TO THE FOLLOWING ELECTEDS:
- Lincoln Restler (D-33)
- Shahana Hanif (D-39),
- Julie Won (D-26),
- Tiffany Caban (D-22)
- Shekar Krishnan (D-25)
- Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-34)
- Kristen González (D-59)
- Carmen de la Rosa (D-10)
- Sandy Nurse (D-37)
- Sandra Ung (D-20)
- Linda Lee (D-23)
- Catalina Cruz (D-39)
- Jessica Ramos (D-13)
- AOC (D-14)
On Progressive Ideals and Voting
We are writing because you were elected on the following principles:
- Protecting marginalized communities from displacement, policing and corporate interest.
- True affordability.
- Accountability and transparency around government decision-making.
There is a major urban renewal project (over 100 acres) slated for Queens that includes the NYCFC soccer stadium and Steve Cohen’s casino. The project does not align with progressive principles, but none of you have come out against the developments.
Land use processes aside, the stadium and casino are NOT two separate battles. They are inextricably linked by the pursuit of profit at the expense of the surrounding community. Thinking of the two as separate only eases the way for greedy developers, and we will not let you look away because it’s politically convenient. You have the power to stop this.
The City Council vote on the stadium plan is happening in the next 50 days as part of the ULURP process. Vote NO on this project and commit to ensuring this shrine to corporate welfare never gets built.
On Member Deference and Vanity Projects
Member deference is the historical practice of city council members voting in unison for projects outside of their district, following the lead of the member whose district the project is in. You all defer to one person over your stated political beliefs or the interests of your constituents — that squashes critical analysis and lacks democratic integrity. No other political body in the city does this so blatantly. Member deference is just another iteration of the quid pro quo, “You scratch my back, I scratch your back” system created by greedy old white men from the 19th century that has historically led to mismanaged funds and deepening inequality. Member deference shows us you’re not representing constituent interests, and instead choose to stand with fools like City Council Member Francisco Moya whose seat in public office has historically been bankrolled by one soccer team or another.
Public servants should not have vanity projects, and you shouldn’t stand for someone else’s. Not speaking out against another city council member’s destructive vanity project to avoid conflict is a betrayal of your constituents, your stated values, and the marginalized people you supposedly champion. Here is your reminder: your commitment is to the city — interdependent and interconnected. Your constituents are not just impacted by what happens within the arbitrary bounds of your district.
To Queens politicians who are not in the city council, specifically Jessica Ramos, Catalina Cruz, and AOC: you say this is out of your hands, because you are not city council members (rather you have been elected to the NY state government or Congress) and therefore cannot vote directly on this project. But you loved showing up to ULURP votes and public hearings when you were trying to get elected. You made public statements against past development projects we criticized, regardless of jurisdiction. To say that you can’t weigh in now is a lie. Moya and Adams are counting on your silence to save their public image. You were on the right side of Queens’ history with your opposition to Amazon HQ2 in LIC, where’s that same energy for the megadevelopments at Willets Point?
On the Economics of Stadiums and “Redevelopment”/”Renewal”
Experts have been critical of stadiums and large scale sporting events for decades — the evidence proves that these projects are at best ineffectual at filling city coffers and at worst, accelerate displacement, contribute to environmental degradation, traffic, crime, and a whole host of other issues that will harm working class communities. If you had been doing your job, you would know this information.
Public land should be for the public in the truest and purest sense — we deserve more places for joy and play, and we deserve spaces that serve our needs for shelter and community. Public land should be free and accessible to everyone, not privatized to enrich billionaires and royal families.
Four Important Facts:
1. This project will not generate tax revenue for the city.
Experts have estimated that over half a century, this deal will cost the city $800 million or more in subsidies, while losing $1.7 billion in tax revenue.
In fact, no stadium, proposed or currently existing in the city, has ever added to the pool of money we see in our city budgets. The City’s Independent Budget Office has made that clear time (1998) and time (2006) and time (March 2023) again.
2. Stadium developments never deliver on the promised goods, nor do you ever try to enforce those promises.
The Barclays Center has been open for over 10 years and the promised affordable housing and community space has not been built. The $10 million fine imposed on developers for not meeting that deadline has not been collected, and developers of the project are now saying they may need another 10 years to build the promised affordable housing.
According to the unenforced Community Benefits Agreement, if the housing takes another 10 years to be built, the developers would owe anywhere between $200 to $500 million in fines to the communities around the arena in Brooklyn.
Why are we cutting funds for schools and support for the unhoused when we could be collecting the money we’re owed from developers?
3. The owners of NYCFC have repeatedly been exposed as corrupt, negligent stewards of land, flagrantly ignoring the miniscule financial obligations to the cities where their teams play.
Sports organizations have proven they cannot be held accountable — in Queens, the US Tennis Association underreported revenue from the US Open for years in order to pay less than their fair share in rent. Why are we putting our trust in bad-faith actors who have a track record of cheating?
4. These megadevelopments are disastrous, everywhere they land.
We need only look to Amazon’s second choice for their HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia to know we made the right choice to resist billionaires and their megadevelopments. There, construction is behind schedule and valuable public resources are being siphoned off for subsidies to bail them out. Now ask yourself: Is there anyone lamenting the fact that megadevelopments like LIC’s Amazon HQ2 and the West Side Stadium were never built?
With these facts laid out, you — the self-proclaimed progressives of our city government — must understand that your silence or deference is complicity.
The razing of Willets Point and the unjust eviction of small businesses and industrial workers there has been a cautionary tale that some of you have referenced before. You are being presented with an opportunity to correct those historic wrongs. Without a doubt, the NYCFC Stadium and casino planned for Willets Point will spell out destruction and harm for our communities across Queens and the city. Don’t tie yourself to Moya and Adams’ sinking ship.
Vote NO on the NYCFC Stadium and stop Steve Cohen’s Casino.
