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October 15, 2009
Atlantic Yards lawsuits filed and heard
Courier Life Publications
by Stephen Witt
The Courier reports on the just-filed MTA lawsuit, and yesterday's oral arguments at the Court of Appeals.
Also in Albany for the court hearing were several local grassroots groups who have long favored the project.
The "several local grassroots groups" amounted to about a half-dozen people, including James Caldwell and Marie Louis of BUILD, and one-time City Council hopeful Delia Hunley Adossa, point person for the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement, all of whom have received money from Forest City Ratner.
“We were in Albany to voice our support in terms of wanting to see the project move forward,” said Marie Louis, chief operating officer of BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Development), which received funding from the developer as per a community benefits agreement for local workforce development.
Witt has used the "as per the" CBA line before, as if these groups are only taking money from Ratner because they're legally obligated to do so.
“We also believe these frivolous lawsuits need to be put to rest because all they want to do is delay the project and kill it. The need for jobs and affordable housing is even more intense given the economic climate,” she said.
NoLandGrab: "Frivolous?" Hardly. Aimed at killing the project? Guilty as charged.
Posted by eric at October 15, 2009 12:26 PM