Two of Syracuse’s wealthiest and most savvy real estate developers use tax breaks meant for rural farmers to secure big property tax breaks at their Skaneateles Lake mansions. Bob Congel, the developer behind Destiny USA, and Michael J. Falcone, the founder of Pioneer Companies, are taking some of the largest agricultural exemptions in New York state on their private family properties. That’s because they lease acres of land around their mansions to grow corn, hay and grapes.
.