When The New York Times reported that JPMorgan Chase was seeking close to a billion dollars in incentives to build a new trophy headquarters on Manhattan’s Far West Side, the idea seemed too audacious to be true. As it turns out, it was. The New York Times reports that JPMorgan has abandoned its plan to develop two towers in Hudson Yards and will keep its headquarters in two buildings located at 270 Park Avenue and 383 Madison Avenue.
The de Blasio administration has cause to celebrate the apparent success of its decision not to provide huge economic development subsidies to wealthy corporations for uncertain job promises. New York City Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen responded to JPMorgan’s decision by stating: “This is an outcome that validates our approach, and our belief that these deals often come down to factors that have nothing to do with taxpayer subsidies.” This is a truth that Good Jobs First has been documenting for years.
Just prior to the collapse of the deal with JPMorgan Chase, a group of labor unions and government accountability advocates organized under the banner of the Committee for Better Banks and was about to issue a report detailing the history of abuse of taxpayer subsidies by JPMorgan Chase in New York City.
JPMorgan Chase (previously Chase Manhattan) is a poster child in New York City for the waste of lavish subsidies in return for failed job creation promises. In 1988, after threatening to leave New York City for offices in New Jersey, Chase Manhattan was offered an unprecedented package of city tax subsidies, worth over $200 million in property and sales tax breaks as well as infrastructure payments, to relocate 5,000 of its employees to 4 Metrotech Center in Brooklyn. JPMorgan has not paid any property taxes for 4 Metrotech for the past 25 years, a savings of over $170 million. Additionally, it has benefitted from over $37 million in sales and other tax benefits.
Despite the generous subsidy, the firm never achieved its promise to retain 5,000 employees at Metrotech and create 1,450 jobs. In 1999, Chase Manhattan cut 10% of its New York City workforce when it fired 800 employees and relocated thousands of other workers to Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts. Current full-time permanent jobs at 4 Metrotech Center in Brooklyn are approximately 2,500, less than half of what was originally promised. Since the financial crisis of 2008, JPMorgan has cut about 12% of its citywide workforce. The New York City Industrial Development Agency recaptured about $100,000 in subsidies from the bank, and its agreement with the city for its Brooklyn location is set to expire in 2015.
What has been less clear to the public is the enormous benefit JPMorgan receives for one of the buildings it currently owns located at 270 Park Avenue. Although it was originally intended to provide incentives to industrial firms seeking to expand in New York City, the Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program (ICIP) is widely criticized for providing excessive subsidies to non-industrial firms. JPMorgan Chase is currently at the midpoint of a 12-year property tax exemption through ICIP for its property at 270 Park Avenue, valued at about $100 million.
Clearly, JPMorgan understands well how to shake the tree for government subsidies. In May 2014, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority offered JPMorgan Chase approximately $225 million in tax credits to retain 2,600 employees in Jersey City. Advocates have called this deal “mind-boggling.” Similarly, Good Jobs First has documented in Subsidy Tracker subsidies received by JP Morgan in 13 states. JPMorgan Chase received $25 billion in bailout assistance (later repaid) from the federal government through the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).
It is too early to know whether the collapse of this particular subsidy deal signals a truly new approach to economic development policy in New York City. However, it is certainly worth commending the de Blasio administration for not bowing to JPMorgan’s original demand. And perhaps it can be a lesson to economic development officials nationwide that taxpayer subsidies are not required to maintain a rich business environment.