Thursday, September 6th, 2007 (from Streetsblog)
Bronx Boro Prez Issues Protest at Yankees Parking Hearing
This morning a representative of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., read a statement of protest ahead of an expected Tuesday vote on the city's deal with the Yankees to subsidize the construction of three parking garages.
Testifying before the NYC Industrial Development Agency (IDA), which is poised to issue over $200 million in triple tax exempt bonds to the "Bronx Parking Development Company" for parking deck construction, Deputy Director for Planning & Development Paula Luria Caplan said Carrión has not received "vital information" regarding project financing.
Here is the testimony submitted by Caplan on behalf of Carrion, in its entirety:
The new Yankee Stadium project represents a remarkable achievement for the Borough of the Bronx and the City of New York. As this board is aware, the Borough President has been involved in this redevelopment project from its inception and has always insisted that both the community and its representatives are thoroughly engaged in this process.
The Borough President is deeply concerned that after repeated requests we still have not received vital information regarding the details of the Bronx Parking Development Company financing. Specifically, the Borough President's office has requested the following:
A copy of the draft lease agreement; A copy of the feasibility study; an explanation of the increase in the deal size from $190 million to $218 million; and details regarding the elimination of Lot D from the parking facility after 2010.
Finally, the Borough President is concerned as to whether this project can move forward on September 11th without the statutorily required approval of the Bronx Borough Board. In order to make an informed decision at the September 11th IDA Meeting, the Borough President must receive this information immediately.
Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, who also offered testimony, said that it is unheard of for a borough president to resort to making such a statement at an IDA hearing, considering that each borough president has an appointee on the IDA board.
4 Comments (leave a comment)
This is the same BP who purged the local community board of people critical of this project and its crappy process, which the BP provided cover for for the past 4-5 years.
But now running for mayor....
Comment by Yumm — September 6, 2007 @ 2:54 pm Link
And supports congestion pricing...
Comment by Glenn McAnanama — September 6, 2007 @ 4:01 pm Link
Yumm is exactly right in his comments. This guy is a prize. He rolled over his own community on the stadium -- signing off on a process that took just nine days in the state legislature -- and now he's testifying that he can't get information? Obviously, the information he wants should be public, but Mr. Carrrión is a world-class hypocrite in acting like he's shocked that it hasn't been forthcoming, given that he willingly participated in the same sordid process to get the stadium approved.
Comment by rhubarbpie — September 6, 2007 @ 6:33 pm Link
Hear, hear, Yumm and Rhubarbpie. I would only like to add this overlooked fact: according to Randy Levine, it was Carrion who approached the Yankees with the idea of locating the new stadium in the middle of a much loved park. If Carrion is protesting now, it can be assumed that it is because he has been left off the gravy train.
Comment by Boogiedown — September 6, 2007 @ 10:03 pm Link
Bronx Boro Prez Issues Protest at Yankees Parking Hearing
This morning a representative of Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr., read a statement of protest ahead of an expected Tuesday vote on the city's deal with the Yankees to subsidize the construction of three parking garages.
Testifying before the NYC Industrial Development Agency (IDA), which is poised to issue over $200 million in triple tax exempt bonds to the "Bronx Parking Development Company" for parking deck construction, Deputy Director for Planning & Development Paula Luria Caplan said Carrión has not received "vital information" regarding project financing.
Here is the testimony submitted by Caplan on behalf of Carrion, in its entirety:
The new Yankee Stadium project represents a remarkable achievement for the Borough of the Bronx and the City of New York. As this board is aware, the Borough President has been involved in this redevelopment project from its inception and has always insisted that both the community and its representatives are thoroughly engaged in this process.
The Borough President is deeply concerned that after repeated requests we still have not received vital information regarding the details of the Bronx Parking Development Company financing. Specifically, the Borough President's office has requested the following:
A copy of the draft lease agreement; A copy of the feasibility study; an explanation of the increase in the deal size from $190 million to $218 million; and details regarding the elimination of Lot D from the parking facility after 2010.
Finally, the Borough President is concerned as to whether this project can move forward on September 11th without the statutorily required approval of the Bronx Borough Board. In order to make an informed decision at the September 11th IDA Meeting, the Borough President must receive this information immediately.
Bettina Damiani of Good Jobs New York, who also offered testimony, said that it is unheard of for a borough president to resort to making such a statement at an IDA hearing, considering that each borough president has an appointee on the IDA board.
4 Comments (leave a comment)
This is the same BP who purged the local community board of people critical of this project and its crappy process, which the BP provided cover for for the past 4-5 years.
But now running for mayor....
Comment by Yumm — September 6, 2007 @ 2:54 pm Link
And supports congestion pricing...
Comment by Glenn McAnanama — September 6, 2007 @ 4:01 pm Link
Yumm is exactly right in his comments. This guy is a prize. He rolled over his own community on the stadium -- signing off on a process that took just nine days in the state legislature -- and now he's testifying that he can't get information? Obviously, the information he wants should be public, but Mr. Carrrión is a world-class hypocrite in acting like he's shocked that it hasn't been forthcoming, given that he willingly participated in the same sordid process to get the stadium approved.
Comment by rhubarbpie — September 6, 2007 @ 6:33 pm Link
Hear, hear, Yumm and Rhubarbpie. I would only like to add this overlooked fact: according to Randy Levine, it was Carrion who approached the Yankees with the idea of locating the new stadium in the middle of a much loved park. If Carrion is protesting now, it can be assumed that it is because he has been left off the gravy train.
Comment by Boogiedown — September 6, 2007 @ 10:03 pm Link
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