« Forest City to launch Sunday hours in railyard for at least three months; 6 am deliveries have begun | Main | Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov ousted from pro-Kremlin party »
September 15, 2011
Ratner, in softball interview, says ticket sales good, sidesteps question about financing, plays dumb when asked about EB-5 venture, again claims AY a "civic project"
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder deconstructs today's Bloomberg interview with Bruce Ratner.
In a softball interview (Bruce Ratner on Atlantic Yards Project, Real Estate) posted today on Bloomberg.com, Ratner asserted that ticket sales for Nets games were ahead of schedule and that "there's certainly a chance" that the hockey Islanders might move to Brooklyn.
Though he said financing for the first tower would be in place, he cagily sidestepped a question about financing for the rest of the project and played dumb when faced with a misdirected question about the role of Chinese investors in Atlantic Yards.
As for Atlantic Yards, he again dubbed it a "civic project," as if it were somehow designed to deliver civic benefits ahead of returns to corporate investors. And in an echo of his ally, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Ratner asserted that "people who know me" continue to think his reputation positive.
Posted by eric at September 15, 2011 12:53 PM