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Developer Of Hudson Yards & Willets Point Scores Another $120 Million In Tax Breaks
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 12, 2013
Modified Dec 12, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Dec 12, 2013
Modified Dec 12, 2013
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With just 19 days left in office, the Bloomberg administration has bestowed a sloppy goodbye kiss on the giant developer Related Companies in the form of $120 million in tax breaks for its work on the Hudson Yards and Willets Point projects.
The abatements were approved by the Industrial Development Agency, an arm of the Economic Development Corporation. According to Bloomberg News, Related will get a $76.5 million break to design a 49-story tower in Hudson Yards in addition to the $434 million in tax abatements for what has been referred to by Fortune as "the largest real estate project in U.S. history." The company plans to invest more than $6 billion in the entire project.
Back in October, James Parrott, the deputy director of the nonpartisan Fiscal Policy Institute, described the project in different terms to the Voice: "It is the height of fiscal irresponsibility for the NYC IDA to provide massive taxpayer subsidies to a Manhattan luxury mall."
In Queens, Related just received $42.6 million in breaks to develop the 1.4 million square-foot mega mall and hotel. Related, along with Sterling Equities, was able to acquire around 23 acres of public land around Flushing Meadows Corona Park for $1.00—the land's value was previously estimated at $1 billion. The park's foundation will receive around $500,000 a year, an amount that a Queens civic leader told City Limits "really won't do much."
"The plan is entirely based on receiving money from a company that's exploiting the park," NYC Parks Advocates' Geoffrey Croft says. "It's exploitation of public park land. It's absurd. There's no reason whatsoever to continue this type of corporate welfare."
A spokesperson for Related responds via email:
These projects advance IDA’s mission of revitalizing areas in need of an economic shot in the arm. They represent over $4 billion in private investment that will create sorely-needed residential and retail opportunities, including affordable housing. When all is said and done, these projects are going to result in two new New York neighborhoods.
The Bloomberg administration has given around $3 billion annually in tax breaks for development companies. Johnathan Gouveia, a senior VP at the EDC, told Bloomberg News that without the tax breaks at Hudson Yards, "you would likely never see the development on this yard."
Bloomberg News is run by Dan Doctoroff, a former deputy mayor in the Bloomberg administration. Doctoroff's former "right hand man" is Jay Kriegel, who has been a senior advisor to Related since 2007.
Mayor elect de Blasio has pledged reform on tax breaks. De Blasio also received more than $6,000 in campaign donations from Related employees, and tens of thousands more from other real estate developers and their associates, including the Ratners, DBI Construction Consultants, Midtown Equities, IBE Trade Corp, John Zuccotti, and Ed Scheetz.
Tagged
bill de blasio
real estate
related companies
tax breaks
the long kiss goodbye
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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