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August 4, 2009
word of the day: ubiquitous
Not Another F*cking Blog
Photographer/blogger (photogger?) Tracy Collins has put together a handy boycott list.
Many of us in the anti-Atlantic Yards camp try to avoid patronizing businesses and organizations which support Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plans and/or receive material support from Ratner. Boycotts like these are always less than 100%, as many businesses and institutions are often small pieces of very large puzzles of global international enterprises. Also, the entities and/or their representatives very often support many public and non-profit institutions, knowing that spreading money far and wide makes good business sense, as it’s very hard to bite the hand that feeds. To avoid contributing to Forest City Ratner’s bottom line or the balance sheets of its allies, directly or otherwise, isn’t so easy.
Those on my personal no-go list (a.k.a the Founding Partners and Sponsors of Barclays Center):
Forest City Ratner: Easy to avoid? They own many real estate developments (like the Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center Malls, which sit north of Atlantic Avenue from the proposed Atlantic Yards site, as well as MetroTech), so keeping track of each property they own may not be simple.
Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls: Obvious and pretty easy. One of the closest and best stocked office supply stores, Office Max is in the Atlantic Center Mall. Also, Target will make inexpensive photo prints from Flickr in about an hour. The NYS DMV is also located here, and this branch is relatively pleasant to deal with, as far as large bureaucracies go. I can avoid all of them.
...Brooklyn Brewery: Moderate. I really do like their beers, especially their Brooklyn Lager and East India Pale Ale. I’d drink one on someone else’s tab, like I did one too many times last night.
...Brooklyn Academy of Music: This is tough. Great movie theater, music and dance venue a short walk from home. A representative testified in favor of Atlantic Yards at the ESDC hearings and a pivotal MTA Board meeting. This will make it very difficult for me to enjoy myself, with a clear conscience, at future BAM events. I admit I probably won’t boycott them 100% for ever and ever, ever.
Barclays: Easy. My finances are handled elsewhere, and I don’t think I’ll ever need what they’re peddling.
Don't boycott this post — click thru for the full list.
Posted by eric at August 4, 2009 9:45 PM