"The Stadium", newsletter from NYABC

[Solitaire]

I apologize to you all for not including the links to the full articles, but for some reason, they didn't work for me. But, you can all at least get the gist of what they are saying.

The Better Choices Bulletin
From the New York Association for Better Choices

February 3, 2005

Thank you for your continued interest in the New York Association for Better Choices. Please join us on Monday as we head downtown for an important City Council hearing on the West Side Stadium. A strong showing at this hearing will speak volumes about the large number of people who oppose this project and the $600 million in taxpayer funds that would be used to pay for it. We look forward to seeing you there:

City Council Hearing on Stadium Finances
Date: Monday, February 7, 2005
Time: Doors open at 8:30 AM; hearing begins at 9:30 AM
Location: City Hall

The proposed West Side Stadium has been in the news quite a bit over the last few weeks and we continue to make progress in mounting opposition. By attending this hearing and raising our concerns, we will continue the fight. Additionally, many mayoral candidates are weighing in against the stadium and there is ongoing discussion about the true value of the MTA rail yards, the city's misplaced priorities and the stadium financing plan.

In Today's Better Choices Bulletin:
    •  "Stadium Stiffs Subway Riders," Says Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News
    •  The New York Times Raises a Red Flag About the City's Priorities and Troubled Transit System
    •  Misplaced Priorities: Our Schools Lack Supplies But The City Has Money for a Football Stadium
    •  "MTA Giving Jets Lotta Green," Says Daily News Columnist

"Stadium Stiffs Subway," Says Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News
"Will city subway riders end up subsidizing a new Jets stadium with even higher transit fares?"
"What about the LIRR's 13-acre rail yards where the proposed stadium will be built?"
"Will the Jets pay fair market value for that improved land, or will the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority conduct a fire sale?"
Juan Gonzalez asks these questions and more in his February 1 Daily News column. The MTA rail yards are worth a considerable amount of money and while the West Side Stadium is a repugnant idea to him, he shows legitimate concern that "for every dollar the MTA fails to get for the real value of the those rail yards, that's one more dollar it will need from subway riders."
To read the full article, click here.

Saving the Subways

On January 29, The New York Times ran an editorial about the troubled state of New York City's subway system and the need to prioritize it above other city projects.

The editorial said, "In the 1980's, when the system was teetering on ruin, the governor, the mayor and city business leaders all pitched in to create a rescue plan. That needs to happen again, beginning with a concerted effort that's coupled with the offer of sacrifice. Mayor Michael Bloomberg can't effectively demand money to rebuild the subways at a time when he's also pushing for $300 million in state funds and committing another $300 million in city funds for an unnecessary football stadium in Manhattan. Mr. Bloomberg should get his priorities straight. And as much as we agree with the mayor about the importance of extending subway service to the Far West Side of Manhattan to spur development, it's a plan that has to take a back seat to saving the existing network.
To read the full Times editorial, click here (registration required).

Misplaced Priorities: Our Schools Lack Supplies But The City Has Money For a Football Stadium

Bob Herbert of The New York Times addressed the misplaced priorities that the city has in pushing ahead to build a West Side Stadium. In his latest column, January 28, he wrote that "neither the city nor the state has a dime to spare. Subway lines are falling apart because 19th-century signal systems have been neither upgraded nor protected. Plans for critically needed school construction are being deferred. After-school programs, which are literally lifelines for many youngsters, have to be shut down because they are not "affordable."

He goes on to say, "At $1.4 billion, this playground for the richest among us would be the most expensive sports stadium in the history of the world. The city and the state, which can't afford toilet paper for the public schools, would put up a minimum of $600 million and undoubtedly much more. The smart money says the public will take at least a billion-dollar hit on this project so Woody Johnson can hold court amid a sea of luxury boxes hard by the Hudson on the Far West Side of Manhattan.

Herbert finishes his column by saying, "But if there's any justice at all, this stadium will never see the light of day. To take the public's money, which should be used for schoolkids, for subway riders, for hospital patients - for any number of projects that might truly serve the public's interest - and hand it over to a billionaire who will use it as seed money to further his already fabulous interests is obscene."
To read the full Times column, please click here.

"MTA Giving Jets Lotta Green," Says Daily News Columnist

On February 3, Juan Gonzalez of the Daily News addressed the issue of the value of the MTA rail yards in another column. He wrote, "The more we learn about these largely secret Jets negotiations, the clearer it becomes that this is a billion-dollar boondoggle that taxpayers and subway riders will be subsidizing for years to come... we've learned that the MTA's own experts estimate the land is worth $923 million. Not $35 million, or $300 million. It's worth $923 million! According to that appraisal, the land, with its unimpeded Hudson River views, could fetch that much money on the open market if it was earmarked for residential condominiums and limited commercial use instead of a riverside stadium...The Jets, big surprise, claim the land is worth far less - just $350 million, and then only if the state builds a deck over the rail yards. Without the deck, they say it's worth $35 million."

Gonzalez feels that the MTA should sell these rights to someone else. He wrote, "Here we have Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg pushing a public giveaway with virtually no public input and without even a public request for alternative proposals for the land."

He went on to quote Robert Yaro, head of the nonprofit Regional Plan Association, "What we're hearing from several developers is, if the MTA puts out a request for proposals for this land, they would respond." Gonzalez ends his column by saying, "It's still not too late for subway riders and taxpayers to stop this travesty. You can do it by calling Silver and urging him to resist the giveaway.
To read the full article, please click here.

We hope to see you at City Hall on Monday. Like Juan Gonzalez wrote, "it's not too late for subway riders and taxpayers to stop this travesty." We must show our unity and voice our opposition to the West Side Stadium. Tell a friend! The proposed West Side Stadium will affect all New Yorkers. Pass this e-mail on to friends and families. Join The New York Association for Better Choices

[Yuugal]

1. Interesting reading

I was all for bringing the Jets back to NY. Since Shea stadium is a crumbling dump the plan a few years back was to build a new stadium for both the Jets and the Mets in the parking area for Shea and then level Shea when it was done. Do you know what happened to that grand plan?