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March 5, 2010
More confirmation that the BALDC is pretty much an ESDC alter ego
Atlantic Yards Report
Those following the Atlantic Yards saga will recall that the triple-tax-free bonds to finance the arena were issued by the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), a quasi governmental body incorporated by the Job Development Authority (JDA). This clever maneuver allowed the powerbrokers shepherding the Atlantic Yards deal to avoid going through the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), which would automatically trigger a requirement that the bonds be subject to approval by the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB).
However, when someone pointed out that bonds issued by the JDA are supposed to be guaranteed by the State, therefore making them automatically subject to PACB review, the powerbrokers suddently claimed that the BALDC isn't a "subsidiary" of the JDA, it's a "creation." This doesn't pass the smell test, even if it might pass legal muster.
Today, Norman Oder offers some intriguing evidence of the close ties between the BALDC and the ESDC, the agency which was sidestepped to evade PACB scrutiny.
According to documents outlining the deal for Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs):
For the ESDC and the BALDC, the contact person is the same: ESDC Senior Counsel Steve Matlin, the agency's point man on Atlantic Yards.
NoLandGrab: The point is that powerbrokers in Albany are issuing debt, without public scrutiny, using whatever quasi public corporations suits them best, in order to create new ones, primarily for the benefit of one well connected developer.
Yes, we live in a democracy, but this deal demonstrates that there is also a very creative and cagey shadow government at work. Maybe they aren't arresting dissidents or intimidating individuals to drop charges against government officials, but they are using and creating very convoluted institutions and refining and redefining laws that are running circles around the legislature and court system. And, it takes a mind-numbingly obsessive reporter to attempt to keep track of their footsteps through the shifting sands.
Aside from an unprecedented urban planning white elephant, one of the great legacies of Atlantic Yards will be the black hole created by Public Authorities run amok.
Posted by lumi at March 5, 2010 6:12 AM