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November 2, 2009
Atlantic Yards YES! Aqueduct Racetrack redevelopment bidders NO!!
New York State has one set of rules for Bruce Ratner and another set of rules for everybody else.
Crain's NY Business, Aqueduct bidders told to ante up even more money
Governor David Paterson told the site's six bidders Friday that they would each need to pay the state $200 million upfront to win the racetrack's redevelopment game.
The bidding to redevelop Aqueduct racetrack into a “racino” has entered yet another round: Gov. David Paterson sent a letter late Friday to the six bidders asking each to provide proof it can pay the state $200 million upfront within 30 days of being selected.
The request would mean a revision of most of the bidders' original plans to revive the rundown racetrack by installing video slot machines at the site in Ozone Park, Queens.
...Sources say the latest request—the second change in the rules in less than three months—will likely winnow down the list of potential bidders in the race.
...Collecting $200 million from the winning Aqueduct bidder this year is also part of Mr. Paterson's two-year, $5 billion deficit-reduction plan, which the governor unveiled last month.
NoLandGrab: We're no fans of the boneheaded proposal to install slot machines at Aqueduct, but the terms of the deal couldn't be more startlingly different than the terms for Atlantic Yards.
Whichever company wins the bid for Aqueduct will have to pay the state $200 million within 30 days of being selected. But Bruce Ratner, who had agreed to pay the state only half that much for the Vanderbilt Yard, was given the green light by the MTA in June to put down just $20 million at closing and pay the remaining $80 million over 22 years at a discounted interest rate. Why?
Posted by eric at November 2, 2009 9:52 PM