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March 5, 2010
It came from the Blogosphere...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz Forgets His MTA, Atlantic Yards History
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz gave testimony before a Metropolitan Transportation Authority hearing on March 2nd, which included this whopper:
...THE MTA HAS A DECISION TO MAKE — IT HAS TO DECIDE WHETHER IT IS APPROPRIATE IN THIS CRISIS TO FUND FLASHY "COSMETIC" MEGA-PROJECTS IN PLACES LIKE LOWER MANHATTAN WHILE STARVING THE SYSTEM AS A WHOLE, OR WHETHER IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO STRATEGICALLY AND TEMPORARILY REDIRECT FUNDS TO PRESERVE JOBS, SAFETY, AND RELIABILITY IN THE SYSTEM.
...While the MTA holds public hearings on more service and job cuts, we must consider reasons why the MTA is consistently in a financial mess.
In large part it has to do with mismanagement of assets and the sweetheart deals it makes with real estate developers. In particular, the deal it made with Bruce Ratner to sell the valuable 8.5 acre Vanderbilt Railyard for Ratner to build his Atlantic Yards arena and skyscraper boondoggle is a disgrace.
NoLandGrab: Not to mention cowardly politicians who gladly do the bidding of a powerful, campaign-contribution-doling real estate developer but lack the backbone to ensure the adequate funding of the country's largest — and most important — public transit system.
Found in Brooklyn, EPA Meeting Recap Addressing the Superfund Nomination of the Gowanus
The bad part of the night was when I got the news that Freddy's Bar and Backroom got their 30 day eviction notice from Bruce Ratner today as the final obliteration of a neighborhood continues in the name of eminent domain and the New Jersey Nets. More on that soon.
MissWiticisms, It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World Protest
At a time when many many folks including New Yorkers and Brooklynites are raising money to help one of the poorest countries in the world, Haiti, rebuild their homes and their lives, here in New York, we're tearing down buildings, razing neighborhoods for the benefit of a few deep corrupt pockets. Miss Wit has trouble wrapping her head around it.
As some Brooklyn followers may know, Monday the state agency known as the The Empire State Development Corporation, was granted through a state judge the right to seize property from 12 private landowners, to make way for Bruce Ratner's 4.9 Billionaire Net's Arena and High Rise Towers. One of those homes was Miss Wit's brother's. For that and lots of other reasons, I'm pissed!
All About Fifth, 4th Avenue Forum
Instead of our regular news feature, All About Fifth wanted to give a shout to the great forum held on the future of 4th Avenue sponsored by the Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC) last night. The panelists were top notch, the attendance was high and the engagement, real. A number of salient issues were discussed from Atlantic Yards and storm surges (not the same thing)—to the need for ground floor retail and importance of pedestrian safety.
Raționalitate, Atlantic Yards and ACORN
I've heard a lot of nasty things about the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, where NJ Nets owner Bill Ratner wants to use a combination of eminent domain and state giveaways to build a heavily subsidized basketball stadium and 16 mixed use high-rises, but I didn't realize that ACORN was also in on it.
NLG: You can call him Billion Dollar "Bill" Ratner, given the huge amount of subsidies aimed at Atlantic Yards.
Posted by eric at March 5, 2010 12:08 PM