A State Supreme Court judge yesterday removed one important roadblock to construction of the ill-advised Jets stadium in Manhattan. It was a disappointing decision, but far from an ultimate win for the project's supporters. The governor and two top legislative leaders each have the chance to stop a plan that is a bad deal for taxpayers, mass transit users and New Yorkers.
Opponents of the stadium plan argued unsuccessfully in court that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns development rights to the Far West Side site that the Jets covet, failed to get the best price, selling the rights for only a quarter of the appraised value of nearly $1 billion. The plaintiffs plan to appeal, and several other lawsuits on environmental issues are pending. Meanwhile, many fundamental questions about the stadium plan, including financing and security, remain unanswered.
Politically speaking, the next stop is the Public Authorities Control Board - a normally off-the-radar panel controlled by Gov. George Pataki, Joseph Bruno, the Senate majority leader, and Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker. The stadium cannot go forward without unanimous board approval of $300 million in state subsidies. The board is scheduled to meet soon, perhaps today. If a vote occurs, the governor's support is a given. But Mr. Silver and Mr. Bruno have each expressed reservations about the stadium.
Saying no will require a show of strength from the legislative leaders, who have been barraged by high-pressure sales pitches and threats from construction unions, political allies and Olympics boosters. But Mr. Silver and Mr. Bruno should do the right thing and vote to block an outrageous misspending of taxpayer funds. The Jets' plan for a $2 billion-plus (the price keeps rising) football stadium remains too amorphous, and the public - who may end up contributing more than $1 billion in total subsidies - has been surgically cut out of the process.
Mr. Silver and Mr. Bruno may be as close as New York voters come to having a say. Mr. Silver in particular must know how his city constituents would feel about having the mass transit system deprived of the best possible return on the sale of the development rights just when the creaky subways are most in need of money.
The football stadium - no matter how it is camouflaged as a "multi-use" facility - is not an Olympic stadium. It is a football stadium. Its main function will be as the home field of the Jets. The Olympics are a long shot at best, and politicians should not be held responsible for organizers' failure to come up with a sensible stadium plan. The city's whole Olympics pursuit is like a Saturn V rocket: once it has helped to launch the Jets' ambitions, it can fall away, having achieved its purpose.
The only conscionable answer to all of that is a resounding, unequivocal vote of "no."