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August 15, 2010
The Times and Lipsky: skepticism about the city's claims on Willets Point (but what about AY?)
Atlantic Yards Report
The New York Times, likely on a tip from lobbyist Richard Lipsky, ran a story on August 13 expressing skepticism about the Willets Point project. State officials are particularly concerned about the design for highway ramps. Why was Lipsky never skeptical about Atlantic Yards?
Lipsky, on his Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog, slammed the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC):
The fact remains, however, that this entire issue-and the review process itself-is begging to be removed from the parochial clutches of EDC and its flimflam consultant AKRF. If that happens, the economic development agency and its friends may just die from exposure.
But did Lipsky make a peep about AKRF's performance on Atlantic Yards, for example the market study it was hired to do but never did?
...
Did he salute transportation analyst Brian Ketcham's criticism of the ESDC's traffic analysis for Atlantic Yards, surely equivalent to what Lipsky called Ketcham's "blistering critique of EDC's defective [Willets Point] traffic report"?
Nope.
That's because Forest City Ratner hired Lipsky to lobby for Atlantic Yards, and neutralized him.
Posted by steve at August 15, 2010 7:32 AM