Jeese James Masyr and the Bronx Terminal Market

We've always had a great deal of respect for Jesse Masyr who we feel is the premier land-use attorney in NYC. His latest foray at the Bronx Terminal Market only reinforces this belief. Masyr, by orchestrating the certification of the project in July, has guaranteed that the development will most likely be sent to the City Council on December 19th.

What this all means is that it will be extremely difficult for the body, winding down one Speaker's term and plotting over his successor, to properly deliberate over the merits of the plan. In addition, with the Bronx holding some important cards in the successor fight, it will be difficult for those vying for power to not act slavishly.

At the same time, the fact that Gateway is a re-zoning and not a simple special permit means that extricating the BJ's from the deal will require a great deal of ingenuity. The Bronx delegation is going to be put under a lot of pressure and the putative Speaker aspirations of Joel Rivera may well be conjoined with the Gateway fight. It will certainly be quite bloody before it's all over.

Wal-Mart in the Middle

The fact also remains that the Gateway EIS has identified Sam's Club as a potential tenant. Therefore, it is quite possible that the BTM fight will be made into a battle over the Walmonster. If that happens, watch out! The man in the middle of all this will be BP Carrion who is already under scrutiny for his close ties to Related. Adolfo may feel that real estate money is essential for his desire for city-wide office but the more that all this looks like it isn't an arms length transaction the greater the possibility, clouding any race in four years, that the BP's moniker will become "Cash-and-Carrion."