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September 2, 2005
Strange bedfellows in Rat-Nets village
The Brooklyn Papers
by Jess Wislowski
BUILD has moved into one of Ratner's recently purchased properties, rent FREE! What's just plain weird is that the group is now next door neighbors to Dan Goldstein, spokesperson for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and the one person on his block who hasn't sold out to Ratner under threat of eminent domain.
BUILD has a more serious concern than the people in their neighborhood; the arrangement smacks of "quid pro quo" and creates an appearance of conflict of interest that could "discredit BUILD's achievements" (a list of BUILD's achievements to follow at a later date).
Wislowski uncovers more about standards for groups who have negotiated Community Benefits Agreements:
Greg LeRoy is executive director of Good Jobs First, a non-profit policy group in Washington, D.C. that has advocated for community benefits agreements and supported the development of CBAs in Los Angeles development projects. He said negotiations for CBAs tend to be conducted with the agreement that no party involved will receive favors from another negotiating party.
Posted by lumi at September 2, 2005 9:33 AM