Monday, March 10, 2008

West Side influence peddling

Politically wired influence peddlers pocketed more than $5 million from 2004 to last year from developers pushing plans to build a midtown metropolis on the borough's last major swath of available real estate.

A Daily News review of city, state and federal records uncovered a West Side gravy train funded by:

* Madison Square Garden, which would move across Eighth Ave. into the western portion of what's now the Farley Post Office building.
* Developers bidding on Hudson Yards, a huge residential and retail community planned to rise over the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's West Side railyards.
* The Venture, a partnership of Steven Roth's Vornado Realty Trust and Stephen Ross' Related Companies, picked to transform the Farley Post Office at Eighth Ave. and 33rd St. into Moynihan Station to replace dingy Penn Station.

All those projects are on the drawing board at the same time. They involve extensive land-use review, zoning changes and approvals from multiple city, state and federal agencies — and they all need billions more to meet expected costs.

That spells a bonanza for lobbyists.


Influence peddlers cash in big time on Manhattan's West Side properties

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dont get too riled up.
With the economy going the way it is, you will quickly see all these projects disappear.
I give it to October and all these projects will have become a pipe dream.

Anonymous said...

This is Melinda's dream come true. She openly states that all she cares about is raising money, so hopefully for Mel, the chair of the Katz fundraising .. eh I mean land use comittee will clean up.

Anonymous said...

Darkside will have to secure a piece of the action. Better get moving, Evan, you ugly mofo.

Anonymous said...

Wow, there's some harsh commenters here. Simmer down everyone...

Anonymous said...

Why should we simmer down? This corruption is ruining our city.

Anonymous said...

Just curious - does former mayor Koch ever comment on the nonsense going on in NYC? He always seemed like an honest decent man who will speak his mind.
Being from out of town we don't get the local talk very often.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet our Guv is also involved in this
along with his recent s--k/f----g parties!

Anonymous said...

Read the book "City For Sale"
and you'll find out that ex mayor Eddie Koch
was as dirty a crook as Boss Tweed !

Now he's just a well paid retired lobbyist!

Is it true that he and Robt. F. Wagner Jr. were lovers?