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October 21, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Via Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Greetings From Scott Turner: Balloon Boy Hoaxters
No hot air in Scott Turner's weekly pub quiz missive:
Face it -- seeing this thing flying through the northern Colorado sky last week was just plain weird. And kinda awesome, to boot.
Bruce Ratner solves everything -- an arena designed by the firm of Gehry, Ellerbe Beckett & SHoP floating over Brooklyn, making eminent domain unneces-- what? This isn't the new arena? Durn it!
BlackBook, Autumn’s Awesome New York Adventures
Our favorite urban-planning disaster gets a dishonorable mention in this BlackBook round-up of fun fall outings.
Fort Tryon Park (Washington Heights): Visit for: The Heather Gardens, trails, hills, trails on hills, greenery, changing foliage, and an intimate secret garden atmosphere. Given to the city by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in 1935, this was, unlike other “presents” we’ve been given (Rudy Giuliani, the BQE, Atlantic Yards, etc), taken with open arms.
The InterNets, Thorn mum on meeting with Prokhorov
Rod Thorn would not confirm that he met with Mikhail Prokhorov today.
"No comment," the team president said.
Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire, is in line to take over 80% of the Nets if he is approved by the league's board of governors and if the Nets acquire the needed funding to build an arena in Brooklyn. He is in town this week to take care of some business.
If he did meet with Thorn and other Nets higher-ups, such as GM Kiki Vandeweghe, nothing serious was discussed, like hirings and firings, etc.
"It was more social than anything else," said a source.
Noticing New York, Looping Back to What Is Less Than Healthy for the Community
How is Atlantic Yards like empty calories?
The food industry has been self-certifying the “benefit” or “smart choice” of eating such foods as Froot Loops which, by weight, is 41% sugar. Reading the statement in today’s Times of the food industry spokesman saying that he believed in the food industry’s program, we couldn’t help but think of our government development officials at ESDC:
“We believe in the science behind the Smart Choices program,” Mike Hughes, the program’s chairman, said in a statement. “We also look forward to the opportunity to participate in F.D.A.’s initiatives on front-of-package labeling.”
That sounds just like the ESDC officials putting out their press release last Wednesday after oral arguments before the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) saying that they believed the pretextual public benefits they have promulgated with respect to Atlantic Yards.
New Jersey Blogs [NJ.com], Nets at the Prudential Center: Bloggers on whether Newark is ready for the NBA
Call it Newark’s NBA tryout.
Tonight New Jersey’s largest city will complete its unofficial two-part audition to prove it can host a professional basketball team.
City officials are hoping tonight’s Nets preseason game at the Prudential Center will help make a case for the team to abandon its controversial plans to move to Brooklyn— and choose Newark instead.
Own This City [Time Out NY], Why I love Prospect Heights
“I’m certain that a prettier neighborhood doesn’t exist in all of Brooklyn,” brags TONY editorial coordinator Amy Plitt. “I lived in and around Prospect Heights for nearly four years, and loved nothing more than to wander around looking at all of the beautiful brownstones and tree-lined streets. There’s also a great sense of community here.
...Freddy’s (485 Dean St at Sixth Ave; 718-622-7035, freddysbackroom.com) “This is one of my favorite dive bars in the city. The front room is small, with televisions that constantly play a loop of fucked-up videos (think Twilight Zone eps spliced with weird performance-art pieces), while the back room hosts comedy, live music and more. Plus, the drinks are cheap, and the owners are still fighting the good fight against Atlantic Yards.”
The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, The Day: Jeffries Pivots, Garden Reaps Prizes
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries’s seeming rethinking of his stance on Atlantic Yards is causing some head-scratching. On Monday, he co-signed a letter (with State Senator John Sampson and Assemblyman Nick Perry) to Bruce Ratner and potential Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, calling Atlantic Yards “vital to the economy and future of Brooklyn,” commending their “recent efforts to propose new business arrangements to sustain this development” and asking for a meeting to review the project.
NetsAreScorching, NETS ON THE NET: 10/21/09 EDITION
Atlantic Yards Report talks about how the newest lawsuits could impede forward progress at the Barclays Arena site in Brooklyn and whether or not project opponents will seek an injunction once/if construction begins.
Posted by eric at October 21, 2009 6:54 PM