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February 2, 2007
City Yards cost skyrockets; Opponents scream as Bloomy quietly doubles taxpayer subsidy
The Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen
Mayor Bloomberg explains the soaring costs of new sports venues to the taxpayers:
At a press conference on Wednesday, Bloomberg attributed the higher allocation to the “rising cost of cement and steel.”
“We have a commitment to pay for infrastructure costs and we will meet that commitment,” the mayor said.
Hizzoner dismissed the notion that taxpayers would be stunned to hear that the city was spending more than it anticipated on Atlantic Yards and new stadiums for the Yankees and the Mets, both of which also received multi-million infusions last week.
“We are fundamentally where we thought we would be,” Bloomberg said.
The Atlantic Yards adjustment is the largest of the three hikes in funding. In total, capital funding for the three projects has risen to nearly $600 million — up from the $360 million initially promised.
The Papers puts the figures in context:
A Bloomberg spokesman said the extra spending was a small price to pay for the largest development project in the history of Brooklyn.
“This project will create jobs, provide affordable housing and generate billions of dollars in tax revenue and represents a solid investment of taxpayer resources,” the spokesman said.
Unlike the city contribution, the tax revenue that Atlantic Yards is expected to generate has gone down. Over the summer, state officials said the project would generate $1.5 billion over 30 years. It is now projected to generate $944 million over the same time period — or just $15 million per year for the city and state, whose annual budgets are in the tens of billions.
NoLandGrab: Blooomberg blows off taxpayers with this quote: "We are fundamentally where we thought we would be [just not where we told you we'd be]."
However, the Mayor is right; taxpayers aren't "stunned" because most local media haven't covered the issue. Q: If an activist "screams" in a forest, but hardly anyone covers it, does the activist actually make a sound?
Posted by lumi at February 2, 2007 7:19 AM