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December 8, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, MTA Shocked at Shortfall Despite Leaving at Least $100 Million on Ratner's Table
The culmination of the "negotiation" with Ratner this past year was at the MTA Board meeting to approve the new lowball deal. The MTA did not seek any other bidders when they understood that Ratner was no longer willing to fulfill his financial commitments.
So why did they rush to screw transit riders? They had to help Ratner. MTA CFO Gary Dellaverson explained: "It relates to Forest City Ratner's desire to market the tax-exempt bonds. That's the primary driver of the timing."
Now, in the article below, Dellaverson says he is "shocked." Shocked!
And that is the primary driver of the bulk of this shortfall. The math is simple.
dotCommonweal, Eminent Domain
Far from weakening the Constitution’s protection against eminent domain where it had previously existed, my reading of the [Kelo]case is that it broke no new ground in its interpretation of the “public use” limitation on the eminent domain power and that, if anything, it actually increased protection from eminent domain abuse by introducing the idea that eminent domain undertaken for pretextual reasons violates the Fifth Amendment.
411mania.com, Misunderstood Masterpieces 12.08.09: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Guess which phony-blight-eliminating mega-project makes a cameo appearance in this so-bad-it's-good movie review.
Over at his headquarters, Bison builds a model of Bangkok because he's planning a bit of EVIL urban renewal. I wonder if he later consulted with the Borough of Brooklyn on the Atlantic Yards project. While Bison dreams of moving the New Jersey Nets to Thailand – or something like that, Michael Clarke Duncan interrupts with news of a mysterious message from Murmansk. Dum-dum-DUM!
The Architect's Newspaper Blog, NOLA Lights Up
For the last three years, AIA New Orleans has invited teams of architects and artists to takeover “hidden” spaces within the city, transforming them with the latest design tech and hopefully testing the boundaries of this at-times-ephemeral place in the process. One of installations at this year’s DesCours comes from the Chicago team of Marshall Brown and Dana Carter. (Brooklynites may know Brown from his work on the anti-Ratner UNITY plan for the Atlantic Yards.)
david has issues, Let's Talk About E.D.
Have you talked to your city councilperson or state legislator about E.D.?
No, not that E.D., although we will bring up Viagra maker Pfizer.
Posted by eric at December 8, 2009 7:30 PM