Lawmakers say no to stadium
From Staff and Wire Reports
June 6, 2005, 3:09 PM EDT
Two key Albany lawmakers said today that they would vote against state funding for a proposed Jets stadium on Manhattan's West Side, further jeopardizing the city's bid for the 2012 summer Olympics.
Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver both said that they would vote against spending $300 million on the controversial project.
The lawmakers and Gov. Pataki, a stadium supporter, were to meet this afternoon to vote on the financing of the stadium.The state board could reconsider the issue again later.
"This plan is at best, premature," Silver said at a news conference.
Bruno indicated that he would vote in favor of an amendment saying the state Senate would support a stadium if New York City won its 2012 bid.
The balk by Silver and Bruno followed the release earlier today of an International Olympic Committee evaluation report on the 2012 finalists _ New York, Paris, London, Madrid, and Moscow.
In the report, the IOC noted the fact that the city would need a new stadium if it wanted to win the Games. Paris emerged as a frontrunner.
The Jets stadium plan, which also would bring the New York Jets football team to a playing home on the West Side of New York, has been contentious from the start.
Supporters including Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have touted its economic development potential.
Detractors, including the owner of the neighboring Madison Square Garden, have questioned everything from the process that allowed the Jets to buy the property where the stadium would be built, to the wisdom of spending large amounts of public money.
Others, like Silver, have expressed concern that the development dollars going toward West Side redevelopment should be focused elsewhere, as in downtown Manhattan, which falls under the area he represents in the state Assembly.
Over the weekend, Silver said, "My concern is the future of downtown, the future of ground zero, the 24 million square feet of commercial space that are part of the West Side complex and how that competes with the redevelopment of downtown."
Bloomberg responded to that by saying, "I will do everything I can to rebuild lower Manhattan but I also have a responsibility for other parts of the city. We have to make sure we continue to build in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and all parts of Manhattan." The two politicians met over the weekend for discussions.
The IOC is scheduled to vote on which city will win the 2012 bid on July 6.
