Now will they shut it down?
We refer to the “temporary” agency that refuses to die: the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.
LMDC is a joint city-state operation set up after 9/11 to hand out federal redevelopment funds.
More than 13 years later, it lives on in all its governmental glory — defying repeated calls from pols (and this newspaper) to phase it out, trim the bureaucracy and save New Yorkers money.
Now, there’s fresh cause to act. Begin with this: We’re told the agency no longer has any funds left to distribute. If it’s true the money is all gone, there’s surely no reason to keep the living-dead LMDC going.
In addition, one of its champions, Sheldon Silver, has now been indicted and forced to step down as Assembly speaker. Gov. Cuomo backed shutting the agency last year, and one source says Mayor de Blasio may now be on board, too.
Frankly, its closure is long overdue. Through the years of Ground Zero rebuilding, LMDC was more of a drag on progress than a facilitator of it.
It got into squabbles with the Port Authority and other entities, and it wasted money on dubious white elephants such as the performing arts center. Meanwhile, it sucked up tax dollars for salaries and other expenses.
As far back as 2006, nearly nine years ago, the agency’s own head said LMDC had fulfilled its mission and was preparing to sunset. But it never did.
In the film world, zombies walk around hungry for human flesh. The LMDC version feeds on taxpayer dollars. Time to pull the trigger here — and aim for the head.