Councilman Bianco Wants to Offer 25-Percent Tax Incentive to Business Landlords

Empty storefronts and vacant spaces in Yorktown is not an unfamiliar sight. Now town officials and business leaders want to do something about it.

Standing in front of an empty store, which used to be a chiropractor's office in the Parkside Corner plaza, Yorktown councilman Nick Bianco announced a plan last week that would help fill vacant spaces, he said. 

"I believe the town and the town board needs to do something to stimulate right now," Bianco said. "We need to get these signs "for rent" out of here and need stimulate something immediately."

Lawmakers as well as business leaders, recently to show their support of a number of business developments which are already in the application process or about to go into it. Bianco said those businesses won't break ground until 2013 and he wants to do something immediately for the economy.

"It's a very simple plan that we will offer a 25-percent tax incentive to the landlord if he has a vacant store and if that vacant store is filled with a tenant, provided the savings are passed along to the tenant," he said.

Bianco, who serves as the town's liaison with the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce, said the savings would be given out on a quarterly basis. A typical landlord, who has a store in the Parkside Corner plaza for example, could save $3,600 a year in taxes. A landlord can divide the savings to one tenant or multiple ones if he owns more than one store, Bianco said. 

"That helps the new tenants coming in, that helps the landlord and I believe it helps the town in many ways," he said. "One of the ways it helps the town is we don't see these vacant stores around and it gives us more of the spirit that things are bustling. And another way it helps the town is we don't get tax certioraris."

Over the last year, the town and school districts who have challenged their assessments in court and won. The lawsuits are called tax certioraris. The town of Yorktown had to pay back approximately $600,000 and the Lakeland and Yorktown school districts each had to pay about $1 million, Bianco said. 

He wants the county and schools to support such a tax incentive, because when businesses say they're losing money and can't afford the high taxes, they go to court to lower their property assessment values. If they win in court, ultimately the town and school districts have to make the necessary payments.

"If we can tell [the school districts] this is going to help them I think we can convince them," he sad. "What happens is [landlords] fill up their stores, we get more revenue and [the schools] don't get certioraris."

Marc Saidel, an attorney whose practice is located at Parkside Corner, said he knows business owners are struggling in the economy.

"This is the first time in this particular property's history, at least over the last 10 to 12 years that we've had more than two vacancies or more at any one time," he said. "Filling the space not only provides direct revenue, but it generates and stimulates interest. More people come into the plaza, more people visit the other store keepers and professionals that are here and everybody benefits."

William Lascala, owner of Jefferson Valley Shopping Plaza which currenty has seven stores, said he fully agrees with the concept and said he believes a viable community helps the town. 

Bianco said retail and office spaces, 30,000 square feet or less, would be eligible for the tax incentive. He will formally present his plan to town board members during this year's budget process. 

"That's what is going to help the economy, when we do it step by step, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, and we get the economy jumping like that," he said.

Bianco said he hopes if Yorktown approves the incentives, other surrounding towns would follow. 

"I'm glad to see we're trying to think out of the box," said Michael Grace, former town attorney and supervisor candidate.

Yorktown Chamber of Commerce president Joe Visconti said he supports Bianco's plan and hopes the town board would approve it.

"It would really help businesses and make Yorktown compete with the surrounding communities," he said.