According to the New York Daily News, Mayor Michael "I will end corporate welfare as we know it" Bloomberg has guaranteed that his four representatives on the MTA board will vote for the Ratner deal for Atlantic Yards even though the community friendly Extell bid offers three times the cash.
What a surprise.
In the same article, Ratner's law school chum, Governor Pataki, joins the mayor in shaking his pom poms1, and dutifully offers his unconditional support for the Ratner proposal.
Assuming Pataki's six representatives are as unencumbered with minds of their own as Bloomberg's, winning the MTA bid should be a slam dunk for the eminent domain addicted developer.
Why do they support a deal with Ratner, rather than the more lucrative Extell bid?
According to Mayor Bloomberg it comes down to three things: jobs, housing, and an arena.
Wait a minute. I'm confused.
I thought the mission of the MTA was to make sure that we straphangers got the best possible transportation infrastructure. One that was safe, secure, affordable and reliable. I don't see how having a professional sports team on the site will make the trains run on time or save lives in the event of an underground emergency.
As a "soft target" who rides the subway and Metro North twice a day, I would much rather have the MTA vote for an extra $100 million in cash now, than some vague promise of economic benefit that is dependent upon variables over which they have no control or influence.
If, God forbid, there were a terrorist attack and people died in the ensuing chaos due to poor ventilation, lack of sufficient exits, garbled PA instructions, and dimly lit pathways, would the words "but at least we have the Nets" offer any comfort?
Then again, this is the same MTA that two and a half years after September 11th has spent only a fraction of the $600 million they promised to use to upgrade critical infrastructure, and most of that has been on consultants. (see NYTimes article)
Silly me. I thought MTA stood for "Metropolitan Transportation Authority". Who could have guessed it really meant "Many Thoughtless Actions," or perhaps, "Mostly Thwarting Accountability?"
Or maybe it's not an acronym at all. Maybe it has to be heard to be understood.
Empty, ay?
1Although we here at DOTS strive to protect our readers from potentially harmful imagery, inevitably, a disturbing mental picture will occasionally slip through. We regret any psychological damage that may result from the association of pom poms and Governor Pataki in your mind.
Tell it on the mountain! Well put...
I find disturbing paralells between this decision and the 2004 presidential election...Kerry=Extell, Bush=Ratner. One represents the lesser of two evils, but is still not the ideal solution, but as the decision is somewhat fixed anyway it barely matters...
Posted by: Squinchy | Wednesday, 27 July 2005 at 11:08 AM