Wayne County gets Empire Zone

NY Governor George Pataki was in Newark yesterday afternoon to announce that a new Empire Zone has been approved for Wayne County - a step that will help create at least 165 new jobs and retain 73 jobs, and generate more than $5.8 million in new investment.

Among the employers to benefit from this new zone are: Refractron, which plans to invest $2.5 million and create 80 new jobs.

Pataki met with officials at Refractron in the Newark Industrial Park and is pictured here with Arcadia Supervisor Joe DeSanto. DeSanto was on the Ad Hoc Committee created by the Wayne County Board of Supervisors to work on the application process.

The state accepted applications to create six new Empire Zones, bringing the number to 72 such zones throughout the state. Wayne County was one of only 16 counties without an EZ.

The new zone will be two-square miles, three-quarters of which will be in Newark, and the rest 'sprinkled' throughout the county. The EZ will encompass 1280 acres, with 340 of those acres to be 'sprinkled.'

The Empire Zone program is administrated by Empire State Development. Businesses operating inside a zone are eligible for a range of tax benefits that are applied against new capital investments. Benefits include tax reduction credits, real property tax credits, sales tax exemptions, wage tax credits, and utility rate reductions, among others.

top of page

Copyright © 2002
Courier-Gazette, 613 S. Main St. Newark, N.Y. 14513 - 315-331-1000
All Rights Reserved