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November 7, 2005
Ratner's big plans
Pol fumes over bid to build housing at hosp
Daily News
by Elizabeth Hays
Forest City Ratner is eyeing St. Mary's Hospital in Crown Heights for promised affordable homes - far from the proposed $3.5 billion Atlantic Yards Nets arena and residential and commercial towers.
Opponents are claiming that moving the affordable housing off of the Gehry site is tantamount to segregation.
Ratner Executive VP James Stuckey claims that FCR "honors our commitments" and says, "Shame on them."
NoLandGrab: True, Forest City never promised to build all of the housing on the Gehry site. However, they have two PR problems with this move:
1) CLASSISM & RACISM. If FCR is serious about scaling down the project, then something has got to give. The working class and minorities will once again feel like it is at their expense.
2) HISTORICAL TURNS TYPICAL. Though FCR will still tout the historical numbers of their "affordable" housing for upper-middle and middle-income folks, this development would make the Atlantic Yards project typical, as Ratner would join all of the other developers who build the affordable housing component of their projects off site.
Posted by lumi at November 7, 2005 9:00 AM