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June 5, 2008
DDDB PRESS RELEASE: While Its Atlantic Yards Proposal Faces Failure, Forest City Ratner Manufactures 'Rally' In Support of … Forest City Ratner
BROOKLYN, NY — Despite the very real prospect of a failed development plan, a plan that is inarguably and substantially stalled, Developer Forest City Ratner is holding a "Brooklyn Day Celebration" today at Brooklyn Borough Hall to "support the Atlantic Yards project and The Nets moving to Brooklyn." To fabricate support, the developer has organized the 'rally' in support of itself--and is paying for it as well—in the guise of a "celebration" with free food, free trinkets, live music, and former Nets players. Such goodies are not the benefits once promised by the developer, and while they may draw a crowd, they won't provide jobs or "affordable housing."
"Forest City Ratner has manufactured a 'rally' in support of itself. Most likely it is an attempt to fabricate support to extract more public subsidy from Albany and City Hall for their development proposal," said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein. "For a project long sold as a 'done deal' today's 'rally' is a desperate attempt to boost a deal that's come undone and is on the precipice of failure. Confident developers simply don't manufacture extravaganzas like today's."
The Building and Construction Trades Council have shut down all Downtown Brooklyn job sites where actual work is taking place, starting at 11:30, so union members can join the "celebration" and 'rally' manufactured by Forest City Ratner in support of Forest City Ratner for a project whose construction job promises are in jeopardy of ever materializing. The Trades Council flier urges all members to attend the 'rally.' (See union flier here: http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2008/06/unionflierfor.html).
"Though Ratner is attempting to manufacture support for more public subsidy for his failing project, the developer cynically calls his 'rally' a 'Brooklyn Day Celebration.' But the Atlantic Yards proposal is nothing to celebrate," Goldstein said. "Today Bruce Ratner celebrates a vision of Brooklyn that only works for him, not Brooklynites."
Posted by eric at June 5, 2008 11:07 AM