An open letter to Mayor Michael Bloomberg:
Media reports indicate you are considering a 7 percent property tax increase. It is also reported there will be significant cuts in essential services. In connection therewith and during an economic crisis, I believe it relevant to question your positions as follows.
As to stadiums, taxpayers have contributed in terms of subsidies and tax breaks, the cost of which are likewise borne by taxpayers. It appears New York Mets owners are seeking additional money in direct subsidies and/or tax breaks.
It was taxpayers who paid for KeySpan Park in Brooklyn. City sport activities do not account for more than seven-tenths of 1 percent of the city's gross economy.
As to Willets Point, it houses over 225 economically viable businesses that employ over 1,300 people, upon whom thousands depend for food on their tables and roofs over their heads. The destruction of the majority of these businesses and people to benefit some real estate developer for a proposal that defies logic is wrong.
You are committed to spending $389.7 million for acquiring Willets Point and some infrastructure work and turn it over to a private real estate developer who will probably pay nothing or very little for the property. It is obvious these taxpayer dollars are the tip of the iceberg.
When all is said and done, we will be talking about close to $1 billion in an unparalleled tax rip-off of the poor and middle class for the benefit of the rich.
Benjamin Haber
Flushing
