It’s been an awfully long time coming, but at last it looks we can say that the New York Yankees parking garages are in default on their bonds!New York Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez reports that “Bronx Parking Development LLC failed to make a $6.9 million payment due April 1 on more than $237 million in tax-exempt bonds arranged by the Bloomberg administration back in 2007. The group, which is not connected to the Yankees, thus fell into one of the biggest defaults of a New York City-sponsored bond in decades.”
Unless you’re one of the poor schmoes who bought Yankees parking garage bonds thinking that the garages would actually pay their bills, the default probably won’t mean very much to you: Since a nonprofit corporation was set up to sell the bonds, neither the Yankees nor the city of New York is on the hook to bondholders. (The city can forget about ever getting the $43 million in rent payments it was supposed to accrue from the garages, but then, it’s probably already forgotten about that long before now.)
Of course, this isn’t a very good sign if, say, you live in a certain California state capitol that is considering a similar parking bond deal, only this time with taxpayer funds set to fill in any gap in parking revenues. Though officials there swear that they’re using conservative assumptions, and we all know that public servants would never fudge the numbers about something so important as — what’s that, Juan?
City economic development aides have privately acknowledged they were ordered by City Hall back then to “make the numbers work” in order to justify tax-exempt bonds.
Not a very good sign at all.
That’s inconceivable !
In Californiam cars and parking is a way of life. You New Yorkers, somehow, have learned to live with significantly fewer automobiles per capita. Or that’s what KJ will tell the NBA.
Just another wonderful legacy of King Bloomie, can imagine what kind of red ink/defaults would have come from the west side boondoggle.
With all this, it’s better than Cali.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/city-vs-city/653396-metro-areas-ranked-vehicles-per-1-a.html
According to the Census Bureau
Combined Statistical Areas( Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio and Portland are by MSA cause they arent part of a CSA)
Vehicles Per 1,000 Residents, 2007
Seattle 743
Sacramento 697
New York 472
Lol, what I didn’t realize was that Seattle is missing out on the parking gold-mine. We’ll probably get hit up for that when its time for the Sounders to get their own stadium (maybe unlikely, considering the Allen connection to the Seahawks stadium) or the Mariners’ lease ends in 2018.
btw: there’s an interesting freakonomics episode on parking called “parking is hell”… disabled placards using 40% of spots in some parts of LA
I still think KJ should propose selling bonds against future Regional Transit revenues. All those tens of thousands of people will flock to downtown plaza on a daily basis so they can bask in the arena’s glory.
I better be quiet. KJ might actually read this and decide it’s a good idea.
Can we transfer RT’s assets to a non-profit? Hmmm. Another fantastic idea! I’m full of those tonight!
The comparison to the Yankees now makes Sacramento officially world class.
The Board of Govoners will not care about the Yankees parking deal going south. Sacramento is going to pledge hotel tax revenues and parking revenues. Borrowing 218M at four per percent over 35 years will lead to loan annual payments of 11.5M or so. The arena is estimated to generate about 5M in revenue. The parking lots still generate 6M or so after the city sells 3,700 to Burkle. The hotel taxes fills more gaps and pays off the existing parking garage debt.
The City just passed a sales tax increase to hire more cops. But now the sales tax goes to fill the 10M or so hole in the city budget from the diversion of parking revenues and the hotel tax.
Think B.I.G.
Based on what I’ve seen and heard at the NBA press conferences today, Sacramento has moved into a tie with Seattle (maybe actually ahead of the Emerald City). The NBA probably sees the Seattle owners offering more money while Team Sacramento has more public dollars going to an arena. It’s too close to call and it’ll be for David Stern to decide and corral the owners into a deal.