Three City Census Tracts

New ‘Opportunity Zones’

ONEONTA – New York State has designated the City of Oneonta’s downtown and the D&H yards as Economic Opportunity Zones, the Empire State Development Corp. announced this afternoon.

The designation is designed to channel money into neighborhoods that are considered poverty-stricken, according to Jody Zakrevsky, Otsego Now CEO.

Legislative that went into effect this year allows investors to avoid paying capital-gains taxes on money invested in the zones; if the investors don’t sell their investment properties for 10 years, they can also avoid taxes on any additional capital gains, according to Zakrevsky. This is similar to the 1031 Exchange of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code but they do have slightly different regulations and rules.

He said Mayor Gary Herzig participated in the initiative, which would contribute to progress of the city’s DRI, the Downtown Revitalization Initiative underwritten with a $10 million state grant two years ago.

The three Census tracts designated opportunity zones are 5909, 5910 and 5911.