Brian Nearing at the Times Union reports that the paper crunched the numbers and found that New York's Brownfield Cleanup Program had a price tag of $464 million - but only spent $340 million on the brownfields themselves. So who's really cleaning up?
Instead, more than 90 percent of the credits rewarded developers for new buildings, according to the analysis, which covers 49 projects that received tax credits from 2007 through 2009. Dozens of other projects form a backlog that could cost the state eye-popping sums for years to come. Other state reports have estimated the tax credits likely cost another $620 million last year, with total costs set to eventually exceed $3 billion -- or nearly a third of the state budget deficit.
But wait, there's more! Developers whose proposals for clean-ups were rejected are suing the state for a combined total of $1 billion. If you're interested in where New York's money is winding up - versus where it was supposed to go - this piece is a must-read.
And Times Union political reporter Jimmy Vielkind and Josh Benson at Capital have a “conversation” up about how well Governor Cuomo sold his budget proposals. If you like inside baseball, you're in for a treat! Here's an excerpt:
Josh: Who else is feeling particularly aggrieved right now? We have to assume that every constituency ("special" or no) with a stake in the budget was braced for the worst. But do you think any of them were genuinely taken by surprise by the extent of the cutbacks? Like the SUNY school administrators, for example? 1199? Transit advocates? Jimmy: I think SUNY, if anyone. Nancy Zimpher, the chancellor, put on a brave face in her statement. But this signals a major shift. We, the Empire State, are now spending less than $1 billion to subsidize public higher education. It's kind of mind-blowing. (That's for the SUNY aid, I should note. There's tuition assistance and some other aid to CUNY.)
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