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September 26, 2009
Media Observations From The Atlantic Yards Report
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder returns to the theme of the failure of much of the press, and particularly the New York Times, to fully cover the important real estate story that is the proposed Atlantic Yards project.
The deal to buy the New Jersey Nets has finally gotten some scrutiny in the New York Times, but the Empire State Development Corporation's willingness to offer concessions to developer Forest City Ratner still hasn't drawn coverage, even as the Times is willing to write whimsically about comparisons between Mikhail Prokhorov and Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Norman Oder notes how, in the case of the yet-to-be-completed documentary "The Battle of Brooklyn", sometimes film can capture that which cannot be blogged.
In one instance, Develop Don't Destroy spokesperson, Daniel Goldstein confronts ACORN's Bertha Lewis
The filmmakers recently put up a clip of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Goldstein confronting ACORN leader Bertha Lewis after a press conference on affordable housing. As Galinsky writes:
After the event, Daniel Goldstein confronts her with the fact that tenants are already being pushed out. She admits that ACORN hasn’t actually talked to any of the tenants yet. She then argues that the developer has nothing to do with greedy landlords forcing out tenants before they buy the property.This is not a gotcha moment, but instead a small part of a complex tale. We feel that it is relevant to follow up on published reports that call into question the relationship between the developer and ACORN. At issue is the fact that the developer gave a $500,000 grant and $1,000,000 low interest loan to ACORN in the midst of a previous scandal when many long time donors refused to continue supporting them.
I think the clip also clearly shows something else: the theatrical Lewis knows she can be intimidating, but Goldstein is not intimidated.
In another case, Borough President Marty Markowitz seems to inadvertently predict the involvment of Mikhail Prokhorov years before the fact.
In a fortuitous moment, the filmmakers years ago filmed Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as claiming the project "puts the Russian dressing on a great pastrami sandwich." (It's about 2:27 of the trailer below.)
Whether Markowitz considers the sale of the Nets to Russian mogul Mikhail Prokhorov such an equivalent is yet unknown.
Atlantic Yards will be a focus on The Brian Lehrer Show on Wednesday
This coming week, The Brian Lehrer Show, which runs 10 am to noon on WNYC radio, will focus on development in New York City, including a focus Wednesday on Atlantic Yards: All this week, we’ll be discussing what’s at stake for development in New York City, from affordable housing and zoning to close examinations of Atlantic Yards and other high-profile projects.
6 Mon 9/28 Eminent Domain
7 Tues 9/29 Industrial and Commercial Development
8 Weds 9/30 Focus: Atlantic Yards
9 Thurs 10/1 Affordable Housing
10 Fri 10/2 Focus: World Trade CenterLehrer's New York Development Wiki is pretty thin.
Posted by steve at September 26, 2009 10:32 PM