November 25, 2002
NYC redevelopment exec addresses Olympic costs, sorta
On Friday, the online Gotham Gazette conducted an online chat with Roland Betts, a member of both the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. Highlights include the exchange:
GG: But someone has to pay the interest on those bonds, and isn't that the taxpayers?
Betts: Yes, but it's more complicated than that.
GG: Could you explain it to us briefly?
Betts: I'd rather that you address your specific questions about the Olympic Funding to the NYC 2012 committee, since I am a member of the USOC and not the 2012 committee.
GG: You wrote just now that "neither project is funded by taxpayer dollars." We thought you were talking about rebuilding downtown and the Olympics. Is this correct?
[Long pause. No answer]
