Suffolk Notebook: IDA Hopes Incentives Will Keep Broadridge

Hoping to prevent the loss of 1,600 jobs on Long Island, the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency on Thursday floated an incentive package worth millions to Broadridge Financial — a public company that has threatened to move off-Island if officials didn’t find a way to help it trim costs.

If the financial services company takes the offer — which its board will decide on in June — then it'll come as a disappointment to officials in New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, Ohio and Texas who were trying to woo the $2.2 billion company into moving to their states.

The Suffolk IDA said the incentive deal includes sales tax exemptions on $75 million in equipment purchases related to its renovation of its two Edgewood buildings, as well as a 15-year property tax break.

Those incentives come on top of a benefits package offered by New York Empire State Development and millions in energy savings from the New York Power Authority.

“Broadridge is in growth mode. Their heavy reliance on local vendors, coupled with their commitment to the local workforce in Brentwood, Central Islip, Bay Shore and Huntington Station, will have a tremendous ripple effect on the region,” said Suffolk’s Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Joanne Minieri in a statement.

Suffolk officials have rushed to avoid the loss of Broadridge since its local jobs are high-paying ones. The average job at the company pays $75,000 a year, Broadridge has said.

Clam Concerns Have Bay Towns Tightening Up
A Suffolk County sponsored report on the shellfish populations in the Great South Bay have South Shore towns considering harder restrictions on area baymen.

In Babylon it gives out at 27 a year, and the Town is also considering limiting the daily catch to 100 clams.

The limits come on the recommendation of the Great South Bay Hard Clam Restoration Working Group, a joint venture between Suffolk, Babylon, Islip, Brookhaven and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that recently discovered the clam population to be severely depleted in the South Shore waters.

The group’s recommendations include requiring clammers to file reports each month on their catches.

Brookhaven and Islip are considering similar restrictions.

Suffolk Water the Best Tasting?
The Suffolk County Water Authority after the non-profit municipality said its water won "best tasting" in the county at the Long Island Water Conference on May 8 at Farmingdale State College.

The authority manages most of the drinking water in Suffolk, with the exceptions of Greenlawn, Riverhead and South Huntington.

SCWA said its water earned the Suffolk honor in a blind taste test set up at the conference. came from the Plainview water district, SCWA said.