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September 8, 2008
Weekend Peek-In: Pre-Primary Report (Updated)
Runnin' Scared
By Roy Edroso
Two primary elections being watched by Atlantic Yards watchdogs headlined this weekend's round up in the Village Voice's news blog:
Kevin Powell, whose challenge for Ed Towns' Congressional seat is covered in the current Voice, unveiled a lengthy policy statement on Friday. It proposes legislation that would give high school students "paid internships that will earn them college credits and income," reduce the impact of negative credit reports on subprime borrowers and others, and mandate a "one year moratorium on foreclosures for owner-occupied homes." He also calls for an environmental impact statement on the Atlantic Yards project (though a draft EIS already exists*), recommends his own book, The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life, etc. In the Brooklyn Paper a Towns spokesman calls Powell's ideas "grandiose" and "empty" and compares them with "another 7,000-word rant on HuffingtonPost.com."
(*Update: Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn corrects our spelling of EIS, and informs us that the statement was approved in December 2006, and unsuccessfully challenged by DDDB and others. An appeal is pending.)
Noticing New York, for whom the development of Atlantic Yards is an issue, worried about Daniel Squadron because the young progressive contending for Martin Connor's State Senate seat is endorsed by prominent AY development supporters and wets (Schumer, Bloomberg, etc). But after months of asking, NNY finally got a response from a Squadron campaign advisor, who says the candidate "supports a moratorium on state aide [sic] for the Atlantic Yards project," and "has pledged not to accept any contributions linked to the developer of Atlantic Yards."
Posted by lumi at September 8, 2008 6:08 AM