Dominican Magic proposes multi-month payment plan as Mount Vernon IDA weighs collection and agreement terms

The owner of Dominican Magic has proposed a multi-month payment plan to address outstanding PILOT and administrative fees, Mount Vernon IDA members said during the Feb. 13 meeting.

Darius (staff) told the board he had received an email from the Dominican Magic owner and had discussed structuring a payment plan that would begin with a $20,000 payment followed by $10,000 monthly payments for six months to reduce arrears. Darius said the owner cited health issues as a reason for prior missed payments and that he was requesting the payment arrangement so the business could remain operational while catching up on obligations.

Several board members voiced concern about the company’s operating footprint. A member noted online material showing a 27,000-square-foot warehouse and production activity in Yonkers and asked whether Dominican Magic’s primary operations, jobs and sales tax activity occur in Yonkers rather than Mount Vernon. Members requested staff review the original PILOT agreement to determine whether performance conditions (for example, requirements to maintain a certain percentage of operations locally) exist and whether Yonkers provided PILOT benefits to the same business. Staff said they would analyze the transaction documents and return to the board with findings and recommended next steps, and suggested preparing a proposed payment agreement for board consideration at a future meeting if the board wishes to pursue that route.

No formal agreement was adopted at the Feb. 13 meeting. Board members said they were sympathetic to the owner’s reported health issues but stressed the agency’s obligation to the community and to school-district revenue that PILOTs affect. Staff recommended obtaining a sign of good faith payment before presenting a formal repayment agreement at the next meeting.