Gov. Paterson’s dream of rounding up private money to help pay for improvements to roads and bridges is starting to look a lot like the infrastructure he had hoped to rehabilitate.
Two sources tell The Post that the State Commission on State Asset Maximization, which the governor set up to explore the possibility of tapping into the private sector to pay for 26 projects across the state, has now put everything on hold because the governor’s political problems have sapped enthusiasm for the effort, and shifted its attention elsewhere.
These people said the commission was within weeks of naming a board that would have been charged with the task of finding investors for the projects, which range from repairing the Robert Moses Causeway on Long Island to rebuilding the upstate Tappan Zee Bridge and the city’s Kosciuszko Bridge.
In addition, the commission had already begun looking for private money to help finance a wind-energy plant near Lake Erie and the installation of solar panels on state buildings.
“We are in discussions with the private sector to gauge their appetite for specific projects and are working to advance those projects with the greatest mutual benefit to both the public and private sectors,” said Sam Barend, the commission’s executive director.
However, with calls growing louder for Paterson to step down amid a series of scandals, sources said the commission’s work has effectively been put on ice.
“Clearly, with the leadership situation so uncertain, it is difficult to put together a board,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization of the city’s business leaders and a proponent of the privatization plan.
That is having immediate consequences on repair jobs that state officials feel can’t wait.
One such project is the Kosciuszko Bridge, which is in such dire need of repairs that the state, despite its budget deficit, is moving forward with a plan to rebuild the bridge, with construction scheduled to begin in 2014 and expected to end in 2019.
However, a source familiar with the matter said the project will likely now cost $1 billion because the state’s cash flow problems mean its completion will be in stages. The source noted that the price tag and turnaround time would probably have been less if the state had private investors.
The Kosciuszko isn’t the only bridge in need of help. Some estimates have identified as many as 2,000 bridges across the state in need of repair over the next few years.
“The budget crisis makes it more important than ever for New York to use public-private partnerships to finance and carry out projects the state will simply not undertake,” Wylde said.