Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Belmont

Belmont

  • Don’t Let Belmont Bonds Become the Next New York Boondoggle

    An empty Belmont


    The twice-bankrupt New York Racing Association (NYRA) is back at the State Capitol, cup in hand, asking the state to back $450 million in bonds to rebuild Belmont Park’s perfectly suitable and usually empty racetrack. The bonds would be in addition to the millions of dollars the state already provides to the industry through subsidies and tax exemptions. Considering the ongoing financial problems, coupled with diminishing interest and economic development as a result, it would be fiscally irresponsible for the state to back the

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  • Cuomo’s Getting His Belmont Arena, But the Numbers Don’t Add Up

    belmont park redev

    Belmont arena rendering (rendering: Sterling Project Development)


    Delayed appraisal, dubious benefits analysis, interest-free financing complicate rosy outlook

    Three lessons from the long battle over Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park and the Barclays Center in Brooklyn are that promises of huge financial benefits deserve skepticism, that independent studies trump promotional ones, and that scenarios should be presented as a range of outcomes, rather than just the best case.

    Unfortunately, those

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