NEWBURGH – State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall) blasted the Foster Hospitality Group’s requested 12-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes proposal to develop three buildings on Grand Street in the City of Newburgh into a tourism destination venue.
The senator told a public hearing by the Newburgh Industrial Development Agency on Thursday that the project is a good one. “But the largesse of the tax breaks being sought—a 90 percent reduction for the first six years of operation, followed by an additional six years of abatements—is outrageous.”
Skoufis said the developer “already banked $2.3 million in savings when they got a sweetheart deal during the building purchase from Orange County. They also have a pending $2.5 million grant application through the state’s Consolidated Funding Application. And on top of it all, they could easily file an as-of-right 485-B application worth over $2 million in additional subsidies. Yet, for Foster Supply Hospitality, they want to milk taxpayers even more.”
But, he said the Foster Hospitality project would be a win for Newburgh “and I’m not against reasonable incentive. But a 12-year PILOT agreement on top of multiple millions of dollars in other county and state subsidies is highway robbery.”
The lawmaker also took Orange County Partnership President Maureen Halahan to task for her comments in support of the project. “(She) could hardly conceal her deep-seated disgust for Newburgh. For someone in her position, who is tasked with promoting and attracting new business to this county’s extraordinary cities and towns, her belief that Newburgh is a vice-ridden, drug-addicted crime den just begging for developer interest is disgusting, offensive, and flat-out wrong.”
Skoufis said Halahan’s “comment that Newburgh is a ‘crumbling city’ – when, in fact, it is experiencing significant revitalization – is not only abhorrent, but factually wrong. Ms. Hallahan owes the City of Newburgh a public apology.”
The senator said real estate values are strong and businesses are coming to the city. “Untold development is happening right in front of us without PILOT requests,” he said. “We are not begging for developers. But we are begging the organizations, namely the Newburgh IDA, tasked with attracting and incentivizing business, to do so in good faith, while putting the needs of taxpayers first.
The IDA board took no action on the proposal following the public hearing.
