A smart piece of legislation put together by a coalition of groups to enable construction of affordable housing was cut to pieces by the state legislature this week. Instead of a bill that would have provided for the lower and middle classes by revamping certain tax breaks, a few special developers (like Bruce Ratner) got gigantic tax breaks to pad their controversial projects. The culprit who amended the legislation is Brooklyn's own Vito Lopez, yet all but two legislators signed the bill.
From The New York Times:
Mr. Lopez, who did not consult many of the advocates and builders who had worked on the city’s proposal, defended his legislation, saying it aimed at housing for poor and working-class New Yorkers. Middle-class families were just “not as high a priority,” he said.
But many advocates, city officials and even some Senate Republicans are saying that Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, betrayed the city’s effort. By all accounts, Mr. Spinola, the leading industry lobbyist, played a major role in negotiating the compromises and the tax deals for Atlantic Yards and other developments that led to Senate approval.
“This was a backroom deal,” said Liz Krueger, one of only two state senators who voted against the bill.
Sounds a lot like the same old crap from Albany. Unless the bill is miraculously changed back to its original intent, this one definitely needs to be vetoed by the Governor. It goes against the central theme of what he ran on, cleaning up the corruption that is so rampant in our state. Three hundred million dollars in tax breaks for companies like the Forest City Ratner group is completely unacceptable.
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