Mets application for $82.2 M in PILOT Bonds

The Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC is offering the following testimony in support of the Mets’ Industrial Development Agency (IDA) application for additional funding for the Citi Field project. The testimony will be distributed on LDC letterhead and addresses the need for the bonds, what the money will be used for, and how the sought after bonds fit in with the city’s previous financing of Citi Field.

To Chairman Seth Pinsky and members of the IDA Board:
The Mets’ application to the IDA is for the balance of the PILOT tax-exempt financing that was originally authorized by the IDA more than two years ago. The City Council also voted to approve the financing program at that time.
Some of the projects for this request include the following:

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Green enhancements including a green roof and various energy management systems;

Security enhancements;

Expansion of food service and kitchen facilities and equipment;

Improved technology and communications systems;

Increased advertising signage and scoreboard quality.
These bonds are not a “give-away” by the city or state. The bonds will be paid back with payments made to the IDA by the Mets, so they are ultimately private obligations, not public obligations. Their issuance will not be at the expense of public funds that could be used for schools, subways or other public projects.
These bonds do not affect the city or state’s bonding capacity.
The Citi Field project is on-time and on-budget. There have been no cost overruns or significant changes in project scope for the development of Citi Field.
The overall project cost of approximately $800 million includes over $600 million of private investment by the Mets. This is the largest private development investment in the history of the borough of Queens, which in general is underserved with regard to major development projects in New York City generally.
The Citi Field project is vitally important for the borough of Queens. It has produced thousands of construction jobs and has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars of contracts to local companies.
The completed project will create full time jobs, generate tax revenue and produce direct and ancillary economic activity. Citi Field will be a catalyst for the further development and revitalization of the Flushing/Willet Point/Corona community.
Because of the importance of this project and because of the aforementioned reasons, the Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC is happy to support the Mets’ application to the IDA for $82.2 million.

Sincerely,
Claire Shulman
President & CEO of Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC

Joe Farber
Chairman of the Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC