The one million dollars that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo granted to Cadillac in order to renovate its SoHo headquarters didn’t sit well with everyone. GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro criticized the governor today, calling the grant “preposterous.”
Molinaro wants Cadillac to return the money, reports the New York Post. He said,
“Andrew Cuomo’s million-dollar-Cadillac-giveaway is an insult to the intelligence of every New Yorker, not to mention their wallets.
“Cadillac didn’t need a million bucks from cash-strapped New Yorkers to stay in New York City, and for Mr. Cuomo to suggest otherwise is preposterous on its face. I have nothing but respect for Cadillac, but I must call on the iconic luxury brand to return the money to hardworking New Yorkers in whatever way it sees fit.
“It’s disgraceful, frankly, that Andrew Cuomo has put us in the position where we even have to ask.”
We learned just last week that Cadillac made the official decision to keep its headquarters at the flashy location in lower Manhattan. Cadillac’s new head, Steve Carlisle, would commute from Detroit to Manhattan as needed.
The additional $1 million from the state probably added some incentives, too. The money was said to be for “furniture, fixtures and equipment.” Cuomo, a noted muscle car lover, was in attendance at the opening ceremony of the space nearly three years ago.
Yet, the Post also notes that Cuomo’s campaign has benefitted from General Motors before:
A General Motors political action committee has pumped $31,500 into Cuomo’s campaign coffers since he was first elected, and divvied $155,000 among other lawmakers since 2010, records show.
Defenders of the governor’s grant say that it will help “create and retain 55 jobs.” A spokesperson from the Cuomo administration’s agency, Empire State Development, said,
“We’re in the business of bringing good jobs to New York, and it’s New York’s incentives and strong pro-business climate that brought Cadillac’s global headquarters, $13 million in private investment and more than 55 new jobs to the Empire State. In an increasingly competitive and globalized economy, New York will never stop working to attract quality, good-paying jobs and top-notch companies from around the world.”
Cadillac moved its headquarters from Detroit to New York City in the fall of 2015. The space it occupies not only operates as a working office, but also has an event space and a showroom on the ground floor as well, called Cadillac House.