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December 9, 2008
Brooklyn to Barack: Save Us! Borough’s Leaders Discuss Stimulus Plan
"If you could tell President-Elect Obama what kind of economic stimulus Brooklyn needs, what might you say?"
The Brooklyn Ink
Guess who's confusing "stimulus" with "bailout?"
The Ink solicited responses from various Brooklynites–academics and policymakers, politicos and labor reps. Their thoughts, and their reactions to each others thoughts, are in the Comments section below:
...Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President Says:
New York City is America’s “National City,” an essential engine of our nation’s economy. Thankfully, we’ll finally have a president who understands the importance of NYC and America’s urban centers. A few ideas for economic stimulus in Brooklyn and NYC include creating and preserving affordable housing, building more schools, and keeping our public transit system safe, efficient and affordable for working people.
...I would, of course, also ask for support for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project, which will bring the New Jersey Nets to our borough, and be a major investment magnet for Downtown Brooklyn, as well as create thousands of units of affordable housing and good union jobs.
NoLandGrab: Yep, in times of economic trouble, there's nothing so important as bringing pro basketball to Brooklyn. But why would an "investment magnet" that's already slated to receive north of $1 billion in subsidies need a Federal bailout?
In addition, Markowitz's stubborn opposition to East River bridge tolls belies his claimed fealty to mass transit, and he makes it sound like he actually dug into his own pocket for the money when he says "I’ve had to bail out several HUD-awarded projects in Brooklyn."
And don't even get us started on Brooklyn Bridge Park Estates.
Posted by eric at December 9, 2008 2:20 PM