Atlantic Yards Vote Up in the Air
NY1 is reporting that state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will not give final approval to the Atlantic Yards project before the next Governor comes into office on Jan. 1. Silver controls one of the three votes on the state Public Authorities Control Board, which is set to meet on Wednesday for the last time this year.
Silver: Again, it comes down to one man.
Silver: Again, it comes down to one man.
But these sorts of things are often negotiated up to the last minute, and the agenda is not finalized until the beginning of the meeting. A spokesman for Pataki, John Sweeney, told The Real Estate, "We are expecting that Atlantic Yards will be on the agenda."
A spokeswoman for the Empire State Development Corporation, Jessica Copen, said that representatives from that agency are meeting with the PACB on Tuesday morning to field more information requests.
All of which means that it is still up in the air, but that Silver is paving the way for postponement.
- Matthew Schuerman
Gargano may be huge sleaze bag and bagman for Pataki but he was right that Silver cannot bring himself to vote for the right thing because of his anti-Pataki animosity. That is sad. Spitzer will have many things to take credit for - this doesn't have to be one of them.
I don't see why there should be a delay. Isn't the purpose of our government to give public money away to big developers? All these questions about the shaky financing really just slow down the process. I mean, what's good for Ratner is good for America.