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August 23, 2006
State's B-Ball Stats In a Fantasy League of Their Own
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Norman Oder
Supporters of the Atlantic Yards project - a basketball arena and 16 mostly residential towers - cite the importance of bringing back professional sports and providing some affordable housing.
But the biggest boost - and probably the most questionable - would come to the public coffers. The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) claims that the project would provide $1.4 billion in new city and state tax revenues in excess of "the public contribution" over the next 30 years. (It may be 40 years; see below.)
However, recently released ESDC documents don't back up that calculation. Professor Tom Angotti of the Hunter College Center for Community Preservation and Development says the agency "gives us no information about public costs, and we need to know that to assess the costs and benefits."
Posted by lumi at August 23, 2006 10:44 PM