KATE MURRAY SPEAKS TO BAUMBACH
Our take: We’re not feeling any more optimistic
Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray sat down yesterday for an interview with Jim Baumbach of Newsday and The Final Score. Jim’s Q & A was posted this morning.
In the interview, Murray takes a shot at Gary Bettman, saying “The NHL guy can wax poetic all he wants. He’s the least of my worries.” She blames the developers for delays - “despite much fanfare” - in receiving the application for the project. Interesting that the Town Supervisor is throwing some darts at Bettman and Charles Wang when they have not thrown any her way.
Asked if a shovel can get in the ground next summer - as many have pointed out is a necessity - Murray says, “I can’t even comment on that. There are so many things that are unknowable at this time.”
Perhaps most alarming is the Town Supervisor’s repeated grandstanding attempts to let her public know that she has made several magnanimous offers to Wang to fix the Coliseum first. We’re not going to get into again why that does not work - and why Murray deep down understands that.
Really tough to envision a groundbreaking ceremony in Nassau County in the summer of 2009.
Reaction to Baumbach’s story?
45 Responses to “KATE MURRAY SPEAKS TO BAUMBACH
Our take: We’re not feeling any more optimistic”
Please Wait
one word.. SUFFOLK this things never going to happen in nassau to much opposition its a hot potato nobody wants to grab.
Remembering that Town Supervisor is an elected position with a two-year term, and that Murray up for re-election in November 2009, a mere two months after the long-wished-for groundbreaking date, however…
her comments about bettman were bizarre and unprofessional, imo.
Well it seems to me that Charles Wang has the go ahead to build the coliseum. Yet he wants the whole lighthouse project to be approved. So why cant Wang for the sake of the Islander organization go ahead and agree to rebuild the coliseum and start there!! Its a long term rebuilding process RIGHT! Just like the youth movement to rebuild the Islanders.
If Wang is in it for the long haul why not start with the rebuild process! It is a Start Right!
In response to you Paul, I think Wang knows that if he goes ahead with the Coliseum refurbish that Murray will just bury the Lighthouse paperwork and more then likey it will never get done. By keeping it all together he is forcing her to keep this moving.
The fact is that an arena sitting in the middle of nothing is an anachronism. Just about every new stadium or arena being built now is in the middle of something else. The Coyotes’ arena in Glendale is a good example. It’s why NYC is going to condemn much of the junk yard “region” in Willets Point to make way for restaurants, shops, housing etc. near Citi Field. What you’re suggesting — just build it!! — is not the way stadium development is going these days, because the developers know that making a whole experience around the arena helps to bring fans. Wang isn’t redeveloping it as a standalone; just accept that fact.
Reaction? Oh shoot. Well, she ain’t gonna like my scheduled article post on Monday, that’s for blasted sure!
What if Wang propose to the whole poject to be approved if he starts with Coliseum first? Oh, right, what am I thinking, he probably have done it many times already…
Journalists, before schedueling an interview with K. Murray, have to ask her if there are any NEWS on the project. Otherwise it’s a waste of her and (most important) our time!
Well that doesn’t sound to promising for much to happen anytime to soon. It’s always funny how one branch blames another when things don’t get done. All I see is a lot of finger pointing an he said she said stuff.
As for taking shots at Bettman, who here hasn’t? I think he loves to be the guy everyone hates, and he certainly holds that title.
Wang isn’t going to settle for just a remodel of the NVC, he wants more and it seems as though the town government isn’t happy with certain bits an pieces to the puzzle of this project so there for, we wait an wait until Wang says Cya! and wave bye bye to the Islanders franchise has they head elsewhere to play.
It’s sad that it all comes down to local polictics and what they want, and not what the people want, from what I hear an read the community and people seem to want it, and they’re the “tax” payers.
Zoning laws and traffic..blah blah! do we ever hear this much when a new mall goes up? no! whatever!
On that note I’d like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! have a yummy day!
as Mrs Claus said to Santa.. eat poppa eat!
ciao all!
Good call, guys. Wang CAN’T build just the Coliseum because he’s basically asking the Town to yank the rug out from under the rest of the project. At that point he would probably abandon it unless the taxpayers pony up the difference.
This to me is a politician playing politics. CB, you know I love you, but I respectfully disagree with your take on this. She doesn’t know if the shovels can be in the ground because environmental review isn’t complete and there’s no agreement on the final scope. Those negotiations could take a week or 6 months, and nobody can know for sure.
The Lighthouse is moving forward, and I believe with all my heart there’s too much momentum to stop it now.
Everyone also check BD Gallof’s (and my! haha) take on the current state of the project, based on interviews and the latest round of hearings:
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/BD-Gallof/The-Lighthouse-Project-Blame-Game-Your-Guide-To-Where-It-Really-Stands/85/18073
well that was a chris simon cheapshot she pulled on bettman. we should send mitch fritz on her. this is not going to get done with her
I agree with you, Kevin. Bettman runs the league and therefore has a bully pulpit to say whatever the hell he wants.
I hate to give him credit for anything, but you have to give him credit for trying to make it work, even if he’s not actually helping. If the Islanders moved he’d still have a team that contributed money to the league, so it’s not like there necessarily has to be an urgency.
To clarify, I agree that she didn’t need to say anything about Bettman, considering he heads an organization that brings dollars into her community. I think there’s too much momentum to stop this now.
The impression I am unfortunately left with is that Kate Murray is a politician only in the sense that she can blather on endlessly without saying anything of substance. She doesn’t appear to want to lead, make any big decisions, or, really, do anything that would potentially solicit an opinion or judgment of her actions.
If she is content to hand out Certificates of Appreciation and make appearances at fundraisers, then that is what she should do. And the town should put in someone who isn’t afraid to make difficult decisions and push this thing forward.
can we start chanting LIGHT-HOUSE! LIGHT-HOUSE! during isles home games. lets get the message out there.
Ken, great idea. Maybe we can get Fireman Ed to come to an Isles game and lead us!
Awesome idea, Ken
Look, like CB said Wang owns the land so in time all of this will get past pushing politics aside. However, if the only alternitive is the rebuilding of the coliseum i am all for it and lets start their. look funding is hard to get in todays economy and if murray is offering the coliseum 1st, lets run with it and keep the Islanders in Uniondale. We have to start somewhere!!!
Paul, I see what you’re trying to say, but it’s just not workable. If Wang builds the Coliseum without the rest of the project, a) how can he recoup his investment?, and b) what incentive does the Town have to listen to the rest of his proposal?
Murray keeps pointing this out (they’ve said it to my face a few times too) as part of a political point. Nothing more, everyone knows it’s not workable.
15 ken on Nov 26th, 2008 12:22:42 said:
“can we start chanting LIGHT-HOUSE! LIGHT-HOUSE! during isles home games. lets get the message out there.”
IMO we would be better off writing encouraging letters to Kate Murray and sending letters of support into the lighthouse project itself- which they can cite to the powers that be as growing community support. Im just of the opinion that cheering at a game should be about the game… and that shouting other things can distract and throw the players off their game.
We need a back up plan on this whole thing. Remeber she is an “elected” official and serves at the pleasure of the residents of the town of hempstead. If it looks like she is the roadblock to this we need to have someone run against her who will do what the people want? Is there anyone planning on running against her next year? If so do they have a view on this. If she is the problem we need to make sure she gets voted out. New stadiums can go up everywhere around here but the Town of Hempstead it seems.
God I hate this woman! I wish she can just go away already. I never anticipated an election before in my life. Even the one we just had. But I assure you I will be the first on line in my community to vote her out!
We need to chant LIGHT-HOUSE! LIGHT-HOUSE! at events SHE attends not only at the games. She never goes to games. She’ll never hear that!
Next time she attends a ground breaking ceremony for some project that no one knows or heard about. That’s when we should break out the cheer. I know I will!!
I know there are more pressing needs in Nassau County than a new arena for our hockey team.
But how much revenue do the Islanders bring to the Town of Hempstead?
I know the cost of this project is high.
But what happens when the Isles leave?
How many times can parents go to the circus or Elmo on Ice?
If the Isles were to leave there really would be no need for a coliseum at all.
Most of the the top concert acts play the Garden or Jersey anyway.
It’s a shame that in this era of every team under the sun getting a new arena, stadium, or ballpark Nassau County cannot get anything done.
I would like to see where the Coliseum ranks in terms of age when compared to all the other baseball and football stadiums and hockey/basketball arenas currently in use.
This is a silly argument but I’m throwing it out anyway- what will losing the Islanders do to the image of Nassau County?
We have no professional sports team at all.
We will have lost the Nets, the Jets offices & training, and lastly the Isles.
We all know if there cable deal wasn’t so good they would have been long gone.
How has losing a team worked for Winnipeg or Quebec City?
Think LI would be any different?
I guess we could put all the banners on display at some museum.
I love the Coliseum but it is a dump.
Diehards better start weaning themselves off the Isles becuse we are being set up for heartbreak.
***************************
Seriously how many jobs are tied to the Islanders?
How much revenue do the Islanders generate?
I don’t have access to the books but you do not need to be a rocket scientis to know that Wang can’t be turning a profit.
Who knows how much he actually loses.
This would be the one time in sports history that a team would move and no one could really be angry at the owner.
Thank you to Mr. Wang for keeping the team going.
Many other men would have either moved or sold by now.
Paul, it makes no financial sense for Wang to do a stand-alone reno of the coliseum. That project would cost something along the lines of $300-400 million, probably more (althought maybe someone has heard some more precise numbers).
And what will Wang get for all those dollars, on top of the losses he’s had since buying the team? He might see an increase in revenue from ticket sales, as well as increased revenue from sales of the new luxury suites the building will have, and some new advertising, but that’s about it. Unless he also spends tens of millions more to buy-out SMG from their contract to run NVMC, then the team will continue to not receieve a dime from parking or concessions (including from all the new concessions that will be built during the reno). I also suspect that SMG would get a cut of the sales of the suites, as well as the increased advertising space inside the reno’ed building.
Wang knows that even if he did buy-out SMG and got 100% of the revenue, it still wouldn’t come close to even the break-even point on the investment. These modern buildings, by themselves, simply do not make money. That’s why most of them include development of the surrounding land.
Murray knows this, too. But, hey, if she can get Wang to re-build “for free” the coliseum that happens to be located in her town, well then that’s a political victory for her.
Nick is right - if Wang decided to agree on starting with a stand-alone re-build, Murray would put the approval of the rest of the project so far on the backburner that it would never have the slightest glimmer of hope of happening. That’s why Wang won’t do it.
My take is that Kate Murray is like any politician: a snivelling weasel wrapped around a craven coward who will never take a stand on anything when she can wait until it falls apart and then she can point fingers all she wants. Since she is not willing to lead on the Lighthouse and actually look competent, it is incumbent upon all of us to keep her feet to the fire,as well as work wholeheartedly and untiringly for her opponent in November. If she won’t join us, let’s beat her.
Sorry for all the grammatical errors.
It kills me when I see them.
Trying to actually do real work and keep tabs on the Isles.
Let’s beat the Pens tonight!
Are there any ties between Kate Murray and SMG?
Anyone who tells Bettman to stuff it is ok with me.
LETS VOTE THIS LADY OUT THEN!! NO WAY WILL SHE BE RE-ELECTED IF THIS FAILS TO GO THROUGH! let her know it too!
Frank James, you make some good points. Obviously, this board is going to be very much in favor of the Lighthouse because of the Islanders. But for me, that’s almost secondary. A development like the Lighthouse is the type of development that true growth-oriented communities are embracing. They create centers of activity where there had been none before. They bring people together to live, to work, to play, and to learn, specifically, with the fact that Hofstra and NCC are adjacent to the Lighthouse area. These are the engines of growth in the future, not Mcmansion subsdivisions where you have to drive 15 minutes to get a gallon of milk. So killing this project says very little about the Islanders, and says far more about Nassau County. What it would say is that the county seems perfectly content to become a giant senior citizen development, with little reason for a young person to stay, and everyone just living on their social security checks, 401Ks and pensions. Young people will avoid it like the plague. Yes, we’ll have some businesses: health care for all the older people, taxis to drive people around who can no longer be behind the wheel, and so on. But when you think of the cutting edge companies that have called Long Island home over the past several decades — CA, Arrow Electronics, etc. — they are not going to come here if the politics of the local governments are to make sure, even if inadvertently, that young people are discouraged from sticking around.
First of all, I don’t see this article as bad news at all. It is confirming that things are indeed happening. That’s all that matters. Kate Murray didn’t create this snail’s pace of a system but, from what I understand, she has to follow it or the whole process gets scrapped if the “i”s aren’t dotted correctly. She answered the question about Bettman with some hostility because she thinks that he’s not helping by butting in (which is exactly what he did last week from her perspective). She said that she’s only had that (whatever) file for nine month’s. What took the Lighthouse Group so long to get the paperwork to her if things are so urgent? Her saying that she offered a stand alone renovation of the Coliseum is just a response to Wang getting Bettman involved in the press. It’s a “now are we going to fight fair Charles or what?” move. She knows the Coliseum alone is not worth it for Wang but he got Bettman to put the heat on her so now she’s throwing it back at him saying that Isles fans could just get the new building if that’s what’s really important. Regardless, when you filter out all the politic, Baumbach has it right. There is a negotiation going on and, to me, that’s good news. It doesn’t sound like Murray is against the project like some have speculated but, rather, feels that she has to be true to the (#@!$%) process and hopefully it will all be approved in the end thanks to the due diligence. That said, maybe it is a good thing that Wang and Bettman turned up the heat a little bit. At least it got a rise out of Murray and might entice her to get the ball rolling as much as she can on her end.
I think we can vote her out if need be. Here are the stats:
Hempstead
Kate Murray* (R-I-C) 66,043 68% (X)
Kevin Gorman (D) 30,729 32%
Add 16234 to any opponent and the outcome could be very different. All we need now is someone to take the reigns, preferably someone that likes Blue and Orange and we got a fight. Bottsy, what are you doing next November??
The reason Wang wants to build the whole Lighthouse complex is because he, and eventually his heirs, will own the property and rake in all the profits on said property for close to 100 years while Nassau gets to collect all that HUGE tax revenue. And the Town of Hempstead will get a nice chunk of change from the piggy bank. When all is said and done, Wang will recoup all his losses from owning the Islanders all these years and then some. He may like hockey now, but make no mistake about it, he bought the team because he saw a business and real estate opportunity. If he doesn’t get this deal for the Coliseum, the Islanders are gone, plain and simple.
Why not Suffolk? I don’t believe that Wang is willing to wait another 4-5 years for an arena project to be dragged through the Suffolk legislature the same that has gone on in Nassau since the project was originally announced. My belief is he’d rather cut bait and run if it doesn’t happen sooner, rather than later.
You can chant all you want and write all of the letters you want but the FACT is, as a responsible elected official, Ms. Murray HAS to wait for the study to come back before she can say anything, one way or the other.
We went over this a couple of weeks ago, people. Nothing has changed except that Ms. Murray gave an interview. Without knowing any details of the study (YET), how can any of us expect her to give anything but vague answers. It would be political suicide for her. That’s all there is to it.
Let’s all wait for the study to come back and the various organizations’ comments before we get outta control again, sheesh!
And let’s not just assume nothing’s gonna work out. Where is that winning attitude we were starting to show and the team/org so desparately needs?
I agree with Paul from Canada that the interview is not necessarily bad news, at least negotiations are taking place and the wheels of the process are grinding along (albeit at a slow pace). My biggest concern comes from the fact that just about every owner of the Isles in the past has seen the lucrative possibilities of developing the empty space around the coliseum, but they have all failed to get the Town to move forward on anything, which has lead to frustration and selling the team off to crooked real estate developers who think they will be the ones to cash in.
I hear what both of you are saying and it makes sense, however BD Gallof says at hockey buzz that the lighthouse people did not include water and sewer systems plans in there proposal, so that leads me to believe there is shananagens going on on the lighthouse’s part. Look even IF they can not get the whole project passed Wang still owns the land and the EAB and the Marriott land as well, what does he do! Abandon the whole thing, i am sure that is not an option. They should start with the coliseum and work from there. Murray’s term is not that long and new town leaders will be in and things maybe can move foward. Start with the coliseum and save the Islanders and their tradition.
thanks for the update
I think I’ll have a stiff shot of whisky now
its atough sell now ..most people could care less about the islanders and if it is perceived that another wealthy guy is going to enrich himself at thhe taxpayers expense its all over..plus thers really no popular demand for this thing except for a few hockey fans. im sure long island will survive if the islanders leave.het seattle supersonics just left this year.
I will need to read her interview later but it doesn’t sound good, her being so punchy.
Can we get out the torches, pitch forks and hockey sticks now?
Paul, I wrote that part about the water, and you deliberately twisted what I said. I said that water is an issue that needs to be resolved because the wells are at capacity. Therefore, they’re working on digging a new well, and everyone I’ve spoken to thinks it will not be an obstacle. If you’re going to deliberately twist my words, at least don’t do it right in front of everyone.
It wasn’t included in the original plan, but because both sides are negotiating as part of the environmental review, it’s now out in the open and I’m sure it will be solved. No reason for concern.
Yes, the Sonics left Seattle. Again, Joe, you’re not listening. I’m saying that the Lighthouse is about more than the Islanders. It’s about sending a signal to businesses everywhere about whether you are willing to work with people who want to sink capital in your region. That wasn’t the issue with the Sonics. Seattle also doesn’t have that perception as a place where young people are fleeing and where you can’t get anything done. (Far, far from it…it’s one of the hottest places in the country. And lo and behold…they have traffic! Some of the worst in the country, in fact.)
Maybe you think Long Island can still thrive while repeatedly sending that signal out over and over that we’re pulling up the bridges over the moats, leave us alone, take your business elsewhere…but it can’t.
And yeah, maybe Wang’s going to make a lot of money on this deal. Big deal. That would be another real wise move: tell the world we don’t want you to come here if you hope to make money on Long Island. Oh, yeah, the capital investment will just pour in with that approach!
By the way, Wang will never own the land. He and the Legislature will negotiate a LEASE for the site after the final scoping. At least make an attempt to understand what’s going on before showing your true NIMBY colors.
Paul, Wang does NOT own the Land. The County owns the land.
Well i could have swore i read CB say that Wangs owns all of the land, Anyway you’re real tuff guy with the name calling(NIMBY). You must work for Wang or service him one of two. For sake of the organization and Islander fans we should all want to get it done, so start with the coliseum. Its all my opinion Jerky!