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July 10, 2010
Office towers in New York and the question of subsidies; the Observer suggests skepticism
Atlantic Yards Report
An article in by Eliot Brown notes that "10 of the 11 new major office towers to be constructed since late 2001 will have gone up with substantial government assistance." Is this assistance warranted?
Brown notes that developers argue they need tax breaks to make costs feasible, thus "showering the city with new jobs." However, he suggests the structure is inconsistent and "inherently vulnerable to political manipulation." (Case in point unmentioned in this article: Atlantic Yards.)
...
He got a quote out of the proponents:
Elizabeth Mitchell, a spokeswoman for the Empire State Development Corporation—the state agency that administered the incentives for many of these projects, including the Gem Tower—defended the existing structure, saying in a statement that "the State undertakes a rigorous cost benefit analysis that ensures that any benefits yield results in the form of economic return many times over.
Well, I'd question the concept of rigorous; after all, with Atlantic Yards, the revenue projections depend on a chimerical ten-year buildout of the project.
Posted by steve at July 10, 2010 8:43 AM