Toussaint: Don't Sell Rail Yards Cheaply to City

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Transport Workers' Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and Gene Russianoff, staff attorney for the transit rider advocacy group Straphangers' Campaign, issued a letter July 24 urging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to hold public hearings and confer with city and state agencies before accepting Mayor Bloomberg's offer to buy the West Side Rail yards for $500 million.

ROGER TOUSSAINT: Need time to review deal.

The amount tendered by the city is $50 million more than what the New York Jets offered last year as part of an ill-fated scheme to put a football stadium on Manhattan's West Side. But it's still far below the market price given by independent appraisers - who last year said the property and its air rights should fetch closer to $1 billion at an open auction.

The letter from Mr. Toussaint and Mr. Russianoff appealed directly to MTA Chairman Peter L. Kalikow, asking him not to hold a vote on the offer at the MTA Board meeting scheduled for July 26.

City Wants Quick Vote

Mr. Kalikow has been pressed by the Mayor and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn - a staunch opponent of the Jets stadium deal who is now backing the Mayor in his bid to buy the rail yards for the city - to hold a vote by the end of July.

Mr. Toussaint and Mr. Russianoff said they encouraged development of the area, but were concerned that "this is a complex deal whose value is challenging to determine.

"If the property is sold for significantly less than it's worth, that could mean hundreds of millions less for new subway cars, buses, commuter rail trains, station rehabilitations and infrastructure, such as track and signals," the letter continued.

They called for "adequate time" for government and public review of the development plan. The city hasn't released many details, but Mayor Bloomberg has promised to work with the Council and local residents to find the best use for the property.

Spitzer Has Doubts

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the front-running candidate for governor, has been critical of Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to buy the 26-acre site that runs from West 30th to 33rd Street along 12th Ave.

Speaking to reporters after the details went public in early July, Mr. Spitzer said the city's offer was "grossly under market value." He told the New York Times that any sale of that size and value should be approved only if it is preceded by public bidding.

The city offered $300 million for the development rights to the Western Rail Yard and $200 million for 3.42-million square feet of development rights from the Eastern Rail Yard. It would also pay approximately $350 million more to build a platform allowing construction over the site.

Mr. Toussaint and Mr. Russianoff in their letter reminded Chairman Kalikow that there was "public concern over the transparency and openness of the MTA's finances. The MTA will look very bad if it turns on a dime and swallows the proposal whole just three weeks after a proposal was made to buy its most valuable resource," they contended.