Results tagged “internationalolympiccommittee”

Happy Father's Day! For those of you who have dads, are dads, or know dads, this one's for you, from all of us at the Gothamist network."

- Tour of city's waterwaysThe Observer notes that DNC is debating whether or not to have a heartland convention or just go to NYC, where most everyone wants to go anyway. New Orleans is the "sentimental choice" for the convention, but it's unclear whether they'll be bidding; the other cities who have bid for the convention are Minneapolis and Denver, cities that haven't seen a Democratic convention in about 100 years. NYC hosted the 1992 convention, aka the start of Biill Clinton's era, so there might be some symmetry if Hillary does decide to run.

This is a dis on a grand scale (to NYC tourism, at least). Or it's a blessing in disguise. The U.S. Olympic Committee is not visiting New York City when it visits potential cities for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Cities the USOC is visiting: Houston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. One could say that the USOC already visited NYC before it selected it to be the 2012 US Olympic city bid, but, hey, it's a whole new ballgame, with no hope of a West Side Stadium, a probably most-completed Ground Zero, and a huge tract of land in Greenpoint ripe for development.

Could it be that the city would really attempt to bring the Olympics to NYC for 2016? Gothamist supposes that means the city has about 2 years to find another site to put a huge stadium on, so politicians, community groups, and everyday Joes and Janes can complain about it. We suggest somewhere slightly more innocuous but still controversial - like Inwood or something. Roland Betts, who had a hand in the city's bid (and he's owner of Chelsea Piers, told the Yale Daily News (college papers get such good scoops!), "We are still giving serious thought to bidding for the games in 2016 for New York, so it's important to keep touching the IOC [International Olympic Committee] bases," as he heads to Turin for the 2006 Winter Olympics. Hmm, this might be news to Mayor Bloomberg - and the city of Chicago. And pundits doubt a city would be able to win after the bad showing NYC made last year, before the announcement of London as the Olympic city.

Did you know that New York has one of the top floorball teams in the world? Okay, maybe not-- let's start with an easier question: did you know that floorball exists? It does-- as this very informative website for NYC Floorball explains:

...though not necessarily together. The International Olympic Committee has granted the NYC 2012 bid permission to alter and amend its proposal, given the extraordinary circumstances of, um, submitting a plan that won't have its cornerstone - the West Side Stadium. Even for NYC 2012 big organizers, it's unclear what the other options for a stadium would be (Shea Stadium? Something else in Queens?), which makes any scrambling sound like a last gasp effort to make good of millions and millions of dollars devoted to this effort. The NYC 2012 are even reportedly in talks with the USOC about the possibility of withdrawing if a new stadium solution can't be reached.

the official bids were submitted months ago, and that's against the rules. The NY Times reports that the London team "offered free airfare, restaurant discounts and other perks to Olympic athletes and team offcials." Both NYC's and London's Olympic bid teams claim their bids submitted in November refer to these perks, except now they happen to be more fleshed out. Hmm. Gothamist suspects that Paris might come out ahead, considering that Spain hosted the Olympics in 1992 and Moscow in 1980.

thing to do! The biggest transit union filed a suit saying the West Side railyards bidding should be reopened because the MTA perhaps didn't get enough money out of it. And the Straphangers Campaign and Tri-State Transportation Campaign, plus the NY chapter of Common Cause, are joining the suit. While it sucks to be MTA Chairman Kalikow (or NYC Transit President Reuter), Gothamist imagines that the MTA's lawyers are feasting on this like a fatted calf, given what they have to do with Cablevision's lawsuit. We're curious how far the courts will let these lawsuits go, as well as how effective the arguments each side makes will be...perhaps it'll be the International Olympic Committee's summer announcement of the 2012 venue that will really put the screws in for one side, as the NYC bid is contingent on a West Side Jets Stadium.

As for our fine city's support of the Olympics, it's generally positive, with 59%, but it turns out that's tepid compared to other cities. NYC 2012 estimated public support to be 64-79% (wishful thinking!), the IOC poll found only 59% support. In other candidate cities, the IOC found 68% in London, 91% in Madrid (even higher than what Madrid's 2012 committee found), 85% in Paris (8% higher than Paris 2012 found), and 76-77% in Moscow. This is so going to Madrid or Paris. And the city's support of the Mayor seems to be faulting because of West Side Stadium, making Gothamist realize if you want to flame out, you might as well flame out big.

At a press conference yesterday, Nawal el Moutawakel, the Moroccan chairwoman of the evaluation panel said, "It is important to have the stadium. All the cities are aware of this. They gave us all assurances. He [Bloomberg] is a winner and his team is a winning team." She was also very pleased with the visit, saying, "The bid committee must be congratulated on the quality of its candidature, of the quality of its presentations and its teamwork and professionalism."

reports that committee members will be taken up to Central Park for a look at members of the Road Runners club racing through "The Gates," will dine at the Bloomberg mansion, and will ride in horse-drawn carriages to a performance of Jazz at Lincoln Center (now at the Time Warner building). Some of the members will even be driven down 5th Avenue just as a fencing match takes place on the steps of the Public Library. Of course, committee members will also have to endure all of the requisite power points from the mayor's office and will race around the city to all of the facilities (existing and yet-to-be-built) where it all could possibly take place.

Charismatic and charming?!? We never knew, Mr. Mayor. Then again, he has been reaching spreading his word throughout the city as well. An Australian member of the International Olympic Committee said, "He was a very powerful figure in the presentation. But he is also intelligent and approachable and he understands the Olympics. He sees the Olympic Games as a great unifying event for New York and its future." After reading comments from some of our readers, Gothamist wonders how unifying the Olympics will be. Then again, Bloomberg is talking about how the actual games would be unifying, not the process leading up to a potential winning bid.

One lawsuit, filed by Cablevision, West Side residents, and a business owner, claims that the environmental study by the city was inaccurate. The other, by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the Straphangers Campaign, challenges the city's estimate that 70% of fans for the game would use via mass transit or arrive by foot.

The details of Monday's final submission by New York City to the International Olympic Committee were released yesterday with some interesting details. Deputy Mayor, and NYC2012 founder, Daniel Doctoroff said the Olympics will bring $7.6 billion in capital projects, cost $2.8 billion to run, but not cause any tax increases. Of course, the plan depends on a new West Side Stadium for the Jets that would set the city and state back a cool $600 million. 81% of tickets are projected to sell, generating $852 million, with most tickets under $50 but opening and closing ceremony tickets running $450 to $1500. 12,000, or about 1/3, of the NYPD would be devoted to Olympic security, but the cost would be covered by revenue from the games.

The most brilliant thing about yesterday's photo op, besides the Brooklyn Bridge of course, is that it was staged on Veteran's Day, a school holiday. That's how you get throngs of kids to wave little NYC 2012 flags. And how does Bob Beamon run with torch-like the bid in his hand? Doesn't it get all crumply with the running and stuff?

Some insiders are saying that, while it's really too early to count votes, New York would have to win votes from Central and South America, Asia, and parts of Europe. Why would Europeans vote for New York? Because if Paris wins, hopes of their countries hosting the Summer Games in 2016 are gone. New York is also establishing plans of promoting the "lesser known" sports after the 2012 Games, making use of facilities that would be constructed for the games.

Embattled Brooklyn apartment dwellers have taken their fight against the proposed site of the new arena for the "Brooklyn Nets" all the way to Athens. A group called Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn unveiled a banner on one of the endangered apartments which reads "Dr. Rogge and the International Olympic Committee, Please Don't Destroy Our Homes." If New York City is awarded the Olympic Games in 2012, the proposed basketball arena would be used to house the gymnastics competition. Local residents hope that by appealing to the International Olympic Committee, a new space for the arena can be found where the current populace won’t be forced to give up their apartments via eminent domain.

One study says that another pet project of Doctoroff's, the new proposed Jets stadium, would be best on Manhattan's West Side, rather than in Queens, because the West Side location would earn $8 million more in annual revenue. Not that it matters, since the city wants the stadium in Manhattan, but Gothamist would be curious to learn how much the city would save if they developed the stadium in Queen.