Suffolk IDA gets 2 new board members as lawmakers seek to shift agency's agenda

The Suffolk County Legislature has replaced two members of the county’s Industrial Development Agency board in a move the Republican majority said is aimed at making the IDA more judicious in how it awards tax breaks to expanding businesses and new housing developments.

The new IDA members are Christopher R. Nuzzi, CEO of a title insurance company in Riverhead, and George Schwertl, a deputy superintendent of the Huntington Town highway department and a business owner.

The men were appointed to the IDA March 10.

They succeeded Brian Beedenbender, vice president of sales at the education technology company Teq in Huntington Station and a former county legislator, and Sondra Cochran, executive director of the Wyandanch Community Development Corp. 

Another seat on the seven-member IDA board is vacant after Joshua Slaughter resigned last month. Slaughter is a union leader who is running as a Democrat for the state Assembly.

IDA board members are volunteers. The legislature has the authority to appoint and remove board members.

IDAs statewide are regulated by the state comptroller and the Authorities Budget Office, a state agency. 

IDAs are the principal economic development agencies for counties and towns. They reduce property, sales and mortgage recording taxes for a period of time for companies and real estate developers who invest and create jobs. 

Anthony A. Piccirillo, the legislature’s presiding officer, said he and his Republican colleagues are concerned IDA projects have increased the tax burden for other businesses and homeowners in Suffolk and boosted public school enrollment while reducing the school taxes that the projects pay.

Piccirillo also said he wants the IDA to consider supporting the development of nonrental housing and single-family homes.

The latter isn’t generally within the purview of IDAs under current state regulations, experts said.

Piccirillo added, “We want to see how the board acts together and make sure everybody’s working in the best interest of the taxpayer.” 

Jason Richberg, leader of the legislature’s Democratic minority, said the new board members were approved unanimously. “But I think we need a slow and measured approach to make sure all of our ideas are working in tandem,” he said.

Democrats want the IDA to continue to attract and retain employers that pay salaries commensurate with Long Island’s high cost of living. The agency also should find ways to assist small and mid-sized businesses that make up much of the region’s economy, Richberg said.

During the new board members’ first meeting on Thursday, IDA executive director Kelly Murphy presented a 2025 report card showing the agency had assisted eight manufacturers, one assisted living community, a hotel and one multifamily housing development. Together, the 11 projects represent $341 million in promised investment and 1,113 jobs.

The Suffolk IDA consistently outperforms its seven counterparts on Long Island in terms of the amount of tax breaks per job created: $1,177 per job. In addition, Suffolk’s tax breaks totaled $14 million in 2023, the second-lowest after the Riverhead IDA, according to a report by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

The incumbent board members are attorney Gregory T. Casamento, commercial real estate developer X. Cristofer Damianos, union leader Kevin Harvey and Suffolk economic development commissioner Sarah Lansdale.

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.