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Register Star, April 5, 2008
To the editor:
Seems to me something's not quite right with Widewaters. According to a recent article in the Register Star, the big news wasn't who's coming to the mall, but who's not coming. Seven stores have backed out! This is not surprising given the economic state of the country, which could have been seen at least eighteen months ago if economic news and trends were closely watched. What is surprising is that Widewaters will seek major concessions from the taxpayers of Columbia County and the town of Greenport. Widewaters will be at the Columbia County IDA offices on Thursday, April 10 at 8AM to plead for something they stated they would not ask for. PILOT Payments, Sales Tax Exemptions, " financial assistance" (according to the legal notice), and who knows what else?
The IDA "....was created by Congress ....to focus on helping medium-sized manufacturing companies expand." Does this project fit that criteria? I'm sure the general counsel for Widewaters Group, Marco Marzocchi, will make a wonderful plea for assistance on behalf of the down and out developer. It'll be easy since he's already sold a great deal of ' snake oil ' in our area.
Edward F. Nabozny
Greenport
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