WTC Records Folder 0140 label, 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

Incentives to Retain and Expand Employment in Lower Manhattan > Employee Retention Grants

Proposal: Provide grants to companies on a sliding scale in the following priority order: 1) companies that were displaced by the World Trade Center disaster but agree to return to lower Manhattan; 2) companies that agree to locate in lower Manhattan as new tenants; and 3) companies that were tenants in lower Manhattan prior to September 11 who were not displaced but agree to long-term leases to remain in the area. Should the full number of displaced jobs not return to lower Manhattan, the remaining funding may be offered to companies elsewhere in New York City. These grants could be used to supplement the wages of employees.

Reasons for Change: A significant number of major financial services firms have either temporarily or permanently moved operations outside of Manhattan. These include both back office operations and corporate offices. These grants would encourage companies and workers to return to the area. Retaining employees would help stabilize the tax base and would stimulate other sectors of the economy, such as the retail and business services sectors.

II. Incentives to Rebuild in New York The following proposals provide incentives for businesses to remain in New York State and ultimately rebuild in lower Manhattan.

> Triple Tax Exempt Reconstruction Bonds. Legislation should be enacted authorizing a new category of federally insured triple tax exempt bonds, which would be issued to support the reconstruction of the 25 million square feet of commercial office space destroyed or severely damaged in the World Trade Center disaster. Although it is expected that the construction and reconstruction projects supported by such bonds would be predominantly in lower Manhattan, waivers could be granted for projects in other areas of New York City targeted for redevelopment. However, the overall amount of office space financed with these bonds would not exceed 25 million square feet.

> Taxable Reconstruction Bonds. Establish new category of taxable federally-insured reconstruction bonds, which could be purchased by public employee pension funds.

➢ Additional Private Activity Bond Authority. Private activity bond volume cap enables tax-exempt bonds to be issued for specific private purposes, which would otherwise be taxable. Depending on market conditions, a grant of volume cap can reduce borrowing costs by between two and three percentage points. Examples of currently authorized purposes include:

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NYC-WTC 000136767