Times Union

All posts tagged Times Union

Times Union thinks ethnic slurs are OK on state property

Posted by noonante on September 23, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment

In a remarkable editorial by Albany’s Times Union, the prominent newspaper in New York’s capital pushed the administration of Governor Andrew Cuomo to allow a food truck with an offensive name onto the grounds of the Empire State Plaza.  The truck, named Wandering Dago, had been approved for a spot this summer at Saratoga Race Course by the New York Racing Association.  When NYRA informed the truck’s owners after the first day of racing that it had to be removed, litigation ensued.

The truck’s owners had also applied for a permit to operate on the Empire State Plaza earlier this year and were denied in part, according to the Times Union, because of the name.  The litigation raises a challenge based on the First Amendment’s protection against the government infringing on the right to freedom of speech.  According to the truck’s owners, who claim to be of Italian heritage, the name is derived from the phrase used for Italian immigrants a century ago who wished to be paid on a daily basis  –  or, as the “day goes.”

In a federal court hearing last week, it was revealed that Cuomo’s Deputy Secretary for Gaming and Racing had emailed NYRA CEO Chris Kay shortly after the fourth race had been run that the name was a “problem waiting to blow up.”  According to the suit by the truck’s owners, it was this email that prompted their eviction.

Here is the Times Union‘s take on NYRA’s action:

Indeed, NYRA might have found itself hearing complaints from Italian-Americans upset by what many view as an ethnic slur.  But the time to have a discussion about that was in the months that preceded the approval. Not on opening day, and not with an ultimatum to change the business’ name in less than 24 hours to save the state and NYRA any potential discomfort.

The Times Union got at least one thing right  –  NYRA should have rejected the application based on the name upon receipt.  Is there some doubt, however, that it is an ethnic slur?  A useful test for anyone thinking a particular term is acceptable is to go up to a friend and refer to him by that name.

Second, why is it only “Italian-Americans” who might be upset?  I would like to think that in a nation that thrives on diversity and inclusiveness, an insult to one is an insult to all.

And yes, removing the truck may have saved “the state and NYRA any potential discomfort,” but what about all the rest of us who find the name offensive and contrary to the ideals a state government should be promoting?

The interests of fairness may require a cash settlement to the truck owners because they relied upon NYRA’s approval to their financial detriment, but not because there is a First Amendment right for a commercial enterprise to say whatever they want while making money on state property.  That does not mean, however, that the state should allow the truck on the Empire State Plaza as recommended by the Times Union editorial.  While that particular ethnic slur may be one that is acceptable to the Times Union, it is not to many fair-minded people  –  and not just those with Italian heritage.  And let’s not forget what message is sent to all visitors to the Plaza who are not familiar with the litigation background and the sophistry of the Times Union.

Is the honeymoon with the “new” NYRA over?

Posted by noonante on May 20, 2013
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

In a sign that the honeymoon with the Reorganization Board of the New York Racing Association is over, we have seen recent media attention paid to a fiscal issue between NYRA and the Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund.  The Fund is a public benefit corporation that distributes incentives to promote “breeding, raising, and racing of quality thoroughbred horses in New York State.”  It derives its revenues not from taxes, but from New York’s thoroughbred tracks as well as a growing portion from Video Lottery Terminal revenues generated by the state’s racinos.  NYRA is the entity now controlled by state government that runs New York’s quality horse racing programs at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct.  NYRA paid more than its correct share to the Fund between 2008 and 2012 to the tune of $1.2 million and is now seeking repayment.

Local media, including Albany’s Time Union newspaper and the NPR affiliate WAMC have paid attention to the story but, as typical of their other forays into New York’s racing, have shed considerably more heat than light on the issue.  The TU “broke” the story on May 13, but “broke” is a relative term since the issue is one that has been publicly known for some time.  According to The Saratogian, NYRA demanded a repayment on March 15.  The Saratogian also quoted a member of NYRA’s Board as saying it was a matter that “had not come up in our board room,” even though he was present at the April 11 meeting when it was raised as an outstanding matter, and it was also reported in the minutes for the meeting.  The manner in which it was raised at the meeting also made it clear that it had been an outstanding issue known to the Board members.  WAMC’s contribution to the fog was a discussion on their daily Roundtable program where they described NYRA as seeking reimbursement of the over payment from the state.  The Times Union published an editorial Sunday in which they decried the “tiresome games” played by NYRA’s Reorganization Board in distinguishing between the “new” NYRA and the “old” NYRA, adding, “[s]o it’s the new NYRA when it has its hand out for money from the state.”

Both WAMC and the Times Union also conveniently conflated moneys owed by NYRA to New York State that were discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding with what they each describe as a new demand for money “from the state.”  I have always operated under the assumption that bankruptcy proceedings are designed to both protect creditors and allow an entity to get back on its feet, and debts that are discharged  –  and must be approved by a federal court  –  are, you know, “discharged.”  It doesn’t mean that the bankrupt entity continues to owe an obligation.  More significantly, however, is the Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund may be a state-created entity, but it is not the “state” in the sense that the taxpayers are responsible for its obligations.  While that is not exactly a subtle point, it is one that both the capital’s “paper-of-record” and NPR station are willing to overlook in order to keep going what they see as a controversial story.

(Not so incidentally, the Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund has been twice cited by New York’s Comptroller, most recently on November 14, 2012, for failing to perform tests to prove they were getting the proper commissions.  The Comptroller’s report said they were getting the proper commissions, but it is not clear that was a result of the Comptroller actually doing his own testing.)

This is not intended to excuse NYRA for making improper payments, but I see this as more of an accounting issue than a significant matter warranting the attention being paid to it by influential media outlets.  I think NYRA deserves considerable scrutiny, particularly since it is now controlled by state government.  But what I found so disturbing about Governor Cuomo’s seizure of New York’s racing a year ago remains true today.  We are being poorly served by a media that seems more intent on the cheap sound bite than actually doing even a minimum level of actual reporting and digging to ascertain what is truly going on.  The Times Union also pulled out the tired trope that NYRA “was in the headlines too often for its corrupt behavior.”  They do not specify what that “corrupt” behavior was, but are instead apparently relying on a public willing to accept it on faith.  Of course, if they did any actual reporting on these issues there could be an informed discussion on the good and bad of NYRA.