Delta Sheet Metal to relocate from Queens to Hicksville
Umar Wyatt welds at Delta Sheet Metal Corp. on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Long Island City. Credit: Howard Schnapp
A manufacturer of metal ventilation systems for the United Nations headquarters, Citi Field, Madison Square Garden and other buildings is moving to Hicksville from Long Island City, Queens, executives said.
Delta Sheet Metal Corp. hopes to open a 74,000-square-foot factory, warehouse and office at 940 S. Oyster Bay Rd. by the middle of next year.
The company, which fabricates and installs duct work for heating and air conditioning systems in buildings across the metropolitan area, on Wednesday won tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
Delta’s move from Queens, valued at $12.5 million, will keep 311 jobs in the state and create another 16 within three years, according to IDA officials.
Records show employees earn, on average, $84,276 per year, excluding medical insurance and retirement benefits. About 100 workers are represented by Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers union.
CEO Peter J. Pappas Jr. said Wednesday that 45-year-old Delta must move because its lease is expiring in Queens and rents in the borough have skyrocketed. He said he had considered Jersey City and Teterboro, New Jersey, but preferred Nassau because he and many of his employees are county residents.
Wednesday, the IDA granted tax incentives to Delta, including $62,400 off the mortgage recording tax and a sales tax exemption of up to $69,000 on the purchase of construction materials and equipment for the renovated Hicksville building.
Delta also received a 20-year property tax reduction, which will freeze the tax rate for the first five years, followed by increases of .73 percent in each of the following 15 years.
“This really helps because New Jersey is less expensive,” Pappas said in an interview. “But Long Island is more favorable in terms of logistics for our employees” to get to the factory and construction sites in New York City.
The Pappas family and local real estate developer Steel Equities will purchase the Hicksville building.
IDA executive director Joseph J. Kearney said the Delta expansion shows Nassau can compete with New Jersey: “This demonstrates the continuing economic viability of the county.”
Joe Alvarez at Delta Sheet Metal Corp., which fabricates duct work used in HVAC systems for buildings such as Madison Square Garden, the United Nations HQ and Citi Field on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017 in Long Island City. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano noted Delta is the latest New York City business to move to Long Island as city rents increase and industrial properties are converted to apartments.
