Crains New York - January 14, 2013 - (Page 6)

Candidate pitches tax breaks INSIDER THE Set up shop in NYC? No levies for three years, says Tom Allon BY ANNIE KARNI Mayoral candidate Tom Allon may be a long shot in the race, even after switching parties to Republican from Democrat last fall in order to gain a competitive edge. But even as the GOP side of the mayoral equation fills up with potential rivals, the newspaper publisher is forging ahead and unveiling an economic agenda heavy on tax breaks for startups. Mr.Allon told Crain’she wants to offer a three-year tax holiday to businesses that set up shop in the city, as well as tax credits of up to $15,000 for existing business that hire unemployed residents. A business would get $10,000 from the city for retaining a previously unemployed person for a year. That subsidy would increase by 50% if the employee were to stay put for two years. Subsidy ‘du jour’? James Parrott,chief economist for the Fiscal Policy Institute, dismissed the tax holiday as a gimmick.“No one is going to start a business or hire people in New York City unless it makes sound business sense,”he said. “The tax break du jour approach is just candy. It might seem like a nice treat,but it’s not healthy for anyone.” Crain’s First Look: Companies could also game the system, he said, changing names to appear new and thus avoid taxes for three years, or laying off workers and then rehiring them to get credit. Mr.Allon, who trails other contenders in fundraising with only $35,000, said increased employment would pay for the incentives. A second prong of his economic plan—renting unused city office space at below-market rates— would also generate new revenue for the city, he said. “For city-controlled real estate where there is more than two years of foreseeable vacancy,” Mr. Allon said, “the city should subsidize the expansion of its businessincubator program to broaden opportunities for local entrepreneurs.” The proposal would require a law change so that the city would be allowed to lease its own office space at a discount. Mr. Allon also wants to invest part of the city’s pension fund in small business loan programs and venturecapital funds that invest in city startups. “This proposal is not without precedent; the city teachers’pension fund invests 2% of its assets to support local housing projects,” he said in an email. Mr. Allon singled out Goldman Sachs as a company the city has in- vested in that has outsourced jobs. Critics of Mr. Allon’s proposal pointed out that Goldman also built a $2 billion headquarters in lower Manhattan after Sept. 11. ‘I’m a firm believer in dual minimum wage’ Going coach The mayoral hopeful also wants to expand the city’s New Business Acceleration Program, which over the past year helped 500 new restaurants open.He wants each new business to have a personal “account manager” available for coaching. “If every business in New York City had a person in government to call and help, this city would be a much easier and more efficient place to do business,”Mr. Allon said. He believes his ideas could reduce unemployment—at 8.8%— in the city by 5 percentage points within four years.Mr.Allon offered a twist on the minimum-wage ideas being floated by state legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “I’m a firm believer in dual minimum wage: $7.25 an hour for those up to 22 years old and $9 an hour for those older than 22,”he said. Changing the minimum wage re- quires approval by the state Legislature. City Comptroller John Liu, a Democrat who is also running for mayor,has said he would like to raise the minimum wage,currently $7.25, to $11.50 over the next five years.  Midtown East Rezoning Mayor Michael Bloomberg is determined to rezone Midtown East to spur the construction of modern office towers before he leaves office. Why is it so important to add new space to the city’s–if not the world's–most important commercial district? Will it overtake Midtown's infrastructure? Is the Administration's proposal the best for all the interests involved? DATE: Tuesday January 29, 2013 PLACE: The Yale Club of New York 50 Vanderbilt Avenue New York, NY 10017 TIME: Networking Breakfast: 8:00AM - 8:30AM Program: Daniel Garodnick PANELISTS: Daniel Garodnick Council Member, New York City Council Lawrence Graham Chief Administrative Officer, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church Steven Spinola President, The Real Estate Board of New York Robert K. Steel Deputy Mayor for Economic Development MODERATOR: Glenn Coleman Editor, Crain’s New York Business Lawrence Graham Steven Spinola Robert K. Steel 8:30AM - 9:30AM COST TO ATTEND: $95 for individual ticket(s). $950 for table(s) of ten. LIMITED SEATS AVAILABLE Register Online at: www.crainsnewyork.com/ events-midtowneast For more information, call the Events Hotline at 212-210-0739. You must be pre-registered to attend this event. No refunds permitted. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Trish Henry at 212-210-0711 or thenry@crainsnewyork.com 6 | Crain’s New York Business | January 14, 2013 by Andrew J. Hawkins Handicapping Cuomo’s proposals G ov. Andrew Cuomo’s policy book for his third year in office at 326 pages contains proposals big (more restrictive gun control) and small (a whitewater- rafting competition). It’s a shift from the first half of his term, when he focused on a few items and made sure to get them done.The larger agenda for 2013, as well as the usual Albany politics and an untested power-sharing agreement in the state Senate,means Mr. Cuomo will not bat 1.000. Still, insiders and Albany watchers say many of the governor’s bigger-ticket items, like gun control and broader abortion rights, are within his grasp.Here’s a look at what’s attainable, what’s negotiable and what’s pie in the sky: Low-hanging fruit.Anything tied to rebuilding after Superstorm Sandy will have a fairly smooth ride through the Legislature, especially if the federal government is picking up the check.Congress,however, has approved just $9.7 billion of the $60 billion requested in aid. An agreement on gun control seems at hand. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has said the Legislature is 95% of the way there. Republicans have expressed concerns about limiting gun magazine capacity, but have agreed that a deal is not far off.Some insiders say that microstamping of ammunition,favored by police but absent from Mr.Cuomo’s agenda, is unlikely to be part of the final package.A deal could be reached as early as this week. Achievable. A hike in the state’s minimum wage to $8.75 an hour from the current $7.25 is at the top of Mr. Silver’s list. The governor’s strong backing in his State of the State speech suggests that an increase is all but certain. Republicans will demand something in exchange to offset the grief they are likely to get from business groups. The governor said nothing about indexing the wage to the rate of inflation;omitting that would mollify Senate Republicans. Mr. Cuomo’s call for the de- criminalization of possession of small amounts of marijuana was a loser in 2012 but may well pass this year.Republicans will likely sit this one out as dissident Democrats led by Sen. Jeff Klein join their former colleagues to approve it. Campaign finance reform may happen in piecemeal fashion. Insiders predict Mr. Cuomo will overcome Republican fears about the cost of introducing public financing of campaigns by floating a pilot program rather than fullblown reform. Legalizing casino gaming will be a heavy lift for the governor this year, insiders predict. His call for three casinos upstate and none (for now) in New York City is already being met with skepticism from downstate legislators, especially in Queens,who were counting on the economic boost from casinos in their districts.If Mr.Cuomo sticks casino legalization in the budget,it may give him more leverage. Still, some insiders aren’t convinced. “How does it pass?” asked one Albany source close to the negotiations. “He’s going to have to give New York City residents some interest in the game.” Pie in the sky. Mr. Cuomo’s 10point plan to strengthen equality laws will face strong opposition from Republicans, the Conservative Party, influential religious lobbyists and business groups that fear lawsuits against employers. Insiders predict these hot-button issues may be a multiyear effort for the governor.  Crain’s Insider, our award-winning politics newsletter, is now a blog. Read it every day at www.crainsnewyork.com/insider newscom http://www.crainsnewyork.com/ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/ http://www.crainsnewyork.com/insider

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - January 14, 2013

Crains New York - January 14, 2013
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
Small Business
Report: Real Estate
The List
Classifieds
New York, New York
Source Breakfast
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - January 14, 2013