Yonkers Tax Dollars Payoff for Some; Dashes Hope for Others By Hezi Aris

There was a time when developer Bruce Ratner was lauded for paying $100 million to buy out homeowners living within the footprint of his Atlantic Yards arena. Now we learn it was New York City who paid Bruce Ratner to do just that. Bruce Ratner was then touted as generous, even magnanimous, by some. According to the just-released funding agreement between New York City and Forest City Ratner, the $100 million for “land acquisition” that the city set aside in 2006 will reimburse the developer for the private land he bought to assemble the project perimeter.

Powered by Qumana

Will the recently formed New Main Street Land Development Corporation structure upon which Deputy Mayor Bill Reagan presides as Board Director mimic the chicanery perpetrated by New York City upon the New York State taxpayers? Will the $24 million that was considered an intricate aspect of the SFC Yonkers Phase 1 Project, presently languishing in Albany, ever be released to the newly formed land development corporation (LDC) formed for just that purpose? Or is the initial mission statement for receiving the $24 million in funds now simply to purchase property that abuts or resides within the parameters defined by the SFC Yonkers Phase I Project to supersede the daylighting dimension? 

Will Yonkers ever get to realize the promised prospect of becoming a tourist destination like Providence, Rhode Island, or Austin, Texas? While the threat of eminent domain looms for some prior to construction taking place, will those situated on land necessary for the SFC Yonkers Phase I imprint become millionaires while the rest of us suffer our vision for the City of Yonkers atrophying into a mere mirage?

“It is unconscionable and indefensible that the city is giving $100 million of taxpayers’ money to pay for Ratner’s strong-arm real-estate deals,” said Daniel Goldstein, the spokesman for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (who was the one resident of 636 Pacific St. who did not take Ratner’s buyout). Are similar prospects in store for Yonkers?

When the city announced its $100-million deal-sweetener in 2006, it was listed on budget documents as “land acquisition.”

“Land acquisition” is now the raison d'être for the New Main Street Development Corp.? Say it isn’t so Deputy Mayor Reagan. Tell us it’s simply to be used to daylight the Nepperhan River!

Comments

[BOARD OF CONFLICT SUPPLY]

Personnel
30. Nick DeSantis Funding: 020-006-1461-0496
Award Amount: $4,850
Professional services contract to provide creative art direction and custom illustrations to
design one brochure and three posters to promote the recruitment for Yonkers Firefighters.

That is the son of the Auditor, not the auditor who works for the City.

ALL STRANGE IN A YONKERS WAY!!!

Yonkers, a tourist destination?, you must be kidding!

The questions asked by Hezi are reasonable. But what Ratner did in Brooklyn doesn't have to occur with SFC in Yonkers. Two different businesses. Two different governments. But the questions being asked and calling this to everyone's attention is fair, and also is a good idea.

[To Hell with the Taxpayers]

But if you look at what they do and have done in the past,with all of the YIDA giveaways, PILOT'S, Abatements, Exemptions and Bonds, we'll be taking out pants down and well...bending over for developers.

Of all people, why should the son of the City's auditor get this contract for YFD recruitment material?
In particular, why is YfD recruiting with all the talk of layoffs?

New Main Street will be yet another one of those dubious private dev corps created by the city to promot edevelopment.. using the $24 million from the state to buy property for SFC is a misuse of taxpayer money...
and how can Mcdow and Lesnick sit on this board and maintain objectivity when voting on the SfC project???

They can't. McDow must be a slow learner.

[To Hell with the Taxpayers]

But Lesnick is a Lawyer, and he should know better. This is a major conflict of interest waiting for another Yonkers lawsuit.

Sign me up!!!

[beeks]

Would the people of Yonkers ever know a good thing when its right in front of them?
Dissent is easy...just sit on your couch and blog. No one here gets off there asses and does much of anything...For all the complaints here about how this deal/project is going to get done...come up with something better. TIF has to be used here...We never kept any real maintinence of the roads or untilities in the downtown area ever!!! Those are our roads, sewers, water lines, waste lines etc...When have we ever taken the initiative to upgracde or maintain them at any point in our past?
Have you been to SOYO on a warm day? It smells like SHIT...no joke. Have you ever been downtown when it pours rain and overwhelms the sewers??? The Piss & shit overflow onto the streets down there.

Vesting our interest in this massive project
gives us better position as a city after the project begins...In any business deal, with our "skin in the game" we have every right to audit, overlook & oversee that the porjects are done & done right.
Lets not be narrow minded, TIF is a cost but it gives too. Lets not automatically attatch a bad result on the SFC project and have faith this will work. If we keep doing nothing about our fiscal situaion we can never expect Yonkers to get better. Now is the time!!!

Hey!!! Beeks Shut yer Beak. You can buy the land for SFC and sell it on. Why does the taxpayer have to buy private land, to give it to a private developer using public money?

It's called government welfare.

Shut yer Beak...

[beeks]

Using public money? Yeash we understand that Public money will go into part of this deal so what? How much private money will go in to the project while its the topic? Way more than the public funds. The public funds are for what's ours like i said, the infrastructure we never maintained. how else do you want to get it fixed? If thats not part of the deal and we have to foot that bill then we foot the bill. Why dont you move to Mount Vernon, there are plenty of crapped out neighborhoods over there y9ou can admire that dont have any redevelopment plans anytime soon, dont let the door hit you on the way out.

IT IS PUBLIC MONEY MINE AND YOURS YET YOUR TOO IGNORANT TO UNDERSATAND THAT. YOU ARE DEFINITELY A DEVELOPERS PIMP OR WHORE OR POSSIBLY BOTH.

ON THE INFRASTRUCTURE WE ARE BORROWING TO BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A PRIVATE DEVELOPER. NICE!!!

[beeks]

2 things...

1-the question isn't about tax dollars is it? Our dollars are taxes for all of this kind of work anyway.We agree to this when we pay them each year. What we are doing here is investing NOW in todays dollars $160million for a job thats 150 years old and not getting any younger. Sometimes the money is better spent paid upfront...its a lot but its SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it!!! Its more efficienct for the developer who are going to build down here for the NEXT 150 years with a lot of work to do to widen streets, replace 100plus year old pipes, drains, electric. We are building high rises apartments, ballparks, and shopping centers that have great needs. Even so, the entire downtown needs new everything anyway so while we open up the main facilities that the developers are digging out foundations, let them GC the new infrasturcutre in their plan. Its Much easier this way with burden on the developers to meet the strict codes and needs of all of the MANY entites with interest in this project.
2-you're a blowhard, think outside the box. for once.

Looh Beeks your ignorance is showing. How public money spent is the public's business. We all have the right to question how every penny is spent especially in Yonkers which is quite a disgraceful sewer pit.

And you are an excuse for a human, but then I suppose you are predenting to be a bird. Hopefully a large canadian goose.. which are literally full of shit....