New York state’s economic development agency on Thursday approved Gov. Kathy Hochul’s controversial plan to give a donor an estimated $1.2 billion tax break to build new office towers in Manhattan.

Empire State Development board members voted unanimously in favor of Hochul’s agreement with Mayor Eric Adams to allow the state to collect “payments in lieu of taxes” — or “PILOTs” — from Vornado Realty Trust, whose CEO Steve Roth donated to Hochul in December.

The “PILOTs” collected by the state — which would otherwise go to the city budget — will help Hochul borrow billions of dollars to finance portions of the renovation and expansion of Penn Station. New York City will be paid back for a portion of the estimated $5 billion in lost revenue, according to the Hochul-Adams agreement announced Monday.

The proposed new skyscrapers include five properties currently owned by Vornado. Other properties will be seized by the state and handed to an as-yet-undetermined developer.

Roth donated $69,700 to Hochul’s re-election campaign in December, just one month after she announced her intention to advance the project, which was crafted by her disgraced predecessor, Andrew Cuomo.

State officials have said the new skyscrapers will receive tax breaks equal to those of nearby Hudson Yards — which currently stand at around 20 percent, according to experts.

Just 1,800 residential units are in the current plan, with many times more space devoted to new offices. ESD board members okayed the office-heavy blueprint despite New York City’s lagging commercial real estate market.

Executive vice president of real estate development and planning Holly Leicht assured board members there would be a “flight to quality,” even if there is less demand for office space overall.

The state expects it to take up to 80 years for the buildings to fill up and raise enough revenue to pay back the loans.

“This not a five-year plan by any means,” Leicht said. “We’re talking decades, not years.”

State officials estimate the project will displace 473 businesses and 128 households.

Critics say the governor has not made an effective argument for why the tax breaks and developments are necessary to fund the transit fixes.

“I’ve lived there for 45 years, basically my whole adult life, I raised my child there, all my neighbors are seniors,” 251 West 30th St Tenants Association president Eugene Sinigalliano said. “Rents in Manhattan are up to $5,000 a month. Rent-stabilized seniors can’t afford to pay that. It’s horrible.”

The megaproject could still be blocked by an obscure state body called the Public Authorities Control Board, whose three voting members are appointed by the governor and the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly. The body plans to vote on the project next week, according to its online agenda.

Hochul has resisted signing outstanding legislation that would broaden the oversight powers of the panel.

Additional reporting by Khristina Narizhnaya and Zach Williams