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December 28, 2006
Atlantic Yards: An Extraordinary Team Effort
Neighborhood Retail Alliance
After giving props to Bruce Ratner's "political maestro" Bruce Bender, Richard Lipsky illustrates that he misunderstands the motives of most Atlantic Yards critics in his most recent post on Bruce Ratner's big boondoggle:
And for all of the critics of Richard Lipsky who chastised him for selling out, we have only one perpetual question: What have you ever done to prevent any development that might have posed a danger to a neighborhood or the small businesses in it? All these armchair quarterbacks who've never gotten their hands dirty should simply shut up; or better yet, join with the Alliance in its upcoming fight against the Wal-Mart that wants to come into downtown Brooklyn. Then, perhaps, they'll experience the thrill of victory rather than the agony of defeat.
NoLandGrab: Local activists aren't criticizing Bruce Ratner's project in order to win an empirical victory. Many are seasoned activists and volunteers who are involved in a laundry list of issues. They didn't pick this fight — it was dropped on their heads.
Lipsky, on the other hand, has chosen to align himself with Bruce Ratner, even though the developer's box stores, like Lowe's and Target, are anathema to the local mom-n-pop businesses that Lipsky represents.
In October, Ratner scuttled a deal with Costco in favor of bringing Target to Manhattan. This switch is considered to be a net-negative for the local economy, since Costco offers higher wages than many box stores, plus health benefits to full-time employees. Meanwhile, Target is busy defending itself against accusations of the type of predatory and exploitative corporate and employment practices usually associated with Wal-Mart. Only the cheap-chic sophistication of "Tar-zhay" has insulated the corporation from big-box activists like Lipsky.
Even though many Brooklynites have lost the campaign to convince politicians to do the right thing for once, the eventual loser will be Lipsky and his local small-business constituents. The energetic Richard Lipsky has chosen not to shoot straight by only going after fat targets such as Wal-Mart, conveniently sidestepping the larger big-box phenomenon to the benefit of his Forest City Ratner pals. Sadly, Lipsky's in-your-face-Dan-Goldstein end-zone dance is a slap in the face to his own constituents.
Posted by lumi at December 28, 2006 6:19 AM