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December 18, 2009
What's It Going to Be, Gov. Paterson? Ratner's Big Toy or the Rent?
The Huffington Post
by Daniel Goldstein
...The governor said it's well past the time that the hard choices must be made, and he likened the state's fiscal situation to a family strapped for cash at the holidays.
"Sometimes it comes down to the choice of toys for Christmas or money for rent," the governor said. "Responsible parents pay the rent."
-- Governor Paterson's favorite stump speech and interview line, as reported on Nov. 24 by Karen DeWitt on Albany Public Radio.
It's time for Governor Paterson to make the hard choices not just when it comes to the little guy but when it comes to big money -- when it comes to the entrenched, powerful real estate interests that seem to control the agenda, policy and fiscal decisions. He cannot continue to balance the budget on our backs -- there is nothing more for the little guy to give up.
If we must all share in the budget cutting pain, let's all really share.

Toys or rent?
Governor Paterson is going around New York State making this apt analogy with our state budget and priorities. I heard him say it at Brooklyn town hall on Dec. 1 and I heard him say it on WNYC-radio this morning.
It is striking and concise.
So is this -- Governor Paterson is directing his administration to go full throttle forward with the state's biggest toy: the publicly funded, money-losing "Barclays Center Arena" Bruce Ratner wants to build for Mikhail Prokhorov (Russia's richest man) in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn as part of the bait-and-switch project known as Atlantic Yards.
Toys or rent?
The $1.1 billion arena is the most expensive in history. It is paid for, in part, by diverted property tax payments, triple tax-exempt bonds, at least $205 million from New York City taxpayers and at least $100 million in direct state taxpayer subsidies. All told, the NYC Independent Budget office found that Ratner would receive $726 million in special government benefits just for the arena.
Posted by eric at December 18, 2009 4:43 PM