Over a period of more than 10 years, government tax breaks and incentives to support Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group’s development of Hudson Yards total about $6 billion.
That’s double the package of tax breaks and incentives Amazon’s Long Island City campus was trying to secure before the company scrapped its plans, the New York Times reports.
Related Hudson Yards’ president L. Jay Cross told the publication the 28-acre complex that contains 13 buildings and will eventually house 55,000 office workers couldn’t have happened without government backing. Namely, tax breaks that allowed office prices to be lowered enough to compete with the Midtown market and, most especially, the $2.4 billion subway extension, which the city footed the bill for. Any new developments in Hudson Yards may also be eligible for tax breaks of up to 40 percent for about two decades, and companies leasing space in the project may also be eligible for certain benefits.
Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander, who criticized the incentive package New York offered to Amazon, told the publication he supports that public funds backed the creation of a new subway line and parks as part of the megaproject, but called for more oversight on the deals given to individual companies.
“We’re giving away tax breaks without paying close attention to what’s a good deal or not a good deal,” he told the Times.
New York mayor Bill de Blasio echoed the sentiment in a statement to the Times: “I believe state and local economic development programs need to be re-evaluated and updated.” Hudson Yards officially opens on March 15. [NYT] — Erin Hudson