Neil deMause: The Website

Another opening day at Coney Island - this time, it was the beach being opened for the summer - and another rainy day. Also this time, protests:

Another sign that the weather gods hate Coney Island this year: Rainclouds and bitter winds met this morning’s official ceremonies marking the reopening of the beach for the summer season. “It’s a beautiful sunny day!” Parks Commissioner Adrian Benape taunted a crowd of schoolchildren shivering under a tent on the boardwalk. “Do you want to go swimming?” (For the record, the weekend is supposed to be much nicer.)

A few yards away, bare to the elements, several dozen protestors from the nascent group Save Coney Island — principal instigators: Coney Island USA’s Dick “Mayor of Coney Island” Zigun, Coney Island History Project’s Charles “Mr. Coney Island” Denson, and the Lola Staar Boutique’s Dianna “Lola Staar” Carlin — carried on a steady stream of songs, chants, and jeers to call attention to what they charge is the city’s sellout of Coney’s traditional amusement district… [read more]

The Metro website is still apparently running on autopilot, so you’ll need to consult the PDF version to see my column from this Monday. The topic, once again, is all the ways New York City spends money without telling anyone:

Last Monday, I noted in this space that while the city council is raked over the coals for handing out millions of dollars in “member items” to favored groups, the mayor doles out billions from the city budget with even less oversight. Over the next three days, the following news items appeared:

When Mayor Bloomberg and then-Gov. Pataki cut a deal in 2005 to give Goldman Sachs about $400 million for a new downtown Manhattan headquarters, they also agreed to give the firm another $321 million if there were delays rebuilding Ground Zero. No one involved thought to mention this to the public… [read more]

I weigh in on stadium financing in two far-flung corners of the nation today: In the Whittier Daily News I analyze a report by Los Angeles sports promoters on the economic impact of sports in Southern California (key quote: “I could teach my 5-year-old to make that calculation”); in the St. Petersburg Times, I’m one of four stadium experts giving their take on the Tampa Bay Rays’ latest stadium finance plan (key quote: “It’s not a financing plan. Rather, it’s a PR document that leaves out most of the important details”). You can read my even longer critique of the Rays plan at fieldofschemes.com.

I neglected to post here about this Monday’s Metro NY column, but then, Metro has neglected to post it to their site yet, either. (Or update their site at all this week, for that matter.) You can read the PDF version here; a taste of what it’s about:

If you’re a New Yorker frustrated with the workings of our local government it’s hard not to be gleeful at news that lawyer Norman Siegel has sued for a judicial inquiry into the city council “Slushgate” scandal. The suit, based on a 19th-century city charter provision enacted after legendary account-padder Boss Tweed funneled half the city treasury to his cronies, is a longshot; still, it’s fun to picture council speaker Christine Quinn being hauled before a judge to explain why she thought allocating council funds to nonexistent groups was a bright idea.

Cheap thrills aside, though, many budget watchers say the council scandal is penny-ante stuff compared to the tried and true way for elected officials to spend money with little to no public oversight: the New York City budget… [read more]

In which I consider the latest rumors that the New Jersey Nets could be headed to Newark instead of Brooklyn, and whether that might not be best for Brooklyn in the long run:

The recent news that a group of New Jersey investors may be working to buy the Nets and move them to Newark didn’t exactly set off shock waves in Brooklyn, which would be jilted as the team’s new home.

Despite all the hoopla surrounding the announcement nearly five years ago that the Nets would be coming to Brooklyn — developer-turned-owner Bruce Ratner cavorting in World B Free’s too-big hat, borough president Marty Markowitz sobbing, “Those tears of joy are swelling up in me — I just can’t wait!” — it’s been hard to find many locals who are waiting with bated breath for the team’s arrival… [read more]