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Tish: Follow the money

By Gersh Kuntzman
The Brooklyn Paper

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Councilwoman Letitia James has found a Brooklyn angle on the nation’s populist outrage against AIG, calling on the British bank Barclays to not use the billions in taxpayer funds funneled to it by the insurance giant on its $400-million naming rights deal at the proposed Atlantic Yards arena.

James (D–Fort Greene) condemned any use of the federal bailout — officially, the Troubled Assets Relief Program — for anything other than bank activity that helps jump-start the economy.

La Luz

“TARP money is for banks to start lending again, not for Barclays to polish its corporate identity,” said James.

“Staggering — that’s the only word for it,” she added.

Her comments came one day after AIG earned ire from politicians around the country for paying out $165 million in bonuses from its most-recent $30-billion bailout.

A spokesman for Barclays did not return a call for comment.

BoroDeal

In issuing her statement, James sought to tap into growing outrage over AIG’s use of taxpayer bailout money for bonuses and to bail out some of its clients, including Barclays.

That outrage has been heard from the right — “Not so fast you greedy Wall Street bastards,” the New York Post put it — and the left, with MoveOn.org’s Web site leading with “We want our money back.”

James is the only local politician to link Barclays’ AIG bailout to the Atlantic Yards naming-rights deal, but earlier this year, two congressmen tried to pull Citigroup’s name off the new Mets stadium in Queens after that banking firm received its bailout.

“Citigroup is now dependent on the support of the federal government for its survival as an institution,” said the congressmen, Dennis Kucinich (D–Ohio) and Ted Poe (R–Texas).

“As such, we do not believe Citigroup ought to spend $400 million to name a stadium at the same time that they accept over $350 billion in taxpayer support.”

©2009 Community Newspaper Group

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Reader Feedback

neil from Bed_stuy says:
Council Woman your grandstanding is exactly why people dislike their reps. I wonder how many unemployed Brooklynites would have a job right now at Atlantic Yards. How about grandstanding on that? You & your croonies have cost us jobs, jobs, jobs!!!!
March 19, 2009, 2:28 pm
sam from downtown says:
If you are upset that Atlantic Yards has not been built, you should take it up with the developer, Forest City Ratner, who has halted all work and put it off indefinitely.

Is it grandstanding to say that TARP funds shouldn't go to a British bank to advertise an arena that won't create jobs or a positive economic return for the city?

i don't think so.
March 19, 2009, 3 pm
al pankin from downtown says:
it' s a great idea for barclays to use some of their govt. loot on downtown brooklyn. we need every dime spent in this area, who are we to reject this well spent money? if we don't, it will be spent somewhere else and we brooklynites will have nothing. when did councilwoman james ask anyone if they objected to barclays supporting the great new arena which will help revitalze a blighted forgoten area. where were the politicans for the past fifty years? they were missing in action. AWOL ! does anyone know how much all the lawyers have been paid?
March 19, 2009, 10:43 pm
sam from downtown says:
right, AIG's bailout should be spent on a phantom arena. good thinking.
March 23, 2009, 12:35 pm

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