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March 29, 2007
Buying a Billionaire?
The Wonkster
Compiled by Gail Robinson
Yesterday NY Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman revealed that Bruce Ratner donated beaucoup bucks to a foundation that is near and dear to the Mayor's heart, as his Atlantic Yards project was being considered for large direct taxpayer contributions on top of a bevy of subsidies.
The Wonkster notes that this is just the latest notch in City Hall's shakedown of the private sector in what is starting to look like a pay-to-play scheme.
The conventional wisdom has long been that Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains immune to the blandishments of special interests, since he is too rich to be bought. And certainly the mayor has not needed a penny of campaign contributions to finance his $70 million plus election campaigns.
But does that mean money is not one way to this man’s heart?
Forest City Ratner, developer of Atlantic Yards, gave between $450,000 and $1 million to a “nonprofit closely associated” with Bloomberg, just as the debate over the controversial megaproject was heating up, Matthew Schuerman reports in today’s Observer. The firm’s Bruce Ratner is a registered lobbyist, and according to Schuerman, “The donation came six months after a meeting with Mr. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris that… Ratner reported was a lobbying contact—although the parties now dispute that it should have been characterized as such.”
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This is not the first time the issue of contributions has arisen. When Bloomberg and his Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff were still fantasizing about New York as the site of the 2012 Olympics, businesses gave millions to NYC 2012. Although WNYC could not find a “quid pro quo,” its Andrea Bernstein reported at the time, “Some donors… told us they felt they HAD to give, but they didn’t want their names used for fear of souring city business deals. One businessman said Doctoroff told him – after a city hall meeting on a non-Olympics-related matter, that he’d hear from Jay Kriegal, executive director of NYC2012. He did, and he gave a six figure contribution.”
Posted by lumi at March 29, 2007 8:26 AM