Financial consultant to lead the tax-break-granting Nassau IDA
Sheldon L. Shrenkel, the CEO and executive director of the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, at his office in MIneola last week. Credit: Johnny Milano
An independent financial consultant from North Valley Stream has been hired to lead the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, officials said.
Sheldon L. Shrenkel was named CEO and executive director of the IDA, which grants tax breaks to expanding businesses and housing projects. He started on Nov. 21 and will be paid $175,000 per year, the officials said.
Shrenkel, 80, succeeds Harry Coghlan, who resigned in April to work on the redevelopment of Kennedy Airport.
Coghlan joined the IDA from Clear Channel Outdoor advertising in 2019 when Democrat Laura Curran was Nassau County Executive. She lost her re-election bid in 2021 to Republican Bruce Blakeman.
Since then, Blakeman has appointed four of the IDA board’s seven members. Like Blakeman, Shrenkel is a Republican.
“Shelly comes to us with a lot of depth and experience; he’s been in the private sector for quite some time,” IDA chairman Richard Kessel said in putting forward the resolution to hire Shrenkel. “We’ve tried in the last few years to make the IDA less of a governmental agency and more of a business - and bringing in people from the private sector is part of that strategy.”
Shrenkel has a consulting firm, Jacath & Shrenkel Associates. He also did work for Sterling National Bank and was operations director at Chrysler Capital Corp., the automaker's lending unit.
Shrenkel is a past president of the Long Island Entrepreneurs Group.
“I will work hard; I will do my best,” Shrenkel said this month after the IDA board voted unanimously to hire him. “We’re going to continue to work on our successful formulas.”
He is no stranger to government service.
In 2012, Shrenkel was appointed by the County Legislature’s Republican majority to the county’s new Transit Advisory Committee, which was charged with overseeing the NICE Bus system under a private operator Veolia Transportation. He was elected committee chairman.
In 2017, Shrenkel was appointed by the Town of Hempstead board to the town’s Housing Authority for a term ending last year.
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.
