Tag: Subsidies

Jan 12

2023

Podcast: Reporting on Tesla’s solar factory

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When plans were announced for a solar panel manufacturing plant in South Buffalo, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo described the project as a “game changer.” Based on the promise of not only a gleaming new plant and more than 1,400 jobs, but a whole new clean energy sector that would employ thousands more. Cuomo poured nearly $1 billion of state tax dollars into building and equipping the project. Has it delivered as promised? Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker dug deep to answer that question. Officials from Tesla refused requests for interview. Bureaucrats with the state economic development agency that oversees the project[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Jan 11

2023

Tesla’s solar factory in Buffalo fizzles

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When Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans in 2013 for what is now Tesla’s factory in South Buffalo, he pitched it as a cornerstone of the “clean energy revolution” and a new high-tech industrial sector for Western New York. The project would create not only more than 1,400 direct jobs, but spin-off development that would provide a supply chain employing thousands of additional workers. Cuomo proclaimed the project a “game-changer.” Fast-forward to today. Less than one-quarter of the workforce at the Tesla factory is engaged in solar-related manufacturing. That work was suspended altogether for at least six months last year.  Podcast:[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Dec 1

2022

Erie IDA eyes largest subsidy package in years

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Updated: 2:50 p.m. The Erie County Industrial Development Agency is entertaining a request for the largest package of tax breaks it has awarded in the past five years.  The $11.8 million in tax breaks for Sonwil Distribution work out to $621,000 per new job. In addition to hiring 19 new workers, the company would relocate 22 of its current employees.   But Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a member of the IDA board of directors, has raised “serious concerns” about the size of the subsidy package, according to a spokesperson. “There is no way I am in favor of $11 million[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Nov 29

2022

More subsidies for high-end apartments

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Industrial development agencies were initially in the business of creating or retaining jobs. Their mission these days includes finding new uses for old buildings. The Amherst IDA last month approved $1.88 million in tax breaks for a project that does neither. The planned construction of apartments and retail space at 5877 Main Street in Williamsville will create only two permanent jobs. And the older building that was located on the site — Milos Restaurant — is slated for demolition. A four-story building will go up in its place. The first floor will include Excuria Salon and Spa and retail space.[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Nov 17

2022

Thanks to WNY, Amazon subsidies hit $5 billion

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A $124 million subsidy package given to Amazon by the Niagara County Industrial Development agency this summer helped the e-commerce giant reach a milestone: $5 billion in total government subsidies. That total came from 309 subsidies in 38 states since 2000, according to data compiled by Good Jobs First, a nonprofit that tracks corporate tax breaks. Washington, the state where Amazon is headquartered, gave the company the most subsidies, a total of $824 million. Illinois ranked second with $732 million, followed by New York at $671 million. Those subsidies went towards facilities ranging from warehouses to offices to film and[...]

Posted 1 year ago

Oct 10

2022

Monday Morning Read

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Monday Morning Read is extracted, with updates, from WeeklyPost, a free email newsletter sent Sunday mornings. Get Jim Heaney’s recommended reading by subscribing here. The deal announced last week by Kathy Hochul and Chuck Schumer to bring a huge microchip plant to Central New York represents the biggest subsidy package in state history. Micron will receive $5.8 billion — yes, billion — in grants, tax breaks and other goodies to build a massive production facility north of Syracuse. (The Genesee County IDA’s STAMP industrial park strikes out again.) The announcement includes the usual hyperbole about jobs and green operations, which Reinvent[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Sep 19

2022

Monday Morning Read

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Here’s what caught Jim Heaney’s eye last week. Subscribe to his WeeklyPost and you’ll receive his recommended reading, along with a recap of the previous week’s reporting by Investigative Post. Updated: 2:10 p.m. Newspaper print circulation is tumbling in Buffalo and across the nation. The hope of the industry is to make up for that lost ground by growing online readership. Now, Rick Edmunds, the media business analyst for the Poynter Institute, reports that, too, is shrinking. He wrote this last week: Pageviews and uniques are not the favored digital metrics they used to be, but as they fell roughly[...]

Posted 2 years ago

Aug 10

2022

Big tax breaks for Amazon in Niagara County

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It took the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency less than a minute Wednesday to approve $124 million in tax breaks for Amazon to bring 1,000 warehouse jobs to the Town of Niagara. Amazon, one of the world’s largest and wealthiest companies, plans to open a 3-million-square-foot warehouse along Lockport Road, which will be a “first mile” distribution center where bulk shipments of goods will arrive and be sorted and packed for shipment to other Amazon facilities in the region. The goods will make their way to customers from those other facilities. Despite hearing concerns from residents about the $15-per-hour jobs[...]

Posted 2 years ago
Investigative Post

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