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March 9, 2010
Paterson, Bloomberg, Markowitz, Ratner, Jay-Z (but no Prokhorov) scheduled for arena groundbreaking Thursday; will they let me in?
Atlantic Yards Report
Forest City Ratner yesterday sent out a press release regarding the groundbreaking ceremony Thursday, to be held at 1:30 p.m. at the intersection of Fifth and Atlantic avenues.
Leaders of the state (Gov. David Paterson), city (Mayor Mike Bloomberg), and borough (Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz) are expected; it will be interesting to see how many local elected officials and community board officials choose to attend.
Also present will be developer Bruce Ratner, naming rights purchaser Bob Diamond of Barclays Capital, and entertain Jay-Z, who owns a tiny slice of the team. Unmentioned in the press release is prospective Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov, scheduled to buy 80% of the team and 45% of the arena.
Is it that Prokhorov hasn't been officially approved as owner? Or is it that significant subsidies, tax breaks, and the use of eminent domain looks a little different when the beneficiary is Russia's richest man?
Norman Oder wonders if he'll be allowed beyond the velvet rope.
Note that only "officially credentialed press" will be allowed in, which can be used to keep out both self-appointed temporary journalists as well as yours truly.
I asked FCR spokesman Joe DePlasco and he said he'd check.
I'm not holding my breath. I wasn't allowed into the notorious Frank Gehry press conference in May 2006 but I was allowed into the January 2007 naming rights event, largely because I was covering it for the weekly Brooklyn Downtown Star.
But if it's a ban, it's a ridiculous one. They read my work. They know I know more about this project than the "officially credentialed journalists." They know that I'll likely cover the event in greater detail than afforded in print on on TV.
Additional coverage...
Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Atlantic Yards Groundbreaking Set for Thursday
The first phase of Atlantic Yards will also include three residential buildings, with construction of the first starting later this year, according to the company. Several local streets were recently closed as part of the overall Atlantic Yards plan.
Opponents of the Atlantic Yards, led by the organization Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, are planning a demonstration at a site yet to be announced in the project’s “footprint.”
Not Another F*cking Blog, Atlantic Yards Groundbreaking Ceremonies – March 11th
(Un)fortunately, I won’t be there to witness the lies first hand, but all the Atlantic Yards perpetrators will be wielding their golden shovels this coming Thursday, March 11th, at 1:30pm for the ceremonial Barclays Center & Atlantic Yards groundbreaking. I expect Develop-Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s Groundbreaking Ceremony (to bury the soul of Brooklyn) to be a much more interesting event, and I am sorry that I’ll miss that.
CoStar Group, In The Pipeline: CoStar Development and Construction News for March 7-13
WCBS Newsradio 880, Downtown Brooklyn Prepares for Atlantic Yards Groundbreaking
Here on Fifth Avenue between Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, huge neon signs read CLOSED.
It's to make way for the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project.
Atlantic Yards Report, "Let the evictions begin," says WCBS radio in its report on the "Downtown Brooklyn" project
It's just a 42-second radio report according to the audio but it's rather broad-brush.
"Let the evictions begin, as stretches of key avenues here in Downtown Brooklyn are now closed to make way for the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project," declares Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs. "Somewhat surprisingly, many residents and business owners I'm talking to say, bring it on."
(There are no evictions yet, or court orders, despite reports of letters sent by the Empire State Development Corporation.)
The only person quoted is a guy who runs a bagel shop on Fifth Avenue and, while the store isn't specified, it might be A.R.E.A. Bagels & Bialys, which was originally--before protests--named for the arena.
"So you see it as a good business move, it's going to help you?" the reporter asks, in a helpful leading question.
Yes, replies the bagel guy.
NoLandGrab: We fully expect A.R.E.A. Bagels to revert to ARENA Bagels once construction begins in earnest.
Posted by eric at March 9, 2010 1:07 PM