Opponents of Mayor Bloomberg’s West Side stadium plan argued last week that the development rights above the MTA’s Hudson Rail Yards, west of Penn Station, should be valued at $1 billion. A coalition anchored by Cablevision/Madison Square Garden commissioned a property appraisal by Albert Valuation Group New York, Inc. which produced the finding.

Under Mayor Bloomberg’s current plan, NY State and the city would pay to build a platform over the site to allow the Jets to build a stadium, while paying the MTA a lesser purchase price for the development rights. 

Critics say more badly needed MTA capital program funding could be generated if the development rights were opened to competitive commercial and residential development. 

At a press conference releasing the assessment, elected officials such as Assemblymembers Richard Gottfried, Deborah Glick and Scott Stringer and Councilmember Christine Quinn demanded a competitive bidding process for the property and that the MTA be allowed to collect full market value for all development rights.

MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp told the New York Times last week that development rights above the Hudson Yards and the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, where an NBA basketball stadium has been proposed, is essential revenue for the agency.  The cash strapped agency is also working on plans to rent or sell up to 14,000 properties in or near stations and depots  These resources could contribute revenue to essential mass transit improvements like new subway cars, better stations and key expansion projects.

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