Overview
- Rockland County’s Industrial Development Agency in 2024 approved about $77 million in tax breaks for JPMorgan Chase’s Orangeburg data center expansion, with its own filing listing one new full‑time job.
- Government watchdog Reinvent Albany calls the package the largest subsidy‑per‑job it has seen, noting a $600,000 yearly payment in lieu of taxes and an abatement that its report says runs through 2044.
- IDA director Steven Porath defends the deal by citing about 1,400 to 1,450 temporary construction and contractor jobs and argues broader economic impact is the better measure.
- Porath says no one attended the IDA’s 2024 public hearing on the project, and Reinvent Albany argues residents lack an independent local watchdog to flag complex subsidy deals early.
- Construction is underway with completion expected around 2028, and coverage now focuses on Orangeburg’s data center buildout, prior tax breaks at the same site, and concerns about light staffing and local utility strain.