« The MTA Caught in the Act of the Ratner Giveaway | Main | AY goals 2006 vs. 2009: elimination of blight, "state of the art" arena and railyard, "first-class" office space all have vanished »
June 26, 2009
It is a bailout
This week, The Brooklyn Paper editorial calls the MTA out on its bailout of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards scheme and transfers the blame to the sitting governor:
There is no better word than “bailout” to describe the efforts of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority this week in propping up developer Bruce Ratner’s arena, residential and office complex near the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.
...
We agree that government can — and often should — play a role in helping development. But the MTA’s responsibility is to the taxpayer, not the developer.
...
We do not blame Bruce Ratner for fighting for the best deal for himself and for an arena that we believe would be good for Brooklyn. But we are no longer alone in maintaining that the MTA, which made the original deal under Gov. Pataki, is misusing its resources as ineptly under Gov. Paterson.
Posted by lumi at June 26, 2009 5:54 AM