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October 19, 2009
Challenging Bloomberg Unlimited
Noticing New York
Michael D.D. White, whose Friday reprise of his anti-term-limits-override testimony got a nice write-up in Saturday's New York Times, provides some free campaign advice for the ever-so-slowly-catching-on Bill Thompson.
We can envision what will happen in the next mayoral debate if Thompson, building on his suggestion that megadevelopment mega-monopolies, particularly Atlantic Yards, be broken up into multiple parcels takes on Bloomberg as sponsor of and enthusiast for the Atlantic Yards boondoggle. We would suggest the Thompson also propose that the arena and its $220 million net loss for the public be replaced with housing. Imagine Thompson saying:
* You don’t believe in competitive bids Mike? Why not?
* You don’t believe in providing jobs here and now with multiple developers working on multiple sites? Rather than in distant decades?
* You just believe in a mega-monopoly for one big developer, one that is going bankrupt to boot? Shutting out everyone else? Shutting out all the better local developers?
* You don’t want a lot more money for the MTA and it’s riders? You don’t think the MTA should get a fair market price for its yards?
* Instead of more housing you want a humongous gift package arena for Mr. Ratner at a $220 million net loss to the city with a mega-project that will inefficiently commit more than $2 billion overall in subsidies to one developer?
At that point, we believe that Bloomberg might finally find himself reaching his limits- - Imposed by the voters.
Posted by eric at October 19, 2009 2:31 PM