Long Island Ranks #1 In NYS For Industrial Development Jobs

Long Island Morning Edition

Long Island ranks No. 1 among the state's 10 regions in the number of jobs created by industrial development agencies, according to a new report. James T. Madore reports on Newsday.com that the office of NYS Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli found 47,521 people were added to local payrolls as of Dec. 31, 2022, by expanding companies, housing developments and other projects that were awarded tax breaks by Long Island's eight IDAs in recent years. That's almost one-quarter of the 204,147 jobs created statewide by IDA projects.

In addition, 2022 was the seventh year out of eight in which Long Island placed first in job creation in the state; New York City edged out Long Island in 2020.

“IDAs were created [in the 1960s] to help grow local economies, businesses and job markets,” said DiNapoli (D-Great Neck Plaza). “The tax breaks [that IDAs] provide businesses can impact local tax collections … and New Yorkers should be mindful about weighing the benefits these projects bring to their communities against their cost.” The release of the comptroller's annual IDA report card comes as state lawmakers consider bills that would exclude school property taxes from IDA aid packages, or about 70% of the property taxes paid by Long Island businesses. The legislation also would have local governments fund IDAs instead of having them funded by IDA application fees.

DiNapoli calculated the “net jobs gained” at each project by comparing its 2022 employment with that for the year before the project received IDA aid. Data for 2023 will be published next year.

The projects, as a group, saved nearly $232 million in property, sales and mortgage-recording taxes in 2022, or $80 per Long Island resident.

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An amendment to the law that allows Suffolk County to increase its sales tax rate by 1/8 of a cent to finance the installation of sewer and advanced septic systems was signed into law yesterday by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. Alek Lewis reports on Riverheadlocal.com that the governor’s signature on the amendment, negotiated by state and county lawmakers, sets the stage for the county to put a referendum on the ballot in this year’s general election seeking voter approval of the sales tax increase.

The amended Suffolk County Water Quality Restoration Act provides that half the revenue from the tax will go towards wastewater treatment facilities, while the other half will help fund individual septic system projects. The law originally prioritized individual septic system projects, providing a 75-25 split in favor of the individual systems.

“Access to clean water is a basic need, and residents of Suffolk County deserve safe and reliable water infrastructure,” Hochul said in a statement. “I am committed to protecting the health of all New Yorkers, and this bill is a promise to future generations that we will do everything in our power to protect your well-being.”

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Shelter Island Friends of Music presents Amy Burton {soprano} and John Musto {piano} performing songs from the Great American Songbook including music from Porter, Gershwin, Rodgers, and Bernstein this coming Sunday; May 26th at 6pm in Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, 32 North Ferry Road, Route 114 on Shelter Island.

There will be a pre-concert reception and admission is free.

For further info visit Shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org.

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Thanks to unused snow days there’s no school today for kids on the east end. So no school buses out there right now but there is school bus news. Sandra Peddie, Michael Gormley and Mark Harrington report on Newsday.com that the passage of a measure to amend and extend a school bus camera law was the latest in a string of victories for the politically connected tech firm BusPatrol America. BusPatrol has hired several former top Suffolk County officials as its senior executives and retained six firms to lobby for them in New York State, spending $74,000 in the first two months of the year on the camera law amendment.

In Suffolk, the program generated more than $21 million in revenue in 2023, with 55% going to the county and 45% to BusPatrol. From May 1, 2021, through Dec. 21, 2022, BusPatrol generated nearly $37 million in revenue for Suffolk, with about $16 million of that going to BusPatrol.

Passing a stopped school bus carries a $250 fine for a first violation, a figure that increases with violations.

Supporters say the cameras have become a vital tool in protecting schoolchildren on sometimes dangerous roadways, and do so in ways that benefit government budgets.

Critics say the $250 starting fine is too steep and regressive, hitting those who can least afford to pay the hardest.

Suffolk officials said they were reviewing recently discovered amendments to BusPatrol's contract that limit the county's ability to end the contract. In the waning days of the Bellone administration, officials removed a standard clause that would allow the county to terminate the contract with 30 days' notice.

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This evening in Southampton Village there will be a celebration of the Village of Southampton Commission on Veterans Patriotic Events, Veterans Hall and our Village Veterans on May 24, 2024 from 5PM to 7PM.

Local veterans will share personal stories starting at 6PM. Learn about Veterans Hall and honor our heroes. All are welcome!

Refreshments courtesy of Thyme & Again.

• Location:
• Veterans Memorial Hall
• 25 Pond Lane
• Southampton, NY 11968

Date:

• Friday, May 24, 2024
• 5PM to 7PM

And this coming Monday in Southampton Village -

Memorial Day Service

The Commission on Veterans Patriotic Events will be hosting a Memorial Day Service on Monday, May 27th at 11 AM in Agawam Park.

Prior to the service, there will be a short parade beginning at 10:45am from the First Presbyterian Church, down Jobs Lane, into the park. All veterans are invited to participate and asked to be at the church parking log by 10:30AM. Cars will be available for those who cannot march.

The guest speaker is Joshua Donohue. Mr. Donohue is a Professor of History at Farmingdale State College and Suffolk Community College. He holds a Masters degree in Military History and teaches courses in American Military History, U.S. History, and Western Civilization.

All are invited to the Veterans Memorial Hall for refreshments after the service.

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A planned strike by fuel workers at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens during Memorial Day weekend was averted after Gov. Kathy Hochul intervened to help settle the labor dispute, according to THE NY POST.

Teamsters Local 553 — representing 300 workers and mechanics who fuel commercial and cargo jets at the airport — announced a tentative deal for a new labor contract with Allied Aviation Services, the private firm that services the planes at the regional airports.

The union had been working without a new contract since June 30, 2023, and planned to walk off the job today — potentially leaving unfueled planes stranded on runways through the three-day holiday weekend.

Hochul personally called Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton to nudge the parties to break the impasse, and her office also reached out to reps with the Teamsters, a source close to the negotiations said.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey oversees the JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports.

“We are happy an agreement has been reached, a need for a strike averted, and we are hopeful that the deal will be ratified by our members,” said Demos Demopoulos, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 553.

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Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York is nearing completion of its two-year capital improvements project and is expecting to reopen the last phase of the project — the theater — in July. That collaboration with Peter Pennoyer Architects and theatrical consultants Apeiro Design, the space, which throughout its life has been known as the John Drew Theater, will reopen with enhancements, upgrades and a new name — the Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater.

“Guild Hall announces the new Hilarie and Mitchell Morgan Theater in honor of a landmark gift from the Morgan family that has enabled this complete transformation,” reads a page in the organization’s recently published summer program guide. “Our beautiful performance space now operates at the highest level of technology and comfort, providing exceptional experiences for artists and audiences.”

According to Guild Hall, those enhancements include wider, more comfortable seating with greater row-to-row depth, a steeper rake for improved sightlines a new flexible social space at the rear of the theater, an audio lift system for improved sound for all sorts of art forms, advanced lighting and video systems, a remote-controlled camera system for livestreaming and recording, a relocated control booth and new lighting positions in the balcony.

When Guild Hall was built in 1931, the John Drew Theater was a memorial tribute to a well-known 19th and early 20th century stage actor who spent his summers in East Hampton. Guild Hall has said that it will acknowledge Drew with tribute signage and will name the senior staff position in the theater the John Drew director of performing arts in honor of this history.

As reported on 27east.com, to celebrate the reopening of the theater, Guild Hall will host a benefit concert with Emmy- and Tony-winning actor and singer Billy Porter, on Friday, July 12, at 8 p.m. For details, visit guildhall.org.