« Protesters call Bruce’s honor a ‘dung deal’ | Main | Ratner seeks … more tax dollars! »

April 11, 2008

Cut Ratner off

The Brooklyn Paper editorial makes a good point — if Atlantic Yards is a "done deal," then why does Ratner keep asking for more money.

All together, the financial assistance to Ratner is anywhere from $1 billion, according to City Councilman David Yassky, or more than $2 billion, according to the Atlantic Yards opposition group, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

And now Ratner wants more.
...
More? More for what, exactly? New York taxpayers have already been far too generous in propping up this 16-skyscraper white elephant.

And just as the economy starts to dip, Bruce Ratner and cousin Chuck — who are always hailed by our elected enablers as risk-taking visionaries — come to us asking for more money to underwrite their ideas.

It must stop. At this point, only a few members of the City Council, most notably Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) and Letitia James (D–Fort Greene), are questioning what their colleagues obviously believe is a done deal.

But this deal is not done because Ratner keeps trying to change it. Let’s not let him get away with it.

article

Posted by lumi at April 11, 2008 5:04 AM