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July 14, 2008
FCR consultant Zimbalist (in 2003): "no rationale" for federal subsidy of projects like AY arena
Atlantic Yards Report
Ever wonder why Forest City Ratner consultant Andrew Zimbalist, the esteemed sports economist, titled his report (first issued in May 2004) on the developer's project Estimated Fiscal Impact of the Atlantic Yards Project on the New York City and New York State Treasuries?
Well, the report was aimed at getting city and state officials to back the project. And they did, like lemmings--as did editorialists.
But this was no "solid and verifiable analysis," as Frank Rashid of the Tiger Stadium Fan Club at a 3/29/07 hearing told Congress should be required for publicly funded projects.
After all, had Zimbalist calculated the impact on the federal treasury, well, he would've had to tell the truth and call it a loss from that angle, given that the subsidy for tax-exempt bonds--now worth perhaps $165 million to FCR--falls largely on federal taxpayers. (The arena has more than doubled in cost since Zimbalist issued his report in 2004, so the federal tax exemption has grown significantly.)
Posted by lumi at July 14, 2008 4:51 AM