MTA chief not
ready to punt yet

By RICHARD SCHAPIRO
and MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

The Jets aren't the only ones who are still holding out hope for a West Side stadium.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said yesterday that the agency still has every intention of awarding its West Side railyards to the Jets - despite a state panel's rejection Monday of the team's plans to build a stadium on the site.

"If the Jets pay us $250 million, $50 million upfront, the closing to be specified and built according to a time frame, for a stadium only, then we'll close with them," MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow said at a state Assembly oversight hearing.

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Herman Cahn issued a ruling affirming the MTA board's unanimous March 31 decision to grant the property to the Jets. Cablevision, the stadium's chief opponent, and others are appealing Cahn's ruling.

A hearing on the appeal is set for Wednesday, and the MTA and the Jets have agreed not to close on the deal before June 23.

Since Monday, when the state Public Authorities Control Board rejected the stadium, Jets executives have vowed to continue to pursue their West Side dream.

"We've advised the MTA that we plan to proceed with the sports and convention center, and are weighing our options regarding how to do so," said Matt Higgins, a Jets vice president.

Kalikow predicted the MTA will win in court but he conceded the board's rejection of the stadium "may still kill the deal."

"If we cannot complete a deal with the Jets ... I believe that we would probably rebid it to everybody," Kalikow said.

As the Daily News first reported Wednesday, some stadium supporters have raised the possibility of bypassing the state panel by forgoing state money, scaling down the project and acquiring a zoning change from the City Council.

That strategy could work for the Jets, but it wouldn't work well for the city's Olympic bid, since a city zoning change could take months - if not years.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), chairman of the hearing, said the notion that the MTA is going forward with the deal is "very puzzling to serious people."

Brodsky predicted the MTA won't be able to close with the Jets.

"This thing is likely to go to rebidding," he said. "And it's likely to finally end up in a big conversation about how do you want to redevelop the city."