet showing how OZs are a handout to the wealthy.

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