Lawmaker Tries to Postpone Vote on Stadium Funding
Updated 5:00 PM EST, Fri, Jan 2, 2009
A state assemblyman investigating the financing for the Mets and Yankees new ballparks wants to postpone a vote on additional public bonds for the projects.
Assemblyman Richard Brodsky released a letter Friday requesting the city Industrial Development Agency to delay the Jan. 16 vote.
The teams are asking the city for $450 million more in public bonds to pay for their new parks. The IDA has scheduled a Jan. 15 hearing to discuss the requests.
IDA spokeswoman Janel Patterson said the agency had followed the public process and would vote as scheduled.
The Yankees are asking for another $259 million in tax-exempt bonds and $111 million in taxable bonds, on top of the $940 million in tax-exempt bonds and $25 million in taxable bonds already granted for its $1.3 billion stadium.
The Mets want another $83 million, in addition to the $615 million already approved for their $800 million park.
Brodsky has said the first round of public support for the ballparks was granted without sufficient public input, and wants the city to provide more documentation about the process before any vote takes place for more bonds.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Copyright Associated Press
First Published: Jan 2, 2009 4:48 PM EST
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