Tempers Flare Over $340M 'Liberty' Funding

At its monthly meeting, held earlier this afternoon at the agency's 110 William St. headquarters, the Liberty Bond Program funding allotted for commercial development was approved by the IDA board. According to a spokesman for the city's Economic Development Corp., which oversees the IDA, no specific actions or guidelines regarding the allocation of the bonds was discussed at the meeting.

The Liberty Bond program, approved by President Bush in March, is a tax-exempt bond initiative designed to stimulate the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan. The city and state will each allocate $4 billion of the program. Up to $800 million may be issued for retail development in the Liberty Zone near Ground Zero and another $2 billion for commercial projects citywide. The IDA and the New York Liberty Development Corp. will issue bonds for commercial projects. The HFA and the New York City Housing Development Corporation will be the issuers for residential projects.