A Puzzling Development
Nine months ago, in August 2015, John Mason reported in the Register-Star that the New York State Authorities Budget Office was recommending that the Hudson Industrial Development Agency (IDA) be dissolved: "State to Hudson: Drop IDA." Sam Pratt commented on his blog about the recommendation: "Eliminate Hudson agency, State recommends." In spite of the advice from the Authorities Budget Office, the IDA lives on, made up, it seems, of nothing but ex officio members: the mayor (Tiffany Martin Hamilton), the city treasurer (Heather Campbell), the Common Council majority leader (Tiffany Garriga) and minority leader (Abdus Miah), the chair of the Planning Board (Tom DePietro), and the city assessor (Cheryl Kaszluga).
It was brought to Gossips' attention earlier today that a meeting of the IDA has been posted on the city calendar for next Thursday, May 12, at 10 a.m. at City Hall. The subject of the meeting: "Potential PILOT for Redburn." The acronym PILOT, of course, stands for "payment in lieu of taxes," which, except in rare occurrences, means tax abatement. Redburn can only be Redburn Development, the group proposing to redevelop the Stageworks building at 41 Cross Street as a hotel to be known as The Wick.
Can it be that the developers who in February reported that their economic impact study indicated that the hotel's indirect impact on local business would be $2 million annually and the hotel would collect $50,000 in lodging taxes are now seeking a break on their property taxes? It doesn't seem to be quite what anyone expected.
COPYRIGHT 2016 CAROLE OSTERINK
Let go of the HDC, and build up the IDA.
ReplyDeleteI'll take government officials over private and unaccountable bureaucrats any day of the week.
Is the IDA slower, clunkier, less efficient? Perhaps. But transparency is more important.
A tax abatement proposal like this, should have been publicly announced. Some in Hudson perhaps have not got the memo that the era of transparency in Hudson has arrived by popular demand, and the era of obfuscation waning away.
ReplyDeleteYour comment coincides with my fruitless, day-long effort to have my FOIL request from March honored according to State law.
DeleteI've asked for everyone's help in City government, including the NYS Department of State. (Their lawyers have intervened on countless occasions, and always to instruct the City it was in the wrong.)
This request concerns a serious erosion problem at Underhill Pond (different from the middle school erosion).
Is the City culpable, as one document suggests? Good luck finding out in Hudson's opaque mire!
so the rich get richer while the rest of us pay for it
ReplyDeleteThis project has already been awarded $1.5 million in state money by Empire State Development. It now seeks tax breaks?
ReplyDeleteThat's how successful business people operate, and that's why they are successful!
ReplyDeleteThat is what Donald Trump tells us anyway, as to what made himself "great." Just perfect the fine art of gaming the system.
ReplyDeleteNow if the Hotel gets a tax break, how about all the other hotels and bread and breakfast operators, and so forth in town? If they don't get one, isn't that unfair competition? Your competitor gets a tax break (allegedly (and I emphasize the word allegedly), in order to get going to siphon business away from you, but you didn't and don't. That sort of wreaks of crony capitalism doesn't it?
Just musing out load. Maybe this is the greatest idea that has ever hit Hudson in a decade. Or maybe it isn't. In any event, I have put this meeting on my calendar, and plan to attend. Thanks Carole for the heads up! :)