EDITORIAL CONTRACT ODYSSEY GREEK THEATRE AND PUBLIC MAY SOON GET BETTER DEAL AFTER CITY COUNCIL FORCED TO RENEGOTIATE SWEETHEART DEAL.FINALLY, the Greek Theatre is bearing gifts to the public - thanks to a better city contract a year after the Daily News cried foul. Rather than a mere $500,000 a year, the city stands to gain more than $2 million annually if the City Council accepts a contract proposal to run the historic Greek by House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically Concerts Inc. Under the recommendation presented Tuesday, the city would earn $23.5 million in rent over the next decade. That's a heck of a lot better than Nederlander-Greek Inc.'s latest proposal of $18.5 million in rent and four times what was originally offered. It's amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. what a little competition can do to sweeten sweet·en v. sweet·ened, sweet·en·ing, sweet·ens v.tr. 1. To make sweet or sweeter by adding sugar, honey, saccharin, or another sweet substance. 2. To make more pleasant or agreeable. sweetheart deals Sweetheart Deal A merger or company sale where one company involved in the deal gives the other very attractive terms and conditions. Notes: In other words, a sweetheart deal is a transaction that a firm simply cannot pass-up. This is usually considered to be unethical. that for years left the public on the sidewalk while the city's fat cats lounged and gouged taxpayers. Nederlander paid $50,000 in rent annually for about 25 years plus a portion of other revenues. It offered the city $500,000 a year for an extension and $5 million in capital improvements. Despite public outrage over the ludicrous no-bid contract  This article or section may deal primarily with the U.S. and may not present a worldwide view. , the council thumbed its nose at the world and awarded an extension to the Nederlander company, which ran the Greek into the ground over the years while giving precious little back to the city. Happily, a voter revolt forcing a ballot referendum prompted the council to back down and renegotiate re·ne·go·ti·ate tr.v. re·ne·go·ti·at·ed, re·ne·go·ti·at·ing, re·ne·go·ti·ates 1. To negotiate anew. 2. To revise the terms of (a contract) so as to limit or regain excess profits gained by the contractor. a better deal for theatergoers and the city. Granted, it's a victory, but a minor one. Nearly every city contract is a sweetheart deal to benefit insiders at the public's expense. This time, we caught them in the act, and the public put a stop to it. What would really turn the Greek from tragedy to triumph is for the council to adopt a new policy - dealing openly and honestly in all its contracts and putting the public's interest ahead of its own. And nearly all of them are renewed without a performance audit or competitive bidding Competitive bidding A securities offering process in which securities firms submit competing bids to the issuer for the securities the issuer wishes to sell. competitive bidding 1. . Who on the council will take the lead on this? Which council members are willing to stand up and back such an effort? Those who did would be your true public servants. Let's just see who steps forward. |
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