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AIA Screening: Brooklyn Matters »
January 4, 2007
Shortchanged By the State Assembly
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Phil Guie
Former State Assemblymember Roger Green promised to fund experts to study the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement for community groups and then stiffed them when the bill came due, to the tune of $100,000.
Urban planning experts don't exactly grow on trees, and one community activist group paid good money for theirs.
But the catch was that these hired thinkers - including a highly regarded university professor - were supposed to be funded through hundreds of thousands of dollars earmarked by the New York City Council and the State Assembly last year.
So far, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN), which includes 40 activist groups from the Prospect Heights area, has yet to receive any of the $100,000 allegedly promised by the State Assembly.
Now, with 2006 having ticked away, there is concern that the unreleased money will never see the light of day.
NoLandGrab: The NY State Legislature guaranteed $100 MILLION for Bruce Ratner and stiffed the community for $100,000. That's probably the lowest blow of this entire fight and the local media, except for the Star, hasn't even flinched.
Posted by lumi at January 4, 2007 7:21 AM