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December 7, 2006
Last-Ditch Maneuvering on Atlantic Yards Project
The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore
An article about the political maneuvering before and after tomorrow's vote by the Empire State Development Corporation goes into details about the different stakeholders.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, an umbrella organization of groups that want to stop the project, filed suit last month in federal court to challenge the likely condemnation of several properties on the site. On Tuesday, the group delivered thousands of letters from city residents to Mr. Pataki, Mr. Bruno and Mr. Silver urging them not to approve the project until the lawsuit is resolved.
The group also recently hired a lobbyist to contend with the considerable Albany firepower of Forest City Ratner and the array of New York politicians, unions and business groups allied with the company.
A second coalition, known as Brooklyn Speaks, hopes to force changes to the project, like significantly reducing its size. The coalition includes several national and local civic groups with influence, including the Municipal Arts Society and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
A spokesman for Forest City Ratner, which is also the development partner in a new Midtown headquarters for The New York Times Company, declined to comment on any efforts it has made to influence the upcoming votes.
NoLandGrab: For those of you who are counting, this article includes the disclosure about the Times-Ratner business relationship.
Posted by lumi at December 7, 2006 8:23 AM