Posted on 01/04/2018 9:06:56 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
DeWitt, N.Y. -- In 2014, the development arm of SUNY Polytechnic Institute agreed to build, with $90 million in state money, a factory in DeWitt for an LED light bulb manufacturer.
The company, California-based Soraa, agreed to create 250 full-time, high-tech jobs at Collamer Crossing Business Park and to encourage Soraa contractors and suppliers to create another 170 jobs in Central New York.
In return, the company would be allowed to lease the factory for $1 a month for 10 years.
But the deal with SUNY Poly's Fort Schuyler Management Corp. did not require Soraa to spend any of its own money to build or equip the factory. And it contained no penalties if the company did not occupy the building or create the promised jobs. The company never even signed a lease.
So when Soraa recently said it no longer needed the factory and pulled out of the deal just as the state was completing construction of the 82,000-square-foot building, there was nothing the state could do about it.
The state was left with a factory, nearly fully equipped, but no company to use it....
(Excerpt) Read more at syracuse.com ...
Somebody walked away with a whole lot of cash.
$90 million just so liberal politicians can say, “You didn’t build that.”
Would sure think so. Amazing how they keep pulling this stuff off.
They've been building it in fits and starts for several years. I've long wondered what was going on there. The usual sorts of "coming soon" signs, and "financing by" signs, are nowhere to be seen.
It's near another big commercial building that was supposed to become the home for some aspect of the New York "nanotechnology initiative," which yielded a gigantic facility in Albany, but (as far as I can tell) little else.
Where was this thing built?
I don’t recall hearing about it and haven’t seen it, although it’s probably in a part of DeWitt I don’t get to regularly.
Blue state economic “policy” writ large. And they have the balls to complain about the “unfair” tax bill....
NY, The Empire Vampire State.
People in CNY are not stupid.
They can handle *high tech* jobs.
And yes, to the rest of your questions.
It works for Ithaca Beer company.
I’m sure there’s a market for it.
Click on the link in my post and zoom out.
It’s just north of the Thruway exit 34A.
As you drive north on 481, it’s at the next exit after the Thruway exit.
It’s on the other side of 481 from the Brittonfield office park, where Hematology Oncology associates is located.
I’m sure the appropriate politicians got their cut, so everything is okay.
To be honest, LED outdoor floodlights have it all over incandescents. I have not had to replace one, ever, as opposed to incandescents that burn-out after 2-3 months.
That’s $360,000 PER job that was never created.
They would have been better off just giving $360,000 to 250 random people.
Holy Smokes!!! This has to go at the top of the list for “unbelievable” 2018 stories - starting out with a bang.
Another good reason for Cuomo to run for president - shed light on all the shenanigans in the state while he was governor...Open people’s eyes once and for all.
Who on earth would ever hire that creep in the picture to be president of anything - except perhaps a company furnishing Porta Potties?
No wonder I never saw it.
You may know someone who knows someone who might want to file this little story away for future reference.
Local media and local elites here are totally in the Hillary camp, so there won't be much interest in pursuing it.
I think there's a high likelihood that there is a very juicy story behind this, and (undoubtedly) other similar scams that have been going on around the state under Cuomo.
The building was built by and is owned by COR Properties, which has been involved in a bribery scandal. Cuomo insiders were bribed.
Here's an excerpt from a local story, published in September of 2016.
Federal prosecutors have charged nine people in a probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's state development projects.Among those charged were two executives with a Fayetteville-based development company that has been awarded lucrative state contracts and is among the governor's top donors.
Here's what came to light Thursday:
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara charged COR Development Co. executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi with bribing a former top Cuomo aide. They appeared in court today in Syracuse and were released on $100,000 bond.
Both Aiello and Gerardi were charged with five felonies, including charges of bribery and wire fraud conspiracy. Each faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
The charges outline multiple alleged examples of COR's illegal dealings with the state. Among those charges are:
- COR executives and state officials colluded to rig a bid for a major development contract to favor the developer. COR was the only developer to bid on the contract, worth $90 million.
- Joseph Percoco, a former Cuomo aide, solicited more than $300,000 from two companies in exchange for helping them with state business. COR made up $35,000 of that.
- Payments from COR were funneled through Todd Howe, a lobbyist. Howe is now cooperating with federal investigators, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Aiello used his clout with officials to secure a pay raise for his son, who worked for Cuomo.
- Aiello and Gerardi lied to FBI agents about making payments to Percoco.
Several local officials have weighed in on the charges. Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney said she was "surprised" to hear the news. U.S. Rep. John Katko said he will return $10,000 he received in donations from COR executives.
Bharara said today that Cuomo is not under investigation at this time.
NYS politicians just cannot help themselves from getting involved in dirty deals. Start Up NY was a failure from the beginning. Unfortunately the NY AG is too much of ideolog to investigate Cuomo’s office.
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