January 27, 2005
Giff Miller, man of action
New York city council speaker Giff Miller leaped into the Jets stadium fray yesterday, boldly calling for a voter referendum on the plan, which would use at least $600 million in public dollars. Of course, one of Miller's mayoral race opponents, former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, already suggested this earlier in the week. And the person who controls what referendums go on the ballot is the Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who's the guy who proposed the stadium in the first place. And Miller still hasn't said whether he'll try to stop the mayor from spending $300 million in city money on the project without getting council approval. But, you know, there are degrees of boldness.
Across the Hudson, meanwhile, the Giants' plan to build a $700 million stadium in New Jersey with their own money (the state would provide the land) has reportedly run into major snags, with the team and the state unable to agree whether the planned neighboring Xanadu mall-and-entertainment project would be allowed to open on football game days. And how much land the state would hand over to the Giants. And how much rent the team would pay, where fans would park during construction, who would get naming-rights money, and who would pay for the demolition of the current Giants Stadium. In other words, they're as close as two hockey labor negotiators in a pod.
Posted by: Eric at February 1, 2005 12:54 PM
Posted by: Neil at February 1, 2005 09:22 PM
