| Company | NBC (second package - click here for first) |
| Deal closed | 12/1/1996 |
| Project Site | 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 1250 6th Ave, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, Manhattan |
| Competing Sites | ? |
| Maximum City Subsidy | $7 million (expansion of 1989 deal) |
|
$7,000,000 sales tax retention benefits |
|
0 |
| Type(s) of City benefits | Sales tax exemptions |
| Benefits from New York State | ? |
| Total Benefits Allowed | ? |
| Benefits Distributed to Date (according to LL69 Report FY 2002) | $10,882,000 |
| Promised Job Retention | 2,250 (1989 deal cited retention of 4,000 employees) |
| Projected job growth | 0 |
| Total Jobs | 2,250 |
| Jobs Reported in LL69 Report FY 2002 | 2,827 |
| Layoffs | ? |
| Length of Contract | 14 years |
| Project Purpose |
After
NBC's parent company, GE, agreed to buy NBC's longtime home of 1.6 million
square feet at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the city made a deal to provide sales
tax exemptions worth $7 million. This package was tied to a base employee
retention commitment, in contrast to the deal NBC received eight years earlier, one of
the most lucrative retention deals in the city's history (see separate
entry).
In voting against the deal, Kevin Nunn, Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer's representative to the Industrial Development Authority, argued that the additional subsidy was unnecessary to keep NBC in New York, noting that NBC had a 35-year lease on its headquarters and had made millions of dollars in improvements to the facility. "They're not going anywhere," he told the Daily News (5/16/96). Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer said "The Giuliani administration's idea of economic development is to cave in whenever a company makes an empty threat" (Daily News, 5/16/96). |
| Clawbacks? | Benefits can be reduced if up to 20% of employees are fired. If over 20% are fired, the agreement can be terminated. For transfers out of the city the threshold is 15% and recapture penalties are included. |
| Since then . . . | The company has increased its reliance on contracted out employees. (When the deal was signed, there were 1,600 direct employees and 650 contractors. In June 2002, there were 2,127 direct and 1,400 "temporary freelancers." Because the city does not collect information on the quality of subsidized jobs, the public has no information on whether these contract employees receive benefits. |
| Corporate Notes | General Electric Corp. purchased NBC in 1986. |
| A note on sources -- Information in this deal comes from GJNY's examination of project agreements obtained through Freedom of Information Law requests, as well as news reports, minutes and notes taken at board meetings, and communication with our allies. The entries are a work in progress. For more information about the documentation behind GJNY's database, or to let us know about any developments that are not yet reflected here, please contact us at gjny@ctj.org or (212) 414-9394. | |
| Date last updated: 04/8/03 | |