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September 25, 2009
Nets sale embarrasses Marty
NY Post
by Rich Calder
He's been the biggest booster of the controversial Atlantic Yards project that includes bringing the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn, but Borough President Marty Markowitz has been oddly silent since a Russian billionaire swooped in to try and save the project this week.
Political operatives close to Markowitz say he's red-faced over developer Bruce Ratner's plans to sell a majority stake in the NBA's Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov. The 44-year-old playboy would also finance the project's long-stalled arena, and potentially salvage the residential and commercial portions of Atlantic Yards.
"It's a combination of anger and embarrassment," said one operative. "He signed on to a magnificent Frank Gehry-designed Brooklyn palace in the sky, and now he's got a foreign-owned big hole in the ground."
NoLandGrab: We wouldn't have thought the shameless Marty Markowitz capable of feeling shame, but his silence does make us wonder.
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, The Russian connection: reason for celebration or dismay? Has Marty been rendered "oddly silent"?
Is the Russian connection--the purchase of the Nets by Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov--a good thing? Would it help bring new fans to the team? It depends on whom you ask.
Let's put aside the presumed improvement in the team roster that would result from an owner with deep pockets and genuine interest in basketball. Let's just look at the immediate reaction to Prokhorov.
Posted by eric at September 25, 2009 9:39 AM