"The city needs an infusion of jobs," said Reverend Al Sharpton. "We cannot go on with business as usual. We're not here to protect the Garden. We're here to protect the City of New York."

Thousands of union members attended the rally, which was organized by more than 60 unions. "The New York Sports and Convention Center will put people to work by creating tens of thousands of jobs for New Yorkers. It will pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the MTA's coffers and generate billions more in economic activity," said Edward J. Malloy, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council. The NYSCC is expected to generate nearly 18,000 construction jobs, 7,000 permanent jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity, including 500,000 hotel room nights annually.

Robert D. Yaro, president, calls on the MTA to reject all of the bids. "With the release of the bid documents earlier this week, it is now clear that none of the bids will provide the MTA with fair market value for the Western Rail Yards." He says it's a direct result of "a fatally flawed bidding process that artificially depressed the value of the rail yards and provided the Jets with numerous advantages. RPA now calls on the MTA to reject all of the bids, level the playing field and initiate a truly open bidding process that will net all New Yorkers the highest possible return for the property."