April 20, 2005
Running down the clock
Looks like state legislative leaders may have found an excuse to put off a vote on the $2.2 billion New York Jets stadium plan until later this summer. Gov. George Pataki had been insisting he'd put the matter to a vote of the Public Authorities Control Board at its May 18 meeting, but state senate majority leader Joseph Bruno - who controls one of the three votes on the PACB, which must approve projects unanimously - now says the board may not be able to vote while there's pending litigation. (New York City public advocate Betsy Gotbaum yesterday filed her own lawsuit against the sale of state land for the stadium project, bringing the total number of pending lawsuits to three.)
The subtext here is that Pataki wants the plan voted on before the July vote on where to place the 2012 Olympics, since it's widely anticipated that New York won't get the bid, which would likely deflate any lingering momentum for the Jets stadium project. Bruno and state assembly leader Sheldon Silver, meanwhile, would love to avoid a vote until then, so that they aren't forced to veto the stadium plan and then be accused of "killing the Olympics." Pataki can place the issue on the PACB agenda, but it doesn't appear that he can force a vote; stay tuned on this one.
In related news, three of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's challengers say they'd build an Olympic stadium in Queens, not Manhattan, if New York were to win the bid. How a Queens stadium would be paid for was left as an exercise for the voters.
