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August 17, 2009
How the MTA blew off state Senator Perkins; how board members have a fiduciary duty but new bill would make it easier to enforce
Atlantic Yards Report
Speaking of stonewalling...
A representative of state Senator Bill Perkins was not overstating the case when he testified June 24 that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) had essentially ignored a letter Perkins sent with some tough questions.
As I explain below, MTA Acting Executive Director Helena Williams sent him a cordial but most complete brush-off. While Williams may not have been required to have a fiduciary duty to the authority, board members did have a fiduciary duty.
And it's questionable whether they followed it in relaxing the terms of the deal with Forest City Ratner for the Vanderbilt Yard, saving the developer $100 million on a replacement railyard, accepting $20 million down for a $100 million cash deal, and giving FCR 22 years, at a generous interest rate, to pay off the $80 million.
...[Danny] Serrano, director of public policy for Perkins, who heads the Senate committee overseeing the MTA, declared, “It is clear that the project no longer resembles the project that was originally approved. It will not and cannot provide anywhere near the level of public benefits that were originally planned.”
“Much of the controversy surrounding Atlantic Yards has been aggravated by a chronic lack of honesty, transparency, and accountability,” Serrano declared. “This proceeding today is an example.”
Several days before the hearing Perkins submitted a letter with several “very basic, fair, logical” questions for the MTA. He received a letter, but, as Serrano reported, “it was in fact unresponsive.” Williams refused to answer or acknowledge the questions.
He began by asking why there was a renegotiation rather than demanding performance or reissuing the RFP. Asked to speed up, Serrano said, veering on sarcasm, “I’m going to run through the questions so you have the benefit of thinking about them.”
Posted by eric at August 17, 2009 9:29 AM