Liberty Bond News:

Liberty Bonds at-a-glance! Click here for breakdown of city and state allocations.

Public hearings for Liberty Bond projects held by the New York State Liberty Development Corporation (subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation):

• 8/2/2006 -- The Liberty Development Corporation gave final authorization for $57 million of Liberty Bonds for the National Sports Museum, a for-profit museum which will be located at 26 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.

• 9/26/2005 -- The Liberty Development Corporation unanimously approved the allocation of $1.65 billion in Liberty Bonds for Goldman Sachs, with the city and state agreeing to split the cost.

• 8/23/2005 -- The Battery Park City Authority approved the lease arrangement for Goldman Sachs' proposed headquarters, to be located on Site 26 of Battery Park City.

   

• 8/15/05 -- The Liberty Development Corporation gave preliminary approval for the allocation of $1.65 billion in Liberty Bond financing for a new Goldman Sachs headquarters to be located across the street from the former World Trade Center site.  So far, no documentation has been provided regarding the specifics of the agreement.

   

  A public hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, from 5:30 - 7: 30 pm at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, at 36 Battery Park Place in Classroom A&B on the first floor in Lower Manhattan. 

   

  Click here for a more information on testifying and for a detailed timeline of events regarding the Goldman Sachs deal.

   

• Thursday, September 23rd, 2004 -- Proposal to authorize $1 billion in commercial Liberty Bonds for Goldman Sachs to build a new headquarters at site 26 in Battery Park City. 5:30 - 7:30 pm at St. Johns University, 101 Murray Street, Room 118. Read testimony from Good Jobs New York.

• POSTPONED as of October 1st -- Proposal to authorize $243 million in commercial Liberty Bonds for Forest City Ratner to develop office space in a mixed-use project on Beekman Street by Pace University. (The project is also applying for Liberty Bonds for housing.) 5:30 - 7:30 pm at St. Johns University, 101 Murray Street, Auditorium.

Liberty Bonds Transform Downtown, Pushing Prices Up and Poor and Middle Class Out

• May 22nd - The Washington Post

• May 31st - Responses from Washington Post readers

• May 30th - The New York Times

• June 2nd - Times Union, Albany

5/11/04 -- The Senate passed its version of the corporate tax bill, including a five year extension for Liberty Bonds, which had previously been scheduled to sunset at the end of 2004. The provision must still pass in the House.

Read details in The Bond Buyer and The New York Sun.

4/19/04 -- A mixed-use Forest City Ratner project involving Pace University and NYU Downtown hospital is seeking up to $374 million in Liberty Bonds and up to $10 million in tax breaks for a development to be designed by Frank Gehry.

The project is proposed to include a luxury apartment tower, retail space, a parking garage, an art gallery, a hospital and a dormitory. The developer will seek up to $243 million in commercial Liberty Bonds from the NYS Liberty Development Corporation and up to $131 million in Liberty Bonds for housing from the NYC Housing Development Corporation.

The NYC Industrial Development Agency is scheduled to hold a public hearing JULY 8th on proposed property tax breaks for the project, under the name FC Beekman.

Read about this project in The New York Times (5/19/04) and (4/20/04), The New York Post, and the Downtown Express.

3/18/04 -- The NYS Liberty Development Corporation will sell up to $700 million in taxable bonds to finance a controversial private power plant in Astoria. The company hopes to refinance $400 million of that amount with tax-exempt Liberty Bonds sometime in the next few months. Read about it in the Bond Buyer.

Liberty Development Corporation give preliminary approval to $400 million in Liberty Bonds for a power plant in Astoria on 12/11/03 following a 12/8/03 public hearing, despite strong opposition from local elected officials. Read about it in The Daily News, The Bond Buyer.

U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton, R-N.Y., and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. introduced a bill to extend the Liberty Bond program to 2009, transfer some bonds from commercial to residential use, and remove size restrictions for utility projects. The bill, introduced in November, 2003, does not include any provisions for affordable housing. Read text here.

The Liberty Development Corporation, a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation, approved $38.9 million in commercial Liberty Bonds for a hotel and restaurant developed by actor Robert DeNiro at 377 Greenwich Street on Thursday, November 13th. The public hearing for this project was Monday, November 11th.

11/18/03 -- US Congressional representatives Houghton and Rangel introduce a bill to extend the use of Liberty Bonds. The bill does not include any language on affordable or mixed-income housing. Click here for text of bill.

Housing -  (click here for more news...)

Commercial - (click here for more news...)

(Of this amount, $283 million has been proposed for Partial Action Plans not yet given final approval by HUD. This leaves $878 million in wholly unrestricted funds.)

4/16/04 -- LMDC releases Partial Action Plan No. 7 for public comment. The Plan was submitted to HUD for final approval on May 18, 2004.

1/22/04 -- LMDC releases Partial Action Plan No. 6 for public comment. The Plan would provide $50 million to subsidize 300 middle-income rental apartments in Lower Manhattan. Although the public comment period has closed, the Plan has not yet been submitted to HUD for final approval.

Read The New York Times' investigative report showing that wealthy traders and stock brokers benefited disproportionately from the Business Recovery Grants given out in the aftermath of the attacks.

LMDC News

Former NYSE chair Richard Grasso resigns from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation board Friday October 17th, following his forced resignation in September from leadership at the Stock Exchange due to outrage over his $187.5 million pay package. Click here to read more about the failed $1.1 billion subsidy deal Grasso attempted to negotiate with the city prior to September 11, 2001.

Kevin Rampe named new President in June 2003

LMDC announced plans to spend approximately $935 million on:

Utilities & infrastructure ($750 million),

Planning, small capital projects, & business grants ($152 million), and

Grants to 9/11 firms with disproportionate loss of workforce ($33 million)

The public comment period closed on June 12th.

President Lou Tomson departs LMDC staff in February 2003

Governor Pataki appoints final LMDC board member:

Thomas S. Johnson, the CEO and Chairman of Greenpoint Financial, formerly president and director of Chemical Bank and subsequently of Manufacturers Hanover. Mr. Johnson is also a family member of a victim of the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Mayor Bloomberg appoints four new members to the LMDC board:

Sally Hernandez-Piñero, an attorney who formerly served as deputy mayor for economic development under David N. Dinkins;
Billie Tsien, of the architecture firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Associates;
E. Stanley O'Neal, president and chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch; and
Carl Weisbrod, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, the business improvement district. 

Click here to read a current article in The New York Times about the LMDC board's April 9th meeting as well as the new appointees.

WTC Tax Credits Converted to Rail Link Resources? City Council holds hearing on November 8, 2004. Read GJNY's testimony.