Bloomberg's Frustration grows at WTC

EXCERPT FROM www.globest.com
by Cody Lyon

Link to full story:
http://www.globest.com/news/1437_1437/newyork/179388-1.html?sector=newyork

When it comes to rebuilding the World Trade Center, the Port Authority needs to “figure out a way to come up with something” for financing the project, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg during a radio address on Friday. Staying on message, the mayor cited an earlier joint statement from his office along with New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver who say “this country’s not going to stand for a hole in the ground,” at Ground Zero.

Implying that both the New Jersey and New York Governors should exert greater influence over decisions at the bi-state agency, Bloomberg suggested that in New York’s case, the PA should also respond to the Mayor, not just the Governor, since many of its larger projects are within New York City borders.

But a spokesperson for Governor David Paterson’s office tells GlobeSt.com that the “Port Authority runs regional transportation facilities; it should remain in the hands of the Governors.”

That said, the Mayor used his air-time to propose tapping into another pool of funds to help finance the WTC project. He told listeners “maybe we can get Congress to help and re-allocate some of the funds for projects that probably aren’t going to get done in the short term, like Moynihan Station.” News reports later quoted Mayoral aides as saying he was talking about $2 billion in un-used tax credits Congress appropriated to city transportation projects after 9/11 including Moynihan Station.