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March 13, 2011
Crain's: Lipsky's relationship with Kruger may have solidified after the lobbyist signed on with Forest City Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
In Lobbyist Richard Lipsky's downfall: Lobbyist in bribery scandal touched nearly every biz cause, Crain's New York Business describes Richard Lipsky's ethical flexibility and, near the end of the article, suggests that a connection with developer Forest City Ratner led Lipsky to ally with state Senator Carl Kruger.
Crain's reports:
In the 1990s, lobbyist Richard Lipsky fought ferociously on behalf of small business owners against building a Pathmark supermarket in East Harlem, and, a decade later, against a Walmart store on Staten Island. But the underdog narrative that ran through his three-decade career became muddied more recently as signs emerged that Mr. Lipsky was following the money rather than his principles.
Forest City Ratner hired him in 2006 for its $5 billion Atlantic Yards megaproject in Brooklyn, and a related corporate entity snagged him to pave the way for an East Harlem shopping mall whose anchor is a Target superstore. Those moves were widely attributed to the developer's desire to prevent Mr. Lipsky from stirring up and advocating for the little guys, his traditional constituency.
He aligned himself with four rogue legislators who upended the Democrats' tenuous hold on the Senate in 2009. And he recently signed on with the Committee to Save New York, a big-business alliance backing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscally conservative agenda.
“He was serving far too many masters,” said a Democratic operative. “You could purchase his position on an issue.”
Um, I think Atlantic Yards critics and opponents were pointing that out well before charges surfaced last week.
Posted by steve at March 13, 2011 10:38 PM