SWAP SHOP

Last night the City held a public hearing on the City Hall-Judge-Verizon property swap. More details of the swap were released. Here are some of the stories from the past 24 hours:

The Record;

Times Union;

Times Union.

The purpose of the public hearing is to give the public information about this scheme and then, in turn, hear from the public. Some details were released. Unfortunately, one detail not released is the most important detail of all: the fair market value of the City Hall property. No one can analyze this scheme without that information. It could be the best deal on earth. It could be a rip-off.

"JDC would lease the City Hall property for $1 per year over the same time and would also be have the option to buy nearly two acres of riverfront land for $2.25 million, Mitchell said. He promised to release copies of the pending deal with JDC for public scrutiny in two weeks and an appraisal of City Hall by a company he wouldn't name on Monday." - The Record

Why wasn't this information made available prior to the hearing?

Tutunjian also assured the audience that the proper process was followed. Experience has shown that Harry's understanding of proper procedure and legality is, at best, dubious. We'll discuss that next week.

LINES

Looks like Democrat Pete Ryan (ED3) will take the WFP Line once the absentee ballots are counted.

There's also good news for District 5 challenger Ken Zalewski. He could pick-up the Independence Line.