Tag: Subsidies

Jun 11

2025

What wage theft allegations?

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For a eight time Wednesday, the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency approved subsidies for a fast food restaurateur under investigation for wage theft. And just like every other subsidy the IDA has authorized for Muhammad Shoaib over the past two years, the $48,750 grant garnered no discussion and was approved unanimously. Fast food restaurants are generally ineligible for any IDA assistance under New York law. But because Shoaib is opening many of his stores in downtown Niagara Falls, IDA leaders have allowed him to exploit a loophole that allows tax breaks and grants for retail establishments in “economically distressed” areas.[...]

Posted 3 weeks ago

Mar 19

2025

More subsidies for restaurateur accused of wage theft

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A Niagara Falls restaurateur under investigation for allegations of wage theft received a third round of tax breaks Wednesday. With little discussion, the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency unanimously approved $51,000 in sales tax breaks for Muhammad Shoaib to open a Church’s Chicken, Jamba Juice and Carvel Ice Cream in downtown Niagara Falls. Meanwhile, five former employees, three of them managers, have come forward with new allegations that Shoaib and his wife, Hina Qureshi, failed to pay overtime and withheld tips from their workers. They told Investigative Post the couple altered payroll entries and told employees to destroy records and[...]

Posted 3 months ago

Mar 6

2025

Mega-subsidy deal for data center

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With subsidies totaling $3.9 million per job, the Genesee County Economic Development Center gave the green light Thursday to a massive data center project to locate at its STAMP industrial park. The industrial development agency’s board of directors unanimously approved a proposal by STREAM U.S. Data Centers to construct a 900,000 square foot data center at the rural business park north of Batavia. The firm will purchase nearly 60 acres of STAMP’s more than 1,200 acre footprint and build a server farm the size of 16 football fields. The subsidy package totals $472 million, primarily sales tax exemptions on computer[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Feb 24

2025

Subsides amounting to billions of dollars

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Politicians can’t throw enough money at Micron Technology to entice the company to build a microchip factory north of Syracuse. Ken Girardin of the Empire Center for Public Policy took a close look at the deal, and yikes, it is rich enough to make the Buffalo Billion deal that brought Tesla to South Buffalo look like a steal — which it wasn’t unless you’re Elon Musk. Micron is in line for subsidies worth more than $11 billion. That’s billion, not million. Among the goodies: Up to $5.5 billion in state tax credits. Tax abatements, sales and otherwise, of $4.9 billion. Property tax abatements that[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Feb 17

2025

Making the case for IDA reform

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There’s a case to be made for consolidating and reforming Western New York’s myriad of industrial development agencies into a single operation. There’s six alone in Erie County, another three in Niagara. Add the outlying counties and there’s no fewer than 16 of them. There’s too many of them. They compete against each other. They can’t resist the built-in conflict of interest in which they earn a commission if they approve a deal and get zilch if they don’t. Let’s face it, if they were effective, our regional economy would be in better shape. Greg LeRoy of Good Jobs First, who, for my[...]

Posted 4 months ago

Feb 12

2025

More subsidies for restaurateur accused of wage theft

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The  Niagara County Industrial Development Agency on Wednesday unanimously approved nearly $247,000 in tax breaks to a fast food operator being investigated on allegations of wage theft and other labor law violations. The IDA board did not discuss the allegations before granting the subsidy to Muhammad Shoaib, whose other fast food operations previously have received subsidies totaling close to a half million dollars. The latest round of assistance for Shoaib’s businesses comes as the state labor department probes allegations of wage theft made by several of his former employees. At least two have submitted complaints to the labor department that[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Feb 3

2025

Prospect of huge subsidies for data center at STAMP

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Around 50 people gathered at the Alabama fire hall for a series of public hearings about a data center locating at STAMP. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. TOWN OF ALABAMA — Three data centers vying to build at the STAMP industrial park in rural Genesee County are seeking subsidies worth anywhere from $838,000 to $3.9 million per job. The proposals were the subject of three public hearings Monday at which about two dozen nearby residents voiced their strong opposition. Concerns ran the gamut: Some speakers said data centers — via water runoff and noise — would harm the surrounding environment,[...]

Posted 5 months ago

Jan 30

2025

State investigating claims of ‘Falls wage theft

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The Moe’s and A&W owned by Muhammad Shoaib on Rainbow Boulevard. Photos by J. Dale Shoemaker. The New York State Department of Labor is investigating claims that a Niagara Falls fast food restaurateur failed to pay overtime and withheld tips from employees. Two former employees of Muhammad Shoaib’s fast food restaurants have filed a complaints with the labor department and one has since been contacted by an investigator. Other former employees said they are in the process of filing complaints of their own. In a statement, a labor department spokesperson confirmed that it was in receipt of complaints but declined[...]

Posted 5 months ago
Investigative Post