Amazon's Westhampton Beach warehouse wins $2.3M in tax breaks from Suffolk IDA

The developer of a planned Amazon warehouse at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach won $2.3 million tax breaks on Thursday.

The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency board gave final approval for the tax aid to Rechler Equity Partners, which is building an industrial park on county-owned land adjacent to the airport.

The $36 million warehouse will enable Amazon to make "last-mile" deliveries to customers on the East End. Between 50 and 100 full-time jobs will be created, excluding the delivery personnel who are independent contractors, according to the application for IDA aid.

The retailer generally pays warehouse workers at least $15 per hour and managers receive $60,000 per year, the application states.

A company spokeswoman declined to comment on Thursday.

Amazon is swiftly expanding its network of "last-mile" warehouses on Long Island beyond the first two in Bethpage. The retailer opened a warehouse in the East Yaphank-Shirley area in September and has plans for ones in Carle Place and Syosset.

The Westhampton Beach facility didn’t face opposition from residents or politicians, unlike the Amazon proposals for Carle Place and Syosset. A Nov. 10 public hearing on the IDA tax breaks attracted two people and only one testified.

Rechler has pledged to use unionized workers to construct the 91,000-square-foot warehouse, according to Matthew Aracich, president of the Nassau Suffolk Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella group of unions.

"Everything seems to be on track for using the building trades, which is a welcome respite from what we’ve normally had with many of the projects" receiving IDA benefits, he said at the hearing. "We are behind this project 100%."

IDA executive director Anthony J. Catapano, responding Thursday to an email from a Westhampton Beach resident about noise from airplanes, said Amazon and other tenants of the industrial park are prohibited from using Gabreski Airport for freight deliveries.

The Amazon warehouse would be the fourth building at Rechler’s Hampton Business District, which was commissioned in 2009 by Suffolk. All the buildings will receive tax incentives.

The largest savings from the Rechler/Amazon deal is $818,300 off the property tax bills over 15 years, or a 53% reduction.

Catapano said the industrial park is meant to help local businesses.

"It’s hard to find space for industry on the East End," he said in an interview. The park "has been a long time coming, but it’s attracting top tier tenants like Amazon and [cookie manufacturer] Tate’s Bake Shop."

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.