Brooklyn state Sen. Daniel Squadron wants a shiny new waterfront park for his district — he just doesn’t want the high-rise luxury condos needed to pay for it.
So he’s proposing to find the cash by raiding the city treasury.
At issue is the planned 76-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park, opposite Lower Manhattan.
As it stands, the park’s $16 million-a-year maintenance budget would be covered mainly by rents culled from luxury housing to be built near the park’s edges.
Sounds like a good deal.
But Squadron campaigned last fall on a pledge to banish nearly all housing from the park’s borders.
So how would he pay the bills? Simple, he says: Property values around the park are bound to rise (indeed, a potential rezoning is in the works), so why not take a cut of the increase?
The problem is that New York City needs all the tax revenue it can get.
Siphoning off cash to pay for new parks — while spurning another credible source of funding — is ridiculous.
As is Squadron.
The deal on the table, while imperfect, makes sense. Lawmakers need to proceed as planned.