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January 14, 2009
Marty: Atlantic Yards no longer ‘economically feasible’
The Brooklyn Paper's Gersh Kuntzman noted a little strategy on the part of Borough President Marty Markowitz, who was hoping that his press release would play more favorably with developer Bruce Ratner's business partner, The New York Times.
Markowitz’s bombshell statement was first issued on Tuesday to the New York Times, which has a business partnership with Ratner and has not been critical of the developer’s stalled 16-skyscraper arena, office and residential complex. It was later released to other media outlets.
Kuntzman also noted that recent events have just been the next step in managing expectations for Atlantic Yards:
So much for “thriving.” Ratner actually spent most of last year driving down expectations, first telling the New York Times in March that the $4-billion project no longer had a timetable and that the “Miss Brooklyn” office tower at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues could not be built because Ratner had failed to line up an anchor tenant during the real-estate boom that was just beginning to go bust.
In the end, Marty remembers how his bread is buttered:
It is unclear what comes next. Ratner has said he wants to trim costs, and now Markowitz has once again echoed his favorite developer and longtime donor to his Best of Brooklyn charity.
Yesterday, Gumby Fresh blogger "Gringcorp" left this comment on Atlantic Yards Report:
Outstanding. So Marty dutifully issues a call to scale back the size of the thing - after the developer/financiers/whoever have spent a week priming the public for just that. Do you think he realizes just how much of an FCE stooge he looks, or do you think he hopes no-one will notice. I feel slightly insulted to be honest, although I get that sensation most times he speaks in public.
Posted by lumi at January 14, 2009 5:20 AM