MTA approves Jets' rail yard bid
BY JOSHUA ROBIN, GRAHAM RAYMAN AND PRADNYA JOSHI
STAFF WRITERS
April 1, 2005, 7:56 AM EST
The MTA unanimously approved development of a $1.9 billion Jets stadium on its West Side rail yard yesterday, moving the city a giant step closer in its Olympic bid.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the fiercest proponent of the stadium, was also handed a victory in his re-election bid by the noontime decision of the 14-vote Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, which came after nearly two hours of heated testimony for and against the stadium.
"Ultimately, New Yorkers will be the big winners if this project becomes reality," Bloomberg said in a statement after the vote, which vanquished rival bids from Cablevision and a Brooklyn energy firm to develop the 13-acre site.
MTA board members said that even though the Jets bid -- $720 million -- was below some expectations, they were confident in the financial benefits of the stadium. The board jettisoned part of the bid -- $440 million from six developers -- because that offer was contingent on zoning changes.
The deal will inject $250 million into the MTA over four years, and also will boost the value of an adjacent rail yard and will help pay for the extension of the No. 7 train from Times Square to the far West Side, MTA delegates said.
"This is a major economic development project for the region and it is intertwined with mass transit," said James Simpson, who was appointed to the board by Gov. George Pataki.
"This is a critical step in moving forward with our plan for an Olympic stadium and further strengthens our overall plan for an Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012," NYC2012, the group organizing the city's Olympic bid, said in a written statement.
Still, enough large hurdles remained that observers wondered whether construction can begin before July 6, when the International Olympic Committee awards a city for the 2012 Olympics. Two state agencies must first approve the zoning of the parcel and the creation of a new state authority overseeing the stadium. The state must also find $300 million in subsidies, which would match the city's proposed grant.
Pataki has given his support to the stadium, but State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver haven't.
Silver said yesterday that he would monitor how plans for stadium construction proceed amid lawsuits filed by environmentalists, transit advocates and Cablevision.
Two lawsuits, now under review by a State Supreme Court justice, challenge the environmental study performed before approval of the area near the stadium. More parties might argue the MTA violated its financial duties by picking a bid offering less upfront money. The Jets' bid is about $150 million below Cablevision's.
Also controversial was the MTA's use of a real estate firm whose top officials donated to the city's Olympic bid. While the authority said Newmark & Company would not offer any recommendations, a letter to board members from the firm did just that -- listing the advantages of the Jets bid.
"It is obvious that the Bloomberg fix was in," Cablevision said in a statement.
"Once again, New York has chosen to be pathologically indifferent to the critical needs of New York's crumbling infrastructure," said Adam Victor, president of TransGas Energy Systems, the company whose bid was also rejected
