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June 18, 2009
The six ESDC board members--half from upstate, none from Brooklyn--who (likely) will rubber-stamp AY
Atlantic Yards Report
So, let's meet the board of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the gubernatorial appointees who almost surely will approve revised plans for Atlantic Yards with no dissent, as the board did in December 2006.
All the directors (including ex-officio ones) are appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. All are male. Three of the six are from upstate. Two are from Manhattan and one from Westchester. None are from Brooklyn.
Two of the six were appointed by Gov. George Pataki. Two spots are vacant. (The list does not appear on the ESDC site, but was provided in response to my request.)
In December 2006, I described the ESDC board as "team players and big donors;" the current configuration contains only one big donor to statewide campaigns, but surely includes team players.
NAME APPOINTED BY TERM EXPIRES Dennis M. Mullen* (Chairman) Governor Pleasure of Governor Kevin S. Corbett Governor Pleasure of Governor Stanford Lipsey Governor Pleasure of Governor Mark E. Hamister Governor 1/1/2009 (holdover) Derrick D. Cephas Governor 1/1/2013 Richard Neiman Governor Ex Officio
Check out the rest of the article for a review of the starting line-up.
Syracuse Post-Standard, ESDC adrift
Here's our favorite laugh from an editorial about the mayhem at the ESDC:
[ESDC President and CEO] Lago announced earlier this month she was leaving her $215,000 post, amid reports of turf battles with Wilmers. Now Wilmers, too, is out.
Gov. David Paterson appointed Dennis Mullen, whom he chose last September to handle Upstate economic development, to take over Lago's duties. Now Mullen has been tapped to take on Wilmers' job as well. One hopes Mullen won't have turf battles with himself.
NoLandGrab: Once again, we gotta hand it to Bruce Ratner, who not only manages to advance his interests before the public's, but gets it all done in an agency in disarray.
Posted by lumi at June 18, 2009 6:41 AM