Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream
New law requires live streaming of IDA meetings
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, D-Valley Stream
Industrial Development Agencies in New York State will soon have to livestream their public meetings and hearings, thanks to a new law signed Tuesday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The new law, which was introduced and sponsored by two Long Island state legislators, also requires IDAs to post video recordings of the meetings within five business days and remain available online for at least five years. The law takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020.
Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages, D-Valley Stream, said the impetus for the legislation was the controversial tax breaks given to the owners of the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream by the Town of Hempstead IDA four years ago.
Solages, who sponsored the bill in the Assembly, said that though the IDA held at least one public meeting on the Green Acres project before granting the multi-million-dollar tax breaks, it didn’t provide sufficient opportunity for input from the community.
“There was one meeting that happened in Valley Stream,” Solages told LIBN. “But you can’t schedule a meeting for 9 o’clock in the morning because the average person can’t attend. This (the new law) will allow us to view the meetings and have a say.”
State Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Rockville Centre, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill, said it aims to bolster transparency and accountability, while protecting tax dollars.
“IDAs make critical decisions that can have profound impacts on the communities they serve,” Kaminsky said in a written statement. “Like any similar governmental body, the public should be engaged in their decision-making and this law will easily enable that to happen.”
Cuomo said most New Yorkers don’t have time to attend meetings and participate in the process, though they deserve to be made aware of what their IDAs are doing.
“This new measure will help foster civic engagement and get more residents involved in the meetings and hearings that will ultimately have a huge impact on the future of their communities,” Cuomo said in the statement.
Fred Parola, executive director of the Hempstead IDA, said he supports efforts to increase transparency.
“The more they learn about what we do, the better for us,” Parola said. “We’re open to having total disclosure.”
Parola added that while “the logistics” of livestreaming might pose a problem, his agency will “do our best” to comply.
“We welcome getting the word out,” he said.
Fred Braun, chairman of the Brookhaven IDA, agreed that the logistics in adhering to the new law might create some difficulties, especially for some of the state’s smaller IDAs.
“I think there will be adjustments” Braun said. “Some people think we operate in a vacuum, but these are all public meetings. I think this just adds another step.”
Attorney Peter Curry, a partner at Farrell Fritz who has handled IDA applications for hundreds of clients, said he welcomes increasing public participation in the process.
“I don’t have a problem if they want to livestream it like they do with some municipal meetings,” Curry said. “Nothing should be done in hiding.”
Solages and State Sen. Leroy Comrie sponsored another law aimed at changing how IDAs do business. The measure, which was passed by the Legislature and is awaiting Cuomo’s signature, would require IDAs to alert any taxing districts when they are considering approving tax breaks and entering into payments-in-lieu-of-taxes agreements, something Solages says they’re not currently required to do.
“There needs to be more reform and transparency,” she said.
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