Open the records on Steel Point

1/12/08
Politics are in flux in Bridgeport, with the Fabrizi team going out and the Finch crew on the way in. It’s natural certain tasks will fall through the cracks, and there will be a huge pile of work for the new administration.
But with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit pending over the city’s flagship development, on Steel Point, city officials must be as forthcoming as possible. A former developer suing the city says he has been unable to obtain key documents he needs for his court action, and now the dispute is going before the state Freedom of Information Commission.
Bridgeport has plenty to fear. If it is proven (though it will be difficult) that one-time Steel Point developer Alex Conroy was improperly pushed aside in favor of associates of corrupt former Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, it would be a huge black eye for a city that is desperate to put its dark days in the past. It would also mean a potential $100 million payout, not that the city could afford anything close to that.
But even if the case can’t be proven, a drawn-out trial would bring back all the ghosts Bridgeport wants to banish into the archives. No one needs any reminders of the old days (at least, we hope they’re all in the past) of backroom deals, corrupt city officials and bagmen skimming off the top.
Back in the present, Steel Point is supposed to be a symbol of all that’s going right in the Park City. The City Council, in Fabrizi’s waning days in office, approved a Land Disposition Agreement with developer Midtown Equities, and now it’s just a matter of time before work begins in earnest.
So the last thing the city needs is to rehash the Ganim/Pinto/Lenoci/Grimaldi years. Municipal officials need to cooperate fully with demands for documents in relation to the suit and ensure that everything comes to the surface. Full disclosure comes first, and the city can avoid the FOI hearing simply by opening its files.
Though no one wants to relive the past, it’s important to remember that it’s Ganim and his thieving cronies who are disgraced, not the incoming and outgoing City Hall administrations. The reputation of the once-would-be governor could hardly be any worse.
Bridgeport wants to move ahead, but it can only get there by finally burying all the misdeeds in its past.