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May 12, 2009
In brief mention of AY, Gehry says his pessimism was "misread," suggests project is "ready to go"
Atlantic Yards Report
Several people showed up at yesterday's panel discussion with Frank Gehry and submitted questions about Atlantic Yards.
"I think there are about seven questions about this, I'm boiling it down to one," said [NY Public Library's Paul] Holdengraber. "People want to know what more plans you have for New York City, particularly in the context of a March comment you made about the Atlantic Yards where you say, 'I don't think they're going to happen,' and people want to know what you mean."
...
Gehry seemed prepared for the question. "That was misread. I probably said something like that, but I'm always, y'know, 'the glass is half-full.'"
[According to the Architect's Newspaper, Gehry said exactly something like that.]
"Um, it's going ahead," he continued. "There's work going on. Every developer in the world is struggling with the times we're in... So it's frustrating if you're someone like me and you're working on it five years, you've done all this work, and it's ready to go. In Brooklyn, there's a lawsuit--one lawsuit that persists, and they can't start until that's settled. "
[All indications are that work has been SUSPENDED on Atlantic Yards. Maybe, by "work," Gehry meant lobbying.]
NoLandGrab: Ever notice that the decision-making process for Atlantic Yards is so opaque, that watchdogs are reduced to hounding people-in-the-know at public events in hopes of getting answers? It seems crazy because it is.
Gehry's [deliberately(?)] ignorant answer leaves Brooklynites back where they started, in the dark.
Posted by lumi at May 12, 2009 5:34 AM