« Atlantic Yards Enters New Phase, and Faces Next Hurdle: Lawsuits | Main | Big Brother Bruce »
December 22, 2006
BROOKLYN DODGERS
The Slatin Report
Despite the noise that this operation will generate, the 8 million-square-foot, $4 billion Atlantic Yards is a true mixed bag.
...
But in its attempt at achieving the same effect on a grand – or grandiose – scale, Ratner and Gehry's Atlantic Yards, however, is more like "Ishtar" than, say, "Vertigo": big and stupid. Gehry's design deftly succeeds at simply overpowering itself and its surroundings, and offers its residents no homey concessions to the place they call home. It has all the urban charm of Cabrini-Green.
...
We were mildly supportive of this project when it was announced in 2003. We liked its boldness and the dynamism of its vision for returning professional sport to Brooklyn. It was expected to cost $2.5 billion; that cost has ballooned, while estimates of tax revenues to the city that it will generate have been sliced by at least a third. Anti-Ratner forces have insisted that Ratner has overstated the true economic impact of the project while understating its environmental impact, particularly on traffic. Today, we'd like to see Ratner and Gehry head back to the drawing board – all the way back – and figure out how to build something that honors Brooklyn and Brooklynites at least as much as it pays homage to Ratner's investors.
NoLandGrab: This kind of post-game analysis is insignificant after the final approval was granted, but thanks for paying attention.
Does this remind anyone of Bush-supporters-turned-critics of the Iraq war?
Posted by lumi at December 22, 2006 8:48 AM