MANHATTAN LIBERTARIAN PARTY

18 Greenwich Avenue

P.O. Box 127

New York, NY 10011 info@manhattanlp.org

Contact: Jim Lesczynski

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Curses: Libertarian Witch to Put Halloween Hex on Olympic Bid

New York, 10/28/02 - Mixing magic and politics, the Manhattan Libertarian Party announced that it has hired a witch to place a curse on the west-side site of the proposed Olympic Stadium. According to party spokesman Jim Lesczynski, the hex is intended to ward off the evil spirits of higher taxes and municipal budget crises.

“We’ve hired a witch, and we’re putting her to work on Halloween, when her powers will be at their peak,” said Lesczynski. “New York City is facing an unprecedented $6 billion budget deficit next year, and the last thing it should be do now is squander billions of dollars more on a stadium boondoggle.”

The witch’s curse will come two days before city officials make their final presentation to the U.S. Olympic Committee, which will choose either New York or San Francisco on November 3rd to be the U.S. candidate to host the 2012 Olympics. The Libertarians chose the site of the proposed west-side stadium for the curse, Lesczynski explains, because it would ultimately be used as a gift from the taxpayers to the New York Jets football team.

“This Olympic bid is a corporate wolf in sheep’s clothing,” charges Lesczynski. “From the corporate sponsors to the TV networks to the pro sports teams that will inherit the facilities, it’s one massive corporate welfare scheme. Libertarians advocate the complete separation of sports and state.”

Lesczynski says the curse will bring bad luck to anyone who competes in a taxpayer-funded stadium. If the city uses taxpayer dollars to build the facility, the U.S. Olympic team won’t win any medals, and any New York pro teams that play there will never make it to the playoffs.

Members of the public and media who would like to witness the curse can join the Libertarians and their witch at the southwest corner of 34th Street and 12th Avenue, just outside the west-side rail yards, on October 31 at noon.