Economic Development

July 13, 2010

RIVERHEAD, NY -- On Saturday, Congressman Tim Bishop announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has reversed its decision to deny federal aid for the March 29-30 storm that devastated areas of Suffolk County, clearing a path for more than $6 million in additional federal aid to reimburse local government agencies for their response to erosion and flooding.

“I made a promise to Horton Avenue that I will do everything I can to get them help.  When I learned of FEMA’s initial denial, I immediately picked up the phone to the White House to demand a meeting with FEMA.  When I met with FEMA, I informed them that I was not prepared to take no for an answer. We found a way to get to yes," Congressman Bishop said Saturday at Riverhead Town Hall, where he was joined by state and local officials and residents of Horton Avenue, an area of Riverhead severely impacted by the storm.  Among the officials were Assemblyman Marc Alessi, Kristen Walsh, Long Island Director for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Suffolk County Deputy County Executive Christopher Kent, Riverhead Town Councilmembers George Gabrielsen, Jodi Giglio and James Wooten and Riverhead Superintendent of Highways George “Gio” Woodson.

In June, Bishop met with top FEMA and New York State Emergency Management Office (NY SEMO) officials in Washington, D.C. to facilitate New York’s appeal.

"It is important to note that every level of government has been on the same page, working for a solution.  All too often, we hear about government at its worst.  This effort has been government at its best, officials at all levels working together to fight for the interests of the community," said Congressman Bishop.

Based on preliminary information, municipalities throughout Suffolk County submitted claims for Public Assistance of $6.6 million, though that amount will climb far higher when all the claims are finally submitted.  For example, the Town of Shelter Island initially submitted $20,600 in claims, but has already spent more than $150,000 on pumping.  The initial figures also do not contain any claims from the Towns of Brookhaven and Smithtown, even though both municipalities have had significant flooding and erosion issues.

In addition to providing funds to reimburse municipalities and relieve Suffolk County taxpayers, FEMA's decision increases an existing pool of $15 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds which can be used to help municipalities take pre-emptive measures to mitigate future disasters, including elevating homes, filling in basements or possibly buying out homeowners in extremely impacted areas like Horton Avenue.  The mitigation grants will need to be submitted by the Town or County through the State.  Though Assemblyman Marc Alessi noted, “I will personally drive the grant application up to Albany myself and hand it to the Governor.”

“This is an important step, but there is a still more work we need to do to allow Horton Avenue residents to move on,” Congressman Bishop said, noting that the FEMA Hazard Mitigation grants are competitively awarded, and that a land swap or buyout for Horton Avenue residents would require coordination with Suffolk County and Riverhead Town.

“I am grateful FEMA has overturned its denial of the request to combine the two March storms. I wish to thank Governor Paterson for appealing the denial and Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and Congressman Bishop for pressing FEMA to reconsider its decision,” Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine said.  “The declaration will allow Suffolk's towns to secure hazard mitigation grants and bolster Horton Avenue residents applications for grant assistance while relieving local governments of significant unbudgeted expenses.”

Noting that the announcement came on a particularly rainy Saturday, Shirley Coverdale of the Long Island Organizing Network (LION), which has played a leading role in advocating for Horton Avenue said, “I’d like to believe these are showers of blessing.  I am ecstatic at how government came together at all levels and partisan lines to work for the community in an unprecedented way.  This is a rare opportunity to turn rhetoric into reality.”

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Hauppauge, NY -- Suffolk Executive Steve Levy today joined with the county’s Republican state senators to call on Albany lawmakers to restore and expand economic development incentive programs the lawmakers say have worked in preserving and creating jobs in Suffolk County

On the eve of what is ostensibly the final day of budget negotiations in Albany, Levy joined State Senators Ken LaValle, John Flanagan and Owen Johnson to call for restoration of the Empire Zone – which Suffolk officials most recently used to lure Canon’s North American headquarters with 2,000 jobs to Melville.

They also urged the State Legislature to convert the Power for Jobs program into a multi-year incentive, as opposed to annual renewals, to provide companies with long-term assurance of benefits.

“Of all the things Albany can do for us, it is vital in these economic times to allow our county to use and sharpen the economic development tools that have worked for us,” said Levy. “In order for businesses to resist the incentive packages of other regions of the country, we have to provide assurance that our local and state governments are committed to keeping companies here.”

EMPIRE ZONE

Last week, Senator LaValle in a news release expressed disappointment over the replacement of the Empire Zone with a new “Excelsior” program which has been described as a much weaker economic development program.

“The elimination of Empire Zones will cause thousands of businesses to lose tax benefits and hurt the ability of our region to attract new industry,” said Senator LaValle.  “New York should be doing everything it can to help businesses thrive and create new jobs.  Instead, the Senate Democrats are continuing to tax businesses and slash economic investments to the bone.”

Senator Flanagan added, “At a time when our state should be focused on creating desperately needed jobs, the Senate Democrats are eliminating a program with a proven record of job creation at a time when our businesses can least afford it.  County Executive Levy has used the Empire Zone program wisely to help our small business community grow and the state should be partnering with him to build our economy.  The elimination of this program is clearly a step in the wrong direction in a state that can ill afford any more missteps and this decision should be reversed.”

“I voted against eliminating the Empire Zones program,” said Senator Johnson. “This program was able to create jobs right here on Long Island to invest in our local economy.  In these tough economic times, I would have rather partnered with my colleagues to work out our differences and fix any problems that existed within the Empire Zones program, instead of blindly slashing a program that was an engine for job creation by almost 90 percent.  By slashing the Empire Zones program, the Senate Democrats are further hindering the ability for new business and small businesses to grow and create jobs here on Long Island.”

“The governor’s plan to eliminate Empire Zone benefits is a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater,” said Levy. “We in Suffolk County have aggressively monitored the program for compliance, and we have sought to recoup tax losses when those jobs have failed to materialize.”

To date, 55 companies have been able to take advantage of the Suffolk County Empire Zone, resulting in nearly $85 million in capital improvement investments by these firms. Additionally, 15 major employers, through the Regionally Significant designation have kept over 4,200 jobs in the county and created more than 1,200. Levy noted these figures do not include Canon, which will retain 1200-1300 jobs and create 700-800 when it relocates to Melville.

The New York State Empire Zone program was created to stimulate economic growth through a variety of state tax incentives designed to attract new businesses to New York and to enable existing businesses to expand and create more jobs. In 2005, New York State realized that certain industry sectors, specifically manufacturing, high tech and finance, were leaving New York despite the traditional economic development incentives. To address the issue, the state amended the Empire Zone program to include Regionally Significant Project designations, which allow companies to access zone benefits, such as tax credits, no matter where they are located, as long as they commit to a certain level of new employment, leading to the rise of the non-contiguous Suffolk County Empire Zone. State

“We believe the Empire Zone program is critical to attract and retain businesses here on Long Island,” said Lou Avignone, CEO of Uncle Wally’s, which has created more than 100 jobs since becoming part of the Suffolk Empire Zone. “Small and mid-sized businesses are the lifeblood of the recover and without these kinds of programs, Long Island businesses can not remain competitive and will continue to leave the region.”

POWER FOR JOBS

Power for Jobs provides low-cost energy assistance to companies. While the program has been renewed in the governor’s budget for this year, Levy said that companies looking to make capital improvements and create additional jobs would benefit from a change in annual, or two-year, renewals to multi-year.

“Those who want to make investments are not willing to do so without the certainty that these credits will continue so that they can recoup their investments,” said Levy.

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