Overview
- City Council negotiators announced a tentative agreement on Tuesday that would allow New York firm Stonepeak Partners to acquire the private lease for roughly $2.5 billion while giving the city new concessions.
- Stonepeak would pay a one-time $75 million transfer fee and give the city 5% of annual meter net income, with city estimates of total receipts over the remaining term ranging from about $376 million to $451 million directed to pension funds.
- The deal adds operational changes that include new rules for temporary event closures, provisions to create non‑metered blocks for electric vehicle charging with shared revenue, limits on sharing user data with immigration authorities, and hiring targets for local workers.
- Stonepeak committed to divest Omni Air International and to document that sale after federal approvals to address aldermen’s concerns about deportation‑flight contracts, while the city’s Law Department provided technical help to the negotiating team.
- The package still needs votes in the finance committee and the full City Council and must be finalized by Sept. 30 to remain valid, otherwise Stonepeak could pursue arbitration; the agreement builds on the 2008 75‑year, $1.15 billion lease that long limited the city’s options.