March 19, 2005

Jets follies, cont'd

New York Jets stadium: comedy or tragedy? You make the call:

• Two New York state legislators have introduced legislation to block Mayor Michael Bloomberg from spending $300 million on a stadium without city council approval. Since even the bill's sponsors say the mayor's plan is illegal under current law, and the bill can't pass without the support of assembly speaker Sheldon Silver and senate majority leader Joe Bruno - either of whom already has the power to block the stadium outright - this move is expected to have zero effect whatsoever, except to make some headlines.
• And speaking of news-free news stories: Former mayor Rudy Giuliani is appearing in a TV ad in support of the stadium plan. That's the same Rudy Giuliani, of course, who proposed building a Jets stadium on the West Side in the first place, way back in 1999.
• And from the Department of Non-Threatening Threats, Bloomberg in his radio address yesterday warned that if the city doesn't build a stadium for the Jets, the team, uh, might not move into it: "The Jets could at some point, if the West Side is so complex or expensive for them, are going to say, 'The heck with it. We'll go and stay in New Jersey.'" Not to mention that the WFMU reception is better there.