Plan to Build Newark Arena Falls Apart (Schundler Wins!)

New York Times ^ | SEP 07, 2001 | RONALD SMOTHERS

[VoodooEconomist]

The cancellation of the hearing drew a quick and angry retort from officials with the YankeeNets, owner of the New Jersey Nets and New Jersey Devils, which is seeking to move the teams to Newark from their current home at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands by the opening of the 2004 basketball and hockey seasons.

A lot of these sport teams (and their fans) are a bunch of freeloaders ... asking taxpayers (including non-sports fans) to pay for their edifices. They ought to pay for their own damn construction, like any other business.

[VoodooEconomist]

Schundler may very well be our next Ronald Reagan. The guy has nads. And he is unabashed and unapologetically conservative. And, like Reagan, most of the GOP establishment isn't taking him seriously. Well, the GOP establishment is going to learn soon enough that the grass roots is going to reclaim its rightful place of picking who it wants to represent the GOP. And it ain't the Bob Doles or John McLame's of the world.

[Coop]

I can only hope you're right. We're slowly starting to get some interest in Bret back here on FR. But we're running out of time. Schundler needs our time and money now to close the gap in the polls. If he does (and I think he will), then I believe the RNC and Bush Administration will send funds and make appearances. But if the 19-20 point gap remains in a couple of weeks, I'm afraid they'll hang Bret out to dry.

[LenS]

It's hard to write proper English sentences when your bent over a desk celebrating "diversity".

[Frohickey]

Why are legislators so gungho about using public funds for pet projects? It must be because its not their money that they are spending. Its easy to go on a shopping trip on daddy's credit card.

I think that we should pass a nationwide law targeted at legislators at all branches of government. The law should say that any new spending, or new uses for existing spending must be accompanied by monetary contributions from the legislator's private funds totalling 1% from all legislators that voted for it.

[Coop]

Brump

[Angelwood]

Great article. Go BRET GO!

[calebcar]

BTTT

For more perspective on what a ripoff these Stadiums are see current Forbes issue article

http://forbes.com/forbes/2001/0917/082.html?_requestid=14647#story

Requires registration but it's free.

[Exit148]

"This guy is an incredible leader. Can such a man exist in our midst in the year 2001, in the good ole USA?"

You said it, V's wife! Every once in a while, someone quite unique comes along, and Bret Schundler is that person.

As Alan Steinberg said in that wonderful piece posted on another thread: "Bret Schundler projects a unique combination of three elements: an encyclopedic intellect, an uncanny populist instinct, and an absolutely untainted personal morality."

And besides that - he is just a plain nice guy. When you talk with him, he gives you all his attention -- and he can speak on anything. We were discussing baseball VS football on the bus one day and he knew all his stuff. A few minutes later I had a nine word conversation in Chinese with him!!! Shortly after that he was speaking to the crowds. Yes - he is incredible.

[calebcar]

Wish I lived there to help out! Can anyone connect the dots for me.

Monthly revenue from Garden State Parkway tolls

minus monthly cost of collecting tolls

equals monthly revenue from tolls

cost to taxpayers of stadium/Monthly revenue from stadium

equals months of wasted toll revenue saved for taxpayer by Schundlerbeforeelection

[Exit148]

Some of the comments have been about what Schundler has done for the taxpayers BEFORE the election. It was Schundler who exposed all the behind the scene deals and aired them to the public. It is not as tho he was against the arena or any of the other add-ons ---- It simply was that he wanted the PUBLIC to decide if they wanted it. They would have to pay for it if thing went wrong, so they should have some say in the matter. It was as simple as that.

When people started to call their reps, and when the public became informed of all the tack-ons, the elected officials began to have second thoughts, and backed away. It would have been a done deal if Schundler hadn't made an issue of it.

[ventana]

This is a good point about him needing a push, think I'll send some money. V's wife.

[marajade]

There aren't any. I heard the biggest affiliation of voters in NJ are independents at 55%.

[Coop]

This is a good point about him needing a push, think I'll send some money. V's wife.

Great work! I'm sure your contribution is much appreciated. Perhaps we'll see each other again at a Schundler get together. I'm gonna try to make it up that way for some volunteer work, kinda like we did for Lazio last year.

[ventana]

Keep us posted! Busy time of year with Boy Scouts, track, and my daughter's ballet, but have time will travel.

[Coop]

Will do!

[Coleus]

Newark Arena Dead?

Last year, YOUR PHONE CALLS AND E-MAILS stopped the Newark Arena deal from moving through the State Legislature. In fact, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee told me that he had never received as many phone calls and letters on a subject in his over twenty years in Trenton.

Together, we argued that it made no sense to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ dollars on a sports arena, at the same time as the State was cutting funding for public education and property tax relief.

Additionally, we pointed out that six different academic studies have conclusively demonstrated that sports arenas do not stimulate significant economic development, and that the State could attract more new jobs to its cities, for no cost to state taxpayers, through simply expanding the Whitman Administration’s Business Enterprise Incentive Program.

For this, I was attacked by political operatives close to Jim McGreevey as a racist. One even called me a Nazi.

Accordingly, I must say that I took great pleasure in reading the attached articles which say that the Sports Arena project is now dead.

Note that one is by liberal newspaper columnist Fran Wood of the Star-Ledger. Even she agrees that spending this much taxpayers’ money for an arena does not make sense – not even for Newark!

You proved that when citizens take action, they can still force our state government to do the right thing. Congratulations!

- Bret Schundler

For Newark, Victory in Defeat

Arena Deal on Verge of Collapse

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping Coleus...bttt

[Sub-Driver]

Ah, my wallet feels better too!

[F16Fighter]

With Newark DOA some of those same idiotic advocates for building in that PC dung-hole will now switch to building a stadium in either Lebanon or Jakarta.