Warning: this will be long. (I did promise rants.)
All I have to say is "crap." I just heard on the local news that it looks like the board of the MTA will give the Jets their stadium on the West Side of Manhattan.
Apparently it's a matter of "dancing with the ones that brung you." The governor (who wants the stadium because he's in Albany and on the East Side when he's in Manhattan) has 6 appointees who will be voting for the Jets bid. The mayor has several appointees and he wants the stadium (again, because he doesn't LIVE there and doesn't CARE about the residents in an election year!). The only wild cards will be members of the board from the outlying suburban counties, but their numbers might not stop the steamrolling of the pro-stadium fanatics.
I have generally avoided discussing this topic because it gets me unbelievably livid. I used to live in Hell's Kitchen (which is basically where the proposed stadium will be located) and traffic over there is already atrocious. Even on Sundays there are horrific traffic jams as all and sundry try to get to the Lincoln tunnel. Now they're giving the green light to make things even worse? What ivory tower are they living in? (I don't even want to imagine how bad things will be if New York, god forbid, has the Olympics in 2012--which is something that less than half of New Yorkers want and which will only benefit business and screw up quality of life.)
What's even worse is that this bid would basically entail the already cash-strapped city to pony up with some of the money in concert with the Jets. Yes, with rampant potholes, failing schools, striking bus drivers, derelict public housing, homelessness, and cost of living going through the roof we are going to say forget all this and plunk down money for a stadium in a location that while desirable, is basically ill-suited. (I'm with the poor-surnamed Anthony Weiner on this one: Why not build it in Queens, which has the space and less opposition.)
I don't deny that the Jacob Javits center needs an expansion. One thing that is very surprising living in New York is how few conventions come here for a city of New York's prestige and size. The only question is why do we need a flipping stadium in order to do so?
Then there's the Cablevision issue: Cablevision owns Madison Square Garden where the Knicks play, the Rangers would play (if there was a season), and apparently was the site where unkempt Latvian Eurovision contenders Walters & Kazha became "well-known" in the United States. Cablevision has also put a bid for the land offered by the MTA. Their bid would entail building lower-cost housing and schools. All of which would be good, but to play devil's advocate here: they're basically protecting their own turf. (Madison Square Garden is only a few avenues away from the proposed site.)
Reverend Al Sharpton, who for the most part I like, has apparently decided to support the stadium bid because minority contractors will be guaranteed a piece of the pie. To which I have to respond: "to the detriment of the minorities already living in the area." This has created an odd alliance of Sharpton and his (and many other people's including myself) nemesis ex-mayor Rudy Guiliani.
Some quotes from Sharpton on Rudy:
"Even Bozo would be good in that situation." Said shortly after September 11, 2001 when Giuliani was being praised for his handling of the tragedy and many of his authoritatian misdeeds were being white-washed over.
"A broken clock is right at least twice a day." Said when asked why he was supporting the stadium which Giuliani is supporting as well. (I'll admit this made me laugh, but then, I secretly wished that Phil Gramm had stayed in the senate because he was so funny despite his noxious politics.)
All in all, everybody living west of Broadway from 59th street to 23rd street is screwed if this goes through.
No comments:
Post a Comment