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February 11, 2008
Forest City in Politics: Campaign Contributions
Atlantic Yards Report examines two ways Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Enterprises has exerted political influence exercized its free-speech rights.
CLEVELAND-HEART-GOVERNOR SPITZER
From Cleveland, Forest City shows Spitzer some love
While Bruce Ratner hasn't made any political contributions lately (though Forest City Ratner has done so), the state campaign finance database also shows that five executives from parent Forest City Enterprises have gotten in on the act. Charles Ratner, Ronald Ratner, Brian Ratner, Deborah Ratner Salzberg, and James Ratner on 10/2/07 each gave $1000 to the 2010 campaign of Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who has readily supported Atlantic Yards.
Read more about how New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson received some "love" and which law firm representing the Empire State Development Corporation in an Atlantic Yards lawsuit has gotten in on the action.
DESPITE PLEDGE: BRUCE-HEART-SHELLY
Scorning no-donation policy, FCR gives $58K to Assembly Campaign Committee (which doesn't need it)
Forest City Ratner, playing hardball in court and public relations, has now apparently reversed a pledge to refrain from campaign contributions, with a major unrestricted "soft money" donation last month: $58,420 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee's Housekeeping account.
The donation--allowed via a campaign finance law loophole Common Cause has decried--may be payback to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and an effort to ensure sympathetic legislators as Atlantic Yards proceeds, given that the Democrats are not about to lose their grip on the Assembly.
FCR consistently spends a lot of money on lobbying, but CEO Bruce Ratner years ago "sharply cut back" on campaign contributions, as a 2004 article from Newsday reported, quoting Ratner's friend Henry Stern: “He decided this was getting him into trouble, because every time he won a project, people would say it was because he gave money."
Then again, as I reported, brother Michael Ratner and sister-in-law Karen Ranucci, both Greenwich Village residents, have readily supported the Brooklyn Democratic machine, apparently doing Bruce Ratner's bidding.
The article goes on to explain the purpose of this soft-money slush fund and unearths a contribution to Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum from 2001.
Posted by lumi at February 11, 2008 6:11 AM