By JOSEPH KELLARD
But thanks to the Town of Hempstead, the president of Air Stream Corporation, a national food processor and distributor, will likely stay put and expand his business.
At its Jan. 9 meeting, the town board unanimously approved legislation necessary for Air Stream to be included in a New York state-designated Empire Zone. Proposed by Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilman Anthony Santino (R-East Rockaway), the measure supports Air Stream's application to the New York State Department of Economic Development to be designated a "regionally significant project" under the state's Empire Development Program. This would make the company eligible for sales tax exemptions, property and wage tax credits and utility rate reductions, among other benefits given to qualified Empire Zone businesses.
"The costs of running our businesses are obviously very, very high and significant," Murray said at a press conference in the food preparation room at Air Stream's warehouse, at 3400 Lawson Blvd., at which she announced the legislation hours before the board's vote. "So it's certainly very important to give commercial enterprise meaningful economic incentives to keep them competitive and literally preventing them from leaving the state."
With existing facilities in Hunts Points, Air Stream is familiar with economic development in the borough, and meets periodically with the Bronx Economic Development Corps to discuss the benefits for its facilities there. "Our conversations would always turn to, 'What are you guys still doing on Long Island? We could offer you the same programs up here,'" Fitzsimmons explained. Then, about seven months ago, Air Stream told the town that it might move to the Bronx, and they discussed programs that could keep the company in Oceanside, where it has operated since 1994.
"This is truly something special that we feel very blessed to have happened to us," Fitzsimmons said after thanking the town for introducing Air Stream to this initiative.
In January 2006, Gov. George Pataki designated certain areas within Nassau County as an Empire Zone, but Oceanside was not among them. At the time, Murray said that Nassau County had long been overlooked as a candidate for E.Z.-s because the median income is high, leading to the perception of many upstate legislators that the entire county is wealthy.
County Executive Tom Suozzi, who had lobbied Albany for the zones for years, called it one of the best investments the state has made in economic development. "People want to locate to Nassau County, but need economic incentives," Suozzi said. "This will produce fantastic results."
To ensure the designation of Empire Zones in Nassau, the county's state Senate delegation partnered with Suozzi and Murray to create a new application, submitted jointly by the county and the town, targeting areas struggling to create and expand jobs. As a result, the Empire Zone-s square miles were divided among Elmont, West Hempstead, Bethpage (at the former Grumman site), Glen Cove, Inwood, New Cassel, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Freeport and Hempstead Village.
Last January, a state law written by State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) enabled businesses located outside the Empire Zone to receive the benefits of such a zone if they are deemed "regionally significant projects," allowing government leaders the flexibility to let businesses apply to be eligible for Empire Zone benefits.
To be designated a "regionally significant project," the business must be "principally engaged in the production of goods by manufacturing, processing, assembling, refining, mining, extracting, farming, agriculture, horticulture, floriculture, viticulture or commercial fishing or business engaged in emerging technologies," according to the state's standard. Air Stream supplies foods to airlines, hospitals, restaurants and other industries, from prepared packages such as fruit cocktails, bagged salads and food baskets to wholesale bulk fruits and vegetables.
Under this designation, a business must also create at least an additional 50 jobs. Air Stream, which now employs 120 people, vows to add 65 new workers.
The operation ships as far north as Boston and as far south as Virginia, but focuses its business primarily in New York City and Nassau and Westchester counties. On Sept. 11, 2001, Air Stream sustained a major hit when the airline industry, its predominant customer, essentially shut down for about a month, Fitzsimmons said. Since then the company has endeavored to expand its business in restaurants and hospitals, and has seen its greatest growth since 2002. This is why most of the 65 new employees will work in the food preparation room, where workers churn out up to 65,000 pounds of food a week.
"Fresh cut food preparation is our focus and vision, and that is where we're looking to grow our company, and where we're looking to add our employees in the days ahead," Fitzsimmons said.
Air Stream is also planning to expand its 50,000-square-foot Oceanside facility by 20,000 square feet, Fitzsimmons said. The project is expected to cost about $3 million which, Murray pointed out, will be pumped into the region's economy.
At her press conference, the supervisor noted that the Empire Development Corporation was created to foster commercial and economic activity to create jobs, to help existing businesses to remain in their locations or to entice others to them. E.Z.-s have created about 100,000 jobs across the state since 1995, according to Skelos.
Asked where the taxes Empire Zone businesses are exempt from paying will be shifted, town spokeswoman Susan Trenkle said, "The county is reimbursed for the sales tax and the school district for property taxes, so that the effect on the local school district or municipalities is negligible. In effect, Empire Zones keep jobs in New York state, which helps the economy as a whole."
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
