Partnership for New York City

That was quick.

Supporters of congestion pricing are taking issue with the methodology of a new Quinnipiac poll which showed New Yorkers split on the issue.

“Asking people if they want to pay more to drive without explaining what they are paying for doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know,” said Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for NYC.

“When New Yorkers learn of the many benefits that come from congestion pricing, they become supporters,“ said Gene Russianoff of NYPIRG/Straphangers Campaign, a member of the 80-plus groups in the Campaign for New York’s Future.

Transporation advocate and blogger Aaron Naparstek has more criticism of the poll here.

I'm waiting for a response from Quinnipiac.

Hillary Clinton may have returned a contribution from Wal-Mart, and Barack Obama’s wife may also be distancing herself from the company, but the country’s largest retailer is trying to win other friends in high places with its own quiet campaign in New York.

Without much fanfare, Wal-Mart has joined a number of local business groups, like the Association for a Better New York, the Partnership for New York City, and the chambers of commerce in four of the city's boroughs.

All this, without having a single store here. So, why have they joined all these New York business groups when, technically, they don’t have a business in New York?  read more »

Get used to it: New York's new moniker. It came up on Tuesday during an announcement of the city's carbon-emissions benchmarks for charting the progress of the whole NYC 2030-PlaNYC thing. (The phrase has been around for a while, though.)

Some interesting findings:

• 79 percent of emissions come from buildings;
• New Yorkers produce less than a third of the pollution that U.S. residents do on a per capita basis;
• city government emissions have leveled out over the past five years.

Press release after the jump.  read more »

- Matthew Schuerman
• 3 comments

One day after the mayor criticized the governor's budget for not providing more money to New York City, Eliot Spitzer and members of the city's business community defended the budget by contending that despite some cuts, New York City will come out ahead.

Spitzer was joined at a press conference this morning at the 399 Park Avenue offices of Citigroup by the CEO and president of the Partnership for New York City Kathy Wylde, and by the group's co-chair Chuck Prince.

Standing behind a podium in a small conference room, Spitzer said that "New York City comes out net ahead $1.3 billion in this budget."

Asked whether he wasn't inclined to be more generous to NYC, which is, after all, his hometown, Spitzer said, "Where I happened to been born, or happened to have my residence for the last number of years, will not affect who benefits and who loses."

After Spitzer left by a back door, one sharp-eyed reporter leaving the event spotted Rupert Murdoch waiting outside the conference room. After shaking hands with a few people, Murdoch took the elevator one flight to main floor and left.

UPDATE: A spokesman for the Partnership for New York City emailed to say that the appearance with Spitzer was in support of specific aspects of the budget, but was not intended as a statement either way on the general impact of the governor's budget on the city.

From the email: "This morning the Governor said his budget does not hurt NYC. We did not take a position on that, but supported the direction of efforts to curb health spending and increase education aid to needy districts."

-- Azi Paybarah

The Sun's David Lombino gives further evidence that the one development project that once had all friends and no enemies is forcing people to choose sides, this time with business groups pushing for a delay and Gov. Pataki pushing forward:

The president of the Partnership for New York City, Kathryn Wylde, said the state's push for Moynihan is "premature."

"I think we should make sure that when the PACB votes, it is on the entire project," Ms. Wylde said. "The MSG piece is critical to making this project really work and maximize the benefits."

"Why approve a partial project as opposed to the whole thing?" Ms. Wylde said.

We told you so. -Matthew Schuerman

As the city considers giving $650 million in tax breaks to Hudson Yards developers, it will have no less an opponent than Sen. Chuck "Mr. Office Space" Schumer. Here's what he said about them a year ago before the Partnership for New York City:

... I do not believe we need to give developers tax breaks -- the reduced PILOTS -- to get them to the West Side. That money should be used for the building of the #7 line if needed. There is already growing developer interest in the area and I see no evidence that reductions in PILOT payments - de facto tax breaks at the city's expense - are needed. Traditionally in this city, infrastructure alone is sufficient to induce development.

-Matthew Schuerman (Via James Parrott of the Fiscal Policy Institute.)

The Partnership for New York City, a group of business executives, just sent out a press release endorsing Mayor Bloomberg's (and Governors Pataki's and Corzine's) "decision" to "cap" the cost of the World Trade Center Memorial at half a billion dollars, as our sister site The Politicker reported earlier to day.

What's noteworthy here is that of all the things to come out on Bloomberg's Budget Day, The Partnership chose this one to respond to first. It shows just how anxious the money people are that memorial spending will get out of control.

"Resources for rebuilding in Lower Manhattan are not unlimited," the statement said.

-Matthew Schuerman

The deal to build a biotech center in New York took five years and required a considerable amount of arm twisting, but today the mayor announced Alexandria Real Estate Equities would get the honors.

The arm-twisting--or, if you prefer, diplomacy--came courtesy of figures like Sandy Weil, Henry Kravis and Jerry Speyer, who all serve on boards of universities and hospitals around the city that had to agree to form a consortium first.

"In other places around the country, there are fewer institutions to get together. It was actually harder here in New York because they are used to competing with one another," said Kathy Wylde, the CEO and president of the Partnership for New York City. "Some of my members were able to approach their institutions and get them interested in collaborating."

Alexandria, which will build 870,000 square feet across three buildings, will pay the city $3.1 million a year, including payments in lieu of taxes on the land it will occupy at the northern end of Bellevue between 28th and 19th streets along the FDR. But a special incentive district on the property extends the same benefits that developers usually only get north of 96th street or in the boroughs: a 16-year abatement on the taxes for the buildings themselves. In addition, the Partnership for New York City's investment fund has committed $10 million to lure small and medium-sized companies to take space in the complex, dubbed the East River Science Park, once it opens, starting in 2008.  read more »

- Matthew Schuerman