UN Department of Chutzpah
Charles Johnson
Fri Nov 18, 2005 at 11:16 pm PST • Views: 207
The United Nations wants America to pay more than 350 million dollars to renovate their Manhattan headquarters: Cost of U.N. Renovation Rises $400 Million.
UNITED NATIONS - A review of ways to cut the cost of a long-overdue renovation of U.N. headquarters instead found that the project will need $400 million more than expected because of delays and inflation, the United Nations said Thursday.
The renovation, now expected to cost $1.6 billion, has been slowed by political wrangling in the New York State Legislature, which refused to approve one element of the plan. It has also become a popular target for U.N. critics in Congress, who claim the project is emblematic of a bloated bureaucracy.
Louis Reuter, the American who was appointed in June to lead the stalled project, said the price for his new proposal was a good deal — about $411 per square foot, compared to average Manhattan prices of between $550-$650.
“The only thing that has happened to us is time,” Reuter told the media after his report was released. “The costs are completely competitive. They’re dependable, they’re reliable.”
Because U.N. member nations will have to pay for the renovation, Reuter’s plan must gain approval from the U.N. General Assembly. But it could face resistance in Congress. The United States, which pays 22 percent of the U.N. general budget, would have to pick up about $350 million of the renovation.
Frank says: