Will He Block That Stadium? Speaker Silver Bides His Time
By CHARLES V. BAGLI

Published: January 22, 2005


hat does Shelly want?"

It's the question that Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff and the Bloomberg administration keep asking at City Hall, in Lower Manhattan and in Albany.

"Shelly" is Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the State Assembly, who stands astride the road as the administration tries to complete its relentless drive to build a $1.4 billion stadium for the Jets, and possibly the 2012 Olympics, on the West Side of Manhattan. Voters may not have a say in whether the stadium gets built - using $600 million in tax money - but Mr. Silver will, and his ambivalence is driving other politicians slightly batty.

The speaker, however, has a reputation as a horse-trader, and so Mr. Doctoroff and other city officials have been trying to learn what Mr. Silver wants for his downtown Manhattan district in return for his approval when the stadium comes before the little-known Public Authorities Control Board, where the speaker holds veto power. Is it money for affordable housing, something for Chinatown, new funds for the Hudson River Park in TriBeCa?

Mr. Silver is not saying, and so far, his relationship with stadium proponents has been chilly. A community leader and two executives involved in rebuilding Lower Manhattan say that the administration is suddenly holding hostage various downtown projects, such as a school for the area's growing population, that had already been agreed on. Gov. George E. Pataki's preliminary budget has not improved the negotiating climate, as it slashes funds for the Second Avenue subway, a project championed by Mr. Silver.

And so, although Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Wednesday that he hoped the stadium project would be approved at the public authorities board's meeting on Feb. 16, few in the Assembly, the Senate or the governor's office say it will even be on the agenda.

"What's the hurry?" Mr. Silver asked in an interview this week. "The driving force in this is the Olympics. I don't understand the rush to build a stadium for the 2012 Olympics in 2005."

Mr. Silver said he had not made up his mind about the stadium, and had questions about its impact on traffic congestion and the community. He said it was also part of a broader project to redevelop the West Side with office towers, which may compete with efforts he prefers to rebuild the business district in Lower Manhattan at a time when there is a high vacancy rate and no tenants in sight for two buildings at the trade center site.

Mr. Silver, who has worked to keep downtown's commercial sector vital, has also been philosophically at odds with the Bloomberg administration, which has promoted residential development in the area.

He said it would be "unfortunate" if the mayor were holding up projects he supported in an effort to prod him into voting for the stadium.

"If it's true," he said, "it would appear the mayor is more interested in trading, rather than governing; in a physical legacy, instead of governing."

He said it appeared that plans for an elementary school in a proposed residential project on Beekman Street were now "stalled." And for three years, he said, he has urged the city to reopen a section of Park Row in front of City Hall. Many people in nearby Chinatown think the street closing has contributed to a severe drop in tourism since 9/11. But, Mr. Silver said, City Hall has not responded.

Jennifer Falk, a spokeswoman for Mr. Doctoroff, said the administration would not comment on the specifics of the negotiations.

Few people on either side of the stadium issue are willing to be quoted by name, because the talks are going on behind closed doors.

Mr. Silver "really loathes what Bloomberg is trying to do here," said an executive who knows Mr. Silver and is active in Lower Manhattan.

"He's a guy who believes in long-term relationships," the executive said. "They're trying to hold up everything."

But stadium advocates say that this is all part of the push and pull of negotiations. "So long as Shelly gets what he wants downtown," said one person involved in promoting the stadium, "we'll get a stadium."

That remains to be seen.