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June 30, 2009
Why Atlantic Yards matters
Mr. Ratner must act quickly, or it will be too late
Crain's NY Business, Editorial
Crain's justifies Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project by ignoring ever-growing public subsidies and dwindling public benefits.
It all began with a phone call from Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to Forest City's Bruce Ratner. “You have to buy the New Jersey Nets and move them to Brooklyn,'' said Mr. Markowitz.
...
At the time, Mr. Ratner admits, he was clueless about professional basketball, both on the court and as a business.
...
Mr. Ratner was intrigued by the borough president's plea because it fit with his belief that the Atlantic Yards area, consisting mostly of a rail yard, was the perfect place to continue Brooklyn's revival.
NoLandGrab: The lie that the Atlantic Yards footprint consists "mostly of a rail yard" appeared in this weekend's NY Daily News editorial too. The railyard comprises approximately eight acres of the 22-acre project.
Also, "Atlantic Yards" is Bruce Ratner's own brand name for the project; there was no such thing as "the Atlantic Yards area" back when Ratner was pondering the project.
It is worth noting that while Forest City may wind up with a bonanza, up to now it has been a black hole.
NoLandGrab: Development company Forest City proposed a project that was tenuous at best, and now taxpayers are expected to turn a "black hole" into a "bonanza" for Bruce?
And here's Crain's flimsy justification for the project:
New York can continue to support Atlantic Yards, realize what is economically possible now and bet that the entire project can be built in the future. Or it can abandon Mr. Ratner and the project, in which case it is certain that Atlantic Yards will remain an open sore for decades to come.
NoLandGrab: Should New York support Ratner, who has consistently lied to the public and press, steadfastly refused to reveal the actual amount of subsidy required for the project, and has been disingenuous about the project timeline, on the hope that he'll eventually build the entire project?
Posted by lumi at June 30, 2009 4:41 AM