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February 16, 2007
The Difference a Governor Makes
The Real Estate Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman is noting that they are singing a new tune at the ESDC:
The Empire State Development Corporation used to send out meeting notices to the press that read:
Meetings are open to the public for observation, but not for direct participation.
Earlier this week, the state economic development agency sent out one for Thursday morning's board meeting--the first under Gov. Sptizer's co-chairmen Patrick Foye and Dan Gundersen--that read:
The meeting is open to the public for observation and comment.
And indeed, before every vote, Mr. Foye would ask if the public had any questions. For an agency that had gained a reputation as one of the more inscrutable deliberative bodies, well, that's worth a blog post at least.
Also, Mr. Foye said he would try to attend the public hearings on ESDC projects in person as much as possible.
NoLandGrab: Board members taking questions from the PUBLIC? A board chairman attending hearings?? Let's not get crazy.
Seriously, it's too bad that Governor Spitzer couldn't postpone the approval of Atlantic Yards so that it would fall under his administration (cough, cough).
Posted by lumi at February 16, 2007 1:33 PM