Finally, some of the people with the power to slow down the juggernaut toward a stadium on Manhattan's West Side are saying the right things. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in an unusually impassioned speech to downtown business leaders last week, called for nothing short of a "Marshall Plan" to help Lower Manhattan emerge fully from Sept. 11, 2001. Mr. Silver's speech makes it hard for him to turn around and support an expensive stadium on Manhattan's Far West Side that could slow progress in his needy downtown area.
At the same time, the Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno, has been sending his own signals that this stadium deal doesn't sit right with him. Mr. Bruno has said that if New York City wins its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, he will do his part to make certain the city has whatever is necessary. That choice will happen in July. In the meantime, a State Supreme Court in Manhattan is expected to rule on several lawsuits concerning the stadium in June. So, Mr. Bruno has wondered, understandably, what's the rush?
Mr. Bruno and Mr. Silver have each asked Gov. George Pataki to delay scheduled votes on the stadium issue before the Public Authorities Control Board. Now it appears that Mr. Pataki, who supports the stadium, will have to decide whether to let the issue slide until mid-June or push to get the stadium vote earlier.
The best course would be to delay a board vote, at least until the court has spoken. If the vote is sooner, it will still take all three leaders to adopt any board resolution, and although normally these meetings are very routine events, this one promises to be the exception. Any board meeting with the stadium on the agenda will bring out the crowds, who deserve more information and debate on the Jets deal. Mr. Silver, who normally sends a representative to the board, has even promised that for this vote, he will appear in person.
If a "no" vote by either leader would stall the stadium, two "no" votes might stop this frenzied pursuit of an unnecessary football field altogether before it's too late. Then state and city leaders could figure out a better use for this prime waterfront site in booming Midtown Manhattan.