By Matthew Monks
Doctoroff said he certainly would deliver the message but stood firm in his administration's support of giving Astoria Energy LLC $400 million in Liberty Bonds, the tax-free loans intended to revitalize Lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Doctoroff, the architect of NYC2012, the committee behind the city's 2012 Olympic bid, visited the civic to sell residents on the 17-day games, the heart of which would be in Long Island City's proposed Olympic Village.
But after a slick, 30-minute presentation, residents and state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) pounced on Doctoroff for the mayor's support for giving Liberty Bonds to the developer of the Steinway Street plant.
The Liberty Development Corp., the entity that administers the bonds, gave preliminary authorization to award the funds to Astoria Energy, which has just started work on the first phase of the generator project.
Gianaris, who is suing to block the move, asked Doctoroff to explain the mayor's support for the development corporation's move.
“We have a looming power crisis in New York City,” Doctoroff said, noting that the city will need an additional 2,600 megawatts over the next five years.
If it does not get that power, the city could face a catastrophe that makes the August 2003 blackouts seem like a minor eclipse, Doctoroff said
“At the end of the day – we don't have power – this isn't a city worth living in,” he said.
The Astoria plant would be an appropriate recipient of liberty bonds, he said, but the city has made no commitment to give Astoria Energy the funds. He said it is unclear whether the money would even help the company advance the plant.
But residents such as Poveromo were unsatisfied with his explanation.
She said that if the city wins the Olympics, athletes will not be able to compete in western Queens because they will be choking on fumes.
Another woman, who did not give her name, said that if the mayor wants residents' support for the Olympics, he should give something in return.
“We would like his support against the power plant,” she said.
The Liberty Development Corp. has only given preliminary authorization to release the bonds to Astoria Energy. Doctoroff said final approval would come only if the company needs them to get the plant advanced.
A company spokesman said last month that it had raised $983 million in private funds for the first stage of the project – a 500-megawatt generator. He said the company may not even need federal funds for stage two, a second 500-megawatt generator to be built by the end of the decade.
Still, city officials have been firm in their support of the project. The Liberty Development Corp. has called Gianaris' suit “frivolous” and “without merit” in an official statement. And the mayor's office has repeatedly pledged to stay the course with the allocation, a stance that Doctoroff reinforced at the meeting.
At the same time, the councilman's lawsuit – in which four other lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) and Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Astoria), are co-plaintiffs – continues to gain steam.
It charges that the Astoria Energy plant does not meet the criteria under which Liberty Bonds may be issued to entities outside of Lower Manhattan.
The city's bar association last month officially endorsed the lawsuit, and Gianaris said an additional six Lower Manhattan businesses are considering joining the suit. It was scheduled for a hearing May 11 in Manhattan federal court, but Gianaris said the defendants have asked for an extension.
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
