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December 11, 2009

Congratulations Bruce

Courier-Life Publications, Condo critics not ready to welcome city control of park By Joe Maniscalco

Congratulations Bruce Ratner, your Atlantic Yards mega-disaster is now the gold standard for projects lacking public input.

This recent update on the Mayor's move to take over the muddled and misguided Brooklyn Bridge Park project features NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe on crack:

Benepe elicited audible moans and groans when he suggested “Many parks are boarded by very tall housing.”

“That’s just the nature of parks,” the commissioner offered. “The housing is at the edge of the site and it’s always been intended that way. That’s just the way it is.”
...
On Monday night, Benepe dismissed the creation of a Brooklyn Bridge Park conservancy as another possible source of funding for the fledgling project saying the area “lacks a concentration of wealth” needed to sustain the park.

Critics, who say they have advocated for a new public park on the waterfront for years but now feel they are being cut out of the official government planning process, also expressed displeasure with a new governance model for the park that envisions the formation of a community advisory committee made up of appointees by local elected officials to help steward the park’s further development.

They point to Atlantic Yards as an example of a major development project proceeding without any meaningful input from the public.

NoLandGrab: Emphasis ours, the delusional comments from Benepe were all his.

Though we're not in the Brooklyn Bridge Park blogging business, it's worth noting that Benepe didn't give any examples of tall buildings actually IN THE PARK and that if there is enough concentration of wealth to fund the local advocacy for the park (i.e. public information campaigns, lawsuits, etc.), surely is enough money floating around to fund a "concervancy."

Posted by lumi at December 11, 2009 5:35 AM