Behind closed doors: BART’s shenanigans in Millbrae

Sound familiar? Last May BART’s board voted to enter exclusive talks with a company owned by Lawrence Lui, a friend and campaign contributor to BART director James Fang, for a hotel development near the Millbrae station, after Fang made a pitch behind closed doors. That’s even though studies showed a rival company’s plans for an office complex there would likely mean more money and riders for BART. Now, after another closed door meeting, the board has decided to let both developers bid and, according to a confidential memo obtained by Zusha Elinson at The Bay Citizen, decided to re-open the bidding, although no one at BART is willing to talk about it.