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April 30, 2006
What would Jane Jacobs say? Disingenuousness & Atlantic Yards
AtlanticYardsReport looks at what Jane Jacobs would have thought about the Atlantic Yards proposal:
I'd speculate that Jacobs, like some Brooklynites, would approach Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project with some ingrained skepticism, based on the developer's much-criticized architecture and urban design at MetroTech, the Atlantic Center mall, and the Atlantic Terminal mall. (Photo at right of MetroTech on a Saturday afternoon, by Brian Carreira for the Brooklyn Rail.)She might have worried that the project would create a superblock, with the closing of Pacific Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues. She might not have been as conclusory as the WNYC caller about how the project cuts off neighborhoods--project proponents point out that the sunken railyard also cuts off neighborhoods, which is why development of some sort makes sense.
Posted by amy at 10:31 AM
On My Command Unleash Ribs
Gumby Fresh challenges Ratner to a media garnering street fight:
And finally, proof that possibly Brooklynites have been much too restrained at public hearings on the Atlantic Yards project. Nascar has been trying to build a course on Staten Island for a few months now, and has even purchased some land for the purpose. I had thought that maybe they deserved each other, and had not paid too much attention to the subject.My bad. A recent hearing on the subject erupted into a riot - scuffles, cops, unseemly rhetoric, the lot. Now, we always knew that Staten Islanders were not that well-schooled in the finer points of discourse (Exhibit A: Fossella, Vito), but this was a marvelous display of lunkheadedness from the New Jersey annex. But, the whole thing did dominate the news cycle in a way that the earnest meetings on the Atlantic Yards often fail to do. So I am officially challenging Bruce Ratner to a fight. The parking lot of the Vanderbilt McDonalds. Whenever
Posted by amy at 10:17 AM
Cherry Blossom Festival! Crowded!
The Gowanus Lounge has conflicting feelings while looking at the cherry blossoms:
Gowanus Lounge went to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's 25th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival on Saturday and fought off the tens of thousands of nature-deprived New Yorkers and manic photogs crowding around the trees and mobbing the tent on the Esplanade to take in the dozens of performances. (Tried to overlook the fact that Forest City Ratner, builder of Frank Gehry designed apartment towers over the Atlantic Yards with token arena thrown in as a Trojan horse for super-dense residential and commerical development, is one of the corporate sponsors.)
Posted by amy at 9:46 AM
April 29, 2006
TODAY: Bake Don't Destroy
Click on image to enlarge.
DATE: SATURDAY, APRIL 29
TIME: 11AM — 3PM
LOCATION: WASHINGTON AVE. @LAFAYETTE
All proceeds to be donated to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.
For more events, check out our events page.
Posted by lumi at 11:32 AM
Parsing Hakeem Jeffries' views on Atlantic Yards
AtlanticYardsReport:
Attorney Hakeem Jeffries (right), who had previously challenged incumbent Roger Green for the 57th District State Assembly seat, has announced his candidacy for the seat he is vacating, setting up a race against Bill Batson.Batson unequivocally opposes the Atlantic Yards project. Jeffries, according to a report Thursday in the Brooklyn Downtown Star headlined Jeffries Concerned About, But Not Opposed To, Yards, has more nuanced view. And a closer look at his statements suggests that his fence-sitting could easily migrate to support.
Posted by amy at 10:39 AM
Independent Neighborhood Democrats Executive Board Members and Officers to be Expelled from Club!
If you've been following the perils of the Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats, you'll be interested in Daily Gotham's report of a letter received that does not appear to adhere to club rules:
May 4th is the endorsement vote for the NY-11 Congressional primary. Yesterday I received a letter signed by the following individuals asking IND members to join them in support of David Yassky in this race:Debra Scotto, identified as being on the Executive Board
Joe Ringston, identified as Treasurer
Marisa Ringston, identified as Member
Tom McMahon, identified as Member
Eleanor Cunningham, identified as Recording Secretary
Bob Zuckerman, identified as being on the Executive board
Ira Cure, identified as past President
and Stephen DiBrienza, with no noted identification with the clubThe letter is addressed to "Dear Fellow IND meber." According to the Constitution of IND, these individuals, by using their affiliation with IND in written material connected with a campaign that has not received the endorsement of the general membership, are violating IND bylaws.
Posted by amy at 10:22 AM
Car Fight
Aaron Naparstek covers the smack down at the Staten Island NASCAR track proposal meeting. Perhaps Staten Island is jockeying for a WWF venue instead?
Last night's public hearing on the proposed NASCAR track on Staten Island turned into a melee. Union members, many of whom were apparently shipped in by the developer, shouted down and physically intimidated community people who had come out to voice concerns about the project. New York 1 showed video last night of one particularly huge union guy throwing Staten Island Councilmember Andrew Lanza into a headlock and wrestling the microphone out of his hands. The scene looked more like a drunken bar fight than a community meeting. NY1 hasn't put the video on its web site, but ABC 7 caught some of the action and put it online. The NYPD rolled in and shut down the meeting after just a half an hour.For anyone who has attended official public hearings on Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards project, the scene looked familiar: Real estate developer buses in project supporters. Supporters shout down and intimidate community members. The democratic process and opportunity for thoughtful community input is undermined.
Posted by amy at 10:07 AM
EDA's Follies: Part Four
Deep QT delves deeply into the Atlantic Yards proposal's Eminent Domain Abuse, inlcuding such imagery as Brooklyn residents running from Godzilla and ACORN pimping Ratner's ride:
ACORN's deal for their piece of Atlantic Yards requires them to pimp Forest Ratner's ride. In the "Memorandum of Understanding" struck between ACORN and Ratner in May, 2005, ACORN agrees to help "advance the Project" by "appearing with the Developer before the Public Parties, community organizations and the media". The Memorandum also includes an agreement that not-for-profit ACORN will team up with Ratner to develop 600 to 1000 "for-sale units" both on site at Atlantic Yards, and in other unspecified locations. The majority of these units will be sold to "families in the upper affordable income tiers."Atlantic Yards is a veritable vision of urban planned, state capitalist hell. Complete with circles of affordability. Still, if enough people want Ratopia so be it. Let Forest City Ratner submit the project to local public process, negotiate to buy property within the footprint from those willing to sell, and then build to their heart's content.
But that's not the way the footprint is being played. Largely because Forest City Ratner has the quasi-public, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) on their side.
Posted by amy at 9:59 AM
Traffic engineer Ketcham: DEIS will be "another massive cover-up" of traffic issue
AtlanticYardsReport:
So, it wasn't just the bloggers who offered tough criticism of the Final Scope for an environmental impact statement for the Atlantic Yards project. Brian Ketcham, the traffic engineer who heads Community Consulting Services, warns that "archaic" methods and resistance to community input show that the upcoming Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) "will be another massive cover-up of the issue that most affects surrounding neighborhoods: traffic."
...
Total travel time (hours) would increase 75% in 2012 from the 2005 baseline, and 345% by 2016. Emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and volatile organic chemicals would go up about 63% by 2012, and about 275% by 2016.
Posted by amy at 9:36 AM
April 28, 2006
ProHo Photo Hop
The Real Estate Observer
The Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman takes a photo stroll of Prospect Heights:
It's a neighborhood of tree-lined streets and rehabbed row houses slashed through with broad avenues. The southern part has grand apartment buildings; the northern edge tends to have more vacant lots and large warehouses. These are located within the proposed footprint for Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project, and are often cited as evidence that the area is blighted. It is hard to imagine, however, that anywhere within this pizza slice would remain blighted for long. Come inside and see for yourself...
Posted by lumi at 4:09 PM
Calder metal works joined with City Hall Park’s green
Downtown Express
By Janel Bladow
Brought to you by Bruce and organized by the Public Art Fund, the latest City Hall public art installation of six works by Alexander Calder is currently being assembled and will remain on display in the park through 2007.
NoLandGrab: Sponsoring cultural events could be an effective strategy for Forest City Ratner to woo the New York City cultural elite. Ratner's staunchest critics would point out, however, that a development company that receives massive public subsidies would have plenty of money to spend on the arts.
Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM
Jay-Z Meets M Bars
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Nik Kovac covers M Bars's (Michael Barnes) debut of the new Nets fight song:
Jay-Z picked Barnes' "Going Hard" out of over 700 choices to become the new theme song for the Nets.
Barnes really did his research for the song. The lyrics are full of shout outs to Nets players and owners.
...
After his live halftime performance, Barnes got to speak with the Marcy Projects-raised international superstar for a few minutes. "Jay-Z told me he really liked the way I brought in everybody," recalled Barnes of the conversation, "the way I mentioned Bruce."
NoLandGrab: Are we detecting the beginnings of a cult of personality built around Bruce Ratner?
Posted by lumi at 9:00 AM
Bloomberg on Stadium Bonds: It Depends What You Mean By 'Taxes'
Power Plays
Neil DeMause explains why Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) have become au courant in NYC's arena-and-stadium-building boom and why the hidden tax break "might well be illegal":
At issue is the use of city-issued tax-exempt bonds, which are cheaper than traditional bonds: The city Independent Budget Office has estimated that the two teams would save a combined $216 million thanks to this device, mostly at the expense of the federal treasury. The U.S. Congress, worried that it would end up subsidizing every local development deal that came down the pike, specifically outlawed using tax-exempt bonds on privately funded projects, including sports stadiums, in the 1986 Tax Reform Act. But the Bloomberg administration has argued that by having the teams repay the bonds with "payments in lieu of property taxes"--PILOTs--it's met the IRS requirement that the bonds be repaid by general tax revenue.
The controversy takes an interesting plot twist when DeMause recalls how, just a year ago, Mayor Bloomberg was arguing that PILOTs weren't repaid by general tax revenues and therefore didn't require City Council oversight.
Posted by lumi at 8:47 AM
Arena questions & frustrations II
We cut over to Forest City Enterprise's bid to build a giant slot machine parlor in Pittsburgh, when we stumble over something that sounds familiar.
For instance, last week Neil DeMause nailed Forest City Enterprises's CEO Al Ratner for whining that the Pittsburgh Penguins are refusing to foot the bill for their own arena in order to "to sell the hockey team at a higher price." Meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, cousin Brucie "is currently seeking public subsidies to build a new Nets arena in Brooklyn, to help justify the inflated price he and his partners paid for the team."
This week, Al Ratner gets spanked in a letter to the editor to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
When questioned about their outrageously inflated slots revenue projections, Harrah's Albert Ratner said, "If we're wrong, it's our money that's being lost." How utterly self-serving.
If Mr. Ratner is wrong (the way Harrah's was wrong with its casino revenue projections in New Orleans), it's the City of Pittsburgh's money that is being lost -- $100 million more per year in property tax relief -- not his company's money.
NoLandGrab: The Brooklyn subsidiary of Forest City frequently makes the point that their interests naturally conform to the community's interests since they are investing in the community and are committed to holding and managing the properties they develop. However, when Forest City Ratner's public-subsidy-rich holdings don't meet expectations, it's the City and State (that means YOU) to the rescue.
Posted by lumi at 8:21 AM
Jeffries Concerned About, But Not Opposed To, Yards
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac
Hakeem Jeffries declares that his isn't a "Johny-One note candidacy" and it's about more than Atlantic Yards, but that's clearly where he is feeling the heat from opponent Bill Batson.
Batson has made his opposition to the Yards project clear, while Jeffries is still hedging his bets. He said he would not have supported the $100 million allocation for the project within this year's state budget, only because, "I haven't seen anything comprehensive yet. Bringing in 15,000 people into a community [Prospect Heights] that has only 19,000 already...I need to know how that's going to affect police, fire, sanitation, schools, all kinds of services. I have strong questions."
Jeffries on eminent domain:
He would oppose eminent domain "unless there was a clearly defined public benefit."
...on the Community Benefits Agreement signed by Bruce Ratner:
"mend it don't end it."
Posted by lumi at 8:06 AM
Considering the death and life of Jane Jacobs
Power Plays, (NYC political blog of The Village Voice) The Death and Life of Jane Jacobs
Jarred Murphy explores the influence of Jane Jacob's book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities."
But for many city fans, reading the "Death and Life of Great American Cities" offered not just an engaging academic argument. More than that, her book gave shape to the philosophical, even spiritual idea that within the "irrationality and chaos of cities" there was a logic—or perhaps a soul—guiding all those disparate, conflicting forces toward something good.
The NY Times, BLOCKS: All in the Planning, and Worth Preserving
David Dunlap lines up some quotes from urban planning experts speaking about Jane Jacobs influence.
Downtown Express, The life and death of Jane Jacobs
Downtown Express gives credit to Jane Jacobs for preserving the very neighborhoods the downtown weekly paper covers and suggests her legacy goes beyond the individual fights she waged:
Not every one of those principles is always right and not every community fight is good, but the idea that people are the most important part of urban planning, that they can improve or stop plans if they are smart and organized, that government officials must have true consultations with neighbors – that idea lives and Jane Jacobs is a big reason why.
Posted by lumi at 6:49 AM
Live from Ratnerville, Dean St. Demolition Porn
Curbed.com
Develop Don't Destroy's Daniel Goldstein knows how to get our attention: send an email with the subject header Demolition Porn and attach a bunch of photos of the work underway this week at 461-463 Dean Street in Ratnerville.
It doesn't take a NoLandGrabber to notice that Ratner used a time-tested blightification strategy — buying up properties and contributing to their deterioration by leaving the windows open, rain or shine. The photo below is from February, 2006.
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Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM
April 27, 2006
Paper of record, on record, "For the Record"
It's not exactly the mea culpa that Atlantic Yards critics were looking for, but The New York Times checked it out and found that Ratner's plan isn't now and has never been in Downtown Brooklyn:
Because of an editing error, an article in The Arts on Tuesday about Frank Gehry's design for the first phase of the Grand Avenue development project in Los Angeles misstated the location of the proposed Atlantic Yards project that Mr. Gehry is designing in Brooklyn. (The error also appeared in sports articles on Feb. 9 and April 11, in the City section on Jan. 15 and in several articles in 2003, 2004 and 2005.) It is on rail yards and other land in Prospect Heights and on a block in Park Slope; it is not in Downtown Brooklyn, although it is near that neighborhood. (Go to Tuesday's Article)
The Real Estate Observer, We were wrong all along
Matthew Schuerman ranks this correction amongst his all-time favorite Times corrections (no kidding).
Atlantic Yards Report, The Times finally corrects the "Downtown Brooklyn" errors
Stormin' Norman Oder welcomes the "belated" correction, but believes The Times could have gone further. In his typical relentless fashion, Oder managed to find 14 articles in the NY Times Sports section in 2003 that have yet to be appended.
Posted by lumi at 10:41 PM
Develop, Don't Destroy franchise
From the Develop, Don't Destroy Troy online petition:
We, the undersigned, are greatly disturbed by the amount of demolition occurring in Troy, N.Y. Historic buildings have been leveled and over 150 buildings are scheduled for demolition. Most of these are houses in Troy’s poorer neighborhoods. Block development grants are being used for demolition. And, in the case of the historic marquee on the American Theater, historic review protocols have been ignored.
Posted by lumi at 10:16 PM
A Plan to Rebuild by 2012, and Doubts on the Big Rush
An alert NoLandGrab reader pointed out this paragraph in today's news about the plans to rebuild the World Trade Center (emphasis added):
Some experts are even wondering whether there will be enough steel, concrete and curtain wall to build the four towers by 2012 at the same time that two baseball stadiums, the $2 billion Goldman Sachs headquarters, the $1.7 billion expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Moynihan Station, 10,000 apartments and various subway projects are under construction.
NoLandGrab: Industry experts have already noticed the Katrina effect on the supply and cost of construction materials. Add to that the building boom under the Bloomberg-Doctoroff doctrine and the $3.5 billion figure for Atlantic Yards isn't even going to be close enough for horseshoes and hand grenades.
Posted by lumi at 10:06 PM
TONIGHT: Atlantic Yards: The Community Impact — A Free Forum
Thursday, April 27, 2006. 7 - 9 PM
First Unitarian Congregational Society
A UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION
Pierrepont St between Clinton & Monroe, Brooklyn Heights
This forum hopes to present both sides of the issue. However, with one exception, the invited proponents declined to participate.
Panelists: * Rev. Dennis Dillon, Publisher, The NY Christian Times & CEM of the Brooklyn Christian Center; * Daniel Goldstein, Spokesperson, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB); * Brian Ketcham, P.E., Executive Director, Community Consulting Services, Inc. * Bob Law, Community Activist; * James Vogel, Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods; * (tentatively) Rev. Herbert Daughtry, Pastor, The House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Avenue, (depending on rearrangement of Rev. Daughtry’s schedule).
Reception to follow
Sponsored by The Weaving the Fabric of Diversity Committee
Posted by lumi at 11:41 AM
TODAY: Gowanus Canal CSO Public Forum
Combined Sewer Overflow does not sound like an issue that brings neighborhoods together, but everyone in Central Brooklyn has had (or knows someone who has) brown water backing up through their plumbing when it rains.
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Brooklyn Community Board 6 and local elected officials are co-sponsoring a Public Forum on Combined Sewage Outfalls (CSO's) flowing into the Gowanus Canal.
Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and the City's Department of Environmental Protection will be on hand to report on their efforts to improve the environmental condition of the Gowanus Canal and answer questions from the public.
Also participating will be representatives for Friends and Residents of the Greater Gowanus (FROGG), Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation (GCCDC), UPROSE and Urban Divers.
Thursday, April 27
6:00 pm
YWCA, 30 3rd Avenue (between Atlantic Avenue/State Street), 1st floor
For more information on up-and-coming events, please visit our Events page.
Posted by lumi at 11:18 AM
Atlantic Yards out of place in "New Downtowns" discussion
Atlantic Yards Report goes to a city planning forum on the revival of America's Downtown districts and learns why Ratner's project defies common sense.
Posted by lumi at 8:24 AM
A Brooklyn Activist Fights Eminent Domain Abuse
Castle Watch (Newsletter for the Institute of Justice's Castle Coalition)
Patti Hagan has been fighting the eminent domain-addicted Bruce Ratner since the Atlantic Yards project was first announced. While Bruce says the neighborhood needs his plan to prosper, Patti tells a different story:
“When I came to this neighborhood in 1979, people were abandoning buildings, houses were boarded up, and there were drugs and crime,” she said. “But people began to buy buildings and fix them up with their own sweat, and one by one, the buildings and the mom-and-pop storefronts began to strengthen. We built a solid neighborhood, one that is a true success story. We don’t need this supposed engine of economic development. This is a thriving, successful neighborhood.”
Posted by lumi at 8:19 AM
Atlantic Yards and the 57th District
Politicker
Ratner PR diva Lupe Todd was spotted amongst the supporters of Hakeem Jeffries at this Sunday's City Hall press conference announcing his third run for the State Assembly's 57th district.
When reached at her office, Ms. Todd had no comment. Mr. Jeffries could not be reached.
Activists opposed to the Atlantic Yards project are dismayed at the connection between Ms. Todd and Mr. Jeffries. Daniel Goldstein, activist resident of the 57th district and supporter of Jeffries' opponent, Bill Batson, emails over: "The community and district need advocates it can trust. Mr. Jeffries' campaign's association with Ms. Todd, one of Bruce Ratner's 'Atlantic Yards' PR reps and lobbyists, is troubling. It raises serious questions about the infusion of private, billionaire interests into Mr. Jeffries' assembly race."
NoLandGrab: Brooklynites still want to know what his position on Atlantic Yards is, though Lupe Todd's public support of his campaign is an ominous sign that the candidate is tight-lipped for a reason.
Posted by lumi at 7:30 AM
Charles Barron, Taxpayer Watchdog
The Daily Politics
By Ben Smith
One City Councilmember didn't vote to force taxpayers to pay for ballparks they aren't even sure they even want, for multimillionaire team owners.
New Yankee and Mets stadium deals passed the City Council today by votes of 46-3 and 48-1 respectively, with the only member to vote against both the black radical from Brooklyn, Charles Barron.
Posted by lumi at 7:09 AM
Brooklyn Broadside: ‘The End of Brooklyn as We Know It’
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle's Dennis Holt proves that you don't have to construct an argument to have an opinion.
In a rambling editorial disputing Atlantic Yards critics' characterization of the project as "the end of Brooklyn as we know it," Holt takes the metaphor quite literally and extrapolates it to the edges of the borough, to locales such as Floyd Bennett Field.
From there Holt touts the State's inadequate review process and then misleads his readers [emphasis added]:
Another major change to another part of Brooklyn is being engineered that will not benefit from such detailed study. It is not because everyone is lazy or has something better to do: it is simply that such work is not required by law.
Dennis Holt is referring to buildings going up as part of the ALREADY APPROVED Downtown Brooklyn Plan, a project that he conditionally supported in the pages of The Eagle.
NoLandGrab: Why is this worth mentioning?
This tactic of deflecting criticism of Atlantic Yards by pointing to other high rises currently under construction is becoming familiar and most recently has been used by our great leader Marty Markowitz.
The Downtown Brooklyn Plan brings up a good point: that the environmental impacts of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal will only be compounded by development already in the pipeline.
Dennis Holt supported the Downtown Brooklyn Plan and the traffic study that accompanied it. Now that the traffic study is gathering dust on a shelf in some cubicle at the DOT, how can "Brooklyn as we know it" plan for the next wave of proposed development?
Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM
April 26, 2006
DDDb Press Release: JANE JACOBS, 89, URBAN CRUSADER
Passing of Activist and Urban Thinking Giant Reminder of All That is Wrong With Ratner's "Atlantic Yards"
BROOKLYN, NY - Jane Jacobs, author, social critic, intellectual, urbanist and community activist, died yesterday in Toronto at the age of 89.
Her seminal work, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, is widely considered the bible of modern urban planning. Her struggles with Robert Moses and her efforts to stop the planned construction of a highway through Lower Manhattan in the 1960s remains an inspiration to all of us fighting for smarter, saner, more people-friendly development.
New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger said today on WNYC’s Brian Lehrer Show that Ms. Jacobs "would not have been enthusiastic about" Bruce Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” proposal.
“There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder,” Jacobs wrote in Death and Life, “and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served.” While this passage was published 45 years ago, it applies just as well today to Bruce Ratner’s and Frank Gehry’s designs upon Prospect Heights and its surrounding neighborhoods.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "While the Ratners and Gehrys co-opt Jacobs' principles by paying lip service to things they call "human scale" and "urban rooms," we can draw inspiration from the vision and vigor that enabled Jacobs to save Greenwich Village from planners, developers, power brokers and politicians intent on their warped ideas of 'progress.' We seek to ensure that when we are victorious in our advocacy for sensible development and a liveable city, our struggle will be one of her legacies. May Ms. Jacobs rest in peace, and in her name may we find peace for the health of New York's neighbhorhoods."
Francis Morrone, journalist, lecturer, and author of An Architectural Guidebook to Brooklyn, noted at a recent public forum on the "Atlantic Yards" proposal:
"Make no mistake. The politicians and the developers are getting away with a lot of what they're getting away with because elite cultural opinion has momentarily grown bored with ideas like preservation and human scale..."
"Ultimately, though, it is not about culture, it is about civilization. It's about such things as how we manage change in our environment..."
"Incremental redevelopment, of a more modest scale, may lack luster in this age in which many architects and planners have swung back from the influence of Jane Jacobs to re-embrace the values of an earlier generation that venerated Le Corbusier and his notions of towers and open spaces sweeping aside the shopworn vestiges of earlier periods of urban development. But for many, incremental redevelopment seems appropriate in Brooklyn–which has fought back from the brink to provide models for urban America, not of vast projects of wholesale transformation, but of rehabilitation and the tender loving care of the sorts of neighborhoods and places that we spent so many years trying to destroy."
"Clearly, the 'Atlantic Yards' area needs development. The proposals on the table, however, beg the question of whether Brooklyn’s urban success stories have taught us anything at all, or just paved the way for thoughtless mega-development. Jane Jacobs coined the phrase “cataclysmic money.” Disinvestment is bad. So is over-investment. And it seems that in some parts of Brooklyn we may be going from the one to the other."
The Hillbilly Blog Bard of Brooklyn, Dope on the Slope, in remembrance of Jan Jacobs, writes: "The idea that Brooklyn could be transformed into a 'destination attraction' for tourists, or perhaps even become another Jersey City if we just applied ourselves, would make Jane Jacobs puke. The so-called "leaders" in Brooklyn are repeating the same mistakes Jane warned us about decades ago. Unfortunately, Jane Jacobs and the movement she spawned are currently out of fashion with New York City planners and the architectural mavens in Manhattan."
Posted by lumi at 10:16 PM
She was right about everything, of course...
Why do we honor Jane Jacobs? The Guttersnipes explain it this way:
She was right about everything, of course—why it's good to leave keys with a shopkeeper, why it's bad to knock down SoHo for a highway (even if that highway might have held above it a great Paul Rudolph masterpiece)—and in the best way: simple and direct, because she could be, because the rhetoric of her day (cue ominous parallelism...) had gone so far awry that the very act of exercising common sense was radical. We're there again, folks. This time without our Jane.
The point bears repeating, "we're there again folks." But, we could just as easily say, we'll always have "our Jane;" Jacobs didn't really invent anything, yet her life and keen intellect bore witness and gave voice to that which had existed since the dawn of human civilization.
Last year, Jane Jacobs submitted a friend of the court brief in the bellweather eminent domain case, Kelo vs. New London.
Here's today's coverage:
The NY Times, Jane Jacobs, Social Critic Who Redefined and Championed Cities, Is Dead at 89
NY Daily News, Jane Jacobs dies. Stared down Robert Moses.
AP, via NY Newsday, Jane Jacobs, author and activist, dead at 89
Curbed.com linked several blog commentaries and compiled links to interviews.
Aaron Naparstek mused in The New York Times last week that "If Jane Jacobs had the tools and technology back when she was fighting Robert Moses' plans to bulldoze Lower Manhattan, I bet 'The Death and Life of Great American Cities' would have been a blog." This week Naparstek's blog quotes Jacobs in reference to closing our urban parks to automobile traffic.
The Hillbilly Bard of Brooklyn, Dope on the Slope, remembers Jane Jacobs and explains why Brooklyn now needs her more than ever.
While the Bruce Ratners and Frank Gehrys co-opt Jacobs' principles by paying lip service to things like "human scale" and "street walls," New Yorkers can find inspiration in the vision and vigor that enabled Jacobs to save Greenwich Village from planners and politicians intent on "progress."
Posted by lumi at 9:49 AM
Legal Theft In Norwood
Newsweek
The conservative columnist George Will makes the case against eminent domain abuse and explains why the Gambles are fighting the City of Norwood to save their home:
Norwood's government, in a remarkably incestuous deal, accepted the developer's offer to pay the cost of the study that—surprise!—enabled the city to declare the neighborhood "blighted" and "deteriorating." NEWSWEEK reader, stroll around your neighborhood. Do you see any broken sidewalk pavement? Any standing water in a road? Any weeds? Such factors—never mind that sidewalks and roads are government's responsibility—were cited by the developer's study to justify Norwood's forcing the Gambles and their neighbors to sell to the developer so he could build condominiums, office buildings and stores.
NoLandGrab: This case is being watched very carefully by property-rights activists in Brooklyn and the Ratner clan. Many issues run parallel — an inevitable finding of "blight" that benefits a developer who already owns all of the recently developed commercial property adjacent to the site — and the case is on track to possibly reach the US Supreme Court long before the Atlantic Yards eminent domain legal challenge.
Posted by lumi at 8:55 AM
Press Release, Libertarian Party: STATE SENATOR BACKS LIBERTARIAN RALLY PROTESTING EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE
Albany, NY, 4/26/06: State Senator John A. DeFrancisco, author of two bills that would eliminate eminent domain abuse in New York State, has voiced his strong support for a demonstration on the Capitol steps protesting the practice that is scheduled for Friday, April 28, from 12-3 pm. The protest is part of a 'spring offensive' on the EDA issue organized by the Libertarian Party, which is holding its state convention in Albany the same weekend.
In a support letter to be read on the Capitol steps he writes, "I commend you for holding this rally and letting your elected representatives know that you favor reforming New York State's eminent domain laws." DeFrancisco is the author of bill S5938 (which would limit government takings to true public uses) and S5961-A (which similarly amends the state Constitution to forbid EDA). The bills were drafted with the aid of the libertarian Institute for Justice, and S5938 has 18 co-sponsors in the Stste Senate.
Full rally and convention details are posted on www.ny.lp.org. Libertarians will consider formally endorsing the bills at its Saturday convention, will be held at the Best Western Albany Airport Inn, 200 Wolf Road, Albany Saturday, April 29th from 9am to 11pm, with the business session nominating candidates from 1:30pm to 5:30pm.
Posted by lumi at 8:53 AM
Podcast: Eminem Domain Mix
Dope on the Slope released a podcast of a special mix for your next condemnation party.
Featuring favorite lines like:
My favourite buildings are all falling down.
Seems like I dwell in a different town.
But why should I bother with painting them brown.
When they'll all be pulled down in the end?
But wait, there's more — complete witih liner notes, you get the low-down on the Kinks' rock opera "Preservation," which tells "the tale of an Evil Developer® who is plotting to pave over a tranquil community for his own fun and profit."
All for the low, low price of letting Brother Bruce [and his little Marty too!] into a neighborhood near you.
Here's the link. Just kick back and, "relax. Eminent Domain is good for you."
Posted by lumi at 8:00 AM
The Edifice Complex: reflections on Ratner and Gehry
Atlantic Yards Report
Power, money, art, ego — could these factors be the driving force behind Atlantic Yards?
Peering through the analytical lens of Deyan Sudjic, the architecture critic for London's Observer newspaper, and his book "The Edifice Complex: How the Rich and Powerful Shape the World," Norman Oder considers Atlantic Yards and the limits of criticism of Ratner and Gehry's 22-acre $3.4 billion 16-tower 8.6-million square foot mini-city.
Posted by lumi at 7:46 AM
IND Members Uphold Disenfranchisement, Endorse Conner
OnNYTurf
One more eye-witness account of Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats political brouhaha summed up well the move that disenfranchised supporters of anti-Ratner candidates:
Many asked for an explanation as to why the date was changed. President Johnson told them, that the date was not changed, it was moved.
NoLandGrab: Ratner's real estate dealings have become a political flashpoint, one result of which is greater-than-ever scrutiny of local politics — never mind that anyone with a blog has become another set of eyes for the public.
Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM
Yonkers, Ratner battle Con Edison over Ridge Hill
The Journal News
By Michael Gannon
Forest City Ratner's controversial Ridge Hill project in Yonkers is still making waves. The most recent development, "the use of the threat of eminent domain," will come as no surprise to Brooklynites.
A city-controlled agency could go to court to force Consolidated Edison to sell 5 1/2 acres of property south of the proposed Ridge Hill Village project that developer Forest City Ratner needs to build a new access road for the site. ... The utility agreed last year to allow Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner to build a section of the access road connecting Ridge Hill, a $600 million housing, retail and entertainment complex approved by the City Council last year, to Tuckahoe Road to the south. Altogether, the developer needs 7.1 acres for the access road, none of which is developed land.
Con Edison, however, has not indicated any kind of agreement to a sale price that the IDA [Yonkers Industrial Agency] or developer has been willing to pay, said David Simpson, a spokesman for Mayor Phil Amicone, who heads the IDA board.
The article also mentions some of the extraordinary tax breaks that Forest City Ratner has managed to secure: sales and mortgage-recording tax exemptions and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes.
John Larkin, president of the Nepera Park-Grey Oaks Neighborhood Association, questioned why Forest City Ratner should be eligible for tax breaks.
"It annoys me this $4 billion corporation is going begging to the city when they can pay full taxes, like I do," he said.
Posted by lumi at 6:44 AM
April 25, 2006
Community is fooled again by jobs promises
Atlantic Yards Report has been going hoarse trying to get press and pols to realize that Bruce Ratner has a poor track record of fulfilling jobs promised to the community.
Apparently that's business as usual with the Economic Development Corportation and Captain Marty.
Brought to our attention by The Real Estate Observer:
Those 300 jobs promised by the Economic Development Corporation for the new cruise ship terminal in Red Hook? They are part-time jobs--like 38 days out of 365, the Daily News reports.
Posted by lumi at 9:37 PM
Jane Jacobs, 89: Urban crusader
Toronto Star
Jane Jacobs was a writer, intellectual, analyst, ethicist and moral thinker, activist, self-made economist, and a fearless critic of inflexible authority.
...
Her first book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, published in 1961, became a bible for neighbourhood organizers and what she termed the “foot people”.It made the case against the utopian planning culture of the times — residential high-rise development, expressways through city hearts, slum clearances, and desolate downtowns.
She believed that residential and commercial activity should be in the same place, that the safest neighbourhoods teem with life, short winding streets are better than long straight ones, low-rise housing is better than impersonal towers, that a neighbourhood is where people talk to one another. She liked the small-scale.
Posted by lumi at 9:23 PM
Aquifer testing
Neighborhood blogger onehansonplace.com reported aquifer testing in the Atlantic Yards footprint.
The Forest City Ratner machine has begun testing the water table around the Atlantic Yards site. To the far left is a truck that was parked at the corner of Pacific and 5th Avenue this weekend. There were others parked by 6th Ave and Atlantic also.
Posted by lumi at 10:27 AM
More Nets arena demolition today
Metro NY
By Amy Zimmer
The demolition of buildings owned by Bruce Ratner in the footprint of his plans for a $3.5 billion arena and 16 high-rises continues today. Demolition is expected to begin at 461 and 463 Dean St. Solomon Oliver Mechanical Contracting — which Ratner officials pointed out is a minority-owned firm — will take down the buildings.
Posted by lumi at 10:21 AM
Atlantic Yards Report Roundup: Times editorial and ad sales
Today's Atlantic Yards Report turns its attention back to The NY Times.
Forest City Ratner's ad in the Times: home court advantage?
If you own the lower floors of the Times Tower, is this ad that ran on the back page of this Sunday's Empire State Building special tribute section a "house ad" or a favor for your business partner Bruce Ratner?
"Buried by The Times": a darker story of inadequate coverage
A book whose premise is that the publisher of The New York Times downplayed the coverage of the Holocaust as the news of genocide was reaching our shores may contain lessons about how a paper's publisher can affect news coverage that may be against his or her own political or financial interest.
Posted by lumi at 9:48 AM
Yassky’s Burden
Can a white candidate win in a congressional district created to empower blacks?
Jewish Week
By Adam Dickter
In an article about City Councilmember David Yassky's run for US Congress, 11th District, the two-ton elephant is brought up by Representative Major Owens.
Where does Yassky's stand on Ratner's Atlantic Yards development proposal?
Yassky favors the development but wants it scaled down, with traffic concerns addressed.
Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM
One Hanson Place Update: Site's Sorta Open Again
 |
Curbed.com
While Bruce Ratner is showcasing photos of scrap buses stored in the MTA-owned railyards as evidence of blight in the neighborhood (see atlanticyards.com, 2,700K slideshow), Curbed.com takes a sneak peak behind the cyber-curtain at the units for sale at the newly renovated One Hanson Place (aka Williamsburg Clock Tower building).
At a cool $3 mil for the penthouse flat, there goes the neighborhood.
Posted by lumi at 9:17 AM
Los Angeles With a Downtown? Gehry's Vision
NY Times
By Robin Pogrebin
Frank Gehry is working on his urban design chops in Los Angeles on a "$1.8 billion development plan by the Related Companies that will remake Grand Avenue as a pedestrian-based gathering point":
He said his goal was "to develop the beginning of a community that has the body language of a community and has the scale of a community."
The only problem for Brooklynites is that he still thinks Atlantic Yards is in Downtown Brooklyn:
In complexity, he said, the multiuse project resembles the proposed Atlantic Yards development he is designing for downtown Brooklyn, which includes a corridor of high-rise towers and a new arena for the Nets basketball team.
NoLandGrab: Just because Gehry doesn't know where Atlantic Yards is doesn't mean that the Times doesn't. Clearly Bruce Ratner is winning the PR battle when the paper of record repeatedly misplaces Atlantic Yards and locates the project where Ratner and Gehry want everyone to believe it is.
Posted by lumi at 8:17 AM
April 24, 2006
Now you see it, now you don't
Last Thursday, Governor Pataki vetoed Senate bill S.7264-A, a Senate budget bill which included the $33 million line item earmarked for Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal. Only the State Assembly can override the veto, though the horsetrading to subtract items from the bill is undoubtedly underway.
Posted by lumi at 7:02 PM
Jobs at Ratner's malls: far fewer than originally predicted
Atlantic Yards Report looks at Ratner's jobs claims for his existing Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls and detects a pattern of "overinflation."
Norman Oder also points out that in 1996, the figure in the sales pitch for Atlantic Center was 1,250 new jobs. However, according to a Good Jobs New York report, the figure that Ratner promised to city officials was a scant 552 jobs.
NoLandGrab: That's not a great track record of trust and transparency. Everyone has gotten used to the idea that promises of jobs are usually overinflated. The question is why does the press fail to scrutinize them?
Posted by lumi at 4:34 PM
The IND train
The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman
The interplay of real estate and politics covered on the pages of The Real Estate Observer:
So far, the brouhaha caused by the decision by the [Independent Neighborhood Democrats] political club to keep out Atlantic Yards opponents has escaped notice on The Real Estate, though sister site The Politicker had it first. It's a great real estate-and-politics story: About 100 apparent Atlantic Yards opponents paid their dues just in time to qualify for the May 18 vote to endorse Congressional candidate and Atlantic Yards opponent Chris Owens (as opposed to David Yassky, the club favorite and Atlantic Yards fencesitter). Then the club decides to move up the registration deadline to May 4 to disqualify those newbies. (A state Senate race is also at issue.)
Schuerman's post cites a Daily Gotham eyewitness account, that acknowledges the disenfranchisement of supporters of anti-Ratner candidates, but ascribes the real motive to be the preservation of the endorsement of Brooklyn's other Marty, State Senator Marty Connor.
Posted by lumi at 3:56 PM
DePlasco's back on his spin game with the Brooklyn Papers
Atlantic Yards Report gives props to Forest City Ratner's Der Meisterspinner Joe DePlasco for earning his keep in the pages of this weekend's Brooklyn Papers.
Like a veteran pitcher with a range of pitches at his disposal, Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco showed two of his time-tested spin techniques in a brief article in the recent Brooklyn Papers, headlined Ratner’s new Web site o’lies.
Posted by lumi at 3:43 PM
Atlantic Yards project timeline (and what's pending)
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder has updated the project timeline featured in his original report, released 9/05.
What's pending?
Atlantic Yards Report fills readers in on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), Final EIS, who approves this project, eminent domain, and other legal challenges that will likely push back Bruce Ratner's plan to start construction by the fall.
Posted by lumi at 12:30 PM
Bill ties benefits, jobs to subsidies
If businesses don’t deliver on promises, they would have to repay tax breaks
MetroNY
By Patrick Arden
A State Assembly bill would force large projects that receive subsidies to meet stated goals or lose state subsidies.
If passed, how could the bill affect promises made by developers in these Community Benefits Agreements that are becoming popular in NYC?
Under IDA reform, businesses getting government subsidies would have to meet certain standards. Construction jobs would have to pay prevailing wages, for instance, while permanent employees would have to earn at least 185 percent of the poverty level for a family of three. Local hiring would also be mandated. Many of these provisions are now being negotiated separately under so-called Community Benefit Agreements.
“We’d like to take the question of jobs, benefits and local hiring off the table from the beginning — if agencies are going to give out public subsidies, then these kinds of conditions should be attached to those subsides right off the bat,” said Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of New York Jobs With Justice.
Posted by lumi at 12:17 PM
CBA should mean "CITY Benefit Agreement"
Room Eight
One voice in a growing chorus of critics of Community Benefits Agreements, Barry Popik illustrates how developers will cut these side deals with those who are willing to receive a handout in exchange for their support of a project.
CBA should mean "city benefit agreement," not "community benefit agreement." Promises of jobs on large projects should be city-wide, not community-wide. Mayor Bloomberg should issue a policy pronouncement on this right now.
Posted by lumi at 12:12 PM
Forest City to develop Virginia 'lifestyle' center
Crain's Cleveland Business
By MAYA R. PAYNE
Forest City Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: FCE) announced plans for White Oak Village, a mix of “power center” and “lifestyle center” in Richmond and Henrico County in Virginia.
NoLandGrab: Forest City's promotion of the "lifestyle center" made us wonder how it differs from an outdoor mall.
See: TheBoxTank, "Lifestyle Centers And Faux Downtowns"
Posted by lumi at 12:03 PM
Targeting Shaya Boymelgreen
Kick off for Nationwide Make Work Pay! Campaign
TODAY! MONDAY APRIL 24th
Join us in a Rally against Shaya Boymelgreen, an Unscrupulous Developer And Launch Nationwide Make Work Pay! Campaign
1000 local workers will gather on April 24th to send a message to Shaya Boymelgreen that workers should be rewarded with decent wages, affordable healthcare, a safe workplace and a chance for a better future. This action will be joined by dozens of events across the country to kick off the national Make Work Pay! Campaign
Stand with Local members the Laborers, Teamsters, UFCW, SEIU, UNITE HERE, Carpenters, Jobs with Justice, ACORN, New York Civic Participation Project and many other community and religious leaders.
MONDAY April 24th 3:00pm
Atlantic Ave at Smith Street in Brooklyn
Metro NY, Activists: ‘We can’t live in New York City’
Also, ACORN stormed an open house this weekend for Boymelgreen's 85 Adams Street project. Their point: developers receiving subsidies from the City should be required to build affordable housing.
Posted by lumi at 11:42 AM
BLOOMBERG MOVES TO TARGET COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENTS
NY Sun, NEW YORK DESK
Community Benefits Agreements, like the one Forest City Ratner signed last year, have proliferated and are causing frustrations amongst City officials and community groups, as calls to rein in these side deals are growing louder.
Mayor Bloomberg may soon be targeting community benefits agreements, the lucrative payment deals that developers have agreed to with local leaders to assuage public opposition to major projects. An administration official told Crain’s New York Business this week that the mayor is evaluating the agreements and may unveil a policy on how they should be negotiated. The New York Yankees recently signed a community benefits package with Bronx leaders involving their plans for a new stadium,leading Queens lawmakers to demand a similar pact from the New York Mets on a proposed replacement for Shea Stadium.
Posted by lumi at 11:30 AM
Sewage Beach
Summer’s almost here, and things are getting excrementally worse with our water.
New York Magazine
By Eric Wolff
New York Magazine received Forest City Ratner's press release about sewage concerns and worked it into this article about how storm water causes our sewer system to overflow into our city's waterways:
But even developers seem to recognize the issue. In part to deflect the anger of neighborhood activists, the developers of the massive Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn promised to build underground tanks to collect up to 800,000 gallons of storm-water runoff, and to install newfangled “waterless urinals.”
Considering that there is already a problem, and that there are thousands of residential units currently under construction, the possibility of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) is of great concern to neighborhoods surrounding the Atlantic Yards footprint. We haven't seen anything that would lead Brooklynites to believe that the underground tanks would be a total mitigation of CSOs for Atlantic Yards.
These links outline the issue before Ratner announced his plans to build underground tanks:
Brooklyn Papers, Study:Yards feces to canal
Atlantic Yards Report, Another worry: how often would Atlantic Yards sewage overflow the system?
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Community Board 6 are sponsoring an informational forum on CSOs this Thursday, April 27 at the 3rd Ave. YWCA.
Posted by lumi at 10:58 AM
BROOKLYN: ASSEMBLY CANDIDACY
The NY Times, Metro Briefing
Hakeem Jeffries, a lawyer who has been active in Brooklyn civic activities, announced yesterday that he was running for the Assembly seat being vacated by Roger L. Green. Mr. Green is challenging the incumbent, Edolphus Towns, in a Democratic primary for the House of Representatives. This will be Mr. Jeffries's third campaign for the seat in the 57th Assembly District, which includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights. He twice ran against Mr. Green. This year he will face Bill Batson, a former aide to State Senator David A. Paterson of Manhattan. Both candidates are Democrats. Mr. Jeffries had considered running against the assemblyman two years ago, but his block was carved out of the district. Since then, Mr. Jeffries has moved to within the district's new boundaries. He said his campaign would focus on housing. JONATHAN P. HICKS (NYT)
Posted by lumi at 10:39 AM
April 23, 2006
Top 5 reasons why FCR used an old photo of the Atlantic Arts building
A NoLandGrab reader submission in reaction to "Ratner’s new Web site o’lies":
5) They couldn't find 636 Pacific Avenue (because it's actually Pacific Street)
4) The people at Ratner-funded BUILD, who work next next door, have not yet been given a $85 digital camera to help out their benefactor.
3) The budget for Joe DePlasco's services includes only words, not pictures.
2) Six months was such a tight, tight deadline to revise the project website that photos just fell by the wayside.
1) Because the Ratner people lie so much, and newspapers like the Times let them get away with it, they actually think they won't get caught.
Posted by amy at 10:58 AM
New York City Invokes Eminent Domain to Acquire New Jersey*
Buoyed by the Supreme Court's decision to expand cities' power of eminent domain, New York City filed today to acquire the state of New Jersey for commercial development.
"New York has been facing some very difficult economic decisions," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Building viable economic development strategies for the city has been our number one priority. We think that the Supreme Court decision really opens a door for us, and will allow New York City to finally resolve some of these intractable issues."
The Constitution says government may take private property "for public use" if it pays the owners "just compensation." Originally, public use meant the land was used for roads, canals or military bases, or to clear blighted areas. In today's decision, the court went a step further and said officials need not claim they were condemning blighted properties or clearing slums. Now, as long as officials hope to create jobs or raise tax collections, they can seize the homes of unwilling sellers, the court said. This "public purpose" is a "public use" of the land, the court said in Kelo vs. New London.
"The Supreme Court decision makes it easier for us to justify this course of action in the name of economic development," said Bloomberg, "although actually we could easily have made the case that taking over New Jersey would be analogous to condemning a blighted property. I mean, come on. Have you been there lately?"
New York will compensate the current residents of New Jersey with "fair market value" for their property, a total amount estimated to be well within Bloomberg's ability to pay out of his own pocket. After evicting all current residents from New Jersey, New York plans to add a new Olympic stadium, a Trump apartment complex, international airport, and, most critically, a 4,000 square mile landfill.
"I have mixed feelings about this," said Newark resident Franklin Comstock. "On the one hand, I am not thrilled to be kicked out of my home and be paid pennies on the dollar for the privilege. On the other hand, New York is evicting our state government as well, every last official and bureaucrat. That is an immensely appealing concept." Others are more concerned about the Supreme Court decision and New York's plans.
"The Supreme Court has really started down a slippery slope by expanding the definition of "benefit to society" which can be used to justify eminent domain ," said economics professor Brad Turkelson, of Cornell University. "Making way for an interstate or a military base is one thing. Making way for a new golf course is something entirely different. Where is this going to stop? What if they decide that eminent domain could be invoked for the moral benefit of society? Do we want to go there?"
If New York is successful, it would mark the first time that eminent domain was used to take over an entire state. Other states are reportedly watching New York closely, and may be considering takeover efforts of their own.
"Dibs on Nevada," said California Governor Schwarzenegger.
*Today's Sunday parody was submitted by a NoLandGRab reader. What, you didn't think it was real did you?
Posted by amy at 10:53 AM
Mike likes public housing hike
Daily News describes Bloomberg's support for hikes in public housing rents, and the dissident voice of Bertha Lewis of ACORN:
"We can give tax breaks and subsidies to millionaires and billionaires to build luxury condos, but we can't help working families?" Lewis fumed.
Wait, are you taking the kiss back Bertha?
Atlantic Yards Report details the details:
Lewis is right that reform of the subsidy program is long overdue. But unmentioned is that a lot of public housing tenants pay far less of their income in rent than those in affordable housing. For example, the affordable housing plan ACORN negotiated with Forest City Ratner for the Atlantic Yards project caps rents at 30 percent of household income--which is the standard in the definition of affordable housing. As Bloomberg said, according to WNYC, "We are proposing to raise the rent for people who pay less then 10% of their income in rent. It's a small percentage. Someone has to pay for it."That's not true, since the calculations below show that some people facing increases now pay 20% of their income in rent. Still, the relatively best-off public housing tenants are facing less of a hit than some of the others facing increases.
Posted by amy at 10:41 AM
What Public Process?
Brooklyn Views looks at the private versus public discussions of the Atlantic Yards proposal:
So we have been informed that the public review process has begun, because in addition to private meetings, there was a public meeting for the Draft Scope of Analysis for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). (A record of the “numerous” private meetings would be helpful, because behind the blogging issue is a general sense that the information is not getting through.) Let’s be clear about what that meeting for the “general public” was. The meeting was not a discussion about the project. The stated purpose of the meeting was to receive comments on the proposed scope of a proposed study of the project’s impact, as narrowly defined as that is by the state’s EIS process. Ironically, the EIS does not include issues of sustainable design, security, or other critical design issues; the EIS is not even a full discussion of the project’s impact. While the scope of the study was discussed, the specific impact of the project on the local area was not the subject of the meeting. Again, the discussion was supposed to be only about the scope of a study, which is quite different from a discussion about the project itself. A real discussion about the project would address the process, the financing, the schedule, and the idea of what this project means for Brooklyn.
Posted by amy at 10:35 AM
Arena Spillover
The Daily Politics:
One of the interesting things about the fight over the Nets arena complex in Brooklyn is the extent to which it is spilling over to dominate the rest of the borough's politics, partly by adding a cadre of activists to the generally passive political environment around there.A meeting last night of one of the borough's political clubs, the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, got fairly heated along those lines last night, according to a couple of people who were there. The club's leadership, defending pro-arena incumbents, moved procedurally to keep new, anti-arena members out of its endorsement votes.
Daily Gotham has a long, distressed account of the situation.
Another attendee, however, notes that the new group did score a partial victory, however, moving a State Senate endorsement away from the regulars and over to Eric Adams of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement. Just a sign of which way the wind is blowing in local politics, and on a real estate development that looks, to close observers, increasingly imperiled.
Posted by amy at 10:32 AM
More Welcome Development
Excuse me, you're in the way wants their own luxury condo, and sends a plea to Ratner for assistance:
A site in downtown Brooklyn currently being used as a parking lot is being offered for sale. It is zoned for a 130,000 square foot apartment building, which is woefully inadequate. Even at a relatively sane 700 sq ft per apartment, that's still fewer than 200 units, and once you factor in 2 and 3-bedroom units, it goes even lower. If New York is going to be adding 1 million people in the coming decades, this type of development just isn't going to cut it.Where's Bruce Ratner when you need him?
Posted by amy at 10:07 AM
April 22, 2006
Saturday Morning Special
Field of Schemes:
One of the competing bidders for a Pittsburgh casino slots license lashed out at the Penguins for refusing to commit to the state's "Plan B" arena plan. if the team's preferred arena partner isn't awarded the license: Forest City Enterprises co-chair Albert Ratner accused the Pens of refusing to chip in more for the arena in order "to sell the hockey team at a higher price." The irony: Albert Ratner's cousin Bruce is currently seeking public subsidies to build a new Nets arena in Brooklyn, to help justify the inflated price he and his partners paid for the team.
Posted by amy at 4:44 PM
Ratner’s new Web site o’lies
Brooklyn Papers:
Almost from the moment that www.atlanticyards.com went live, critics began finding half-truths and outright dishonesty on the site — the most glaring example, a several-year-old photo of a gutted building labeled “existing conditions.”That building — at 636 Pacific St.— was later renovated into luxury condos. Ratner wants to tear it down to make room for an arena for the Brooklyn-bound New Jersey Nets.
Posted by amy at 3:58 PM
RATNER’S RICHES
Brooklyn Papers:
In the wake of $66 million in public subsidies approved by the state legislature for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, Gov. Pataki promised this week to make it a cool $100 million — even if he doesn’t know how.“We don’t exactly know where the funds will come from, but an appropriate funding stream will be found,” said state budget spokesman John Sweeney.
Wild guess to where the funds will come from - bake sales?
Posted by amy at 3:54 PM
April 21, 2006
Bake Don't Destroy postponed
Due to a forecast of rain, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's bake sale this Saturday has been postponed by a week.
THE NEW DATE IS SATURDAY, APRIL 29.
For more up-and-coming events, check out our events page.
Posted by lumi at 11:57 AM
The open space dodge: would it be built just over the rail yards?
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder has pointed out (again and again and again) that the project isn't just over the railyards.
This time he's taking Forest City Ratner to task for trying to promote the idea that Brooklynites are trading in scrap buses and a railyard for open space at Atlantic Yards.
From atlanticyards.com:
As part of the development, FCRC will transform portions of the exposed rail yards into publicly accessible open space that everyone can enjoy. (Emphasis added)
Upon visual inspection, the highly touted "publicly accessible open space that everyone can enjoy" (that means it's still private, not public, property), is facilitated by, and largely located on, what is currently Pacific Street.
Posted by lumi at 10:33 AM
Two races to watch
Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal is the proverbial elephant in the room in a few races in Brooklyn. Here's the latest:
State Assembly, 57th District
hakeemjeffries.com
Evidence that Hakeem Jeffries is running:
"The future website for HakeemJeffries.com" is "Coming Soon!"
NLG: Inquiring minds want to know, where does Jeffries stand on Atlantic Yards?
US Congress, 10th District
Brooklyn Downtown Star, Two Pols Seek To Become the New Towns in Town
In the 10th district, a state pol and a city pol are both challenging Ed Towns, who is hoping to win his 13th consecutive federal election.
Councilman Charles Barron, who's current city district is entirely within the larger federal district, announced his campaign to unseat Towns two months ago. Last Friday morning, 24-year incumbent Assemblyman Roger Green, whose state district overlaps with the horseshoe-shaped federal district's northwestern section, officially announced his own oft-rumored candidacy to do the same.
NoLandGrab: Green is on record supporting Atlantic Yards and Bruce Ratner claims Towns is too. Barron was an early critic of the project.
The NY Sun, Green to Voters: Don’t Focus on Ethics Violation
The Brooklyn assemblyman who briefly lost his seat over an ethics violation said voters should not hold that against him as he runs for Congress.
Posted by lumi at 8:52 AM
It was a Brick... House
Downtown Brooklyn Star
By Nik Kovac
The Gateway Demolition crew, hired by Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), has been methodically disassembling the Vanderbilt Products warehouse on the northeast corner of Dean Street and Carlton Avenues.
...
As of this Tuesday morning, the formerly 30-foot high structure was already less than half its former height. The overall Atlantic Yards construction project is still pending state approval, and of course will have to withstand several more anticipated legal challenges from DDDB.
Posted by lumi at 8:26 AM
Community Benefits Agreements, is it extortion & who benefits?
Community Benefits Agreements have become a standard mechanism for givebacks to the community in exchange for local support for controversial projects.
But the questions linger over who negotiates and signs for the community and if the entire process is just a legal way to extort money from developers without addressing the breadth of community concerns.
Atlantic Yards Report, Systemic changes? Ratner's CBA-compliant architect is already building Downtown Brooklyn towers
Norman Oder uncovers a discrepancy between Forest City Ratner's stated intentions and its actions, as the developer hires one of the most prominent architects in New York City, who happens to be born in Mexico. The move goes towards fulfilling the minority hiring requirement of the CBA, but minorities in Central Brooklyn see little benefit.
Columnist Errol Louis wrote in Our Time Press in January, "At this stage of the game the question should be how and when the dollars will begin flowing into central Brooklyn." Though Louis is an ardent supporter of Ratner's proposal, he makes a good point. The question remains unanswered, as Ratner appears only to be fulfilling the letter of the CBA in defiance of its spirit.
Crain's NY Business, Don't put zoning up for sale in NY
Crain's Publisher Alair Townsend calls on the Mayor and City Council Speaker to rein in private deal making between developers and self-professed representatives of the community, a trend that is resulting in agreements that have "less to do with mitigating adverse impacts than with buying off opposition."
Metro NY, Queens Councilmen seek sweet deal with the Mets
Bloomberg speaks out against efforts to sign a Mets CBA:
At the unveiling of plans for a new Mets’ ballpark two weeks ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg scolded Queens Councilmen who were trying to negotiate a community benefits agreement with the team. He called their threats to stall the project a “demand to get some ransom.”
The Politicker, C.B.A.'s: Sometimes Extortionate, Sometimes Not So Much
Regarding the Mayor's comments (see above) about a Mets' CBA:
It's obvious but just needs to be said: You won't catch Mike Bloomberg saying this about the community benefits agreement undergirding the Nets stadium deal.
Posted by lumi at 6:52 AM
April 20, 2006
GumbyFresh gets grumpy
It must be the jet lag that made GumbyFresh a little cranky about not being mentioned in the NY Times's article on bloggers who critique the Atlantic Yards project. He's one of the citizen bloggers who frequently writes about life in the shadow of the Atlantic Yards proposal.
In a recent post, GumbyFresh wrestles with the problem of finding a craft-brewed beer produced in a place where the government has foresworn taking people's homes to hand over to private developers.
NoLandGrab: We like the idea of supporting Michigan microbrews since the state's Supreme Court had the courage to overturn the decades-old ruling that introduced the idea of taking a thriving neighborhood for the public's (alleged) economic benefit.
Posted by lumi at 7:25 AM
"Stretching the truth"--why can't the Times look critically at Forest City Ratner?
Atlantic Yards Report looks at the challenge of reporting on an issue in which he-said-she-said journalism doesn't tell the story. Today's post lists some of Forest City Ratner's specious numbers and claims, linked to easily verifiable documentation.
Norman Oder also points out that one subjective characterization in The NY Times was misleading and kind of unfair:
The Times's 4/16/06 article about bloggers observed of the new AtlanticYards.com web site: "A day later, the site had already drawn jeers from at least two blogs." But I had not merely jeered at the site, I had fact-checked the site and found several errors. Later I found photos that lied.
NoLandGrab: We are lifting our veil of silence and are coming forward to say that it was us — NoLandGrab was the site that jeered at AtlanticYards.com last weekend, as cited by the Times. Even a developer who repeatedly uses eminent domain to build a real estate empire at the taxpayers expense is funny sometimes.
So Norman Oder is right, while we were being snarky, he was actually contributing to the public discourse about the project (showoff!).
Posted by lumi at 6:52 AM
Gehry's Bad Skin Spreads at IAC HQ
Yesterday was a bad skin day at Curbed.com, when the site considered the skin of New York City's first Frank Gehry building with a link to photoblogger Will Femia's shots of the frosted striped glass.
Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM
April 19, 2006
"Over the railyards"? FCR says "primarily"
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Atlantic Yards Report
It might seem like Norman Oder is picking on Forest City Ratner's new PR pet project, atlanticyards.com, but when the developer is setting the agenda it is worth analyzing the sales pitch to see if Ratner is making empty claims and promises.
Today's entry in the "error log" is the dubious and often repeated claim that the project is:
Located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, bounded by Pacific and Dean Streets and Vanderbilt Avenue, and primarily situated over the MTA/LIRR’s Vanderbilt rail yards.
Can 8.3 acres out of a 22-acre project be considered "primarily situated?"
NoLandGrab: The statement implies that people and small businesses are not being displaced and that the project isn't really as big as critics claim.
Posted by lumi at 7:44 AM
Atlantic Yards...What Could Have Been
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From Curbed.com, more proof that developers had designs on the Vanderbilt Railyards before New York State bent over backwards for Bruce Ratner:
Before Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry decided to play mad scientist with the Brooklyn skyline, there was a time when a different future was imagined for the Atlantic Yards. A reader reflects:
Before Ratner had his eyes on the Atlantic Railyards, Boymelgreen had big plans for Newswalk...not just the renovated Daily News printing plant, but for the whole neighborhood...all that survived was the Newswalk building, but this page from some architectural firm has some pretty hilarious sketches of what could have been...
NoLandGrab: Though the sketches might seem bizarre — "amusement park kitsch" comes to mind — on first glance we see a brew pub (perhaps for the mighty Brooklyn Brewery?) and some serious traffic calming measures that would satisfy transportation advocates. The design scheme would have put off many of those in the neighborhood, but ideas of scale, "fusing together the two neighborhoods" in a pedestrian-friendly environment, would have been welcome by many.
Commentary from Atlantic Yards Report, So, Boymelgreen had a plan for the railyards?:
Surely the goal to knit together the neighborhoods (the page mentions Crown Heights and Park Slope but, strangely enough, not Fort Greene and Prospect Heights) is a sound one. And the scale of this plan is quite modest compared to Forest City Ratner's 16-tower Atlantic Yards proposal. Perhaps it was too modest to be economically successful, even though the only housing was market-rate.
Had it been discussed publicly, perhaps local officials would have urged an RFP for the railyards, rather than let them sit. A discussion of Brooklyn's housing and retail needs might have followed, and multiple bidders might have competed. And then Marty Markowitz and Charles Gargano wouldn't be making pronouncements about how "no one has done a thing about" the railyards.
Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM
Where Does Quinn Stand?
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDb) wants to know where Christine Quinn stands on the Atlantic Yards proposal.
Quinn built her reputation as a leader in the City Council when she went to the mat against the Jets stadium proposal stating,"It seems somewhat unfair that the Jets are going to dump all of their corporate resources into this when they are up against unfunded community groups who are just trying to protect their neighborhood and fight for responsible development."
A year later, Quinn gave her support to the Yankee Stadium deal, in which neighborhood concerns were sacrificed for the richest team in baseball.
Where do these two very different reputations — Quinn the Crusader and Quinn the Dealmaker — leave Brooklynites fighting for responsible development of the railyards? DDDb suggests you ask her.
Posted by lumi at 6:48 AM
April 18, 2006
Atlantic Yards Report Roundup: Importance of covering FAR & Missing Ms. Brooklyn
Atlantic Yards Report
The Times takes floor area ratio seriously--in Williamsburg
Norman Oder notes that The NY Times ran an article about a developer's tactic to manipulate Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in his projects in Williamsburg. He suggests that the Times take a stab at seriously covering the points Brooklyn Views brings up about Forest City Ratner's stated FAR for Atlantic Yards.
NoLandGrab: If the Brooklyn Papers can cover FAR, surely The NY Times's real estate desk could take a stab at demystifying Forest City Ratner's FAR calculations and its implications.
One may say it's not against the law, but since NY State is forcing a special zoning override for this project, it's at least worthy of discussion.
From "Miss Brooklyn" to "Ms. Brooklyn": belated feminism or defensive tactic?
Ratner's tallest tower, the 60-story Miss Brooklyn, is now being referred to as "Ms. Brooklyn," but that doesn't mean we won't miss Brooklyn if Atlantic Yards is built. Norman Oder wonders why the name change.
Posted by lumi at 6:13 AM
April 17, 2006
Ratner Offers Urinal Idea for Nets Arena
The Gothamist
Introducing the mintless urinal:
Oooh: In order to appease the downtown Brooklyn community, Bruce Ratner and the Nets arena development team are proposing to use waterless urinals in order to reduce the water and sewage outflow from the proposed arena. Yes, waterless urinals - crazy stuff!
NoLandGrab: Actually, the devices look pretty cool. We'd expect nothing less from the self-professed "do-gooding liberals." But seriously, is this supposed to solve the problem of the tremendous impact of Atlantic Yards and the surrounding development on Central Brooklyn's infrastructure?
Posted by lumi at 9:19 PM
Requiem for the Underberg
An excerpt from Dope on the Slope's reflection on the Underberg building:
The Underberg was vacant, and few would have argued that it was a stunning architectural achievement worthy of preservation. However, it was an "old timer," and as such, it had a certain appeal. I was especially fond of its peculiar shades of green and light blue, and the contrast between the meticulously painted signage and the equally meticulous graffiti. It also imparted a sense of graceful senescence - what the Japanese might term "wabi sabi." This building wasn't so much falling down as it was fading away, that is, it was until Ratner demolished it.
Why mourn the destruction of an abandoned building?
No reason, really, except that it was the most aesthetically pleasing edifice in the immediate vicinity
Click here for a last look.
Posted by lumi at 9:02 PM
The Phantom Vetoes
The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman
Pataki vetoed subsidies for the Mets and Yankee stadiums when the money was appropriated twice in the current budget under review. That's two line items and only one veto. Meanwhile regarding taxpayer financing for the Nets arena:
The Governor is also committed to seeing that Atlantic Yards get the full $100 million coming from the state, the aide said. That means that, in addition to the $66 million budget appropriation, Pataki will make up the difference by applying some of his discretionary funds to the arena-and-housing complex or through other means.
So much for fiscal belt-tightening.
Posted by lumi at 8:21 PM
Blog on blogs on media coverage of blogs, when will it end?
Curbed.com has a look at "The Grand Army's" reaction to being covered by the Times and muses:
God, when are these people just going to cut the wishy-washy bullshit and tell us where they stand on this whole Atlantic Yards thing?
Posted by lumi at 11:30 AM
No 1. idea for Nets' arena
Urinal proposal would be water-saver
NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays
Will Ratner's water-saving measures be enough to offset the increased sewage runoff into the Gowanus Canal if Atlantic Yards is built?
Ratner officials using the new no-flush [urinals] at the 20,500-seat arena would save 1.5 million gallons of water a year.
...
Ratner officials also plan to build underground tanks to collect up to 800,000 gallons of storm water runoff, which could be held on rainy days when the sewage system is already overwhelmed.
Or, is the system already overburdened and unable to handle developments currently under construction, much less the density of Atlantic Yards?
But Marlene Donnelly of Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus said the measures aren't enough.
"The current infrastructure lets sewage into the canal even under dry conditions," said Donnelly. "Even before Ratner's project was on the table this has been an issue down here."
Posted by lumi at 11:29 AM
Cup half full before coffers are empty
Bruce Ratner feels great about his team's chances of going all the way.
While attendance and revenues are up, he wants you to forget that the team is in the red and groundbreaking on the arena is behind schedule.
NY Daily News, Ratner willing to pay for wins
Ratner is looking forward to his second postseason as owner of the Nets. And he assured fans and players he will do what it takes to keep his team intact and competitive despite reportedly losing over $20 million last season. He stands to lose more the longer his proposed Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which has an arena as its centerpiece, is delayed.
NY Post, FEEL-GOOD 'W'
Owner Bruce Ratner saw the game as another part of an already "great" season for the Nets both on the court and from a business standpoint. Forget financial losses, Ratner wants this team to stay together for as long as possible and hopefully to achieve the dream he holds for this season.
"We're going to win the whole thing," Ratner said optimistically.
Newark Star-Ledger, The way Ratner sees it, his Nets have look of a championship team
"I've never had my doubts," he said. "Even when we lost five (out of six) ... I said, 'Coach, don't worry. We're fine. We're going to do it, just stay with the whole thing. Don't worry about it. It will take care of itself as long as everybody doesn't go after each other and plays together.' And this team has stuck together.
...
He also is confident they'll be the first team on Atlantic and Flatbush avenues."It seems to be going slow, but steady," he said of the move.
The lingering doubt, of course, is that he has deep enough pockets to keep the Nets solvent until the move. Recent reports indicate that even though Arena attendance has increased by 12 percent, the team lost $26.8 million in the last fiscal year.
Posted by lumi at 11:21 AM
Underberg building all but gone
set speed aka onehansonplace.com
Local blogger ltjbukem captured the twilight of the Underberg building yesterday evening.
Posted by lumi at 9:49 AM
It came from the Blogosphere...
Blogs on blogs on Atlantic Yards
Yesterday's NY Times article on the bloggers covering Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal drew the inevitable reaction in the blogosphere, creating a virtual hall of mirrors.
FROM THE "GRAND ARMY"
OnNYTurf, Worthy Reading -- Atlantic Yards Related
The creator of the Google Map photo tour of the Atlantic Yards footprint was interviewed for the Times article but ended up on the cutting room floor. He issues a challenge to the Times to, "provide density analysis of Ratner's proposal in any form that would come slightly close to matching the quality of my map."Atlantic Yards Report, The Times & the blogosphere, ten story ideas, and some reflections on coverage
Norman Oder not only dashed off a detailed response to the article, but he also added the link to most of the blogs listed below (that's what bloggers do).
LOCAL
Dope on the Slope, Grand Army of Bloggers
The movement has a name, "The Atlantic Yards Blogade." Then the expat hillbilly unleashes on "Joey from Cobble Hill" DePlasco:Let me assure Mr. DePlasco that there is no "sense" of anger in Brooklyn over this project. The anger is very real and it is growing as more people become informed about the details.
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, BROOKLYN BLOGOSPHERE IN THE NY TIMES
The Sunday Metro section discovers the Brooklyn blogosphere (no mention, btw, of OTBKB).
The Gothamist, Extra, Extra
Gothamist humorously describes the relationship between Ratner and Brooklyn bloggers as "tenuous."
REAL ESTATE
Curbed.com, It Happened One Weekend
4) Instead of delving into the major issues constantly written about on the anti-Atlantic Yards blogs, the Times merely points out that, uh, these blogs exist. Thanks, guys.
The Real Estate Bloggers, Blogs Tell The story in Brooklyn Development of Atlantic Yards
One of the biggest construction projects in Brooklyn, New Yorks history is the development by Forest City Ratner called Atlantic Yards. Like most huge projects, it has its proponents and detractors. What is interesting is that both sides are using weblogs to get their story out.
justiNYC, (Proposed) Atlantic Yards Development has its own blog
Just under a year ago, there was virtually no voice to be heard from the real estate blogging community. These days, we practically run the show! Good luck to Jonathan Cohn, the author of Brooklyn Views Blog!
TRANSFORMING JOURNALISM & POLITICS
IP & Democracy, Blogs Take on NYC Real Estate Developer
One New York City real estate developer, however, may wish that the blogosphere would vanish.
JStudies.com, Urban Blogging
I think the public nature of blogging pushes people into doing more and better research.
The response to this project highlights the fact that blogging is a multidimensional writing/research/communication modality.
This article is in the Time's technology section not its media section although the implications for traditional media are perhaps more important than the mere fact of the technological delivery
Buzz Machine, Hyper local
Media commentator Jeff Jarvis declares that the Brooklyn Blogfest is an example of how "hyperlocal citizens’ media" is supposed to work.Experimental Space, NY State Agency Plan Gets an Online Reaction
Even if the state doesn't provide a place for public comment, the public knows how to set up comments elsewhere. With Blogspot and other easy to set up sites, with commenting enabled, the opposition can get organized online earlier and better than in public hearings.
Would a state agency provide a centralized comment space, for communication and dialog about its proposals?
- Virtualpolitik, In the Zone
The article, "A Blogfest over a Project in Brooklyn," describes how the web's new class of professional amateurs can even impact land use policy.
But I wouldn't want to suggest that "professional amateur" was intended as a derogatory term in any case. Having recently returned from a eclipse-viewing trip, I know how important "amateur" astronomers are to the "professional" astronomy community. I consider it a form of "open source" culture that should be encouraged.
Government Technology, Bloggers Focus Attention on Proposed Brooklyn Development
Bloggers' rapid-fire dissemination and analysis of community issues can obviously outflank any daily newspaper and are already a force to be reckoned with.
+D1 (Portuguese journalism blog), Blogs e cidade (Blogs and City)
Um exército de blogs ajudaria a brecar ou a rever algum projeto que esteja sendo implantado na sua cidade?
Posted by lumi at 7:57 AM
April 16, 2006
Sunday Comic
Posted by lumi at 10:30 AM
A Blogfest Over a Project in Brooklyn
The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore
The media echo chamber is complete when the mainstream media covers bloggers who cover gaps in the mainstream media coverage of the largest project (ever) in Brooklyn.
Today's human-interest piece in the Metro section marks the coming out of many of the bloggers familiar to NoLandGrab readers.
NoLandGrab: Thanks to Der Meisterspinner Joe DePlasco for giving us props for our media clipping service. It saves some Forest City Ratner intern about a half an hour a day, time better spent on handing out box lunches.
As for the "sense of self-importance and anger that often pops out," any grumpiness arises from the fact that we'd rather be doing something else, if it weren't for the self-important multi-billion-dollar boondoggle that ate Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 9:45 AM
The Times & the blogosphere, ten story ideas, and some reflections on coverage
The Times rarely makes a move that goes unnoticed by Atlantic Yards Report blogger Norman Oder, and today's article is no exception. Oder offers some more detail, disputes some of Nicholas Confessore's characterizations of the band of bloggers, and submits his list of topics to cover for the consideration of the Gray Lady.
Posted by lumi at