The Gaming Commission also approved a rule change that altered the term of the casino license depending on the amount of investment.
The IDA has requested the State Inspector General remove the monitor due to his “unlawful” veto that it asserts was made under political pressure from New York State Senator James Skoufis.
The Maybrook award will allow for the development of the Switchyard Terminal for Economic and Advanced Manufacturing (STEAM) Rail & Business Park at the long-vacant Maybrook Rail Yard.
The IDA has requested the State Inspector General remove the monitor due to his “unlawful” veto that it asserts was made under political pressure from New York State Senator James Skoufis.
NEW WINDSOR—In the ongoing saga of securing approvals for the $607-million project to build a massive Amazon fulfillment center in the Town of Wawayanda, the old adage of “the other shoe has dropped” seems appropriate.
In response to the recent decision by the New York State-appointed Monitor to the Orange County Industrial Development Agency to veto an incentive package approved by the IDA, the IDA has requested the New York State Inspector General remove the monitor due to his “unlawful” veto that it asserts was made under political pressure from New York State Senator James Skoufis.
On Oct. 23, The IDA Board by a 5-1 vote approved up to $31,008,750 in sales and use tax exemptions and a property tax abatement for the 3.2-million-square-foot project. The IDA Board approved a modified 15-year PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) agreement negotiated between developer Scannell Properties. The total incentive package has been projected to save Amazon approximately $80 million over the term of the agreement.
In a letter written by IDA General Counsel Lino J. Sciarretta, Esq. of the law firm Bleakley Platt & Schmidt LLLP on Dec. 11, the Orange County IDA charged that the Monitor Brian Sanvidge, principal at Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP, issued an unlawful Notice of Violation on Nov. 25 in connection with the IDA’s approval of incentives in October. Sciareretta stated that the notice was issued well after a mandated 72-hour period from the time the incentives were approved by the IDA on Oct. 23.
The IDA further charged that the Monitor had attended all IDA meetings where it discussed and eventually approved the incentive package to Amazon and offered no objections. It also alleged that it wasn’t until Sen. Skoufis sent a letter objecting to the incentive package that the Monitor later issued the Notice of Violation.
IDA Monitor Sanvidge in an interview with Real Estate In-Depth said, “I think it is really unfortunate that the (IDA) Executive Director (Bill Fioravanti) would choose to look to have the monitor replaced, keeping in mind that the monitor was put here by state legislation because of the prior criminal activity of the previous IDA and the oversight that is needed of the IDA. For the IDA to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money to avoid oversight is unconscionable.”
Sanvidge charged that he asked IDA Executive Director on three separate occasions for a meeting with Amazon to discuss questions he had with the project. After his meeting requests were ignored, “They forced me into issuing the Notice of Violation.”
The IDA’s letter stated that the Monitor’s actions “threaten to chase away a monumental economic opportunity from Orange County and its residents—and potentially others in the future—but he has also eroded the public’s trust, the agency’s trust, and that of every applicant and professional who participates in OCIDA’s process in good faith.”
Sen. Skoufis issued a statement in response to the Orange County IDA’s request for the Monitor’s removal, that stated: “Provided with an opportunity to reflect on their poor decision-making, the IDA has chosen to act like sore losers, throwing a temper tantrum befitting a toddler. The state monitor is a consummate, independent professional who gave the IDA every chance to act responsibly and responsively.”
Sen. Skoufis added, “The monitor’s requests for simple answers to simple questions went unanswered by the IDA and Amazon. They stonewalled him and now, in the IDA’s letter and public statements, they are lying. It’s what they do best and why a state monitor remains necessary to protect taxpayers.”
Sciaretta in the IDA’s letter to the State Inspector General, stated that the IDA in fact provided “a comprehensive 101-page response addressing every question and allegation in detail” to the monitor and on Nov. 7 the Monitor “wrote to OCIDA’s and Amazon’s counsel, via text message, thanking OCIDA for ‘sending everything over,’ confirming that he ‘does not plan on asking for additional documentation’ and stating he would be ‘sending a letter before close of business on Monday’ November 10.”
The Orange County IDA has scheduled its next Board meeting to be held on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
The Gaming Commission also approved a rule change that altered the term of the casino license depending on the amount of investment.
The Maybrook award will allow for the development of the Switchyard Terminal for Economic and Advanced Manufacturing (STEAM) Rail & Business Park at the long-vacant Maybrook Rail Yard.
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