Industrial Development Agency Files Lawsuit Against Agency Monitor, NY Inspector General

The Orange County Industrial Development Agency announced on Jan. 16 that it has filed a lawsuit against the state-appointed monitor for the agency, Brian Sanvidge, and the New York state Office of the Inspector General in response to the monitor’s veto of tax breaks for an Amazon warehouse project.

The agency approved an $80 million tax break for a 3.2-million-square-foot eCommerce fulfillment center in the Town of Wawayanda on Oct. 23 last year. Politicians and community groups called for the tax break to be scrapped in response, with state Sen. James Skoufis collecting more than 1,000 residents’ signatures in opposition. Sanvidge vetoed the tax break on Nov. 25.

The agency called the veto an unlawful action and voted to open a lawsuit against the monitor and the inspector general’s office on Dec. 17. The agency said they are bringing the lawsuit against the office because it is responsible for the monitor’s appointment.

The agency said the veto is moot because it was made too late. Sanvidge’s veto came 15 days after the Nov. 10 cutoff for a decision on the matter.

The agency also said the veto was unlawful because it was the result of political pressure from Skoufis. The agency holds that the monitor was involved in the months-long review of the project, during which he did not express any objections or concerns about the project.

Skoufis was the driving force behind the creation of the monitor position in 2023 and has advocated for its continuation after funding for the position runs dry in 2026.

The agency’s vice chairman, Dean Tamburi, said in a press release: “It’s deeply troubling that the monitor did not share any concerns whatsoever during our lengthy review process, and then attempted to veto the project without offering a single objection. His actions have put at least a thousand local, union labor jobs at risk.”

The Amazon warehouse would create 750 permanent jobs and hundreds of construction jobs, according to the agency’s website.

Sanvidge told The Epoch Times on Jan. 20 that he thinks it’s unfortunate that the agency is spending time and taxpayer money to stop transparency and questioning of the organization’s actions.

Sanvidge denied that he was passive about the tax break. “We had a board meeting where they voted to pass it, and I asked Amazon’s counsel, ‘Why was the rush to do this?’ They were changing the resolution literally 15 minutes before the governance committee and sending me red line versions for me to review,” he said.

In a statement to The Epoch Times on Jan. 20, Skoufis said he is also disappointed that the development agency would spend money and time trying to eliminate accountability and oversight for its actions.

The inspector general’s office said on Jan. 20 that it was unable to comment due to litigation.