Yonkers would get new firehouse in ballpark deal

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Yonkers would get $10.4M, new firehouse in ballpark deal

By MICHAEL GANNON

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: March 4, 2006)

YONKERS — The city would sell several parcels of city-controlled property for $10.4 million and receive a new fire headquarters as part of a revised agreement between the city and a trio of developers that would kick off a $3.1 billion development deal for downtown and the waterfront.

The deal is outlined in a new draft of a master-developer agreement renegotiated between Mayor Phil Amicone and developers Louis Cappelli, Bill Struever and Marc Berson that would let the partnership proceed with its plans. The proposal features a minor-league ballpark for an expansion franchise of the independent Atlantic League as the centerpiece of a remaking of the city's southwest quadrant. It includes scores of new residences and retail.

The revised agreement came in response to concerns raised by the City Council's Real Estate Committee about a version signed by the mayor last month. The council worried that the city was not getting enough in return for valuable downtown and waterfront property.

Those concerns may not have been assuaged, said committee Chairman Dennis Robertson, D-3rd District, who provided the draft of the agreement to The Journal News yesterday. The committee is expected to meet Monday to discuss the agreement.

Robertson said he liked that the city would get money that could potentially go toward paring an expected $100 million budget deficit this year, but still felt the agreement sold city taxpayers short. He said he felt the developers were using the city's dire fiscal straits to push an inadequate deal on the mayor.

"The administration finds themselves in a weak position," Robertson said. "They're giving away the store, and we have to fix that."

The earlier version of the agreement proposed selling Chicken Island, now referred to by city officials as the "Gateway District," for $1 and the waterfront property for $1.2 million per acre.

But while the new agreement provides a firehouse and money upfront, it does not replace public parking spaces currently available at Chicken Island, as the earlier deal did. Under the new agreement, replacing the parking now would be the city's responsibility and expense.

Amicone spokesman David Simpson said the revised agreement represents a good deal for the city. It provides much-needed revenue as the city addresses its budget woes and a new fire headquarters to replace the New School Street firehouse, which would be used as part of the ballpark site. Simpson valued the firehouse at about $5 million. The agreement did not specify a location for the firehouse.

"I understand Councilman Robertson's need to score some political points during this thing, but he's got to be careful that that doesn't get in the way of the best interests of the city," Simpson said.

The new proposal removed language that required the city to reinvest proceeds from the land sale into infrastructure that supported the project. That language had raised concerns on the council.

Still, Robertson said he did not think the current proposal went far enough to satisfy his colleagues. He said the council would be willing to give the developers exclusive rights to negotiate with the city for six months, while the city determined a fair value for the property and worked out other details of the plan.

Joseph Apicella, a senior vice president for development at Cappelli Enterprises, said yesterday that the developers had helped address the short-term needs of the city through restructuring a business deal that made financial sense for the partnership.

He said he would continue to negotiate with the council and mayor, but warned that the deal needed to be made soon so the developer could commence the project while the economic climate was still right.

"We feel we've put our best foot forward at this point," he said.