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December 5, 2009
Atlantic Yards Report Friday Hangovers
It's hard to keep up with Norman Oder. Here are some Friday items from him presented on Saturday by NLG.
Update: "The $131 million referenced is part of the total original commitment (not new money) and will go to FCR for site acquisition and infrastructure work," says New York City Economic Development Corporation spokesman David Lombino.
The below was written earlier today.
Has New York City contributed an additional $31 million subsidy for Atlantic Yards land? While I haven't been able to get an answer from city or state officials, language in bond documents is ambiguous but suggests that conclusion.
Brutally weird. Mayor Mike Bloomberg in a radio interview today, asserted erroneously that, while the state pursued eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion, the city was overseeing eminent domain for Atlantic Yards.
Actually, in both cases, it's the work of the Empire State Development Corporation, whose dubious findings of blight raise questions about the practice of eminent domain in the state.
...
On today's Live from City Hall with Mayor Mike and John Gambling (at about 26:48), the host asked the mayor about the Columbia case, noting last week's Court of Appeals decision on the AY case.
"Atlantic Yards was the city using eminent domain," Bloomberg stated. "This is the state, in all fairness. We're not a party to the ligitation."
Will Governor David Paterson make good on his pledge to review the proposed Atlantic Yards project to see if it is in the state's interest?
I haven't met too many people who think that Gov. David Paterson's pledge this week to provide Atlantic Yards opponents with "an objective and fair hearing" would amount to much.
Then again, Paterson basically had been silent regarding the project, with no quotes from him in official press releases issued by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) on 6/23/09 and 9/17/09.
However, he publicly endorsed the Columbia University expansion, stating on 5/20/09:
"I am delighted that the work and cooperation of our partners at Columbia, the Mayor’s Office, and Empire State Development, as well as local elected officials and members of the community will help ensure that Columbia maintains its role as one of the foremost educational and cultural institutions in the world and a major New York employer.”
Now that a judicial panel has put a wrench in the state's plan for eminent domain, raising significant questions about the use of blight in this state, will Paterson take step back and deem the ESDC's questionable procedures in both the Columbia and AY cases is worth a look?
He's got a lot on his plate, like a serious state deficit. But the Columbia decision was front-page news.
Posted by steve at December 5, 2009 11:35 AM