Tish James at Association for a Better New York: if Trump "wants to do some major capital projects [like Atlantic Yards], I'm here."

State Attorney General Letitia James spoke May 20 at the power breakfast at the Association for a Better New York and, surprisingly, mentioned Atlantic Yards.

I previously quoted a Crain's tweet on this, but let's go to the video below.

"I would love to work with this administration," she said, referencing arch-enemy President Donald Trump. " If he wants to--I understand he's willing to work on Penn Station, I applaud that. I'm here. If he wants to build affordable housing I'm here."

"Yeah, if he wants to do some major capital projects, I'm here. Hudson Yards. Atlantic Yards. The rail yards, I'm here. I'm reasonable. But my message is clear: don't harm my city, don't harm my state. Otherwise, you've got to go through me."

 

As I wrote, why exactly James, who’s been lobbied on Atlantic Yards, would be an interface on projects like that is unclear, unless 1) some Attorney General approval is needed, 2) she’s being welcomed as a supporter/figurehead, or 3) she’s playing the long game and expecting to run (sooner than 2030?) for Governor.

After all, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park won’t be finished until the next Governor’s term, at the earliest.

Let me update that: the project might not be re-started until the next Governor's term. 

Could the federal government help, for example, with infrastructure? It seems unlikely, given Trump's antipathy toward Democrat-run New York City and State, but, then again, Atlantic Yards is a "never-say-never project."

Political effort?

Could it be that James wants more allies from both business and labor, given re-election challenges related to the state's rightward shift, potential Mayor Andrew Cuomo, and a Trump administration investigation of alleged mortgage fraud, as suggested in the Manhattan Institute's City Journal Letitia James’s Campaign Is on the Ropes, published May 28?

That headline claim is clearly a stretch, from a conservative publication, though the subheading is better grounded: "New York’s incumbent attorney general faces headwinds in her reelection bid."