NEW YORK CITY—A white paper by the newly launched Hedge Clippers coalition released some tough assessment of One57, Extell Development Co.'s uber-luxury residential condominium tower on West 57th street.
The citizen advocacy group's report outlines sizeable contributions by One57 developers to Governor Cuomo's campaign coffers, questions the controversial 421a tax abatements received for purchasing the condos and provides exclusive details on previously unnamed buyers and their “caustic” business practices. It also adds fodder to US attorney Preet Bharara's reported Federal inquiry into One57, the 421a abatement and the alleged role played by Gov. Cuomo.
Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy for All coalition—which is a member of the HedgeClippers group—tells GlobeSt.com. “The most valuable real estate in America does not need subsidies or special deals from taxpayers to be profitable to developers, period. One57 received large public subsidies from Gov. Cuomo and Albany legislators, making it clear that New York state government is working great for billionaires while it's not working so well for everyday New Yorkers.”
Adds Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action of New York, “How does Governor Cuomo expect New Yorkers to trust their government when he's accepting huge campaign contributions on the same day that his donors are receiving huge tax breaks? The corrupt arrangement between politicians and their CEO campaign contributors won't change until we create a public campaign funding system that lets candidates put small donors first."
Top lines from the new note that developers receiving the special tax exemption contributed $295,000 directly to Governor Cuomo; One57 developers contributed $100,000 directly to Cuomo on the very day that the 421a exemptions were announced; over the life of the 421a exemption, New York taxpayers will lose out on an estimated $35 million.
According to the report, that $35 million could pay the salaries of 458 public school teachers; fund a year of universal pre-K for 3,418 children; pay the salaries of 659 new school nurses; purchase 125,004 Chromebooks for New York City public school students or house 930 homeless families in for one year.
Among the buyers at One57, according including a buyer implicated in profiting from famine in the Congo and another whose company profits from the use of labor provided by individuals managed by the Department of Corrections.
Extell did not respond at press time to a request by GlobeSt.com for comment.
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
