City Bids on West Side Railyards
NYTimes reports that the Bloomberg administration and the City Council have offered to pay $500 million for the development rights to 26 acres of railyards on Manhattan's Far West Side. This is the area where the Jets tried to place a stadium.
The NYTimes says the bid is a bit higher than the Jets bid. But the Jets bid was convoluted with subsidies and part of the purchase price was going to pay for a platform. The NYTimes article is not specific enough, if this $500 M includes payment for a platform or if that tab is being picked up by the MTA.
Amusingly now Assembly Person Brodsky says the legislature needs to see if the bid is a fair price. Curious that I have not seen him mention that such an investigation is needed for Atlantic Yards. Bless him if he feels that way too.
If the city does aquire the land, the NYTimes says new zoning for a portion of the area will go through the land review use process. That is the same process the Yankee Stadium proposal went through. So, you can judge for yourself what that is worth. Really the issue is that City Council does not seem to make sound decisions which are in the people's interest, instead they make decisions which are in developers interest, so the land review process simply becomes a matter of theatrics.
If the city aquires the land, look for a rezoning that allows for very large buildings, land sold to developers at a discount rate, significant property tax breaks, and property taxes will be put into the Mayor's PILOTs slush fund, so they will not be available for the regular budget, and instead they will go toward financing the currently distressed Hudson Yards 7 Line Bonds plan. This will all be done with the rationalization that these breaks are needed to get people to develop there, despite what Dan Doctoroff says out the other side of his mouth:
UPDATE 11:42AM
Brodsky's comments are based on the Public Authorities Reform Bill which was passed to make sure Public Authorities are getting fair value for the property and that these land deals are not just gifts to favored developers.
In an email exchange Dan Goldstein explains that the Public Authorities Reform Bill also applies to Atlantic Yards:
Brodsky is right to make an issue of the West Side Railyards value, where the Jets and Bloomberg nearly pulled off a grand scam. Brodsky has been politically shy about going after the FCR/Atlantic Yards deal. But as his words about the West Side make clear, the fire sale of Atlantic Yards can not be ignored.
The NYTimes says the bid is a bit higher than the Jets bid. But the Jets bid was convoluted with subsidies and part of the purchase price was going to pay for a platform. The NYTimes article is not specific enough, if this $500 M includes payment for a platform or if that tab is being picked up by the MTA.
Amusingly now Assembly Person Brodsky says the legislature needs to see if the bid is a fair price. Curious that I have not seen him mention that such an investigation is needed for Atlantic Yards. Bless him if he feels that way too.
If the city does aquire the land, the NYTimes says new zoning for a portion of the area will go through the land review use process. That is the same process the Yankee Stadium proposal went through. So, you can judge for yourself what that is worth. Really the issue is that City Council does not seem to make sound decisions which are in the people's interest, instead they make decisions which are in developers interest, so the land review process simply becomes a matter of theatrics.
If the city aquires the land, look for a rezoning that allows for very large buildings, land sold to developers at a discount rate, significant property tax breaks, and property taxes will be put into the Mayor's PILOTs slush fund, so they will not be available for the regular budget, and instead they will go toward financing the currently distressed Hudson Yards 7 Line Bonds plan. This will all be done with the rationalization that these breaks are needed to get people to develop there, despite what Dan Doctoroff says out the other side of his mouth:
"Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff said there was also considerable interest in developing office space (in the area), because rents are soaring and there are few large blocks of space available for rent."
UPDATE 11:42AM
Brodsky's comments are based on the Public Authorities Reform Bill which was passed to make sure Public Authorities are getting fair value for the property and that these land deals are not just gifts to favored developers.
In an email exchange Dan Goldstein explains that the Public Authorities Reform Bill also applies to Atlantic Yards:
"The Public Authorities Reform Bill also raises serious questions about the legality of the below market sale of the Vanderbilt Rail Yards to Forest City Ratner–legal questions which are litigable. The FCR/MTA agreement for the yards has not closed and will not unless Ratner's proposal is approved. The Reform Bill applies to all land deals that haven't closed."
Brodsky is right to make an issue of the West Side Railyards value, where the Jets and Bloomberg nearly pulled off a grand scam. Brodsky has been politically shy about going after the FCR/Atlantic Yards deal. But as his words about the West Side make clear, the fire sale of Atlantic Yards can not be ignored.
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