jake · 2005-08-22 A: Bloomy Not on Board for Queens?
[quote]NYC mayor doubts Queens park would do for Jets
By Joan Gralla
NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday cast doubt on the latest plan to bring the Jets football team home from New Jersey, citing likely objections to building on parkland in the borough of Queens.
The National Football League's Jets, who now play at Giants stadium in New Jersey, saw their dream of a $2 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side collapse this spring when the state rejected spending $300 million on the project.
Since then, the team has restarted talks with the rival Giants, who are polishing their own plans for a new stadium at their current Meadowlands home, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
The Jets' lease at Giant Stadium expires after the 2008 season, and the team wants to soon finalize its stadium plans.
Marissa Shorenstein, a Jets spokeswoman, said: "Negotiations with the State of New Jersey have intensified, and if they proceed accordingly, all parties expect an agreement could be reached by the fall of 2005."
She added that the team appreciated an invitation from Queens Borough President Helen Marshall to discuss the new Queens location, in Flushing Meadows Park on Tuesday.
The Jets previously spurned another site in Queens, called Willet's Point, saying the economics would not work. More recently, another obstacle to using that site for a stadium arose. It would require relocating about 150 businesses and taking land by condemnation, processes that could take several years. That is longer than the team wants to wait.
Noting that the state would have to approve letting the Jets build on Flushing Meadows Park, Bloomberg, on his weekly radio show, added: "I'd love to have them in the city. Whether that's the right place, we'll have to see.
"We don't have a lot of parkland in New York City, and I think a lot of people would probably object."
The Republican mayor, however, has supported the Yankees baseball team's plan to build a new stadium in the Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx. A mayoral spokesman was not immediately available to explain the mayor's different approach to the two teams.
At the same time, the Jets have not given up on Manhattan's West Side.
Peter Kalikow, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, which owns the land, on July 27 said the team had asked for one more month "to decide whether to proceed with a contract of sale."
[/quote] http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=realEstateRestaurantsHotels&storyID=nN19382287
jake · 2005-08-22
[quote]NYC mayor doubts Queens park would do for Jets By Joan Gralla NEW YORK, Aug 19 (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday cast doubt on the latest plan to bring the Jets football team home from New Jersey, citing likely objections to building on parkland in the borough of Queens. The National Football League's Jets, who now play at Giants stadium in New Jersey, saw their dream of a $2 billion stadium on Manhattan's West Side collapse this spring when the state rejected spending $300 million on the project. Since then, the team has restarted talks with the rival Giants, who are polishing their own plans for a new stadium at their current Meadowlands home, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. The Jets' lease at Giant Stadium expires after the 2008 season, and the team wants to soon finalize its stadium plans. Marissa Shorenstein, a Jets spokeswoman, said: "Negotiations with the State of New Jersey have intensified, and if they proceed accordingly, all parties expect an agreement could be reached by the fall of 2005." She added that the team appreciated an invitation from Queens Borough President Helen Marshall to discuss the new Queens location, in Flushing Meadows Park on Tuesday. The Jets previously spurned another site in Queens, called Willet's Point, saying the economics would not work. More recently, another obstacle to using that site for a stadium arose. It would require relocating about 150 businesses and taking land by condemnation, processes that could take several years. That is longer than the team wants to wait. Noting that the state would have to approve letting the Jets build on Flushing Meadows Park, Bloomberg, on his weekly radio show, added: "I'd love to have them in the city. Whether that's the right place, we'll have to see. "We don't have a lot of parkland in New York City, and I think a lot of people would probably object." The Republican mayor, however, has supported the Yankees baseball team's plan to build a new stadium in the Macombs Dam Park in the Bronx. A mayoral spokesman was not immediately available to explain the mayor's different approach to the two teams. At the same time, the Jets have not given up on Manhattan's West Side. Peter Kalikow, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, which owns the land, on July 27 said the team had asked for one more month "to decide whether to proceed with a contract of sale." [/quote]A: Bloomy Not on Board for Queens?
http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=realEstateRestaurantsHotels&storyID=nN19382287