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July 10, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Nets Daily, Date Set for Atlantic Yards Hearing
The Court of Appeals has set Oct. 14 for arguments on a critics’ appeal of a lower court ruling allowing condemnation of private property for Barclays Center.
Willets Point United, Bloomberg says eminent domain unlikely at Willets Point
From an interview with Mayor Bloomberg by the Queens Chronicle -
Question: What is the status of the Willets Point redevelopment project and do you expect to use eminent domain there?
Answer: [Regarding eminent domain] No, people will move. It will take 10 years and a stronger economy to build it up, but we’re already working on the infrastructure. The zoning issues for Willets Point started for the 1964 World’s Fair, so it took 45 years to do. But at least now it will be built up.
Actually, sir, it will take 10 years just for the City to get the people who made deals to stay to vacate. And with the lawsuits that will be filed, you can add another 5 years onto that.
How's that Atlantic Yards project coming along, Mr. Mayor?
Bay Currents, Oligarchy: Rule by Small Powerful Elite
I recently sat down to write about the growing number of people in this country left out of our economy* and their increasing numbers as we [presumably] head toward recovery. Before I got very far, I was bombarded by news reports and personal observations of the injustices amassing against the public nationwide; and to an ever greater extent, here in New York.
Each is a story unto itself, but there is one theme running throughout…abuse of power to enhance the wealth and control of a few at the expense of the general public. Oligarchy, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes”.
...Public Advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, the most people friendly of our city-wide elected officials, spoke out against the undemocratic extension of term limits. Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Kathleen Quinn didn’t appreciate her resistance and cut her office 40%, making it nearly impossible to operate. But why should the people have an advocate in Bloomberg’s New York?
Devastating cuts have been made to vital services while billions are diverted to Bloomberg’s pet projects. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, elected as a man of the people, seems to have learned from the master. His pet project, an amphitheater in Asser Levy Park will have an extremely negative impact on the surrounding community which just about unanimously opposes it yet the “man of the people” refuses to even appear in public to hear them out; a typical Bloomberg tactic. (see article in this issue)
While transit fares have risen, the MTA has given Bruce Ratner a sweetheart deal for his Atlantic Yards invasion of the surrounding community.
NY Bullshit, Baby Steps on Affordable Housing
Bloomberg and Quinn announced the creation of a pilot program to buy up unsold condo projects and turn them into ‘middle’ to ‘moderate’ income affordable housing. While this strategy to create affordable housing certainly makes more sense than pumping hundreds of millions of tax dollars into mega developments like Atlantic Yards, and a slight bit more than inclusionary zoning rules, the actual program is a step so meager to be negligible.
The City Fix * DC, Don’t Sell Subway Station Naming Rights
The news is a few days old, but I think it’s really fascinating that New York is considering selling partial naming rights to the Atlantic/Pacific station, the second busiest station in Brooklyn.
...In other words, this isn’t popular. Why are people so much more upset by this than by plastering the stations in advertisements in the first place?
It’s a reminder of the importance that public space still has and the absolutely critical role that our subway systems have in creating our social geography.
Posted by eric at July 10, 2009 8:54 AM