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November 9, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Curbed, Ratner Pushes Anti-AYers' Buttons, They Take The Bait
As Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner battles the approximately 547 lawsuits filed against the project over the past month, Crain's drops in with a flattering profile of "Tenacious B" (which is what we're calling him from now on). The profile praises Ratner's commitment to what he calls the "civic project" that is AY, but even Tenacious B gets a little testy at moments.
...Bruce, Bruce, Bruce, when will you learn not to provoke the anti-AYers? The folks at Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn have already filed four reaction posts to the profile, including a dig at the Nets' 0-7 record (ouch).
Brownstoner, Ratner Tight-Lipped on AY Details
In an interview with Crain's, Bruce Ratner is guarded about the shape of things to come for Atlantic Yards, refusing to talk about the development's timeline or when/whether it will include office towers. Ratner also declines to share current designs for AY, saying, “This isn't a public project. We will follow the guidelines.” Develop Don't Destroy quickly published a rebuttal to Ratner's statement, saying, "Presumably this means he'll return all the public money he has gotten and is supposed to get and renounce eminent domain for the project."
True Hoop [ESPN.com], Moral victory for winless Nets in loss to Celtics?
Frank, team president Rod Thorn and general manager Kiki Vandeweghe are all in the final year of their contracts, and the entire organization is in a state of limbo while they wait to see if the sale of the club from Bruce Ratner to Russian oligarch Mickael Prokhorov goes through.
...(Frank's No. 1 assistant, Brian Hill, decided to leave over the summer after management asked him and most of the other assistant coaches to take pay cuts, and the Nets are scrambling so far and wide for sponsors that the rotating signage on the front of the scorer's table featured advertisements, in English and Chinese, for the Agricultural Bank of China, and for a product called YiLi Low Lactose Milk).
NetsDaily, Ratner: If Court Goes Against Arena, “We’ll Figure Something Out”
Remaining optimistic, Bruce Ratner tells Crain’s that even if the Court of Appeals rules against the use of eminent domain at Atlantic Yards, “We’ll figure something out.” He didn’t describe what that “something” would be.
NYDailyNews.com, SLAM DUNKS
The NBA is hopeful that the proposed sale of the Nets to Russian magnate Mikhail Prokhorov will be wrapped up in another week or two. "But there are a lot of moving pieces involving the land and the arena, so it's still going to be very tricky," said one person familiar with the proposed deal. When he met with owners last month in New York, Prokhorov promised that once the sale is complete and he is fully ensconced as the majority owner, he plans to attend about a third of the Nets' games.
NetsAreScorching, NETS ON THE NET: 11/7/09 EDITION
The Nets are kind of a mess right now, as duly noted by NBA Fanhouse.
NetsDaily, Would Prokhorov Keep the Nets in Jersey? ESPN Writers Disagree
Is Mikhail Prokhorov so enamored of the Nets that he’d keep them in New Jersey if Brooklyn fails? He says no. Bruce Ratner says no. David Stern says no. Two ESPN writers have different takes: Marc Stein quotes a source saying “he apparently wants to take over even if the franchise can’t extricate itself from New Jersey”. Ric Bucher says an NBA source told him “without the arena, Prokhorov’s interest fades”.
Posted by eric at November 9, 2009 11:14 AM