« On 421-a, Brennan revises stance, FCR’s Bender distorts history | Main | City Council member items and the work of the CBA »
July 14, 2007
Hakeem and Velmanette stand up
The Daily Gotham
In the ongoing battle over Atlantic Yards, one central critique of good government advocates has been the abject failure of the legislature to do its due diligence and examine whether this project is indeed in the public interest, and therefore worthy of public dollars.One of the myriad lollipops being thrown at Bruce Ratner is this: a 421-a tax reform bill just passed by the Assembly reformed the 421-a tax break given to developers; now, one must actually build affordable housing to receive tax breaks for it.
...
Mayor Bloomberg has called for a veto of the bill, and now, the two legislators who represent Atlantic Yards in the legislature, Velmanette Montgomery and Hakeem Jeffries, have made their displeasure known in no uncertain terms.
...
It's unacceptable on good government grounds alone to give preferential treatment to any one party. It's even more galling when a developer receives massive tax breaks and subsidies and then doesn't even have to fulfill the same requirements expected of other developers. This is crony capitalism of the Halliburton variety. Governor Spitzer should veto the bill.
Posted by amy at July 14, 2007 11:16 AM