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August 27, 2006

It came from the Blogosphere...

Gumby Fresh, Hoop Drools

This came back to me as I watched Vince Carter and top wife-beater Jason Kidd mumble their way through a press conference organised by their boss Bruce Ratner aboout the stadium. Here's the low-down (Realplayer link) from Kidd on why he just loves his boss' project:

""He's doing it not just for the Nets, but for the community, for the youth to have role models tobe able to look up to not just for ten years but for longevity."

Carter's statement, which I haven't been able to hunt down, was if anything even less coherent than Kidd's. It's a tribute to Ratner's cynicism that he thinks that merely hauling two athletes onstage to repeat "Youth", "Goal" and "Unity" in an indeterminate order will provide the requisite publicity boost.

Capitoilette, Survivor: Atlantic Yards

Well, on the same day that CBS unveiled its brilliant new Survivor format, Bruce Ratner and friends also decided to showcase just how good a marketing strategy it is to play the race card.

By buying-off construction workers with phony claims about jobs, and housing advocates with phony claims about affordable housing (and by simply buying Rev. Herbert Daughtry), Forest City Ratner has managed to paint a portrait of a passionate and predominantly African-American pro-AY team facing off against a rather bloodless group of Anglo anti-Yarders.

It’s a powerful picture, and one that has made many a local elected official a tad antsy about weighing in against the development (Letitia James, to her credit, is a notable exception). No one in Borough or City politics wants to be against minority jobs or affordable housing, and few would want to be seen as anti-African American. I’m sure Ratner and his consultants had some idea all along that they might get so lucky.

vidiotspeak, Sorry for the light posting,

Nobody said what was really going on. Nobody talked about the fact that there is a myth called "private property" in this country. There is no such thing as private property. You may THINK you own your home. But you don't. The bank does. And even if you pay of the mortgage, you still don't own it. Just try to not pay your property taxes and see how long you get to live there. The crux of the Ratner project is the way he acquired the land -- through guise and eminant domain abuse.

Mr. Vidiot has coined a really good term for this and he doesn't want me say too much about it yet, and hopefully, he will blog about it soon. (He doesn't blog much. He'd better start. Hint hint.)

We're anxiously awaiting...NoLandGrab loves to propagate new words!

Daily Gotham, onNYTurf: Gmaps for Atlantic Yards and Williamsburg Waterfront development proposals

OMFG! I almost forgot about Will's maps. If you have not seen them, run ASAP. They totally kick ass and are an example of exactly the kind of information the city ought to be putting out for us constituents to review.

Why is it that even if we have a mayor who happens to be one of the biggest digital moguls of our era; New Yorkers cannot count on having this kind of information available on the internet and in kiosks around the city for "We The People's" review?

Dreadnaught, "Bruce Ratner promised us housing and all we got were these lousy T-shirts"

Posted by amy at August 27, 2006 8:12 AM