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December 10, 2011
Battle of Brooklyn roundup: Blogger questions Nets plan for cheap financing for new arena
Daily News
BY Michael O'Keeffe
Atlantic Yards Report blogger Norman Oder may be the only journalist digging deep into the Nets' attempts to raise cheap financing for Bruce Ratner's massive arena-and-skyscrapers project by offering green cards to Chinese investors. His latest post explains how state officials gerrymandered the project's map to include sections of Bed-Stuy to convince federal officials that Atlantic Yards is in a high-poverty, high-unemployment area. If the feds buy the state's argument, investors could get much-coveted green cards for themselves and their families by investing $500,000 in the project, not the $1 million required for a project in a more affluent area.
"Is this kosher?" Oder asks. "Well, it seems to violate the spirit of federal immigration law - especially since the targeted census tracts are not being helped much by the project - but likely not the letter."
Also, congratulations to Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky, the Brooklyn filmmakers whose critically acclaimed "Battle for Brooklyn" has made the Academy Awards short list for best documentary. The filmmakers have initiated a Kickstarter campaign to raise $9,000 to promote the film.
The directors will answer questions when "Battle for Brooklyn" is shown at the Stranger Than Fiction Series at the IFC Center in the Village on Tuesday. Daniel Goldstein, the protagonist of "Battle for Brooklyn" will appear with Hawley and Galinsky at the Brooklyn Ethical Culture Society when they show the film as part of the Brooklyn Rooftop Films Presents series.
Posted by steve at December 10, 2011 3:49 PM