Newsday: beware of taxpayer support for Islanders deal

Newsday published an editorial last night, Don’t let Islanders deal become slippery slope for taxpayers, arguing that it was wrong for New York State to pay $6 million to renovate the Nassau Coliseum for the New York Islanders's return. (I made that point earlier.)

And Newsday raises some questions that I and other have raised regarding the new Belmont arena:

There are still many unknowns. Will there be tax breaks? Who will pay for traffic mitigation, Long Island Rail Road modifications, and other infrastructure? The slope from privately funded to publicly funded is a slippery one, and taxpayers should be assured they’re on firm footing.

Thing is, these questions, and such scrutiny, should have forced far more transparency than we've gotten.