May 11, 2005
West Side Shelly vs. Broadway Joe
The New York Jets are turning up the heat on the state legislature for approval of their $2.2 billion stadium plan, sending Joe Namath and the Rev. Al Sharpton to talk up how cool the Super Bowl is and how the stadium would create jobs, respectively. (The Jets are really pushing the jobs angle hard, with a new website voteforjobs.com; for fun, try finding on that site the information that even by the Jets' own numbers, a stadium would cost 45 times more per job created than simply funding state job-training programs.)
If the goal was to sway state assembly speaker Sheldon Silver and state senate leader Joe Bruno - the two men who, as we've discussed previously, have veto power over the project - it seems the QB and the rev might as well have stayed home. "At this point, [the stadium] doesn't make sense to me," Silver told the New York Times. To the Daily News, Silver added that Mayor Mike Bloomberg has "invested so much, it's why the thing [stays] on the radar screen, plain and simple. ... The mayor of the City of New York thinks it's very important for the city. That's why it's difficult to reject it out of hand on the merits. ... The fact that the mayor is so out for it makes it a very difficult decision." Bruno, who's mostly stayed in the background on the stadium issue, said he plans to take a "wait and see" approach - but reiterated that he would want equal spending on projects upstate, which could be a problem, since the state already passed a budget without any such quid pro quo items. (And without any funds for the Jets stadium, for that matter, though there could be ways around that.)
The likely scenario now: The Public Authorities Control Board puts off a stadium vote at its May 16 meeting, citing pending lawsuits over the sale of land for the stadium. If the ruling in those cases, expected June 2, goes in favor of the Jets, that would leave one more PACB meeting in mid-June before the International Olympic Committee picks a 2012 Olympic host in early July.
Of course, the losing parties in the lawsuits will likely appeal, so the court cases would still be pending in June either way. Still, all signs are for a June showdown between the Jets and the state pols over what's now a five-year-old stadium battle. Maybe next time the Jets will bring Emerson Boozer to sign autographs.
At a Town Hall Meeting held on Wednesday, May 11, 2005, State Sen. Liz Krueger reported that the Jets had sent Joe Namath to lobby her in support of the stadium. Somewhat tongue in cheek she noted that she had worn Broadway Joe's p-hose (apparantly the word constitutes "questionable content" to the comment server) at one time, but otherwise did not know much about him -- and he did not know much about the stadium plans. According to Krueger, Joe had no facts to offer. Senator Krueger told those of us assembled that she wanted facts and not celebrity photo ops. Good for her. Good for us.
Lots of interesting information came out at the meeting. The environmental impact statement prepared in support of the stadium predicts the worst traffic ever -- and that's assuming that the 2nd Avenue subway (languishing in the dustbins of city hall these past 90 years) is finally built - though no funding is provided in any of the planning, and despite the fact that the MTA is selling its real estate for a pittance of its real value. The EIS also reports that all of this excess traffic idling on the roadways will substantially reduce air quality in the surrounding areas -- the solution? People should seal up their windows and buy air conditioners (please don't go outside and breathe thank you very much).
One questioner noted that all of this traffic would mean that emergency service vehicles (police, fire trucks, ambulances) will be unable to respond to calls in a timely manner. It strikes me that the liability lawsuits that the City will face as a result is a cost that has not been taken into account (nevermind the human factor). . . and that's just the everyday emergencies, not taking into account things like bridge fires, retaining wall collapses, and terrorist attacks (and forgetting that the City is closing down firehouses that could be funded with the money it is intent on wasting on the stadium).
Oh and Senator Tom Duane (in whose district the stadium would be built) also reminded us that the EIS has no answer for the increase in sewage waste that the stadium will generate. The sewage treatment plant that is slated to handle the flow is already overburdened.
All in all it was a wonderfully informative meeting. Thanks to Sens. Krueger and Wayne, Council Member Eva Moskowitz Assembly Member Richard Gottfried, the Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yard Alliance and everyone else involved.
Posted by Michael S. Schreiber on May 13, 2005 10:12 PM