Orange County IDA Monitor Rejects Amazon Warehouse Tax Break

The tax break was for an Amazon warehouse of 3.2 million square feet to be built in Wawayanda.

An Amazon fulfillment center in Columbus, Ohio, on March 20, 2020. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

WAWAYANDA, N.Y.—Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) monitor Brian Sanvidge has canceled a tax break for the Amazon warehouse set to be built in the town of Wawayanda. The Nov. 25 announcement came a month after a major push by New York state Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat, to veto the tax program.

The agency approved a 15-year payment in lieu of taxes program for the warehouse on Oct. 23, which would save Amazon about $80 million over the period.

Skoufis began an initiative in opposition called “Pay Your Damn Taxes, Amazon!” The goal of the movement was to collect signatures to show Sanvidge the public support for vetoing the tax break. Skoufis submitted a letter with 1,000 signatures from Orange County residents on Nov. 11.

Sanvidge began a dialogue with Amazon, Scannell Properties (the company building the warehouse), and the IDA on Oct. 24, asking that questions from him and Skoufis be answered before he made a decision on the program. Sanvidge did not receive an adequate response.

Discussion continued until Nov. 19, when Sanvidge stopped receiving responses from the parties involved. Sanvidge continued to propose dates to discuss a conclusion on the matter, but received no responses. On Nov. 25, he officially notified the IDA that the Oct. 23 tax program is not legally binding or effective.

The program may be reconsidered after 10 days or at the next board meeting.

The tax break was for a to-be-built Amazon warehouse of 3.2 million square feet in Wawayanda. The warehouse was approved by the Wawayanda Planning Board on Oct. 22, after being rejected in June. This was due to the warehouse being 96 feet high in a zone with a maximum height of 65 feet.

Scannell Properties reapplied for a height exemption in August. The exemption was allowed because of proper fire prevention measures and larger-than-required property buffer zones.

The Orange County IDA is a public benefit corporation, a semigovernmental entity, that promotes growth in Orange County. The agency benefits from having the flexibility and incentives of a private company while serving the public interest.

The agency has the power to grant payment in lieu of taxes programs to attract development. The programs let businesses pay lower property taxes over a set period of time.

The Orange County IDA monitor position was the brainchild of Skoufis in 2023. After it was exposed that the agency had given an unnecessary $2.7 million tax exemption to Milmar Food Group, the unique position of the monitor was created. A state-appointed monitor does not exist elsewhere in the United States.

The Orange County IDA, Sanvidge, and Scannell Properties did not respond to requests for comment.