ALBANY-In a move hailed by economic development agencies across the state, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has signed into law a bill that will extend the authority of the 116 local industrial development agencies in New York to provide assistance to nonprofits, medical institutions and homes for the elderly.
The IDAs can continue to offer these organizations tax-exempt financing for the construction of facilities. The law, which was originally scheduled to expire on July 1, 2007, has been extended for another seven months and is now set to expire on Jan. 31, 2008.
Theresa Waivada, executive director of the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, says, "It is such a great program because all of the organizations provide beneficial public health or public education services." She notes that the new law allows IDAs to offer Civic Facility Bonds.
In the past the Westchester County IDA has offered assistance under this program to: Community Housing Innovations, a nonprofit that has built affordable housing units in Peekskill, Yonkers and Mount Vernon; SUNY Purchase; the Guiding Eyes for the Blind in Yorktown; the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville; Catherine Field House in Yorktown; Young Adult Institute of New York City, which has multiple locations in Westchester, and a host of other nonprofit, medical and elderly assistance organizations. "We hope that the state legislature will act quickly in January to once again extend the program so that new projects can be started now," she adds.
Spitzer says of the program, "It is essential that state government continues to support the invaluable work of not-for-profits. Extending the provisions of this law will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in discount financing for libraries, hospitals, senior living facilities and other civic facilities."
Brian McMahon, president of the New York State Economic Development Council, says that since 1990 local IDAs have provided assistance to more than 750 nonprofit charitable institutions to help finance capital projects with total investment that exceeds $7 billion. "These not-for-profits create jobs and provide many worthy and essential services, which enhance the quality of life of the communities where they are located. Most of these NFPs could not invest in their futures without IDA bonds," he says.
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