GOSHEN – The State Supreme Court in Goshen has rejected the Orange County Industrial Development Agency’s attempt to invalidate the independent monitor’s veto of financial incentives to build a giant Amazon distribution center in the Town of Wawayanda.
IDA Executive Director Bill Fioravanti said while they respect the judicial process, they are “disappointed that the case wasn’t decided on the underlying facts.”
State Senator James Skouis (D, Cornwall) was a driving force in opposition to those incentives.
He called the court’s decision to uphold the monitor’s decision on the sought after $80 million property tax break “intelligent, well-reasoned.”
The senator said monitor Brian Sanvidge “requested critical information from Amazon, they and the IDA refused to provide it, and he was left with no choice but to protect Orange County from what amounted to a middle-finger to taxpayers.”
He said the IDA spent some $400,000 in public funds to bring the lawsuit, “a complete waste of money that may as well have been lit on fire. Instead of fighting oversight, the IDA is encouraged to follow the law and start prioritizing taxpayer interests.”
The IDA, meanwhile, said the monitor “attempted to exercise a veto of the Amazon project after the agreed upon timeframe had expires, despite raising no objections or concerns throughout the months-long approval process,” and Fioravanti said they believe the facts warranted a different outcome.
Calling the project the largest private investment in Orange County, he said it was projected to generate some $70 million in new tax revenue while creating over 750 permanent jobs. “With families confronting rising household costs and municipalities struggling to provide essential services, those new jobs and long-term tax revenues would have given a huge economic boost to the Town of Wawayanda and to residents throughout the region,” Fioravanti said.
He said now the focus of the IDA “is on determining the best path forward while continuing to fulfill our mission of promoting responsible economic development that benefits Orange County residents.”
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