« The Craftily Negative Promise Offered For Bonds Being Sold For Nets Arena: It’s Not “Assumed” Islanders Hockey Team Is Coming to Basketball Arena | Main | 603 Dean »
December 7, 2009
Atlantic Yards YES! Transit riders NO!!
The New York Times, M.T.A. Revenue Is $200 Million Short
Why, we never could've seen this one coming.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s revenue projections are suddenly running $200 million below what was expected, while the agency is coping with $143 million in cuts in state financing, agency officials said on Monday.
It was unclear what the darkening financial picture would mean for subway and bus passengers. A spokesman for the authority said that the chairman, Jay H. Walder, was not contemplating a fare increase for 2010.
The $200 million was to have come from a payroll tax for transit that was part of the authority’s rescue package, which the Legislature approved in May. On Monday, the agency’s chief financial officer, Gary Dellaverson, called the transit tax situation “a shocking development, both because of the magnitude of the underrun (about 20 percent) and the late date of its discovery.”
The authority’s board is scheduled to approve the final version of its 2010 budget next week. The authority is required to have a balanced budget.
NoLandGrab: Hmm, let's see. The MTA's own appraiser set the value of the Vanderbilt Yard at $214.5 million. When rival Extell Development outbid Forest City Ratner for the land, the MTA chose Forest City's bid, eventually settling for $100 million. When that was still too rich for Ratner, the MTA lowered the down payment to $20 million. $214.5 million less $20 million is $194.5 million.
We bet even the MTA could make up the other $5.5 million without too much trouble.
Posted by eric at December 7, 2009 11:33 PM