June 7, 2005
R.I.P. West Stadium
Okay, so a epitaph might be slightly premature for the Jets' West Side Stadium dreams, but with State Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver putting the kibosh on developing the West Side while his Lower Manhattan molts, it's pretty much certain that the Jets will stay in New Jersey, leaving NYC football-less. And it's unlikely that NYC's 2012 Olympic bid will continue to be a serious contender, since the bid has been contingent on the stadium. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno was against the stadium as well, but he would have supported the plan if the IOC had awarded NYC the Olympics, which is pure politician magic: "If this happens, then we can do this...if if if if." So, where does this leave New Yorkers? Many are relieved (no more so than the Dolans and possibly Bruce Ratner), while some are upset (billionaire Woody Johnson as well as union workers).
Sports writer Mike Lupica thinks that Sheldon Silver gave the speech of his life yesterday, in outlining why he thinks the West Side Stadium is a bad idea. Perhaps, but Gothamist isn't totally convinced that building a West Side Stadium would mean moving the financial capital of NYC from Lower Manhattan to the West Side. What's interesting is that the Post calls the loss "humiliating" for Mayor Bloomberg; while it was basically the linchpin of his plans for the future of New York, Gothamist thinks the NY Times' news analysis is a bit more enlightening, noting that city-state politics were also at play in dooming the project. Newsday speculates that while Bloomberg has lost this project, his opponents have been "robbed" of a topic to clobber him with.
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Thank You! Back to NJ for the Jets! I am so relieved this rediculous plan has been shot down. I can't wait until they announce paris has won the 2012 olympic bid, so they can take down those annoying ads all over the place.
SWEET! The greatest news of the week. Keeping me from being absorbed by the dreadful Heat loss.
I think Newsday makes a good point. All the other Mayoral candidatees just lost thier prime arguement against Bloomberg. He can always pick this up again next year. Now that the stadium is dead he should redevelop the west side as a new financial district. That would be the ultimate slap in Silver's face.
I imagine that Bloomberg will now blame anyone running against him. I can see it now: "My respected opponent is AGAINST progress!"
These sports teams need to finance their own stadiums. I don't believe that the Jets can't afford this without using taxpayer's money. If the Jets want to play Jersey against NYC I'm quite happy to see them sent back to the Jersey 'meadowlands' swamp.
I can just see it now: silver hates jobs! silver hates freedom! silver hates construction workers! silver hates football! silver hates the olympics! silver hates hotel & restaurant workers!
don't forget, HR - silver hates the MTA, the 7 line extension, the javits center (although didn't they seperate the two items), and silver hates bringing culture to new york.
Stupid, stupid, stupid
Although Silver is showing some semblance of integrity by standing by his district first; he also has a responsibility to the entire city and state. Rather than make his argument at the eleventh hour, he should have been working for the past 3+ years to get Ground Zero under way.
Pataki couldn’t have demonstrated how big an empty shirt he really is, and how lucky we are that he’s going away soon.
Bruno is a duck and cover pussy, as usual.
The Dolan’s are criminals, and should be prosecuted for fraud.
Those rail yards will now sit as an open wound for at least 10 years – if not forever, and the surrounding neighborhood will just be a big scab oozing pus!
The anti-Stadium argument isn’t black and white. The opponents to the plan certainly have a right to their views but in my opinion the development was only a win for the ‘entire’ city. The opportunity to use the Olympics as a catalyst for development is a once in a lifetime shot. New York, Paris, and London are not Sarajevo – they all know that the infrastructure and facilities will be used for generations to come and will become part of the future of those cities.
For NY in particular; tied in with a Javitz expansion, and the return of the Jets (who were not getting a free ride as some would have you believe) – NY would enjoy having the spotlight, both financially and culturally, shined back its way.
The Mayor hung his hat on the only plan he could hope to push, sure he’s no picnic in so many areas – but we have to give him real credit for trying and envisioning the potential. He has so little juice as it pertains to Lower Manhattan, I applaud his attempt to keep the focus on bringing commerce of all kinds into the city. He was dealt a bad hand when he took office and he hasn’t tried to hide from it.
So for all you liberal, hipster tourists living in willyb, and telling everybody what great NY’ers you all are – kudos to you! Now get out there and let me see you protest with the same fervor for all the affordable waterfront housing you want developed over those rail yards. Stop by MSG and pick up their check for the MTA, and see how those blueprints look too.
Oh and last but not least… if the Jets and Giants remain in Jersey, I want the names back. If we can’t have the tax revenue then they can be called the New Jersey whatevers….
I always thought Silver was something of a hack, but he was pretty heroic yesterday.
People, it took us 1,246 days to defeat the Nazis. It's now been 1,364 days since the Eleventh, and not a ***single f***ing thing*** has been done about Ground Zero. Our Governor has displayed levels of incomentence that approach genius, and our Mayor has been nothing but flaccid when it comes to doing anything downtown. But he sure got hot for the West Side. Their lack of leadership on what should be the most important issue in the city has bordered on the criminal. It was about time someone called him on it, and finally, finally, someone did. Yes, the rail yards will sit like an open wound for ten years, correct. But better that than the open wound on Vesey and Church. If I gotta pick one... there's only one choice.
If the Jets want their stadium, let them pay for it. The whole damn thing. And keep the offices downtown. That's all Silver wanted in the first place.
Meanwhile the people who pay taxes in the city breathe a hugh sigh of relief.
Oddly enough, this may actually help Mayor Bling in the long run. By November, there could be continued good economic reports, school test scores, and crime rates, and no one will have the stadium to hold against him. He may have one of the biggest political blessings of his life right in front of him and he doesn't see it.
The Jets are putting over $1 Billion. That's a TON of their own money. More than twice what any professional team has ever paid for a stadiu. It's ridiculous to think that they can pay more.
The city and state will make money off of this as a convention center and events center, so it makes sense for them to put in some investment.
Most of the public money is for the platform. Even without a stadium, the city and state will still need to spend $400 million on a platform if they ever want to develop the West Side.
And finally, the 24 million square feet of office space that Silver complains about is already approved.
Sheldon Silver is a joke. He is hurting the New York economy over sheer pettiness. He has killed the Second Avenue line and tons of other great projects in the city. He should not be in the State Assembly anymore.
Teams always used to finance their own stadiums. Football teams should halve the player's salaries and use the cash to build their own stadiums and increase pay to the hot dog vendors. The Roman Coliseum was paid for with private funds. If it's good enough for the romans it's good enough for the jets. No tax money for stadiums.
The Stadium project is development from above and by fiat; as opposed to something that the majority of taxpayers & property owners CHOOSE to do, do BY THEMSELVES, and do acording to market forces.
The end of the stadium is not the end of the world. The Javits Center and 7-train expansion/extension should be done in tandem and THIS will be the real catalyst for development of "West Midtown". Any developer should be allowed to approach any property owner in the West Side and say to them one-on-one "would you be willing to sell, so that I may build".
A NYC Jets/Olympic stadium should have been in Willets Point in proximity to Shea Stadium, the National Tennis Center, and Flushing Meadows/Corona Park (the site of two World's Fairs and the proposed rowing venues). But, quothe the Doctoroff: "There is no alternate plan. There never has been an alternate plan" and don't forget Bloomberg's: ""[no one/the Jets don't] wants to invest $1.4 billion in Queens." Fateful words from NYC's premier a$$#@1es.
Why can't people get it though their skulls that there is such a small number of home football games each season with and the majority of time that space would have been used for convention space (which by the way NYC sees little of becuase if the inadaqate size of Javits). We had the opportunity to create another thriving area of Manhattan. Silver needs to go - for his veto on the 2nd ave subway alone. He is the worst type of politician and the problem is in his role, he was reuqired to think of the city as a whole and not his district - a problem when you wear two hats and have a real conflict of interest. What a shame. Nothing can get done in NY.
Stadiums don't make money for cities. That is a fact. And ask Washington, D.C. and Chicago how their convention centers are doing.
The development of the West Side can now occur BECAUSE there will be no stadium. This is a great victory for those who care about New York City.
xandervaliya,
who is going to pay for the platform to put the javits extension over the rail yards? guess who? the same who would have done it now, except we had a private party willing to build the rest. And by the way, the Jets organization stated they do not want to build in Queens. The railyards on the west side have seen 0 activity since they were built, and rest assured they will see none soon. Watch as Cablevision dissapears into the ether now that they've kept their monopoly at your expense.
Yeah... a great victory for new york, we get to keep 2 holes in the ground now! Ground 0 and the rail yards. We're on a roll now with all these great victories.
Now that the stadium is out of the way, the question is whether the Cablevision plan is still on the table. The Dolans were willing to build the platform over the railyards with their own money, not taxpayer money.
So the Jets are staying in Jersey. Figures. Jersey never could create anything of its own. It always has to steal from NYC. Sports teams, corporate HQs, TV stations, their larcenous ways are well documented. If NJ is so great, why didn't they make a bid for the Olympics? It would have been amusing to see how the committee would have reacted to that. Actually, I wouldn't mind if NJ had the Olympics. Let them be the ones who get deeply into debt and have lots of unused sports venues sitting around after the games. Still would have been close enough for us to hop over on the train for the opening ceremonies.
I find it funny that the papaers are caling this a case of "politics" with all the negative connotations. Yes, it is politics, the way they are supposed to work. Most people in this city were against this plan, any voiced their concerns and opposition to it, and our leaders obeyed. What is wrong with that?
Well I guess it is time for Doctoroff and the NFL to swallow their pride and machismo and get ready to play in Queens.
In Queens we wont need a platform, so we the city just saved a ton of money on our white elephant.
"don't forget, HR - silver hates the MTA, the 7 line extension, the javits center (although didn't they seperate the two items), and silver hates bringing culture to new york."
Let's really break this down.
Silver is quite interested in the realistic needs towards the people who already live in NYC. Silver speaks for the people in NYC. I have yet to meet ANYONE who is truly for a stadium or the Olympics. That IS the reality.
Bloomberg's who stint as mayor has been hinged on making this city appealing to tourism. He ignores the voices of the people he claims to lead. But he doesn't care because all he cares about is putting on a good show for outsiders.
I also disagree with the concept that opponents of Bloomberg have been "robbed" of a topic to clobber him with. Bloomberg is such an egoomaniac when it comes to his own projects that he will not let this issue die and his inability to 'get over it' will weaken him.
Now that this issue is dead, what else has Bloomberg done for anyone lately?
Woohoo!! $1mil+ condo and co-ops!!! HERE I COME!!!! All you people against the stadium are the same ones that cannot afford $100 dinner and $30 cab rides. Doesn't bother me. It's your loss since you can't afford whatever will be built there now and in the future.
I'm very happy to hear that Sheldon Silver shot down an opportunity for the city to raise our taxes, by the very least by $600 million. If the Jets want a stadium, let them pay for it, nobody is stopping them. If it's such a terrfic deal, they should have no issue raising funds from private sources.
Secondly, we know that public-funded ventures tend to run overbudget, and over-delayed - Boston's BigDig anyone? $600 million was the least of it. I'm sure it would have quickly turned to $1.5-2.5 billion in a matter of months.
Thirdly, it's empirically proven that cities and states which funded stadiums have shown an overall decline in growth, not greater as the overly-optimistic corrupt politicians and in-bed business partners want you to believe. In other words, society will not realize a net gain from the project. It is also worthy to mention that most of spending generated by stadiums is really seen as funds being diverted from other consumer goods, not a new creation of wealth.
Forth, you must not neglect the fact that money removed from private hands via taxation, is destruction of wealth, bar none. The money left in private hands would have gone towards creating more wealth and consumer satisfaction. Even sadder, taxes are also a largley inefficient vehicle for public projects; only about half of tax monies collected go towards spending, being that half goes towards overhead.
bill g,
"who is going to pay for the platform to put the javits extension over the rail yards?"
The Javits Center is expanding north to 42nd Street not south over the rail yards.
"And by the way, the Jets organization stated they do not want to build in Queens."
Why would the Jets defy logic and not compromise? Maybe they look down their noses at Queens, maybe there just playing hardball till they get their way (all or nothing), or maybe Doctoroff made chumps out of both sides by making promises he couldn't keep:
Doctoroff to Jets: "The Olympics are in the bag, so don't ever mention Queens and I guarantee you'll have your Manhattan stadium."
Doctoroff to USOC: "The Jets are playing hardball and so should you. If we build a Manhattan stadium, I guarantee you'll have the winning bid."
Either way, New York City will come out okay.
But I'm glad it looks like the ugly piece of crap won't be built. And I can't remember the last time a cab ride in Manhattan cost me $30.
I found it quite interesting that Bloomberg was bitching about this defeat -- how Silver was against job creation, how Silver was against renewal and development. And each time Bloomberg mentioned something, I realized he was totally ignoring the issue of job creation, renewal and development at Ground Zero. He should consider himself verrrry lucky that his Democratic opponents are so weak or his ass would be out of here in Nov. no question.
Seriously, who on earth opposes progress of any kind? It's always the well-to-do who don't want to see life moved forward; strangely enough, Oscar was right - the biggest protestors of the West Side Stadium are people who have absolutely no roots or real purpose in New York City or the Metropolitan Area. I guarentee they're also the same people who live in Brooklyn but avoid Bed-Stuy, etc. (aka, the black parts), and the Princeton kids who got their parents to pay for their downtown Manhattan lofts.
An opportunity to improve the economy in an entire region should never be immediately rejected and scoffed at - it's good to be at least a little skeptical of the people who oppose any exploration into the potentials of economic progress. The people who have the most to lose by widespread economic empowerment are the people who are already at the top.
bluhrrr, really well said
Bluhrr, look who is resorting to ad hominems, instead of answering the economic claims that I and others have made.
Sure, public money being poured into it will develop the west side, but it will do with greater efficiency thru private channels.