A few hundred million taxpayer dollars more for the
BRA
Dec 19, 2006 21:42 | Show Me the Money!
Mayor Menino's at it again. He's going to "enliven"
the far-distant waterfront with a government office
building, and leave City Hall Plaza, conveniently
located in the center of the transit system, to the
good judgment of the BRA and its eager squadrons of
office- and luxury-condo-tower developers.
What is this about, really? Well, guess who owns City Hall Plaza? The City, you say? Think again. It's the BRA. Yes, the BRA took it by eminent domain -- AGAIN -- in 1996, this time from YOU. And the Mayor waived compensation, so the BRA got it for free. Now, whatever it's sold or leased for -- the BRA gets all that money.
And -- how convenient! -- the BRA happens to be the development regulatory agency of the city, so they'll make sure that land is made as valuable as possible -- by permitting the biggest possible development.
The BRA happens also to have a Joint-Venture Agreement with the so-called Trust for City Hall Plaza -- a group of developers -- to build a hotel and garage on the Plaza. They always intended to fill it up with buildings, and apparently, now's the time.
Estimates of the land value for what they are likely to build run at $400 million. FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS! While you have fund-raisers to buy school equipment and maintain your park.
Call the mayor and your city councilors and tell them you won't stand for this! Your services are being cut, your taxes are skyrocketing, and the mayor is giving away hundreds of millions of dollars --plus the profits from an over-sized development -- to the BRA.
What is this about, really? Well, guess who owns City Hall Plaza? The City, you say? Think again. It's the BRA. Yes, the BRA took it by eminent domain -- AGAIN -- in 1996, this time from YOU. And the Mayor waived compensation, so the BRA got it for free. Now, whatever it's sold or leased for -- the BRA gets all that money.
And -- how convenient! -- the BRA happens to be the development regulatory agency of the city, so they'll make sure that land is made as valuable as possible -- by permitting the biggest possible development.
The BRA happens also to have a Joint-Venture Agreement with the so-called Trust for City Hall Plaza -- a group of developers -- to build a hotel and garage on the Plaza. They always intended to fill it up with buildings, and apparently, now's the time.
Estimates of the land value for what they are likely to build run at $400 million. FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS! While you have fund-raisers to buy school equipment and maintain your park.
Call the mayor and your city councilors and tell them you won't stand for this! Your services are being cut, your taxes are skyrocketing, and the mayor is giving away hundreds of millions of dollars --plus the profits from an over-sized development -- to the BRA.
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