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August 18, 2006
A $1.4 billion boon? The mystery of the ESDC's fiscal impact calculus
Atlantic Yards Report
Here's a surprise: after going through the documents released last month by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), no one can figure out how the State comes up with the astonishing claim that Atlantic Yards "would provide a huge fiscal boost, $1.4 billion in new city and state revenues in excess of 'the public contribution' over the next 30 years."
The problem: there's no way to see how the ESDC, in the General Project Plan (GPP), arrives at that calculation.
How exactly is "the public contribution" toted up? Does it consist of direct subsidies? Yes. Some tax breaks? Yes. Costs for public safety, education, and sanitation services? Subsidies for housing? There's no evidence that it does.
The GPP, along with the associated Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), goes into great detail about the projected benefits of Atlantic Yards. But they provide scant information on the costs, rendering these lengthy documents much less useful than previous reports by the Independent Budget Office and even Forest City Ratner consultant Andrew Zimbalist.
Professor Tom Angotti of the Hunter College Center for Community Preservation and Development points out that the ESDC “gives us no information about the public costs, and we need to know that to assess the costs and benefits.”
NoLandGrab: What we can't figure out is why Norman "The Mad Overkiller" Oder and the good professor try so hard. Just because the developer's projects haven't fulfilled their promises to the City and State in the past, doesn't mean that Bruce Ratner won't make good on his promises this time, right?
Posted by lumi at August 18, 2006 7:30 AM