Man, you don't get any more Soviet-style than that.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Randy Levine, red-baiting at the City Industrial Development Agency :

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/01/kicking_it_sovi.php

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Wifey has been dealing for weeks on the logistics of the "public meeting" on the funding today, which is taking place in her office building. Levine who's a politician from Rudy's stable, floated plans to bring a "busload" of supporters to counteract the expected protestors.

[metirish]

Levine pictured at the hearing.




He looks like a total prick , would love to see him get his comupence .

[Guest Edgy DC]

irish gets all images filtered out at work... except Randy Levine.

Nice.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is that Andy Warhol's corpse behind him?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This is a mostly dog-and-pony show.

[Frayed Knot]

Francesa had both Levine and some city pol (forget his name) on his show the other day (separately but consecutively) for a real name-calling food-fight.
Was semi-entertaining and, although I'd be lying if I said I understood all the issues here, neither came across real well.

Highlights:
Levine:
- The Yanx are paying for everything and only borrowing money via the same process most large building projects use
- team will assume all maintenance costs (in lieu of rent) so the city actually saves money compared to previous arrangements (although I seem to remember the Yanx skipping out on previous rent payments citing high maintenance costs)

City Pol:
- While the teams are paying the bonds back they're doing so under the 'PILOT' (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) program. Ergo since they aren't paying taxes on a very valuable piece of real estate and money making building the city taxpayers are, in effect, the ones paying back the bond investors.
- and then, even if one thinks that arrangement is legit use of the bonds, why continue it with these new money requests which are being used not for the building itself but for the luxury add-ons such as the restaurants and the marble finishes etc.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

IDA board votes to approve MFY Stadium funding.

As I said, dog-and-pony show. Like option D in Slumdog Millionaire.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Can somebody explain the magical aura dancing on Randy Levine's beefy shoulder? Is his familiar about to appear?



Maybe it's bouncing flakes of his hair dye.

[nymr83]

The city should tell the Yankees (and the Mets if they are asking too) to go fuck themselves on any "additional funding" they are asking for.
what exactly are the teams going to do if the city says no? abandon their billion dollar investments and play elsewhere? unlikely.

[Frayed Knot]

="Nymr83":1dh7rkd1]The city should tell the Yankees (and the Mets if they are asking too) to go fuck themselves on any "additional funding" they are asking for. what exactly are the teams going to do if the city says no? abandon their billion dollar investments and play elsewhere? unlikely.[/quote:1dh7rkd1] That was part of the politician's argument during that radio slap-fight I heard the other day on Francesa's show. He argued that now that the Yanx (and presumably the Mets) signed long-term (30 yrs?) non-relocation agreements in exchange for the bond loans, it's no longer in the city's interest to pony up extra cash simply because they ask for it - and that even if one is inclined to believe that partial public financing is a good idea in the first place it doesn't make providing more simply so these buildings can have marble staircases leading to their 5-Star restaurants a good one too. IOW, even if we're not going to end this practice, can we at least cap it fer crissakes?!?!