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March 1, 2009
Mail's In (St. Devo Edition)
Star-Ledger
by Dave D'Alessandro
A question from a Star-Ledger reader prompts this evaluation of how developer Bruce Ratner wil continue looking for a way to get an arena built in Prospect Heights.
Hi Dave: Although I'm sure you'd rather not get into this and probably can't offer much other then opinion, what are your thoughts on this statement: Bruce Ratner should sell the Nets? It's simple and to the point, and I think about 95% of Nets fans would agree that he is the man behind most of the failures this team has experienced (of course, Thorn, Kiki, and Stefanski before, are responsible for most of the good in this scenario). Strictly from a business perspective, his company's health is failing while the Nets lose millions annually and he truly couldn't care less about the product on the floor. My thought is that a new ownership group, probably led by the Devils group, could do much more with this franchise and its fledgling fan-base. If they owned the Nets, they could share the Rock, revitalize Newark and the Nets at the same time, and get rid of this giant black cloud hanging over the franchise (Brooklyn, for those not paying attention). Doron Tamari
DT: By now, you know that Atlantic Yards passed another legal hurdle, even if one of the judges on the appellate panel yesterday essentially trashed the developer (Forest City Ratner) and the agency responsible for the environmental review (Empire State Development Corp.). for being - paraphrasing here - a bunch of arrogant slobs who don't think twice about paving over people's lives before thinking about how it might affect the community at large. So, the answer is pretty easy: Ratner needs the team to make the project work, he can see the finish line now, and there's no way he's bailing out when he's so close.
Posted by steve at March 1, 2009 5:51 AM