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June 8, 2012
At announcement of gospel shows, Sharpton claims (!) Ratner "has lived up to everything he said and more" (!?!)
Atlantic Yards Report
OK, so yesterday the Wall Street Journal had a scoop about Forest City Ratner's pulling back on its obligation to build a replacement railyard--a boring, process-y infrastructure story, right?--but the Barclays Center announced two new gospel shows:
- GRAMMY award-winning gospel great and Brooklynite Hezekiah Walker and his Love Fellowship Choir
- 2012 Verizon’s How Sweet the Sound™ Gospel Celebration, the country’s premiere and most prestigious gospel music experience
- plus ‘The King’s Men’ (already announced)
...Daughtry, Sharpton, and head-spinning claims
The arena's in-house scribe had a report, Gospel has a home, on the press event, "a rousing two-song preview." But the real news, in my reading of Ben Couch's account wrote, concerned the massaging of history:
Joining Ratner and Walker as speakers were Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, Pastor of The House of the Lord Church and Founder of the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance. Both spoke of the commitment Ratner made to ensuring the community was included in the Atlantic Yards project, and more importantly – his commitment to following through on their agreements.
Daughtry traced the roots of their relationship to 2004, when the DBNA first came to an agreement with Forest City Ratner on fostering arena programs, as well as the development of a state-of-the-art health center and an intergenerational complex. Sharpton pointed out that the setting proved fitting because Daughtry’s leadership helped to define the Community Benefits Agreement that swayed those with questions to support the project.
But credit DNAinfo, in Praise the Lord! Barclays Center Christened as Gospel's New Home, for some stunning quotes:
It was nearly eight years ago that The House of the Lord church hosted another press conference, where officials from Forest City Ratner Companies and the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance announced that they had hammered out a Community Benefits Agreement to guarantee that locals would benefit from the Atlantic Yards development, said the church's pastor, Rev. Herbert Daughtry.
With the arena now poised to open in September, Daughtry praised Ratner for delivering on promised amenities like a health center and meditation room at the new arena.
Sharpton echoed those comments. "I can say without contradition [sic] that Bruce Ratner has lived up to everything he said and more," Sharpton said to a hearty round of applause. "He is an example of what corporate accountability and partnership is all about."
But some critics disagree. The watchdog group Brooklyn Speaks is holding a rally Sunday June 10 to demand stronger oversight of housing and jobs promised as part of the arena deal.
Some critics disagree is what NYU scholar Jay Rosen calls the "View from Nowhere," the false middle, the inability to do any analysis (and, btw, BrooklynSpeaks is only a part of the rally).
Posted by eric at June 8, 2012 9:52 AM