Sheldon Silver to Appeal Corruption Conviction
December 2, 2015
By Dan Orlando
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While Silver’s unethical actions have the 71 year-old facing as much as two decades in prison, his time in the state government produced more than just scandal.
“Silver has a complicated legacy. He had a masterful way of galvanizing his troops (Assembly members) and getting them to agree on the best deal possible on real estate issues,” Adam Leitman Bailey, told Real Estate Weekly.
“During this process, year after year, he was able to fend off the most liberal and fanatic assembly members and their bills which would have socialized New York City rent laws and development.”
Bailey did add that Silver’s record was not without tarnish before these charges.
“His worst moment was the rejection of rebuilding of Penn Station which would have turned that disgusting transportation center into a development that would have revitalized not only the trains but improved the area,” said Bailey.
“To this day, no one understands why he made this decision which killed the possibility of a new Penn Station.ˮ
Somewhat ironically, Bailey said his best moments were his dedication to the City and State judiciary,
“Some of the best judges on the bench were protégés of Silver,ˮ said Bailey, pointing to Justice Schlomo Haglar, Judge David Cohen and Justice Martin Schulman as specific examples.
“Overall, his leadership allowed real estate development to continue and prosper, despite the extremely far left views of many of his members.”