Industry throws weight behind NYSCC plan.

A day after the city comptroller expressed concern about the financial feasibility of the city's proposed $3 billion redevelopment for the West Side, the construction industry released its own report throwing its weight emphatically behind the plan. Last week, in a letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. said, ".. your plan to finance several billion dollars in infrastructure costs--the extension of the 7 subway line, the construction of a platform over the rail yards, and other improvements--is extremely risky.

"Your proposal calls for an unprecedented use of the Transitional Finance Authority (TFA) to commit to what has been deemed an "investment" in a project that could yield little return to City taxpayers and may in fact cost them billions of dollars."

The day after the letter was penned, a report commissioned by the Building Trades Employers' Association, the Building and Construction Trades Council and the New York Building Congress ,was released that refuted the concerns.

The report concluded that the New York Sports and Convention Center as planned for Manhattan's West Side has the necessary attributes to spur economic and local development when compared with similar endeavors by other cities. "There is one overriding question in the debate over the New York Sports and Convention Center: is this project good for New York City? The answer, in terms of economic development, is emphatically, yes," said Louis J. Coletti, president and chief executive officer of the Building Trade Employers' Association.

"This study shows that projects with similar attributes across the country have been successful in ways that are explicitly relevant to the New York debate."

The four-month study, conducted by the national policy and management consulting firm of Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc, has concluded that the NYSCC possesses every element shared by other successful stadium projects--elements that are pivotal in predicting success. The study was conducted by Dr. John H. Alschuler, Jr., president of Hamilton, Rabinovitz & Alschuler, Inc.

"Some observers have focused on the failure of many urban stadia to spark local growth. Rather, we focused on what elements make a stadium successful and have concluded that the NYSCC has what it takes to attract significant development to Manhattan's West Side," said Dr. Alschuler.

As part of the study, Alschuler interviewed public officials, civic leaders, economic and community development experts, architects, planners and key members of the real estate community. He visited Pittsburgh, San Diego and Cleveland, and reviewed literature including media reports, government and planning documents, and articles that appeared in academic and industry publications.

While the study sought to find out which projects anchored growth and generated development, it also focused on examples relevant to what is being proposed for New York City.

There are several stadia--in Baltimore, San Francisco and Chicago, for example--that are successful on their own terms but are not comparable to the proposed New York Sports and Convention Center.

The study also makes it clear that while there are many stadium projects that have not been successful in promoting urban development, in most cases they have been poorly planned endeavors isolated in a sea of parking, severed from the urban fabric, lacking necessary amenities and desirable, developable parcels.

"Many stadia were built or rebuilt to attract teams or keep teams from moving. They were never intended to drive economic development," said Alschuler. "It would be misleading to hold up those examples as being relevant to New York."

Richard Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress, agreed, saying, "This report answers those who say there is no precedent for The New York Sports and Convention Center to succeed. It clearly shows that a number of such projects are doing very well generating economic activity and rejuvenating neighborhoods. And the report shows that three of these projects provide strong and compelling precedents for success here in New York."