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August 11, 2007
Cut Out the Ratner Carve-Out
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Tell Governor Spitzer that the 421-a "Carve-out" for "Atlantic Yards" is Wrong!Controversy has surrounded the New York State Legislature's 421-a "reform" bill since Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez inserted a special "carve out" bestowing exclusive tax benefits on Bruce Ratner's "Atlantic Yards" project.
Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez lambasted the backroom deal in a column entitled "A deal so sweet it's sick." State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries called the special clause "economic segregation." Staunch "Atlantic Yards" supporter Bertha Lewis called the carve-out "bad public policy." And Mayor Bloomberg threatened to withhold more than $100 million in city subsidies for the project if the tax giveaway was not removed from the bill.
All that criticism, however, seems to have had little effect. The special treatment for "Atlantic Yards" persists in what several news organizations are calling the final version of the bill. If Governor Spitzer signs the bill into law, Forest City Ratner would receive an exclusive tax break worth some $200 million. Ratner would receive 421-a affordable-housing tax breaks for condo buildings that would contain no affordable units -- the only developer in New York to receive such a break under the tax law.
We call upon Governor Spitzer, who was elected overwhelmingly to office on the promise of reforming Albany, to veto the 421-a "reform" bill as long as it contains special, exclusive and indefensible anti-reform tax breaks for "Atlantic Yards."
Please contact Governor Spitzer today to urge him to reject the Legislature's 421-a bill until the Ratner carve-out is eliminated.
Write:
Honorable Governor Eliot Spitzer
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224Call: 518-474-8390
Posted by amy at August 11, 2007 10:45 AM