You are reading

Several Queens Legislators Announce Opposition to Hochul’s Plan to Advance $600M to Buffalo Bills

Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, New York (Photo: Dan Schoedel CC BY 2.0)

April 1, 2022 By Christian Murray

Several Queens legislators have signed on to a letter calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to scrap her plans to advance the Buffalo Bills $600 million to pay for a new stadium.

The letter comes just four days after the governor announced that she would include $600 million in her executive budget that would go toward the cost of a $1.4 billion new stadium. The funds, she said, would be part of a deal to keep the franchise in Buffalo for another 30 years, which the state would more than recoup in tax revenue.

But many state legislators have come out against the subsidy and were outraged that it was announced just four days before the April 1 budget deadline. The criticism is believed to be a factor in why the budget deadline was not met—along with potential changes to bail reform and the opening of casinos in New York City.

“We, the undersigned, write to oppose the Executive’s proposed public financing for a new Buffalo Bills stadium. This proposal, negotiated in secret and only announced days before the final budget is due, would represent the largest public subsidy to an NFL team in history,” the letter to Hochul read.

The letter was signed by 20 state legislators, including Assembly Members Brian Barnwell, Zohran Mamdani, Ron Kim, Jessica González-Rojas, Khaleel Anderson and State Sen. James Sanders.

“This proposal is a giveaway to Bills’ owner Terry Pegula, an individual who already has $5.8 billion in net worth,” according to the letter. “Buffalo is in need of significant economic revitalization that cannot be achieved through a billionaire giveaway.”

The legislators argue that funds would be better spent on low-income New Yorkers, noting that 2021 census data showed that nearly thirty percent of Buffalo residents live in poverty. They also said that there are 92,000 homeless people in the state.

“New Yorkers in and outside of Buffalo need real investments in this year’s budget; Terry Pegula does not need support for his ownership of an NFL team.”

Other Queens officials, such as State Sen. Jessica Ramos, whose name wasn’t on the letter, have also announced their opposition to the subsidy.

Hochul said that the deal makes fiscal sense and that it was struck after months of negotiations. The deal involves the construction of a $1.4 billion stadium, with $600 million from the state, $250 from Erie County and a combined $550 million from the NFL and Bills.

Hochul said that the construction of the stadium would create 10,000 union jobs and that the investment would be recouped by the economic activity the team generates over 30 years.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Longtime Queens jurist named chief administrative judge of New York State Unified Court System

Judge Joseph A. Zayas, who spent most of his judicial career presiding over Queens’ courtrooms, was officially installed as chief administrative judge of the New York State Unified Court System, the highest-ranking administrative position in the state judiciary.

Judge Zayas was appointed by Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and approved by the Administrative Board of the Courts to succeed Judge Tamiko Amaker, who served as the court system’s acting chief administrative judge since December 2022.

“Judge Zayas has a stellar reputation for his keen judgment, hard work, integrity and deep knowledge of both the law and the complex workings of the New York State court system,” said Chief Judge Rowan. “He has demonstrated exceptional leadership and the highest ethical standards over the course of his distinguished judicial career. He is a forward-thinking, hands-on manager as proven throughout his tenure as administrative judge for criminal matters in Queens County, where he implemented numerous reforms and programs to improve the delivery of justice.”

The chief administrative judge supervises the daily administration and operation of the Unified Court System, which has a budget of $3.3. billion, with 3,600 state and locally paid judges and nearly 15,000 non-judicial employees in over 300 courthouses spanning 62 counties.

Queens Symphony Orchestra performs at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach

Councilwoman Joann Ariola brought the Queens Symphony Orchestra to Russo’s on the Bay on May 22 for the Night at the Opera – a free concert event that drew more than 200 people to the Howard Beach events hall located at 162-45 Cross Bay Blvd.

“It was truly an honor to continue funding such a wonderful program, and to bring this great music to so many people,” Ariola said. “We were able to bring so many people together for a free night of music – that’s what this is all about, letting taxpayer dollars work for the taxpayer, and providing programs like this that give our residents a nice night out to just unwind and enjoy themselves.”

Advocates pen letter blasting Mayor Adams’ legal motion to suspend right-to-shelter

Homeless advocates penned a letter to a Manhattan Supreme Court judge opposing Mayor Eric Adams’ recent legal motion calling for the suspension of the city’s decades-old right-to-shelter law amid the ongoing migrant influx.

The letter, sent last Thursday and released Tuesday, comes in response to Adams last week filing a court motion to exempt the city from its legal mandate — established by the 1984 Callahan v. Carey consent decree — to provide shelter to single adults and adult couples when it “lacks the resources and capacity” to do so. The mayor and top administration officials say they’re not seeking to abolish the right-to-shelter, but rather “clarity” from the court that would give them more “flexibility” in finding suitable housing for tens of thousands of migrants.

Rockaway’s piping plovers among endangered species commemorated on U.S. Postal Service stamps

A day before the city reopened nearly 70 blocks of public beaches along the Rockaway peninsula for the Memorial Day weekend, the U.S. Postal Service and National Park Service hosted a special event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Broad Channel to honor the piping plover, an endangered shorebird featured on new stamps.

In attendance were members of the NYC Plover Project, a nonprofit with more than 250 volunteers, who have been on the beaches since March preparing for the summer swim season, who celebrated the newly released stamp sheet commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act.

Bayside High School hosts annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair

Bayside High School hosted its annual Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair Friday. Students from the Career and Technical Education Humanities and Nonprofit Management program each pitched their socially responsible products to students, staff and others in attendance.

Each of the 11th grade students in the program have been taking a college credit course from Farmingdale State College called Social Entrepreneur. The students were divided into 17 groups of five and tasked with coming up with innovative ideas to create businesses while also being socially responsible. The Social Entrepreneur Trade Fair grants them with the opportunity to work on pitching their products to potential customers.