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State directs another $20M to Staten Island outlet mall

The Cuomo administration has authorized another $20 million grant to developers of an outlet mall on Staten Island, bringing the total amount of state subsidies on the project to $67 million.

The grant was approved Monday by the board of Empire State Development, the state’s economic development authority. It is the third round of subsidies the state has sent to Empire Outlets, which will bring stores, restaurants and a hotel to a site next to the St. George Ferry Terminal that are projected to employ 1,300 people.

Officials and the mall’s developers say the money is offsetting the cost of infrastructure that benefits the nearby Staten Island Railway and protects against storm surge. But the size of the subsidy package — roughly a fifth of the total project cost, which has risen from $304.4 million to $354.4 million — has drawn concern in some corners, particularly amid a bid-rigging and bribery scandal that has resulted in charges against some of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s closest aides.

“An outlet mall on prime waterfront property is a really questionable use of $67 million in subsidies,” said E.J. McMahon, president of the Empire Center, a fiscally conservative think tank. “We could build four upstate film hubs with that kind of money.”

Officials at Empire State Development said the new money was needed to make the site more resilient in case of a major storm, and note that Hurricane Sandy flooded the area with five feet of water, knocking out the Staten Island Railway's control center and a switching station.

“It’s very difficult to finance this in traditional methods, because it includes MTA property, it includes existing infrastructure and, of course, because of its proximity to the waterfront edge and the experience with Hurricane Sandy,” Joseph Tazewell, who oversees ESD projects in New York City, said during the board meeting. “It really needs to be locked tight with respect to water.”

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“We are building new flood barriers, better roadways and Staten Island Railway improvements that will benefit all Staten Islanders and make commuting easier,” the statement reads. “And we are doing it faster and at a lower cost to taxpayers than if the state had done the work itself.”

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http://www.politico.com/states/new-y...et-mall-109103