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February 2, 2007
Barclays Arena Deal Raises a Reputed Link to Slavery
From The NY Times, by Anthony Ramirez:
Hakeem Jeffries, a state assemblyman who supports the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project near Downtown Brooklyn, has denounced an important facet of it — the name for the new arena for the Nets basketball team, which he called an affront to the black community.
Another supporter, Roger L. Green, a former assemblyman, has said the Nets naming deal contributed too little money to help Brooklyn.
With all the public criticism and praise laid at the doorstep of the Atlantic Yards project, the naming of the arena did not figure to be controversial. Last week, Bruce Ratner, the owner of the Nets and the president of Forest City Ratner, the Atlantic Yards developer, announced that the British bank Barclays would pay $400 million over 20 years for naming rights to the 18,000-seat stadium, to be called the Barclays Center.
Barclays’ accusers say the bank’s early founders had ties to the African slave trade in the 18th century. More recently, they say, the bank cooperated with the apartheid regime of South Africa. A spokesman for Barclays denied both claims.
Posted by lumi at February 2, 2007 9:28 AM