http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...BC%20Universal
Squealing and Shouting Over NBC
May 30, 1987
Donald Trump, the real estate entrepreneur, angrily demanded New York Mayor Koch's resignation. The Mayor, relishing the challenge, declared that ''If Donald Trump is squealing like a stuck pig, I must have done something right.'' Behind the raised voices lies the tense, high-stakes negotiation over the National Broadcasting Company's need for a new home. Thoughtful New Yorkers will side with Mr. Koch.
Eighteen months ago, the communications and entertainment giant stunned City Hall by announcing that it might move its headquarters and production studios from Rockefeller Center to New Jersey. Now it is also considering space in nine acres of Mr. Trump's proposed 76-acre Television City, on the Upper West Side, or remaining in a renovated headquarters in Rockefeller Center.
Mr. Trump hopes to make NBC his anchor tenant. Sensing the city's panic at the thought of another major corporation moving out of the city, he requested deep tax subsidies in order to secure NBC as a tenant. But he would have the subsidies apply well beyond nine acres. He first asked the city to waive real estate taxes for 30 years on the entire 76 acres, which would include 7,600 housing units and the world's tallest building. Now he wants a real estate tax waiver on the NBC portion for 30 years, and on the rest of the site for 20 years. He offers the city a 25 percent share of potential profits over a 40-year period.
The Mayor's response that aroused Mr. Trump's anger was directed to NBC, rather than to him. The city, Mr. Koch said, would make available a 15-year tax abatement on newly constructed office space, which would decrease annually after occupancy. The network would also be granted a standard 22-year tax abatement on its production and recording studios. This proposal would apply to the Trump site or any other in the city. The Mayor also offered a favorable tax package for remaining in a renovated Rockefeller Center headquarters.
The Mayor's terms reflect a reasonable response. The city offer is comparable, for example, to terms offered Shearson Lehman Brothers in order to keep the financial services company in the city. To accept Mr. Trump's terms, even as scaled down, would set a precedent that the city can't possibly afford. It is of extraordinary importance to the city to keep NBC from moving out. But to do so in a way that sacrifices so much revenue genuinely threatens the future of the city that both Mr. Trump and Mayor Koch cherish.