A report released Monday by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli indicated the value of economic development projects across the state grew by 3.3% to $109 billion in 2019, as compared to 2018.

There are more than 4,300 active economic development projects across the state, according to the report, and while the number of net new jobs created is off by about 10% from projections, the nearly 200,000 jobs created from the projects in 2019 is in line with recent years.

The economic data comes from the 109 Industrial Development Agencies across the state. The public sector agencies are charged with offering incentives to companies in order for them to either locate new operations in New York or expand existing ones.

Projects that go before IDAs may be eligible for tax incentives, including property, mortgage recording and sales taxes. The projects may also qualify for tax-exempt financing.

DiNapoli’s report noted that the net tax exemptions in 2019 totaled $796 million. That’s up 1.5% from 2018.

“I encourage New Yorkers to use the IDA project data we provide to assess whether the benefits these projects bring to their communities are worth the cost of the incentives their local IDAs are providing,” DiNapoli said.

While the number of projects has declined by about 6% over the past decade, the value has risen by 48% since 2009.

As a result, the average project was valued at $16 million in 2009. That rose 57% over the 10-year span to $25 million, according to DiNapoli’s report.

Project officials reported to the agencies they expected the opportunities to create 220,442 jobs. DiNapoli’s report indicated that 199,982 new jobs were created in 2019.

While down 9.3% from projections, the number of jobs gained represented a more than 20,000 increase from 2018.

The agencies awarded tax exemptions of nearly $1.5 billion in 2019, a marginal increase from the year before, with $1.3 billion of that awarded as property tax exemptions. Participating companies made $680 million in payments in lieu of taxes to local governments and school districts.

Monroe County’s IDA, which includes the city of Rochester, had the most projects with 415 in 2019. Those projects had a total value of $4.93 billion. The projects received net exemptions valued at $22.9 million and helped the county gain 976 jobs.

New York City’s IDA reported 341 projects valued at $30.8 billion. The net exemptions totaled $118.5 million, and the projects created 40,482 new jobs.

Among projects of note, Citi Field, the baseball stadium built in Queens for the New York Mets, has a net tax exemption of $30.3 million – the largest in the state.

The largest new project in 2019 was a $475 million waterfront development project in Yonkers that includes both residential and commercial opportunities.

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