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April 29, 2006
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 April 29, 2006 9:59 AM