By James T. Madore
December 16, 2011
A Queens-based maker of metal doors and bathroom stalls is seeking more tax breaks to stay in New York State.
Karp Associates Inc. and its sister company, Flush Metal Partitions, have asked the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency to give them a more generous property-tax abatement than was offered in March. They said New Jersey's offer was better...
Karp also is being courted by New Jersey, and Flush Metal has roots in North Carolina.
"It is Karp's sincere hope that it can secure additional cooperation from the IDA to allow it to remain in New York," George Kosser, vice president, wrote in a letter Wednesday...
IDA chairman Jim Morgo said the board of directors was "very receptive" to Karp's request but needed time.
In March the IDA offered Karp a sales-tax exemption on $7 million in equipment purchases and a 10-year property-tax break on the building's increased value. The latest request would provide a longer break on the building's full value...
Still, critics of tax breaks for businesses were concerned. Charlene Obernauer, director of the union-backed Jobs With Justice campaign, said, "These aren't new jobs, and they don't pay all that well."
Asked about the interest in Karp, Suffolk IDA executive director Bruce Ferguson said, "These are manufacturing jobs, and you want to keep them."
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