$2B could go to WTC redevelopment
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was given $2 billion from Governor George Pataki in 2006 to fund a transportation project, but the money has gone uncommitted for so long that now it might be taken by the World Trade Center redevelopment project instead, according to the New York Observer. The Port Authority has more than $2 billion in cost overruns at the World Trade Center site. Giving the funds to the WTC redevelopment would betray its original intent for transportation, the Observer noted, but the Port Authority’s 10-year, $29 billion capital plan would need to be expanded if the funds are put toward a new project, like Moynihan Station.
City to rehab and resell foreclosed homes
The city will spend $24 million in federal funds to rehabilitate and sell 115 foreclosed homes, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last month. The city has already bought two homes on Staten Island, one in the Bronx and one in Queens. The number of foreclosure filings in the city is expected to reach 20,000 by the end of this year, up from 15,000 foreclosures in 2007. “We’ve worked hard over the past seven years to build strong, safe neighborhoods, and we can’t — and we won’t — let the current mortgage crisis destabilize our communities and threaten our quality of life,” Bloomberg said.
Mayor accused of mismanaging stadium funds
New York City Comptroller William Thompson accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city Industrial Development Agency of mismanaging the funds for the new Yankee Stadium. Thompson said the city’s original capital cost was estimated to be $129.2 million in 2006, but it has now risen to $325 million. According to Thompson, the demolition of the old Yankee Stadium was estimated at more than 50 percent less than its actual cost, and the city also underestimated the cost for a rooftop park and retaining wall.
Group says Obama should help housing market
The Center for an Urban Future has a few suggestions for President Barack Obama to help improve the city’s housing market. The New York City-based research organization suggests the government and the new president should restore funding for public housing and meet federal commitments to the Section 8 program, which gives vouchers to landlords who provide low-rent housing for qualifying residents. The center also said the new government should do more to provide supportive housing for the mentally ill, and support the federal “right to purchase” legislation to help preserve affordable housing.
Feds sue hotels over handicapped access
Five Midtown hotels were recently charged by the federal government for violating the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, according to complaints filed last month by the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Manhattan. Federal prosecutors alleged in the five civil complaints that the hotel entrances, registration counters and public restrooms are inaccessible to people with disabilities and in several instances, not one hotel room was accessible to disabled guests. The hotels named in the filings were the Moderne at 243 West 55th Street; Ameritania at 230 West 54th Street; Amsterdam Court at 226 West 50th Street; Hotel Carter at 250 West 43rd Street and Radio City Suites at 142 West 49th Street.
Compiled by Linden Lim