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April 2, 2007
Brooklyn paper at war with developer
Atlantic Yards plan pilloried by weekly
Crain's NY Business
By Erik Engquist
Just because The Brooklyn Paper covers the largest single-source private development in NY City history, while most other papers pretty much have given developer Bruce Ratner a bye, they are "at war with [the] developer???" On the other hand, as Brooklyn Paper editor Gersh Kuntzman explains, "The role of the headline is to get the story read."
Read on, and don't miss the quotes at the end, in which Forest City Ratner Executive VP Bruce Bender manages to avoid any "Benderisms," and James Caldwell complains about the paper twisting their story around:
After a long struggle for state approval, Forest City Ratner Cos. is proceeding with its giant Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn. But that won't stop Gersh Kuntzman, editor of The Brooklyn Paper, from continuing his relentless front-page assaults on the project.
Mr. Kuntzman may be just warming up. Even the government's go-ahead for Atlantic Yards in December silenced him for only two weeks. Then the onslaught resumed.
Nine of the weekly paper's next 10 editions blasted the $4 billion project on Page 1. The exception was the March 3 issue, following a major court victory by the developer. The Brooklyn Paper dutifully published a story headlined "Yards opponents suffer huge setback" but buried it on Page 15.
"It came in late," explains Mr. Kuntzman.
He makes no apologies for his harsh coverage of Atlantic Yards and of Forest City's chief executive, Bruce Ratner. Not even for his headline "Ratner picks your pocket ˜ again" atop a story about the city budgeting $100 million more than previously disclosed for project-related work.
"The role of the headline is to get the story read," says Mr. Kuntzman, who was a New York Post Brooklyn bureau chief before taking the reins of the free broadsheet in October 2005. "Everybody knows that."
He adds that the headline was fair because "when the mayor tells us we haven't put a ceiling on [public expenditures], that tells us someone is picking our pocket."
Mighty Forest City is not amused. "They call you names, attack your friends, accuse you of being dishonest and mean, and then, when the teacher is looking, they claim to be an upright student," says Bruce Bender, a company vice president. "They can write whatever they want, attacking your motives at their leisure, and then say, 'Wait, we're legitimate journalists looking for the truth.'"
Mr. Kuntzman says Forest City ignores his pleas for Comments, which makes it difficult to represent the developer's side. He says Forest City even stopped sending him press releases for a while — a charge the developer denies. Nonetheless, Forest City has given up on the paper.
"Best to just keep your mouth closed," explains James Caldwell, a project supporter who now runs a Forest City-funded program to help residents get Atlantic Yards jobs. "The Brooklyn Paper has not been fair. Hell, no. When we talk with them, they twist our story around."
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Posted by lumi at April 2, 2007 9:13 AM