Candidates run rings round Oympic dream.

Mayor Bloomberg's desire for the 2012 Olympics is likely to become the hot-button issue in the upcoming election campaigns.

Speaking at the BuildingsNY mayoral forum on June 21, the four new Democratic contenders for Bloomberg's position blasted the Republican Mayor for giving too much of his attention to the West Side Stadium and the 2012 Games at the expense of affordable housing and the redevelopment of lower Manhattan.

Aware of the venue--an annual convention of real estate owners and managers--the mayoral hopefuls were careful to point out that they wholeheartedly supported the redevelopment of the Far West Side. They just didn't want it to be used for a sports venue.

Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, for example, commissioned a study of the area some years back that has supported the need for the expansion of the Javits Center and the extension of the #7 line.

However, she would like to see the area used for the creation of affordable housing, the shortage of which was also blamed on the current Mayor.

"I called for a rezoning of that area so that housing can be placed on the site," Fields noted. "We need appropriate commercial/retail space and, most importantly, affordable housing."

City Council speaker Gifford Miller, one of Mayor Bloomberg's most outspoken opponents in the fight over the West Side Rail Yards, pointed out that he was unhappy about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority awarding the Jets with the bid despite a low price.

"The MTA needs to cancel that contract and re-bid for a development that would compliment, rather than compete with, lower Manhattan," he said.

Fields and Miller also criticized the Mayor for giving the International Olympics Committee too much say in where they wanted the Olympic Stadium to be located.

"The IOC has no right to dictate to our city, or any other city, where the stadium should be built," Fields said.

"The Mayor spent the last three years wasting a lot of time on a stadium which would never make sense," Miller added.

"He made it his whole priority, while there are so many other issues that need our attention." "It would be great if we got the Olympics. But it's not a substitute for a real vision for the future of our city."

For his part, former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer expressed dissatisfaction with Bloomberg's handling of the housing shortage.

In his view, too many luxury projects are being developed without complimentary low and middle income components.

"We are building luxury housing all over the city and it's time for laws to be enforced," Ferrer noted.

"There is no reason that no tax should be applied to multi-million dollar condominium deals."

"We need more affordable housing," Miller agreed. "We also need more market rate housing. We need to find areas in the city where this can be done."

The participants were also frustrated with the pace of the redevelopment efforts downtown, with congressman Antnony Weiner claiming that the Mayor has allowed Governor Pataki to take full control of the site in exchange for getting his way with the West Side Stadium.

"Lower Manhattan is exhibit A why Bloomberg shouldn't be reelected," Weiner said. "You are not going to be able to attract businesses or residents if you are not focused and I am concerned that we're without much of a plan."

Weiner mentioned that if he gets elected, his priority downtown would involve comprehensive planning for the entire area, including figuring out ways to move forward with the construction projects without disturbing the residents.

The Mayoral contenders also touched on the International Building Code, portions of which New York is about to adopt--all of them supported the initiative--and the current Mayor's new ads for re-election.

"To millions of middle-class New Yorkers, [the ads] remind them how often we forget their problems," Weiner said.

"A 50% failure rate in fourth grade is not success. Ground Zero is not a success. Losing hundreds of police officers because the Mayor couldn't stand up to Washington is not success."

"Bloomberg has been a mediocre, caretaker mayor," Miller added. "This Mayor has no vision."