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Testimony
of State Senator Liz Krueger Submitted to The Assembly Standing
Committee On Corporations, Authorities and
Commissions Regarding the
West Side Stadium Proposal June 21st,
2004 My name is Liz Krueger and I
represent the 26th Senate District, which includes the Upper East
Side, East Midtown and Midtown areas of Manhattan. I am grateful to Assemblymembers Richard Brodsky, Scott
Stringer, and Joseph D. Morelle for holding this hearing today. There has been an alarming lack of public
discussion regarding redevelopment of the Far West Side, and considering that
aspects of this project are designed to evade oversight, this hearing is
timely and important. I believe that the proposed
75,000-seat football stadium is a colossal mistake that contradicts sound
planning principles and rational economic development policy. As my district extends to 8th
Avenue in Midtown and as far south as 19th Street, I can say with
confidence that the environmental consequences of the stadium would be
extremely detrimental to the surrounding neighborhoods and to the vital
economic activity that occurs in this section of New York. From a planning perspective, it makes
little sense to situate the stadium at the nexus of the region’s
transportation infrastructure, where traffic congestion is already a serious
problem. To be sure, the Jets
consider its location a major asset, and any stadium should be accessible by
public transportation. However, this
stadium would also be situated near a major highway and tunnel, and would
consequently bring thousands of extra cars into the city center for each
event. Current traffic problems would
be exacerbated and would compromise the quality-of-life in the surrounding
neighborhoods, while critical economic activity such as Broadway Theater
would be severely disrupted (just imagine the Theater District on a
gameday). The costs of these impacts
have not been factored into the project’s analysis. At the same time, the problems
raised by this project go far beyond the impacts on the local communities and
economy. Currently, the stadium would
require more than $600 million in public subsidy that would come directly
from existing tax revenue.
Considering that leading economists have concluded that there is
little economic benefit for cities from construction of publicly subsidized
football stadiums, it is not surprising that the Independent Budget Office
described new stadiums as “consumption” rather than investment. Study after study have characterized
public subsidies for stadiums as a transfer of funds from taxpayers to a
small number of team owners, players, and fans. The case of the West Side stadium is particularly egregious
because the $1.4 billion cost is more than any stadium ever built, and the
$600 million that taxpayers are being asked to contribute is
unprecedented. It is counterintuitive
to dedicate prime, high-cost real estate to a land-intensive stadium that
will be closed most of the time, acting as a physical deterrent to economic
development and the waterfront itself.
In addition, this $600 million
public subsidy does not include the cost of acquiring the land where the
stadium would be built, which is currently owned by the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority. The true
value of this land must be determined, and the MTA should not be forced to
give away this valuable asset at the expense of affordable mass transit and
capital projects such as the Second Avenue Subway. Governor Pataki and Mayor
Bloomberg have justified this massive taxpayer expense by designing the
stadium so that it is actually part of the expansion of the Javits Convention
Center across the street. While the
expansion of the Javits Center is certainly an important public project, the
Governor’s claim that the stadium is needed for the Javits expansion is
disingenuous. The needs of the Javits
Center should be our first priority in deciding how to expand it, and there
are several reasons to believe that the stadium imperils the Javits plan and
would eventually interfere with its operation. A report by HVS Convention, Sports & Entertainment
Facilities Consulting indicates that stadiums currently used for conventions
are fundamentally unsuccessful in their role as convention venues. Furthermore, as of last week’s City
Council hearing, it remains unclear who will be booking events for the
facility. The Jets would be inclined
to book sporting events and concerts, since these events pay more for use of
the facility. However, conventions
benefit the City’s economy, which is why nearly every convention center
across the country is run by a public entity. This is far more than a simple question of protocol. Finally, I would like to discuss
some procedural issues and the Governor’s Program Bill # 90-R. At a time when there is a clear need for
public authority reform, I find it troubling that the Governor and Mayor
Bloomberg would use three Governor-controlled public authorities to push this
project through without public bidding, public review through the city’s land
use review process, or approval by the City Council. It is far too soon to consider the
Governor’s Program Bill #90-R, especially since there has been no
Environmental Impact Statement, no detailed financial plan, and no
opportunity for public input.
Furthermore, the bill explicitly removes important provisions for
public review by placing every aspect of the Javits expansion in the hands of
the Convention Center Development Corporation, while eliminating the community
advisory committee that the CCDC was originally required to establish and
limiting ordinary judicial review of the project. This misguided stadium proposal
does not reflect the values of New Yorkers, who unequivocally prioritize
education, health care, and housing over speculative mega-projects with
little potential for public benefit.
This ill-advised project, and the manner in which it is being
aggressively pursued, could ultimately undermine our City’s Olympic bid and
delay the Javits expansion. It is
time for the Governor and Mayor Bloomberg to consider alternative locations
for the stadium outside the center of the city, and to revisit better plans
for Javits expansion that meet the needs of potential conventions by
providing a more flexibile, contiguous space that does not pose costly
scheduling conflicts. Once again,
thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony today. |
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