Firm considers move from Westchester to Long Island

A supplier of heating and air conditioning systems to the World Trade Center, Kennedy Airport and Sagamore Hill is considering whether to move to Nassau County or leave New York State, executives said.

ACS System Associates Inc. has outgrown its office and metal fabrication shop in Mount Vernon in Westchester County and looked at larger spaces on Long Island, and in Connecticut and New Jersey.

Company executives said they’ve identified a 38,000-square-foot building in Hicksville. But to move there, the company needs tax breaks from Nassau County because the project will cost $7.5 million, they said.

The county’s Industrial Development Agency agreed to negotiate a reduction of property taxes, a sales-tax exemption on construction materials and equipment, and a reduction in the mortgage recording tax.

If a deal is reached, ACS would move most of its 164 employees to Hicksville; 84 are union members who work on job sites in the metropolitan area. In addition, the company would add 25 jobs within three years.

The Hicksville building at 101 New South Rd. is owned by the Center for Developmental Disabilities, a nonprofit that benefited from tax-exempt bonds issued on its behalf by Nassau.

ACS president Ahmad Reyaz said Hicksville “is very attractive” because his employees will still be able to reach customers in New York City, the northern suburbs and Connecticut. Customers include government agencies and private developers.

“We will be investing heavily in equipment,” he told a meeting of the IDA’s board of directors earlier this month.

Reyaz, who is a mechanical engineer, said he plans to offer monetary incentives to encourage employees to move to Long Island. The Hicksville site will be home to engineers, designers, metal fabricators and office staff.

Average salaries range from $60,000 to more than $110,000 per year, records show.

Reyaz also said he may purchase a building in the New Cassel area for a second factory. That location isn’t part of ACS’ application for IDA assistance, according to Nicholas Terzulli, the company’s outside attorney

“Their next investment, wherever they go … will be extensive,” he said, referring to ACS’ move from Westchester. “That’s how much work they see coming” in the future.

Terzulli, who used to work for the IDA, disclosed that ACS won a competitively-bid contract in 2016 to replace the boiler in the Nassau County Courthouse in Mineola.

In addition to the county, ACS has equipped public schools and public housing in New York City, Stony Brook University and commercial buildings throughout the metropolitan area with heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems. It’s one of the largest minority-owned contractors in the metropolitan area, Terzulli said.

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.