Silver: “We’re Not Doing Gansevoort Today.”
From City Room:
Speaker Sheldon Silver told City Room this morning that the Assembly would not act on the proposed West Side trash transfer station near Gansevoort Street in the meatpacking district, in his latest snub of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
The station has been a priority for the mayor, who held a news conference with City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn last week urging the Legislature to approve the station. The debate over the station has also led to contentious arguments among the Assembly Democrats.
But once again, Mr. Silver and Mr. Bloomberg are not seeing eye to eye.
“We’re not doing Gansevoort today,” Mr. Silver said, adding that he was not satisfied that alternatives to the proposal had been fully considered and did not think the mayor lived up to commitments made earlier this year to provide more financial details of alternative proposals. “I had an understanding back in June, despite any newspapers of record that might think otherwise — editorial-wise or news-wise — that they would present the financial undertaking of alternatives,” he said, adding, “Those numbers are not yet in, the use of Gansevoort is 2013, still more than five years away, so waiting for all of that to be completed does not impact in any way shape or form from the use of it.”
He added, “The mayor decided to do press availability or a press conference notwithstanding the understanding predates his press conference by five months, and that’s unfortunate, that in an irresponsible fashion, despite everything we had as an understanding, he chose to do that.”
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