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December 2, 2007
Develop Don't Destroy Superpost
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has been hard at work delving into security, eminent domain, and political oversight:
Ratner Sound Bite Adds No Comfort
Forest City Ratner spokesman Bruce Bender's response (right) just continues the stonewalling and lack of transparency while adding a new twist with name-calling. The politicians and the community groups want, and deserve, answers from the Empire State Development Corporation (the project's sponsor), the NYPD, and Governor Spitzer's Homeland Security Deputy Michael Balboni.
The Silence Tells Us that Trust Would be Foolish
Common sense is exactly what we and so many others are using when we ask the question (which still has not been answered by anyone and certainly not in Bruce Bender's prepared statement): How is Brooklyn's arena, setback only 20 feet from the street, different than Newark's arena which, setback 25 feet from the street, has required street closings?
Confluence of Eminent Domain Abuse
Yesterday, November 29th, was a City Hall Land Grab trifecta: an Atlantic Yards related press conference, a West Harlem/Columbia University Expansion press conference, and a Willets Point redevelopment City Council Committee hearing. What do those three projects all share in common?
Eminent domain abuse, and fake blight determinations.
More Leadership, Please
On Christine Quinn's assertion that "there’s not a lot that’s left to be done" on Atlantic Yards:
First, there is plenty to be done, including two pending lawsuits and her colleague Councilman Bill de Blasio just yesterday said [as reported on the Atlantic Yards Report]: “The ball game’s not over,” noting that subsidies and other issues must be resolved for the project to move forward. If the developer doesn’t behave more transparently, “then the future of their project is in danger,” he warned.
Posted by amy at December 2, 2007 10:54 AM