"It's wrong to take money from taxpayers and hand it to millionaires and billionaires," said Arthur Rolnick, a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota who has studied the public cost of professional sports stadiums. "If you try to justify it on economic development, the arguments dissolve pretty fast. The public would be much better off if they invested in things that would improve the quality of life, like roads and bridges, education and lowering crime." $9.7 Billion Building or renovating the 30 Major League Baseball parks cost taxpayers a total of $9.7 billion as of 2010, including construction, land acquisition, infrastructure, foregone taxes and other factors, according to Judith Grant Long, a professor of urban planning at Harvard University and author of the 2012 book "Public-Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities." According to Long's data, that ranged from $681 million at Miller Park in Milwaukee, completed in 2001, to $33 million at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, where a 1996 renovation was mostly privately financed.
Politics. Policy. Infrastructure. Transportation. 11231. Miscellania. Critters. Email: firstandcourt at gmail dot com
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Required Reading On Economic Development Policy
"It's wrong to take money from taxpayers and hand it to millionaires and billionaires," said Arthur Rolnick, a senior fellow at the University of Minnesota who has studied the public cost of professional sports stadiums. "If you try to justify it on economic development, the arguments dissolve pretty fast. The public would be much better off if they invested in things that would improve the quality of life, like roads and bridges, education and lowering crime." $9.7 Billion Building or renovating the 30 Major League Baseball parks cost taxpayers a total of $9.7 billion as of 2010, including construction, land acquisition, infrastructure, foregone taxes and other factors, according to Judith Grant Long, a professor of urban planning at Harvard University and author of the 2012 book "Public-Private Partnerships for Major League Sports Facilities." According to Long's data, that ranged from $681 million at Miller Park in Milwaukee, completed in 2001, to $33 million at Angel Stadium of Anaheim, where a 1996 renovation was mostly privately financed.
Bloomberg's Final "Balanced Budget" Is A Sham
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Happy Thanksgiving!
more hopeful for the near future than I have been in several years.
Wishing you a healthy, happy and safe Thanksgiving, and kits and lots
of pie.
http://rankings.gawker.com/pies-ranked-1471188678/1471380088/@maxread?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gawker%2Ffull+%28Gawker%29
NB: Gawkers pie rankings are objectively wrong :) Pumpkin Pie reigns
supreme in Gary's world, followed by Grandma's apple pie. But other
than that, and a more generous ranking for coconut custard pie, the
general gist is sound.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Joe Lieberman Continues To Be The Worst
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Dumb Things Finance People Say
CNBC as it is overwhelmingly bullshit and riddled with smarmy Ayn Rand
worshippers and rightwing shills. Nevertheless, anyone who reads about finance or economics will repeatedly come across these idiotic cliches.
1. "They don't have any debt except for a mortgage and student loans."
OK. And I'm vegan except for bacon-wrapped steak.
2. "Earnings were positive before one-time charges."
This is Wall Street's equivalent of, "Other than that Mrs. Lincoln,
how was the play?"
National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Thanksgiving_Turkey_Presentation
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Opponents of Congestion Pricing Use False Populism
The other thing the author gets right: don't expect any real movement in this until after the 2014 elections. But it's a good plan whose time has come.
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The Knockout Game Is Not A Fad Or A Trend
Monday, November 25, 2013
Failure of Leadership: Bush and the Neocons Spectacular Iran Failures
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Saturday, November 23, 2013
Digg.com: Three Convicted In Brazen CityTime Fraud Scandal
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Digg.com: Three Hundred Inmates Released Thanks to Chemist Who Faked Evidence
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Right-wing Grifter Berates Cyclist For Reporting Van In Bike Lane
climate change denying "think tank", aka wingnut welfare fund.
Weekend Subway Service Advisories
Friday, November 22, 2013
MagLev Proposal: Why Not California?
The New York Times reported Monday that Japan, desperate to export its magnetic-levitation (maglev) technology, has offered to pay for 40 miles of a 300-mile per hour maglev train from Washington, DC to Baltimore, a route that would conveniently give lawmakers an eight-minute trip to the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. A mix of public and private funds raised by The Northeast Maglev company (TNEM) would be used to build the rest of the route to New York. If lawmakers bite, residents of the Northeast Corridor could someday zip between Washington and New York in an hour flat.. . . .Should the privately-owned maglev succeed, it would sap Amtrak’s high-speed Acela Northeast Corridor, the agency’s major source of revenue for maintaining the rest of the country’s less populated but still indispensable routes. Without the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak would never be able to maintain even the barebones service it currently offers across the Midwest, the West, and the South. TNEM chairman Wayne Rogers made clear to Politico that the company does not plan to collaborate with Amtrak, but compete. “Right now, this is a privately led venture,” Rogers said. “If we looked at it like airlines, I don’t think that, you know, JetBlue would be saying United Airlines has a seat at their table.”I'd actually love to see Amtrak proposing something along these lines . . . but this proposal, for a private company (with majority public funding!) to basically gut Amtrak's Northeast Corridor ridership . . . is a potential money pit of graft.
Is grifting the only industry we have left?
Court Rejects City’s Motion to Toss Out Stop-and-Frisk Ruling
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/11/court-wont-vacate-stop-and-frisk-ruling.html
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160 Imlay Adaptive Reuse: The Condo-ing
Sweet Jesus, the views from this place. |
Krugman: Expand Social Security
Today, however, workers who have any retirement plan at all generally have defined-contribution plans — basically, 401(k)'s — in which employers put money into a tax-sheltered account that's supposed to end up big enough to retire on. The trouble is that at this point it's clear that the shift to 401(k)'s was a gigantic failure. Employers took advantage of the switch to surreptitiously cut benefits; investment returns have been far lower than workers were told to expect; and, to be fair, many people haven't managed their money wisely. As a result, we're looking at a looming retirement crisis, with tens of millions of Americans facing a sharp decline in living standards at the end of their working lives. For many, the only thing protecting them from abject penury will be Social Security. Aren't you glad we didn't privatize the program? So there's a strong case for expanding, not contracting, Social Security. Yes, this would cost money, and it would require additional taxes — a suggestion that will horrify the fiscal scolds, who have been insisting that if we raise taxes at all, the proceeds must go to deficit reduction, not to making our lives better. But the fiscal scolds have been wrong about everything, and it's time to start thinking outside their box.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Mike Allen & THE POLITICO: Shameless Shills For The Right Wing and Anyone Else With Cash
Harry Reid Just Made Senate History
After the Senate again failed to move Patricia Millett's nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid challenged the ruling of the chair that 60 votes would be needed.Shame on Carl Levin for defending the wretched institution of the filibuster. (I expect more from Levin than Pryor or Manchin.)
The Senate then voted, by simple majority, to disapprove of the ruling of the chair. Very few Democrats—Sens. Pryor, Levin, and Manchin—joined Republicans to vote to preserve the 60-vote rule. Reid had 52 Democratic votes (including his own) to support the change.
As of today, executive and judicial nominees--excluding Supreme Court nominations--can be approved by a simple, 51-vote majority.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
A Metaphor For His Party: Coke-Busted GOP Congressman Just Voted to Drug-Test Food Stamp Users
Atrios: Bullshit Jobs
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Journal Square Megaproject Moving Forward
1840 residential units plus commercial that won't be built over a farm or forest in a state that has seen 30 years of rampant sprawl. |
After all these years, I still go to my dentist located by Journal Square in Jersey City. It's a depressed area loaded with surface parking lots and underdeveloped property . . . that is immediately adjacent to the Journal Square PATH station, which provides fast, 24-hour service into Manhattan and Newark. In short, it's one of the best sites in New Jersey for dense, transit oriented development. Last week when I was out there I noticed that two of the parking lots showed signs of digging, and a dilapidated wood frame house had been demolished. And here's why:
I can't speak to the merits of the tax incentive package; this being Hudson County, I can't assume its a good deal for the public. What I do know is that this is an excellent site for this type of development, and is likely to be followed by more development around the hub. And that's a good thing.The proposed development, to be located at the top of Magnolia Avenue, just east of the Port Authority transportation hub, will include a 54-story tower with 540 units; a 70-story tower with 700 units; and a 60-story tower with 600 units. The developer is KRE Group, headed by Murray Kushner.Construction on the first tower is expected to begin later this year and take three years to complete. The final tower is expected to be complete in 2029.
Bill Bratton Endorses deBlasio Street Safety Plan, Goal of Zero Fatalities
This is the low hanging fruit for reducing senseless deaths in our city. There are a lot of gains to be made here if we have the right message from the top.Former New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton endorsed Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s initiative to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries, during an appearance today at a panel discussion presented by Transportation Alternatives and NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management. Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio campaigned on Vision Zero – the goal of eliminating traffic deaths in New York City by 2024.“The time for this issue has come,” Bratton said in opening remarks at “Closing the Enforcement Gap to Save Lives on NYC Streets,” a panel discussion on the traffic safety agenda for the next mayor and police commissioner. Bratton’s message to the NYPD and New York City residents: "You do not have to accept the status quo."Noting that the number of pedestrian fatalities has fallen in recent years, Bratton said, “There is an increasing opportunity for even further gains, moving towards Mayor de Blasio's goal of zero fatalities.”T.A. Executive Director Paul Steely White said the city still has a long way to go to reach Vision Zero. “Hundreds of New Yorkers are still dying in traffic each year, and thousands more are being seriously, grievously injured. Being struck by a car or truck is still the leading cause of preventable death for New York City children. New Yorkers are living in fear,” White said.
Inez Dickens Still Thinks She's Running For Speaker
Monday, November 18, 2013
Gowanus Whole Foods Opens Next Month?
Elizabeth Warren: Expand Social Security
By planting a flag on the need to expand Social Security, Warren may have just added this issue to the pantheon of preoccupations that are driving those who want to see the party embrace a more economically populist posture going forward. Liberal bloggers such as Atrios and liberal groups like the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, have been pushing for a Social Security expansion, arguing that Democratic priorities should be centered on the idea that declining pensions and wages (and savings) are undermining retirement security, and that the party should above all stand against undermining the social insurance system.
The Worst People In The World
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Weekend work affecting 15 subway lines :: Second Ave. Sagas
From 11:15 p.m. Friday, November 15 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 18, Coney Island-bound F trains are rerouted via the M Line from Roosevelt Avenue to 47th-50th Sts due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway Project.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 15 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 18, Queens-bound F trains run express from Church Avenue to Smith-9th Sts due to work on the Church Avenue Interlocking.
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 15 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 18, Queens-bound G trains run express from Church Avenue to Smith-9th Sts due to work on the Church Avenue Interlocking.
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Friday, November 15, 2013
Fix The Debt Are Shills For Right-wing Monster In Human Skin Pete Peterson
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James, Lander, Other Pols Demand Faster Building of Affordable Housing at Atlantic Yards
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Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Frank Rich On Lara Logan's Benghazi Hoax, 2016 Presidential Race and More
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George Washington Bridge Traffic Jam Began With Phone Call From Christie Lackey
Early on the morning of Sept. 9, an official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appeared at the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge and looked out over a traffic jam he helped create, according to people familiar with the matter.The official, according to these people, was David Wildstein, who was hired in 2010 as the authority's director of interstate capital projects by an appointee of Gov. Chris Christie.
Services For Alfred Chiodo, Former Tish James Staffer and Stalwart Supporter of Safer Streets, Thursday November 14
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Gambling Our Way To Prosperity
Next year: magic beanstalk beans. And yeah, I flagrantly stole the "Gambling Our Way To Prosperity" meme from Atrios.
Shield Journalism, Not Media Companies
While I absolutely agree that, say, AP's editors should have had their phone records protected as they contemplated withholding the UndieBomb 2.0 story after the White House request (those records were included in the subpoena) — that is, as they engaged in a journalistic role. That would protect any discussions they had with sources or other experts to challenge the government's claim about damage, for example. But the communications of a Tim Russert being pressured after the fact about a critical story by the Vice President's Chief of Staff should not be protected. Nor should WaPo CEO Katharine Weymouth's discussions with huge donors like Pete Peterson or potential salon sponsors. While I suspect DOJ sees real benefit in protecting these cocktail weenie means of pressure on news media (as do, undoubtedly, some of the executives involved), I see no journalistic reason to do so. Moreover, in an era where WaPo is really a testing firm with a journalistic rump and NBC is really the TV content wing of a cable supplier, should we really be protecting the "news media" with no limits? (Bloomberg, I think, presents the most fascinating question here, particularly given their recent spying on users of Bloomberg terminals; where does the journalistic protection for companies that primarily provide privatized information begin and end?) But even within the scope of Friday's guidelines, there's a reason the members of the news media should favor protecting the act of journalism rather than membership in news media. That's because two of the most important passages in the new News Media Policies refer to newsgathering activities as a further modification to its otherwise consistent discussion of members of the news media. The phrase appears in what amounts to a mission statement describing why this issue is important.
Yet Another Dispatch From Post-racial America
Cobb GOP chairman concerned about (those) people coming to... | Jay Bookman | www.ajc.com
Libertarian Charlatans - Rand Paul Edition
"Conventional Views"
Monday, November 11, 2013
More Brooklyn Bridge Park Starting Saturday 11/16
The Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy has announced the next expansion of the Park. The new addition, opening on November 16th at 10 AM will include new lawns, a connecting pathway/bikeway between Pier 1 and Piers 5/6, a granite terrace area, and the sound attenuating hill providing a buffer from the noise of the BQE.
Need To Scrape Some Bill Keller From My Shoe
Keller apparently has no shame--well, we knew this before, given his embrace of Judy Miller, and many attempts to defend his hawkishness on Iraq. And this new column just happens to appear a day after a widely-acclaimed piece by the paper's public editor revealed Keller (again) as a spineless tool for holding, almost forever, the James Risen piece in 2004 that revealed the Bush team's illegal eavesdropping. Just a weeksago Keller wanted to bomb Syria first and ask questions later--advice fortunately scorned by the "underwater" President, and now we have those chem weapons on the way out, plus an opening with Iran.
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Sunday, November 10, 2013
At Least 10,000 Dead From Enormous Phillipines Typhoon
Saturday, November 9, 2013
The "Liberal" New York Times Hid Details Of Illegal Bush Spying Until AFTER 2004 Election
Coming in June: Service increases on eight lines :: Second Ave. Sagas
The MTA dropped their latest board committee materials this afternoon, and buried in the 281-page Transit Committee pdf is word of a service increase due to arrive in June. Already, the MTA has announced plans to increase G and M train service, and now we learn that the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, E, F and L lines will see modest bumps in service as well.
Weekend work affecting 14 subway lines :: Second Ave. Sagas
From 11:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the A line from Jay Street-MetroTech to West 4th Street due to a Sandy-related structural survey.
From 9:45 p.m. Friday, November 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, November 11, Jamaica-bound F trains are rerouted via the M Line from 47th-50th Sts to Queens Plaza due to station work at Lexington Avenue-63rd Street for the Second Avenue Subway Project.
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Friday, November 8, 2013
Parents of Slain Child To Mayor-elect deBlasio: Prioritize Street Safety
There were 274 traffic fatalities citywide in 2012, including 148 pedestrians killed by vehicles.While some people might think it’s unrealistic to try to drive this number down to zero, that’s not so. This is a morally necessary and achievable goal that every family in New York needs our mayor to pursue. In fact, we hope the mayor-elect won’t wait until he takes office on Jan. 1, but will immediately begin to work toward this goal.Statistics show that most crashes are caused by drivers who are breaking the law. The leading cause of fatal crashes is speeding, and the leading factor in crashes that cause injury is failure to yield to pedestrians.Drivers routinely violate the laws on speeding and pedestrian right-of-way for a very simple reason: The NYPD does not prioritize their enforcement. To start, de Blasio must appoint a police commissioner who understands the urgent need to deter reckless driving, and who has a plan to do so.We are also going to be watching carefully as de Blasio chooses a transportation commissioner to take over from Janette Sadik-Khan.During Mayor Bloomberg’s three terms, fatal traffic crashes have dropped by more than 30%. That’s largely a testament to Sadik-Khan’s leadership on designing safer streets.Street-safety innovations like pedestrian plazas, protected bike lanes, neighborhood slow zones and speeding enforcement cameras have all been signature achievements of this administration.In recent months, in fact, the city has ramped up these efforts — putting speed cameras in place around select schools and new speed bumps in neighborhoods across the city.Now we need a transportation commissioner who will spread these safety features beyond the handful of neighborhoods where they’ve been put in place so far. Citywide implementation would go a long way toward the goal of greater equity that de Blasio spoke of so often during the campaign.
I urge you to read the whole thing. I do have high hopes for street safety improvements in the deBlasio administration. After early missteps, Bloomberg's appointment of Sadik-Khan to head up DOT led to a golden age for street safety improvements in NYC. But we can still do better. There is much work to be done, and we need the cooperation of not just DOT but also NYPD if we're going to end the bloodshed on our streets and sidewalks.
End The Filibuster
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Brazen SUNY Too Cute By Half
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RIP Alfred Chiodo, Staffer For Tish James
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Reclaiming Urban Waterways
River reclamation projects have proven to be unparalleled catalysts for urban renewal, spurring the creation of functional and beautiful community spaces. The San Antonio Riverwalk is Texas' second most visited attraction (after the Alamo), and completely revitalized the once small city. Chicago's river/riverwalk restoration project took off in the early 2000s, and was such a success that a second phase of renovation is about to begin. On a slightly smaller scale, Yonkers, a city in upstate New York, recently saw just this happen when it rehabilitated its Saw Mill River, which runs through the city center. The meticulously planned project, which took over a decade to be completed, has transformed an old parking lot (which covered the river) into a vibrant and dynamic public park. It's become wildly popular with residents, and boasts a number of educational exhibits to educate the public on the area and river's history.
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Say Goodbye To Deadly, Disgusting Trans Fats
The move concluded three decades of battles by public health advocates against artificial trans fats, which occur when liquid oil is treated with hydrogen gas and made solid. The long-lasting fats became popular in frying and baking and in household items like margarine, and were cheaper than animal fat, like butter. But over the years, scientific evidence has shown they are worse than any other fat for health because they raise the levels of so-called bad cholesterol and can lower the levels of good cholesterol. In 2006, an F.D.A. rule went into effect requiring that artificial trans fats be listed on food labels, a shift that prompted many large producers to eliminate them. A year earlier, New York City told restaurants to stop using artificial trans fats in cooking. Many major chains like McDonalds, found substitutes, and eliminated trans fats.
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Defending Judge Scheindlin On Stop And Frisk
http://gothamist.com/2013/11/07/attorneys_defend_judge_removed_in_s.php
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