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October 25, 2008
B'stoner: Ratner> Goldstein > Marty >Tish?
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder slipped this one by us yesterday.
Brownstoner's list of the 50 most powerful people in Brooklyn real estate places Bruce Ratner at #1, not unexpectedly nor undeservedly, but somehow puts Daniel Goldstein, the most committed activist against the Atlantic Yards project, at #10, while Borough President Marty Markowitz comes in at #11, City Council Member Letitia James is #23, Brooklyn Democratic kingpin Vito Lopez is #31, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's Joe Chan is #32, and ACORN's Bertha Lewis is #38.
C'mon--is Goldstein more powerful than the BP, et al.? "The hardest part is the order," says Mr. Brownstoner himself. "It's kind of a silly exercise to actually rank these folks."
NoLandGrab: A project promising "Jobs, Housing & Hoops." Brooklyn's most politically connected real estate developer. The backing of three Governors, the Mayor, the Borough President and many other elected officials. The world's most famous architect. "The most sophisticated political campaign the city has seen in a very long time, better than any professional politician has mounted to win elective office."
One could argue that Daniel Goldstein, as the embodiment of the determined grassroots opposition to Atlantic Yards, having kept the project at bay for almost five years, is underrated at #10.
Posted by steve at October 25, 2008 10:00 AM