McMahon: County, 91-year-old widow reach agreement for her to leave home on Micron site

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A day after 150 people packed a public hearing in support of a 91-year-old widow being forced to leave the home she has lived in for 60 years to make way for Micron Technology, Onondaga County announced today it had reached an agreement with Azalia King.

County Executive Ryan McMahon said today that a deal has been signed and would be approved in December by the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency.

McMahon would not provide details of the agreement, including how much money the county would pay King or when she would leave the house on Caughdenoy Road.

“I’m happy to report that we have reached an agreement with Mrs. King related to the ongoing litigation,” McMahon said at a news conference. “I want to thank the King family. I want to thank all the teams that worked on this.”

King’s son, Terry King, declined to comment on the deal.

Azalia King and her husband, Glenn, sold the land to OCIDA in 2005 under the threat of eminent domain. OCIDA signed an agreement then that let the Kings live out their lives in the house, but this year reneged on that deal and tried to force out Azalia King.

Glenn King died in 2015.

The county filed an eviction notice against Azalia King in September and then started eminent domain proceedings earlier this month. Thursday’s public hearing was the first step in the eminent domain proceeding.

King filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop the eviction proceeding. McMahon said today that all litigation will end once the deal is approved by the OCIDA board.

OCIDA’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 11.

McMahon said eminent domain proceedings will continue against the owners of two parcels that abut the eastern edge of the Oak Orchard Wastewater Treatment plant. The county is seeking to lay underground wastewater pipes through those properties to connect Micron to a planned industrial wastewater treatment plant at Oak Orchard.

The Micron project, if fully built over 20 years, would be the largest private development in New York state history and a critical step in U.S. efforts to become less dependent upon overseas factories to produce chips vital to the military and modern life.