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October 1, 2009
Atlantic Yards YES! Bridges and roads NO!!
Here's another reminder that New York has priorities and where they lie.
Crain's NY Business, Kosciuszko, Gowanus top list of bad bridges, roads
When it comes to ailing bridges and elevated roadways in New York City, they just don't come any worse than the Kosciuszko Bridge and Gowanus Expressway according to The General Contractors Association of New York.
The Kosciuszko, which links the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens across Newtown Creek; and the expressway, which connects the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel and the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Top 10 list of troubled New York state-owned elevated roadways and bridges in the city in terms of their structural condition. All but one of the remaining eight bridges and roadways on the list, which was released Wednesday, are in the Bronx.
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“While the New York state capital program in New York City averages between $300 and $350 million per year, given the enormous needs, this funding is insufficient to meet the existing number of projects which have been red flagged by New York state engineers,” said Denise Richardson, GCA's managing director, in a statement. “Without an increase in funding, bridge and elevated road conditions will continue to decline.”
NoLandGrab: On the other hand, NYC added another $105M cash subsidy to Atlantic Yards since the project was first announced, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority just re-negotiated a better deal for developer Bruce Ratner and the Federal Government gave Ratner until the end of the year to complete the bond financing for the arena before closing the loophole on the triple-tax-free bond financing program.
Posted by lumi at October 1, 2009 6:53 AM