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February 13, 2009
It Came from the Blogosphere... (Atlantic Yards Bailout Edition)
NBA FanHouse, Nets' Brooklyn Plan Wants Stimulus Cash
Here's some news that won't be one bit controversial: the protagonists pushing Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project -- the plan that would move Ratner's Nets from Jersey to Brooklyn -- are trying to wedge themselves to the front of the line for potential New York disbursements of the federal economic stimulus.
Runnin' Scared, Stimulus for Atlantic Yards? New Depression Suggests Not
Players like Al D'Amato and Marty Markowitz are less circumspect than Schumer and Paterson, and loudly bang the drum for the project. But patronage and boosterism are their respective jobs; politicians in a position to be associated with, and get blamed for, bad decisions are keeping their mouths shut, and when they do open them, it's not such good news for developers. In her State of the City speech yesterday Christine Quinn talked about boom-time construction projects that now stand empty as "tarnished trophies" of greed and false hope. Does that sound encouraging? As it stands, Ratner doesn't even have a trophy.
Deadspin, Brother, Can You Spare $445 Million?
New York Super Blog, Really? $450mill Of Bailout For The Nets?
Bruce Ratner, the donkey who wants to sink $4 billion into this Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn for the Nets and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz are actually trying to get bailout money for this asinine project. Not only would this project be a horrendous abuse of Eminent Domain, but no one in the area wants this thing to happen anyway. Brooklyn needs the help and no one wants to see it flourish more than I do, BUT there are about 10 million other ways we could spend that bailout money.
RedState, ‘Stimulus’ Bill to Save… Brooklyn Nets?
Nothing stirs Conservatives' ire like porky spending on projects being pushed by "do-gooder liberals."
The Nets made the mistake of leaking this idea before the money was approved. They were supposed to save such discussions until after Congress passed it. That said, once states start divvying up the cash that Barack Obama wants to give them, you can bet the Nets — and a host of other franchises — will start lining up for a share of the pot....
With hundreds of billions to spend, the federal government might just buy Los Angeles an NFL team — or help the Nets lure LeBron James to their taxpayer-financed Brooklyn home.
Posted by eric at February 13, 2009 11:20 AM