On the Prospect of Federal Infrastructure Funding

The Observer has a good piece today on state and local officials seeking out federal infrastructure funds.

City and state officials are positioning themselves to garner funding from any new federal stimulus package for various transportation and infrastructure projects. Most of the projects are smaller-scale and nearly ready to start development.

Longtime readers know that I am a believer in federal funding for transit, sewer, energy and communications infrastructure, especially in tough times. As we stand at the edge of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we need sensible infrastructure spending to provide jobs and set the conditions for our next generation of growth.

One of the lasting lessons I took away from "The Power Broker", Robert Caro's fantastic biography of Bob Moses, was that those who were ready with plans for their dream projects were the first in line for funding when stimulus was available. Bob Moses secured a fortune for New York public works from the WPA and related agencies, and we are still enjoying the fruits of those investments today. It happens that Moses's vision for what to do with that money was disastrously flawed, but there can be no question that he was effective in getting things built.

New York needs leadership that will seize the opportunity in this crisis to make our city better and more sustainable, to preserve New York's preeminent stature as a world class city. But now is not the time for small thinking. It is a time for bold initiative. We have a once in a lifetime opportunity here to dramatically improve our city. Let's aim high.

Our city and state leadership must avoid the trap of thinking small and focusing only on quick fixes. We could: Extend the Second Avenue Subway. Connect La Guardia to the rail transit system. Connect Penn Station to Grand Central. Build the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel. Bury the Gowanus Expressway, with dedicated transit facilities. Fix our outdated combined sewer systems. Turn Third Avenue into a green oasis. Build the Vision 42 light rail connector in mid-town. Create true high-speed intercity rail. Regionalize our subway system and commuter lines.

You can get a flavor for what I would do with the money here, here and here.

Will Imploding Real Estate Bubble Sink Toll Gowanus Plan?

First yesterday was the Bloomberg headline: Toll Brothers Revenues Plunge 41%.

Then there was the unseemly grasping of CEO Bob Toll for a handout from the federal government. Believe it or not, Bob Toll, who cashed out stock to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars at the height of the bubble, is now asking for a federal handout for LUXURY home builders. Can't blame him for trying, what with every investment bank and now the automakers squealing at the trough, but this would be utterly wrongheaded policy. The problem in the housing market is that home prices detached from fundamentals (household incomes and rental value) due to easy monetary policy and lax regulation.

Now to top it all off, Toll says that the New York market is hitting the skids:

“New York City was a nice stand-alone beacon,” he said in a conference call this afternoon. “Now it has joined the rest of the country.” That happened, he said, in mid-September after the financial crisis worsened.

Many people do not want to hear it, but the housing market is crashing, and for sound reason. The price of homes rose far beyond what people could afford. Price to income ratios broke through the roof during the bubble and have yet to return to sustainable levels. Most of all the fault lies on Alan Greenspan's shoulders, but the Bush administrations abject failure of regulation, after the GOP-led deregulation of the 1990s is also to blame.

Expect home prices to decline precipitously over the next 18 months. The 4th quarter 2008 and 1st quarter 2009 numbers in particular will be jarring. And builders are still churning out new units into a softening market at near record pace. Projects that have not broken ground, or even been permitted at this point (such as Toll Brothers proposed Gowanus development between Carroll and 2nd Street) have a high probability of being shelved or killed.

At this point, I imagine Toll Brothers will still proceed full steam ahead with their efforts to re-zone the property. If they are successful, they can flip it to another developer or hold onto the site for a period of years. But whether they succeed with the rezoning or not, it grows less likely by the day that this development will be built any time soon.

This will not be the end of the world, but it will be tough for many of us. We do need to take concrete steps to keep people working. I have been saying for a long time now that we need a Federal program of public works, specifically in transit infrastructure, clean energy, clean water, and high speed data networks to get our economy moving again and lay the foundation for the next generation of growth. I hope that President Obama will be even more ambitious than FDR in this regard.

Parody New York Times Issue Today

Dated July 4, 2009. Pranksters handed out copies to commuters all over the place this morning in a well-executed stunt. I was not fortunate enough to get my own copy, but I did a double take when I saw a woman reading a New York Times with the headline "IRAQ WAR ENDS".

The whole thing is available online, but the genius of the prank is that they actually printed full size, high quality copies and handed them out to people. My favorite is the fake Tom Friedman column I am dying to read for real, which begins:

The sudden outbreak of peace in Iraq has made me realize, among other things, one incontestable fact: I have no business holding a pen, at least with intent to write.

Pure genius. And if you happen to see this Tom Friedman, stick to alternative energy and away from middle east policy, where you have been totally and disastrously wrong.

LICH Meeting Recap

Gowanus Lounge has some details from last night's meeting. I was over at a CB6 meeting, but I understand that Barbara and Beverly were among residents of Carroll Gardens that spoke out last night.

Obviously a matter of grave concern for the community.

MEETINGS TONIGHT: LICH, CB6

Lot's going on tonight. CGNA has cancelled our meeting tonight, instead encouraging Carroll Gardens residents to attend the Borough President's meeting tonight on the future of LICH. In addition, the Executive Committee of CB6 is meeting tonight, and under consideration are changes to the Bylaws of the Community Board. This could also be a very important meeting.

“Long Island College Hospital and the Ongoing Health-Care Crisis in Brooklyn.”
6:30-8:30PM, TONIGHT
Brooklyn Borough Hall Courtroom
209 Joralemon Street (between Court and Adams Streets).
Speakers are limited to three minutes and asked to bring ten copies of testimony. Per and email: “This meeting will address the closing of LICH by Continuum. Please take this opportunity to let the BP know what you think…”

Nov 10 CB6 Executive & Fin/Pers/Law
Discussion and consideration of possible amendments to CB6 by-laws.
Board member attendance review
Other business

Cobble Hill Community Meeting Room
250 Baltic Street
(between Court/Clinton Streets)
Brooklyn, NY 11201
6:30 PM

I'll be attending the CB6 meeting tonight to see what kind of changes are under consideration. Rumors of an attempted non-board member disenfranchisement swirling.

Obama Wins Big; Dems To Take Majority in NY State Senate

And I feel like a million pounds have been lifted off of my shoulders!

Many of the things I want to happen in NYC over the next several years (mostly huge infrastructure investments) were predicated on the Democrats taking control of the White House and expanding majorities in Congress. Now that that is a reality, we can actually get down to the business of rebuilding the country that the GOP has driven near to bankruptcy and ruin.

Investing in our infrastructure (transit, clean energy, clean water, etc.) is what will get the city and the country back on its feet. I am fired up!

Also, having spent half the day in Queens today, and half of Thursday as well, it was highly gratifying to see Joe Addabbo pick off Serph Maltese . . . we're going to have a Democratic State Senate for the first time since 1964 . . . 10 years before I was born!

VOTE TODAY . . . And Plan On Waiting A While

Over at PS 58, the line for our electoral district (79th) was the longest I've experienced . . . but the people there are doing a great job of moving the process through. A pleasant surprise - Maria Pagano of CGNA was among those working the table when Mia and I finally made it to the front of the line.

We arrived at 7:30 and were out at 8:30 . . . your results may vary, but give yourself plenty of time . . . and be sure to vote! Ran into Dan Squadron, our next State Senator at First and Court and wished him luck.

We voted a straight Democratic ticket (left column) from Barack Obama to Devin Cohen, and I encourage you to do the same!

Off to IND to pick up some palm cards. Their is excitement in the air . . . and also the smell of baked goods: be sure to pick up a coffee and snack from the PTA on your way into the polls. A buck a piece to a good cause, and money well spent when you're standing in line for an hour!

To find out where to vote: http://govote.org/

Or text: "pp street address zip" to 69866
(For example: pp 400 E. 8th Ave. 80203), texted to number 69866.

Go vote!