News that the Mayor and Governor have each restocked the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. board with some of their most trusted allies is playing today like the official announcement of some sort of Sharks v. Jets downtown showdown, with spurned stadium builder and deputy mayor Dan Doctoroff leading Bloomie's Jets (natch) and Empire State Development honcho Charles Gargano fronting Pataki's Sharks. Gargano and Doctoroff once played for the same side in the stadium battles, but this one looks like it might get ugly from the start. As Jim Rutenberg and David Dunlap report in today's Times:
In recent weeks, many of Mr. Doctoroff's outside associates have said they believe he would like nothing more than to put the failure of the stadium plan behind him with some notable successes, like pushing the mayor's agenda downtown.Be afraid.
· Bloomberg Flexes Muscle, Naming Four to Downtown Development Board [NYT]
· Titans at Ground Zero [NY Daily News]
· Doctoroff Still Jonesing for West Side Convention Space [Curbed]