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May 28, 2009
Curious case: at the ESDC, a volunteer lawyer plays a key role in the Atlantic Yards project
Atlantic Yards Report
Ever heard of Susan Rahm?
One key contributor to the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) oversight of Atlantic Yards is an unpaid consultant--a retired partner at a major law firm, with a background in city planning and urban redevelopment--who has volunteered several days a week since the summer of 2007, well after the project was approved.
Though Norman Oder sheds some light on a key "volunteer" at the ESDC, he ends up with more questions than answers.
"Rahm was brought in by the administration of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer to work on the project. How typical is such a role?"
Does Rahm play a policy-making role or not?
To whom is a volunteer accountable?
"[S]houldn't the ESDC have been more forthcoming with the public?"
"[W]hat kind of interaction she has with Forest City Ratner, and why the agency was so ill-equipped it needed a volunteer to help out on this project[?]"
NoLandGrab: We'd like to know if there are more volunteer opportunities at the ESDC, perhaps for community volunteers?
Posted by lumi at May 28, 2009 6:54 AM