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December 12, 2006
EXTRA 'ICING' FOR MSG VIP SHELDON
HOCKEY PERKS ABOUND FOR SPEAKER
NY Post
By Tom Topousis
Some think that State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is quite cozy with the Dolan family, who own Madison Square Garden, the NY Knicks and NY Rangers. Will Silver's being a fan of the Blueshirts, and his receiving the VIP treatment, give the Dolans special consideration with the Public Authorities Control Board?
An avid Rangers fan, Silver is a regular at home games, often sitting just seven rows behind the visiting team's bench, where he has been spotted frequently over the last several weeks by Post reporters and photographers.
Garden officials insist that Silver pays for his tickets. Even so, sources familiar with the inner workings of the Garden have said that in the last four years, Silver has been granted a VIP status that goes beyond what's afforded to most other special visitors.
The red carpet was rolled out for the powerful Manhattan Democrat as he used his vote on an obscure Albany panel last year to block construction of a competing West Side stadium opposed by the Garden's parent company, Cablevision, owned by Charles and James Dolan.
More recently, Silver cast his ballot on the Public Authority Control Board to derail a plan to build the Moynihan train station on a site being eyed by the Garden's owners for a new arena.
On Dec. 20, a Silver delegate is expected to vote on a new Brooklyn arena that would host the NBA Nets and be a potential competitor of the Garden.
Posted by lumi at December 12, 2006 8:13 PM