NY Observer > Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/26940/feed Articles from Observer.com en Fewer Fans, More Parking at New Yankee Park http://www.observer.com/2007/fewer-fans-more-parking-new-yankee-park The city is planning to finance a set of garages and lots that would add almost 3,000 more parking spaces near Yankee Stadium even though the new ballpark is going to seat 6,000 fewer patrons than the current one.

A hearing Thursday before the Industrial Development Agency, an arm of city government, drew a limited but earnest response from watchdog groups and community organizations, asserting that the more parking spaces you build, the more people will drive. They argued that instead of using public funds to encourage driving, the money should be put toward a proposed Metro-North station that reportedly needs another $35 million to come into being.

The I.D.A. will vote on whether to authorize $190 million in tax-exempt bonds for the project in May or June, according to a spokeswoman. The agency's analysis shows that the city will spend $20 million to reconstruct parkland on top of the garages and will lose another $2 million in forgone taxes on the bonds, which will be tax-free.

Eventually, the city will make more than double its money back through new taxes, lease payments and shared revenues, though it will do so over a 43-year period, the I.D.A. said; it would not release the assumptions for the revenue numbers.  read more »

]]> http://www.observer.com/2007/fewer-fans-more-parking-new-yankee-park#comments Real Estate Sports Bettina Damiani Industrial Development Agency Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York Yankees Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:44:31 -0400 Observer Staff 35975 at http://www.observer.com The Train Station That Ruth Didn't Build http://www.observer.com/node/35898 It always seemed like a funny trick to get support for the new Yankee Stadium: build a new Metro North station nearby, not with the Yankees' money, mind you, but with the public's. Unfortunately, the $45 million that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had set aside for the project, which was supposed to start this spring, is not nearly enough.

Try $80 million instead.

All of which, Real Estate Weekly reports in its March 21 issue (available in print only), led Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión to look for another way to pay for it. Wait, how about asking the Yankees to pitch in? No, Mr. Carrión has another idea.

He wants to let a developer build "an extensive mixed-use development" on top of the station in return for paying for the station's construction.

Bidder up! - Matthew Schuerman ]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35898#comments Real Estate Sports Matthew Schuerman Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York Yankees Yankee Stadium Thu, 22 Mar 2007 10:29:01 -0400 Observer Staff 35898 at http://www.observer.com The (Big) Round-Up: Monday http://www.observer.com/node/35841
  • Is blocking the Starrett City sale fair?
    • [WSJ]
  • Solving size puzzle in an Upper West Side studio.
    • [NY Times]
  • Finding New York apartment share for under $1,000.
    • [NY Times]
  • How safe is your city home against storms?
    • [NY Times]
  • Red Hook's "fan club has a growing membership."
    • [NY Times]
  • Poughkeepsie fastest-growing Metro-North station.
    • [NY Times]
  • Americans choosing Israel for second homes.
    • [NY Times]
  • Rare condos draw attention on the East End.
    • [NY Times]
  • New Fifth on Park starts rising in Harlem.
    • [NY Times]
  • Laminated windows can keep out the city din.
    • [NY Times]
  • What're rules on when a co-op deal has to close?
    • [NY Times]
  • Mortgage industry's woes "troubling" for Wall Street.
    • [NY Times]
  • UBS creates "brand recall" with redesigned space.
    • [NY Times]
  • Real-estate signs brouhaha in Riverdale.
    • [NY Times]
  • Final bash of The Roxy.
    • [NY Times]
  • Madonna hunting for Manhattan home.
    • [NY Post]
  • Trouble still ahead for national housing market.
    • [NY Post]
  • More city eateries closing from failed inspections.
    • [NY Post]
  • Sunnyside Gardens battle over landmarks designation.
    • [NY Post]
  • City mulls closure of part of lower Broadway.
    • [NY Sun]

    Did we miss any New York City real estate news this morning? Please send along tips and links.

    ]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35841#comments Real Estate Manhattan Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company Riverdale The New York Times Company Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:00:00 -0400 Observer Staff 35841 at http://www.observer.com Events for Tuesday, January 16, 2007 http://www.observer.com/node/31168 Starting at 8:30 a.m. NYC public high school teachers discuss the Holocaust and pedagogy at the Simon Wiesenthal Center/NY Tolerance Center in Manhattan.

    At 9:30 a.m., MTA committee meetings are held on Madison Avenue to discuss the Metro-North Railroad.

    At 10:30 a.m., education advocates release a report titled "NYC Middle Grade Schools: Platforms for Success or Pathways to Failure?" on the Tweed Courthouse steps.

    Starting at 1:30 p.m., the Public Service Commission holds a public hearing on Oriental Boulevard in Brooklyn about a proposal to acquire KeySpan Corp.

    At 2 p.m., Hillary Clinton, Evan Bayh, and John McHugh discuss their trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.

    At 5 p.m., Mayor Bloomberg speaks at the opening of Doug Aitken: Sleepwalkers, at the Museum of Modern Art.

    Also at 5 p.m., Manhattan's Community Board 1 holds a special executive session before a regular monthly meeting on Beekman Street.

    At 7 p.m., Council Speaker Christine Quinn has a "Community Conversation" at NYU Medical Center on First Avenue.

    And starting at 7 p.m., NYU School of Law hosts a discussion about domestic spying on West 3rd Street. -- Azi Paybarah]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/31168#comments Politics Manhattan Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York City Simon Wiesenthal Center/NY Tolerance Center Mon, 15 Jan 2007 12:30:00 -0500 Observer Staff 31168 at http://www.observer.com     Letters http://www.observer.com/node/36233 Wrong Side Of the Tracks   To the Editor:    read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/36233#comments Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York City Sara Vilkomerson Westchester Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Observer Staff 36233 at http://www.observer.com Letters http://www.observer.com/node/37156 Wrong Side Of the Tracks   To the Editor:    read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/37156#comments Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York City Sara Vilkomerson Westchester Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Observer Staff 37156 at http://www.observer.com Letters http://www.observer.com/node/39617 Wrong Side Of the Tracks   To the Editor:    read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/39617#comments Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company New York City Sara Vilkomerson Westchester Sun, 12 Nov 2006 19:00:00 -0500 Observer Staff 39617 at http://www.observer.com Events for October 31, 2006 http://www.observer.com/node/30491 Happy Halloween!

    Eliot Spitzer will campaign with Andrea Stewart-Cousins at the Yonkers Metro North train station.

    John Edwards discusses U.S.-China relations at the Asia Society.

    AARP holds an election issues forum for Hispanic voters at the James Monroe Senior Center in the Bronx.

    Christine Quinn and Council Members visit the Hebrew Home at Riverdale.

    A rally protesting rent increases for former homeless people with AIDS living in supportive housing will be held outside of the Governor's New York office.

    Latino immigrants protest Hillary Clinton's support for a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in front of her New York offices.

    New York State Public Employees Federation endorses Staten Island Assembly candidate Janele Hyer-Spencer at the South Beach Psychiatric Center.

    Queens Latino legislators call for an investigation of disenfranchised voters on the steps of City Hall.

    Hillary Clinton addresses the Council on Foreign Relations.

    Chuck Schumer joins Steve Harrison, Janele Hyer-Spencer, and State Senate candidate Matthew Titone for a Democratic solidarity press conference near the Verrazano Bridge in Staten Island.

    The Suffolk County GOP endorses Christopher Callaghan outside of the New York State Office Building in Hauppauge.

    —Nicole Brydson]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/30491#comments Politics Andrea Stewart-Cousins Hillary Clinton Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company Yonkers Mon, 30 Oct 2006 12:45:00 -0500 Observer Staff 30491 at http://www.observer.com     Silver Squeezes Back on Moynihan http://www.observer.com/node/35233 The Governor's show today appears to have moved Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver little. Silver has come up with a new reason to put off approval of the Moynihan Station plan, which his press office put out today:
    "It has become increasingly difficult to understand the lack of an explanation as to why we are not moving ahead with the broader plan for Moynihan Station. Under the proposal for phase one presented to the Assembly for approval, only commuters from out of state would benefit from a new facility. We need to move ahead with phase two in order to ensure that Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North, Amtrak and subway riders are all afforded an updated, safe and modern transportation facility. As the proposal stands now, with all the transportation benefits going to non-New Yorkers, I cannot support it."

    Silver's Press Secretary Skip Carrier said the Governor's staff will provide one last briefing at 11 a.m. tomorrow in advance of the 2 p.m. meeting of the Public Authorities Control Board.

    -Matthew Schuerman]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/35233#comments Real Estate Long Island Rail Road Company Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company Moynihan Station Sheldon Silver Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:29:19 -0400 Observer Staff 35233 at http://www.observer.com     Yankee Station: What a Surprise! http://www.observer.com/node/34527 Joyce Purnick notes today (subscription required) how the last-minute endorsement by Mayor and Governor for a Yankee Metro-North station (paid for by M.T.A. taxpayers and riders) was all that was needed to convince some pols to vote yes for Yankee Stadium. But wasn't that a card Bloomberg and Pataki had been keeping up their sleeve all along until the opportune moment?

    At times, that card did get shown, but no one remembers.

    Last June in the Daily News, just before the official unveiling, T.J. Quinn, citing unnamed sources, reported:
    The state and city will spend up to $300 million to replace and enhance park land that will be lost to the new site, build new parking structures, extend the subway platform, build a Metro-North station and build up the Bronx waterfront. (Archive fee.)

    Two weeks later, the News reported that the new station, along with the subway improvements, would cost $90 million. (Another archive fee.) Now, Yankee fan Adolfo Carrion is saying the Metro-North station would cost but $30-40 million. Ah, thank goodness for deflation.

    -Matthew Schuerman UPDATE: The Metro-North station was actually part of the Borough President's plan for the area. The final environmental impact statement for the stadium indicates the Mayor supported the idea back in February when it came out :
    [A]lthough a new Metro-North station is not part of the proposed project, the City and the Yankees support the construction of the proposed Metro-North Yankee Stadium station, and the proposed project has been developed so as not to preclude the future construction of a new station. (p. 541)
    ]]>     http://www.observer.com/node/34527#comments Real Estate Joyce Purnick Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company T.J. Quinn Yankee Stadium Thu, 06 Apr 2006 08:06:27 -0400 Observer Staff 34527 at http://www.observer.com