COUNCIL BEING ASKED TO RUSH THROUGH EMPIRE ZONE CHANGES

In an e-mail sent late Wednesday, the City Council President informed the members of the Council for the first time that the Administration and the Economic Development Office were requesting Council action to change the City's Empire Zone map. The Empire Zone is a state program designed to create tax breaks and other incentives in order to attract new businesses to or to retain existing businesses in economically depressed areas of the City.

The Empire Zone program statewide has long been the subject of criticism for lax oversight and the failure to deliver the jobs and economic benefits promised.

In the present case, the proposal is, apparently, to take a portion of the "Ridge Hill" property, previously awarded an Empire Zone designation, out of the Empire Zone and then, in effect, reassign that amount of "Zone" to the Cross County shopping center and a portion of the SFC development. Of course, this is all conjecture since, as of this writing on Sunday night, the members of the Council have seen no specifics as to what is being proposed and what they are being asked to vote on. Of course, neither has the public. Nevertheless, the Administration and the Council President are asking that we vot on these changes on Wednesday night. So much for due diligence.

Meantime, even if we had seen the proposal already, the whole proposal begs the question how the Cross County shopping center qualifies for the program. It would certainly come as a surprise to its neighbors that they are in an economically depressed area with a high rate of poverty. To the contrary, the shopping center has been a money engine since it opened. Yes, it is getting a much needed upgrade, but economically depressed it isn't. Certainly, we are not in danger of it "leaving" the state.

Indeed, a telling Press Release, which may answer the question "why the rush?" was released on December 16, 2008 by Governor Patterson. In it he outlines his proposed reforms to the Empire Zone program. Among other things it states:

"Certain industry sectors such as utilities, retail and real estate, which are engaged in activities that make them unlikely to relocate outside of the state, would also be excluded from applying for [Empire Zone] certification in the future".

Retail? Real Estate? In other words, if the developer doesn't get the City Council to give him his tax breaks now, the proposed reforms may mean he never gets them in the future.

That appears to be what this is really all about.