Jets clear for takeoff!

No contest as MTA picks Gang Green stadium plan

BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

The Jets won the Super Bowl of New York City land battles yesterday - and it was a blowout.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted unanimously to award its coveted West Side rail yards to Gang Green, rejecting rival bids from Cablevision and TransGas Energy Systems.

The vote marks a huge political victory for Mayor Bloomberg and a major milestone in the Jets' four-year odyssey to build a stadium between 30th and 33rd Sts. and 11th and 12th Aves. on the far West Side.

But the proposed $1.9 billion stadium - also the centerpiece of the city's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games - still needs the green light from two state boards before dirt can fly.

"It's an excellent deal for the agency," said MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow following the board's vote and a public hearing with dozens of impassioned pleas from stadium supporters and opponents.

"All the great projects that we have built in the last century were probably built over the objection of some vocal group," said Kalikow, recounting the controversies surrounding the construction of Rockefeller Center and the Triborough Bridge. "In the end, when they get 'em, when we have them, everybody likes them and everybody uses them."

Bloomberg, the stadium's chief booster, said the board's unanimous vote at the MTA's midtown headquarters bolsters the project.

"New Yorkers will be the big winners if this project becomes reality," said Bloomberg, whose plans to renew the far West Side include new buildings and an expansion of the Javits Convention Center.

But the stadium's opponents say it is an expensive boondoogle that will overrun the West Side with traffic and siphon money from more worthy projects.

"It might be the worst land deal since Manhattan Island was sold for $24," scoffed City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, a Manhattan Democrat hoping to unseat Bloomberg.

Under the deal, the Jets, who fled to New Jersey in 1984, will pay the MTA $250 million in five $50million installments over the next four years.

Or, if the MTA demands an upfront lump sum - that issue will be negotiated in the coming weeks - the Jets will pay $210 million in cash immediately.

Yesterday's vote was an embarrassing loss for Cablevision, which offered $400 million in cash for the property and spent more than $20 million on a fierce advertising and lobbying campaign to defeat the stadium.

The company considers the stadium competition to its marquee property, Madison Square Garden.

"It is obvious that the Bloomberg fix was in," the company said in a statement. "It's no wonder that the MTA is in financial crisis when its own board declares that $210 million is worth more than $400 million in cash."

A Cablevision spokesman declined to say whether the company would file a lawsuit, as many observers expect.

Cablevision executives can take some satisfaction, though, because the company's unsolicited bid for the property in February forced the football team to increase its original offer of $100 million.

MTA board members said they chose the Jets for a number of reasons - including the stadium's long-term tax benefits to the city and state, the city's commitment to spend $2 billion to extend the No. 7 subway line, the Jets' accelerated construction schedule and the team's commitment to hire minority- and women-owned businesses.

"All of that," MTA board member John Banks said, "equals greater than $400 million."

The Jets put the value of their bid at $720 million when including a development rights tranfer plan. Cablevision put the value of its offer at $760 million when including plans to build a platform over the railyards.

TransGas' offer topped $1 billion, but came with too many strings attached for the MTA.

At a celebration at the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Ave., stadium supporters - including labor unions - hooted over the victory.

"New York City has affirmed its place as the capital of the world," Jets President Jay Cross said.

But Joe Restuccia, a West Sider who opposes the stadium, called the deal a "sham" and a "con."

When the board finally voted, supporters and opponents spontaneously began chanting back and forth, their gibes distilling the debate at its core.

"Sweetheart deal!" opponents yelled, prompting supporters to shout back, "Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!"

Breaking down the deal

• The MTA unanimously approved the Jets' plan to build a stadium over the railyards on the far West Side. The stadium would bring the Jets back to New York after more than two decades in Jersey. The project also is the centerpiece of the city's 2012 Olympic bid.

• The stadium plan must clear more hurdles, including notching approval from two state boards. The project likely will face lawsuits - including one by Cablevision, whose bid was spurned.

• The vote is a major victory for Mayor Bloomberg, the stadium's biggest backer. But the stadium issue will likely be used against him in his reelection campaign.