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August 1, 2007
Ratner Starts Two-Week Mentoring Program in Williamsburg
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By John Torenli
New Jersey Nets owner and Downtown Brooklyn real estate magnate Bruce Ratner still hasn’t been able to get the first meaningful shovel full of dirt out of the ground at the Atlantic Yards, where he intends to build a $550 million arena for his soon-to-be-relocated NBA franchise.
That hasn’t prevented the Cleveland native from digging some deep roots in our fair borough.
Ratner continued the Nets’ move into Brooklyn yesterday, when his Forest City Ratner Companies announced the beginning of the Hoops and Leaders Basketball Camp (HLBC), an innovative program that pairs 25 young men with 25 college-educated, professional male mentors.
NoLandGrab: This noble gesture serves to remind us that Ratner has had decades to establish "deep roots" in Brooklyn, yet has only been meaningfully shoveling cash into the community in the past couple years, in hope of sowing more support for his Atlantic Yards deal by ingratiating himself with segments of the community. Meanwhile, he's been digging up deep roots, trying to take the homes of Brooklynites like Joseph Pastore via eminent domain.
Posted by lumi at August 1, 2007 7:13 AM