Pol says Brooklyn arena financing is illegal

The Brooklyn Blog

Pol says Brooklyn arena financing is illegal

5:19 PM, December 21, 2009  By RICH CALDER

A state Senator says that a $511 million finance plan to help pay off an NBA arena proposed for Brooklyn appears to be illegal.

Sen. Bill Perkins (D- Harlem), chair of the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, sent a letter to Gov. Paterson Friday addressing legal concerns about the $511 million in tax-exempt bonds floated for developer Bruce Ratner’s project by the state-created Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation.

He said the funding plan raises “the spectre of fraud,” and that the bonds are “effectively worthless.”

At issue is the BALDC’s origin.

It was created by the Job Development Authority, a dormant state public authority, rather than directly through the Empire State Development Corporation.

“It appears that ESDC chose to have the JDA create the BALDC so as to avoid creating an ESDC subsidiary, which would have required approval from the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) and the [state] Comptroller to issue the arena bonds,” Perkins said.

Click here to read the full story

Click here to read Senator Perkins' letter to the Governor