Under the incentive package, approximately 100 new jobs will be created, Amicone says. Inducements from the IDA could include sales and use tax exemption for materials and equipment used in construction, as well as a long-term extension of the current property tax agreement, he adds. “We will be getting additional pilot payments for the increased number of machines and the increased size of the building,” Amicone says. “Everybody who will be employed by them will pay an income tax surcharged by the city of Yonkers, so we benefit from that.”

But the city wasn’t always benefiting from the video lottery machines, until a lawsuit against New York State was settled years ago. The city now gets a maximum of $20 million per year--about 3.5% of gross profits from the casino--which goes directly to the Yonkers Board of Education to aid the city’s public school system. “With more machines, we will be going to the state legislature now and re-do that formula so we can increase the city’s take, because in the end, it goes right to the kids.”

Before the Yonkers IDA casts its final vote on the incentive package, a public hearing on the matter will be held on June 16. “It’s a very important employer and very important taxpayer in the city,” Amicone says. “We can’t afford to see them lose their competitive edge because it will not only hurt the family and state, but it’s also going to hurt the city. We are looking for every potential revenue source and every potential job for the people that live in the city, and this provides both.”

At the same meeting, the IDA board also voted to negotiate another economic development incentive package for a $1.7-million expansion of Kimber Manufacturing, a Yonkers-based military and law enforcement manufacturer of 1911 Firearms. If approved, the expansion would allow Kimber to expand to its third facility at 1120 Saw Mill River Rd. here.