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February 18, 2009
Does he know something we don't? ESPN host says "Brooklyn’s done. Brooklyn’s finished."
Atlantic Yards Report
If you're wondering why your friends and neighbors think that Atlantic Yards is already dead, read on...
ESPN columnist and radio host Bill Simmons, in his free-flowing February 16 podcast, flatly declared that the Nets' announced move is doomed: "Brooklyn’s done. Brooklyn’s finished."
There's no evidence that Simmons has any inside information--though a Nets official, speaking anonymously last October, told a Bergen Record columnist the move wouldn't happen. I think, however much the project appears to be struggling, it's hardly doomed.
Meanwhile, developer Forest City Ratner is angling to get federal stimulus funding to move the project along and is hoping for a swift resolution of pending legal cases, which is not implausible.
So, while Simmons' statement is opinion, not fact, it's another example of how the "Atlantic Yards is dead" meme has been getting around.
Here's one meme that might keep Ratner up at night (emphasis added):
At about 65:35 of the podcast, Simmons brought up rumors about troubles in the National Basketball Association:
Sacramento might move. New Orleans might move. The New Jersey owner is supposedly broke.
Posted by lumi at February 18, 2009 5:41 AM