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September 27, 2009
Brooklyn, Meet Your Oligarch
New York Times
By Clifford J. Levy
What to make of this item about Mikhail Prokhorov's possibly buying the New Jersey Nets from Bruce Ratner? It's apparently meant to be humorous.
This part might be a howler if the proposed Atlantic Yards project ever went through any community review, but it's intentionally been designated a state project so that city review and zoning don't apply. Therefore, the irony is definitely missing.
Still, Mr. Prokhorov, who is to control the Nets and a large minority stake in the arena, may have culture shock when he grasps what it takes to complete a project in New York City. Environmental impact statements? Community board input? Appellate court review? Can’t we get the thumb’s up from the local chieftain and get it done?
In Russia, where governance has an authoritarian cast and civil society is less than robust, it is unusual for a project to be significantly delayed or killed because of community opposition. (On the other hand, work is often hamstrung by financial malfeasance or bureaucratic incompetence.)
“Things are still done in a very simple way in Moscow,” said Alec Brook-Krasny, a Moscow native who emigrated at age 30 in 1989 and now represents Brighton Beach in the New York State Assembly. “Whoever is the main person in the neighborhood, the main official in the city, that person makes the decisions. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s the final decision, and the community has no say.”
And no thanks to trying to stereotype the opposition to the proposed Atlantic Yards project:
Not to overly generalize, but those residents tend to be a liberal, touchy-feely bunch. (During the 2000 presidential election, I recall, there was a public forum in Park Slope to debate the merits of the candidates. It was titled, “Gore or Nader?,” as if the idea of even considering voting for George W. Bush was preposterous.)
The people like organic food and bicycles. They compost. They fuss over their children. They don’t miss living in Manhattan. You get the idea.
You can safely read this while eating your morning cereal without any risk of getting milk nose.
NoLandGrab: This AY thing is, like, making me so tense. I'm gonna take a bong hit. Then I'll go out to the park and throw a frisbee with my dog, Sky.
Posted by steve at September 27, 2009 9:20 AM