Jets get a court
victory on stadium

By MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

The Jets lost miserably at the statehouse, but the team is winning big time at the courthouse.

Yesterday a state appeals court upheld the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's March 31 decision to sell its West Side railyards to the Jets for $250 million.

The decision marks the second major legal defeat this month for Madison Square Garden, which accused the MTA in a lawsuit of rigging the bidding for the West Side property in favor of the Jets.

A Garden spokesman refused comment yesterday, leaving it unclear whether the company will take the case to the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.

While the ruling paves the way for the MTA to close the land deal with the Jets, it was uncertain yesterday when - or if - that will happen.

Earlier this month, the Public Authorities Control Board - an obscure state panel controlled by Gov. Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno - rejected the Jets' plan to build a West Side stadium.

The vote also scuttled the city's hope of using the site for the Olympics. The city has since proposed building a replacement for Shea Stadium that could be converted into an Olympic stadium.

The Jets have vowed to continue to pursue approval of the proposed West Side stadium - possibly seeking the green light through the City Council.

"We are weighing our options with regard to the West Side but we plan to move forward with the purchase," said Jets spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein, declining to elaborate.

MTA chairman Peter Kalikow praised the court ruling and said the agency will "await the reaction of the Jets" to yesterday's ruling.