The Sunday Rant against TheEvilDolanEmpire

Otherwise known as Newsday

I love reading the Sunday paper at 7 am. It’s that quiet time when the coffee is brewing, the cinnamon rolls are in the oven and the brat baby is still asleep not asking for money or to drive her somewhere. I’ll sit at the table alone reading and relaxing -- until something in Newsday will inevitably give me agita. It happens every week. It’s Newsday’s gift to me for not taking up the guy at Pathmark’s offer for the Daily News at only $1 a week.

So here’s the deal. While Newsday has been almost fair and balanced (almost) in their coverage of Ed Mangano’s proposal to Nassau County for the new arena referendum, today they chose to print submissions from three readers, two of whom are clearly against the idea and one who just wanted his name in the paper.

The last one was in “TheRant” blurb of the sports page. “Hey Einhorn, for an additional $200 million, you can save the Nassau taxpayers and personally build the new Coliseum.” Grant Hendricks, Bay Shore. Not as clever as many of the other Rant quotes they’ve published. Also a little fuzzy on the math since David Einhorn’s investment of $200 million is already in the Mets and they need $350 million to build a new coliseum. So in actuality, in order to “personally build the new Coliseum” David would need to write a check for $350 million and not $200 million. Got that Grant? Okay. And if there were over runs, NY Islanders owner Charles Wang would probably STILL pick up the tab for the balance. Although I don’t think it would be named the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum any longer. It would probably be called the Einhorn Palace.

Let’s move on to the Letters to the Editor page. There were two today titled “Not in favor of a new Coliseum.” The first was written by John Volpe of Seaford who offered up an accountant’s take on the financial situation. However, veiled in his logic and suggestion is an extreme dislike for Charles Wang and possibly also Ed Mangano.

While his suggestion of “economic participation” is not far fetched, Mr. Volpe fails to take into account that the Islanders and Charles Wang are merely tenants in a County owned facility on County owned land. I believe his suggestion is too one sided. Ed Mangano already has a revenue sharing plan on the table which could be beneficial to both parties. And for Pete’s sake, if Kate Murray actually is backing it, you know damn well it is more slanted to the County and Town of Hempstead than it is to Charles Wang!

I also take offense not only to Mr. Volpe’s final comment “…he can find someone in another state willing to blindly subsidize his business venture.” BLINDLY SUBSIDIZE???

Mr. Volpe, do you realize that Charles Wang already won an RFP for the property and spent over $14 million developing the plans and the environmental impact study MORE THAN ONCE? Do you know that Charles Wang has paid for Town of Hempstead studies THEY needed? No one is BLIND in this situation other than the public who has to sit and listen to the political banter of warring politicians who all want their piece of the pie.

Next is the four paragraph letter from Ethell Smith from Freeport who either has never been to a hockey game or is a Ranger fan. (I'm guessing the first one.) Perhaps she has never been to a baseball game either as she puts the attending of a minor league baseball team in the same category with pee-wee teams and high school games.

As someone who has had to traverse the country for travel softball for years, I can tell you there is a vast difference between a minor league such as the Ducks and a high school game. Duh. Also what Ms. Smith misses is the entertainment value of a ball park. It would be a less expensive family outing in a picture-perfect setting in our own back-yard on Long Island. NOT the budget busting, over-priced day in a behemoth of a stadium with 60,000 fans miles away.

She also says that “even if the Coliseum is in poor condition, it doesn’t appear to affect the acts that play there.”

Um, Ms. Smith, without a major full-time tenant, the County will not be able to RUN the current Coliseum so there won’t be any acts there at all. It will be a vacant shell on an unkept lot.

Finally she says she believes the Islanders should leave New York since they haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1983. Ma’am, if everyone felt the way you do, over 50% of the league’s clubs would have to leave their cities.

The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy in all of sports to win. Of 30 teams, only ONE each year gets to claim it. The Islanders winning or losing should REALLY not be what matters most to the residents of Nassau County. The potential loss of tax revenue and jobs should be the only thing that matters most to the residents.

Nassau County currently has a professional sports team within their borders. That team brings revenue and jobs to the area. Without the New York Islanders the County and the Town of Hempstead will LOSE money.

It really IS that simple.

Protecting Growth or Standing In the Way?

Another bump in the road to a new Coliseum surfaced last week and was discussed in the next morning’s issue of Newsday. A group called The Association for a Better Long Island, a group of prominent and wealthy developers, met with County Executive Ed Mangano regarding his bond proposal and plans for the Uniondale Hub. Based on reports, the hour long meeting did not go well.

The group, whose website mission statement is “Protecting Orderly Growth On Long Island,” can be looked at as yet another “special interest group.” Their interest? Having one of their own members getting their hands on the surrounding county land that needs to be developed adjacent to the hub.

Yep. They weren’t happy that Mangano mentioned Charles Wang was already in negotiation with the County to develop the almost 40 acres that make up the balance of the empty space that surrounds the decaying Coliseum.

They’re not looking at the fact that he already won an RFP for the land YEARS ago or that he spent an estimated $14 million planning, studying and paying the Town of Hempstead for their environmental study that helped Kate Murray kill the project. No. They’re all looking around the room and saying “Hey! It’s not one of US.”

Scott Rechler IS a member of this Association. But he is no longer associated with Charles Wang since the Lighthouse Project died it’s slow and painful death. Maybe he has something to do with the dissent. Maybe. Maybe not.

According to all sources, all the details of the proposed contract with the County will be made available by mid June. That will give everyone enough time to digest the information prior to an August 1st vote.

“Before the August 1st date, by mid-June, we will have put out the economics and everyone will have plenty of time to understand what the arrangements are that we are making with the county.” Michael Picker, Isles Senior Vice President, told me over the phone Thursday night from his office. (A time when most executives would have been long gone.)

It has been said that just an NHL arena is not enough to be profitable. Even Gary Bettman, when discussing the Atlanta Thrashers, said few are willing to “fund the loss” that is an NHL team. (And that’s why they’re moving.) So I asked Mr. Picker if he would be able to show in June that the Islanders in a new arena could be profitable in order to pay their portion of the proposed revenue sharing.

“There will be additional development around the arena and that will be included in the agreement that we end up reaching with the county.” And there it is, THAT is what the association of developers want to talk about.

“You’re confusing issues though.” Mr. Picker admonished me. “The borrowing and the referendum is for the building of the arena and the ball park. Nothing else. What people will have to decide,” (should they have the opportunity to!) “when they understand the economics, when you take everything into account, is it something that the people want to support and the legislative oversight boards want to also support. Which we are hopeful. We believe that when they see all the numbers, they will look at this and say that it is a positive situation to go forward with for Nassau County.”

However, the politics in Nassau County has always been “Well, what am I getting out of this?” You can see it start already between the Nassau Democrats and their Republican counterparts. It’s the push-me-pull-you that has gone on for years. Then there are the special interest groups that have forever yapped “What about US?”

Okay, this is where my personal rant comes in. I’m tired of this crap. I’m tired of going to these hearings and watching small groups ask where their piece of the pie is. At the last Town of Hempstead hearing I went to, I was appalled at how many groups were lined up to tell the developers what THEY wanted included in the Lighthouse project in order for their vote. WHAT?

What happened to the common good? What happened to “Well, you can’t please everyone”?

Face it Long Island, this is your last shot at developing that 77 acres of asphalt. The Democrat minority speaker said in her interview with SNY that Charles Wang was Long Island’s “Rainmaker.” He is the last hope to develop that property and actually turn it into something worthwhile.

When I asked Mr. Picker if the revenue sharing would start during the building phase, he told me “I don’t want to address anything in particular. All I have to say is the economics will be released mid-June and then I believe that will answer all the questions.”

Mr. Picker has more faith in our political system than I do. When I asked him if he felt this was once again a political football, he said “At this point, I’m not worried about it. You saw the Democrats abstain in their vote last week in order to take it forward. I think it was their way of saying ‘We need to learn more about this before we can evaluate it.’ Even in Dianne Yatuoro’s comments, it was very clear of her passion to make sure we have an arena for not only the Islanders but for concerts and entertainment. This is much more than an issue regarding the Islanders. This is an issue about people come to family shows and concerts and exhibits in the exhibition hall. So it’s way more than just the Islanders and that’s what people have to realize.”

Having listened to Desmond Ryan’s interview, I was interested to hear what he had to say about something Mr. Ryan threw out. “The question is, Mr. Ryan said that you offered the same proposal to Suffolk County and it was turned down.” and pause….

“That’s not true.” he said. “So you’re saying that it’s not true and he is mistaken?” I pressed. “Correct.” and that was all he said about it.

I scanned my notes for another question. “Do you believe that $350 million is enough to build an arena considering how much other arenas have cost.”

“Well you’re not comparing arena to arena. Everybody wants to make statements. We believe we can build the arena for the $350 million number.“ Mr. Picker wouldn’t commit to what existing NHL arena it would be comparable to.

Regarding the August 1st vote, “We believe right now the legislature will support the August 1st date and it will move forward.”

Mr. Wang has offered to reimburse the County for the expense of the August 1st vote, but the County has not taken him up on the offer yet and has not voted on whether or not it can take place.

That brings us to Monday when there will be another “Major Press Conference Regarding the Nassau Coliseum’s Future.” And you’re invited.

Brian Rosenberg, President of the Long Island Restaurant Association, will join with businesses, labor unions, merchants, hotels and hospitality groups, restaurants, New York Islanders fans and corporate partners, and representatives from the newly formed coalition, Build a New Coliseum, in holding a press conference regarding the future of the Coliseum site.

Be there on Monday at 11:30 am out front of the Coliseum.

This is going to be an interesting few weeks as each side tries to gain support for their position. But as stated in the press release in my email in-box,

Should the Coliseum not be built, thousands of jobs will be affected, and the revenue of local restaurants, bars and businesses will significantly decrease. The region will essentially turn into a ghost town. Local merchants will reveal the ways in which they will be adversely impacted by the loss of the Coliseum. Islanders fans and concert buffs will discuss the need to travel outside the region in order to attend professional sporting events, concerts, family shows and exhibitions.

So forget about everything else for now, and let’s just focus on the task at hand -- August 1st.

Closer, Closer, But Still Far

It's after 11:30 pm and I'm just getting around to reading that this afternoon the vote to approve a public hearing on the County Executive's plan for "The Hub" was approved by a very slim margin.

Here are the first three paragraphs from Newsday.com

The move to build a $350-million arena and a $50-million minor league baseball stadium took a step forward Monday as the Nassau County Legislature's rules committee approved a public hearing on a referendum on paying for the project.

The committee's four Republicans voted to hold the hearing next Monday at the legislature's offices. The three Democrats abstained because they did not have time to study the proposal.

The legislature's eight-member Democratic caucus is scheduled to meet with the Mangano administration on the Coliseum issue Tuesday.

How did the Dems not have time to study the proposal? The press conference was last Wednesday? The press release wasn't that long people, one cup of coffee and you could have been through it.

Now, while we (the fans) are all doing everything we can to promote a YES vote for this referendum, there are still those who are calling for a NO vote in fear of increased taxes.

I was waiting for actual figures, but I have not received them yet. However, if you go to the Nassau County site, Ed Mangano has already helped to alleviate certain property taxes for home owners such as eliminating the heating tax.

However, what people fail to say when they are painting signs for now new taxes is that with or without this $400 Million bond to improve The Hub, Nassau County taxes will go up. That's Long Island and Nassau is in a budget crisis it needs to fix.

If Mangano's plan fails, the taxes will go up far more than if it passes because it will be the County residents who will have to pick up the slack left by an empty Coliseum and it's loss of revenue stream and jobs. Sales tax will suffer greatly and so will many of the surrounding small businesses.

And please don't think that if the Islanders move out, someone will be happy to move in. The troubles developers have had with the Town of Hempstead and Nassau County have been widely publicized. Do you really think someone else will come along and want to waste another few MILLION dollars on a plan that won't be completed?

Not a chance in hell.

While Mangano's plan may not be the perfect scenario and may have some fuzzy math associated with it, it is probably the last best hope for the area.

He's done very well so far trying to get Nassau out of the black hole of ruin and even seen the Cedar Creek Sewage Treatment Plant win a Platinum Award for engineering. Question: Was that the sewage plant that wasn't supposed to be able to handle what the Lighthouse Project was going to flush it's way? Just a question.

Support for this plan is coming from as far as the Netherlands. But the most important support is going to come from Nassau County itself. So get out there and promote the vote on August 1st... should there be a vote to promote.