Yes, New York City could use a few extra bucks—but are we so strapped we need to sell rights to our basic assets? In an attempt to "maximize the value" of what we've got, the Post reports that the city is seeking a financial advisory firm's assistance. Specifically, they are interested in leasing the rights to the city's 50,000 parking meters (which generate about $150 million a year) to a private company. Because that has worked out so well for Chicago!
A quick refresher on the Windy City's woes: In 2008 Chicago, dealing with a tremendous budget gap, signed a $1.5 billion, 75-year lease to run its parking meters to a company called LAZ Parking. Almost immediately the ironclad lease became a curse on Chi-town. Parking rates, which LAZ had been given the right to mess with, soared (and will continue to rise for at least the next two years). Parking meters constantly failed. And worse, the city has already spent much of the money it got in the deal with decades left on the lease (though pols keep trying to come up with ways out of it—maybe Rahm will fix it).
Anyway, back to the Big Apple! Officials the Post spoke to assure them that it would be different here: "Under no scenario would we give up the right to set rates." So that's good. But without that authority, we don't imagine the value of such a lease would be very high at all. Unless they allowed ads on Munimeters, maybe. But that just makes us think about our $1 billion, 20-year street furniture deal with the Spanish firm Cemusa. Which has totally been a success, right?
