Controversial tax credit to save Downtown Manhattan on verge of getting renewed: sources
The citywide Relocation Employment Assistance Program and a similar one specifically for Lower Manhattan, known as LM-REAP, provide tax credits of up to $3,000 per employee to companies that relocate from out of the city or from parts of Manhattan to designated areas in the outer boroughs or to Downtown Manhattan.
Tens of thousands of jobs and the future of scores of Lower Manhattan office buildings would be at risk if the little-known REAP programs were not renewed when they expire on June 30, according to landlords and business advocates.
3 Tens of thousands of jobs and the future of scores of Lower Manhattan office buildings would be at risk if the little-known REAP programs were not renewed when they expire on June 30, according to landlords and business advocates.
Christopher Sadowski
The measures were left out of the state's budget plan announced in April and appeared doomed as lawmakers in the state Senate and Assembly were set to escape for their summer break.
But there was movement on an extension over the weekend, a knowledgeable Albany source told The Post on Monday.
'It finally got key approvals in the Assembly, and it's looking good tomorrow in the Senate, which was where the hangup was,' the source said.
Michael Gianaris, the State Senate Deputy Majority Leader from Queens, among others, had argued that REAP cost the city too much in foregone taxes — up to $33 million by 2033, according to the Department of Finance — to justify the economic benefits the additional jobs would bring.
3 Michael Gianaris, the State Senate Deputy Majority Leader from Queens, had argued that REAP cost the city too much in foregone taxes to justify the economic benefits the additional jobs would bring.
Hans Pennink
But renewing the program 'is critical to COVID recovery, preserving affordable office space and promoting job growth in small and medium-size businesses,' argued a rep for the Alliance for Downtown.
Supporters say LM-REAP costs the city a negligible $5 million a year — a pittance weighed against the tax benefits it helps generate in property and incomes taxes, although those figures are harder to quantify.
REAP began in 1987 to stem an exodus of tenants to New Jersey. The Lower Manhattan plan, launched in 2003, is credited with supporting 16,000 city jobs and helping to lease hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space in a market that's had more downs than ups since 9/11.
One source predicted a fresh wave of flight to New Jersey if REAP is allowed to die.
'They're actively recruiting New York businesses with programs offering up to $8,000 per job and $250,000 relocation grants. It's clear that if New York steps back, New Jersey will step in,' the source said.
The REAP renewals, as well as creation of a new program called the Relocation Assistance Credit for Employees (RACE), are backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
But fearing that the measures would be allowed to die, local congressional representatives threw their voices into the fray.
3 The REAP renewals are backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Lev Radin/Shutterstock
Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Ritchie Torres, Thomas Suozzi and Adriano Espaillat wrote to State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stweart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie that with 'record high office vacancies downtown, 'Now is not the time to end LM-REAP.'
The REAP programs have also brought jobs to Dumbo, MetroTech and the Navy Yard in Brooklyn and to Long Island City in Queens.
But the heat's mostly on Lower Manhattan, where more than 20% of nearly 90 million square feet of offices in the nation's second-largest commercial district stand vacant — and it might get worse.
'I believe the numbers being cited for current and future vacancies are too low, especially on Water Street,' said one Downtown executive who asked for anonymity told The Post. 'The REAP program is essential to keeping downtown competitive.'
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Los Angeles Times
25 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Get a manicure. Sing Monty Python. Be happy. You'll drive the Trumpists crazy
As the psychiatrist Dr. Melfi says to Tony in the pilot episode of 'The Sopranos,' 'Hope comes in many forms.' I was reminded of this the other day when I found my finger glued to the hand of another woman. I had set out that morning to celebrate all the indications that the political plates of the Earth had shifted — millions of people at the No Kings marches, all the court cases that the White House keeps losing and Trump's Epstein nightmare. I wanted to immerse myself in the headway. Something's happening here. Those in charge want us to give up until the next election, but of course we are not going to, because we have children and nieces and nephews. The dark forces must be childless. They are not concerned about squeezing the life out of the Constitution, the rising oceans and the re-emergence of diseases long eradicated, because they are so bottomlessly stupid and greedy. And they are unaware of what happens when the autocracy overreaches. Every time. Think pitchforks. Tick-tock. This gives me a little hope. Hope comes in many forms: When I hear the songs of the civil rights movement at our marches, a soft gong sounds. The poet Jack Gilbert wrote, 'We must admit that there will be music despite everything.' Ever since I heard the author Caroline Myss say that when darkness and evil go nuclear, love and hope must go nuclear too, I started getting occasional manicures with glittery polish, to remind me. There was a nail salon in the first strip mall I passed. I went in. It seemed crowded, and I turned to leave. But the nearest manicurist said, 'Pick a color.' I said, 'No, no, you seem busy.' 'Pick a color!' she demanded, so I leapt to the polish station and picked a sparkly pale pink. An old woman came lumbering out from the back room toward me with a bowl of water. I dutifully fished out $25 from my purse, five of it tip, and put the fingers of one hand into the bowl of warm water. When one hand free, I scrolled through the links on my phone — the usual stuff, the government taking away health insurance from the poor and protecting American jobs by causing mass starvation around the world. The salon had grown incredibly hot. What hasn't? I smiled remembering Sen. Jim Inhofe tossing that snowball around on the Senate floor as proof that there is no global warming. God, the absurdity. Absurdity! A light bulb went on over my head in that salon. That's what we're missing. I realized that this was one solution to the cruel mess and the endless, depressing analysis. Yes, we will take to the streets at every opportunity, care for the poor and pick up litter. But we also, desperately, need to begin laughing again. And who does absurdity better than Monty Python? Monty Python says what we already know, that yes, it is all hopelessly stupid, cruel and unfair, but their making it silly delivers joy and buoyancy. We can grip our heads, fight back and laugh at it and them. And nothing agitates narcissists more than people laughing. Think of how confused our most prominent bullies get when people laugh at them. Bullies rule by fear. Humor is fearless, a bubbly form of hope. Remember the 'Upper Class Twit of the Year' award? And 'Self-Defense Against Fruit'? Aren't people in flag-draped lines voting to lose their health insurance and their basic rights reminiscent of folks queuing for crucifixion in 'Life of Brian'? The cheery, 'Line up on the left, one cross each'? Laughter and those jaunty songs break up the armor that we think protects us. When we're softened and jiggled, we're open to a shift from tight and clenched to the recognition of shared humanity, and underneath that a glimmer of shared possibility. When we don't see anything on the menu that we like, we can at least remember — as Monty Python taught us — that the Spam, egg, sausage and Spam sandwich has not got nearly as much Spam in it. I smiled, hearing the Spam song, right before my manicurist cut the skin at the base of the nail. I yelped. We both looked down at a drop of blood that was growing. She wrapped my finger in a Kleenex and pulled out a tiny tube I assumed was a styptic, and rubbed it over the cut. Then she pinched my finger between hers to stem the bleeding. After a minute, she tried to let go, which was the point at which I realized that this tube was super glue and that my finger was glued to her hand. She couldn't pry her fingers off. She started swabbing us with nail polish remover — not ideal for an open cut. I mewed like a kitten. It took a painful, burning minute to get us unglued. The bleeding was slowing down, and she stroked my hand while looking into my eyes kindly. Kindness is the antivenom. So we proceeded. I assumed that, the way things are going, I would die one day later this week of a fungal infection that went septic, but at least I would have beautiful nails, and Monty Python. I left her a second $5 tip. Hope comes in many forms: If you want to have hopeful feelings, do hopeful things. She touched her heart when she saw. Maybe I don't always remember my doctor's name, or how to spell the fuchsias that my husband grows, but I remember every word of 'The Lumberjack Song,' and of 'Every Sperm Is Sacred.' I hope we don't go crazy with the craziness around us. I can't remember a more terrifying time. I hope that we can keep centered, keep sharing what we have, help each other keep our spirits up, sing, register voters and rally, and maybe these are all we've got these days, but deep in my heart, I do believe that led with infinite dignity by the Ministry of Silly Walks, they will see us through. Anne Lamott, an author of fiction and nonfiction, lives in Marin County, Calif. Her latest book is 'Somehow: Thoughts on Love.' X: @annelamott
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump's DC takeover
Happy Tuesday. TS12 is coming!!!! Taylor Swift announced at 12:12 a.m. that she will be dropping a new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl.' Keep scrolling for more on this announcement. In today's issue: Trump is taking over DC How Trump uses military for domestic policies July inflation remains steady Trump teases renaming Kennedy Center Taylor Swift to unveil album on a podcast Breaking down Trump's D.C. takeover: President Trump took the extraordinary step Monday of seizing control of the Washington, D.C., police department and deploying 800 federal National Guard troops to combat crime, putting the city on edge. 🔷 The administration's argument: Trump said this is an attempt to 'rescue' D.C. from 'bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.' The stats the White House wants to emphasize: White House officials handed out a pamphlet to reporters showing the crime rate: It shows the District's murder rate as higher than Delhi, India; Bogotá, Colombia; and London . There were 187 homicides last year, which is higher than the years immediately preceding the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. ♦ ️ The argument against the D.C. takeover: That crime rates are actually falling. Critics are concerned about Trump's expanding militarization in domestic cities. The stats critics want you to see: Police statistics show crime rates in the District have dropped significantly over the past two years. Violent crime is down 26 percent from last year. Plus, 2024 saw a 32 percent drop in homicides and a 35 percent drop in overall violent crime compared to 2023. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) was critical of Trump's Washington takeover during a press conference Monday and said she was not given a heads up about the president's full plan. (Though she was fairly guarded in her criticism.) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) slammed Trump's move as a 'political ploy and attempted distraction from Trump's other scandals.' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called Trump 'an incoherent wannabe dictator.' Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) described it as a 'gross abuse of power that reeks of authoritarianism.' And California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) accused Trump of '[gaslighting] his way into militarizing any city he wants in America.' This plan worries advocates for homeless people: ABC News reports on what this means for homeless people in the District of Columbia. 🗨️ Follow today's live blog ➤ TRUMP ALSO RAILED ON CASHLESS BAIL: It's a policy that allows defendants to be released with the promise they will return for trial, but without cash bail. This policy has been adopted in some form by places like Illinois, New York and the District. The argument is that it creates more fairness and equity in the justice system. Read more: Cashless bail explainer ➤ STEPPING BACK: The New York Times's Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper argue Trump's D.C. takeover is 'the latest example of how the president has used the military to advance domestic policy priorities.' The southern border: 'Already this year, Mr. Trump has deployed some 10,000 active-duty troops to the southwest U.S. border to choke off the flow of drugs as well as migrants.' And in Los Angeles: Trump deployed '4,700 National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles to help quell protests that had erupted over immigration raids and to protect the federal agents conducting them.' Latin drug cartels: 'Trump last month secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations.' ➤ RELATED READS: The Washington Post: Trump had a playbook for taking more control in D.C. The question was when. 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Inflation keeps on trucking along: 'Consumer prices rose 0.2 percent in July, according to data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as the economy braces for the full imposition of President Trump's tariffs,' reports The Hill's Sylvan Lane. The numbers: Prices rose 0.2 percent in July and 2.7 percent over the past year. 'But core inflation — which strips out volatile food and energy prices — came in at 0.3 percent higher over the past month and rose 3.1 percent over the past year.' Breaking it down: 'The latest reading of the consumer price index (CPI) showed monthly and annual inflation plateauing as declining gasoline prices wiped out increases in the costs of medical care, airfares, household furnishings and a wide range of other goods and services.' ➤ QUICK HITS: 🎭 Trump floats a Kennedy Center rename: Trump teased a name change to the Kennedy Center. 'GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS,' Trump posted on Truth Social. ⚕️ A gunman attacked the CDC: A lone gunman fired 180 shots at the Atlanta Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters Friday. A police officer was killed — and so was the gunman. 🎒 Harvard and the Trump administration are getting closer to a deal: A source familiar with the discussions told The Hill's Lexi Lonas Cochran that a deal between Harvard University and the Trump administration is 'close' despite real barriers. COMING UP The House and Senate are out. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 🧡💚 The talk of every social media platform today: Taylor Swift is releasing her 12th studio album! Swift announced the new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl,' in a clip from her upcoming appearance on the 'New Heights' podcast, hosted by her boyfriend Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce. The podcast episode will be released Wednesday at 7 p.m. 📹 Watch the teaser clip 📺 What's it like for terminated federal employees these days?: My friend, Nicole DeCastro, lost her job at USAID as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts. She has been documenting her journey of finding a new job on Instagram and TikTok. She appeared on our new morning show, 'Sunrise on the Hill' to discuss her experiences. 📹 Watch the segment 👋 AND FINALLY…
The Hill
25 minutes ago
- The Hill
Sherrod Brown to launch Senate comeback bid: reports
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) is set to launch a comeback Senate bid in Ohio next year, multiple outlets are reporting, months after he was ousted by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R). Politico and Axios reported Brown's plans on Monday, though the former senator had yet to officially launch his campaign. The only Democrat elected to Ohio statewide office in the past decade, Brown's Senate candidacy could be a chance for the party to gain back ground in the upper chamber during next year's midterms. He'd be challenging Sen. Jon Husted (R), who was appointed to the post by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine earlier this year after JD Vance left the Senate to become vice president. Next year's special election will decide who fills the remainder of Vance's term. The winner would need to run again in 2028 to snag a full term. Brown's decision also ends speculation that he could run for governor to replace term-limited DeWine next year. The Democrat was first elected to the Senate in 2006 and won comfortably in 2012 and 2018, before narrowly losing his reelection bid by about 3.5 points to Moreno last year. At the top of the ticket, former Vice President Harris lost the state by 11 points to President Trump. Axios reported last week that Brown had been interviewing campaign managers for the race. And last month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had reportedly stopped by Chicago to meet with Brown amid chatter about a potential comeback bid.
