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July 27, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
The Albany Project,
Ratner Gets $200 Million Tax Break, City "Saves" $100 Million
Remember that really sweet deal that Ratnerville was able to slip into the 421-A reform bill? The one that was exclusive the Atlantic Yards Project?
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Now we have a "compromise" that would shave this sweet deal by a third and those who worked it out are telling folks that now the city is "saving" $100 million bucks. It's disgusting.
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I've said it before, I'll say it again. Everything wrong with New York state politics is represented in the Ratnerville project. Corruption writ large.And yes, Vito Lopez (D-Sleazeville), I'm looking right at you.
Brit in Brooklyn, Ratner Keeps His Tax Break
We like the Daily News' definition of "slash tax break" in their Atlantic Yards story today: Bruce Ratner gets out of paying property taxes for a mere 15 years, rather than 25 years as originally planned.
Brownstoner, Ratner Compromise Still Special Treatment
After the Mayor threatened on Monday to pull $100 million of city financing for the Atlantic Yards project if the sweetheart deal that Vito Lopez inserted into the 421-a legislation was not revised, a compromise is reportedly in the works. According to The Daily News, the city will get its $100 million back by reducing the tax-free period on 1,900 market-rate condos from 25 years to 15 years. Of course, that comes at the expense of the condo owners not Ratner himself. As the Atlantic Yards Report points out, though, the compromise doesn't change the fact that Ratner is getting special treatment by not having to play by the same affordable housing rules as every other developer.
Gothamist, Extra, Extra
Developer Bruce Ratner is closer to getting his tax-break subsidies, after negotiating with Mayor Bloomberg and the state legislature.
Nets Daily, Nets Hopeful on Luxury Box Sales
News that really bores the average Nets fan from the blog that's not an official Nets site:
In an article about a possible glut of luxury boxes at new sports facilities around New York, Crains New York Business quotes Nets president Brett Yormark as saying the team hopes to sell out all the Barclays Center’s 118 luxury suites. The team will begin selling the suites in earnest this fall with the opening of a model box at the New York Times building, which is part owned by Bruce Ratner.
The luxury suites will be part of a larger group of suites that include party suites capable of entertaining up to 60 people. All told, Barclays Center will have 170 suites, compared to 29 at the Continental Airlines Arena.
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[Forest City Ratner] assumes that approximately 162 of 170 suites will be sold annually through a combination of first ring suites, second ring suites, courtside suites, and loge boxes. The suite price includes the price of tickets to NBA games and approximately 25 percent of other events held at the arena. In addition, it is assumed that three of the four party suites, each with sixty suites, will be sold for all NBA games on an annual basis.”However, the same analysis warned: “Given the competitiveness of the market, both the total number of suites and the average price per suite assumed by FCRC appear to be on the high end relative to other similar arenas. NBA arenas average approximately ninety suites. Facilities in Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, Toronto, and Philadelphia are the only ones that offer more than 125 suites. Other than the Palace at Auburn Hills in Detroit, all of these facilities host both NBA and NHL teams.”
Posted by lumi at July 27, 2007 7:01 AM