by Jeremy Soffin, Director of Public Affairs, RPA
Earlier today Justice J. Herman Cahn rejected claims from Madison Square Garden and others that the bidding process for the MTA's Western Rail Yard was illegally weighted in favor of the Jets. The crux of Cahn's argument was that the plaintiffs had not proven that the MTA acted arbitrarily or capriciously in awarding the property to the Jets, even though he acknowledged that the wisdom of the sale and construction of the stadium could be reasonably contested. In other words, just because an idea is stupid doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal. (Although the judge has yet to rule on pending litigation surrounding the environmental review process, and of course an appeal is also likely).
The ruling shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone. The whole approval process for the stadium was meticulously designed to provide the absolute minimum public oversight while remaining within the bounds of the law. So the City Council never got a vote on the stadium, nor did the State Legislature, not to mention the taxpayers of New York. And while the bidding process for the site was clearly heavily weighted in favor of the Jets, the MTA isn't even required to issue a Request for Proposals when selling assets, as the judge notes and stadium backers surely knew.
Now this big, messy debate heads back to the only two people in New York who seem not to have taken a position on this issue: Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. I may be the only stadium opponent in town not devastated by this outcome, but I agree with Justice Cahn that this is a public policy issue that should be decided by our political system, not the courts. By cutting the City Council and Legislature out of the process, though, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki must appreciate that Mssrs. Bruno and Silver are no longer just key members of the once-obscure Public Authorities Control Board. They now represent every taxpayer of the state of New York and as such must continue to demand all of the murky details of this sweetheart deal. When they've received the answers to all of their questions they should do what Justice Cahn could not - acknowledge that the stadium is a bad proposal for New York and veto it once and for all.
Earlier today Justice J. Herman Cahn rejected claims from Madison Square Garden and others that the bidding process for the MTA's Western Rail Yard was illegally weighted in favor of the Jets. The crux of Cahn's argument was that the plaintiffs had not proven that the MTA acted arbitrarily or capriciously in awarding the property to the Jets, even though he acknowledged that the wisdom of the sale and construction of the stadium could be reasonably contested. In other words, just because an idea is stupid doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal. (Although the judge has yet to rule on pending litigation surrounding the environmental review process, and of course an appeal is also likely).
The ruling shouldn't really be a surprise to anyone. The whole approval process for the stadium was meticulously designed to provide the absolute minimum public oversight while remaining within the bounds of the law. So the City Council never got a vote on the stadium, nor did the State Legislature, not to mention the taxpayers of New York. And while the bidding process for the site was clearly heavily weighted in favor of the Jets, the MTA isn't even required to issue a Request for Proposals when selling assets, as the judge notes and stadium backers surely knew.
Now this big, messy debate heads back to the only two people in New York who seem not to have taken a position on this issue: Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. I may be the only stadium opponent in town not devastated by this outcome, but I agree with Justice Cahn that this is a public policy issue that should be decided by our political system, not the courts. By cutting the City Council and Legislature out of the process, though, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki must appreciate that Mssrs. Bruno and Silver are no longer just key members of the once-obscure Public Authorities Control Board. They now represent every taxpayer of the state of New York and as such must continue to demand all of the murky details of this sweetheart deal. When they've received the answers to all of their questions they should do what Justice Cahn could not - acknowledge that the stadium is a bad proposal for New York and veto it once and for all.
@RegionalPlan