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Why I Fought to Stop the
West Side Stadium
On June 6, 2005 the people of New York won a great victory when
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe
Bruno refused to approve Mayor Bloomberg's disastrous plan for
a football stadium on Manhattan's West Side. As a longtime opponent
of the Stadium plan, I was relieved.
Not only would the stadium have destroyed the Chelsea and Clinton
neighborhoods, but the environment would have taken a huge hit,
too, especially in Harlem and the Upper West Side. More traffic,
more fumes, more garbage. We would also have needed additional
sewage treatment  capacity.
It's no wonder that the last two stadiums built in the area were
built in Flushing Meadow and the Jersey meadows -- far away from
densely populated areas.
The cost would have been enormous and unjustified: at least $600,000,000
in taxpayer money would have been taken away from desperately
needed capital projects like new schools and repairs to subway
stations. In fact, the stadium proposal would have required as
much as $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) in
total public subsidy. The city's debt would go up while our quality
of life would go down.
In terms of long-range planning the stadium is a bad idea, as
it would delay the redevelopment of lower Manhattan by diverting
both funds and effort. In terms of security, it's an even worse
idea, because it would site 45,000 people in a tempting terror
target right next to the Lincoln Tunnel.
In terms of process, it was corrupt -- because a single developer
was given the inside track on a sweetheart deal. When the voters
have no say on the sale of a billion-dollar plot of land for a
quarter of it's value, that's one of the smelliest scams since
Enron.
 The
promise of jobs from the stadium was a sham. We could get the
same jobs by building housing and hotels and schools. Then we
could hire teachers to staff the schools. With a stadium, after
it's built, what kind of jobs will there be -- hot dog vendors
for eight days a year? Or maybe we could all become football quarterbacks.
The connection of the stadium to the Javits Center was also a
sham. The Javits Center certainly needs to be expanded so New
York stops losing the tourist dollars that come with big conventions.
And we need to build more accessible, moderately-priced hotels
nearby. People come to New York for the sights, the shopping,
the conventions, and the Broadway shows. They don't fly here from
all over the world to see the Jets play football.
In every way you can analyze it -- social, economic, environmental
-- the proposed stadium was just an awful deal for New Yorkers.
This is why I joined the anti-Stadium rallies, testified at the
Empire State Development Corp hearings, and petitioned every week,
mobilizing voters to voice their opposition. Along with Three
Parks Independent Democratic Club, I filed an amicus brief in
the court case concerning the deceptive Environmental Impact Statement
put forth by stadium promoters. In the final week before the decisive
Stadium vote I led a petitioning effort that collected over 1,000
signatures and sent them to Sheldon Silver's office.
I believe that community action made a difference in the Stadium
battle, and I will continue to fight on behalf of all New Yorkers
when elected to City Council
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