Queens door manufacturer considers leaving city after eminent domain seizure

The owners of a door manufacturer in Maspeth, Queens say they are strongly
considering leaving the city due to lack of financial incentives after losing their property to eminent domain, the New York Daily News
reported.

The state New York Department of Transportation seized the company’s land, on 43rd
Street between 55th Avenue and 54th Road, in September 2010 to make
way for a new bridge to replace the aging Kosciuszko Bridge.

The company, Karp Associates, rejected a state offer of $445,000 in
state tax credits and grants June 29 — that was dependent on Karp retaining 120 jobs
and invested $3.5 million into a new facility. The company wasn’t
eligible for more money because it wouldn’t be bringing new jobs into
the state. “We did everything possible to keep these jobs in New York,”
a spokesperson for the Empire State Development Corporation, said. “We
offered them the maximum funding they were eligible for under state
law.”

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George Kosser, Karp’s vice president of operations, said he would
prefer to stay in Queens, but “it costs money to operate a business in
New York City that doesn’t exist in other places.” Owner Adam Gold
said none of the New York agencies “offered the same incentives that a
business from New Jersey would be offered… to move to New York
City.”

About 12 states have expressed interest in having the company move there, Kosser said,
with New Jersey the front-runner. The company could also move to a
Melville, L.I. property it acquired in July, but only if the state
raises its offer. [NYDN]