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September 6, 2012
The Beat Goes On: Q&A With Atlantic Yards Watchdog Journalist Norman Oder
MetroFocus [Thirteen.org]
by Georgia Kral
MetroFocus spoke with [Atlantic Yards Report's Norman] Oder about the ongoing Atlantic Yards story, press coverage of the development and the “culture of cheating.”
Q: The Barclays Center is built. Will those who have been fighting the development for so long continue to do so?
A: There’s been a shift in that some of the activists and organizations most involved with fighting Atlantic Yards have receded. They’re not gone and as I understand it there’s something going on with a broad range of groups for the weekend the arena opens.
The fact that the arena is opening is neither here nor there when it comes to accountability. The broad story [of Atlantic Yards] is about accountability.
Q: Do you feel the entire Atlantic Yards development has been shrouded in deceit?
A: This is not my off-the-cuff personal opinion, it’s a considered judgment based on immersion in the subject. There are numerous examples of what might be called the culture of cheating.
The Community Benefits Agreement promised an independent compliance monitor [to monitor the project] but they’ve never hired one and instead Forest City Ratner [the developer] self reports. In 2010, Bruce Ratner was interviewed by Matthew Schuerman on WNYC and he said 10 years had never been the timeframe for completing Atlantic Yards. Schuerman said that was the time they [Forest City Ratner] had consistently projected. That looks like cheating to me. It’s not criminal, but it’s misleading.
Lot's more where that came from.
Posted by eric at September 6, 2012 1:00 PM