February 19, 2005
Today on "As the Jets Turn"
I know sometimes this site has seemed like Field of Jets Schemes of late, but it's hard to stop when the stories just get more and more surreal. Take, for example, yesterday's developments:
- With an International Olympic Committee delegation set to visit New York next week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has issued half a million new subway maps directing riders to proposed Olympic venues - including those, like the Manhattan Jets stadium, and the Brooklyn Nets arena, that don't currently exist. The maps also promise to confuse riders by directing them to a phantom beach volleyball venue on the Williamsburg waterfront, and a nonexistant archery range in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in his weekly tirade against Madison Square Garden owners Cablevision, suggested that the company should really be fighting against his proposed Nets arena, not the Jets stadium: "That is their real competition - the stadium is not." Is this really the best time for Bloomberg to be opening up a second front?
- The New York Times revealed that following Cablevision's surprise bid for the Jets site, two city deputy mayors, Dan Doctoroff and Marc Shaw, called MTA chair Peter Kalikow and urged him to reject it as "an act of sabotage." This, according to the Times, followed a prior dustup over the value of the MTA land that "ended with Mr. Kalikow storming out of the meeting room after stern words from Mr. Doctoroff."
I mean, this stuff is over-the-top even for stadium-fight shenanigans - though come to think of it, this is Sweeps month.
COMMENTS
don't worry about overposting the jets saga! i'm relying on this site to keep me informed on this story.
why do you think bloomberg is so committed to building a stadium? somebody with his business sense must have pretty strong reasons to make such a lousy deal.
Posted by: yves at February 22, 2005 12:48 PM
Posted by: yves at February 22, 2005 12:48 PM
You know, the most common question I've gotten lately is "Why is Bloomberg so obsessed with this damn stadium?" (Some people leave out the "damn." Others substitute more colorful words.) My best guess, not knowing the guy myself, is that he seems to be someone who responds poorly to criticism - he's willing to negotiate behind the scenes, fine, but attack him in public and he digs in his heels. Recall that in the early going, he let Deputy Dan Doctoroff take the lead on all the stadium stuff; it's only since Cablevision started taking him on personally that he started blasting back with his weekly public counterattacks. That's my theory, anyway, until someone suggests a better one.
Posted by: Neil at February 22, 2005 12:56 PM
Posted by: Neil at February 22, 2005 12:56 PM
POST A COMMENT
