July 2, 2009
Behind the state Senate turmoil: the real estate industry (with an AY angle)
Atlantic Yards Report
In an article headlined Senate Coup Plotters' Hidden Agenda: Tabloids call it a circus, but the lobbyists' goal is to squelch reforms, the Village Voice's Tom Robbins connects the state Senate's dysfunctions not to no-good legislators but to the real estate industry's desire to stymie long-awaited reforms in the city's rent regulations.
Also jeopardized are efforts at campaign finance reform and gun control. And, yes, a further look at Atlantic Yards.
In a nutshell, under Democratic control, local State Senators have held one public hearing on Atlantic Yards. If the Republicans have their way, there's little hope that State legislators would lift a finger to find out more about Bruce Ratner's highly subsidized megaproject.
The Village Voice, Senate Coup Plotters' Hidden Agenda
Democratic control of Senate committees also brought the power to shine a spotlight in places Republicans had preferred to leave dark. On May 29, 10 days before the coup shut everything down, Harlem Senator Bill Perkins, new chairman of a committee overseeing state authorities, held the Senate's first public hearing on the massive $4 billion Atlantic Yards project.
The Forest City Ratner deal was made possible by an official sleight of hand that allowed it to skirt city land use regulations. Under Republican control, the Senate asked no questions. Even at the hearing, they still offered protection. Brooklyn's lone GOP senator, Marty Golden, burst into the hearings late and, backed by cheers from building trades workers, proceeded to mock Perkins and Montgomery, in whose district the project sits, for "holding the project hostage."
Posted by lumi at 6:41 AM
June 29, 2009
RIVAL RIPS MARTY OVER YARDS WORK
NY Post
by Rich Calder
An East New York activist is trying to parlay the contempt many Brooklynites have for the embattled Atlantic Yards project into unseating Marty Markowitz as borough president.
Eugene Myrick, 37, recently became the first candidate to announce he's challenging the powerful two-time incumbent on the Democratic line in this September's primary. The underdog has yet to raise a cent but is already seeing a groundswell of support.
And it's mostly over Myrick opposing Bruce Ratner's $4.9 billion project to bring an NBA arena and 16 residential and office towers to Prospect Heights while Markowitz is widely considered its biggest booster.
...The challenger -- who runs a bridal website with his wife, ex-Kiss-FM deejay Kesha Monk - told the Post he's upset with "sweetheart" cost-saving deals cut last week by the state and MTA to bail out Atlantic Yards and ripped Markowitz for openly supporting it.
He also pointed out a Post investigation last October that found Ratner since 2003 funneled more than $680,000 to nonprofits set up by Markowitz to run pet projects and said the beep "is obviously indebted to the developer."
NoLandGrab: With Republican Beep candidate Marc D'Ottavio criticizing Markowitz for not supporting Atlantic Yards enough, it's clear that Eugene Myrick has the anti-boondoggle vote all to himself.
Posted by eric at 1:46 PM
June 27, 2009
Deciphering Words of a (Campaigning) Bloomberg on Atlantic Yards: “Enough Already” Means, “Bruce, We Have Another $180 Million Plus To Give You!'
Noticing New York
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg publicly states that there will be no more public subsidies for the proposed Atlantic Yards project, and then pushes through more goodies for blight-inducing developer Bruce Ratner via the MTA.
It says a lot about the unpopularity of Atlantic Yards that, even though Bloomberg has a seeming lock on a third term as mayor (given his extraordinary ability to spend on his campaign, mobilizing perhaps a half billion toward that end), Bloomberg still deems it politically prudent to disguise and downplay his support for Atlantic Yards.
Ergo, the mayor has basically been dishonest. Case in point? We offer to decipher Mr. Bloomberg’s words. Just weeks ago Bloomberg told the press it was time to turn off the spigot and that no additional public funds should be poured into Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards. What did Bloomberg really mean? He meant that he was about to ram through a deal to give his friend Bruce Ratner more than another $180 million out of the public till.
On Wednesday, May 20th the mayor reportedly “dashed Ratner’s hopes for more” money than the “$230 million for infrastructure and land-acquisition costs” the city is putting up for the project. (See: May 21, 2009, Bloomy to Bruce: Enough already, by Mike McLaughlin, The Brooklyn Paper.) This is actually, a typical understatement of the acknowledged cost to the public of the proposed Atlantic Yards. Its true total cost needs to be calculated in terms of billions.
...
That was May 20th. On May 29th it was revealed that a deal was in the works to give millions more, what turns out to be more than $180 million more, to Ratner. That day at hearings on the Atlantic Yards held by State Senator Bill Perkins it was disclosed that there was a deal proposed for substantial additional giveaways to Ratner. Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (who works for Bloomberg) participated in presenting the parameters of the package of handouts to Ratner and it was announced then that the MTA’s board would be addressing the handouts at its June 24, 2009 meeting. Indeed, that meeting where the MTA, in fact, did approve the handouts occurred this past Wednesday, just as then disclosed.
Consistent with what was indicated on May 29th, the MTA at that Wednesday meeting approved the more than $180 million in giveaways for Ratner (without any corresponding givebacks, quid pro quos or return obligations from Ratner. In fact, the MTA went so far as to relieve Ratner of obligations to build anything other than the arena and extended to Ratner a low-cost, very long-term option on developing the rest of- the bulk of- the site. That is a blight-inducing (not blight-preventing) decision on the MTA’s part.
Posted by steve at 7:27 AM
June 22, 2009
Plus Ça Change, (The More Things Change,) Plus Une Chose En Particulier Ne Change Pas: La Transaction Fixée (The Wired Deal)!
Noticing New York posted a preview of the issues facing today's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Finance Committee Meeting.
Here's an overview of the terms of the MTA bailout of Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner:
- Letting the developer construct a project of significantly lesser public value under rubric of "value engineering" (translated, that means, among other things, constructing a train yard with 7 tracks rather than 9 or the original 10, delivering a project of much lesser quality, and with less “green space”).
- Giving the MTA’s property to the developer (property for which the developer did not bid in the first place) for a considerably smaller payment despite this currently being a time of financial need for the MTA. (We are now talking in terms of the pathetically paltry. See Atlantic Yards Report “What could $20 million buy?” series.)
- Less will be done by the developer up front, and
- Postponing, even further, the borrower’s obligation to deliver the ostensible benefits of the project. For instance, one housing tower that would be front-loaded with luxury units while others will be postponed.
The article continues by analyzing how the politics and economy have changed... and how little that matters, when the only one getting things done in Albany seems to be Bruce Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 5:38 AM
June 20, 2009
Brennan, other elected officials ask IBO to update its report on Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards Report
Testimony given by George Sweeting of The New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) indicated that the proposed Barclays arena will be a money loser for the City. The IBO is being called upon to complete its cost/benefit analysis of the proposed Atlantic Yards project.
Assemblyman Jim Brennan and five other elected officials have asked the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) to extend its testimony at the May 29 state Senate oversight hearing by completing a new analysis of the Atlantic Yards project.
The letter to Director Ronnie Lowenstein was signed by Assemblymembers Hakeem Jeffries and Joan Millman; State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; and Council Members Letitia James and David Yassky.
IBO spokesman Doug Turetsky responds, "We are considering how best to follow up the testimony with an updated fiscal impact analysis."
Posted by steve at 10:25 AM
June 18, 2009
David Yassky Weasels on Atlantic Yards
Daily Gotham
Among Atlantic Yards watchdogs, David Yassky is notorious for trying to have it both ways (aka "The Yassky-Nossky"). These days, he's not too proud of his track record and is trying to recast himself as an anti-project crusader.
Daily Gotham blogger "Mole333" takes readers down memory lane:
During the campaign for Congress, Yassky had a habit of doing favors for supporters.... Similarly, right after Yassky was endorsed by BUILD President James Caldwell, a Ratner ally, Yassky proposed relieving Ratner of his promise to fund BUILD and instead funding it with city money. This second devil's bargain seemed to ally Yassky with Ratner, and given his weak language regarding Atlantic Yards, most voters assumed Yassky was pro-Atlantic Yards.
I always said that had Yassky been stronger on that one issue, he could have won the Congressional race. Instead he weaseled, and lost.
NoLandGrab.org: This should come as no surprise. Remember, this is the City Councilmember who first proposed that the extension of term limits be decided by a voter referendum. That didn't pass, so he (naturally) cast his own vote in support of the extension.
Posted by lumi at 6:29 AM
June 11, 2009
Dean backs Josh Skaller for council seat
PWW.org
by Dan Margolis
Atlantic Yards pops up as a key campaign issue in this People's Weekly World story about the race to replace Bill de Blasio in the NY City Council.
Skaller has distinguished himself as being the only candidate to have always been fully against Atlantic Yards, a project to be funded with billions of public dollars, though it is a for-profit project by private mega-developer Forest City Ratner. Forest City wants to build luxury condos and a sports arena, and would seize private homes and businesses through eminent domain. Since the area’s median income is $29,000, the plan to replace exiting housing with expensive condos has been termed “instant gentrification.”
NoLandGrab: The "plan" also includes affordable units — some day, some way, maybe, maybe not.
Posted by eric at 8:32 AM
June 7, 2009
Markowitz Embraces New Arena Design
The New York Post catches Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in a contradiction as he praises the new design for the proposed Barclays Center. Norman Oder hopes that this is the beginning of new wisdom for the Post.
New York Post, Brooklyn Beep's Big Basketball Spin
Now that star architect Frank Gehry is out as designer for the Nets' planned Brooklyn arena, Borough President Marty Markowitz is flip-flopping and claiming it's for the best.
In December 2003, when developer Bruce Ratner first unveiled his plans for the Atlantic Yards project in Prospect Heights, Markowitz called the Gehry design "world class."
But yesterday, a day after Ratner announced that Missouri-based Ellerbe Becket had been tapped to replace Gehry so arena costs could be shaved, Markowitz told The Post he now believes Gehry's glass-and-steel design was "too ultramodern."
"I think the new design is actually better for Brooklyn," said Markowitz, the project's biggest booster.
Gehry declined comment.
Atlantic Yards Report, The Post says Markowitz flip-flops (and what about the Mayor?)
So, a local newspaper is playing "gotcha," calling out one piece of AY hypocrisy. Let's see if there's more.
The New York Post reports: Now that star architect Frank Gehry is out as designer for the Nets' planned Brooklyn arena, Borough President Marty Markowitz is flip-flopping and claiming it's for the best.
In December 2003, when developer Bruce Ratner first unveiled his plans for the Atlantic Yards project in Prospect Heights, Markowitz called the Gehry design "world class."
But yesterday, a day after Ratner announced that Missouri-based Ellerbe Becket had been tapped to replace Gehry so arena costs could be shaved, Markowitz told The Post he now believes Gehry's glass-and-steel design was "too ultramodern."
The Post could have pointed to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's flip-flop, as well, but quoted Bloomberg's statement without comment.
Posted by steve at 8:17 AM
May 31, 2009
Council candidate Lander, in testimony prepared for Senate hearing, gets tougher on AY, saying deal should be canceled
Atlantic Yards Report
City council candidate Brad Lander alters his stance on Atlantic Yards to one that begins to look more like that taken by his rival Josh Skaller. Skaller has maintained an anti-Atlantic Yards stance from the time he first announced his candidacy.
It was notable that, at the State Senate hearing Friday, the only legislators to appear in favor of the project were three (one via proxy) from Southern Brooklyn, far from the project site and the area from which Forest City Ratner executive VP Bruce Bender can always call in chits. Even Borough President Marty Markowitz neglected to show up or send an emissary.
And, though there was much extraneous testimony that had nothing to do with the hearing's ostensible purpose of government oversight, there were several people who didn't get to testify.
One would-be elected official, 39th District Council Candidate (and urban planner) Brad Lander, submitted testimony calling for legislators to pressure Governor David Paterson and the Empire State Development Corporation to cancel the AY deal. The issues he raised were ones the legislators barely touched.
His reasons:
- a need for a full accounting of public subsidies
- a need for a new economic and cost-benefit analysis
- a need to investigate whether land valuation for the PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) deal would be as questionable as the one for Yankee Stadium.
Follow the link for further details and excerpts from Lander's testimony.
Posted by steve at 9:29 AM
Atlantic Yards Combatants Finally Forced To Sit Through State Senate Hearing
The Village Voice
By Neil deMause
Here's an excerpt of a story covering Friday's state hearing by the expert of arena/stadium financing from Field of Schemes.
Yesterday was the long-awaited — like, six years long — first state legislative hearing on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project, with State Senator Bill Perkins convening his Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions Committee (think of him as the Senate version of Richard Brodsky) at Pratt Institute.
While there were lots of questions that could have been raised, the one most everyone is wondering was: Is it still happening, and if so, does it bear the slightest resemblance to the vision that Ratner and then-architect Frank Gehry unveiled back in the Friends era?
Or will it now be a stripped-down arena surrounded by what the Municipal Art Society has dubbed Atlantic Lots?
Unfortunately, those best able to answer this question — Forest City Ratner, the Nets owner's family development company — were announced to be a no-show. Errol Louis in Thursday's Daily News claimed that Forest City Ratner wasn't invited to testify; Perkins said he did too invite them, by fax, mail, and email. At least one Forest City rep was spotted in the audience, but he declined Perkins' entreaties to come on down.
In their absence, it was left to various unelected officials to make the case that the project is still on track, just with some, um, adjustments. Empire State Development Corporation chief Marisa Lago said that the "value engineering" Ratner is now engaged in — including, reportedly, ditching Gehry for off-the-rack arena designers Ellerbe Becket — didn't represent "downsizing" of the arena plus office tower plus affordable housing plus unaffordable housing that Ratner originally agreed to: "You're getting a new kitchen, just some of the shiny chrome finishes are going to be changed." Metropolitan Transportation Authority interim president Helena Williams noted that Forest City has "proposed revisions to some of the deal terms" it agreed to in 2006, including "a smaller up front payment for the land" than the $100 million the developer originally promised (Louis reported this as a $20 million down payment; Williams declined to name a figure), something she said the MTA board will discuss at its next meeting on June 24th.
This piece ends by noting of one of the most remarkable moments of the day from Independent Budget Office deputy director George Sweeting:
"Most of the new tax revenue that's generated from the project comes from the office space," added Sweeting. "If the project that finally emerges has less commercial office space, then presumably that tax revenue piece that's spun off from there will be lower."
Nobody booed, but that could have just been because they weren't paying attention.
Posted by steve at 6:59 AM
State Lawmakers Hold Hearing on Atlantic Yards
WNYC
by Matthew Schuerman
State lawmakers have held a hearing on the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, even though the project was approved three years ago. As WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports, Friday's gathering was a raucous one.
Sound: Crowd booing...
REPORTER: Construction workers and other supporters of the project packed the 200-seat auditorium in Brooklyn where the hearing was held. Throughout the four hour hearing, they shouted down the lawmakers holding the hearing and accused them of trying to delay the project, which is three years behind schedule. One man told Senator Bill Perkins to go back to Harlem.
SPEAKER: We want the project. You should go back to Harlem
REPORTER: Perkins heads the legislative committee that oversees the state agency that oversees Atlantic Yards and said he had a responsibility to ask questions. The developer, Forest City Ratner, is promising to break ground finally this fall.
Posted by steve at 6:52 AM
May 30, 2009
Locals, Lawmakers Still Divided Over Atlantic Yards
NY1
At a Friday hearing in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, state officials called to separate fact from fiction when talking about the future of controversial Atlantic Yards project.
"Bring transparency to this process and to understand not only where we are, how we got here, where we're going, but also for the future, how we can do better," said Manhattan State Senator Bill Perkins.
The economy is not just threatening to change the scale of the plan, but the benefits it might deliver for the city.
Back in 2005, a basketball arena alone was expected to yield some $25 million dollars in economic benefits, according to the city's Independent Budget Office.
Now that the cost of financing the project has nearly doubled for the city, the office predicts that financial boost will disappear. Its numbers suggest the arena will become a money-loser in the end.
Posted by steve at 7:26 AM
May 26, 2009
A closer look at the Borough President's budget, his marquee Coney project, and the off-books funding via the mayor's office
Atlantic Yards Report
It's 10 a.m. Do you know where your Borough President is spending your tax dollars?
City Council Member and Comptroller candidate David Yassky is on to something with his It's Your Money NYC web site showing recent City Council earmarks. We need a lot more transparency, and it should go beyond the City Council.
After all, do we know what Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz does with his operating budget? Sort of, but it takes a little digging.
Do we know what Markowitz does with his discretionary budget? Not quite.
Do we know what Markowitz does with his capital budget, by far the greatest pot of money he controls?
People might be surprised to learn that some $24.6 million, more than a third of the total this year, is directed to the $64 million amphitheater planned for Asser Levy Park in Coney Island, home of one of the two summer concert series Markowitz has long sponsored.
Posted by eric at 10:06 AM
May 25, 2009
Yassky, IND and Vito Lopez
Daily Gotham
Atlantic Yards gets a few dishonorable mentions in David Michaelson's update of the political players (and pay-to-players) on the Brooklyn political scene.
Remember when an organization largely funded by Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner appeared on the dance card of City Councilman David Yassky, who is now candidate for NYC Comptroller:
A similar situation arose when David Yassky was endorsed by the president of an organization called BUILD. President of BUILD endorses Yassky, Yassky almost immediately turned around to propose the city (that's your money and mine) fund BUILD. Pay to play?
So we already have a problem with Yassky and money...a bad combination for someone running for Comptroller, the person in charge of the city's money.
But Yassky also claims to be "reform." And IND, a "reform" club, endorsed him. David Yassky donated to Vito Lopez, the very Party Boss that IND claims to be independent of and claims to oppose.
And speaking about the Brooklyn Machine party boss, the NJ Nets minority owner and brother of Bruce is a supporter:
An earlier Vito Lopez connection I focused on, back in 2006, was when Michael Ratner, [brother] of Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, donated no less than $3,100 to Vito Lopez. That is more than Scotto, Yassky and Weprin put together. Right after this donation from Michael Ratner to Vito Lopez, Vito Lopez proposed a bill in the Assembly that basically gave so much to Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project that even Ratner supporter Mike Bloomberg balked and opposed it. Vito's payback to the Ratners was eventually rebuffed.
And is it another Ratner connection that Barclay #2 Realty Corp also donated to Vito Lopez? I am not sure if this is the same Barclay's that spent so much cash buying the naming rights to Ratner's arena (with no team??? not sure) or not. But Barclay #2 Realty Corp donated $2,500 to Lopez. But then again developers and chiropractors are his main donors anyway.
NoLandGrab: "Barclay #2 Realty Corp." is the legal name of a partnership formed to manage a 66-unit co-op apartment building in Queens — not an affiliate of British bank Barclays.
Posted by lumi at 5:46 AM
May 24, 2009
The Ratner family and allies gave big to Kucinich's 2008 challenger
Atlantic Yards Report
Rep. Dennis Kucinich has demonstrated his opposition to using taxpayer money to subsidize sports facilities by holding a hearing on how the assessment of the land under the new Yankee Stadium was "gamed" to the benefit of the Yankees. Using an article by Roldo Bartimole entitled "Cimperman Is Doing Corporate Work", Norman Oder looks at how how the Ratner family, always looking for ways to gain more public subsidies, has supported Kucinich's rival.
Should Kucinich scrutinize plans for the Atlantic Yards arena the same way he's done the Yankee Stadium deal--with the important distinction of doing it beforehand rather than after-the-fact--undoubtedly there would be reason for the Ratners to support his next opponent.
...
Once on the “take list,” it’s hard to get off. Now Cimperman lives on the pay-as-you-play dole. Let’s lead off with the 10 donors for this Congressional run from Forest City Enterprises, the chief buyers of politicians: The Ratners: Al, $2,000, Brian, $1,000, Mark, $1,000, Ronald, $1,000, James, $1,000, Kevin, $1,000, Audrey, $2,000, Charles, $1,000, Deborah Ratner Salberg, $1,000 and Alan Krulak, $1,500. That’s $10,500 from Forest City people in the first financial report to the Federal Election Commission. (On a single day in the early 2000, Cimperman got $4,000 from some of the same Ratners, always seeking favors at City Hall)
The Federal Election Commission database shows that people associated with Forest City Enterprises gave $22,000.
...
Kucinich, with his national profile, however, outraised Cimperman, relying significantly on out-of-state donors, beat him in the primary, and was reelected. Commentators on Bartimole's piece suggest that the money flow to Cimperman declined after the incumbent showed his strength.
Posted by steve at 9:14 AM
May 19, 2009
SECOND IN COMMAND: THE TACTITIAN'S RUN
City Limits
By Jarrett Murphy
What's new... City Councilman and candidate for NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is trying to walk a fine line with his position on Atlantic Yards:
The most high-profile project in Brooklyn, of course, is Atlantic Yards, which falls close to his district and which de Blasio backed from the beginning. Only last year—well after demolition had begun on the site—did de Blasio say he wanted a moratorium on tear-downs until it was clear that the developer, Forest City Ratner, would make good on its promises of affordable housing and jobs.
"I'm obviously not satisfied with how the process unfolded," de Blasio says. "I think there was an opportunity to take the initial vision which was in the community benefits agreement and involve the community and figure out a way to achieve what was in the [agreement] in a way that was acceptable. I really think that didn’t happen."
Foes of Atlantic Yards don’t think de Blasio's late-day skepticism is genuine. "He has supported Atlantic Yards uncritically for years and now, like nearly every other supporter, has modified his position by picking away at this thing or that thing or 'I support it if [blank],'" says Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein.
NoLandGrab: Signatories of the Community Benefits Agreement are contractually obligated to support the project and most have received financial support from developer Bruce Ratner. By siding with these groups, Bill de Blasio has done nothing to represent ongoing concerns over the project.
What happened to de Blasio's lip service on demolitions? Ratner continued on, taking down almost every single building he could.
Posted by lumi at 5:16 AM
May 18, 2009
The money primary: looking at fundraising in the 33rd, 35th, 36th, 39th, and 41st District Council races
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder follows the money.
A round of financial reports to the New York City Campaign Finance Board arrived Friday, and help provide perspective on which candidates proceed from a position of strength.
I look at the three districts that touch on Atlantic Yards (33, 35, 39), as well as two nearby districts (36, 41) where the incumbents have supported the project.
Fundraising is only one indication; institutional support, such as endorsements from unions, political clubs, and other organizations that can supply volunteers, can be key. A candidate's policies, doggedness, and media savvy surely play significant roles, as can a newspaper endorsement.
But the candidates with the most money can afford advertising to get the word out, as well as staff and consultants. And, with multi-candidate Democratic primary races--the election is September 15--a candidate with a mere plurality can win.
Who’s ahead?
For the answer, you'll have to click through.
Posted by eric at 9:39 AM
So, why did FCR's Gilmartin give mayoral candidate Thompson $400?
Atlantic Yards Report
In the season's first report of campaign contributions, there are only six contributions from Forest City Ratner employees, to six different candidates in city political races, and the contributions are relatively small. So there's no reason to think it's a coordinated effort.
But the most curious contribution is $400 from MaryAnne Gilmartin, who heads the Atlantic Yards project, to Democrat Bill Thompson, the mayoral candidate and current Comptroller.
...
So, was the contribution to Thompson just a courtesy? A personal connection of some sort? An insurance policy? A belief that he was the frontrunner at the time?I have to think Bloomberg--who's been vastly outspending his potential rivals--will forgive her.
NoLandGrab: Typically Forest City Ratner is brilliant at making political calculations, but blogger Michael D.D. White recently pointed out that Bloomberg is not always so forgiving.
Posted by lumi at 6:12 AM
May 15, 2009
Question time: New format helps reveal candidates’ traits — and car ownership!
The Brooklyn Paper
by Thomas Tracy and Gersh Kuntzman
Atlantic Yards worked its way into a forum this week featuring candidates running for the City Council seat in the 33rd district.
Ken Diamondstone and Evan Thies immediately turned their attention to front-runner Jo Anne Simon, with Diamondstone taking her to task for her approach to the much-reviled Atlantic Yards project. Simon co-founded Brooklyn Speaks, a group that wants to change Bruce Ratner’s project, rather than backing Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which wants to take the project out of Ratner’s hands entirely.
Simon responded that there are many approaches to fixing Atlantic Yards.
Posted by eric at 11:45 AM
May 10, 2009
After Arrest, a State Senator Loses His Leaderhip Posts
The New York Times
By Al Baker
Difficulties seen for State Senator Keving S. Parker, an Atlantic Yards supporter who spoke out in favor of the proposed project at the Environmental Impact Statement public hearing in August of 2006 and received a $3,500 campaign contribution from a member of Bruce Ratner's family that same month.
Less than a day after his arrest over a confrontation with a newspaper photographer, State Senator Kevin S. Parker of Brooklyn was stripped of his leadership positions on Saturday, said a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, Malcolm A, Smith.
...
Officials said the senator was charged with a felony because he was accused of causing more than $1,000 in damage to the photographer’s camera. Mr. Lopez was treated at a hospital for a bruised and swollen finger that apparently got caught in a camera strap during the fracas, the police said.
...
Austin Shafran, a spokesman for the Senate majority leader, read a statement by Mr. Smith on Saturday that said, “After learning of the incident involving Senator Kevin Parker, I have decided to strip the senator of his leadership position as majority whip and chair of the Energy Committee, effective immediately.”
“Furthermore,” the statement said, “payment of the stipend for Senator Parker’s leadership position has been suspended. These are serious charges which demand the attention of the proper authorities, and my decision today will stand until resolution of the proceedings Senator Parker faces.”
Posted by steve at 8:32 AM
May 9, 2009
City Council candidates don't support AY project
The Real Deal
This entry, uses political coverage from Noticing New York, gives a quick summary of City Council candidates' stance on Atlantic Yards.
The blog Noticing New York looks at the professed views on development, and specifically on the Atlantic Yards project, of all 15 candidates running for City Council in the 33rd and 39th districts, including current office holders. All of the candidates oppose the project, to some degree or another, the blog says. In the 33rd district, current City Council member David Yassky has said he never supported the Atlantic Yards project, and that he doesn't think the proposed plan will be built because there isn't funding for it. The 39th district's Council member, Bill de Blasio, said he became a supporter of the project because it promised affordable housing, jobs and community benefits, but said no further public subsidies should be granted until there is evidence that the Community Benefits Agreement will be adhered to. De Blasio said he can't support an arena-only plan for the site, and called for a moratorium on demolition until there is a written plan on what will be built.
NoLandGrab: Even at this late date, De Blasio and Yassky still can't seem to bring themselves to completely oppose the proposed Atlantic Yards project. The implication is that if financing can be found, then Yassky is for it, and as long as the privately negotiated Community Benefits Agreement is adhered to, then De Blasio is in favor as well.
Posted by steve at 8:15 AM
May 7, 2009
City Council Races (33rd and 39th CDs): Candidates’ Positions on Development and Effective Action They Would Take to Stop Atlantic Yards
Noticing New York
Michael D.D. White presents an epic three-part series looking at the professed views on Atlantic Yards of all the candidates running for City Council in the 33rd and 39th Council districts, including those of the current officeholders, Comptroller candidate David Yassky and Public Advocate candidate Bill de Blasio.
Guess what? Every one of them opposes the project, to some degree or another.
That being the case, White concludes his series with what strikes us a really good, common-sense idea.
We have at least one starter suggestion. This is a project that continues even though it has no visible means of support. The governor has never said one public word in support of the project. Even the mayor, key to the project’s survival as he is (and as seemingly assured of reelection by his billions), avoids public statements of support for the project. The mayor avoids even mentioning Atlantic Yards and we think his plan of preference is for it to play political possum until he has procured his desired third term. Governor Paterson, (to whom the mayor has not been kind) could certainly prevent that. How?
In this post we have reviewed the positions of fifteen candidates, two entire fields of candidates. As they all oppose Atlantic Yards as probably the city’s worst project and one that desperately needs to be stopped, why can’t those candidates all unite to approach Governor Paterson and tell him in one voice to abandon this folly? (They can send a “CC” to the Bloomberg administration.)
Part I: Background: Development & Politics
Part II: Stated positions of the candidates for the 33rd City Council seat
Part III: Stated positions of the candidates for the 39th City Council seat
Posted by eric at 12:25 PM
May 4, 2009
Lupica, on Bloomberg's campaign of inevitability, omits DOF and AY
Atlantic Yards Report
The Daily News's Mike Lupica critiques the Mayor's non-campaign reelection campaign, and Norman Oder critiques the critique.
As for better accountability from city agencies, OK, but that omits the performance of the Department of Finance (DOF) in the swift and curious reassessment of the Yankee Stadium site.
And Bloomberg's edifice complex extends to Atlantic Yards, which spurred such controversy that even former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff said, in hindsight, should have gone through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) rather than the state process that omitted official local input.
NoLandGrab: It's surprising, actually, that Lupica, who's been a consistent and frequent critic of Atlantic Yards, didn't mention the Mayor's unflagging support of the flagging megaproject.
Posted by eric at 10:42 AM
April 26, 2009
Six Hungry Candidates at the Dazzle Me Forum
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
This entry is an account of yesterday's forum, where candidates for the City Council in the 39th District (Gary Reilly, John Heyer, Josh Skaller, Bob Zuckerman, David Pechefsky and Brad Lander) presented themselves at the Carroll Gardens Public Library. There are several Atlantic Yards mentions.
Skaller, who believes that big projects like the Atlantic Yards and Yankee Stadium, are a big waste of city money, said that there is a "priority deficit" in the city and there's a need "to spread the pain around." He told the crowd: "The MTA is the heartbeat of the city and there should be no cuts to subways or buses. The city needs control of the MTA not politicians in Albany." ...
About stimulus money for the Atlantic Yards, the candidates all agreed that it was a travesty. "It's absurd," Skaller stated forcefully. "The need for stimulus for small business is greater than any need for Atlantic Yards."
Posted by steve at 7:30 AM
April 24, 2009
Breakfast with Marty: jousting about budget issues and adding urban planners to community boards
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder goes to a bloggers' breakfast hosted by the Beep, and if Atlantic Yards came up, it wasn't during the morning's on-the-record portion.
A baker's dozen of bloggers--a few full-time, most part-time, a few trained in journalism, most not--were invited yesterday morning to breakfast at Borough Hall with three aides to Borough President Marty Markowitz, then with the BP himself.
While there was a 20-minute opportunity for on-the-record questions--read below for my back-and-forth with Markowitz about land use issues and the budget--the first two-thirds of the meeting was off-the-record. So the meeting served as a chance for the hosts to learn more about what we do, to learn how to open up lines of communication and to help hone strategy.
NoLandGrab: Our invitation must've been lost in the mail.
Posted by eric at 9:52 AM
April 23, 2009
Debating whether Bloomberg's changed, media panelists offer mixed but critical views of the mayor
Atlantic Yards Report
Not much Atlantic Yards in this report on yesterday's panel discussion on Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Media, but it does set some context.
[The Daily News's Errol] Louis said the city was AWOL on the mortgage crisis: “When the mayor wants to focus on something like Jets Stadium or getting the Olympics here, you know it’s a priority for him. Does anybody recall any similar focus on helping people keep their homes in working-class Southeast Queens?”
(The same criticism might be made of the mayor's support of Atlantic Yards. Similarly, AY brings up challenges in framing issues; is it about jobs, or public spending, or civic engagement, or sports?)
Posted by eric at 10:29 AM
Looking at the 33rd district race, AY, and some undercurrents
Atlantic Yards Report
So, the debate Monday night among six of the seven candidates running to succeed City Council Member David Yassky got a significant amount of coverage, but, since no one looked closely at the Atlantic Yards angle, I’ll address AY and some other issues.
...
From comments at the debate, [Ken] Baer, [Doug] Biviano, and [Ken] Diamondstone all opposed Atlantic Yards, standing with the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn coalition. Baer and Diamondstone have been longstanding opponents.[JoAnne] Simon, who has paid critical attention to Atlantic Yards, has allied herself with the mend-it-don’t-end-it coalition, BrooklynSpeaks. She announced that she promised not to take contributions from developers.
[Evan] Thies, who has not been associated with DDDB, forcefully criticized AY as “a gaping monument to how bad the city and state have gotten at these development plans.”
Baer, Diamondstone, and Thies agreed that AY was the biggest boondoggle among projects. Simon said it’s very hard to know, “because we don't have good numbers” on many of the projects, though she also criticized “single site control,” which also applies to AY.
Posted by lumi at 6:58 AM
Markowitz Gears Up For Another Term As "Mr. Brooklyn"
NY1
By Jeanine Ramirez
During the past eight years, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz hasn't given in to common sense, so we don't expect him to give in to critics in his run for a third term:
Markowitz is hoping another four years as borough president is next for him. Just six months ago, there would have been no re-election bid for Markowitz, who was eyeing another office. But that changed with the extension of term limits.
"I'm thrilled. Before term limits were extended, I was looking, I must admit, in dread, that I would have to wrap it up this year," Markowitz said.
...
Those who won't be contributing to Markowitz are the opponents of the stalled Atlantic Yards project, with the Nets arena as its centerpiece. And he can count out those against his plans for a Coney Island Amphitheater, which would be a state-of-the-art seasonal concert venue.Markowitz says he's not giving in to his critics.
Posted by lumi at 6:11 AM
April 22, 2009
Breakfast-of-Candidates (39th Edition): John Heyer
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Louise Crawford chats with John Heyer, candidate for the City Council's 39th District.
Clearly, when you work for Borough President and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader-in-Chief Marty Markowitz, you know you're not going to make many friends in the 39th if you wholeheartedly support Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.
At the age of 23, Heyer got the call from Borough President Marty Markowitz that changed his life. For nearly four years he has been assistant to Markowitz, a job that has taught him "how government works." While he doesn't agree with Markowitz about everything, Heyer does have great respect for his boss and firmly believes that Marty's support of Atlantic yards is not cynical. "He really thinks it's good for Brooklyn."
I asked Heyer what he thinks about the controversial project: "Certain aspects are too large. But I do think Brooklyn should have a national team."
NoLandGrab: In a nutshell, Atlantic Yards is too big, but he supports basketball. Heyer's ability to triangulate his position is reminiscent of the approach of the current 39th District Councilmember, Bill de Blasio, who supports the affordable housing.
Bruce Ratner has given most politicians something to love about the project, enough so that they can overlook its serious problems.
Atlantic Yards Report, Marty's minion: AY too large, but Brooklyn needs a team
Norman Oder offers some cogent analysis:
[Heyer] doesn't seem to acknowledge the trade-off between getting "Brooklyn" to "have" a team--which is not how professional sports works, unless you're in Green Bay, WI, where fans own the Packers--and letting Forest City Ratner decide how big the project should be.
Shouldn't the latter decision been made via a more democratic process?
Posted by lumi at 6:15 AM
Weiner goes out on a limb: "Atlantic Yards, as it’s been fought over, probably won’t happen”
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder isn't surprised by Rep. Anthony Weiner's latest comments about Atlantic Yards, since the project as approved "was never realistic." Still Oder wonders what Weiner meant by "'trouble' or, for that matter, 'pulls out'."
Rep. Anthony Weiner, currently hedging on his once-planned run for mayor, is interviewed by the Brooklyn Eagle:
Even though the planned Atlantic Yards project is outside his district, he said that if the Nets deal pulls out, there would be trouble. Still, he said, “Atlantic Yards, as it’s been fought over, probably won’t happen.”
Posted by lumi at 5:55 AM
April 21, 2009
Markowitz to meet with bloggers; will he answer questions about the Brooklyn Paper's scoop about his charities?
Atlantic Yards Report
Forest City Ratner may be the Brooklyn Paper's new landlord, and Borough President Marty Markowitz may spend big bucks with the Paper's new Courier-Life sibling--both, I've suggested, causes for concern--but the Paper has continued some tough coverage of Markowitz's not-for-profits Best of Brooklyn and two summer concert series.
The latest total: Forest City Ratner and affiliated companies have delivered $200,000 to the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert series, on top of previous gifrts ranging between $680,000 and $1.075 million to Markowitz’s charities. Barclays Bank gave $60,000, on top of as much as $100,000.
And neither FCR nor Barclays would answer questions.
...
Perhaps, however, Markowitz willy answer some tough questions Thursday when he meets with an invited group of Brooklyn bloggers.
Posted by lumi at 6:06 AM
Noticing Noticing New York
Keeping up with Bloomberg and Friends: Stark New Scandals and Is it True WSJ Readers Don’t Commit Murder?
Noticing New York updates readers on the political drama in Mayor Bloomberg's administration. It only figures tangentially into the Atlantic Yards controversy, through benefits of "crony capitalism."
WNYC.com, Cityscapes: Public SpaceCityscapes: Public Space
Noticing New York's comment on architecture critic Paul Goldberger's conversation with landscape Architect Michael Van Valkenburgh, discussing "the role of public space in the crowded city":
When Mr. Goldberger refers to “the streets of New York themselves” as being one of our greatest public space assets, it reminds us that, sadly, the Bloomberg administration is planning to shut down streets, avenues and sidewalks. For instance, streets in downtown Brooklyn will be eliminated as well as streets and avenues in the planned Atlantic Yards footprint. It is unnecessary and unfortunate. One of the glories of the Wall Street area is that the original unique street grid with all its winding paths is historically protected.
Posted by lumi at 5:08 AM
April 18, 2009
How Rudy Giuliani gave Bruce Ratner and Jim Stuckey parking permits
Atlantic Yards Report
This blog entry points to the historical roots of the political favoritism that allowed the proposed Atlantic Yards development to receive State approval in a no-bid, opaque approval process.
Public discussion about parking permits led the New York Times back into city archives to explore the Giuliani administration's 1998 bestowal of parking permits to select supporters.
...
Among them were "Democrats for Giuliani," including developer Bruce Ratner and Forest City Ratner executive Jim Stuckey, who had served, respectively, as city Consumer Affairs Commissioner and head of the Public Development Corporation (precursor to the New York City Economic Development Corporation).
But do they still have the permits?
Posted by steve at 7:11 AM
April 16, 2009
Marty’s borough haul continues
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
Bruce Ratner and Barclays Bank continue to pour "thank you" money into Marty Markowitz's seaside concert series.
Not-for-profits controlled and created by Borough President Markowitz continue to rake in donations from companies who have benefitted from his support of controversial projects like Atlantic Yards and the cruise ship terminal in Red Hook.
The beep also continues to transfer hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars from his budget to Best of Brooklyn, a charity that Markowitz runs out of Borough Hall with staff members who are partially on the city payroll.
...
Forest City Ratner, the lead developer of the stalled Atlantic Yards mega-project, funneled up to $100,000 to another Markowitz-founded charity, the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert series in East Flatbush. That donation comes on top of earlier contributions from Forest City and other Atlantic Yards-tied organizations totaling between $680,000 and $1.075 million to Markowitz’s trifecta of charities.Barclays Bank, which paid $400 million for naming rights to the proposed arena at Atlantic Yards, chipped in up to $60,000 for the concerts and has given as much as $100,000 in the last two years.
NoLandGrab: Though many Brooklynites enjoy the concerts, it's hard to believe that Ratner and Barclays would pour sponsorship money into the summer concert series if not for Markowitz's unflagging support for the megaproject.
Posted by lumi at 6:26 AM
April 14, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
WebCommentary.com, Don't Blame ACORN Whistleblower Anita MonCrief for Providing Proof!
On Good Friday, Norman Oder wrote an open letter to the Public Editor of The New York Times, asking why The New York Times has ignored developer Forest City Ratner's "incredible" bailout of ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).
...
Hurray for Mr. Oder for raising what he described as "the complicated, vexing question of the impact on Times coverage from the parent New York Times Company’s relationship with developer Forest City Ratner (FCR), which together built the Times Tower in Midtown--a relationship that has drawn critical scrutiny from Editor & Publisher's ethics columnist."But Mr. Oder's criticism of [whistleblower] MonCrief for "decid[ing] to make public what [NY Times reporter] Strom considered confidential reporter-source communication" is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of privileged communications.
The attorney-client privilege belongs to the client, not the lawyer. A lawyer cannot conceal his or her malpractice by claiming privileged communication with the client.
Likewise with the physician-patient privilege.
NoLandGrab: To be clear, Oder said he was "uncomfortable" that a souce released a "confidential reporter-source communication."
Curbed.com, It Happened One Weekend: eBay for Apartments, Starter Studios Cheapen Up, Kosciuszko 2.0, More!
"Atlantic Yards" and Columbia University have become the NYC gold standard of eminent domain abuse:
4) The Kosciuszko Bridge, the unpronounceable worn strip of metal that connects Greenpoint and Maspeth along the BQE, is set to be replaced with a new nine-lane bridge, with construction beginning in 2013. The scrap metal dealers and wholesalers located below will lose their land via eminent domain, but don't expect another Atlantic Yards or Columbia. After all, good lord that bridge needs replacing. [The City/'Uneasily Contemplating the Arrival of a Spiffy Newcomer']
Orange Juice Blog, Do we have 21st century “pirates” operating in NJ & NY today?
The news about Bruce Ratner and his eminent domain-abusing subsidy-sucking "Atlantic Yards" megaproject is getting around:
Exactly five months ago I blogged about a major redevelopment project that I first became aware of when attending an Institute for Justice, IJ conference in the Washington, DC area two years ago.
A property rights victim from Brooklyn, NY attended the conference to share their efforts and literature as well as to gain our support in fighting to protect their homes and businesses from the corporate wrecking ball in a pending eminent domain action involving Bruce Ratner. The name of this development is “Atlantic Yards.”
Here we go again. Another professional sports team with their hands in the public trough.
Reason Online, SLAPP Silly
The online libertarian mag is NOT POSTING about the developer who is suing the author of a book about an egregious case of eminent domain abuse, the book's publisher, the professor who wrote the blurb, and two newspapers who ran reviews.
And in case you-know-who is checking, we're not saying anything either.
Noticing New York, Bloomberg Update: Fire and Ice (Part I)
A two-part -volume series outlines how Mayor Bloomberg uses his "unfathomable wealth" to collect support and promote pet projects with little consideration for impacts to the environment and surrounding communities.
Part II: If you have a problem with that, you can take it up with the ex-Blagojevich operative Bloomberg hired to run his reelection campaign.
Posted by lumi at 5:30 AM
April 9, 2009
Wiki Wednesday: Community Boards
StreetsBlog.org
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's Community Board 6 purge is a shining example of how Borough Presidents express what little power they have over neighborhood developments. It was only to be outdone by the former Bronx BP and current Director of Urban Affairs in the Obama administration.
Still worse, in May of 2007 Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz "purged" Community Board 6 of nine members who had voted against the Atlantic Yards development he supports. After an even more dramatic purge of Bronx CB6 surrounding the Yankees Stadium proposal, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion was quoted to have said, "My very clear expectation is that these appointees are there to carry out a vision for the borough president and the leadership of this borough, and that's simply what I expect."
NoLandGrab: It's worth noting that the Bronx CB's vote on the Yankee Stadium proposal was part of the official NYC land-use review procedure, while Brooklyn CB6's vote was a purely symbolic declaration that accompanied the Board's comments submitted to the NYS land-use review. Thus, CB6's vote would only have been a small footnote in the history of the Atlantic Yards fight, if not for Markowitz's dramatic action.
Posted by lumi at 4:48 AM
April 4, 2009
Tish, tish — councilwoman owes $10K in back taxes
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper is showing disturbing signs of a changing editorial policy regarding Atlantic Yards. The paper was looking for dirt on Councilwoman and Atlantic Yards opponent Letitia James, and found she owes back taxes.
Councilwoman Letitia James owes the city almost $9,837 in property taxes for her Lafayette Avenue house since April 2008, plus $614 on her water bill — and the lawmaker is blaming the feds!
James, who makes $122,500 as the people’s representative for Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, said she hasn’t paid yet because she’s waiting for her IRS refund check.
“This is not a question of not paying, it’s a question of paying late,” she told The Brooklyn Paper. “We usually pay with our tax refund, which is supposed to come any day now.” ...
“This is a distraction from the real issues within the district,” said the second-term councilwoman, who faces a reelection challenge from two contenders.
James seized the embarrassing moment to take a swipe at one of her opponents, Delia Hunley-Adossa, who is best known as a supporter of the controversial Atlantic Yards project and founded a non-profit that was funded by Forest City Ratner, the developer of the planned Yards project.
“If I started a not-for-profit, I could take money from [Mayor] Bloomberg and Ratner to pay [my property taxes],” she quipped.
NoLandGrab: Let's hope that the Brooklyn Paper sees fit to give careful examination to the financial dealings of all the candidates for the 35th Council District, and then finds some space for coverage of what the candidates stand for -- you know, issues.
Posted by steve at 6:49 AM
April 1, 2009
FCR third in city lobbying; is spending about documents or about advantage?
Atlantic Yards Report
According to research by The Real Deal, Forest City Ratner ranked third among developers in city lobbying expenditures in 2008, spending $555,741, including $500,741 on Atlantic Yards.
...
The Real Deal quotes a watchdog with a rather gentle bite:Dick Dadey, executive director for watchdog group Citizens Union, said the expenses were not surprising, but rather highlighted the complexity of filing documents for large development projects.
"The figures just reflect the true cost [of] when a developer needs to engage government action on their projects," he said.
Actually, in the case of Atlantic Yards and perhaps other projects, the lobbying figures reflect not the filing of documents--the project has already been approved--but the effort to shape the deal after the fact. And that should be disturbing, because there's relatively little oversight by legislators and city agencies to explain what exactly the developers are seeking.
Posted by lumi at 6:17 AM
March 31, 2009
The Day: One More Challenger for Letitia James
The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Andy Newman
Tish James gets another challenger.
The scrum for the 35th district City Council seat grows more crowded still: Enter Medhanie Estiphanos, a 32-year-old financial analyst and political neophyte.
Mr. Estiphanos, who was born in Eritrea, grew up in California and lives at Franklin and Lexington in Bed-Stuy, told us on the phone last night that he is taking on incumbent Letitia James and challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa because he sees at this historic juncture an opportunity to “change America’s psychology” and unite Brooklynites to help save themselves and the planet.
...While Mr. Estiphanos said he shared many of Ms. James’s reservations about Atlantic Yards, for example — “From the get-go,” he said, “I thought the scale of it was much bigger than Brooklyn could handle” — he faulted her for aligning herself as strongly with the project’s opponents as she has.
“I think she could’ve played a much better role being facilitator between Bruce Ratner, Paterson, the residents being affected by this, and really bring people to the table to cooperate,” he said.
In any case, Mr. Estiphanos added, “Atlantic Yards has been incredibly detrimental to the community in a much more important way: it’s taken too much of people’s time and focus. There are so many other issues in this community. Our education system’s a dismal failure. People can’t afford to live in their homes anymore. Affordable housing is almost an anachronism. All these issues are much more important to me in the long run than Atlantic Yards, and I think they’re much more important to the people of Brooklyn than Atlantic Yards.”
NoLandGrab: Mr. Estiphanos sounds almost as sick of Atlantic Yards as we are. Project opponents, however, this blog included, have a deep fidelity for Ms. James.
More coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, New 35th District candidate: AY too distracting and James should have been a "facilitator"
If City Council Member Letitia James is a prominent opponent of Atlantic Yards and challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa is a prominent supporter (even if she's not talking about it), third candidate Medhanie Estiphanos is apparently trying to split the difference.
In an interview with the New York Times's blog, The Local, Estiphanos, who doesn't mention AY on his web site, says the project has been "incredibly detrimental to the community" mainly because "it’s taken too much of people’s time and focus" from other, more pressing matters.
Perhaps, but issues he prioritizes like education and affordable housing are also citywide issues, involving a larger number of stakeholders, giving local political officials somewhat less of a voice. Atlantic Yards is a local land use issue--or, at least, should have been, had it not gone through the state process overriding local zoning.
Posted by eric at 8:01 PM
March 30, 2009
Billionaire Bloomy needs you to volunteer for his campaign
The Brooklyn Paper
Mayor Bloomberg's new Brooklyn campaign office, at 535 Atlantic Avenue, is just a stone's throw from the proposed site of one of his favorite unbuilt megaprojects.
The mayor’s retail office is nearly equidistant from the administration’s two main Brooklyn obsessions: Atlantic Yards (which it hopes will get built) and the Brooklyn House of Detention (which it hopes to reopen and double in capacity). A campaign spokeswoman said the location was picked solely because it was centrally located and near major transit routes.
NoLandGrab: We wonder if candidate Mike will pay dues to the Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, which has been a staunch critic of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards.
Posted by eric at 1:29 PM
March 29, 2009
Ratner Money Fueling Challenge to James' Council Seat?
Brownstoner
Here's another one that was missed this week on NoLandGrab (is there a theme developing here this Sunday morning?) This time, Brownstoner touches on the race for the 35th Council District. The City Council seat is currently held by the stalwart Atlantic Yards critic, Letitia James.
Despite protestations to the contrary, it's looking like Bruce Ratner is going to be a major player in the challenge to Council Member Letitia James' seat in the 35th District. Atlantic Yards Report, which broke the news of the campaign by Delia Hunley-Adossa earlier this month, has a post out this morning about Hunley-Adossa's campaign treasurer Charlene Nimmons. According to AYR, Nimmons, like Hunley-Adossa, runs a small non-profit whose major purpose appears to be to funnel salaries from Bruce Ratner to the women who run them in return for their support of the Atlantic Yards project.
Posted by steve at 7:34 AM
March 27, 2009
Behind Hunley-Adossa's campaign, treasurer Nimmons heads another dubious nonprofit, with Ratner funding
Atlantic Yards Report
Is Delia Hunley-Adossa the "Ratner Candidate" in her challenge of Atlantic Yards political foe City Councilmember Letitia James?
In her challenge to Council Member Letitia James in the 35th District race, Delia Hunley-Adossa relies significantly on her campaign treasurer, Charlene Nimmons, who also heads a questionable fledgling nonprofit organization that signed the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).
As with Hunley-Adossa’s Brooklyn Endeavor Experience (BEE), Nimmons’s Public Housing Communities (PHC) likely relies on the largess of developer Forest City Ratner. (Neither would confirm or deny that most funding comes from FCR, though Hunley-Adossa has acknowledged that FCR supported one program and Nimmons has cited an FCR-supported event sponsored by her organization.)
If so, given the light workload of both nonprofits, the salaries Nimmons and Hunley-Adossa both draw from their nonprofits give them leave to work on the campaign--which suggests that the developer is supporting the challenge to James even without direct contributions.
Posted by lumi at 5:38 AM
March 24, 2009
Bloomberg says "it would be sad if Atlantic Yards gets built without the Gehry design" but seems resigned to it
Atlantic Yards Report
In his most recent comments on Atlantic Yards, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg "offered some offhand and ill-informed support for Atlantic Yards, as well as resignation that it might be built on the cheap, without a Frank Gehry design."
"It's also true that it's a good example to us when you--in this case, it wasn't like Atlantic Yards-- but when you litigate again and again, what happens is that the economy changes and the assumptions that were made in the past which are typically made at the top of the market, because that's when people want to build things, have to get changed, downscaled, and it would be sad if Atlantic Yards gets built without the Gehry design, which would've been phenomenal for this city, although I gather at this point it looks like that the only ways Ratner's going to get that done is to do it at a lower cost and not to do everything at the same time."
What's Bloomberg leaving out? Oh, that maybe government shouldn't endorse the assumptions that are made at the top of the market, but maybe should proceed with more caution.
Bloomberg doesn't sound like he's informed beyond reading the newspaper, but he should know that his own administration, via the City Funding Agreement, allowed the developer to build far less than promised and at a slower pace--all before the economic downturn.
NoLandGrab: The Mayor's comments are interesting because they betray exactly the type of thinking that led the country into the current economic mess: "Assumptions made in the past, which are typically made at the top of the market" assured investors that there was no risk in sub-prime mortgages and credit-default swaps because real estate ALWAYS increases in value.
Four more years anyone?
Posted by lumi at 5:47 AM
March 20, 2009
Delia Hunley-Adossa: The Candidate Speaks
The Local (Fort Greene/Clinton Hill) [NY Times blog]
by Andy Newman
While The Local couldn't get in to the kick-off event last night for Delia Hunley-Adossa's campaign to unseat City Council Member (and staunch Atlantic Yards opponent) Tish James, one attendee recorded the proceedings and passed it along.
Guess which Brooklyn megadevelopment project did not make a cameo.
Ms. Hunley-Adossa, 52, is a prominent supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, which if it gets built is expected to create thousands of construction jobs. As the executive director of a non-profit called Brooklyn Endeavor Experience, she is the chairwoman of the committee of nonprofits that signed the Community Benefits Agreement with Forest City Ratner.
...Although Atlantic Yards is the most obvious point of divergence between Ms. Hunley-Adossa and Ms. James, one of the few politicians in the city who opposes the project, Ms. Hunley-Adossa did not mention Atlantic Yards in her 15-minute speech last night.
NoLandGrab: What does it say about the state of backing for Atlantic Yards when a "prominent supporter" of the project, running against the most outspoken officeholding opponent of that project, avoids even mentioning the project at her campaign's launch event?
And as one commenter points out, if Tish James is "one of the few politicians in the city who opposes the project," where have all the supporters gone?
More coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Who's supporting Hunley-Adossa against James in the 35th? Construction unions
Well, challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa may or may not garner direct support from employees of Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner in her challenge to unseat incumbent Letitia James in the race for the 35th District seat in the City Council, but, thanks to the New York Times's blog The Local, we know who is supporting her: construction unions that have rallied in support of the project.
Posted by eric at 11:36 AM
March 17, 2009
Second thoughts on yesterday's post: FCR's lobbying will continue
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman "oderizes" his own analysis of Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner's lobbying efforts for 2008:
My point was that, even though there was much less going on with Atlantic Yards, the developer still spent a lot of money, only 20% less than the 2007 total.
But maybe there's another way to look at it. Forest City Ratner had to spend significant sums lobbying because there was much less going on.
Because questions of housing subsidies, city payments, and a contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority remain unresolved, the developer needs to lobby more than ever.
Posted by lumi at 5:58 AM
March 14, 2009
Tish vs. Dee: a real battle
Courier-Life Newspapers
by Stephen Witt
Though the Courier's Witt does his best to tar City Council member and outspoken Atlantic Yards opponent with the brush of Brooklyn's disgraced Democratic political machine (despite her distinguished record advocating for her community in the Council, he opts to describe her as "a longtime political operative for former Kings County Democratic boss and convicted felon Clarence Norman"), the truth is that James's declared primary opponent, Delia Hunley-Adossa, is the actual machine candidate — and that machine is the Ratner machine.
While Witt quotes sources who make this race out to be close, James won her last race handily (she took 85% of the primary vote and 88% of the general election vote in 2005). And while Forest City has made an effort to help its favored candidates in past races (anyone remember Tracy Boyland?), given the financial situation at Metrotech, it's hard to imagine that they'll invest significant funds in Hunley-Adossa's campaign.
The story is not yet available online; we'll post a link when it is. In the meantime, you can click on the article for a larger version.
Posted by eric at 12:21 AM
March 10, 2009
He’s Brooklyn’s OTHER borough president
The Brooklyn Paper reporter Mike McLaughlin asks the Bronx Beep what he thinks about the Bruce Ratner megaproject in his own backyard.
Brooklyn is one borough with two presidents. Our borough is home to not only Borough President Markowitz, but also Bronx Borough President Earl Brown.
The borough of Kings found itself with a double dose of presidents when Brown, then the deputy borough president, ascended to the northernmost borough’s top job after President Obama named Bronx Beep Adolfo Carrion to be his urban affairs czar.
...
MM: As a Prospect Heights resident, you’re smack dab in the middle of the biggest development project of Brooklyn. What do you think of Atlantic Yards?EB: I have mixed emotions on it honestly. Certainly having lived in Brooklyn my entire life, it was great to see smoothing happening there [at the rail yards], because it was a wasted resource and an eyesore. It needed to be redeveloped. I was very happy to see over the past 15 to 20 years a good portion of the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Site was finally developed with housing and commercial development. But the portion on the Prospect Heights side needs development. Having a sports franchise {the New Jersey Nets basketball team} come is an interesting addition, too, especially since Atlantic Yards was supposed to be the home of a new Ebbets Field. There a lot of issues the city has to work through. One of them is traffic. I’m not sure the environmental impact statement adequately addresses the traffic concerns. Anyone who’s driven through Flatbush and Atlantic avenues knows how crazy it gets during rush hour. And now thousands of more people are projected to come through.
MM: What about the scope of the project?
EB: The scale might be a little too large for Prospect Heights and Fort Greene. Putting a Midtown-sized development in the middle of residential low-rise Brooklyn will be a permanent change the community.
NoLandGrab: Bronx BP Brown has most of his facts right, except for this crazy double whammy myth: "Atlantic Yards was supposed to be the home of a new Ebbets Field."
- It's the "VANDERBILT YARDS." "Atlantic Yards" is Bruce Ratner's brand name for the entire project.
- Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley wanted to build a new ballpark ACROSS THE STREET from the VANDERBILT railyard. Unfortunately, Bruce Ratner has already built the Atlantic Center eyesore on that site.
Posted by lumi at 6:23 AM
March 5, 2009
A Challenger for Tish James
The Local (Fort Greene/Clinton Hill) [NY Times blog]
by Andy Newman
Delia Hunley-Adossa, the president of the 88th Precinct Community Council, a longtime community activist and a prominent supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, plans to challenge Councilwoman Letitia James, whose term expires at the end of the year. Ms. James is one of Atlantic Yards’ most vocal critics.
Ms. Hunley-Adossa, 52, who owns a private security company, says she is running against Ms. James, who has held the 35th District council seat since 2003, “to be a part of the new forward-thinking leadership movement.” She added: “I’m standing on three E’s that are impacting us today — economy, education and environment.”
Ms. Hunley-Adossa is the chairwoman of a committee of nonprofit groups that signed a Community Benefits Agreement with Atlantic Yards’ developer, Forest City Ratner, binding the developer to provide job training, affordable housing and business opportunities to local residents. Critics, including Ms. James, say the agreement provides too little affordable housing.
Ms. Hunley-Adossa said her candidacy, which was first reported by the Atlantic Yards Report, was unrelated to her work on Atlantic Yards, the stalled $4 billion mixed-use development.
Posted by eric at 9:44 AM
March 4, 2009
Hunley-Adossa, FCR beneficiary as head of dubious CBA signatory, will challenge Tish James for 35th District Council seat
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder has a scoop: the Ratner machine is fielding a candidate to run against incumbent City Council member and outspoken Atlantic Yards opponent Letitia James.
Delia (Dee) Hunley-Adossa, a veteran community volunteer, chair of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Coalition, director of a CBA signatory group with a dubious mission, and leader of pro-AY rallies, will challenge incumbent Council Member Letitia James, the project’s leading political opponent, for the 35th District seat.
...Hunley-Adossa has not yet formed an official campaign committee, but has begun circulating invitations for a fundraising event March 19 at Two Steps Down on DeKalb Avenue. One of two sponsors of the fundraiser is Charlene Nimmons, who heads another fledgling CBA signatory, Public Housing Communities (PHC); the other is Hunley-Adossa's daughter Saadia.
Hunley-Adossa, asked about her platform, qualifications, and whether Atlantic Yards was an issue, responded briefly by email, "My broad range of experiences and desire to improve the condition of our community qualify me to run for city council."
"I am running for City Council to be a part of the new forward thinking leadership movement. I am standing on the three (EEEs) that are impacting us today, economy, education and environment," she stated. "With regard to any other information, that will be announced later."
NoLandGrab: Prediction — Tish James will not have any trouble raising money or recruiting campaign volunteers.
Posted by eric at 3:08 PM
March 3, 2009
Schumer touts stimulus funds for Moynihan Station, waves off question on Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards Report
Senator Charles Schumer brushes off Norman Oder's question about Atlantic Yards.
...I wanted to ask him about Atlantic Yards, given that, a little more than two weeks ago, Schumer expressed quizzical ignorance regarding whether AY would be eligible for stimulus funds.
...
He also took a few questions from reporters, answering in some detail.When I finally got to him, he was less expansive. I told him I wrote a blog about Atlantic Yards and prefaced my question by stating that "Marty wants to use federal stimulus money for the railyards."
"Marty who?" asked Schumer, his mind apparently not on parochial borough politics.
"Marty Markowitz," I replied.
"I don't know," Schumer said dismissively, the statement responding (I think) to the propriety of the question rather than the policy issue. "I'm not--"
An aide interjected, saying it was time to go. And that was it.
NoLandGrab: Given two opportunities in the past couple weeks to say something positive about Atlantic Yards, Chuck Schumer has twice demurred. Has New York's senior Senator lost faith, or is the project now so unpopular that he has to keep his lips zipped?
Posted by lumi at 4:18 AM
February 26, 2009
Paterson on stimulus spending: transparent, immediate, and effective
Atlantic Yards Report
At a Leaders Briefing on Economic Recovery yesterday, Gov. David Paterson laid out (video) the areas in which the state expect to spend federal stimulus funds.
They include transportation, housing (especially weatherization), energy issues, water and sewer treatment programs, and the establishment of broadband service.
...During the session, Timothy Gilchrist, who heads the Economic Development Recovery Cabinet, explained that $14 billion in project requests are pending for $4 billion in stimulus funds for infrastructure. Some will be eligible, he said, and some won't. They can be tracked on the web site economicrecovery.ny.gov.
...Could Atlantic Yards qualify as transparent, immediate, and effective?
It would be tough to put the Atlantic Yards railyard on the list, as I suggested.
And, argues DDDB, the project would not be in compliance with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, because it's not shovel-ready, according to the bill's provisions, and it's a no-bid project.
Posted by eric at 3:08 PM
February 25, 2009
President Obama Stresses Stimulus Spending Oversight and Accountability
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has been seeking some significant change in the footprint of Bruce Ratner's $4 billion Atlantic Yards boondoggle. "Oversight and accountability" has been high on the community's list, which would make the arena and highrise backroom deal a poor candidate for Obamabucks.
Regarding Bruce Ratner's lobbying to use the stimulus bill as an Atlantic Yards bailout bill, these two paragraphs from President Obama's speech to Congress [Tuesday night] should make Governor Paterson think more than twice about doing such a thing (if he is considering it at all) and put an end to that nonsense:
...I know there are some in this chamber and watching at home who are skeptical of whether this plan will work. I understand that skepticism. Here in Washington, we've all seen how quickly good intentions can turn into broken promises and wasteful spending. And with a plan of this scale comes enormous responsibility to get it right.
That is why I have asked Vice President Biden to lead a tough, unprecedented oversight effort - because nobody messes with Joe. I have told each member of my Cabinet as well as mayors and governors across the country that they will be held accountable by me and the American people for every dollar they spend. I have appointed a proven and aggressive Inspector General to ferret out any and all cases of waste and fraud. And we have created a new website called recovery.gov so that every American can find out how and where their money is being spent...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn asks that you please sign the petition to New York State Governor David Paterson asking that no federal bailout funds be used to bail out Bruce Ratner's ailing Atlantic Yards project.
Posted by lumi at 5:25 AM
Marty Markowitz's Boardwalk plea for bailout
NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays
After years of delayed repairs, Markowitz is calling on the Bloomberg administration to use a large chunk of the city’s federal stimulus money to overhaul the entire crumbling, 3-mile promenade which runs from Sea Gate to Brighton Beach.
“The Boardwalk is an essential part of Coney Island and it’s deteriorating. It’s in horrible condition,” said Markowitz, who is also calling for some of the state’s money to go to the controversial Atlantic Yards arena/residential/commercial project.
NoLandGrab: The Coney Island Boardwalk is a publicly owned open space that has been neglected by the city and is badly in need of repair. Atlantic Yards is a planned $4 billion arena and highrise project with a smattering of publicly accessible privately owned open space and a "publicly owned" privately accessible arena to be leased to Ratner for $1.
Which do you think deserves federal bailout cash?
Posted by lumi at 4:54 AM
February 24, 2009
Atlantic Yards on BCAT. Councilman Yassky Makes Some Interesting Comments
From Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (dddb.net):
Councilman David Yassky is quoted throughout the Atlantic Yards segment [of BCAT's Reporter Roundtable], transcribed below. He has some very interesting things to say:
[Atlantic Yards discussion starts at 9:55.]
"I don't think the project as put forward by Forest City Ratner and approved by the State is going to be built. There just isn't the funding for it. It doesn't work in this economy. It's really time to go back to basics and say 'what do we want at that site?' Now of course we want housing—we want affordable housing—we don't want it on the giant scale that was proposed but we do want housing, and affordable housing. Let's start with that now."
And:
"If they [Forest City Ratner] come in and say no we're not gonna do or we can't do these [MTA] transit improvements, they should lose every single right they have for that project."
And:
"It's time for the Paterson administration to take charge of this project. It's a state approved project, the state government is calling the shots, they at least have the authority to. It's time for them to really get engaged."
Of course, neither the Empire State Development Corporation nor Forest City Ratner would comment for the segment.
Posted by lumi at 4:32 AM
February 21, 2009
New Senator Gillibrand, in "listening tour," hears some Atlantic Yards criticism
Atlantic Yards Report
Well, new Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand may be close with former Sen. Al D'Amato, now a lobbyist for developer Forest City Ratner, but she can't say she hasn't heard criticism of the Atlantic Yards project.She met with about 50 civic and community leaders from Central Brooklyn on a listening tour earlier this week at Borough Hall organized by City Council Members Letitia James, Bill de Blasio, and David Yassky.
...
Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn told me that, unlike other attendees, he told Gillibrand about a project that "shouldn't get any of the stimulus money."Gillibrand asked why. Goldstein said there were dozens of reasons, but, asked for one, said it wasn't "shovel-ready." He said he passed on a letter signed by DDDB and several other groups to a Gillibrand staffer.
Posted by amy at 1:12 PM
February 19, 2009
Tell Your Story at President Obama's Recovery.gov
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Want to let the Obama administration know that bailing out Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards is not the purpose of the stimulus bill and would undermine the bill itself?
You can do so at recovery.gov.
Go here to tell your story.
Here is one story posted to recovery.gov that a DDDB supporter sent to us by email:
For five long, hard years, my neighbors in Brooklyn have been fighting against an ill-considered project called Atlantic Yards. Its centerpiece is an arena that virtually nobody supports except politicians and developer-initiated groups that receive support from the developer.
Sports facilities virtually NEVER make money for their municipalities. It's been well-documented, over and over, that the chief (in most cases, sole) beneficiaries are the franchise owners and developers (in the case of Atlantic Yards, they are one and the same; and that entity, Forest City Ratner, is the largest political contributor in New York State).
Please don't make a mockery of our desperate fight to save our beloved neighborhood by awarding construction funds to this, or any other, sports facility.
It's hard to lose your cynicism in this economic free-for-all, where banks are given money without condition but small businesses and middle-class homeowners are left to flounder and fail.
Posted by steve at 6:24 AM
February 18, 2009
When it came to D'Amato's lobbying, Bloomberg once was scathing about buying "political connections"
Atlantic Yards Report
[I]n his personal politics, Ratner may lean left, but when it comes to business, the developer is an equal-opportunity rent-seeker.
Hence Forest City Ratner's willingness, in the pursuit of federal stimulus funds, to enlist lobbyist and former Republican Senator D'Amato, who gained election as a conservative and maintained three terms as "Senator Pothole," emphasizing constituent service and pork.
Now D'Amato's an influence-peddler to the highest bidder, who previously was hired by the developer to make sure federal eminent domain laws didn't get tougher.
When the owners of Madison Square Garden and Cablevision deployed D'Amato and his ilk against Mayor Bloomberg's Westside Stadium plan, Bloomberg scornfully blasted the tactic.
In the case of Atlantic Yards, D'Amato is lobbying for a project the mayor supports, so there's no reason to expect criticism from Bloomberg.
But the principle is the same. Decision-making by lobbyists detracts from democracy.
NoLandGrab: Norman Oder could have gone further and said, "the LACK OF principle is the same."
Oh well, in lieu of spending $40K on lobbyists, we get to hurl stink-bombs on the Internet.
Posted by lumi at 5:31 AM
February 15, 2009
Marty's "Best of Brooklyn" fig leaf
Atlantic Yards Report
Here is a quick look at Best of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz's non-profit partnership that manages to both do good works and help provides a "fig leaf" to cover Marty's support from corporations like Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner.
Here's how it was described on the ticket (above) for Markowitz's annual Chinese New Year Banquet; Best of Brooklyn, Inc., is a tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) organization for which Borough President Markowitz serves as honorary chair. Its mission is to enhance and enrich the lives of all Brooklynites, in particular our children.
The partnership is pretty tight. Best of Brooklyn does some excellent things. At the same time, it also serves as a vehicle for Markowitz to draw support from corporate donors (like Forest City Ratner) far beyond that which they could give to his campaigns.
In the course of the annual banquet Markowitz misstates some jobs recently moved to Metrotech (a Forest City Ratner development):
Another part of Markowitz's speech last Thursday deserved an asterix. He stated: We know Morton's is getting business from our legal community-- And with one of the world's largest law firms -- Weil, Gotshal -- now at MetroTech -- Brooklyn is closer to another dream of mine -- "branding" Downtown Brooklyn as a "law center"
Well, maybe a back-office law center, as the text further indicated.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges didn't move its lawyers to Brooklyn, just staff groups like Information Systems, Finance and Operations.
Posted by steve at 10:46 AM
Paterson Spokeswoman Hedging on Bailout for Atlantic Yards
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
If Ratner claims to be value engineering his arena and claims that litigation (as well as corporate strategy) is holding up the project, rather than financing problems, then why does he need stimulus money?
It is pretty clear that Ratner never had the money in the first place to make Atlantic Yards happen, and that he has completely misled the public, and is now looking for the final insult—a massive federal bailout.
...
There is no part of Atlantic Yards that qualifies for federal stimulus funds. Nada.
Posted by steve at 10:05 AM
February 14, 2009
Three-in-one Atlantic Yards Report
And who's the state's new Chief Judge? Sheldon Silver's pal
Norman Oder notes the intrigue involved in the appointment of Jonathan Lippman as Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in New York. Lippman owes his rise to New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Barrett writes: In fact, the story of how Lippman reached this pinnacle has its shabby side. He exudes an above-politics reform aura, but he did not climb to the top of the state's judiciary without making some stops in the dark along the way. His ally, Silver, helped clear that path to power, working a system whose anti-democratic ways have been rebuked by two federal courts.
Lippman has been a hardworking ambassador and manager of the courts for decades, visiting almost all of the system's 343 locations and acquainting himself with virtually every one of its 1,300 judges. But he has also been its consummate political player, seemingly more interested in influence than law.
Heres the Atlantic Yards connection:
Lippman, as Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, was on the panel that in September heard the appeal of the case challenging the AY environmental review; he asked some thoughtful questions and didn't betray his hand.
A ruling in that case is awaited. Should the defendant Empire State Development Corporation prevail, an appeal is automatic only if there are two dissenting judges.
Nets keep "selling" tickets: 10 for $10 each, including top teams
Tickets for New Jersey Nets games can be had quite cheaply:
Hm. Maybe the tickets to Nets games distributed free on Ticketmaster were bought by Saveology, as the Times reported last Sunday, but if so, the team retained a marketing arrangement--perhaps because the tickets were sold so cheap.
From a commenter on NetsDaily: BTW I got free tix from ticket master for 4 games. Then the Nets sales department called and asked if I would be interested in 10 games for 100.00. Games include Lakers, Cavs, Knicks and Magic. Not bad
Not bad, indeed. Those are three of the top teams in the league, plus a cross-town rival. And $20 is the lowest announced ticket price.
A correction in the record regarding the 2008 State of the Borough Address
In his 2008 State of the Borough Address, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz stated incorrectly, "At Atlantic Yards, we celebrate the fact that a Community Benefits Agreement will guarantee that fully one half of those units will be priced below market rates."
I pointed out 2/8/08 that only half of the rental units would be affordable, even though developer Forest City Ratner initially claimed that half of all the housing would be affordable.
Last night, I took a look at the transcript of the speech. It now includes an asterix:
AT ATLANTIC YARDS, WE CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT A COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT WILL GUARANTEE THAT FULLY ONE HALF OF THOSE [RENTAL* ] UNITS WILL BE PRICED BELOW MARKET RATES.
...
*Revision made on February 8 following delivery of State of the Borough AddressApparently someone in the BP's office reads this blog, and responsibly corrected the record.
Posted by steve at 8:45 AM
Atlantic Yards Developer Lobbying for Stimulus Slice
WNYC
NEW YORK, NY February 13, 2009 —Long before the federal stimulus plan took its final form today, the developer of Atlantic Yards was lobbying in Washington for a piece of it. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman has more.
REPORTER: For weeks now, blogs and local newspapers have speculated that the troubled real estate project in Brooklyn could be a candidate for federal stimulus money. But the developer, Forest City Ratner, would not comment, and wish lists circulated by Governor Paterson and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority never mentioned Atlantic Yards. But lobbying disclosure records show that some time late last year, former Senator Alfonse D'Amato and his son Chris began lobbying the House and the Senate on the stimulus package on behalf of Forest City. A spokeswoman for Governor Paterson, who will control most of the funds in New York state, says it's possible parts of the Atlantic Yards project could qualify, but officials need to see the final language. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.
Posted by steve at 8:30 AM
McMahon on line 1: New Ridge Rep. loves the stimulus
The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman
Rep. Mike McMahon of Bay Ridge voted in favor of the federal stimulus package. He has also mentioned that he was opposed to use of the funds for the proposed Atlantic Yards development.
McMahon said his priority for that money would be renovating B and M line stations in Bensonhurst, a plan nixed by the MTA last year — not funnel the money, as some have suggested, to Bruce Ratner to jumpstart the stalled Atlantic Yards project.
“That priority is fixing train stations and getting ferry service from Bay Ridge to Manhattan,” he said. “I do not see Atlantic Yards as a priority for the money from this package.”
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has also noticed this item: Rep. Mike McMahon Says No Stimulus for Atlantic Yard.
Posted by steve at 8:10 AM
Alfonse: For Atlantic Yards
weblogs.newday.com
Earlier this week, we linked to an item speculating that Al D'Amato was working to get some stimulus money for the financially challenged Atlantic Yards development in downtown Brooklyn.
Now, the Observer finds some confirmation -- a federal lobby registration from D'Amato's firm for the developer, Forest City Ratner, targeting "funding for real-estate linked transportation projects; real estate project infrastructure development; stimulus spending."
Did he succeed? Time will tell. Chuck Schumer and David Paterson, on their conference call about the stimulus yesterday, had the following exchange with a reporter:
Reporter: There's been a lot of chatter on the blogs about whether Atlantic Yards is a candidate for this infrastructure spending. Is it? Will it receive...
Mr. Schumer: I don't know enough details to answer that. Governor?
Mr. Paterson: I have no idea. I thought that Schumer knew.
Mr. Schumer: I thought you knew.
Certainly sounds like something sensitive and political may be going on that neither man wanted to talk about......
Posted by steve at 8:05 AM
February 13, 2009
Stimulus Accountability Measures Are Problem for Forest City/ESDC
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is keeping tabs on the stimulus package as the final details are being readied. The Atlantic Yards opposition group parsed through House Speaker Pelosi's overview of how States are supposed to account for the spending of stimulus funds and notes:
This excerpt on accountability and the stimulus funds would pretty much disqualify Forest City Ratner and Empire State Development Corporation unless they somehow radically overhaul they way they've done Atlantic Yards business for the past 5+ years.
Of particular interest from the overview:
Public notice of funding must include a description of the investment funded, the purpose, the total cost, and why recovery dollars should be used. Governors, mayors, or others making funding decisions must personally certify that the investment has been fully vetted and is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. This information will also be placed on the internet.
NoLandGrab: Though the State of NY has been arguing for years that Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project has been "fully vetted," it seems like it will be hard for Governor Paterson's office to quietly divert funds towards the project.
Posted by lumi at 5:08 AM
We must build, sez Markowitz
YourNabe.com
By Stephen Witt
[I]n his annual State of the Borough address delivered Thursday at Kingsborough Community College...
[Brooklyn Borough President Marty] Markowitz also said it’s time to get the Atlantic Yards project going, as well as two other of his pet projects – the old Loews Kings Theatre in Flatbush and the proposed Coney Island Amphitheater.
Atlantic Yards Report, Brooklyn Paper editorial generates outrage; is AY project really "shovel-ready"?
Norman Oder reported:
At his State of the Borough Address last night, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz apparently declared that Atlantic Yards was "shovel-ready," echoing the Empire State Development Corporation.
...Markowitz's prepared remarks:
To ensure progress continues on creating the "city center" our borough of over 2.5 million deserves.
And let me tell you, if Brooklyn ever needed a project like Atlantic Yards--the time is now.
As the one who originally came up with the idea to make Brooklyn a "professional sports city" again --
And the one who insisted that the project include affordable housing--
I believe what's most important now -- is the thousands of union jobs it will create right when we need them most!
When it comes to ambitious, shovel-ready project, we say "Build Baby Build!"
Atlantic Yards -- Yes we can-- and yes we will.
And when Atlantic Yards is built -- it will keep on generating jobs in Downtown Brooklyn...
(Emphases in original)
Posted by lumi at 4:58 AM
February 12, 2009
State Senate to hold oversight hearing regarding Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards Report
A State oversight hearing on the proposed Atlantic Yards project has been tentatively scheduled for April 24th.
The New York State Legislature will finally hold an oversight hearing regarding Atlantic Yards, thanks apparently to the recent ascension of the Democratic Party to power in the State Senate. The hearing might help explain, as one of its proponents wonders, whether the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in charge, or is it developer Forest City Ratner?
The hearing announcement was perhaps the most important news to emerge at last night's meeting of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, and it came not from the guest of honor, ESDC Ombudsman Forrest Taylor, but from an audience member, Irene Van Slyke, an aide to State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, whose district includes the Atlantic Yards site.
The hearing would be held by the Senate Committee on Corporations, Public Authorities, and Commissions, which is chaired by State Sen. Bill Perkins and has an oversight role regarding the ESDC. Montgomery is a member of the committee, which held a hearing last September regarding reform of eminent domain laws. Also on the committee is new State Sen. Daniel Squadron, who represents a district including several neighborhoods along Brooklyn's western edge.
Posted by steve at 5:50 AM
Om-bads-man!
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper is first to provide coverage of last night's meeting, sponsored by the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, featuring a Q&A session between Atlantic Yards ombudsman Forrest Taylor and meeting attendees.
Atlantic Yards ombudsman Forrest Taylor faced down an inquisitive public on Wednesday night — but many left the meeting feeling that the project’s supposed troubleshooter left them in the dark.
Taylor, the sacrificial lamb sent by the Empire State Development Corporation to face dozens of angry and exasperated Atlantic Yards foes, deflected virtually every inquiry from the crowd at the Belarusian Church on Atlantic Avenue, from specific construction annoyances in the project’s footprint to the financial health of Bruce Ratner’s stalled arena and skyscraper development.
“I’m low on the totem pole,” Taylor, who’s been on the job for one year, said as a way of explaining his lack of details on the interactions between the state government and Ratner’s development company. At other points, Taylor, the supposed insider, said much of his information came from reading news stories about Atlantic Yards.
Although the headline implies that Forrest Taylor is "bad", it seems that he is more limited by his job description rather than any intention to do wrong.
“There are roadblocks intentionally in his way,” said Paul Palazzo, chair of the Fort Greene Association. “His job description is lacking in openness.”
Posted by steve at 5:39 AM
February 11, 2009
Smith: Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Stimulus Shakedown
NYMag.com, "Daily Intel"
NY Magazine political reporter Chris Smith is getting wind that Bruce Ratner is going all out to "elbow in front of the line" to get federal stimulus money for his ailing Atlantic Yards arena and high-rise megaproject.
Here's how:
Preparatory construction work on the 22-acre site was halted in December. Meanwhile, Ratner’s team has returned repeatedly to the city and state asking for subsidies beyond the possible $1.5 billion in direct and indirect taxpayer money that went into the original deal. That effort seemed to be making little headway, however, with the recession forcing the mayor and governor to slash spending on everything from teachers to hospitals to cops.
But Ratner is nothing if not persistent, and he’s lined up a powerful group of political supporters for Atlantic Yards, including Mayor Bloomberg, Senator Chuck Schumer, and the project’s first elected cheerleader, Markowitz (new senator Kirsten Gillibrand hasn’t taken a position on Atlantic Yards yet). Other than Markowitz, they haven’t said whether they like the idea of using stimulus money to revive the project. And there is a long list of more worthy state projects — from the Second Avenue subway to the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel to high-speed upstate rail links — that would produce bigger public benefit from the stimulus bucks without bailing out a private real-estate developer.
The key player, however, may be a guy who is out of office but certainly not out of the game: Alfonse D’Amato. Over the years, Ratner has spent millions on a wide range of Albany and Washington lobbyists, none of whom are better connected than the former senator — especially now that D’Amato has recently emerged as one of Paterson’s biggest fund-raisers. If Atlantic Yards rises from its shallow grave, don’t be surprised to see D’Amato wielding one of the shovels.
Posted by lumi at 5:27 AM
February 8, 2009
Markowitz claims he doesn't know Rent-A-Center helps fund his concert series
Atlantic Yards Report
There's an ongoing debate about rent-to-own companies like Rent-A-Center; proponents say they provide a needed service to those with little savings, while opponents say they're a ripoff.
...
So Council Members Charles Barron, Letitia James, and several organizations protested Borough President Marty Markowitz's acceptance of $25,000 in support from Rent-A-Center for his Martin Luther King, Jr. summer concert series, as reported in the Courier-Life chain. (Click on graphics to enlarge.)
Marty, of course, goes the know-nothing route and tells the paper he didn't know where the funding was coming from:
He didn't?Does he ever look at the series web site? (Did the Courier-Life reporter point that out?)
Markowitz did say he supports strengthening the laws that regulate the industry. At the very least, good regulation requires transparency on the part of the companies and some minimal vigilance on the part of the renters.
Markowitz could apply another form of minimal vigilance and at least know where he gets funding for his projects.
Posted by amy at 10:28 AM
February 4, 2009
Proposal by Paterson protested
Union members, legislators decry consolidation plan
Albany Times Union
By Casey Seiler, State editor
Union leaders, rank-and-file state workers and a delegation of Assembly Democrats held a news conference outside the Assembly chamber on Tuesday to speak out against the governor's proposal to fold the Department of Economic Development and the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation into the Empire State Development Corporation [ESDC].
The labor leaders and legislators said the move would dangerously limit public accountability and transparency.
State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, the closest thing our state has to a crusading reformer (sigh), unleashed the sarcasm:
"If you like the MTA and the Thruway Authority, you're going to love the new ESDC."
Local Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries used Bruce Ratner's $4 billion subsidy-sucking eminent-domain-abusing Atlantic Yards as the poster project for why these state agencies shouldn't be consolidated into a giant, murky, nearly all-powerful quasi-public corporation.
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, said his dealings with ESDC on the Atlantic Yards project had shown it to be "nontransparent and unaccountable."
Atlantic Yards Report, Jeffries: ESDC "nontransparent and unaccountable"
And that was before Jeffries got a chance to learn about the ESDC's obfuscation regarding developer Forest City Ratner's cessation of work at the Vanderbilt Yard.
Posted by lumi at 5:10 AM
January 30, 2009
At State of the District Address, Jeffries again talks housing, says economy has “slowed down the AY streamroller”
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder reports on State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries State of the District address:
With his preacher’s cadences, lawyer’s acumen, and Brooklyn pol's sense of strategy, 57th District Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries is an elected official worth watching, both for what he says and what he doesn’t say, as he begins his second two-year term in office.
In his second annual State of the District Address, delivered Wednesday night before an enthusiastic audience of more than 150 at the Pratt Institute’s Higgins Hall, he barely mentioned Atlantic Yards--though, compared to his glancing mention last year, he was more critical, an indication that the center of gravity regarding the project has shifted.
And, as I explain lower in this report, he thinks it’s likely that the legislature will hold a hearing on Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 5:37 AM
January 29, 2009
Now, ex-Sen. D'Amato is raising funds for AG Cuomo
Newsday
A fundraiser is being planned for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in preparation for his apparent run for Governor.
After his prominent appearance alongside Gov. David Paterson -- for whom he raises funds -- during the appointment of Kirsten Gillibrand as New York’s new senator, D’Amato next week hosts a $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Celeste Hadrick reports.
Check out the host committee:
The host committee includes some familiar names: Frank Macchiarola, Henry Amoroso, Anthony Bonomo, Adam Ciongoli, Gandolfo V. DiBlasi, Lawrence Elovich, Charles A. Gargano, Hon. Joel A. Giambra, Peter S. Kalikow, John E. Zuccotti, Bruce Ratner, Russell Rosenthal, Steven R. Schlesinger, Gregory V. Serio, Robert Wild and Judith Wild.
Followers of the Atlantic Yards fight will recognize three names in particular:
Charles Gargano, the former chairman of the ESDC who pushed through the project in the waning days of the George Pataki administration,
Peter Kalikow, former MTA board chairman, who gave the winning bid for the Vanderbilt Yard to Forest City Ratner despite a bid of only $100 million cash for a property the MTA had assessed for $214.5 million,
Bruce Ratner, Chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies, who's constantly looking to make sure that he will have easy access to public funding for his projects.
Posted by steve at 6:20 AM
January 25, 2009
Sunday Comix - Cheerleader Marty
The Brooklyn Paper
Posted by steve at 8:05 AM
January 23, 2009
The Edolphus Towns succession, Darryl Towns, and Forest City Ratner's interest and intervention$
Atlantic Yards Report
City Hall News has an interesting piece on the potential race to succeed 74-year-old, 14-term 10th District Rep. Edolphus Towns, who in 2008 easily beat back a challenge from activist Kevin Powell though in 2006 was challenged more forcefully by City Council Member Charles Barron, whose impact was diluted by the spoiler role of Assemblyman Roger Green.
The article, headlined Big Egos and Ambitions Set To Collide in Prospective Race To Succeed Towns, doesn't mention the Atlantic Yards angle on past races nor the prospective one.
Still, Forest City Ratner has an interest in this race, part of the unwritten story about the developer's impact on Brooklyn politics. That interest includes a previously unreported Bruce Ratner campaign contribution to Assemblyman Darryl Towns and a surprise appearance by Towns himself at a recent AY-related meeting held by the Empire State Development Corporation.
The Mad Overkilling Norman Oder finds Forest City Ratner's fingerprints in Darryl Towns's campaign finance filings and examines the State Assemblyman's public track record on Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 5:31 AM
Obama Inaugural Address: National Themes and Atlantic Yards
Noticing New York
Singling out the "collective failure to make hard choices," "false promises," and "short cuts," Obama called on Americans to cast aside the culture of "greed and irresponsibility" — like Atlantic Yards?
Using the Alantic Yards test, we observe that Mr. Obama seems to envision a better future where with our “eyes fixed on the horizon” we will see no Atlantic Yards.
Below we supply our sampling of President Obama’s words (emphasis supplied). (From the full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama's inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.):
In the words of President Obama:
. . . . That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. . . . Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. . . .
Atlantic Yards is clearly an example of the worst kind of greed, but it is also an example of the kind of irresponsible diversion and misdirection of resources that has crippled our economy.
Posted by lumi at 5:03 AM
January 19, 2009
Quiet Hammerman Up for de Blasio's Council Seat
Runnin' Scared [Village Voice blog]
by Roy Edroso
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn alerts us that Craig Hammerman has declared for the city council seat presumably to vacated by Bill de Blasio, who is running for Public Advocate. Hammerman has for 15 years been the District Manager of Community Board 6, and is a member of the New York Hall of Fame. Nonetheless politically he has kept a low profile; he has been mildly critical of the Atlantic Yards project, but the most recent reference to that we could find was in early 2007, and in Brownstoner's October list of Brooklyn' Most Influnential People he was mentioned only for clamping down on local bars.
NoLandGrab: Close watchers of the fight over Atlantic Yards have seen Hammerman ratchet up his criticism of the project over time.
Posted by eric at 10:15 AM
January 17, 2009
Marty!
City Hall
Edward-Isaac Dovere
If Markowitz is remembered for nothing else, he will be for Atlantic Yards, the multi-building project that is still scheduled to one day stand here, centered on an arena for the relocated Nets. Deservedly so: bringing a professional basketball team to Brooklyn was an idea that Markowitz first proposed on the campaign trail in 2001, and, the story goes, shortly after winning he convinced Bruce Ratner to buy the Nets for the purpose of moving them to a new home built over the old rail yards along Atlantic Avenue.
...
He is clearly annoyed by the people who fought the project through the flush years when construction would have been easier, and stands by the old talking points—that it would spur economic development, bring pride to Brooklyn, create 1,000 units of affordable housing and be a home for events even as significant as a Democratic Convention—which come to him as easily now as they ever did, though not with the same enthusiasm he once had.
article
NoLandGrab: Okay, so Atlantic Yards is not proposed to be "over the railyards," the article is an interesting read, especially since the author was "Executive Editor" of Ratner rag, the Brooklyn Standard.
The profile raises a lot of questions, and they turn back, in a way, to Atlantic Yards. Brooklyn, arena supporters say, needs a team to be major league, though Oklahoma City, which has a team, surely is no Brooklyn.Brooklyn could use a borough-wide daily newspaper, too. And a political system that would give the borough some more autonomy, leading to a BP with real clout, accountability, and a willingness to withstand vigorous political challenge.
Instead we get an energetic, entertaining, and enigmatic "visible symbol," who manages to be "on the block"(as his promotional publication Brooklyn!! puts it) a heck of a lot. At one point that was enough, but the increasingly testy Markowitz, who's "not at the table," has endured long enough to experience the limits of his position.
Posted by amy at 10:28 AM
January 14, 2009
Marty: Atlantic Yards no longer ‘economically feasible’
The Brooklyn Paper's Gersh Kuntzman noted a little strategy on the part of Borough President Marty Markowitz, who was hoping that his press release would play more favorably with developer Bruce Ratner's business partner, The New York Times.
Markowitz’s bombshell statement was first issued on Tuesday to the New York Times, which has a business partnership with Ratner and has not been critical of the developer’s stalled 16-skyscraper arena, office and residential complex. It was later released to other media outlets.
Kuntzman also noted that recent events have just been the next step in managing expectations for Atlantic Yards:
So much for “thriving.” Ratner actually spent most of last year driving down expectations, first telling the New York Times in March that the $4-billion project no longer had a timetable and that the “Miss Brooklyn” office tower at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues could not be built because Ratner had failed to line up an anchor tenant during the real-estate boom that was just beginning to go bust.
In the end, Marty remembers how his bread is buttered:
It is unclear what comes next. Ratner has said he wants to trim costs, and now Markowitz has once again echoed his favorite developer and longtime donor to his Best of Brooklyn charity.
Yesterday, Gumby Fresh blogger "Gringcorp" left this comment on Atlantic Yards Report:
Outstanding. So Marty dutifully issues a call to scale back the size of the thing - after the developer/financiers/whoever have spent a week priming the public for just that. Do you think he realizes just how much of an FCE stooge he looks, or do you think he hopes no-one will notice. I feel slightly insulted to be honest, although I get that sensation most times he speaks in public.
Posted by lumi at 5:20 AM
Markowitz Backpedaling on Atlantic Yards Project
Gothamist
Yesterday's joke of the day was Marty Markowitz's press release on Atlantic Yards. The way it usually works is the politican pretends to call for a change in the plan, the developer pretends to acquiesce and they call it "a win-win." This week the Atlantic Yards political-pr machine got it all backwards, but no one told Gothamist.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, a fervent champion of an embattled plan to build an ambitious $4.2 billion plan to build a Nets basketball arena, office towers and thousands of apartments in Brooklyn, has for the first time muted his enthusiasm for the development. Could this be the canary in the coalmine for the controversial project, which throughout 2008 struggled to gain momentum against repeated setbacks? Markowitz issued a statement this afternoon opining that, because of the economic tailspin and all, developer Bruce Ratner should conceive of a "sports and entertainment venue that is more economically feasible but provides the modern amenities our residents and visitors to Brooklyn demand and deserve."
However, Gothamist didn't hold back the snark on Bruce Ratner's increasingly desperate efforts to remain at the helm of the project:
Forest City is now trying to negotiate with the MTA over the Vanderbilt Yards, an essential part of the project site which the developer still hasn't paid for. According to the Times, Forest City wants to pay the $100 million for the property in installments. Come on MTA, you know Ratner's good for it; it's just a bad streak! He can win it all back! With interest!
Posted by lumi at 4:59 AM
January 13, 2009
The Prospect of Caroline Kennedy as a New York Senator
Noticing New York
What might US Senate prospect Caroline Kennedy's views be about Atlantic Yards? It's hard to know, but Michael D. D. White notes that on the one hand, the Senior Senator from New York, Charles Schumer, is a big booster who holds faith in ACORN's involvement, and on the other hand, Kennedy's late mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, was very passionate about landmarks preservation.
Posted by lumi at 4:24 AM
January 8, 2009
Brooklyn's Borough Prez Honors Notorious B.I.G.
LimeWire
by Darren Ressler
No, we're not talking Bruce's Idiotic Gambit, but the late hip-hop artist. Atlantic Yards does get a mention, for context.
For once he's doing the right thing. Many of us who live in NYC's best borough (that's Brooklyn, in case you didn't know) have been forced to endure life under double-chinned, perennially dieting Borough President Marty Markowitz. While I could ramble on about how I disagree with Markowitz's bizarre vision for Brooklyn, support of the doomed Atlantic Yards project and chastise him for his strange, sometimes embarrassing remarks (when asked by a reporter about the closure of beloved 100+ year old restaurant Gage & Tollner, Marty quipped: "Maybe it wasn't so beloved!"), tomorrow night Marko will present a proclamation to the family of Brooklynite Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls and The Notorious B.I.G., at a special Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) screening of the new biopic Notorious.
Posted by eric at 10:00 AM
Builder: This ‘Domino’ won’t fall
The Brooklyn Paper
By Ben Muessig
Buried inside this article about how the current financial crisis may affect the conversion of Williamsburg’s Domino Sugar refinery into housing is a comment by Assemblyman Joe Lentol about Domino that includes Atlantic Yards.
Assemblyman Joe Lentol (D–Williamsburg), who has long called for reducing the height of the skyscraping towers, said that beleaguered banks likely won’t lend to developers — and builders might need to turn to the community for support.
“I’m cautiously optimistic that we can use this as an opportunity to negotiate the size of the project,” said Lentol. “Just as Atlantic Yards may be scaled down, Domino’s dreams for a large project may be scaled down too.”
Lentol has never opposed the proposed Atlantic Yards project. If anything changes about the project, it will not be due to any effort on his part.
Posted by steve at 5:25 AM
January 6, 2009
Avi Schick Leaves ESDC
Once Spitzer's man at ground zero, Schick also played roles in Atlantic Yards, Columbia expansion
The NY Observer
By Eliot Brown
Avi Schick, the prosecutor-turned-development official who has served as downstate president of the Empire State Development Corporation for the past two years, will leave his job this week. Mr. Schick emailed a letter on Monday evening to colleagues announcing his departure.
Mr. Schick's departure comes more than seven months after the Paterson administration announced he would resign his position; in May, the state announced he would leave in September.
At the ESDC, Mr. Schick, once a top prosecutor in the state attorney general's office under Eliot Spitzer, oversaw state involvement in projects such as Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, the development of Governors Island, and Columbia University's West Harlem expansion.
Posted by lumi at 4:21 AM
January 3, 2009
Markowitz on the relationship with donor FCR: "I don't see the slightest conflict"
Atlantic Yards Report transcribes Marty's Brooklyn Paper interview adding text from the podcast that wasn't in the paper version.
The effect of budget cuts, Markowitz contended, was to rely more on private donations, which led Kuntzman to press him on his relationship with developer Forest City Ratner.Markowitz's statement that "I don't see the slightest conflict" is questionable, however, because his role as Atlantic Yards cheerleader-in-general can interfere with the borough president's obligation to represent the public, including challenges to the developer on broken promises or environmental impacts.
Posted by amy at 10:17 AM
December 30, 2008
"My humble fiction": Markowitz imagines lost opportunity for AY compromise, posits arena as corporate magnet
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman "Oderizes" Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's comments on Atlantic Yards, separating fact from "humble fiction":
In his now-traditional end-of-the-year interview with the Brooklyn Paper's Gersh Kuntzman, Borough President Marty Markowitz offers some curious comments on Atlantic Yards, notably the suggestion that project opponents missed an opportunity to compromise on a smaller project, and that the presence of a basketball team would draw corporations to Brooklyn.
Those, I submit, are "humble fictions," the counterpoint to Markowitz's catch-phrase, "in my humble opinion."
More soberly, he bows somewhat to reality by acknowledging that the project could take "12 to 16 years" to build. That's a distinct contrast with the approved ten-year construction timeline, which was reiterated by Forest City Ratner CEO Bruce Ratner this past May, but it doesn't acknowledge that the State Funding Agreement gives the developer 12+ years to build Phase 1 and imposes no deadline for Phase 2.
Markowitz also puts in a few words for the "mend-it-don't-end-it" BrooklynSpeaks coalition, which, while slumbering, could still supply a framework for tweaking the project design and government oversight.
The full article tackles each issue.
Posted by lumi at 4:52 AM
December 20, 2008
With Senate candidate and transportation policy, new politics look like old politics
Atlantic Yards Report
First, the ascension of Caroline Kennedy as the front-runner for the soon-to-be-free Senate seat in New York has already drawn the endorsement of Rupert Murdoch's New York Post, support from Mayor Mike Bloomberg, and will involve the influential consultants Knickerbocker SKD, who work for Bloomberg, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and--of course--Forest City Ratner.
Posted by amy at 4:32 PM
December 13, 2008
Bloomberg: "Letting any group have a special deal is not what democracy is about"
Atlantic Yards Report
On yesterday's Live from City Hall with Mayor Mike and John Gambling radio show, Mayor Mike Bloomberg said some very curious things about sweetheart deals, tax-exempt financing, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's capital budget.Special deals
At about 25:45, he flatly declared:
Letting any group have a special deal is not what democracy is about. It breeds contempt for our laws.Pop Quiz: That was said in relationship to...
A) The zoning override that allows Forest City Ratner to build Atlantic Yards at the size it desires
B) The City Council's vote, at his behest, to overturn and extend term limits
C) The ongoing sales by Indian reservations of tax-free cigarettesAnswer: C
article
NoLandGrab: Click through to see what Bloomberg had to say about financing sports facilities and the MTA.
Posted by amy at 9:35 AM
December 10, 2008
The Illinois governor pressured the Chicago Tribune; in New York, the mayor & Ratner have had much less trouble
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder examines the differences between the way things are done in Illinois and the way they're done here in the Empire State.
The sell-the-Senate-seat scandal immolating Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has a very interesting subplot regarding state help for a sports facility and the role of Chicago's leading newspaper.
The indicted Illinois Governor allegedly threatened to withhold state financial assistance for the Chicago Cubs if the club's parent company, which owns the Chicago Tribune, didn't fire some pesky editors (simpler to just have Bruce Ratner make a phone call). In addition, according to the Department of Justice:
Blagojevich and Sports Consultant discussed the importance of getting the IFA transaction approved at the agency’s December or January meeting because Blagojevich was contemplating leaving office in early January and his IFA appointees would still be in place to approve the deal, the charges allege.
...And what about the rush to approve Atlantic Yards before 2006 and the end of the administration of Gov. George Pataki? Consultants for the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) worked over Thanksgiving to revise the Final Environmental Impact Statement.
Posted by eric at 12:17 PM
Here's a brilliant idea!
Since neither the Borough, NYC or the State can print more money, why don't we get Barack Obama to "bail out" Atlantic Yards?
Borough President Marty Markowitz shared a fantastic brainstorm with The Brooklyn Ink, a project of Columbia Journalism School students.
"I would, of course, also ask for support for Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project, which will bring the New Jersey Nets to our borough, and be a major investment magnet for Downtown Brooklyn, as well as create thousands of units of affordable housing and good union jobs."
Opposition group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is scratching its head:Markowitz Wants Obama's Support on Atlantic Yards. Uh, what?
Yup, for Markowitz it's always about Atlantic Yards, even to the point that President-Elect Obama should give a darn about Bruce Ratner's luxury housing, eminent domain-abusing, undemocratic boondoggle and frivolous billion dollar arena.
This is the same Markowitz who rather disingenuously told The Brooklyn Paper in December 2006:
...There’s no question that there’s an element of people that truly believe that the greatest challenge facing America is the Atlantic Yards Project rather than terrorism and Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.
So, who is it that has lost all sense of proportion?
Atlantic Yards Report, Brooklyn to Barack: Support infrastructure, small biz, and education (but Marty hypes the Nets)
Norman Oder catches Markowitz overstating his case:
Well, the project would not create affordable housing; rather, an allocation of a limited amount of tax-exempt bonds would do so. And such housing might be a better bang for the buck elsewhere.
Should the federal government really take from Peter to pay Paul?
More importantly, federal policymakers are increasingly questioning whether federal policies should encourage sports teams to change states. Bringing the Nets to Brooklyn might help the New York economy, but mainly because the city and state would capture taxes going to New Jersey. That has no impact on the federal treasury.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Dignitaries Detail Brooklyn’s Needs On Columbia Students’ Web Site
A host of Brooklyn dignitaries from the public, private and educational sectors weighed in Monday on what kind of economic stimulus package the borough needs.
They were actually responding to an online question, “If you could tell President-elect Obama what kind of economic stimulus Brooklyn needs, what would you say?”
...
Borough President Marty Markowitz also stressed mass transit, calling it “the lifeblood of our city.” He called for more funding of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), money to build more schools and recreation areas – and support for Bruce Ratner’s controversial Atlantic Yards project.
NoLandGrab: The arena is Markowitz's wet dream and he'll say anything to get it done:
When times are good, we must build Atlantic Yards to restore the greatness of bygone Brooklyn and to "create" more affordable housing as a hedge against rising real estate prices.
When times are tough, we need to build Atlantic Yards as an economic stimulus plan and "create" affordable housing as a hedge against a tightening real estate market.
It's embarrassing, really.
Posted by lumi at 5:12 AM
December 4, 2008
Art felt support
The Brooklyn Paper
by Sarah Portlock
On Sunday, Dec. 14, [Brooklyn Borough President Marty] Markowitz’s Best of Brooklyn organization will provide shuttle vans to spirit passengers to 64 galleries throughout the borough on four separate routes in the first of what he hopes will be an annual “smART Brooklyn” gallery hop.
...The shuttle vans are paid for out of money raised by the Markowitz-controlled charity, Best of Brooklyn. That fund solicits contributions from Brooklyn-based corporations and has come under fire recently after The Brooklyn Paper reported that one of its principal benefactors is Forest City Ratner, whose Atlantic Yards project has enjoyed unwavering support from Markowitz. Government watchdogs questioned the propriety of Markowitz taking donations from companies that do business with city government.
Posted by eric at 12:50 PM
At the MetroTech tree lighting, CBA signatories and South Brooklyn politicos
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder and photographer Jonathan Barkey met up at the MetroTech tree lighting ceremony and ran into some familiar faces:
While the remarks from Borough President Marty Markowitz, other politicos, and FCR President Bruce Ratner were mostly predictable (jobs, peace, Democratic rule), I was surprised to see that, on a dais that featured fewer than 20 people (at any one time), signatories of Forest City Ratner's Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) occupied five of the seats and there were few elected officials from the immediate area.
The CBA signatories were James Caldwell and Marie Louis of BUILD; Herbert Daughtry of the Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance; Charlene Nimmons of Public Housing Communities; and Joseph Coello of Brooklyn Voices for Children (formerly the Downtown Brooklyn Educational Consortium).
Nimmons and Coello were unknown enough to Michael Weiss, the executive director of the MetroTech Business Improvement District and the evening's MC, that he whiffed when trying to introduce them, even though they were in the front row.
It was also interesting to notice which elected officials showed up on the dais--and who didn't.
Posted by lumi at 4:13 AM
November 20, 2008
The Voice's Barrett on Bloomberg's transformation (with a blind spot)
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder reviews a Village Voice cover story on the Mayor's pursuit of a third term through the prism of Atlantic Yards.
I think [Voice reporter Wayne] Barrett is a bit too generous about Bloomberg's first term. After all, there were already signs of the mayor's edifice complex and his unquestioning willingness to back a developer's plan.
Remember, this is the mayor who said, in a 1/23/04 radio interview six weeks after Atlantic Yards was announced:
Then, we’ve got to find a find a ways--Bruce Ratner’s got to find a ways--to build this complex in Brooklyn. Like everything else, it’s controversial, I’m sympathetic to people who don’t like something like this moving in to their neighborhood. People whose apartments are going to be replaced, or houses taken away, generally speaking, this guy Ratner is a very responsible developer. If you go back and look at his track record when he developed MetroTech, which made an enormous difference in the city, he treated people very well.As I pointed out, Bloomberg essentially said that the city and the developer were on the same team, nearly a year and a half before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority put the Vanderbilt Yard--some 40% of the proposed site--out for bid.
Posted by eric at 8:12 AM
November 15, 2008
Marty’s Place in Brooklyn History
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By John B. Manbeck, a Brooklyn historian, interviews Marty Markowitz without analysis...
Major ProjectsConsidering the financial crisis, Marty sees major construction phases extended but completed eventually. Brooklyn Bridge Park and Atlantic Yards offer more jobs and thereby help the economy, he said.
Posted by amy at 10:12 AM
November 8, 2008
Lew Fidler Uses Council Pork to Help His Friends
New York City 46th City Council District
Atlantic Yards gets a shout-out in a round-up of the "Member Item-Funded Nonprofit Reelection Industry"
Brooklyn Democratic Leader Vito Lopez, an early protégé of Genovese, funds the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Center as an umbrella-type nonprofit with millions of dollars in government patronage to his district. Bolton-St. Johns’ Emily Giske uses the High Line and the health care industry to build an umbrella for her team, including $50,000 to Speaker Quinn for her mayoral campaign from High Line supporters. The Parkside Group used their relationship with former Speaker Miller, former Queens Democratic leader Tom Manton and convicted felon Brian McLaughlin to pull in over $7 million in consulting fees from nonprofits receiving council funding. Former Thomas Jefferson Club leader Bruce Bender, now working for as chief lobbyist for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, helps fund Borough President Markowitz’s umbrella nonprofit Best of Brooklyn. (emphasis added)
Posted by amy at 7:48 AM
November 5, 2008
As the State Senate goes Democratic, would that mean a change for AY?
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder ponders how a Democratic majority in the New York State Senate might affect Atlantic Yards — if at all.
Now that the State Senate has a 32-30 Democratic majority, Brooklyn Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, an opponent of the Atlantic Yards project, should have new clout, but it's not as simple as that.
In many cases, the majority will follow the wishes of the local legislator, but in this case, some members of the Democratic majority, like Carl Kruger, who's benefited from Republican largesse, are staunch AY supporters. Other solid Democrats, like [updated] Martin Malave-Dilan, are supporters. After all, as the New York Times reported, four Democrats, including Kruger, may continue to support Republican Dean Skelos as Majority Leader.
[Update: I originally listed Eric Adams as a supporter. He's sometimes been critical, appearing at some BrooklynSpeaks events. I'm not certain of his position, but note that he recently organized a health fair co-sponsored by the developer.]
Posted by eric at 9:06 AM
November 4, 2008
As Election Day approaches, a deficit of democracy in New York City
Atlantic Yards Report
Prospect Heights activist Patti Hagan testified at yesterday's hearing at which Mayor Bloomberg signed the term-limit extension bill:
After your strong-armed, knuckle busting performance last month to get term limit extended, I'd like to refresh your memory on the subject of term limits extension--in your own words.
You said: "The public has spoken twice and they have spoken quite clearly. I don't know that you should keep shopping for a different answer."
...Unfortunately, Mr. Mayor, you have a bad habit of ignoring the People of NYC--you don't care what we think or vote. Instead, you govern imperiously with an inner circle, limited constituency of a couple dozen billionaire overdevelopers like the predatory Bruce Ratner--you blessed his Ratlantic Yards land grab in Brooklyn--and look where that has gone in 5½ years! Nowhere! Jinxed!
Norman Oder notes that Bruce Ratner has received a lot of special consideration from the Mayor:
Well, it's gotten official approval and pre-construction demolition and utility relocation has begun. Whether it actually gets off the ground is another question. Suffice it to say that developer Forest City Ratner is happy with the mayor, as FCR executive MaryAnne Gilmartin indicated last week.
Posted by lumi at 4:50 AM
October 30, 2008
Lord Markowitz! Term-limit clears path for Beep-eat
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
The game of musical chairs is even more muddled with the extension of term limits and Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's decision not to run for reelection.
Two prominent local pols have decided not to run for Brooklyn Borough President, clearing the deck for a third term for Atlantic Yards booster Marty Markowitz.
Barron was far more critical, yet said it would be tough to dethrone Markowitz, who surprised many people with his 2001 win as a dark horse state Senator from Flatbush.
“Marty Markowitz can be beaten if someone had the resources,” Barron told The Brooklyn Paper. “He’s a stamp of approval for any rich developer that comes in.”
But rubber-stamping projects like Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards hasn’t hurt Markowitz’s high approval ratings or undercut his war chest, which is teeming with more than $930,000 — far more than DeBlasio’s $608,000 and Barron’s $1,200.
Posted by lumi at 4:59 AM
Marty’s Yards slip is showing
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
When one of the top staffers of the Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief expresses some doubt about the project, the Atlantic Yards newsreel seems more like deathwatch than a done deal:
One of Borough President Markowitz’s top staffers revealed on Monday that the deal to bring the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn is as much of a sure thing as Shaquille O’Neal is from the foul line.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get the Nets,” the Beep’s Director of Planning and Development Jon Benguiat blurted out on Monday during an unrelated discussion about other Markowitz initiatives.
It’s unclear if Benguiat’s comment reflected Markowitz’s current opinion about the unraveling Atlantic Yards mega-project, which the borough president has staunchly championed since it was unveiled in 2003, or whether Benguiat was reflecting his own sense that the Nets may stay in New Jersey — a notion that Garden State officials have been increasingly trumpeting.
Posted by lumi at 4:56 AM
Deputy Mayor (in Newark): "look for the least necessary insertion of subsidies"
Atlantic Yards Report
Faced with a multi-billion dollar budget gap, how can NY Governor David Paterson prioritize amongst pet projects?
[L]ast night, Newark Deputy Mayor Stefan Pryor offered some common-sense advice, speaking at a panel in Newark titled The New Newark, Part 1: Maintaining Momentum for Renewal in a Slowing Economy.
He was asked how to set priorities among projects in the city.
His response: "Well, I mentioned the basic construct, which is to look for efficiency, that is to say the least dependency on subsidies. There typically is a pro forma gap in the project, a gap that has to be filled because the construction costs outstrip the potential revenue in the budget line. We want to look for the least necessary insertion of subsidies."
He added, "The other aspect of our construct is community benefits. Will a project deliver jobs for our residents? Will a developer commit to a First Source compact where jobs will go to Newark residents first? Small [and] minority business contracting and green building sustainability are among our criteria. The other thing we're looking for is whether a developer can in fact demonstrate that private sector lenders will commit to the project... And we'll be looking for other factors that will ensure that project will proceed, for example timeline commitments."
Posted by lumi at 4:34 AM
October 27, 2008
Yassky's doubletalk on the term limits issue
Atlantic Yards Report
City Council Member David Yassky, known for his waffling on Atlantic Yards, today circulated a letter (full text below) explaining his equivocation on term limits.
Posted by eric at 12:55 PM
October 24, 2008
I am so proud of Marty
CONEYROCKS
When we first read this post, we thought the author was being ironic — then we started perusing the archives.
His dreams were to bring the Nets to Brooklyn and to have his summer concerts in a new Amphitheater in a developed Coney Island. And now that term limits are extended he will be in office to make his dreams a reality! This is just great news for Brooklyn development!
NoLandGrab: Suffice it to say, pride is not the first thing that springs to mind in the wake of yesterday's shameful City Council term limits vote.
Posted by eric at 10:50 PM
"It's just not right": City Council term limits override recalls AY hearing plaint
Atlantic Yards Report
Who would've guessed that Mayor Mike Bloomberg's successful effort to have the City Council overturn and extend voter-imposed term limits (for themselves, Borough Presidents, and citywide office holders) would make the Atlantic Yards approval process look like an exercise in direct democracy?
The Atlantic Yards project was announced in December 2003; in September 2005, the Empire State Development Corporation began the process of the environmental review, which took 15 months.
Bloomberg's power move took all of three weeks. Of course, as with Atlantic Yards, he had supporters lined up.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn: From Land Grabs to THE Power Grab
Needless to say, it is not a suprise to us that this Mayor who unilaterally took the decision-making power over Atlantic Yards away from the City Council, fostering Bruce Ratner's land grab, took the next step and grabbed the power, today, with strong arm tactics. What is a bit surprising is that the body whose power was usurped by the Mayor for Atlantic Yards allowed him to do it again.
Posted by lumi at 5:14 AM
Brooklyn's Top 50 Most Influential No. 11 - 20
Brownstoner
Grabbing the #11 spot on the Bstoner most-influential list is Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief Marty Markowitz. The thin-skinned Borough President is probably still pouting about not making the top ten, though yesterday's City Council vote to extend term limits may have bucked him up a bit:
11. The Atlantic Yards arena and high-rise mega-project has two daddies: Developer Bruce Ratner and Borough President Marty Markowitz. The exact circumstances surrounding the project's conception are murky, and for a while the comedic Beep seemed to favor an NBA arena in Coney Island, but most reports agree that Markowitz did press Ratner to carry out his dream of bringing professional sports to Brooklyn. Besides Atlantic Yards, endlessly espousing every virtue of our fair borough, and throwing his weight behind most major development projects (one exception is Thor Equities' competing vision for Coney Island), Markowitz has been influential in promoting tourism here, and likes to take credit for landing Brooklyn in Lonely Planet's list of must-see world destinations. He is also responsible for all those catchy signs with Brooklyn slogans at every bridge leading into the borough.
Click here for the rest of yesterday's list.
Posted by lumi at 4:25 AM
October 23, 2008
Anti-Bloomberg Citizens Prepare for the Worst
The NY Observer
Today's Greek chorus was was wearing a DDDB t-shirt:
Downstairs, bond broker Robert Puca from Prospect Heights broke out laughing during the vote. He wore a "Develop Don't Destroy" shirt.
"We're witnessing the trashing of democracy," said his friend David Galarza of Sunset Park. Both oppose Bloomberg because of development projects in Brooklyn. (Develop Don't Destroy, of course, is a group that opposes Atlantic Yards.) All planned to attend this afternoon's vote.
Posted by lumi at 7:40 PM
DEFENDING BERTHA LEWIS AND THE ACORN ORGANIZATION
Room Eight
by Rock Hackshaw
Politics blogger Rock Hackshaw defends ACORN against charges of election fraud, but not against bad judgment on the part of Chief Organizer Bertha Lewis when it comes to Brooklyn mega-projects.
I didn’t agree with Bertha’s position on the Atlantic Yards development project; nor did I care to see her sucking face with Mike Bloomberg (lol) a few years ago. But then she is human, and we all do make mistakes. Backing Bruce Ratner’s project -the way it was shaped then- was not Bertha’s shining moment. She probably knows this by now.
Posted by eric at 3:35 PM
Connecting the opposition to Bloomberg's power grab to AY opposition
Atlantic Yards Report
We all know, thanks to some vigorous reporting by the New York Times (which hasn't devoted similar scrutiny to Atlantic Yards), that Bloomberg has used his philanthropic clout to influence testimony.
And what about Atlantic Yards? Yesterday, [blogger Michael D.D.] White tried to connect some dots:
It seems pretty simple. In an apparent quid-pro-quo for city approvals for Atlantic Yards, developer/subsidy-collector Forest City Ratner gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Mayor’s charities; the Mayor then uses his charities as an instrument of pressure to generate coerced testimony in favor of his remaining in office.It is, of course, "apparent" rather than proven. But the philanthropic angle behind Atlantic Yards deserves as much scrutiny as the similar effort behind the term limits override. Perhaps the Times, and [Daily News columnist Errol] Louis, can take a look.
Posted by eric at 1:52 PM
Hard pressed to find him adequate
The NY Times
Letter to the editor
One Brooklynite includes Atlantic Yards as an addendum to Mayor "I wanna third term" Bloomberg's list of failed goals:
[F]ormer Gov. Mario M. Cuomo has proclaimed Mr. Bloomberg to be “spectacularly well suited to the task” to be mayor yet again. But by what standard is he thus qualified?
While Mr. Bloomberg was a spectacularly successful businessman, as mayor he has actually failed in most of his goals, including the West Side stadium and congestion pricing. Even the Atlantic Yards development is stalled. I am hard pressed to find him even adequate.
...
Perry Weiner
Brooklyn, Oct. 18, 2008
Posted by lumi at 6:27 AM
Brooklyn's Top 50 Most Influential No. 21 - 30
Brownstoner
Two superheroines of the fight against the Atlantic Yards land grab made Brownstoner's 21-30 list:
23. Whether it be Atlantic Yards, Admirals Row or the proposed homeless intake center in Crown Heights, City Councilwoman Letitia James comes out with a position early and often, and fights for it while other local elected officials sit on the sidelines measuring the political climate. She's managed to come out as a leader for multiple factions of her diverse constituency, has been known to offer free legal assistance to causes she believes in, and is a tough interrogator at City Council hearings. Her office recently launched a blog called "Team Tish."
27. Joy Chatel tirelessly fought to save her home, which a national network of historians believe was involved in the Underground Railroad, from eminent domain ... and actually won. Now the city must build its underground parking garage and public plaza around her home. Without Chatel, hundreds of pages of history on Brooklyn's role in the abolitionism movement would not have been written. As a concession, the city has already agreed to commemorate Brooklyn's abolitionist movement in the planned plaza. And if Chatel succeeds in her dream, the home will be turned into a museum, an unplanned addition to the glitzy Downtown Brooklyn overhaul.
Posted by lumi at 6:16 AM
Are the Atlantic Yards Land Grab and City Official Fraud Being Used to Finance Bloomberg’s Bid for Billionaire Term Limit Exceptionalism?
Noticing New York
We must ask:
Is the Atlantic Yards land grab paying for Mayor Bloomberg’s effort to specially exempt himself from term limits and achieve a third term? For that matter, is the Mayor’s bid for billionaire exceptionalism fueled by city official’s fraud?
It seems pretty simple. In an apparent quid-pro-quo for city approvals for Atlantic Yards, developer/subsidy-collector Forest City Ratner gives hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Mayor’s charities; the Mayor then uses his charities as an instrument of pressure to generate coerced testimony in favor of his remaining in office.
Posted by lumi at 5:58 AM
October 22, 2008
Time to Report on the Best City Council Hearing Testimony
Noticing New York
Sometimes having the right look or the best one-liner is not enough, if you're not on the list. If you thought that getting past Studio 54's velvet rope was a feat, check out NNY blogger Michael D. D. White's account of what it took to get into last week's PUBLIC hearings on the extention of term limits.
We arrived at 11:00 AM and were turned away by City Hall security because we were too early. (Former City Councilman and Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, a more familiar figure, recounting about his own testimony in opposition to the Bloomberg maneuvering says he got in at 11:00 AM.) When we returned at 2:45 we were told by security that we couldn’t come in because we were too late; we would have to wait. Then, looking at our jacket and tie, the security guard paused, “Wait,” he said, “are you going to testify?” “Absolutely,” I told him and he told me that me that they could let me in if I was on the list of people who were supposed to be let in to testify. Though I made him check the list I was, of course, not on it.
Eventually White got in and delivered his testimony sometime after 10PM. As usual, he posted his testimony online.
Read on...
Posted by lumi at 5:59 AM
Comptroller Thompson: mega-projects may slow, but AY still "makes sense"
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder attended a recent Crain's breakfast to give NY City Comptroller William Thompson an opportunity to clarify his views on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards megaproject:
During a press conference afterwards, I asked him his take on Atlantic Yards and how it should go forward.
"Atlantic Yards is another one of those projects, I think--you've seen it scaled back a bit," he said. "But I think if it made sense a year ago, two years ago, it made sense a year ago, it still makes sense to move forward. You may have to look at Atlantic Yards and other projects in stages. But if those projects made sense two-three years ago, when things were booming, they make sense during slower economies, also."
I pointed out that he said at a forum in May that he didn't know what it was any more.
"It continues to be a project, y'know, other than just the stadium, and I know that other parts of it have been scaled back," he said. "I think that we do need to at least go back and revisit it and see exactly what schedule and in what stages and what is being proposed, to move in the next six months, the next year, the next two years. But I still think that if a project made sense two years ago, it makes sense now."
Thompson obviously doesn't know that much about Atlantic Yards--the project was scaled back only after it was increased in size.
Posted by lumi at 5:42 AM
October 21, 2008
“Charity?” We Begin to Groan
Noticing New York
When is "charity" not really "charity?" Noticing New York searches for the answer in the intertwined relationships among Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn, Borough President Markowitz and developer Bruce Ratner.
Charities doing the wrong thing may pocket money for themselves, but the greater good of the community suffers.
What do charities selling out at the expense of the community look like? The Ratner organization’s donations in connection with both the Markowitz and Bloomberg charities have been cited as objectionable. Let’s stick with Ratner for one more example. Bruce Ratner's Forest City Ratner runs charities and donates money for questionable purposes, questionable because they are self-serving. The end goal of their activities is to make private, personal profit and Ratner has a record of doing so at the expense of the public. For instance, the New York Observer reported an apparent result of a reported lobbying meeting that Bruce Ratner had with Mr. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris:
In December 2005, right as the debate over the Atlantic Yards complex was heating up and before the city made several crucial decisions about the project, Forest City Ratner gave between $450,000 and $1 million to a nonprofit closely associated with Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Patricia Harris was responsible for coordinating charitable giving matters for Mayor Bloomberg.
Posted by lumi at 11:42 AM
October 20, 2008
MARTY MARKOWITZ'S MILLIONS
NY Post Editorial
Given the Post's normal predilections — like its largely unfettered support for Atlantic Yards — we can only imagine that Brooklyn Chief Executive Marty Markowitz never expected to become the tabloid's favorite whipping boy.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is nothing if not creative.
Just as money managers urge their clients to diversify their portfolios, Markowitz makes sure that his preferred non-profit groups have (other people's) cash flowing in from lots of different sources.
...Given the tawdriness exposed in the City Council "member item" scandal, a third party needs to look at the books of Marty Markowitz and his nonprofits.
Considering that the Department of Investigations is a city agency - and reports to the mayor - that creates a conflict of interest.
Thus the logical person to take up the task would be Brooklyn DA Joel Hynes.
The sooner, the better.
NoLandGrab: The Post misidentifies Brooklyn's District Attorney, who is Charles "Joe" (not "Joel") Hynes.
Atlantic Yards Report thinks it's possible that the Post is overstating its case:
It may look like Markowitz is fostering his reelection effort through contributions outside the campaign system. While that may not seem ethical, as watchdogs like Citizens Union head Dick Dadey have commented, it may not be a violation.
Posted by eric at 9:59 AM
October 19, 2008
In the narrow term limits debate, are we missing the point?
Atlantic Yards Report questions the newspaper coverage of the term limits debate, and looks at other solutions for fair elections, such as instant run-off voting (IRV) and proportional representation (PR).
There's nothing in the New York Times. The New York Daily News offers an encomium to Bloomberg from financier Felix Rohatyn, who conveniently ignores that the term limits override would apply to the Council, the Borough Presidents and more.The New York Post does some investigating, and discovers that Bloomberg "showered cash on key City Council members with the power to kill a term-limits extension bill in the last year."
And the Daily News reports that many of those fighting the override have personal or political agenda, though some, an observer acknowledges, are motivated by principle.
Missing the larger point
Still, we are missing a larger point about ways to improve political representation. If those fighting Bloomberg's plan are successful in gaining a referendum to address the term limits issue, they will at least have achieved a more legitimate process.
Posted by amy at 2:03 PM
October 18, 2008
The Bloomberg manipulation behind the term limits override effort
Atlantic Yards Report reports on the second (final!) day of term limits hearings:
As the Times reported today, in an article headlined Bloomberg Enlists His Charities in Bid to Stay:
Michael R. Bloomberg, who says he strictly separates his philanthropy from his job as mayor of New York, is pressing many of the community, arts and neighborhood groups that rely on his private donations to make the case for his third term, according to interviews with those involved in the effort.
...
Moreover, the representatives from five Bloomberg-supported groups that testified failed to disclose that connection during their testimony. The Daily News detailed how the Doe Fund was unlisted. The Post described lunch money being given out.
...
All five borough presidents testified in support of a bill that would give them four more years, and Brooklyn's leader cited projects under way, presumably including Atlantic Yards. The first paragraph is a direct quote from BP Marty Markowitz:
I’ve always been opposed to laws that enforce term limits. They are profoundly undemocratic. We have methods to apply term limits, they’re called elections. Look at the most recent elections: Two veteran state senators were defeated in elections in the Bronx and Brooklyn.
...
He added, “With another term, I’d have the chance to see the projects come to completion.”
Posted by amy at 9:41 AM
The Markowitz defense: "I'm an activist and like to get things done"
Atlantic Yards Report covers the coverage of Marty's excuses in the Post and Courier-Life:
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has come out swinging in defense of his use of mayoral and developer funds, via his charities, to support his concert series and other projects in Brooklyn. The problem is that Markowitz's defense is essentially the end justifies the means.
...
And, of course, Markowitz avoids the issues. Are the Ratner contributions a way to avoid campaign finance limits? And what about those and four contracts that, as the Brooklyn Paper observed, "conveniently amount to $24,999 each"--just short of triggering city oversight.
Posted by amy at 9:36 AM
October 17, 2008
The NY Post vs. Marty Markowitz
In all the recent hullaballoo surrounding the funneling of large donations by Atlantic Yards interested parties to non-profits controlled by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, we missed Monday's NY Post editorial criticizing the Beep (though the paper was quick to reaffirm its support for Atlantic Yards). What tipped us off? Today's Letter to the Editor of the Post from none other than Marty.
NY Post, BEEPING MARTY
The beep is one of the biggest boosters for developer Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn.
Make no mistake: We've long thought that Atlantic Yards - which includes a new arena for the now-New Jersey Nets, as well as residential and retail space - is a good idea.
Still, the amount of money being directed from the Ratner orbit to Markowitz' favorite nonprofits gives pause.
NY Post [Letters to the Editor], MARTY TO THE RESCUE
Get your facts straight ("Beeping Marty," Editorial, Oct. 13). It was my idea to bring professional sports back to Brooklyn. I advocated for Atlantic Yards, with no strings attached, and I adamantly believe that its arena, affordable housing, retail and union jobs are vital to a vibrant Downtown Brooklyn.
...If the price of service to Brooklyn families is derision from The Post, so be it. Of course, you also want to paint borough presidents as "do-nothings," but you can't have it both ways.
Posted by eric at 10:18 AM
At the term limits hearing, AY opponents and supporters make their mark
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder scoured the NY Time, "City Room" blog coverage of yesterday's public hearing on the extension of term-limits for Atlantic Yards references. What would a political circus be without big-wigs, financial beneficiaries of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement and those crazy Atlantic Yards watchdoggies?
Check out Oder's hearing cliff-notes, which includes excerpts by City Councilmember Letitia James, Prospect Heights Action Coalition's Patti Hagan, preservationist Christabel Gough, Marie Louis of Community Benefits Agreement signatory BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development), BUILD CEO James Caldwell, Atlantic Yards opponent and blogger Michael White, and Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods Secretary Jim Vogel.
Posted by lumi at 5:31 AM
October 15, 2008
Bloomy: Marty is ‘probably’ good
The Brooklyn Paper
by Mike McLaughlin
Mayor Bloomberg offered only lukewarm support on Tuesday for his embattled ally Borough President Markowitz, who’s come under intense ethical scrutiny since The Brooklyn Paper reported last month that his private charity has received hundreds of thousands in dollars from Bruce Ratner, the Atlantic Yards developer who has enjoyed strong support from Markowitz.
Government watchdogs called the charitable donations a “payback” for Markowitz’s cheerleading of the $4-billion project, and the city comptroller howled after some of the money was doled out in no-bid contracts.
This week, it got worse for Markowitz, with the New York Post reporting that Bloomberg himself also gave millions to Markowitz’s charity. The newspaper called Markowitz “reprehensible,” and demanded the elimination of the largely ceremonial borough presidents.
But Bloomberg, making a stop in Downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday, defended Markowitz and his fellow borough leaders — well, sort of.
“They [Markowitz and the four other borough presidents] are probably worth the money,” Hizzoner said.
Posted by eric at 8:28 AM
Bishop Loughlin coach Khalid Green Nets a new job as NBA scout
NY Daily News
By Mark Lelinwalla
Holy _____! The NJ Nets are hiring the son of an early political backer of Atlantic Yards as a scout for the team.
The Daily News has learned that the Nets have hired Bishop Loughlin High School coach Khalid Green as their East Coast college scout.
Apparently, the Bishop Loughlin coach has already done some work for the team:
Green previously had analyzed talent and conducted background checks on recruits for the Nets during the past two offseasons, but he is expecting a heavier workload in his new position. Green told the Daily News that he will primarily be scouting Big East games and some Atlantic 10 games, as well as enough Nets games to learn what players need on the NBA level.
Though Khalid Green admits that being the son of the former State Assemblyman helped get him "casually introduced" to Bruce Ratner, he did all of his own follow-up leg work:
Green, who starts his new job Nov.1 first made inroads with the Nets four years ago when his father, former Brooklyn assemblyman Roger Green, casually introduced him to Nets owner Bruce Ratner in downtown Brooklyn.
"He plugged me in and let me shake hands with people that normally I wouldn't have been able to meet," Green said. "I took it from there. I know how to grind. One thing led to another. I'm happy to leave Loughlin better than I found it and eager to learn more with the Nets."
NoLandGrab: A "casual introduction" to Bruce Ratner is one of those tangible "community benefits" of the Atlantic Yards project.
Posted by lumi at 7:18 AM
Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief charity bankroll
Gothamist, City's Millions for Markowitz's Non-Profits "Doesn't Smell Right," Critic Contends
Here's definitely the snarkiest synopsis of recent coverage of funding sources of charities controlled by Borough President Marty Markowitz:
Wheee, the tabloids won't stop hammering Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz over the way he runs three non-profits that produce free Brooklyn events and promote tourism! First the Daily News got up in his grill over $680,496 in no-bid contracts he awarded to the non-profits, then the Post was all, What's up with all the loot the Atlantic Yards developer pours into your pet projects, Marty? Now the Post is insinuating that the $2.7 million (maybe more) in tax dollars the Bloomberg administration has funneled to Markowitz's non-profits is essentially a payoff for the beep's Bloomberg cheerleading. Politicians doling out tax money for favors? We're shocked, and so is Dick Dadey of the watchdog group Citizens Union: "It doesn't smell right that he's getting so much city funds for nonprofits serving his interest."
Atlantic Yards Report, NY Post: Bloomberg administration has given $2.7M+ to Markowitz's nonprofits
Norman Oder continues to note the silence from Bruce Ratner's development partner, The NY Times:
This time, at least, the [NY Post] story made the New York Times's Morning Buzz. But it deserves some follow-up, given that money can't hurt the mutual admiration society Bloomberg and Markowitz have fostered.
Posted by lumi at 6:21 AM
October 14, 2008
SURE PAYS FOR MARTY TO BE MIKE'S BUDDY
NY Post
by Rich Calder
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is cashing in big-time by being a favorite of Mayor Bloomberg.
Since 2003, the Bloomberg administration has handed out at least $2.7 million in taxpayer cash to three nonprofit groups Markowitz set up to fund "free" concerts and other pet projects, a Post investigation has found.
The programs funded have been instrumental in boosting Markowitz's popularity and helping him get re-elected, critics charge.
...While political candidates face strict limits on how much they can receive in campaign funding from donors, a loophole in the law allows donors to be as generous as they want for a politician's pet projects.
Since 2003, Markowitz's nonprofits have received between $3,323,424 and $5,644,124 in taxpayer funds from government agencies, according to city Conflicts of Interest Board records.
...The beep also is cashing in from the private sector.
The Post reported Friday that Nets owner Bruce Ratner and others involved in the controversial $4 billion plan to build an NBA arena and 16 apartment and office towers in Brooklyn donated between $680,000 and $1,075,000 to Markowitz's nonprofits since 2003. The beep is considered the project's greatest cheerleader.
Posted by eric at 11:38 AM
October 13, 2008
Marty "bought and paid for"? Following up on the Post's scoop
Atlantic Yards Report
Many Atlantic Yards critics have long thought that there had to be some finacial incentive for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's illogical and unflagging support for Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards arena and highrise megaproject.
Watchdog Norman Oder thinks that the issue of quid pro quo isn't that clear cut, though that's no reason for other local papers to ignore last week's revelations in the NY Post:
It's surprising that no other daily newspaper has followed up yet on the New York Post's scoop Friday that developer Forest City Ratner, as well as allied contractors, "have quietly funneled at least $680,000 to three nonprofits set up by Markowitz," promoting his charitable endeavors and concert series, and that Dick Dadey of the Citizens Union said, "Affiliated nonprofits should not be used as pseudo campaign accounts."
Just because another newspaper got there first, that doesn't mean that competitors should deny their readers important information.
...
It's impossible to prove that the issue is Ratner's largesse--it could simply be "in for a dime, in for a dollar" (or, in this case, a several hundred million in public funds). Markowitz has staked his reputation on this project, so maybe he'll going to continue to double down, to support the project no matter what.
On the other hand, Oder recalls a telling scene from a New Yorker profile, where Markowitz takes a call from "Bruce."
Posted by lumi at 5:55 AM
October 12, 2008
Markowitz Says It's Not the Money
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn asks some questions of Marty Markowitz's assertion that the big bucks pouring in from Ratner did not green his vision of Atlantic Yards:
Okay, sure Markowitz supported the project from the beginning and advocated for it. But he has continued to advocate for it for five years with zero skepticism and zero scrutiny despite all that has come to light about it. What explains his disdain for ever single criticism or complaint about the project?Are we to believe that Ratner's largesse has nothing to do with Markowitz's utter lack of scrutiny of perhaps the most controversial development plan in Brooklyn's history? Markowitz's unconditional, undying support for Atlantic Yards despite the developer's broken promises on "affordable housing," abuse of eminent domain, displacement of tenants, ongoing failure to actually build anything, extended delays, over-dependence on public subsidies and special tax breaks, complete lack of a traffic plan for an extraordinarily congested area etc etc, has nothing to do with Ratner's "philanthropy?"
The fact that over five years of controversy we've not heard a critical peep from the Beep has absolutely nothing to do with Ratner's money? Believe that, and we've got a bridge to sell you.
More coverage: gothamist: Markowitz "Bought and Paid For" by Atlantic Yards Developer, Critic Says
Queens Crapper: Pig BP rolling in tainted dough
Posted by amy at 9:45 AM
October 10, 2008
Brooklyn BP Defends Donations From Atlantic Yards Developer
NY1
Markowitz defended the donations, saying that he has always been a proponent of this project and these contributions had no affect on his support.
"Make no mistake, I advocated for this project with no strings attached, no promise of any reciprocal support whatsoever," he said in a statement. "And I continue to do so adamantly because it will be a major catalyst for continuing what we call the 'Brooklyn Renaissance.'"
article
NoLandGrab: You say "Brooklyn Renaissance," we say "conflict of interest." Let's call the whole thing off!
And remember, when you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
More coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Post: FCR, allies funnel at least $680K to Markowitz's "pseudo campaign accounts"
NY Observer, Report: Atlantic Yards Backers Reward Markowitz Nonprofits
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Mega-bucks for Markowitz, Mega-project for Ratner
Posted by eric at 1:20 PM
BEEP REAPING BIG AS YARDS BACKER
ARENA-PLAN GROUPS BOO$T HIS PROJECTS
NY Post
by Rich Calder and Chuck Bennett
All this time, we thought Marty Markowitz was all-in on Atlantic Yards because he missed the Dodgers so much. Wrong!
Being the biggest booster of Brooklyn's controversial Atlantic Yards project has really paid off for Borough President Marty Markowitz.
Since 2003, Nets owner Bruce Ratner and others involved in the $4 billion plan for an NBA arena and 16 apartment and office towers in the heart of Brooklyn have quietly funneled at least $680,000 to three nonprofit groups set up by Markowitz to run pet projects, a Post investigation found.
The pet projects -- which include promoting tourism and offering free concerts -- have been instrumental in boosting Markowitz's popularity and getting him re-elected, critics charge.
"Affiliated nonprofits should not be used as pseudo campaign accounts," said Dick Dadey, of the government watchdog group Citizens Union. "One could argue that these nonprofits raise the profile of the borough president in a way that certainly aids his possible campaigns."
Posted by eric at 1:06 PM
October 5, 2008
Borough President Forever?
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn's resident poet responds to Markowitz's desire to extend term limits in verse:
DEAR BROTHER RATNERCan’t accept the job, Bruce,
Gotta understand the score;
Chance to make additional deals
Staying in Borough Hall four more.
link
NoLandGrab: If you've had enough Bloomberg and Markowitz you can hit City Hall steps for a rally in support of term limits today at 2pm with Norman Siegal or tomorrow at 2pm with Letitia James.
Posted by amy at 9:48 AM
October 3, 2008
It came from the Blogosphere...
Me, Myself an Eye, It's Real In The Field
Atlantic Yards is part of the problem; Sista Tolja wants to be part of the solution:
We've only got a few more days here in NYC, but I will be registering folks to vote tonight and through the weekend. And I am finally taking an interest in local politics in the borough of Brooklyn, as well as the city as a whole and the state of New York. If I want to raise kids here, I have to be aware and aggressive. Projects like the Atlantic Yards monstrosity (supported by YOUR boy, Jay-Z) affect me and I have to be heard! There are politicians (like Barack Obama) and aspiring politicians (like Kevin Powell) who have the potential to be change agents, but they can't without US.
Here's more reaction to the tectonic shift in the Atlatic Yards arena timeline:
SportsByBrooks, Jay-Z Has 99 Problems: Arena Financing Is One
Brooks recaps Ratner's arena financing and legal woes as reported by the Star-Ledger, NY Post and Crain's and adds:
I know it sounds like a lot of money to mere mortals, but can’t Nets part-owner Jay Z just pay the $950 million from his “walking around” money? I mean, the guy has the technology to make the plans for the freakin’ stadium magically appear out of his hands; why can’t he just make a billion dollars appear as well?
MAS.org, Atlantic Yards Stalled
The Atlantic Yards development has been delayed again after a state appellate court did not dismiss the project opponents’ court challenge, says the New York Times. While this derails Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner’s recent pledge to break ground on the project this December, Crain’s New York Business reports that Barclays bank, which would pay for naming rights to the stadium, remains committed to the project when it proceeds. Read more about MAS advocacy on Atlantic Yards here.
Popo in my crib, The Nets may remain in New Jersey
The Newark Star Ledger is reporting that the economic downturn may have claimed another victim, the New Jersey Nets.
Note: This post includes the persistent rumor that Walter O'Malley wanted to build a new ballpark for the Dodger on Atlantic Yards. O'Malley wanted to build the ballpark on a site across the street from the Vanderbilt Railyards on a land that has since been redeveloped by Bruce Ratner for his Atlantic Center Mall.
REBLOGGING: Star-Ledger, Wall Street crisis imperils Nets arena, 10/01/08
Big Shot Bob in Texas, A little Tight Credit?
Park Lane – Sports Finance Bulletin, Wall Street crisis puts Nets’ future Brooklyn home in jeopardy
Can’t Stop The Bleeding, Ratner’s Dream Deferred Pt. II : Are The Nets Stuck In The Swamp Indefinetly?
While it’s hard to find a silver lining to the near collapse of American financial markets, the Newark Star-Ledger’s Ian T. Shearn and George F. Jordan hint there’s one in Nets owner Bruce Ratner’s inability to borrow.
Posted by lumi at 6:49 AM
October 2, 2008
Clash of the Titans!
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
A Markowitz vs. DeBlasio matchup could be won and lost on the charred battlefield of issues like development and the use of the bully pulpit. Markowitz has been a staunch supporter of Atlantic Yards while DeBlasio did an about-face, and is now a vocal critic of the mega-project. In his seven years as Beep, Markowitz has used his office to champion retail development and cheerleaded the borough as a tourist destination.
DeBlasio has made “affordable” housing and environmental issues some of his chief policy planks.
Atlantic Yards Report, Bloomberg's term-limits override effort implies a Markowitz re-election and other ripple effects
An abolition of term limits:
would have major ripple effects, allowing City Council members and Borough Presidents with expiring terms to run with the enormous advantage of incumbency, and maintaining the current configuration of Atlantic Yards support.
Posted by lumi at 5:24 AM
Coming to Terms With Mistakes
Noticing New York
We are neither entirely for nor against term limits. Mostly we are against them, but we are absolutely opposed to their elimination in the last-minute and self-serving manner being proposed by Bloomberg.
...
The most pronounced downside of a Bloomberg third term involves a need to acknowledge and correct mistakes.
Mistakes including "Bloomberg’s supreme mistake," Atlantic Yards.
I was not the only one to criticize Atlantic Yards when I phoned in to the Brian Lehrer show during the term limits discussion on September 9th. Atlantic Yards is a spectacular example of a decision that was rushed through with improperly forced haste and it is a spectacular example of just how bad the consequences of such thoughtless haste can be.
...
However disgraceful all its lapses, the Bloomberg administration has done nothing to correct the misreckoned Atlantic Yards course it is on.
Posted by lumi at 5:10 AM
Atlantic Yards Opponents Pleased With Court’s Denial of Motion
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Associated Press, with additional reporting by Ryan Thompson
Borough President Marty Markowitz said that he is disappointed by the recent denial of the motion to dismiss the eminent domain suit filed by opponents of Atlantic Yards.
“I truly believe that in the current economy, Brooklyn needs the kind of investment that Atlantic Yards will bring, the union jobs and affordable housing it will create. Projects like this one are catalysts for job creation and growth, and Atlantic Yards is a very important part of the effort to help Downtown Brooklyn, which is so well-served by public transit, become the kind of live-work hub and center of cultural life that our borough of 2.5 million has long deserved.”
NoLandGrab: Unfortunately, Marty will exploit anything in order to justify Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.
Brooklyn Downtown Star, Atlantic Yards Suit Has Merit, Court Says
Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards may be facing serious legal trouble, as the state’s move to dismiss the case was denied by a State Appellate Court.
...
The ESDC tried to dismiss the property owners’ case, but was unsuccessful in their attempts, and will have until October 15 to file their response.
Posted by lumi at 4:59 AM
September 28, 2008
Markowitz Plays the Atlantic Yards Charade
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn also weighs in on this week's Courier article with a list of what Marty's staffer should have told him:
-Ratner literally has no plans to build Phase 2 were around 80% of the proposed "affordable" housing would be built.-Ratner will not build his 650,000 square feet of office space without an anchor tenant, and finding an anchor tenant would be a miracle.
-Ratner's billion dollar white elephant arena would create very few new jobs and would be a net loss for the City of New York
-Well, the list is really too long to re-publish here, we've already explained how Atlantic Yards is too costly and too risky, how it is not strategic by any stretch of the imagination, and how the arena is a "frill at the edge." We've also explained how the whole blinkered effort to push Atlantic Yards forward is a charade.
Posted by amy at 2:38 PM
Build, baby build! AY is Marty's ANWR
According to Borough President Marty Markowitz, as reported by Steven Witt in this week's Courier-Life:
"The recent drop in the stock market and the weakening of the American economy underscores the importance of moving ahead with projects like Atlantic Yards."
No matter what is happening in the world around us, guys like Marty handily turn it into a reason to build Atlantic Yards:
If the economy is tanking, we must build it now for the jobs (despite the fact that there's no real timetable and a scarcity of government subsidies).
If the economy is booming and housing prices are soaring, we must build it now for the affordable housing (despite the fact that there's no real timetable and a scarcity of government subsidies).
If Brooklyn's infrastructure is overloaded and outdated, we must build it now as a catalyst for reinvestment in local infrastructure (despite the fact... well you get the idea).
If the cost of oil reaches historic highs, we must build it now to create the densest residential community in the nation around a busy transportation hub.
If Brooklyn is on top, we must build it now, because what major city doesn't have a professional sports team as its crown jewel.
If Brooklyn's brand starts waning, then we must build it now, because it was the lack of professional sports that ruined it in the first place.
Build, baby build!
And in the meantime, Markowitz will gladly accept more six-figure checks from Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner for his summer concert series.
Does this remind anyone else of how the Bush administration spun its wheels for the past eight years searching for any justification for drilling for oil in ANWR?
Posted by lumi at 9:39 AM
September 26, 2008
Marty: Don’t question me!
The Brooklyn Paper
This editorial calls on Borough President Marty Markowitz to explain himself in light of his criticism of the press.
Last week, Borough President Markowitz used the otherwise pleasant occasion of his annual Brooklyn Book Festival to lambaste the media — particularly the New York Post and Daily News — for a spate of recent stories that revealed a) that a slush fund of public money that he controls intentionally skirts city scrutiny; b) that his years of shilling for Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project has resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from Ratner to that slush fund; and c) his “busy” schedule is filled largely with ceremonial events.
Clarification is called for on a number of items, including these two:
The inner workings of the deal he has with the Courier-Life newspaper chain to publish his “Brooklyn!!” promotional publication. A Brooklyn Paper review discovered that publicity and printing are a huge part of Borough Hall’s discretionary budget — costs that could be a payback to the Courier-Life chain for its consistently positive coverage of Markowitz.
Whether he supports Atlantic Yards because he honestly thinks the proposed 16-skyscraper, public-subsidy-devouring, ill-conceived monstrosity will improve the lives of his constituents or because his friend Bruce Ratner keeps pouring cash into Markowitz’s personal slush fund.
This issue was originally picked up by the Atlantic Yards Report; the editorial is noted there: The Brooklyn Paper says Markowitz "doth protest too much"
Posted by steve at 5:25 AM
September 24, 2008
Markowitz's grievance against the press, his questionable charity, and the real failure of the BP's office
Atlantic Yards Report
Hello Brooklyn! Norman Oder examines the Borough President's legacy and legitimacy:
The thin-skinned BP has had even more reason to be exercised in recent months, as the New York Post has challenged the legitimacy of the borough presidency and the New York Daily News has uncovered Markowitz’s dubious practice of relying on an in-house charity to raise funds from supporters--including developer Forest City Ratner--who otherwise wouldn’t be able to contribute such sums to his office or campaign. The Brooklyn Paper uncovered further evidence of how six-figure FCR contributions fuel Markowitz's popular concert series.
...
Well, let’s put aside Markowitz’s polarizing support for Atlantic Yards, which probably will define his legacy. Let’s take Markowitz at his word that programs like the book festival and his summer concert series and his teen summer jobs program are genuine efforts, however funded, to serve his constituency. Let’s take supporters of the borough presidencies at their word when they say that the offices, however politically impotent, serve as a counterweight to a strong mayor.I think that Markowitz has not used his office to empower Brooklynites to participate in democratic self-governance, especially regarding land use issues. He has a staffer to write proclamations but won’t answer tough but serious press questions about Atlantic Yards, such as the follow-up I sought regarding his traffic recommendations.
Rather than beef up community boards with training on land use issues, as has the office of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Markowitz has played politics with appointments, targeting members who didn't support Atlantic Yards. (Had Markowitz taken land-use issues more seriously, how might the AY proposal have evolved?)
...
Markowitz may be “on the block,” as his promotional Brooklyn!! publication regularly proclaims. And Markowitz may indeed remain politically popular. But Brooklyn is not a cult of personality.
Posted by lumi at 6:15 AM
September 23, 2008
Sen. Schumer on the Bailout. Schumer on Atlantic Yards.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Senator Charles Schumer gives his considered opinion on the proposed $700 billion Wall Street bailout:
“We need to put the taxpayers first, ahead of bondholders, shareholders, executives,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Joint Economic Committee. “You need transparency. You need oversight to make sure this huge amount of money is spent without favoritism, in a fair way, and that people see what's going on as it happens.”
But for Atlantic Yards:
Atlantic Yards deal, which Senator Schumer supports unconditionally:
Taxpayers first? No
Transparency? No.
Oversight? No.
Favoritism? Yes.
Fair? No.
People see what's going on as it happens? No.
Posted by steve at 6:08 AM
September 18, 2008
Marty’$ borough haul
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
The city comptroller is “very concerned” about no-bid contracts that Borough President Markowitz made on behalf of his own charity, Best of Brooklyn.
Bill Thompson, the city’s fiscal watchdog and a possible mayoral rival against Markowitz in 2009, lambasted the Beep on Wednesday for sidestepping city oversight by inking four contracts in 2005 for $24,999 each — one dollar below the threshold to trigger a review by Thompson. (After this year’s City Council slush fund scandal, the amount initiating a review was lowered to $5,000.)
And what would a local political scandal be without a giant slushie from one of the City's most-loathsome deep-pocketed developers? [Yup, the same developer who made the headlines in Jan 2004 because he no longer contributes to political campaigns to avoid the appearance of quid pro quo.]
But the line between government responsibilities and charity work is blurry. Markowitz, a longtime supporter of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project, received $200,000–$350,000 from Ratner’s company last year for his concert series. And Markowitz’s Best of Brooklyn also received contributions of $15,000–$60,000 from Forest City Ratner Companies, a Ratner executive and a subsidiary.
The contributions give, at the very least, the appearance of a payback, watchdogs said.
“If it’s not illegal, it certainly raises some very serious ethical questions," Dick Dadey of the non-partisan Citizens Union told The Daily News.
NoLandGrab: This classic cartoon originally ran on NoLandGrab back in '05. Big surprise, nothing has changed.
Posted by lumi at 5:53 AM
September 17, 2008
It came from the Blogosphere...
Runnin' Scared, Anti-Development Rumblings in Brooklyn
According to the Village Voice news blog:
No Land Grab and Atlantic Yards Report ride herd on rapacious developers every day.
...well, at least one rapacious developer.
Ground Report, NY Governor Dubs Politicians Bloodsuckers
Libertarian blogger Richard Cooper says it takes one to know one:
Democratic New York Governor David Paterson described politicians as bloodsuckers.
...
Paterson is correct in his description of his colleagues. But what about himself as a governor and state senator?Where does he stand on eminent domain, corporate welfare, and the welfare state in general? What about Willets Point, Atlantic Yards, or Manhattanville eminent domain schemes? He supported a property tax cap. But what about the sales tax, the income tax and the numerous taxes dubbed fees by the bloodsuckers? What about the state debt that has us New Yorkers in bondage? Does he support the Empire State Development Corporation?
The Campaign for Community-Based Planning, Friday Links Roundup
The drama continues at Atlantic Yards, where developer Bruce Ratner says they will break ground in December. Even the NY Times doesn’t seem so sure.
NoLandGrab: "Drama?" Yeah, maybe the Times's theater desk should start covering the affair.
The Campaign for Community-Based Planning, New Eminent Domain Blog: My Land Is Mine
Tomorrow, the Community-Based Planning Task Force will provide testimony on the use of eminent domain in New York City at an (invite only) public hearing sponsored by State Senator Bill Perkins. We’ll put the testimony up shortly, but in the meantime, check out a new blog from Task Force supporting organization Coalition to Preserve Community: My Land Is Mine.
Posted by lumi at 5:40 AM
September 12, 2008
What Does Mayor Bloomberg Know About Atlantic Yards?
From Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (dddb.net):
In the aftermath of yesterday's NY Times article with a number of bombshells including confirmation that Ratner is lobbying government officials for $100 million more in taxpayer subisides, Mayor Bloomberg was asked at a press conference if the city would provide that additional subsidy. The Mayor's response:
"I don't know that we have to put development money in, but we certainly will do everything we can to work with Ratner to get those buildings going."
It's not clear exactly what the Mayor is saying. But it's clear that Atlantic Yards is already subsidized to the hilt and in this economy additional taxpayer subsidies would be irresponsible.
Atlantic Yards Report, Remember, Bloomberg said the city would only help with infrastructure
Norman Oder reminds readers that the Mayor has been carefully crafting a distinction between City money for infrastructure and land acquisition and cash subsidy for the arena.
From the Mayor's weekly radio appearance with WABC’s John Gambling on 1/23/04:
JG: The city will spend money on this?
MB: Well, we spend--if you build a new building, we have to fix the roads in front of the building. There’s always some expenses. Fundamentally, the answer to your question is: this will be done with private money, and any city monies of any meaningful size will be debt issues financed by the extra tax revenues that come from this. So, we’re not going to have to divert money from education, or police or fire or any other part of the city to do this. No. It is private money in that sense.
NoLandGrab: The Mayor is directing taxpayer money to specific line items for Atlantic Yards in order to try to make it appear that the arena is being built with "private money." No one really believes that, in the big picture, the City subsidy isn't padding developer Bruce Ratner's bottom line.
Posted by lumi at 5:55 AM
Taking a look at the primary; was AY a factor in the District Leader race?
Atlantic Yards Report
What to make of the primary election? Well, as it's clear that the three Atlantic Yards opponents (see the Atlantic Yards Voter Guide) didn't win, but in only one race Atlantic Yards was likely a factor and it's unclear how much.
Similarly, after the 2006 primary, I wrote that the results certainly weren't a referendum against the project--as many AY opponents sought to achieve--but they weren't a referendum for the project.
Read on for the details of Norman Oder's post-primary analysis.
Posted by lumi at 5:52 AM
September 8, 2008
Time to Vote, People
Brownstoner
Atlantic Yards, inevitably, emerges again as an issue in Brownstoner's coverage of tomorrow's primary election.
Bill Saunders, a fixture in the area for decades, is being challenged for the position of District Leader by Walter Moseley, a former employee of Clarence Norman, supporter of Atlantic Yards and part of the Ed Towns machine. As for Saunders, he's taken firm positions on two issues that may interest Brownstoner readers: He's been a critic of the Atlantic Yards process and, along with State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Councilmember Tish James, spoke up in defense of The Flea this summer when it was briefly under fire; Saunders has been endorsed by the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.
Posted by eric at 11:46 AM
Weekend Peek-In: Pre-Primary Report (Updated)
Runnin' Scared
By Roy Edroso
Two primary elections being watched by Atlantic Yards watchdogs headlined this weekend's round up in the Village Voice's news blog:
Kevin Powell, whose challenge for Ed Towns' Congressional seat is covered in the current Voice, unveiled a lengthy policy statement on Friday. It proposes legislation that would give high school students "paid internships that will earn them college credits and income," reduce the impact of negative credit reports on subprime borrowers and others, and mandate a "one year moratorium on foreclosures for owner-occupied homes." He also calls for an environmental impact statement on the Atlantic Yards project (though a draft EIS already exists*), recommends his own book, The Black Male Handbook: A Blueprint for Life, etc. In the Brooklyn Paper a Towns spokesman calls Powell's ideas "grandiose" and "empty" and compares them with "another 7,000-word rant on HuffingtonPost.com."
(*Update: Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn corrects our spelling of EIS, and informs us that the statement was approved in December 2006, and unsuccessfully challenged by DDDB and others. An appeal is pending.)
Noticing New York, for whom the development of Atlantic Yards is an issue, worried about Daniel Squadron because the young progressive contending for Martin Connor's State Senate seat is endorsed by prominent AY development supporters and wets (Schumer, Bloomberg, etc). But after months of asking, NNY finally got a response from a Squadron campaign advisor, who says the candidate "supports a moratorium on state aide [sic] for the Atlantic Yards project," and "has pledged not to accept any contributions linked to the developer of Atlantic Yards."
Posted by lumi at 6:08 AM
City term limits, Atlantic Yards, and the question of David Paterson
Atlantic Yards Report
A reader recently wondered whether Mayor Mike Bloomberg's increasingly public flirtation with an effort to extend term limits would be bad news for the Atlantic Yards opposition.
Well, it probably wouldn't be good news, given that new blood in City Hall and the City Council might offer marginally more scrutiny of the project and might question a request for more subsidies. However, it's far less relevant than getting Governor David Paterson up to speed, City Council Member Letitia James, the project's leading political opponent, told me.
The project has gone through all its public approvals, James noted, so "the question is, what is our governor prepared to do?"
Paterson, who's got his plate full, has not yet focused on Atlantic Yards, even as the Empire State Development Corporation he controls hasn't clarified the timing and scale of the project. The funding for the project remains murky, and the developer has stated that "we still need more" subsidies.
(Paterson will be speaking at a Crain's New York Business breakfast tomorrow; let's see if anyone brings up Atlantic Yards.)
Posted by lumi at 5:41 AM
September 7, 2008
Ny Community Council Endorsements for the September 9th Democratic primary
The New York Comm- unity Council is endors- ing the following candi- dates:
Kevin Powell for Congress 10th CD
He is the only candidate strongly opposed to the controversial Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards project, which would use eminent domain to destroy a neighborhood in order to build a basketball arena and out of scale luxury condos in the heart of brownstone Brooklyn.Congressman Ed Towns, a machine Democrat, best know for being invisible throughout his district, except at election time, has repeatedly taken money from corporate special interest groups such as the tobacco industry. Recently his campaign fund was infused with over $12,000 worth of contributions from developer Bruce Ratner and his family and the Forest City Ratner Pac.
Paul Newell for Assembly 64th District
Paul is opposed to the real estate interests that have set the agenda in New York City which has lead to thousands of low income residents being forced out of their neighborhoods. He has spoken out against special zoning privileges for the high rise and school being built by Forest City Ratner in the 64th AD. This developer contributed $58,000 to what is considered to be Sheldon Silver's private slush fund known as the "Housekeeping Fund" and then received special considerations for his construction project.
The Council said that no candidate in the race for State Senate in the 25th district received enough votes for an endorsement. Sorry, still no help for you, Noticing New York!
Posted by amy at 11:43 AM
Scratching My Head on Who to Vote For: Connor Vs. Squadron (Vs Gyllenhaal) the 25th District State Senate Seat
Noticing New York isn't finding their dream candidate in the 25th district. NoLandGrab did not help with the summary that the race is "leaving many Brooklynites scratching their heads."
So if neither candidate is satisfactorily mobilizing to oppose Atlantic Yards is there one of them to vote for in the Tuesday primary? Is it better to vote for Squadron, a candidate who is ostensibly a reform-minded insurgent on guard against over-development who won’t prove those credentials by doing what he has a perfectly free hand to do: opposing what is obviously the worst thing happening in New York and the immediate environs of this Senate District? Unlike other problems New York City might be facing, this is one that comes signed, sealed and delivered by problem politicians. Squadron says he should be elected because he will take on important “development battles:” why won’t he prove it by addressing the poster-child? Or, is it better to vote for Connor, a 30-year incumbent who was probably taken in by the Atlantic Yards hornswaggling when it was first underway and won’t admit this now or reverse course?
NNY does have a novel solution:
Maybe I should write in a candidate. Maggie Gyllenhaal co-stared with Heath Ledger in “Dark Knight” and her brother Jake co-starred with Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain. Heath Ledger was on the advisory board of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn which has been a key player in halting Atlantic Yards. Voting for Ms. Gyllenhaal sounds mighty attractive.
NNY followed up to his post with a response from Squadron's campaign advisor:
Daniel supports a moratorium on state aide for the Atlantic Yards project for three reasons which must be addressed: First, it continues to be too big for the infrastructure surrounding it. Second, the eminent domain process neither followed an official procedure nor was transparent. Third, the project increasingly looks like a bait-and-switch on affordable housing, which is a critical priority and was the silver lining in the original plan.Moving forward, Daniel has pledged not to accept any contributions linked to the developer of Atlantic Yards so no one needs to wonder who he's working for.
Posted by amy at 10:46 AM
September 5, 2008
Politics as unusual
10TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide, The Ratner Clan Likes Ed Towns
Atlantic Yards is only one reason to remove an incumbent who only shows signs of life when he's up for reelection, but it's reason enough to loosen the Ratners' purse strings:
Four Ratners including Bruce and his extended family in Ohio, as well as Forest City Ratner's Cleveland-based parent Forest City Enterprises have contributed a total of $12,300 to entrenched incumbent Congressman Ed Towns in Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District.
...
Towns supports Atlantic Yards, while his September 9th primary challenger Kevin Powell opposes the Atlantic Yards project.While the project is certainly not the central issue in the congressional primary race, the developer's largesse—coming from as far as Cleveland—shows how Ratner likes to cover all of his political bases.
25TH STATE SENATE DISTRICT
Gay City, Connor, Squadron Endorsement Scramble
There's a bit of a ripple in one former candidate's endorsement of the incumbent:
Last week, [Ken] Diamondstone, who had considered another run against [State Senator Martin] Connor this year, but dropped plans for that in favor of a City Council bid next year, endorsed [Daniel] Squadron. In his appearance with Squadron, Diamondstone returned to two issues that animated his challenge two years ago - Connor's agreement years ago to a legislative package that repealed the commuter tax on those working in the city, but living outside it, and the incumbent's low profile on the controversial Atlantic Yards project which could bring massive development to the critical intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn. Diamondstone was outspoken in his opposition to Forest City Ratner's plans for the project.
WNYC News Radio, Race for 25th State Senate District Heats Up
Two years after the official approval of the project, Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan is still one of the sorting criteria for local candidates, though in this race things are still quite muddled:
In a hotly contested race for the 25th State Senate District, Democratic incumbent Martin Connor squared off last night against his challenger Daniel Squadron.
During the two hour debate, the 28-year-old Squadron argued he would bring new blood and change to Albany, while Connor, a 30-year-old political veteran, says his experience there is invaluable. Connor painted his opponent as a trust fund newcomer who has only lived in the district for two years while Squadron contended that Connor is part of the stagnant Albany culture that needs to be reformed. They clashed on numerous issues including the commuter tax, the smoking ban and the Atlantic Yards development.
NoLandGrab: Squadron has made cautionary statements against the Atlantic Yards project in the past, but all of his heavy-hitting political backers are big-time supporters of the project, leaving many Brooklynites scratching their heads on the way into the voting booth.
64TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT
Runnin' Scared [News blog of The Village Voice], Newell Late $ Surge Brings Him Within $2.9M of Silver
Paul Newell, one of the young challengers to Sheldon Silver for his Assembly seat (Luke Henry is the other), made a shocking announcement yesterday: he raised much more than Silver -- $40,015 vs. $19,575 -- in "the most recent filing period." Most of these Silver donations, his campaign points out, come from small, individual contributors, whereas Silver's come mostly from PACs and lobbyists. Among these the Newellites mention "Albany Lobbyist William Y. Crowell, III," one of whose clients is "Forest City Ratner -- which has benefitted from Silver's strong support for its Atlantic Yards and Beekman Tower projects."
Posted by lumi at 5:35 AM
In Marty's Brooklyn!!, no mention of Ratner's "Brooklyn Day"
Atlantic Yards Report
I've written more than once about Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's promotional Brooklyn!! publication, which includes a plethora of events and people but typically downplays Markowitz's support of the controversial Atlantic Yards project.
The same pattern recurs in the Fall 2008 edition....
The only mention in Brooklyn!! of Atlantic Yards is an item, on p. 29 (of 32), about A. Stein Meat Products of Sunset Park, maker of the "Brooklyn Burger," described as "the official burger of the Cyclones and the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets."
Posted by lumi at 4:57 AM
September 3, 2008
Ratners, FCE contribute to Towns's re-election campaign
Atlantic Yards Report
Four members of the Ratner family, as well as the Forest City Enterprises Political Action Committee, have contributed a total of $12,300 to the re-election campaign of 10th District Congressional Rep. Ed Towns, an Atlantic Yards supporter facing a forceful if underfunded challenge from writer and activist Kevin Powell.
This continues a pattern of Forest City Ratner/Enterprises support for Brooklyn machine politicians, though it is far more blatant. Until a Forest City Ratner contribution earlier this year to the Democratic Assembly Housekeeping Committee, controlled by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the developer had relied significantly on contributions from Bruce Ratner's brother Michael Ratner and the latter's wife, Karen Ranucci.
NoLandGrab: Though this is pure speculation, it would not be too farfetched to assume that once "Atlantic Yards Reporter" Norman Oder started to uncover the Michael Ratner-Karen Ranucci campaign finance operation, Bruce Ratner no longer saw the point in pretending that he no longer contributed to political campaigns himself.
The contributors include Forest City Enterprises executives Albert Ratner and Jonathan Ratner, both residents of the Cleveland area, Forest City Ratner executive Bruce Ratner, as well as Brooklynite Rachel Ratner, the daughter of Forest City Enterprises executive Chuck Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 6:24 AM
Where Does Thompson Stand, Now, On Atlantic Yards?
From Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (http://www.dddb.net):
But since the Comptroller wants the Mayor to come clean [about his position on term limits], we think it would be appropriate for the Comptroller and Mayoral candidate to come clean on Atlantic Yards.
Thompson fully supported Atlantic Yards throughout its approval "process," yet as Comptroller he has never said a word about the opaque public funding of the project, or what sort of return it would or wouldn't bring for New York City.
Posted by lumi at 5:34 AM
August 29, 2008
It came from the Blogosphere...
"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide, Silver Tarnishes Dem Convention
AY Voter Guide tells us what he or she really thinks about Sheldon Silver:
What a great historic night it was last night. Officially nominating the first African-American Presidential nominee....
It was only tarnished by one thing: The corrupt Assembly Speaker Silver introducing Senator Hillary Clinton so she could put an end the roll call vote.
Silver stands for pay to play cronyism and consolidation of top down power so anathema to soon to be President-elect Obama's message, one can only hope that the whiff of corruption dissipates in the thin Denver air before the party leaves the city.
Brownstoner, Modernism in the City/Gehry in Brooklyn
In Lisa's preview of a review of Nathan Glazer's book on the problem with starchitects, the example of Frank Gehry's design for Atlantic Yards stuck out:
Gehry may have been ousted from the Theater for a New Audience building, but his vision for Atlantic Yards, which, no matter your opinion of it, seems pretty noncontextual considering the neighborhoods around it, remains.
life in the sonic age, Democracy and the truth…
Ken Lowy commends Dan Squadron for challenging incumbent Marty Connor and for not hitting below the belt, but wonders if everything is above board, especially when Squadron's candidacy is supported by the Atlantic Yards power base:
Squardon has come out and stated clearly that he is against apartments in Brooklyn Bridge Park. That’s good news. But it makes me wonder why people like Anthony Weiner and Mike Bloomberg have endorsed him. They are on the record as having no problem with apartments in the park. And then there’s the Atlantic Yards project. I don’t know where Dan Squadron stands on the Atlantic Yards Project (I’ve heard through the grapevine that he is against the project). But when I searched I couldn’t find anything on his web site. We know where his supporters stand. Weiner, Bloomberg and Schumer are for it. So what are we to think?
Runnin' Scared, Making Local Politics Marginally Less Dull (Updated)
We commend Atlantic Yards Report for taking a portion of the transcript from last Saturday's* environmental-impact hearing on the proposed development and presenting it as a dramatic text with "echoes of absurdist playwright Samuel Beckett."
UPDATE. *By which we mean, two years ago, August 23, 2006, which means this dialogue is now a period piece.
Posted by lumi at 5:51 AM
August 28, 2008
Elections = term limits? The disingenuous Marty Markowitz
Atlantic Yards Report
How do you spell AGITA?
Talk that a bunch of lame-duck local elected leaders might try to eliminate term limits has Brooklyn Beep and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief Marty Markowitz expressing interest in a third term.
[Cue skeery music.]
Markowitz suggested that term limits empower a "faceless, nameless bureaucracy" and, as the Sun reported, second terms are often less effective under the current two-term system, as they must devote much of their time to planning their next campaign rather than governing.
Well, um, shouldn't they be planning their next campaign for their job, as well? And how much of what Markowitz does is governing and how much is promotion?
Posted by lumi at 5:13 AM
August 27, 2008
"We talk about people and we talk about children": Carl Kruger's "Brooklyn" aria
Atlantic Yards Report
In Norman Oder's look back at the testimony from the August 2006 public hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, it seems that no one managed to string together every buzzword of the day to spend so much time saying nothing specific as State Senator Carl Kruger. If the hearing were held two years later, the only words that Kruger would have surely added are "green" and "sustainable."
Here are the high notes (full text at Atlantic Yards Report):
My name is Carl Kruger. I'm the State Senator representing the Southern Tier of Brooklyn and I think that tonight "Brooklyn" is the operative word.... We're talking about Brooklyn, we're talking about communities, we're talking about Brooklyn first.
...
How better tonight can we talk about Brooklyn than to talk about development. When we talk about development, we talk about neighborhoods; We talk about sustaining the old while we build on the new; We talk about creating communities where communities existed; We talk about change; and We talk about growth; We talk about a borough and we talk about a city; We talk about people and we talk about children; We talk about what it means to each and every one of us and what we hold near and dear. So today, as this Commission deliberates the very process for which this hearing is taking place, it must look at the Atlantic Yards project in the vacuum of what it really is....
NoLandGrab: "Vacuum" indeed.
Posted by lumi at 6:14 AM
Onward with Team Golden? AY supporter caught in self dealing
Atlantic Yards Report
Though, back in August 2006, at the public hearing for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, State Senator Marty Golden, declared, "Onward with Team Nets; Onward with Team Ratner; Onward with the team of the City and this great Borough of Brooklyn for their future," Norman Oder points out that "the Senator seems most concerned with Team Golden."
Tom Robbins of the Village Voice explains in an article today headlined GOP Star Marty Golden Doles Out Big Bucks to his Family Catering Hall:
What makes it even more noteworthy is that every time Golden's campaign writes a check to the company [that owns Bay Ridge Manor], it goes into very friendly hands. Although he sold the establishment a couple of years after he entered the senate, Golden didn't have to hunt for a buyer: His brother bought it. Also, according to Golden's disclosure report with the state Legislative Ethics Commission, his wife Colleen serves as the catering hall's business administrator. And the Bay Ridge Manor's landlord? That would be Golden himself, who lists full ownership of the three-story red-brick building with the green-colored awnings on his filings.
That makes three separate income streams that the senator gets from the Manor, according to his filings: rent, his wife's salary, and continuing payments from the 2004 sale.
Posted by lumi at 5:09 AM
It came from the Blogosphere...
Atlantic Yards Voter Guide, Marty Wants a Third Term, Voters Be Damned
Brooklyn Borough Beep and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader-in-Chief Marty Markowitz is in favor of ending term limits.
On the Times City Room blog Markowitz says:
“If the laws were changed and they allowed another term, I’d certainly be honored to serve another term,” Mr. Markowitz added. “But the choice would be up to the voters.”
Marty should be informed that the choice has been made by the voters—they ratified term limits twice.
...
Anyways, we endorse Markowitz wholeheartedly...for retirement.
Campaign for Community-Based Planning, Public Hearings on Columbia’s Use of Eminent Domain, Next Week
Now that the state has officially declared Manhattanville “blighted,” on September 2 and 4, the Empire State Development Corporation will hold public hearings, the next stage of the process that will ultimately determine whether the state will support the use of eminent domain in Columbia University’s planned expansion. While many believe this is a done deal, there is still the opportunity to make your voice heard on this issue. Talking points on eminent domain from Task Force Supporters the Coalition to Preserve Community, a group that has long been fighting Columbia’s plan, are after the jump.
The hearings will be held from 1-4pm and 5:30-9:30pm both days, at Aaron Davis Hall of the City University of New York, located at West 135″‘ Street at Convent Avenue. Speaker sign-up begins 15 minutes before each session.
Posted by lumi at 5:01 AM
August 26, 2008
Voting Against Atlantic Yards
"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide
AYVG got dusted off this morning for the first time since the 2006 primary elections, with two endorsements, one for 10th Congressional District challenger Kevin Powell, and the other for Paul Newell, who's taking on Bruce Ratner-enabler and State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the Lower East Side's 64th Assembly District.
The big race in the neighborhood is for the 10th Congressional District, pitting 25-year incumbent Ed Towns against 42-year old challenger Kevin Powell.
Powell opposes Atlantic Yards while Towns has supported the project and has, through the years, received contributions from Ratner and his relations and surrogates.
Newell, Attempting to Unseat Silver, Gets Times Endorsement
Challenging an incumbent as corrupt and deeply entrenched as Sheldon Silver is no easy task. Our admiration goes out to Paul Newell and Luke Henry for making this courageous effort. Newell opposes Atlantic Yards, while Henry's position on the project is unclear.
Of course Sheldon Silver supports Atlantic Yards, voted to approve it and receives financial support from Forest City Ratner.
The New York Times endorsed Newell on August 22.
Posted by eric at 2:48 PM
Powell calls Towns "woefully" MIA on Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards Report
The Brooklyn Paper has posted articles and podcasts of its separate interviews with veteran 10th Congressional District Rep. Edolphus Towns and challenger Kevin Powell.
At about 29:00 of the interview, Powell begins to criticize Towns on a number of issues, saying Towns hasn't addressed joblessness and the need to incubate small businesses, and has been "silent on police brutality" and unwilling to talk to peace activists.
"Missing in action"
Then, at about 30:30, Powell adds, "Where is he on Atlantic Yards? Woefully missing in action, because he's in the pocket of a number of developers."
Actually Towns is not so much missing in action but offering his endorsement to developer Forest City Ratner, although he's been far less vocal than most other elected endorsers.
Posted by eric at 9:38 AM
August 25, 2008
BEEP PROJECTS REAP BIZ BUCKS
NY Post
By Chuck Bennett
Bruce Ratner and Bruce Ratner made contritubtions to Atlantic Yards Cheerleader-in-Chief Marty Markowitz's pet charity and Bruce Ratner contributed to a charity spearheaded by Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer:
Big companies face strict limits on how much they can donate to politicians - but they can be as generous as they want to the politicians' pet charities.
Borough Presidents Scott Stringer of Manhattan and Marty Markowitz of Brooklyn both operate nonprofits that solicit cash from big companies.
Markowitz, a potential mayoral candidate, runs Best of Brooklyn, which took in $1.2 million in 2007 to fund some of his favorite causes, like sending kids to summer camp and finding teens jobs.
"BPs have no legislative role whatsoever, and The Post should applaud the fact that our office encourages public-private partnerships for the public good," Markowitz said.
Among the charity's donors are the Nets and Forest City Ratner - both owned by developer Bruce Ratner, who is building an arena project in Downtown Brooklyn that has benefited from Markowitz's cheerleading.
Both gave between $5,000 and $20,000, documents filed with the Conflicts of Interest Board show.
Stringer, who also harbors citywide office ambitions, made a splash last year with his "Go Green East Harlem" initiative to promote healthy eating.
The project, run by Stringer's Community Fund for Manhattan, was funded in part with a $15,000 gift from Forest City Ratner, $15,000 from Vornado Realty Trust and $10,000 from Commerce Bank.
"The solicitations are governed by rules promulgated by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board," said Stringer spokesman Dick Riley.
NoLandGrab: The same Bruce Ratner has also donated megabucks to Mayor Bloomberg's favorite causes: $200K to the NYC2012 Olympic Bid and "$450,000 and $1 million to a nonprofit closely associated with... Bloomberg."
Posted by lumi at 5:18 AM
August 24, 2008
Dan Squadron - Progressive?
life in the sonic age
NoLandGrab: Atlantic Yards is now being used as a yardstick of progressive politics:
Is it just me or is it strange that a candidate who calls himself a pro- gressive would advertise being endorsed by people who are not at all progressive.Schumer: middle of the road Democrat. For the Atlantic Yards project, against marriage for GLBT community.
Bloomberg: Billioniare Mayor who runs the city like a billionaire. Tried to get the olympics (never had a chance, blew millions of dollars on a pipe dream), loves the Atlantic Yards, no problem with apartments in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Posted by amy at 10:42 AM
August 21, 2008
Silver Praises Ratner
This week, NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver characterized Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner as "a major force in New York City for the good."
The folks over at Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn are reminding supporters that Silver must've felt "the good" in Ratner when the developer donated $58,420 to the speaker's political slush fund.
Posted by lumi at 4:21 AM
August 19, 2008
Met Council’s Annual Builder’s Luncheon Raises One Million Dollars
Jewish And Breaking News
The Jewish news blog posts what looks like the press release issued by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in the wake of its annual Builders Luncheon, which honored Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) netted more than one million dollars this past week, during its annual Builder’s Luncheon honoring Bruce Ratner, Chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies.
The nearly 500 guests spanned the real estate, political and communal spectrum. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Congressman Anthony Weiner and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz praised Mr. Ratner for his work in developing New York City. The keynote speaker, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver, presented Mr. Ratner with a beautifully decorated charity box.
Speaker Silver commented in his address, “Bruce is responsible for much of the development and growth that’s gone on in Brooklyn and in Manhattan. He is a major force in New York City for the good.”
NoLandGrab: The "beautifully decorated charity box" presented to Mr. Ratner by Mr. Silver pales beside other gifts bestowed upon the developer by the Assembly Speaker, which include PACB approval in 2006 of the Atlantic Yards project and a special clause in 421-a legislation. But just in case you were thinking this was a one-way street, Ratner greased the Silver-controlled Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee with $58,000 just this past January.
Posted by eric at 2:19 PM
August 14, 2008
Developer Bruce Ratner Is Honored at Gala
The New York Sun
by Abraham Riesman
Bruce Ratner, how do NYC pols love thee? Let us list the names.
Developer Bruce Ratner may be facing challenges to his Atlantic Yards project, but he received nothing but support from top New York politicians at a gala in his honor yesterday.
Rep. Anthony Weiner and the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn — both likely 2009 mayoral candidates — as well as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the President of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, all lauded Mr. Ratner at a luncheon held by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
"Bruce Ratner is someone who reminds us all the time that, even in difficult financial times, we need to be a city that continues to grow," Mr. Weiner told an audience of more than 450 on the Upper West Side.
Mr. Ratner's proposed $4 billion redevelopment of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards is currently facing delays and reported financial problems.
..."How this man looks every day in a positive way at all the hate that's been directed to him, I will never know," Mr. Markowitz said of Mr. Ratner yesterday.
NoLandGrab: Well, if ever there were any doubt, we now know where Anthony Weiner, Chris Quinn and Shelly Silver stand vis-a-vis Bruce Ratner and Atlantic Yards. As for Mr. Markowitz and his "Saint Bruce" routine, he just doesn't get how people might think this project and the rigged process behind it could maybe rub people the wrong way. It ain't personal, Marty — it's a BAD IDEA.
Posted by eric at 9:30 AM
August 9, 2008
Celebrating Brooklyn Day with scowls
Atlantic Yards Report
If Forest City Ratner really had been celebrating Brooklyn Day, well, couldn't they have found a happier picture of some of the participants?It's further evidence that Brooklyn Day, as Daily News sports columnist Michael O'Keeffe observed, was, in fact, a dud.
Posted by amy at 8:56 AM
August 6, 2008
De Blasio Runs as a One-Man Coalition
But will it fly? Mr. Post-racial, meet Charles Barron
The NY Observer
by Katharine Jose
In a profile of City Councilman Bill de Blasio, the candidate for Brooklyn Borough President's only declared opponent, fellow Councilman Charles Barron, cites Atlantic Yards as an issue delineating their respective candidacies.
“Bill, I think, has went along to get along more than I was hoping he would do, because I considered him, when I first came in [to the Council], as a progressive like me,” he said. “But I’ve been very disappointed in a lot of decisions he’s made.”
As examples, Mr. Barron cited Mr. de Blasio’s initial support of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project and his vote against renaming part of a Brooklyn street for black nationalist Sonny Carson, which Mr. Barron says was about the community’s right to self-determination.
Mr. de Blasio said, in essence, that he has no idea what Mr. Barron is talking about. “I think I’m unusually consistent,” he said, after saying that he didn’t really want to comment. (“I’m really, really focused on trying to not make this a campaign of people making allegations and then responding to other people’s allegations,” he said.)
Posted by eric at 8:21 AM
Governor Paterson questioned on Atlantic Yards
In a WCBS interview with NY State Governor Paterson (audio) , the interviewer posted a question from a listener concerning Atlantic Yards. Paterson hedged well enough to assure critics and supporters that he cares:
Q: With the state in such dire fiscal straits why are you supporting this costly project (which according to this writer may end up costing the state and new york city about 2 billion in subsidies and tax breaks)?
A: "There is a point that the listener correctly has addressed. That if it starts to become too costly, a lot of these projects that we were for, we might have to change our mind. To this point we don't think that we are there with the Atlantic Yards and continue to try to help them."
Atlantic Yards Report, In radio interview, Paterson hedges on AY, whiffs on naming rights
Watchdog Norman Oder noticed Paterson's hedge as well:
Does "continue to try to help" mean simply moving ahead or does it mean additional subsidies, which Forest City Ratner seeks?
Paterson also muddied the waters on the naming-rights issue:
During the interview, Paterson said he was opposed to selling state assets but not averse to leasing them. Asked about naming rights, as in “the Company Y state office building," Paterson responded, "Well, we’ve got [the new Mets stadium] CitiField"--he chuckled—“and that might be a way to do it, but I wouldn’t want to change the names of any of the facilities that we have honored great New Yorkers in the past…”
Still, the governor said, he was open to more options than previously.
The fact is, “we” don’t have CitiField, nor the Barclays Center, the corporate name of the planned Atlantic Yards arena. The naming rights go to the team owners.
Posted by lumi at 5:27 AM
August 3, 2008
This week in history...
Although Marty Markowitz is big on unions now, this was not always the case. Before becoming the illustrious Brooklyn Borough President, Markowitz was the State Senator that the Times described as "the only politician in the city who deliberately seeks to entertain." His favorite form of flamboyance, then as now, was free concerts. And what better way to keep costs down for the corporate sponsors?
To keep costs down, Mr. Markowitz persuaded the state to dispatch prison inmates to set up the stage for each concert.
Perhaps this practice would have gone unnoticed, until tragedy struck in 1990:
At Wingate Field six years ago, the rhythm-and-blues singer and composer Curtis Mayfield, best known for the hit title track from the movie "Superfly," severely injured his spine when a windstorm blew over a lighting tower and part of the stage collapsed.
But the important thing is that no egos were injured in the incident:
Mr. Markowitz said attendance did not suffer at concerts after the incident, but added that he lost a corporate sponsor and that Mr. Mayfield, who is paralyzed from the neck down, sued his insurance company.
On August 11, 1996, the vice president of Local 4 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees voiced his displeasure to the Times:
As a stagehand who lives and works in Brooklyn, I was outraged about your piece on Senator Markowitz. The stage and light tower collapse that permanently disabled Curtis Mayfield has never failed to upset me and many of my co-workers.Mr. Markowitz's hiring practices should be examined closely. Brooklyn has some of the finest stage technicians in the country represented by Local 4 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Marty Markowitz has refused to hire Local 4 workers.
Instead, he chooses to take risks with the safety of the performers and audience by employing amateurs -- prison inmates -- to perform highly skilled jobs.
Rigging and setting up an outdoor show with electric lights and sound on tall steel towers requires skill and experience. The competent women and men of Local 4 have the experience and they are right in Marty's backyard along with all of his other constituents.
THOMAS PAULUCCI
Brooklyn Heights
Posted by amy at 10:23 AM
July 29, 2008
Accountable Development Working Group Meets this Wednesday
From Best View in Brooklyn:
The Accountable Development Working Group meets monthly to discuss and plot action around various development issues affecting Central and South Brooklyn.
This Wednesday's agenda includes presentations from Assembly Member Jeffries’ and Assembly Member Brennan’s offices on legislation to reform the Atlantic Yards project.
The meeting begins at 6 PM on Wednesday, July 30th. Join the Working Group at 621 DeGraw Street (near 4th Ave. ) It is sponsored by the 5th Avenue Committee. Call or email Dave Powell at 718 237-2017 ext 148 or dpowell@fifthave.org for more information.
Posted by lumi at 4:35 AM
July 25, 2008
Of course, Marty isn’t running — why should he?
The Brooklyn Paper, Letter to the Editor
To the editor,
Your front page story last week about Borough President Markowitz’s supposed flirtation with a run for higher office (“Beep’s run done? Expert: Marty ain’t raising money,” July 19) gives too much credit to Markowitz. Seriously, does anyone think that Brooklyn’s buffoon is actually running for mayor?
Perhaps Marty is the only one who thinks he’s fit for a promotion, but the rest of us think he’s a joke. From his steadfast pigheadedness on Atlantic Yards — that state-sponsored boondoggle whose failure makes Markowitz look dumber and dumber — to his seeming belief that the loudest person in the room must be the smartest, Markowitz reminds me day in and day out that New York can do better.
I do confess that if it weren’t for term limits, I would again vote for him for Beep. The job has no authority, so it’s perfect for this toothless tiger.
Jerry Siemens, Greenpoint
Posted by lumi at 4:39 AM
July 23, 2008
Real Estate Sits Out '08 Race—For Now
NY Observer
by Dana Rubinstein
[P]erhaps what’s most striking about the real estate industry’s behavior in 2008 is its utter lack of political activity. In marked contrast to 2007, when New Yorkers had two hometown heroes running for the nation’s highest office, donations have dried up.
There are a few exceptions—the organic-farming landlord Douglas Durst recently donated $1,000 to Obama; dynasties the LeFraks and the Trumps have this year shown consistent support for McCain (both families declined to comment). But they’re outweighed by the silent majority of 2008, which has sat on the sidelines, its closed wallet planted firmly underneath its ambivalent behind, donating nary a penny to either the Obama or the McCain camp.
That majority includes SL Green’s chairman, Stephen Green; the Olnick family; Related’s chairman and CEO, Stephen Ross, and president, Jeff Blau; Jack and William Rudin; Tishman Speyer’s Jerry and Rob Speyer and Robert Tishman; Brookfield Properties’ president and CEO, Ric Clark; Boston Properties’ CEO and director, Edward Linde; Extell Development’s president, Gary Barnett; Harry and Billy Macklowe; Larry Silverstein; Bruce Ratner; Sheldon Solow; and, aside from one bizarre $2,300 donation to Mike Huckabee in January, Arthur and William Zeckendorf.
That may soon change. The Obama campaign is making a serious effort to reach out to the industry.
NoLandGrab: Atlantic Yards watchers know that when searching for campaign donations from Bruce Ratner, the key is to check for contributions from Bruce's brother Michael, sister-in-law Karen Ranucci, and other relatives.
As for Barack Obama's reaching out to the real estate industry, that doesn't exactly add up to "change we can believe in." The industry might be slow to open its collective wallet, however, since the Democratic Presidential candidate is on record as opposing the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo vs. New London.
Posted by eric at 4:15 PM
Weiner Likes (Some) Mega-Development in Slow Economy
The Real Estate [NY Observer]
by Eliot Brown and Azi Paybarah
Representative Anthony Weiner, a mayoral hopeful, gave his support for a string of large development projects in the city today, saying they're important in a time of economic uncertainty.
"New York needs to continue to grow–I'm a pro-development guy," he said, speaking at a Crain's breakfast. "If you look at downtown, you look at West Side, you look at Penn Station, you look at Ratner, you look at these things–I think that you're going to see that I'm going to be advocating. I want them to be successful, particularly in this time of slow economic growth."
Then, hitting on his favorite theme, Mr. Weiner said the middle-class does not always see a clear, tangible benefit from the projects, adding, "It does create challenges that we have to solve."
NoLandGrab: In these tough economic times, there's nothing more important than shoveling scarce tax dollars at a basketball arena. Is it any wonder that middle-class New Yorkers — and upper- and working-class NYers, too — are having trouble seeing "a clear, tangible benefit" in that?
Posted by eric at 11:08 AM
July 16, 2008
Marty Markowitz Must Go
Lucid Culture
Brooklyn Borough President and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief Marty Markowitz gave folks their money's worth at a free outdoor concert:
Last night at Wingate Field, Markowitz had the nerve to shill for the [Atlantic Yards] project in front of an all-black crowd (ok, there were two white people there) who will be the first to suffer when plastic-and-sheetrock luxury highrises start to pop up in Crown Heights. If he wasn’t so old, one would have thought that he’d just mainlined an ounce of coke. The guy would. Not. Shut. Up. On and on he rambled, kissing the ass of every local politician he could think of, shilling shamelessly for the corporations who sponsor his pet project, summertime outdoor concerts.
Posted by lumi at 5:11 AM
July 11, 2008
Dave Chappelle Fundraiser Turns Out Even Worse Than You Could Imagine
Gawker
Yesterday, The Brooklyn Paper published an account of the Dave Chapelle no-show at a fundraiser for anti-Atlantic Yards US Congressional candidate Kevin Powell. The night was capped off by when an Atlantic Yards-friendly reporter from a rival paper took a turn at the mic.
Later in the day, the Felliniesque episode landed on Gawker, complete with a YouTube clip.
Bad news for Real World cast member-turned Congressional candidate (D-Pop Culture) Kevin Powell: Dave Chappelle totally spaced out on Powell's fundraiser in Brooklyn last night, costing him the crucial Chappelle-fan vote! The comedian was supposed to headline the fundraising show, but never appeared, possibly because he is crazy. Then Chris Rock refused to go on too, in solidarity! And it only got worse for Powell: a drunk journalist, for chrissake, tried to grab the mic and steal the show [UPDATE: And there's a video!]:
NoLandGrab: To be fair, no eyewitnesses stated that Witt was "drunk," though we can attest that he is a "journalist."
Posted by lumi at 3:40 AM
July 10, 2008
The Chappelle (No) Show; Comic skips Powell fundraiser
The Brooklyn Paper
The local reporter better known for his affection for Bruce Ratner and the controversial Atlantic Yards project than his comedy routine took the mic at a Kevin Powell fundraiser:
Stephen Witt, a reporter from the New York Post-owned Courier-Life chain, seized the microphone to try his hand at stand-up comedy during the delay.
“What do you know about Brooklyn 99-cent stores?” asked Witt, who last made headlines for hugging Atlantic Yards Bruce Ratner at a 2006 rally. “Have you ever been so broke that you had to put something on lay-away at a 99-cent store?”
Witt’s quip was met with boos.
“I could have been funnier, but I wasn’t too bad,” said Witt, who left the stage after a single joke.
Posted by lumi at 4:14 AM
July 9, 2008
When Worlds Collide, Kevin Powell stays Real
Brooklyn Born
Original Brooklynite and blogger Um from Brooklyn encounters Congressional candidate and Atlantic Yards critic Kevin Powell at the Afro-Punk skate park over the recent holiday weekend.
Kevin Powell did share (in addition to his skater cred) his opposition to the current Atlantic Yards project. Making my vote for him more likely although it would be great if anyone had been asked to vote on Atlantic Yards at all.
NoLandGrab: "UBB" has some wise words for all of us to live by in the "About Me" section of his blog.
Posted by eric at 9:01 AM
July 8, 2008
Our "by-the-numbers" mayor and his not-so-free-market approach to Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards Report
So yesterday, in an article headlined Titans Seek New York Mayor in Bloomberg’s Mold, the New York Times reported that leading business executives, including Jerry Speyer (#1 on the Observer’s list of most powerful people in real estate), hope for a mayor who has the luxury of “financial independence, his lack of party affiliation and his corporate, by-the-numbers approach to management,” and, in the words of one interviewee, “not beholden to special interests.”
Amid a general shower of praise for Bloomberg, the Times allowed that his “administration is considered an ally to many corporations, especially developers.”
What the newspaper didn’t do is examine how a by-the-numbers approach to management might be contradicted by a look at Bloomberg’s treatment of developments like Atlantic Yards, where he’s broken promises, failed to scrutinze the development closely, and falsely claimed the free market was at work, even as sports teams benefit enormously from monopoly rules that enforce franchise scarcity and provoke cities and states to bid against each other by offering subsidies, an issue to be discussed in detail below.
Meanwhile, his administration is busy lobbying in Washington to ensure that a “loophole” (in the words of the chief counsel of the Internal Revenue Service) remains to allow tax-exempt financing for the Yankees and Mets stadiums, both under construction, and the Atlantic Yards arena.
In other words, the Bloomberg who imposed the once-politically unpopular smoking ban and pushed for congestion pricing loses track of his principles when it’s time to construct monumental sports structures where, not coincidentally, there are ribbons to cut.
Posted by lumi at 4:07 AM
July 1, 2008
City Portraits: Upstart Could Bring Hip-Hop To The Hill
City Limits
By Curtis Stephen
Kevin Powell is the lone challenger running this September against Representative Edolphus Towns in Brooklyn's 10th Congressional District. This lengthy profile of Powell mentions his opposition to the proposed Atlantic Yards development.
Yet as his candidacy receives the support of both the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats – a political club headed by Chris Owens, son of former U.S. Rep. Major Owens of Brooklyn – and the advocacy group Democracy for New York City, Powell is fully aware of the symbolism. If elected, he would become the first and the most identifiable member of the hip-hop generation ever to serve in the U.S. Congress. On national issues, both Powell and Towns oppose the war in Iraq and support a single-payer healthcare system. But while campaigning on Memorial Day, Powell told practically every resident he encountered about the catalyst for his candidacy: The incumbent’s "absent and ineffective advocacy" on a host of local needs. "What we need in Congress from this district, as we enter a new presidential administration and a new decade, is active leadership that deals with the concerns of regular working-class people," he says.
Chief among those concerns, Powell maintains, is Forest City Ratner’s $4 billion Atlantic Yards redevelopment project that has won Towns’ backing. "We still don’t know what is going to happen there," says Powell, who is skeptical about how many of the plan’s 6,430 rental apartment units will be retained for low- to moderate-income households in the future. "Building $300,000 condos on Flatbush and Myrtle doesn’t factor in people in the $20,000 to $30,000 annual salary bracket who are being priced out," he adds. He argues that future development projects in the borough should be more inclusive, citing the housing initiatives provided by the Park Slope-based Fifth Avenue Committee to lower-income folks in south Brooklyn.
Posted by steve at 7:46 AM
June 26, 2008
For Ground Zero, Paterson promises timeline candor; for AY, it's the party line
Atlantic Yards Report
Regarding Ground Zero reconstruction, Gov. David Paterson has expressed skepticism about the professed timetable, and asked for clarifications. Despite reasons to doubt the professed timetable for Atlantic Yards, he has not merely failed to express skepticism, his administration has endorsed the chimerical timetable asserted by developer Forest City Ratner.
...
[I]n a 5/8/08 letter to the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Treasury Department, the New York City Industrial Development Authority and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) cite the chimerical timetable in arguing that the PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) plan for arena financing should stand, even though the feds want to change the rules for tax-exempt bonds.Part of the argument is that Atlantic Yards has already proceeded significantly. But a realistic timetable would acknowledge the project is much farther away from its completion date.
...
[T]he IRS and the Treasury Department should take the ESDC's claims with a big grain of salt. And Governor Paterson should explain why he approaches Ground Zero with much more skepticism than he analyzes Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 4:44 AM
Bloomberg's desire to control board members is part of why public authorities reform bill died
Atlantic Yards Report
In a letter to NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky rattles off a litany of reasons NY State Public Authorities need to be reformed, including, "massive subsidies provided for sports facilities," and then pins the blame on Bloomberg for scuttling the bill at the last minute:
Our work has been assisted by the private sector, most notably by the Millstein Commission, and we have produced a sweeping reform bill that will fundamentally change these authorities, and return them to the control of democratic institutions. Last year the Governor and Assembly agreed on legislation which we passed, while the Senate passed a very similar bill. All this was known to the City. Now, at the last minute the City has produced a list of demands which would destroy the progress we’ve made on reaching a consensus, make the system worse than it is today, and leave the problems we’ve identified completely unchanged.
Posted by lumi at 4:34 AM
City Council Members propose bill that would require EIS-like reports for subsidized projects
Atlantic Yards Report
A group of City Council members and advocacy groups yesterday announced the introduction of legislation designed to ensure that projects eased by tax breaks and bond financing are accompanied by economic impact reports. Whether such reports, which would resemble mini environmental impact statements (EIS’s), could make a major difference is an inevitable question, but proponents said it’s a start.
NoLandGrab: By "mini environmental impact statements (EIS's)" we think that Norman Oder is including all of the problems with EIS's, like the fact that these documents only require disclosure, not candor.
Posted by lumi at 4:29 AM
June 21, 2008
Letitia James Gets Remixed
The Footprint Gazette has posted NoLandGrab's new favorite song.
Council Member Letitia James has been championing the cause of Prospect Heights residents that would be affected by AY from the outset. I appreciate the fighting she has done on our behalf and was moved by her fiery speech at the Time Out! rally a few weeks back. I hope she doesn't mind that I've taken some creative liberties with it in the remix posted below.
Posted by amy at 11:02 AM
June 19, 2008
Marty says Brooklyn attractive because of more "friendly" residential density
Atlantic Yards Report
In a surreal parallel universe, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz starts making sense and speaks out against "out-of-context" development, describing Brooklyn as "friendly, in terms of density."
[Idea for a slogan: "Brooklyn, we're density-friendly!"]
Interviewed recently for CUNY-TV’s real estate talk show The Stoler Report, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz sounded just a little bit like some Atlantic Yards opponents, as he explained Brooklyn’s attraction as a residential district because it is “more... friendly, in terms of density.”
He of course wasn’t saying that in the context of Atlantic Yards and, indeed, at another juncture (about 27:00 of the show) noted, “In many of our neighborhoods... I bitterly oppose the construction of out-of-context [buildings], but there are areas where it’s appropriate to grow.” There was otherwise little mention of AY, though Markowitz at about 4:00 of the show predicted the arrival of “the Nets arena, Barclays Center, in a few years.”
The show, titled What’s Happening in Downtown Brooklyn (video), was taped March 18 and broadcast for the first time on June 10.
Norman Oder recaps the conversation on his blog.
Posted by lumi at 4:58 AM
June 17, 2008
PRESS RELEASE: Community Leader Ken Diamondstone Announces He Will Run for City Council in Brooklyn's 33rd District
Progressive advocate and affordable housing creator Ken Diamondstone announced today that he will run for the open City Council seat in Brooklyn's 33rd Council District as a Democrat.
"I'm launching this campaign for City Council because the hard-working people and families of Brooklyn can't wait any longer for good government," said Diamondstone. "Now is the time to take back Brooklyn. I'm going to fight for the bold progressive reform we need to protect our neighborhoods and help them flourish."
Diamondstone earned his reputation as a passionate and effective neighborhood leader by consistently taking courageous stands over the course of his 38 years living in the 33rd district. He was one of the earliest and fiercest critics of the process and scale of Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project, and outspoken in his opposition to housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Diamondstone has also served at the forefront of many of Brooklyn's most important citizen empowerment organizations, including Community Board 2, Brooklyn for Peace, the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty, and the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board, which he chairs.
[Rest of the release after the jump.]
More coverage:
The Daily Politics [NY Daily News blog], Diamondstone For Council (Again)
Brooklyn Heights Blog, Diamondstone Officially Announces City Council Bid
As a candidate for City Council, Diamondstone now aims to make history by becoming Brooklyn's first openly gay representative to any legislative body in New York State. "To solve the big problems we have before us – inequality, soaring costs of living, an environment in crisis, and painful shortages in affordable housing, transportation, and education – we need a new kind of leader. We need a transformative leader, a leader who is not afraid of putting an end to politics as usual, and a leader who will take the power out of the hands of the few and return it to all our citizens. I will be that leader."
Diamondstone, whose strong campaign for State Senate in 2006 won him The New York Times' endorsement, is drawing upon his solid base and deep grassroots support through the community to get a quick start in the Council race. He already has his first fundraiser set for next weekend in Boerum Hill with former Congressman Major Owens, who has pledged his support for Diamondstone's candidacy, serving as honorary host of the event.
The 33rd councilmanic district of Brooklyn is comprised of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights, Vinegar Hill, DUMBO, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, and parts of Park Slope.
Posted by eric at 10:05 PM
June 16, 2008
Brooklyn Pols Push for Atlantic Yards Oversight
WNYC Radio
by Matthew Schuerman
State legislators from Brooklyn are pushing for a new community advisory board to help oversee the troubled Atlantic Yards project.
The state economic development agency had promised to involve local politicians a year ago. But Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries says those efforts have failed.
JEFFRIES: This developer has promised thousands of units of affordable housing. We want to make sure that that affordable housing gets built.
...REPORTER: The governor's office says it won't comment until the bill passes both houses of the legislature.
Posted by eric at 4:04 PM
The "Atlantic Yards Governance Act"
New York State Assembly
Herewith is the full text of Assembly Bill A11395, the "Atlantic Yards Governance Act," sponsored by Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-57) and co-sponsored by Assemblyman Jim Brennan (D-44) and Assemblywoman Joan Millman (D-52).
The bill proposes the creation of a trust to oversee the Atlantic Yards project, much in the same way that Battery Park City is managed.
The planning and development of the Atlantic Yards project is a matter of state concern and in the interest of the people of the state. It may include both market rate and below market housing, new open space, commercial and retail development and a sports arena for New Yorkers, as well as alleviate unsatisfactory conditions of the current site.
It is in the public interest for the state and city of New York to act together to oversee the development of the Atlantic Yards project and to ensure the public is fully engaged and involved in the design, development, and operation of the project, and in the development and implementation of policies to mitigate the project's anticipated environmental impacts.
The planning, environmental review, interim improvement, and development process for the project that has been conducted to date has furthered the foregoing purposes. It is intended that the Atlantic Yards development trust, to the extent provided and subject to the limitations set forth in this act, replace the New York state urban development corporation with respect to its authority over the project, for among other things, the completion of the development process and the construction, operation and maintenance of the project, all in accordance with this act.
NoLandGrab: Trying to legislate a role — any role — for the public in the process surrounding Atlantic Yards is commendable, but can they really be talking about Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards when they claim "the planning, environmental review, interim improvement, and development process for the project that has been conducted to date has furthered" the public's being "fully engaged and involved in the design, development, and operation of the project, and in the development and implementation of policies to mitigate the project's anticipated environmental impacts?"
Posted by eric at 3:13 PM
Brooklyn Politicos Call for Trust to Oversee Atlantic Yards
Governor would exercise majority control
The Real Estate
by Bharat Ayyar
A handful of local politicians this morning crowded onto the steps of City Hall to announce an initiative to foster community involvement in the Atlantic Yards project.
The Atlantic Yards Governance Act, co-sponsored by Assemblymen Hakim (sic) Jeffries and James Brennan of Brooklyn, would create a 15-member development trust to balance what they say is a one-sided effort monopolized by developer Forest City Ratner. The trust would, theoretically, have full power to modify the Yards’ development plan. But, at the same time, a majority eight members of the board would still be appointed by the governor.
"Atlantic Yards is a public project¹ built on public land² using public money overseen by a public entity for a public purpose³," Mr. Jeffries said. "It therefore deserves maximum public participation during the life of this project."
NoLandGrab: We applaud the effort to gain some local control over Atlantic Yards, but establishing a Trust controlled by the Governor to oversee a project 100% defined by the developer is just a bit like shutting the barn door after all the horses have run away, don't ya think?
Corrections: ¹ it's a private project; ² to be built primarily on private land acquired under the threat of — or directly via — eminent domain; ³ for a primarily private purpose. No argument with the need for maximum public participation, however.
Posted by eric at 1:25 PM
Droll Bloomberg on Atlantic Yards Protest: 'Democracy in Action'
The Real Estate
by Tom Acitelli
Mayor Bloomberg on his way out of City Hall this morning, after seeing the set-up for this morning's protest against Atlantic Yards (we'll have more on it this afternoon): 'Democracy in action.'
NoLandGrab: Well, we'd call the City and State lobbying the treasury department to allow the use of tax-exempt bonds for Atlantic Yards "democracy in action," too — except it's not.
Posted by eric at 8:51 AM
June 13, 2008
"I want to revisit Atlantic Yards"
The Brian Lehrer Show
In an interview with City Councilmember Letitia James, Brian Lehrer brought up term limits. James offered Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project as an example of one issue that she would like to put to rest during her term, though the fight could drag on:
LJ: I want to revisit Atlantic Yards. It doesn't look like the controversy will end in my term -- it will continue. The next person who takes this seat over, I want them to be just as vigilant on the changes with respect to Atlantic Yards, and the inequities with respect to Atlantic Yards and all of the other issues Atlantic Yards raises.
BL: If the people of your district oppose the Atlantic Yards project and you are term-limited out, they could elect another anti-Atlantic Yards Councilperson.
LJ: I would hope so. I would like to see — since it began when I was first elected — I would like to see it end when I end my term in office.
[start around 11m 30sec]
Posted by lumi at 3:54 AM
June 9, 2008
Markowitz purges more of Brooklyn Community Board 6
Atlantic Yards Report
Brooklyn Borough President and Atlantic Yards Cheerleader in Chief Marty Markowitz still has the urge to purge members of Community Board 6, ostensibly because of members took a strongly worded position against Bruce Ratner's controversial megadevelopment.
Just as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was gamely recognizing former Brooklyn Community Board 6 chairman Jerry Armer, who was being honored by the Park Slope Civic Council, the BP was continuing his purge of CB 6 for its stance against Atlantic Yards.
The Courier-Life, in an article headlined "CB 6 is shaken to its core," reports that Celia Cacace, a board member since 1982, says Markowitz told her in 2006 that he wouldn't reappoint her when her term came up and treated her coldly ever since. She learned of the decision through a form letter. Like Armer, she said she would still attend CB meetings.
Posted by lumi at 4:53 AM
June 7, 2008
Tony Avella, the Anti-Overdevelopment Candidate
Brownstoner
City Councilman Tony Avella has been making himself known around Brooklyn lately, showing up at a community meeting about Gowanus and supporting other politicians who've called for a moratorium on Atlantic Yards demolitions. The common thread is also Avella's main talking point in his (longshot) bid to become our next mayor: Namely, that the Bloomberg administration has sold out to real estate interests, disrupting the fabric of neighborhoods and turning a deaf ear to community concerns. Voice blog Runnin' Scared has an interview with the man who wants to replace Mike. Here are some choice quotes:"You have so many communities throughout the entire City that need to be protected from overdevelopment. You have the Department of Buildings, which is in a shambles. And it has been such a huge effort to get even the smallest rezoning, even the smallest change done within the City Council. It’s bizarre."
"Listen, a lot of my fellow councilmen seem to be more interested, along with the Speaker, in getting money from the real estate industry than stepping up and doing the right thing. I don’t need to tell you, there’s very little independence in the City Council. It’s amazing to me how nobody speaks up."
Posted by amy at 9:19 PM
From Brooklyn to DC: Kevin Powell with Theodore Hamm
The Brooklyn Rail
I first met Kevin Powell during his first campaign for Congress two years ago, when he briefly ran against Ed Towns in Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional District, which extends from Brooklyn Heights through Fort Greene and Bed Stuy to East New York. An author, community activist, and former original cast member of MTV’s The Real World, Powell is now running a full-fledged campaign for Towns’ seat. The following conversation took place in late May, at Powell’s home across from the Fort Greene Projects.
...
Hamm: Can you explain your position regarding Atlantic Yards, and why you’ve criticized Towns for supporting it?Powell: I’m opposed to Atlantic Yards. As for Towns, he gets money from a lot of different places—tobacco, pharmaceuticals—and we believe he is getting money from the Atlantic Yards folks, from Ratner. Over the last few years I’ve had a chance to really study this issue. If you remember two years ago, I said that I had to get back to you about my position. Now I can say unequivocally that I do not support the use of eminent domain in a private project. I made it a point to educate myself thoroughly about that issue. I don’t support Atlantic Yards in its present form. I can’t support a project that is dividing a community racially and along class lines. Working class folks in this community have been taking money from Ratner—they have been getting money for t-shirts and bus rides to casinos and Nets games and stuff like that. They are being exploited. I come from poverty, so I understand. When I was growing up and someone said, “Hey, you get free Nets tickets,” then you’re gonna support someone that is giving you the free Nets tickets. But we’re not seeing the larger effects of the project, one of which is that we’re about to lose eleven acres of land where the Fort Greene Projects are located. If you walk around, you’ll see a lot of vacancies there. As the residents will tell you, one of the things that’s been going on is that if you have a son that lives in the projects, and he happens to get arrested outside for standing on the corner, you lose your lease automatically. Meanwhile, while that’s happening, money is being thrown at folks who are in tenants groups—“we’ll give you money for this, we’ll give you money for that,” and so you’re actually supporting Atlantic Yards while you’re being gentrified out of your own home. We’re not seeing the connection between the two. Luckily an organization like FUREE sees that connection and they are fighting back.
Posted by amy at 9:12 PM
Ratner Manufactures Rally In Support Of His AY Failure
Joshing Politics
A local political blogger believes that Ratner's rally reveals he's on the defense:
The Atlantic Yards Project envisioned by developer Bruce Ratner has fallen on hard times. With the lackluster support and energetic opposition, he has had to scale back his plans and hasn't done much except petition for more of Brooklyn's tax dollars to pay for the start-up costs. That is why he held a "Brooklyn Day" to conjure up community support of his massive plan to redevelop downtown Brooklyn.
...
On one hand, it is sad to see that quite a few local politicians are on board this sinking ship and that they have to try and engineer community support for something that clearly has next to nothing of the kind. On the other though, I'm glad to see these crooks going down in flames and on the defensive.
Posted by lumi at 5:27 PM
June 6, 2008
NIMBY? We're Just Saying...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn outs City Councilmember Dominic Recchia and NY State Senator Carl Kruger for their hypocritical stance on megadevelopment and eminent domain.
November, 2007: State Senator Carl Kruger and Councilman Domenic Recchia express adamant opposition to City's redevelopment plan for Coney Island—their backyard. Recchia represents Coney Island and Kruger nearby neighborhoods including Brighton Beach. Kruger went so far as to call the plan a "backdoor approach to eminent domain."
Yesterday... both Kruger and Recchia journeyed from their backyards to speak at Bruce Ratner's Rally in Support of Bruce Ratner (aka Rally for the "Done Deal" Come Undone), aiding in the developer's choreographed attempt to extract more subsidy from Albany and/or City Hall.
Posted by lumi at 3:52 AM
May 30, 2008
Second to no one
The Brooklyn Paper
by Gersh Kuntzman
A group of ornery Brooklyn Democrats has effectively said it would rather have no one representing it in Congress than Rep. Yvette Clarke.
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats — a progressive liberal clubhouse — denied Clarke (D–Park Slope) its support on May 22, handing “No endorsement” a stunning, 52–48 victory.
The club is now led by Chris Owens, who ran against Clarke for the open seat in 2006 — but the CBID president (and son of the congressman whom Clarke replaced) denied that he rigged the clubhouse vote to embarrass his former rival.
“This is a cantankerous, progressive club and I made no behind-the-scenes phone calls against Yvette,” said Owens. “I did nothing to color the process in any way. The fact is that if you want our endorsement, you’re expected to vote a certain way. People have not been satisfied enough with Yvette’s performance.”
Owens specifically cited Clarke’s continued support for the Atlantic Yards project....
NoLandGrab: We were on hand for that vote at CBID. The results had nothing to do with Clarke's defeat of Owens in 2006, and everything to do with her positions on numerous issues, including Atlantic Yards, which the club vehemently opposes.
Posted by eric at 1:59 PM
May 28, 2008
Owens: CBID's Clarke Non-Endorsement Nothing Personal
NY Daily News, "The Daily Politics"
Could simmering resentment of Yvette Clarke's pro-Atlantic Yards position be one of the reasons the Central Brooklyn Idependent Democrats didn't endorse the US Rep for re-election?
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats' President Chris Owens rejected the suggestion that his club's recent decision not to endorse Rep. Yvette Clarke for re-election this fall had something to do with lingering animosity from his own failed bid for her seat in 2006.
"I'm not running, and it's an insult to some very independent-minded and cantakerous progressives to assume that I corraled their votes," Owens said.
Clarke's support of (Hillary Clinton) was a significant issue for some - particularly given Clinton's recent comments BEFORE the RFK gaffe," Owens continued.
"A possible shift of support for HR676 (gov't-sponsored universal health care) was another issue, and her surrogate, John Flateau, reiterated Clarke's support for Atlantic Yards. CBID is very anti-Atlantic Yards."
Posted by lumi at 4:08 AM
May 23, 2008
Jeffries says Assembly should hold AY hearing; FCR instead offers breakfast update
Atlantic Yards Report
Hakeem Jeffries continues to talk tougher regarding Atlantic Yards.
While the State Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions is holding a hearing today on the progress of development projects on Manhattan's West Side, there's a strong argument for a hearing to assess the status of the Atlantic Yards project as well.
Whether that hearing, including representatives of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and developer Forest City Ratner, will get scheduled is another question. Assembly leadership--apparently Speaker Sheldon Silver--has so far balked, according to Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries.
Joint committee hearing
Jeffries, who represents Prospect Heights and the AY footprint, is a member of the Corporations committee. He said last night that he and two neighboring legislators--Assemblywoman Joan Millman, who chairs the Oversight, Analysis and Investigation committee, and Assemblyman Jim Brennan, who chairs the Cities committee--want to hold a joint hearing of their committees regarding Atlantic Yards, given the uncertainty regarding the project.
"I'd like to get all of them, ESDC and the developer, on the record, under oath," Jeffries said at a meeting of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council at P.S. 9 on Underhill Avenue. (Among the questions worth asking: how exactly were the generous timetables for the project determined?)
"There's been some resistance," Jeffries said. "The developer has offered to meet with legislators at a legislative breakfast. I think there's been enough back-room conversation."
He said hoped a hearing could sort out plans regarding eminent domain, the financing of the arena, the commitment to build affordable housing, and any negotiations to sell the Nets to an ownership group that would have them play in Newark's Prudential Center instead.
NoLandGrab: Jim Brennan also told a meeting of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats last night that he intends to introduce legislation in the Assembly that would require Atlantic Yards to go through a fast-tracked City ULURP process.
Posted by eric at 9:34 AM
Marine Park Students Get Special Reading Motivation
Canarsie Courier
City Councilman Lew Fidler joined former New Jersey Nets star Albert King last week to show local youth the importance of reading in an event coordinated by Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC). Fidler and King read to dozens of students at P.S. 207...
Posted by lumi at 5:09 AM
May 17, 2008
Markowitz and Chief Of Staff Scissura — B’klyn Dynamic Duo
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Harold Egeln
Marty Markowitz seems to have some new competition for biggest cheerleader:
It might be said that not since the Brooklyn Dodgers has the borough had a team as dynamic as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and his new Chief of Staff Carlo Scissura. “This is the best office and place I’ve ever worked at. Marty gave me an opportunity to showcase my talents and it’s my opportunity to give back to the people of Brooklyn,” said Scissura, on the job since early April. “The borough president is much more than a cheerleader. He is a great manager and effective leader for Brooklyn.”
It looks like someone's in love, and it's not Marty on his first date:
Such projects as Atlantic Yards complex, the Loew’s Kings Theater restoration and the Asser Levy Park amphitheater are moving ahead despite the economic slowdown, Scissura and Markowitz said. “The Loew’s movie palace is a gorgeous building. In fact, it’s where Marty had his first date,” Scissura said. “When finished, it will be a huge cultural center on Flatbush Avenue, with over 3,000 seats for events for the community and schools.”On Atlantic Yards, Scissura said that the borough president’s office “is committed to it.” “It will give us not only the Nets, but a huge space for school basketball teams which we now lack. The biggest thing we have with the complex is to ensure that there is enough affordable housing in the project.”
article
NoLandGrab: Trying to keep that affordable housing in the plan is going to seriously limit the time available for fawning...
Posted by amy at 9:16 AM
May 8, 2008
Comptroller Thompson on Atlantic Yards: "I'm not sure what that project is any longer."
DDDB.net [Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn]
It is really worth repeating, since none of the mainstream media organizations picked up this little tidbit reported by Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report, regarding some guy who is making a run for Mayor.
Here is an astounding quote by City Comptroller (and mayoral candidate) William Thompson made at a panel discussion at the New School’s Center for New York City Affairs titled "Maintaining Momentum: Can New York’s Ambitious Development Agenda Survive an Economic Downturn." Norman Oder, on his Atlantic Yards Report was the only one to report it:
...Moderator Greg David, editor of Crain’s New York Business, and City Comptroller (and mayoral candidate) William Thompson urged that the project proceed, while Julia Vitullo-Martin of the Manhattan Institute (who called the project "corporate socialism") and Brad Lander of the Pratt Center for Community Development endorsed a rethink, albeit for somewhat different reasons.
Still, Thompson acknowledged, “I’m not sure what that project is any longer” and even dangled the hint that it might be revived by bringing in additional developers, as the city comes to the belated realization that single-developer projects pose certain dangers.
Posted by lumi at 6:05 AM
May 2, 2008
City lets Ratner off the hook
The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin
The Brooklyn Paper covers details first uncovered in the Atlantic Yards Report (via a Freedom of Information request) about more sweetheart dealings between New York City and Bruce Ratner.
Bruce Ratner downsized Atlantic Yards — and it turns out that the city gave him the green light to do so.
A newly released funding agreement reveals that the city let the Atlantic Yards developer off the hook for the downsizing he announced last month — yet will still reward him with $205 million in direct city subsidies.
The agreement, signed last September but only released this week to the Atlantic Yards Report, a Web site, allows Forest City Ratner to scale back the $4-billion arena, apartment and office project and build just the publicly financed basketball arena and two or three downsized towers by 2020, four years later and thousands of units of affordable housing less than the 16-tower full monty that was approved by state officials in December, 2006.
If he manages to build the reduced number of units within that stretched-out timetable, he would avoid any penalties.
The article give further details on the City's agreement with Ratner, and political reaction. It also goes on to mention a lawsuit being brought by tenants in the project footprint.
Meanwhile, a group of residents of the footprint sued the Empire State Development Corporation yet again, claiming that any agreement that gives Ratner more than 10 years to build the affordable units violates state condemnation law.
Posted by steve at 5:58 AM
May 1, 2008
Paul Newell on Congestion Pricing and Reforming Albany
Streets Blog
Paul Newell is challenging State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for the 64th District seat in Lower Manhattan. In the second installment of a two-part interview, Newell cites "you know who" as one of the compelling reasons for public-financing of campaigns:
I cannot believe that any candidate for public office would rather spend hours a day on the phone begging people for money -- asking Bruce Ratner and the developers for money -- when they could get it from public financing. That way, in one fell swoop, you eliminate the campaign finance influence on our politics.
NoLandGrab: Congratulations Bruce Ratner, somehow you've managed to become the posterboy for money's corruptive influence in local politics.
Posted by lumi at 4:50 AM
April 27, 2008
3 vie for Recchia's City Council seat
NY Daily News
JOTHAM SEDERSTROM
While one group in the Bronx tries to negotiate a real CBA, one candidate for Domenic Recchia's City Council seat representing Coney Island seems to be aiming low:
Lisyanskiy, an aide to Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) who has worked under speakers Gifford Miller and Peter Vallone, said unemployment and an ambitious plan to redevelop much of Coney Island are among his top priorities if elected.The Ukranian-born Bensonhurst resident said he would push for a legally binding Community Benefit Agreement like one tied to the controversial Atlantic Yards project.
article
NoLandGrab: Recommended reading for city council candidates: AYR's "Substantial legally enforceable penalties"? FCR's claims about CBA raise doubts
Posted by amy at 9:20 AM
April 24, 2008
Legislation would require emergency report on major capital projects
EmpireStateNews.Net
Citing a pattern of inadequate financing, bad planning and misplaced priorities, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Corporations, Commissions, and Authorities today released legislation requiring the immediate submission to the Legislature and the Governor of a report outlining the status of and issues confronting close to a dozen major capital projects in the downstate region.
These projects, all of which are facing significant problems, include Hudson Yards, 7 Line extension, Javits Convention Center, the Boulevard, Moynihan Station, World Trade Center rebuild, PATH station, Atlantic Yards, Willets Point and Sunnyside Yards.
Additional coverage:
The NY Sun, Progress Reports Urged for Big Development Projects
"This is not about the fact that these developments are in various states of collapse, which they are, but that they are all endangering the MTA's capital plan, which is the single most important part for any government," Mr. Brodsky said.
"Other than the mayor and the governor, who knows what is actually going on?" [Brodsky] said.
NY Daily News, Pol wants facts & figures on faltering big projects
Brodsky says the projects are in trouble due to "inadequate financing, bad planning and misplaced priorities," and he's worried that they're siphoning off funds for much-needed mass transit projects.
Atlantic Yards Report, Brodsky seeks AY timetable, cost-benefit analysis in report on megaprojects
Analysis and commentary from Norman Oder:
If passed, the law would require not merely a status report, but also would require a cost-benefit analysis that has so far not been conducted. It would require the ESDC to detail the full spectrum of public "incentives, benefits, subsidies, and revenues," the projected economic impact on the city, state, and metropolitan area, "and a comparison of expected benefits with anticipated costs."
That could be a watershed. The ESDC has produced a lengthy Final Environmental Impact Statement (see the last pages of the Socioeconomics chapter), as well as a General Project Plan, both of which estimate new revenues, but provide scant details on the totality of public subsidies and public costs. (The Independent Budget Office came the closest to estimating the total impact of the project, but shied away from a full study.)
It would be astounding if the ESDC produced a full cost-benefit analysis within 45 days. More likely the agency would supply an updated version of previously compiled documents.
Posted by lumi at 5:43 AM
April 18, 2008
Pols: Stop Bruce now
The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman
Any construction at the Atlantic Yards site must be blocked until developer Bruce Ratner commits — in writing — to building the full state-approved project, three councilmembers said this week.
Bill DeBlasio (D–Park Slope), David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) and Letitia James (D–Fort Greene) made the demand in a letter to state officials this week, just two weeks after Ratner announced that the 16-skyscraper project has been significantly downsized and that most of the promised below-market-rate housing is no longer scheduled to be built.
According to Ratner, the project now only consists of a publicly financed basketball arena and two or three smaller residential buildings around it.
“We need something in writing from Forest City Ratner [that] confirms what will be built when,” DeBlasio told The Brooklyn Paper. “We need to stop until there is a clear plan. The plans have changed, at least according to Ratner himself, so why should demolitions continue?”
Posted by lumi at 5:27 AM
April 16, 2008
Councilman wants Atlantic Yards demolition halted - for now
NY Daily News
by Jotham Sederstrom
The News follows up on comments made to bloggers Monday evening by Brooklyn Beep candidate Bill de Blasio.
Point:
A Brooklyn councilman who has been supportive of the controversial Atlantic Yards project has called for a moratorium on the struggling basketball arena plan.
Councilman Bill de Blasio bashed developer Forest City Ratner for keeping government subsidies hidden and not telling residents about construction delays.
"I've been frustrated in general by the lack of communication by Forest City Ratner for years, and it seems to me it's only gotten worse, not better," said de Blasio, who is running for borough president.
Counterpoint:
Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President Bruce Bender argued in a statement that the project has been transparent but did not address the developer's refusal to publicly reveal aspects of public funding and security concerns involving the plan.
"Atlantic Yards has been reviewed and debated extensively for over five years, including two public hearings before the City Council, multiple other state public hearings and hundreds of public meetings," Bender said in the statement.
"As the Council member knows, all of Atlantic Yards, including all of the affordable housing, will be built, and any delays in the construction phase will result in delays in delivering the thousands of units of affordable housing and thousands of jobs that Atlantic Yards will create."
NoLandGrab: Bruce, you ignorant.... But we digress. Why is Bill de Blasio the last to know that Forest City Ratner couldn't be trusted? If politicians of his ilk had been more skeptical about Atlantic Yards from the outset, we wouldn't be in this mess now. Still, we're glad that de Blasio is speaking up.
As for Bruce Bender: "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." Is it possible that he's been faxing out the same statement for the past three years?
Posted by eric at 10:35 AM
De Blasio's (late) AY conversion and the need for oversight
Atlantic Yards Report
While other bloggers captured what Bill de Blasio said about Atlantic Yards on Monday evening, Norman Oder provides some important historical context from the last time the City Councilman held court with local bloggers:
I missed de Blasio's meet-up with Brooklyn bloggers Monday night--I was at a Municipal Art Society panel on planning--but I think a little skepticism is in order.
After all, he's long supported the project, despite expressing qualms. NoLandGrab noted yesterday that de Blasio was facing blowback for his support of the "toothless" Community Benefits Agreement.
As I wrote, after a long exchange with de Blasio at a meeting last fall, he sounded way out of touch when he said, “In retrospect, I don’t think anyone expected Forest City Ratner to be so untransparent.”
After all, as I noted, the developer has produced at least six disingenuous political brochures, launched the Brooklyn Standard “publication,” and required those selling property to sign gag orders.
As for de Blasio saying he wants "something in writing from Forest City Ratner to tell us if there has been a change and if there's been a change we need to revisit it," well, as noted on GL, the State Funding Agreement gives Ratner a lot of slack: 6+ years to build the arena, 12+ years to build Phase 1, and an unspecified amount of time to build the rest of the project.
Posted by lumi at 5:41 AM
April 15, 2008
De Blasio blasts Ratner, Calls for Moratorium on Demolitions
Bill de Blasio is mad as hell, and he wants to know why the rug has been pulled out from under Atlantic Yards' promised affordable housing. The Gowanus Lounge and Brownstoner share the scoop from last night's blogger meet-up with the Council Member.
The Gowanus Lounge, De Blasio Calls for Moratorium on Atlantic Yards Demolition
City Council Member and Brooklyn Borough President candidate Bill de Blasio is calling for a moratorium on demolition in the Atlantic Yards footprint. Mr. de Blasio made comments deeply critical of possible changes in the huge project as part of a wideranging discussion last night that covered everything from construction safety as developers race to beat changes in the 421a tax break program to zoning issues in Gowanus and Carroll Gardens.
...On Atlantic Yards, Mr. de Blasio said, "I am livid at the New York Times interview with Ratner" in which the developer announced that the project would be scaled back and that massive amounts of affordable housing would be seriously delayed or eliminated. "There was no discussion with the community before he went on record," Mr. de Blasio said, adding that the changes put "the entire community benefits agreement up for question."
Brownstoner, De Blasio Blasts Ratner on AY Obfuscation
The Councilman also said that he thinks the entire development should be reviewed again by the state if Forest City Ratner is now conceiving of a vastly different project, particularly one that reneges on its promised affordable housing. "I held out hope for the project because of the amount of affordable housing it would create, as well as the number of jobs it would bring," he said. "But I have been constantly disappointed in the lack of community involvement...I've never seen anything that's been mismanaged so fundamentally in terms of community involvement."
NoLandGrab: What Council Member de Blasio is overlooking is that there really hasn't been any discussion with the community ever, and that early support for the toothless and barely enforceable Community Benefits Agreement by him and other politicians has now come home to roost.
Additional coverage:
Curbed, Atlantic Yards Stall: Another Call for a Demolition Moratorium
Posted by eric at 11:58 AM
April 11, 2008
Shelly Silver’s Shadiest Maneuvers: A Brief History
Daily Intelligencer posted a litany of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's backroom strong-arm maneuvers. Atlantic Yards made the grade, though the Public Authorities Control Board's approval came in December 2006, not 2005:
Seeding Atlantic Yards (2005): As Brooklyn residents get their knickers in a twist, the Public Authorities Control Board approves $200 million in public seed money for Atlantic Yards — without officially counting how many Brooklyn lawmakers support seventeen-tower cluster around a Frank Gehry arena.
Posted by lumi at 4:15 AM
April 10, 2008
Reading the Paterson tea leaves: AY unmentioned in speech about development
Atlantic Yards Report
Governor David Paterson's speech Monday to the Association for a Better New York took on the following topics: the MTA, Ground Zero, congestion pricing, the Second Avenue Subway, the East Side Access project (bringing the suburban Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central station), Moynihan Station, and Governors Island.
Unmentioned: Atlantic Yards.
Does the fact that he's not pushing the project means he's opposing it? Nope.
Perhaps it just means that he's taking a hands-off attitude for now, as Forest City Ratner waits for the market to change. But will he support more subsidies for the project?
Click here to read the excerpt from the transcript.
Posted by lumi at 5:41 AM
State Senator Carl Kruger and his campaign war chest
Atlantic Yards Report
This week, The Village Voice examines State Senator Carl Kruger's political machine, which is well fed by a $1.6 million campaign war chest, even though Republicans no longer bother to run against him.
Why do Atlantic Yards critics care? Norman Oder explains:
Let's remember some other elements of Kruger's record: he's a supporter of Atlantic Yards and the $6 billion lie; he received $4000 from Bruce Ratner's brother and sister-in-law; and, though a Democrat, he campaigned for Republican Martin Golden in return for new district boundaries that protected his seat, as recounted by Seymour Lachman in Three Men in a Room.
And, less we forget, Kruger has emerged as a dubious player in the debate over Coney Island, using that considerable campaign war chest to gin up public opposition to the city plan and support for Joe Sitt.
Remember, as the Observer's Matthew Schuerman reported 5/31/06, Kruger and fellow Atlantic Yards-loving South Brooklyn politicians come out of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, which also produced Ratner aide Bruce Bender.
Posted by lumi at 5:36 AM
April 7, 2008
The Bloomberg Mystique
The Brooklyn Rail
By Richard Wells
An accounting of the mythology and record of Michael Bloomberg includes an Atlantic Yards tidbit in a paragraph about the unraveling of the Mayor's mega-develpoment inc.:
...what of Bloomberg’s big development plans?
Many are going down the tubes, piece by piece. Hard on the heels of a fare increase, the M.T.A. just announced that improvements to subway service would be delayed because of declines in real estate tax revenue. All that remains of Atlantic Yards, a scheme touted for its contributions to the stock of affordable housing and open space, is the heavily subsidized Nets arena. The announcement that city officials had made a deal with Tishman Speyer to develop the West Side Railyards was immediately followed by news that, given the reluctance of lenders to finance big projects these days, construction won’t start anytime soon. If and when it does get built, moreover, it probably won’t be as grand as originally envisioned.
Posted by lumi at 5:13 AM
April 3, 2008
Tony Avella is Mad as Hell (And Running for Mayor)
Runnin' Scared [The Village Voice]
By Julie Bolcer
Regarding one major example among the last platform, [mayoral candidate Tony] Avella explained his opposition to the $ 4 billion Atlantic Yards project for Brooklyn within a voicemail he left in response to a call for comment on Monday.
“I am totally against the Ratner Project,” Avella said. “I think it is a perfect example of the overdevelopment that is going on in this city, of putting ten thousand potatoes in a five-pound bag. The traffic, the overburdening of the subway system and the transit system in that area would just be enormous. Plus the fact of the misuse of eminent domain – that is something that absolutely has to stop in this city, of taking somebody’s private property and giving it to a private individual, in this case Ratner, so that they can make money from it. That is the most undemocratic situation and process that I’ve ever heard of,” he concluded before he hung up.
Posted by lumi at 4:43 AM
March 31, 2008
Sunday in NYC: Avella denounces overdevelopment; Luxury Living showcase draws throng
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder attended the kick-off event for Tony Avella's mayoral campaign, and then took a gander at the condomania playing a central role in the Queens councilman's platform.
Longshot mayoral candidate Tony Avella, a maverick City Council Member from Northeast Queens, officially launched his candidacy yesterday afternoon at a City Hall press conference. Seeking to distinguish himself from the highly-scripted typical politicians, Avella declared that he hadn't written a speech but instead would speak about three main issues.
Indeed, two of Avella's issues barely registered with the crowd of supporters behind him: lowered taxes and a revamped education system. Rather, they applauded heartily when he condemned overdevelopment, asserting that the real estate industry has too much power and "the city has done very little to preserve quality of life."
"Overdevelopment," he said, "is destroying the character of every community. That absolutely must stop."
...After leaving Avella's press conference, where some supporters carried signs asserting "The revolution starts... now!", it took just three stops uptown along the #6 subway line to visit the New York Observer's Luxury Living: New York Condo Showcase at the Puck Building at Lafayette and Houston streets.
Compared to the crowd at City Hall, this group was less gritty and better-dressed. There was a bar, musical entertainment, and other festive accoutrements. And all these projects, and their buyers, gain benefits from the belatedly-reformed 421-a tax break, which has fueled development all over the city, including the Queens districts that constitute Avella's base.
Posted by eric at 3:37 PM
March 28, 2008
Why Atlantic Yards depends on a Democratic administration in DC
Atlantic Yards Report
While Bruce Ratner is busy trying to convince reporters that Atlantic Yards is stalled because of the economy, Norman Oder keeps pointing out that it's the supply of affordable housing funding, stupid:
Besides the credit crunch and the lack of a market for office space, both acknowledged by Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner, the project depends crucially on a sufficient supply of tax-exempt bonds, a "crisis"--in the words of city housing head Shaun Donovan--evident well before the downturn in the economy.
And, despite efforts in Washington by top legislators representing New York, the problem likely won't be alleviated until a Democratic administration and a Democratic Congress revamp the rules and allow hard-pressed states like New York additional "volume cap," or the capacity to issue bonds free of federal taxes.
Posted by lumi at 6:17 AM
"Deeply troubled" Jeffries says it's time to evaluate changes in AY; Brennan's subsidy bill resurfaces
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder follows up with State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and surveys the political posturing in light of recent Atlantic Yards revelations:
Last night, I spoke to Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, whose district includes Prospect Heights and the Atlantic Yards footprint, about the Atlantic Yards stall and the potential response in Albany.
He indicated dismay about the apparent major delay in affordable housing and said it was too soon to assess new Governor David Paterson’s posture on the project.
He said the legislature may look at a bill, sponsored in 2006 by Assemblyman Jim Brennan and revived in February, that would trade a one-third cut in the size of Atlantic Yards for direct and indirect subsidies worth some $700 million over 30 years, with nearly half of that up front.
Also, he said a legislative committee might take another look at the Empire State Development Corporation’s (ESDC) stewardship of Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 6:10 AM
March 24, 2008
Mayor Marty? The Idea Entices From a Booth at Junior’s
The NY Sun
By Grace Rauh
Marty Markowitz says he is only in the process of deciding whether to run for mayor, but he is sure sounding a lot like a candidate.
From a horseshoe-shaped booth at Junior’s restaurant in downtown Brooklyn, Mr. Markowitz, the silver-haired career politician who as president of Brooklyn is known as the borough’s most enthusiastic cheerleader, offered up policy positions and a potential campaign motto (“Keep it safe, keep it clean, keep it working”) — clues to what the city might look like under Mayor Marty.
...
“Competence, pragmatism as opposed to ideology. Doing what’s right for New York without kowtowing to special interests and competency above all,” he said.
...
A run for mayor, however, could galvanize New Yorkers opposed to the Atlantic Yards development in downtown Brooklyn that Mr. Markowitz has trumpeted. A spokesman for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, Daniel Goldstein, said his organization “would look forward to a Markowitz mayoral run as it would make certain the failing Atlantic Yards project and the other egregious overdevelopment he has overseen in Brooklyn would be major issues in the race, as they should be.”Mr. Markowitz has said the project will bring affordable housing, in addition to a new city center and a professional basketball arena, to downtown Brooklyn. He appears to get as excited as a boy on a first trip to an amusement park when envisioning attending the first Brooklyn Nets game in the new stadium.
NoLandGrab: It's an "arena," not a "stadium," but either way, a Marty Markowitz candidacy would give Atlantic Yards critics a citywide platform on which to present their concerns about the controversial project.
Posted by lumi at 4:47 AM
March 21, 2008
Veteran Activist-Attorney Named as Brooklyn BP’s Chief Aide
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Harold Egeln
It was a big promotion for political activist Carlo Scissura as Borough President Marty Markowitz appointed him as his new Chief of Staff Thursday.
Scissura, who has been serving as Markowitz’ chief counsel, was named to the post to replace longtime top aide Greg Atkins, who has accepted a major hotel development post at V3 Hotels in Downtown Brooklyn. The changeover is effective on April 7.
NoLandGrab: It's hard to understand how Atkins's new job isn't affected by the one-year revolving-door restrictions on taking a job that depends on access and influence of local government.
The incoming chief of staff listed major projects he will on work with Markowitz. "I look forward to helping the borough president accomplish his visionary goals for Brooklyn, including renovating the Loew's Kings Theater, opening an amphitheater at Asser Levy Park, beginning development of Atlantic Yards, building and renovating more affordable housing and schools, and making the borough more 'green' for everyone."
NoLandGrab: With Atlantic Yards stalling out, Atkins picked a good time to jump ship. His departure has also fueled rumors that Marty won't be running for Mayor, afterall.
Posted by lumi at 4:39 AM
March 19, 2008
Reform must be order of the day?
Daily News columnist Errol Louis cautions against backsliding in Albany to the days when special interests ruled the day:
But months from now, after the last "good riddance" jokes about Spitzer have been told - and the final bucks raked in by America's best-known whore - New York will remain the most taxed state in the union, and Albany will still be a place where lobbyists, unions and corporate pitchmen wield far too much influence over who gets the sweet slices of the $124 billion budget cake.
Unless, that is, the effort to reform Albany gets back on its feet.
Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report concurs, pointing to "Forest City Ratner's significant spending on lobbyists, not to mention the developer's contribution to a "slush fund" controlled by Assembly Democrats."
NoLandGrab: Isn't it nice when we all agree?
Posted by lumi at 3:53 AM
March 18, 2008
Gov. Paterson Says He Supports Atlantic Yards
Brooklyn Dail Eagle
By Brooklyn Eagle
In an interview in Sunday’s Daily News, Gov. David Paterson was quoted as saying that he “expects to carry on Spitzer's support for major development projects such as Moynihan Station and the Atlantic Yards/basketball arena in Brooklyn.”
Posted by lumi at 4:25 AM
David Paterson's Harlem roots
The Daily Voice
By Basil Smikle
Also important to watch are the powerful agencies where Governor Paterson will have major influence -- namely the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) which just hiked painful subway and bus fares as well as tolls on bridges and tunnels. He also appoints individuals to run the Empire State Development Corporation which will have major influence on three large-scale development projects: Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn where the New Jersey Nets intend to build their new arena, Hudson Yards on the West Side whose fate is uncertain and the controversial Columbia University expansion.
What makes the Columbia Expansion so interesting from a political standpoint is that their proposed new construction covers over 20 acres in West Harlem -- Paterson's backyard. Although the project was approved by city agencies and the city council it is vehemently opposed by many Harlem residents concerned about gentrification. It may prove to be an interesting test of the new governor's vision and tenacity.
NoLandGrab: The Columbia University plan prompted Paterson to take a pubilc stand against the use of eminent domain.
Posted by lumi at 4:19 AM
New York Official Resigns Post Amid Shift in Leadership
The NY Times
By Charles V. Bagli
The changing of the guard at the state’s troubled economic development agency was already under way when Gov. David A. Paterson took the oath of office on Monday.
On Sunday, the state’s top economic development official, Patrick J. Foye, sent a letter to Mr. Paterson resigning as co-chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, which had been riven by disputes between its top three executives and was regarded as dysfunctional by many real estate developers and business executives.
...
Mr. Foye’s office was telling reporters last week that he had no plans to leave his job. But, according to two people who knew him, Mr. Foye, a friend of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his wife, learned over the weekend that there was little support for him among Mr. Paterson’s camp.
...
The Paterson administration announced on Monday that Avi Schick, president of the development corporation, would serve as acting chief executive for economic development efforts in New York City and the surrounding counties. It is unclear whether it will be an interim appointment.Mr. Schick, who has developed a powerful political ally in Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has been involved in the redevelopment of the World Trade Center site, Columbia University’s plans to expand its campus into Harlem and the Atlantic Yards housing and sports arena project in Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 4:15 AM
March 17, 2008
ESDC Downstate Chairman Pat Foye resigns
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder sorts through the breaking news from Albany and its mexed missages:
OK, on Friday, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) Chairman Pat Foye, an appointee (and friend) of soon-to-depart Governor Eliot Spitzer, was staying in his job, according to the New York Observer. Now, according to the Daily News, Foye is resigning.
...
Paterson told the Daily News he'll continue support for Atlantic Yards. That suggests that work from the ESDC--contractual wrangling, legal strategy, site supervision-- can continue without a chairman and, given delays in the project and emerging doubts from Crain's New York Business, leadership from the top may not be crucial at this point.
NoLandGrab: Foye's departure suggests that shepherding billions of taxpayer dollars for misguided megaprojects wasn't that much fun after all.
Posted by lumi at 7:18 PM
And Now: The Paterson Administration
Gotham Gazette
By Courtney Gross and Gail Robinson
Wonder how the city could fare under a Paterson administration and some New York City officials say they have high hopes.
So who is this Albany veteran, besides being the state's first black and legally blind governor and a so-called ally to the State Legislature?
...
A number of major development projects in the city remain at critical junctures: Moynihan Station, Hudson Yards, Atlantic Yards, Willets Point, the Javits Center Expansion and so on. The state plays a major role in many. Recently, for example, Spitzer proposed selling parcels of the land near the Javits Center, thereby scrapping plans for a substantially larger convention center. This brought sharp opposition from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, among others.It is unclear whether anyone knows Paterson's position on every individual mega project slated for the five boroughs - or even whether he has a position -- but as soon as Spitzer resigned, if not before, the real estate industry began fretting that Paterson might not be as friendly to them as Spitzer had been.
Paterson "is an unknown quantity in real estate circles," Crain's wrote on Wednesday. "That's in sharp contrast to Gov. Spitzer, who was considered pro-development and a friend of the industry, and whose father is a wealthy real estate developer."
Some of the unease about Paterson in the development industry springs from his stated opposition in 2005 to using eminent domain - the government seizing of private property - for economic development projects.
Posted by lumi at 4:29 AM
March 16, 2008
Spitzer Tales
A noteworthy aspect of last week's political flameout of Democratic Boy Wonder Eliot Spitzer (aside from how much he paid for sex) was the total lack of die-hard supporters vouching for the Governor's character.
On Thursday, NY Post columnist Fred Dicker published a laundry list of eye-witness accounts of Eliot Spitzer's exhibitions of arrogance, which should have tipped off reporters and Albany watchers that Spitzer wasn't the "agent of reform" he claimed to be. In Dicker's eyes, the Governor lost his credibility during the cover-up of the smear campaign against State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Dicker's intense questioning in the wake of the scandal earned him his own spot on the Spitzer hit list.
Dicker's I-told-you-so column and the gigantic cone of silence hovering over Spitzer's quickly disappearing allies prompted a recollection of the one Spitzer story that has been circulating for years amongst Atlantic Yards critics.
The very next day, with Spitzer's political career in shambles, Runnin' Scared, the Village Voice's news blog ran this account of the meeting where Elliot Spitzer went off on Atlantic Yards critics:
“Despite the horror this week for New York,” said Candace Carponter, the DDDB legal chair, “It’s a breath of fresh air for us because Spitzer wouldn’t listen to us. He has always either turned a deaf ear to us, or has been abusive to us.” She recalled a particularly rancorous meeting over two years ago, when Atlantic Yards opponents including herself, Goldstein and James met with the then-Attorney General and gubernatorial contender to present their community’s opposition to the project. Although Spitzer had not yet publicly expressed his support for Atlantic Yards, she says the son of a real estate developer belittled their concerns in a shouting match that ran over 20 minutes.
“I have never been berated the way we were in that room,” remembers Carponter. “He was so condescending and so dismissive – I think dismissive is probably the best word –but in an incredibly rude way.”
Political junkies can probably expect more Spitzer as-hysterical-jerk tales in the coming weeks, as it becomes apparent that "The Steamroller" was feared more than he was respected.
Posted by lumi at 3:28 PM
Press Release: CBID PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT ON THE IMPENDING RESIGNATION OF GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER AND THE ASCENSION OF HON. DAVID PATERSON TO THE GOVERNORSHIP OF NEW YORK STATE
Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
CBID would like to take this opportunity to highlight some issues for Governor Paterson's immediate attention.
...
Second, we are aware of the New York State's desire to aggressively pursue affordable housing for New Yorkers and we applaud this. Given the state of our economy and other considerations, now is the time for the new Paterson administration to reconsider its support of and participation in the Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn. This is clearly not the time for very questionable expenditures at the state and City level to take place on a project fraught with legal, practical and moral challenges. We urge Governor Paterson to place a moratorium on all state support of Atlantic Yards until and unless all environmental and community issues have been addressed and until more critical budget issues, such as the education and health care crises, have been resolved.
[The entire press release after the jump]
CBID PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT ON THE IMPENDING RESIGNATION OF GOVERNOR ELIOT SPITZER AND THE ASCENSION OF HON. DAVID PATERSON TO THE GOVERNORSHIP OF NEW YORK STATE:
"Out of tragedy emerges a new and worthy champion for New York State"
Chris Owens, newly elected President of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), today congratulated Lieutenant Governor David Paterson on his impending ascension to the position of Governor of the State of New York. Paterson will become Governor this coming Monday, March 17, following the resignation of the current Governor, Eliot Spitzer.
"Recent events remind us how the ship of scandal leaves many victims in its wake. It was only a few years ago that our nation suffered the impeachment of President Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice relating to a sex scandal. The memories and hurt linger, even now. This week, New York State has suffered a similar tragedy -- another violation of both the public's faith and the private trust of loved ones. The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats wish the entire Spitzer family peace and love during this troubled time and in the future.
Yet out of tragedy emerges a new and worthy champion for New York State. New Yorkers are indeed fortunate that the incoming Governor is a capable, wise and experienced individual. David Paterson, born here in Brooklyn, is known by all as a compassionate leader and a change agent. For everyone, there is now healing that needs to take place. There is work to be done. The people's business must move forward and Governor David Paterson will do an outstanding job. We congratulate David Paterson and wish him and his family the best in their new roles.
CBID would like to take this opportunity to highlight some issues for Governor Paterson's immediate attention.
First, we urge the Governor to support education at the State level, and to intervene immediately and get New York City to stop its devastating cuts to the education budget. There is no investment equal to the investment in our children and education, in general. It is time for New York State to let Mayor Bloomberg know that there are performance expectations that cannot come close to being met if education budget cuts take place. And, furthermore, we urge Governor Paterson to make clear that the continuation of "Mayoral control" of schools after 2009 is tied to greatly improved communication with and involvement of parents and communities in the education of our children.
Second, we are aware of the New York State's desire to aggressively pursue affordable housing for New Yorkers and we applaud this. Given the state of our economy and other considerations, now is the time for the new Paterson administration to reconsider its support of and participation in the Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn. This is clearly not the time for very questionable expenditures at the state and City level to take place on a project fraught with legal, practical and moral challenges. We urge Governor Paterson to place a moratorium on all state support of Atlantic Yards until and unless all environmental and community issues have been addressed and until more critical budget issues, such as the education and health care crises, have been resolved.
Third, New York State has a positive role to play in protecting residents from losing their homes to foreclosure. We urge Governor Paterson to express his support for the moratorium on foreclosures set forth in legislation authored by New York State Assemblymember Jim Brennan (D-Brooklyn). People across the state need an effective champion, and the mortgage and credit crises beg for Paterson's strong leadership.
Fourth, during his time in the State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor, David Paterson has always taken a strong interest in environmental issues – and we are pleased. In Brooklyn, a pressing environmental issue is the status of the Gowanus Canal. Given the fragile wetlands ecology, the underlying toxicity of the area, and the complexity inherent to brownfield cleanup, we call upon the incoming Governor to protect current and future residents along the Gowanus Canal by insisting on the adoption of a well-supervised master plan jointly agreed upon by Federal (EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers), State (DEC) and City (DEP, DCP) agencies before any rezoning is allowed to go forward – piecemeal otherwise.
There are, of course, numerous additional issues that need to be addressed. In these difficult times, with budget negotiations already taking place, we are highlighting these four as examples of matters requiring the full focus of our new Governor, David Paterson."
Posted by steve at 7:41 AM
Nice-guy David Paterson can be plenty tough, he says
Daily News
By Joe Mahoney
Included in a profile of David Paterson is this mention of Atlantic Yards:
He expects to carry on Spitzer's support for major development projects such as Moynihan Station and the Atlantic Yards/basketball arena in Brooklyn.
Posted by steve at 7:18 AM
March 14, 2008
Paterson Could Derail Development
NY Sun
If David Paterson as governor displays the opposition to eminent domain that he showed as a state senator, several high-profile development projects in New York City could be derailed or delayed, including a Columbia University expansion, the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, and the transformation of Willets Point in Queens.
As a state Senate leader, Mr. Paterson in 2005 held a rally with Council Member Letitia James and state Senator William Perkins on the steps of City Hall during which he called for a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain.
Mr. Paterson said a decision handed down by the Supreme Court in the Kelo v. City of New London case could lead to a “gold rush” of eminent domain use across the state, The New York Sun reported at the time. He said he would gather legislators and introduce legislation to impose a moratorium on its use.
“He stood with me and proposed some legislation and I am very hopeful that the lieutenant governor and soon-to-be governor will honor his commitment and will either issue a moratorium or review the abuse of eminent domain across New York City,” Ms. James said yesterday in an interview.
Ms. James’s district is in Brooklyn, and she opposes developer Bruce Ratner’s $4 billion Atlantic Yards project near downtown Brooklyn, which would require use of eminent domain.
...
At a press conference yesterday Mr. Paterson was asked how his policies differed from Mr. Spitzer’s. His response suggested that positions he previously held had not changed very much.“There are some points of view I guess that I’ve changed over the years, but I’m pretty much the same person,” he said.
Mr. Ratner is planning to build a basketball arena and 16 mostly residential towers on 22 acres in Prospect Heights. The plans would remake the low-rise neighborhood with 8 million square feet of development, including more than 6,000 apartments, “affordable” housing, and office and retail space in a complex designed by architect Frank Gehry.
As usual:
A spokesman for Forest City Ratner declined comment.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn posted running commentary on the Sun article.
Posted by lumi at 5:26 AM
March 13, 2008
Governor-in-waiting Paterson protested eminent domain in 2005, but quiet since
Atlantic Yards Report
So what does the soon-to-be NY Governor think about Atlantic Yards and eminent domain abuse?
Now that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson is poised to take the governorship Monday upon Eliot Spitzer's official resignation, expect more talk about his past stance against eminent domain (which I missed when writing about him Tuesday).
A 7/29/05 New York Sun brief, headlined STATE SENATE LEADER CALLS FOR MORATORIUM ON USE OF EMINENT DOMAIN, reported:
At a rally on the steps of City Hall yesterday, a State Senate leader, David Paterson, a Democrat, along with a small gathering of Harlem civic leaders and three City Council members, called for a state-wide blanket moratorium on the use of eminent domain following the recent Supreme Court decision that is widely interpreted as expanding the law’s reach.
Actually, the controversial Kelo v. New London decision merely reaffirmed--through with far more public notice--existing doctrine that "public use" could be interpreted as "public purpose," including increased tax revenues.
Also present was City Council Member Letitia James, the leading political opponent of the Atlantic Yards project. However, Paterson's posture was mainly against Columbia University’s expansion plan, within his 30th Senate District, now reprsented by Bill Perkins, who as City Council majority leader also joined the press conference.
Would real estate "angst" about Paterson extend to AY?
Crain's reported yesterday that Governor-in-waiting David Paterson "is largely an unknown quantity in real estate circles, creating angst about how his accession will affect development."
The article suggested that plans for both the Hudson Yards and Moynihan Station, "already challenged by the credit crisis," could be slowed further. One factor regarding the latter project is whether Patrick Foye, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), is replaced.
Foye's ESDC has been shepherding the Atlantic Yards plan, which unlike the two mentioned above, has already been approved. The Spitzer administration vigorously defended lawsuits challenging the project, though the ESDC has taken some steps toward greater transparency in listing meeting agendas and hiring an ombudsman.
Posted by lumi at 6:08 AM
Real Estate Round-Up March 12, 2008
From Brooklyn Daily Eagle's Real Estate Round-Up by Sarah Ryley:
Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner Companies was generous to state Democrats, donating an eyebrow-raising $58,420 (that zero is supposed to be there) to their housekeeping committee early this year, according to the disclosure report. But the company wasn’t stingy with the federal senate either. The Real Deal reported a $28,500 donation to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, “which Senator Chuck Schumer, a major Atlantic Yards supporter, chairs.”
NoLandGrab: That's from a developer who has obviously reversed his pledge to not contribute to political campaigns — this unlimited soft-money loophole must have been too enticing.
Posted by lumi at 6:03 AM
March 12, 2008
Paterson, Ready To Take Center Stage, Is No Stranger to Brooklyn
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Raanan Geberer
Either Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesperson Dan Goldstein is badly in need of a vacation or someone at the Eagle is, because this article, which looks forward to Lt. Gov. David Paterson stepping in as Gov., stopped making sense when it came to Atlantic Yards (as most things do):
Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) said that although Paterson does not oppose the controversial Atlantic Yards development plan as such, he – unlike Spitzer – hasn’t expressly come out against it either.
NoLandGrab: We have it on good authority that what Goldstein actually said was that Paterson, unlike Spitzer, hasn't publicly expressed his support for the project — but he hasn't expressly opposed it, either.
Posted by lumi at 5:03 AM
Spitzer Sex Scandal and YOU: How Prostitutes Impact Congestion Pricing and More
Runnin' Scared (Village Voice blog)
Michael Clancy criused some popular local blogs and gathered some predictions on how Governor Spizter's downfall might affect local proposals and policies, including congestion pricing and Atlantic Yards:
Congestion pricing for downtown Manhattan, already nearing the "endgame" now looks more at risk than before, according to Second Avenue Sagas. The Wonkster took the pulse of City Council members and found support fading fast for the deal.
...
Atlantic Yards Report gives a thorough rundown of how Spitzer’s downfall could impact Forest City Ratner and the Atlantic Yards project.
Posted by lumi at 4:38 AM
March 11, 2008
The Spitzer scandal: any fallout for Atlantic Yards?
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder reads the tea leaves and analyzes the alliances on Day 436 after "Day One" (when everything was supposed to change).
Is there any impact on the Atlantic Yards project from the political damage--likely career-ending--suffered by Gov. Eliot Spitzer yesterday?
Any analysis is speculation, and it's too soon to tell. The scandal might slow down the machinery of government in analyzing and responding to the project, which began under Gov. George Pataki and has generated no criticism from his successor, who pointedly ignored calls from civic groups to delay consideration until the new administration. Then again, it also might mean Spitzer's successor lets the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) proceed as before.
In the longer term, the occupant of the Governor's Office might have the opportunity to affect Phase Two of the project, which might be long delayed.
Our favorite part is this bit of commentary, which reveals that Norman Oder is as addicted to analyzing Atlantic Yards as Spitzer is addicted to... well, you know:
While the "Client 9" allegations have generated a tremendous amount of ink, Spitzer's failure to live up to the "Day One, everything changes" pledge he made to voters is undermined far more by his effort to skirt the standard he set for campaign contributions, instead directing large donations to the state Democratic Party (as the Times reported March 4), and his unwillingness to stop "the Atlantic Yards carve-out" that gave a special tax break to Forest City Ratner.
[Norman may have a point, but seriously, New Yorkers are far more concerned that Spitzer "undermined" himself by paying $4,300 for sex, than by his aids' attempts to smear political rival Joseph Bruno, campaign-finance hypocrisy, and giving special tax breaks to Ratner.]
Click here to read the rest of the article, which includes some background on Lieutenant Governor David Paterson's relationship to Atlantic Yards critics and the curious cameo of a "Stop Atlantic Yards" poster on WCBS.
Posted by lumi at 5:25 AM
March 9, 2008
Anthony Weiner's view on Roger Clemens is faulty
Daily News
Mike Lupica
Rep. Anthony Weiner essentially begins his campaign for mayor of New York City by calling for the government to lay off Roger Clemens. Weiner says that the government has more important things to worry about than whether or not Clemens lied to the country and to Congress when he said he had never in his life, not one single time, used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
...
If Weiner really wants to be mayor, he's going to have to do better than this, or he won't get past Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president and No. 1 boy cheerleader for the Atlantic Yards New Jersey Nets.
article
NoLandGrab: Somehow we don't think Atlantic Yards is going to be Marty's selling point...
Posted by amy at 11:51 AM
March 7, 2008
Will the AY Community Advisory Committee get off the ground?
Atlantic Yards Report
The Empire State Development Corporation is having a tough time organizing an Atlantic Yards Community Advisory Committee (CAC). It seems that elected officials who were asked to nominate members to the CAC are reluctant to endorse this toothless organization.
An effort to create a new Atlantic Yards Community Advisory Committee (CAC) seems stalled for now. In January, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) begun to recruit a reconstituted and expanded CAC to meet quarterly and provide comment on the project, asking local elected officials and community boards for nominations.
The first meeting was to be in late February or early March. The only problem: some elected officials aren't playing ball. City Council Member Letitia James told me she wasn't appointing anybody because she didn't consider the group legitimate.
...
Other elected officials were more diplomatic, but still haven't made nominations. Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries told me, "The decision was made collectively with several other elected officials to refrain from making any appointments until we had a better understanding of the role the CAC would play and more importantly, as part of an effort to develop an entity that had real and meaningful input into the situation."
A spokesperson for City Council Member Bill de Blasio said, "At this point, [he] agrees with the other elected officials that the current proposed body should be stronger and have a more formal role. He would like to see what room there is for strengthening this group before committing to appointing someone."
Jeffries told me that City Council Member David Yassky and U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke also were refraining from making appointments.
One alternative to the current CAC structure has been proposed by Brooklyn Speaks.
Several local officials have supported a new governance structure put forward by BrooklynSpeaks that would involve additional oversight and advisory input. Jasper Goldman of the Municipal Art Society, who worked on the governance proposal said, of the CAC: "Unless it's set up in a way that’s real and meaningful and has a clear mission, it’s not clear where participation gets you. This doesn’t come close to addressing the needs we addressed in the governance proposal. It falls far short of the standard of governance set by projects like Hudson River Park, Queens West and the rebuilding at the World Trade Center site. None of those are perfect, but they're head and shoulders above what we have with Atlantic Yards."
Posted by steve at 8:35 AM
February 28, 2008
Real Estate Round-Up February 28, 2008
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Jacqui Ryan
Developer of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project Forest City Ratner Companies paid $400,000 to former Senator Al D’Amato’s lobbying firm in 2006 and 2007 to lobby federal legislators on the subject of eminent domain and other issues, reported the New York Observer.
Posted by lumi at 7:47 PM
February 27, 2008
Democracy Now? Ratner Plays Hardball When It Counts
Brooklyn Downtown Star
by Norman Oder
Atlantic Yards Report's über blogger, Norman Oder, contributes this update on the brothers Ratner and their political gift-giving to the Brooklyn Downtown Star.
Bruce isn’t even the best-known liberal in his family. His older brother Michael, a distinguished lawyer, leads the Center for Constitutional Rights in its admirable effort to hold our government accountable for its off-the-radar detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He co-wrote the book "Guantánamo: What the World Should Know."
John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper’s, calls him “America’s most important civil libertarian.”
For Bruce and Michael, however, business in Brooklyn comes first. That’s why Bruce’s company has required gag orders of those selling property for the Atlantic Yards project, thus clamping down on criticism and even requiring sellers to say that Forest City Ratner treated them honorably.
That’s why, even though Bruce and Forest City Ratner (FCR) stopped giving political contributions years ago - apparently to dispel suspicion that the donations helped win projects - Michael and his wife Karen Ranucci, the development director of left-wing radio show “Democracy Now,” stepped in to fill the breach. Though residents of Greenwich Village, they reliably wrote checks to Brooklyn candidates from the county Democratic machine. Some contributions, according to state records, even had the return address of Forest City Ratner headquarters in Brooklyn. Michael, who apparently has an office there, owns a piece of the Nets, the sports team his brother wants to bring to Brooklyn. The extended Ratner family controls FCR’s parent company, Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.
Posted by eric at 1:53 PM
Yassky come lately on AY costs, which still need a thorough accounting
Atlantic Yards Report
When it comes to Atlantic Yards, David Yassky has been talking tougher lately, especially since he is term-limited out of his City Council seat and is running for Comptroller.
Frequently described as wishy-washy, what has been his stand on Atlantic Yards and what does he want now?
Yassky did not raise the issue of AY subsidies in his comments during the Atlantic Yards approval process. In his 8/23/06 letter to the Empire State Development Corporation, he expressed "grave concerns" and requested "substantial changes," but those regarded the size of the buildings and plans for traffic and transit.
...
When Yassky ran for Congress that summer, he tried to steer $3 million in job-training funds to AY Community Benefits Agreement signatory BUILD. He took a distinctly moderate position, refraining from bringing up issues like corporate welfare, while rival Chris Owens needled him for not asking tough questions.
...
Among the tactics he recommends in an article in this week's Gotham Gazette is ending corporate tax loopholes:Of course, the single biggest example of corporate welfare is the proposed Atlantic Yards development. The Bloomberg administration has agreed to give the project's developer at least $100 million in direct subsidies, plus another $400 million to $500 million in tax breaks. In the current financial climate, this handout is impossible to justify.
...Would the total in tax breaks be $500 million, as Yassky says, and the total in government benefit be $3 billion, as Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn suggests (right)?
Well, it depends how you do the math.
...
There's still a significant need for a government-sponsored, fully-vetted effort to analyze Atlantic Yards costs and benefits. Maybe Yassky, or even fellow Comptroller candidate Jim Brennan--who's pushed to get Atlantic Yards financial information but hasn't made AY a rhetorical centerpiece of his candidacy--can put the issue on the agenda.
Posted by lumi at 6:32 AM
February 25, 2008
Changing the Way the City Does Business
Gotham Gazette
by David Yassky
Public-policy web site Gotham Gazette offers candidates for City Comptroller the opportunity to tell voters how they would help the city weather an economic downturn.
One idea put forth by David Yassky involves pulling the plug on several hundred million dollars' worth of unjustifiable handouts for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project.
Of course, the single biggest example of corporate welfare is the proposed Atlantic Yards development. The Bloomberg administration has agreed to give the project's developer at least $100 million in direct subsidies, plus another $400 million to $500 million in tax breaks. In the current financial climate, this handout is impossible to justify.
NoLandGrab: Critics point out that Yassky's stance on Atlantic Yards has gotten tougher now that he's running for Comptroller, but in fairness to the Brooklyn Council Member, he has teamed up with colleague (and staunch AY opponent) Tish James to try to push legislation intended to end the tax breaks.
A quick glance at Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion's platform reveals no such criticism of similar giveaways for a new Yankee Stadium. No surprise there.
Posted by eric at 6:55 PM
February 15, 2008
Payback time
The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, who said that he stopped making political contributions because they created an appearance of impropriety, abandoned that policy last month with a large donation to a “slush fund” controlled by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Ratner’s $58,420 contribution to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee on Jan. 7 drew immediate criticism from good government groups as evidence that a “pay-to-play” culture festers in New York State — especially in light of the significant role Silver played in getting the controversial $4-billion mega-development approved in late 2006.
...
A “housekeeping” account is one of many accounts maintained by political parties. In theory, “housekeeping” accounts are set up to raise money for party-building activities, such as get-out-the-vote drives and voter registration, Lerner said.“But in practice, housekeeping accounts are a political slush fund controlled by the speaker,” she said. “Money given that way is money that gets dispensed and used by the party bosses rather than by an individual candidate. It gives much more bang for the buck.”
And gives the appearance of a payback. After all, Silver held all the cards in December 2006, when Atlantic Yards needed the approval of the three-man Public Authorities Control Board.
Predictably:
The executive director of the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, Kathleen Joyce, said she could not comment for this story, but promised to find someone who could. That person never called The Brooklyn Paper.
A spokesman for Forest City Ratner said only, “No comment.”
Ratner’s naked ploy
In an editorial, The Brooklyn Paper adds:
To the list of the many wrong things that Bruce Ratner has done to steamroll public opposition to his Atlantic Yards mega-project — including playing the race card, creating fantasy tax-revenue projections, and saying that the basketball arena would be built with private money when it is in fact being financed entirely by taxpayers — we can now add his donation last month to a political committee controlled by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
...
Silver, of course, holds virtually all of Albany’s cards — and even though he played a role in the 2006 state approval of Atlantic Yards, the legislature still has not formalized any of the tax-abatement, bonding or subsidy agreements that Ratner desperately needs to make a government-insured profit on a project that the free market has already turned against.Hence, Ratner’s timely donation.
...
Our state lawmakers have been lied to, manipulated and lobbied by Ratner’s machine. Now they’ve been paid off for their fine work.
Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM
Avella Eyes Mayoral Race
The NY Sun
By Alicia Colon
Tony Avella, the self described "Conservative Democrat," sits down with Alicia Colon to talk about how eminent domain and overdevelopment are subverting the democratic process in NY City:
Mr. Avella caught my attention when I read his comments on two issues that I believe New Yorkers should be more concerned about: eminent domain and the cable franchise battle. I initiated the meeting with him because he appears to be the maverick of the City Council, a group that I have little respect for as a whole.
This City Council approved the plan for the 17-acre expansion of Columbia University in Harlem. Columbia University representatives told The New York Sun that they aim to reach a negotiated settlement with the remaining reluctant landowners, but have made it clear they would invoke the state’s power of eminent domain to condemn the property if no agreement is reached. Mr. Avella was one of five Council members who voted against the project, and said that the use of eminent domain would jeopardize all New York property owners. Mr. Avella told me, “Nobody’s home or business is safe anymore.”
Neighborhood opponents of the plan have long said it would harm Harlem’s character and displace longtime residents. Of course it will, but the city’s poorer neighborhoods have been on death row city since the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. the City of New London that gross violation of property rights is permissible. A private developer can swoop into blighted areas, and as long as the city determines that a project has a public purpose, such as generating higher tax revenue, individual property owners will be at its mercy.
It’s happening in nearly all the boroughs, but no one seems to be paying much attention. Mr. Avella, however, views this subversion of the Constitution as “a disgrace.” He noted what’s happening in Willets Point in the Bronx and the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn as examples. Let’s not forget how the New York Times used eminent domain to relocate to a new Times Square building on Eighth Avenue. Ten existing buildings were condemned by the Empire State Development Corporation under a mandate to acquire and rebuild a blighted Times Square that is no longer blighted. The ESDC leased it to the New York Times for a price below market value and, in addition, gave the newspaper tax breaks. How that benefits the New York taxpayer is beyond me.
Posted by lumi at 5:59 AM
Markowitz Fills Boro in on State of Brooklyn
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Here are the Atlantic Yards-related excerpts from Norman Oder's report on Markowitz's State of the Borough address:
He saluted his new appointee on the City Planning Commission, Shirley McRae, but still praised her predecessor, his longtime political supporter Dolly Williams, for "five years of invaluable service." (Williams resigned last November after paying a fine to resolve conflict-of-interest charges regarding her ownership stake in Atlantic Yards.)
Brooklyn's most controversial issue got a few mentions. After asserting that "Brooklyn deserves a sizzling, modern, mixed-use downtown," Markowitz cited growth in "the corridor linking BAM to downtown," then a "revitalized Fulton Mall." He continued: "Walking or biking up a spruced-up Flatbush Avenue to visit friends living at Atlantic Yards. Or going to check out a Brooklyn Nets game at the Barclays Center!"
Later in the speech, he discussed the "crisis" in affordable housing, expressing his support "for the maximum amount of affordable housing to be included in new residential projects."
"At Atlantic Yards," he continued, "we celebrate the fact that a Community Benefits Agreement will guarantee that fully one-half of those units will be priced below market rates." (Actually, only half of the rental units would be affordable.)
The crowd was not obviously enthusiastic about Atlantic Yards, but did applaud Markowitz's call for the state legislature to restore rent protections and his salute to the president of the tenants' association at Spring Creek, a.k.a. Starrett City, who fought a sale of the affordable housing complex.
Posted by lumi at 5:48 AM
February 10, 2008
Connecting the dots between a politician and AY
Atlantic Yards Report
A little digging turns up the identity of the Brooklyn machine politician who wanted something from Forest City Ratner in exchange for his support: former State Sen. Carl Andrews.Nicole Brydson of the New York Observer wrote Thursday about working in "central Brooklyn politics, commuting south every morning from my apartment in Greenpoint to a state senator's office on Flatbush Avenue near Lincoln Place. The district "includes Flatbush, Park Slope, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights."
While Brydson doesn't mention Andrews by name, he held the seat in the 20th District when the Atlantic Yards plan was announced. (Others have confirmed that she worked for Andrews.) She writes:
Then the first inklings of Bruce Ratner's stadium came up. His representative paid a visit to my office. “What are you going to do for my support?” my boss asked. I sat there, my stomach in knots. I quit soon after.
...
Under Spitzer, everything changes?Andrews, despite having been flayed by the Village Voice's Wayne Barrett for his ties to disgraced and convicted Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Clarence Norman, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign fees and leading the borough in patronage court appointments in the 1990s, has landed on his feet--or, rather, in a comfortable chair.
He's now "Director of NYC Intergovernmental Office" for Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose reformist tendencies could go only so far.
Posted by amy at 11:25 AM
February 8, 2008
Mayor Accuses Realty Firms of Seeking Undue Influence
The New York Times
by Ray Rivera
Yes, we thought this article had to be from The Onion, but no, it really did appear in today's Times.
In a rare public scolding of an industry that is friendly with his administration, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg criticized real estate companies on Thursday, saying it appears they are trying to buy influence in the 2009 mayoral campaign.
The city’s most prominent real estate firms have been flooding likely candidates with donations in recent months, and many of the companies have given identical or nearly identical amounts to three of those planning to run for mayor: the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn; Representative Anthony D. Weiner; and the city comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr.
“I happen to think it’s a disgrace,” the mayor said about the firms’ giving equally to each of those three.
NoLandGrab: Here's the scary part — if the real estate industry has run roughshod over New York City during the administration of a billionaire mayor who spent $150 million of his own money on his two campaigns, what'll life be like under a mayor who actually owes a debt to the likes of Rudin, Ross and Ratner?
Posted by eric at 6:10 PM
Brooklyn, The Borough: A Personal Wire
The Real Estate Observer
By Nicole Brydson
A reminisence of the author's first job out of college contains this sleazy account of backroom-politics Brooklyn-style:
Then the first inklings of Bruce Ratner's stadium came up. His representative paid a visit to my office. “What are you going to do for my support?” my boss asked. I sat there, my stomach in knots. I quit soon after.
NoLandGrab: Based on the clues in the article, can you identify this politician?
Posted by lumi at 5:57 AM
James, Yassky: Ax yards funds
The Brooklyn Paper
James, Yassky: Ax Yards funds, By Dana Rubinstein
Two city councilmembers are not giving up on their bid to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in city and state subsidies from the Atlantic Yards mega-development, despite an initial rejection by the council.
Councilmembers David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) and Letitia James (D–Fort Greene) asked the council’s Finance Committee to take up the matter of those Atlantic Yards subsidies while considering a resolution calling for the state to end property-tax exemptions for Madison Square Garden.
“If we are going to say this about Madison Square Garden, we should say it about Atlantic Yards, too,” said Yassky, who said the measure would be re-introduced, this time as a freestanding resolution, not an amendment.
According to the councilmembers’ calculations, the proposed arena for the Nets will get close to $700 million in subsidies from the city and state.
Editorial: Pols must hit Ratner in wallet
After hearing two major lawsuits — one challenging the state’s unjustifiably lax environmental review, the other decrying the state’s use of its condemnation power to hand privately owned property over to the profit-making Forest City Ratner — judges have turned a blind eye to egregious misuses of state power surrounding the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project.
With judges punting, the most potent challenge to Ratner’s taxpayer-funded payday rests in the legislatures, which have the power to turn off the torrent of taxpayer dollars.
For Ratner, Atlantic Yards has always been about the money — not jobs or housing, not urban design or athletic excellence, but the massive sums expected to flow from the public trough.
...
As we’ve pointed out many times, Ratner’s public revenue estimates are a fantasy. In fact, the state admitted as much last year, when it downgraded the revenue projection to just $944 million over the same 30 years — a mere $15 million per year, a drop in the bucket for a state and city whose annual budgets are in the tens of billions.
But you don’t have to believe us or the state. For the first time ever, Ratner has finally admitted that he was lying all along.
As the Atlantic Yards Report first reported this week, buried in a footnote in a recent legal filing is this admission from a Ratner lawyer:
“[M]y statement in my prior affirmation that the ‘environmental impact statement for the project estimates that the project will create ... $4.4 billion in net tax revenues for the city and the state over 30 years’ is mistaken, because ‘[t]here is simply no projection at all regarding the net tax revenues contained in the EIS.’”
Posted by steve at 5:44 AM
At overstuffed State of the Borough address, AY gets mention but not applause
Atlantic Yards Report
Yesterday evening, Norman Oder sat through Marty's 70-minute address for a tiny mention of the Borough President's pet project, but that didn't stop "The Mad Overkiller" from filing a full state-of-the-State-of-the-Borough report:
The State of the Borough Address delivered last night by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was another marathon extravaganza, invoking a rich mix of issues and places and people contributing to "The Brooklyn Story," and lasting some 70 minutes.
Though Markowitz mentioned Atlantic Yards twice, the project generated not a smidgen of applause from the 2000-plus attendees at the Brooklyn Cruise Ship Terminal in Red Hook.
Not the Barclays Center arena. Not the affordable housing. (In fact, had some Atlantic Yards opponents been in the audience, the BP would've been heckled for falsely claiming that half the housing would be affordable.)
Do Brooklynites--most of them Markowitz fans, given the ovation he got--not care much about the project he's so fervently promoted?
It's hard to be certain. The crowd was certainly worn out by the time Atlantic Yards was mentioned, well into a speech that clocked at nearly 70 minutes, itself following an hour-long reception and a 75-minute series of introductory announcements and performances. And Markowitz didn't offer any particular verbal flourishes to hasten applause.
Posted by lumi at 5:38 AM
February 6, 2008
Economic Development Agency Has New President
City Room [The NY Times]
By Sewell Chan
Seth W. Pinsky, an executive vice president at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, will become president of the agency and lead it through the end of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s term, the mayor announced today at a noontime news conference at City Hall.
...
Mr. Pinsky has been with the Economic Development Corporation since 2003, in several positions. He has been involved in projects throughout the city, including the new Mets and Yankees stadiums, Atlantic Yards, Queens West and Hudson Yards.
Posted by lumi at 4:54 AM
February 5, 2008
For Election Day...
...the Hagan Sisters street artists paint early and often.
 |
Though we're not sure that "Hillary-hearts-Ratner," Senator Clinton has remained conspicuously silent on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards landgrabbing taxpayer-financed multi-billion-dollar boondoggle overdevelopment in her adopted home state of New York, and don't forget her well-heeled flip-flop on the Brooklyn Bridge "a-park-ments."
Posted by lumi at 6:58 AM
February 1, 2008
Assemblyman Jeffries' "State of the District" Address
Atlantic Yards Report
State of the 57th: Jeffries talks housing, skirts AY
Norman Oder does in-depth coverage of Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries' "State of the District" address, given this past Thursday evening. Atlantic Yards received only a passing mention in the speech.
The only nod to AY was a repeat of Jeffries' careful formulation that he opposes eminent domain to remove residents to build a basketball arena--not eminent domain for the project as a whole--just as he opposes the rumored privatization of public housing.
The audience clapped much harder for his statement about public housing than his mention of eminent domain and Atlantic Yards. (I interviewed him several weeks ago about eminent domain, and conclude his statement is essentially toothless.)
Looking at Jeffries' opposition to eminent domain for the AY arena
There is additional analysis of Assemblyman Jeffries' stance on Atlantic Yards. His strategy seems to be that he will make statements that cast doubt on the wisdom of the project, but not take action to oppose it.
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, elected in 2006, has long held a (take your pick) nuanced or calculated position on Atlantic Yards, supporting the goals for minority hiring/contracting and affordable housing, yet criticizing transportation planning and excess density, and declaring that he opposed eminent domain to build a basketball arena--though not for the project as a whole.
He mentioned that issue again Wednesday night at his "State of the District" address, which allows him to be critical of the project without actually joining the opponents who are suing to block eminent domain.
In response to Norman Oder's questions, Jeffries avers that there would be "consequences" should the State try to exercise eminent domain for Atlantic Yards.
“If they pull the trigger,” he said, “it’s a tough political decision that I think will have negative implications on their ability to move forward with their agenda. That’s just my instincts, but assuming my other colleagues are as passionate as I am, there are going to be consequences.”
Posted by steve at 6:39 AM
Boro Dems can’t make up their minds
The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubinstein
If you're like the average Brooklyn Democrat having trouble deciding between Clinton and Obama for President, you may want to know what is on Councilmember Letitia James's mind:
“I’m struggling between my desire for change, versus Sen. Hillary Clinton’s proven record to my district,” said James, adding that she respected Clinton for refusing to take sides in the Atlantic Yards conflict (though many voters see her inability to take a stand as typical of Clinton’s desire to not alienate any potential supporters).
NoLandGrab: Is this some sort of backhanded compliment, something akin to, we really respect developer Bruce Ratner for being an equal-opportunity landgrabber? On the pages of NLG, not taking a stand on Atlantic Yards doesn't buy you any love.
On the other hand, Obama has already issued a statement condemning the Kelo decision and the use of eminent domain for private gain.
Statement issued by the Obama campaign, 28 June, 2007:
Barack Obama is a strong supporter of property rights and disagreed with the Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London.
The fifth amendment of the Constitution only allows federal, state or local governments to seize private property for public use. Up until recently that meant projects like bridges, dams and highways. Obama is concerned that the Kelo case expanded this definition to private development projects because it could lead to low-income homes being taken and demolished on behalf of more powerful and influential businesses and corporations. Obama also shares the concerns of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who worried that the ruling could lead to farms being replaced by factories or businesses replaced by larger businesses on the whims of federal, state or local governments.
Posted by lumi at 5:19 AM
New York Candidates Awash in Real Estate Cash
The NY Times
By Ray Rivera
You don't have to be a well seasoned political pundit to read the tea leaves:
The real estate industry, racing to beat strict new limits on campaign contributions, has been flooding New York City candidates with donations for the 2009 campaign at a rate three and four times that in previous election cycles.
The industry, which looks to City Hall for everything from zoning changes to tax breaks, is traditionally a dependable source of cash for city election candidates. But with new regulations set to take effect starting on Saturday, donations have soared.
The New York Times examined contributions from executives and others affiliated with 25 of the city’s most prominent property management, brokerage and real estate development firms.
The companies together had given more than $1 million by Jan. 15, the most recent reporting deadline for the 2009 election. Those same firms had given $239,000 by the same point in January 2004 and $348,000 by January 2000.
NoLandGrab: Keep in mind that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner says he doesn't contribute to candidates — his contributions flow through surrogates like his brother, sister-in-law, etc.
Posted by lumi at 4:35 AM
January 30, 2008
Opposition to Taxbreaks for Ratner: Letitia James and David Yassky Team Up
Daily Gotham
Seems Councilmembers Letitia James and David Yassky are teaming up to oppose the massive tax giveaways to developer Bruce Ratner.
From the press release:
Today at the Finance Committee hearing, the committee will review and vote on Proposed Resolution 90, which asks the State of New York to end the twenty-year-old property tax exemption for Madison Square Garden. If the Council thinks subsidizing MSG is a bad deal fort the City and State, they should take another look at the tax breaks and subsidies being offered to the proposed Atlantic Yards Development: they are even worse.
Council Members Yassky and James will introduce an amendment to Res. 90 that includes language condemning public financing of the Atlantic Yards Development, and asking for these breaks and subsidies to be withheld. The arena component alone is slated to receive hundreds of millions in public funds: $100 million from both the City and State, as well as roughly $500 million in effective property tax exemption, and another $100 million saved from the issuance of tax-free bonds to finance the arena. These numbers do not include additional hundreds of millions of dollars that will go towards the residential and commercial components of the project.
NoLandGrab: It's amazing how some City Councilmembers oppose the property tax exemption for Madison Square Garden while shovelling money down Bruce Ratner's gullet.
What's the worst thing that can happen if the City reverses the deal for subsidies and tax exemptions for Bruce Ratner's Nets arena? It's not as if Ratner will threaten to move the team to New Jersey.
Posted by lumi at 8:01 PM
Atlantic Yards, the E.I.S Game and the Destruction of Brooklyn
The Genius of the Development Industrial Complex
CounterPunch.org
by Christopher Ketcham
Journalist Christopher Ketcham, writing for the political newsletter CounterPunch, connects the dots among Bruce Ratner, the ESDC, Atlantic Yards, David Paget, Brooklyn Bridge Park, sprawl and subsidy-slinging politicians in an epic essay that's a must-read if you haven't yet had your daily fill of overdevelopment-driven outrage.
The game is called Developers Gone Wild. Non-sustainability, waste, carelessness, the privatization of public resources, and, of course, the packing of too many rats into too little space are its hallmarks. In New York City, a primary playing piece in the game, if not the queen on the board, is the ironically-named "environmental impact statement," or EIS, which for decades has greased the skids for development by creating the pretense of public environmental oversight. The artfulness and deceit of the EIS process underscores the fact that the most dangerous players in the game are not the private sector's array of bankers, mortgage lenders, construction companies, unions, big name developers, lawyers, consultants, investors, and speculators and elected officials-qua-boosters (think of the inane yet somehow insidious Marty Markowitz, porcine borough president of Brooklyn) that together comprise what we'll call the development industrial complex.
The threat, rather, arrives from public agencies that abet the private sector's predatory ways. The chief offender to sign off on the EIS process is the New York State boosterist agency known as the Empire State Development Corporation. The corrupt collusion of ESDC with developers has had predictable results: During a decade that saw a rush to re-zone or bypass zoning in favor of uncontrolled growth--the boom-time of roughly 1997 to the present--billions of dollars in new development was sausaged through the system without meaningful environmental review, without realistic assessment of impacts, and, by extension, without the public getting a fair understanding of the effect these megaprojects would have on the streets where people live, shop and play. As a political and corporate tool for profiteering, and also as a means of disarming the citizenry, the ESDC is indispensable--and in Brooklyn it has become the key to the kingdom.
NoLandGrab: Did we mention Ketcham's novel reaction to viewing "Brooklyn Matters?"
Posted by eric at 6:16 PM
January 25, 2008
In Williamsburg, Vito Lopez wants "real" affordability
Atlantic Yards Report
Bruce Ratner's controversial subsidy-sucking Atlantic Yards plan creates an enormous warp in the local political space-time continuum — Brooklyn Democratic Chair Vito Lopez is the latest hypocrite to get sucked into its orbit.
Brooklyn Democratic Chair Vito Lopez, who represents Williamsburg and Bushwick in his Assembly district, is a strong proponent of affordable housing, so strong he's threatening to use eminent domain to ensure that the recently-closed Pfizer site would lead to truly affordable housing.
In a statement to the Observer, he said that the "company’s definition of affordability in no way matches the annual income of working class New Yorkers, nor the low and moderate incomes of Williamsburg residents."
Regarding Atlantic Yards, however, Lopez supported the "carve-out," ensuring a special break for Forest City Ratner and affordability that also departs from the incomes of working-class and average Brooklyn residents.
One commenter notes that it's all about eminent domain abuse:
If eminent domain abuse is used to give big developers, like Ratner, the chance to develop housing to be occupied by people at exceptionally high incomes (like with Ratner’s 421-a exception allowing him higher incomes than anyone else) then Mr. Lopez is in favor of it.
Posted by lumi at 4:38 AM
January 12, 2008
First Horseman of the Apocalypse
Gumby Fresh on Gothamist's proclamation that Mayor Marty Markowitz has "a nice ring to it:"
I've spoken to more than one person familiar with the Borough's politics, and their verdict is that the man has very limited gifts, and little head for the economic and social issues that are going to roil the Borough in the coming years. To be honest, I don't think the man shouldn't be mayor because he's been a proponent of the Atlantic Yards. I don't think he should be mayor because his support for the project shows how he's able to ignore the social, environmental, economic and cultural effects of the project because of some weird fixation on a 1950s egg-cream vision of what Brooklyn could be.
Posted by amy at 3:25 PM
Mayor Marty Markowitz Does Have a Nice Ring to It
Gothamist
And while he’s done a lot to raise Brooklyn’s profile in the media, Markowitz has his share of critics who object to his support for developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project. He got into hot water for dismissing five members of Brooklyn's Community Board 6 who opposed the project, and appointed as the borough’s City Planning Commissioner a woman who had invested in Ratner’s move to buy the Nets.
Posted by amy at 1:30 PM
January 10, 2008
Pols: Pull Ratner off the trough
The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman
A City Council effort to reign in a tax break enjoyed by Madison Square Garden should bring about a cutback of the massive public subsidies lavished on Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, two councilmembers demanded this week.
After the Council’s Finance Committee discussed MSG’s $11-million-per-year property tax abatement on Monday, Councilmembers Letitia James (D–Fort Greene) and David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) demanded that the city and state revisit its subsidies for Ratner’s $4-billion mega-development.
...
Both councilmembers said they would put forward a resolution within days that would “scrutinize the effectiveness all the these tax breaks citywide,” James said.[James] questioned, for example, why Ratner still gets tax breaks for his decades-old Metrotech complex and both his Atlantic Avenue shopping malls.
“He may have needed those subsidies in the past, but Brooklyn is hot right now, so these subsidies are inappropriate,” she added.
Yassky and James have called on Speaker Christine Quinn, who is spearheading the attack on the MSG subsidy yet is also a strong Atlantic Yards supporter, to bring the resolution to a vote.
Posted by lumi at 7:39 PM
January 7, 2008
Jeffries on Downtown Brooklyn development reforms, AY, and the role of critics
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder follows up on Stephen Witt's article in the Park Slope Courier, headlined "Jeffries criticizes Ratner foes."
State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries commented, “He certainly accurately quoted me, but I don’t know that the tone of my comments were meant as criticism but rather as an observation about the development fights in Downtown Brooklyn."
Taking off from the Courier-Life article, I asked Jeffries what Atlantic Yards critics should do? “What didn’t make it into the article is my observation that I can understand why Atlantic Yards has raised the passions of the community, because it’s going to be put down in the middle of three residential neighborhoods: Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, and Park Slope,” he said. “In constrast, the development taking place in Downtown Brooklyn, with exception of the activity on Myrtle, seems one step removed from residential neighborhoods.”
“As I said to Steve [Witt], it makes complete sense to me on one hand why it’s been easier to organize community residents against Atlantic Yards. That said, I think the consequences of the development that’s taking place in Downtown Brooklyn, in terms of the concerns that have been raised related to the Atlantic Yards impact on quality of life, are very similar.” He cited accelerated gentrification and challenges to traffic and transportation. (I pointed out that an arena adds an extra challenge.)
Posted by lumi at 5:21 AM
January 6, 2008
Who's Hot and Who's Not: Atlantic Yards-Related Edition
Curbed
NoLandGrab: We missed this article in November, so we'll just consider this a 2007 recap...
1) Brooklyn Planning Commission Member Dolly Williams, who got her share of coverage for where she parked her yellow Porsche, was fined $4,000 yesterday for voting on the Atlantic Yards development while having a financial interest in the the project. (Insert Hello, Dolly! joke here.) The Brooklyn Planning Commissioner had a $250,000 investment in the Nets and the new arena. She put it into escrow and then voted in favor of the plan. [NYDN]2) Speaking of the Planning Commission, Borough President Marty Markowitz, who'd previously said he wouldn't reappoint Ms. Williams after various conflicts, has named a replacement. She's longtime Community Board 2 Chair Shirley McRae, who says she only owns a house in Fort Greene and doesn't have a Porsche. Dan Goldstein of DDDB said of the new appointment: "It's got to be an improvement over someone who's just been fined over conflicts of interest." [Sun]
3) The Atlantic Yards Ombudsperson cometh. In an interesting bit of coincidental timing, the Empire State Development Corp. announced that Forrest R. Taylor has been named Atlantic Yards Ombudsperson. Project watchdogs promptly froze the "Ombudsman Clock" that was counting off the days between the time of a promised hire the actuality at 203 days, 8 hours, 38 minutes and 28 seconds. [AYR]
4) To welcome the AY Ombudsman, Develop Don't Destroy, which has had a burst of posts about all the developments, tossed up its first question for him: "What makes the Brooklyn arena's proximity to streets different from the Newark arena that it will not require street closings?" [DDDB]
link
Don't forget to come and meet your new ombuddy on Tuesday!
Posted by amy at 11:04 AM
January 5, 2008
The resolution revolution
The Brooklyn Paper
Mike McLaughlin, Dana Rubinstein, Joe Jordan and Adam Hutton compiled a list of Brooklynite resolutions. We know Marty is joking, but what about Daniel Goldstein?
Marty Markowitz
Borough President
“In 2008, I resolve to eat right and stay healthy so I can live to be as old as the Brooklyn Bridge, whose 125th birthday we Brooklynites will celebrate with great fanfare in May!”
Daniel Goldstein
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn
“To get going on all of the home improvement projects I’ve been planning, [like] some work in the bathroom, some shelving, that sort of thing.”
Posted by amy at 10:41 AM
December 28, 2007
The state of his borough: Marty sits down for his annual chat with The Brooklyn Paper
This year, Marty Markowitz didn't blow a gasket when discussing Atlantic Yards during his year-end interview with Brooklyn Paper editor Gersh Kuntzman.
The only time Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project was mentioned was in relation to development of Coney Island and Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's recent admission that, if he had to do it again, he'd recommend that Atlantic Yards go through the City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
GK: Indeed, in this case, there will be a ULURP [a thorough public review, unlike at Atlantic Yards].
MM: That’s because [Coney Island] is city property. The Atlantic Yards … of course the statement by Dan Doctoroff [a reference to the deputy mayor’s comment that Atlantic Yards should have gone through the ULURP process]. All I can say is the state decided that this was their project. Dan Doctoroff went along with that. The mayor endorsed it wholeheartedly. [Doctoroff] has the right to reflect, of course. Here it is at the end of 2007, and there are no shovels in the ground yet. It’s very frustrating. Those who oppose it are delighted, but for those who think it’ll be good for New York City, it’s frustrating, but it has to go through the process.
NoLandGrab: Marty's City-vs.-State-property argument is totally bogus.
Here's some interesting precedent — the non-state-owned land in Bloomberg's first Hudson Yards plan was reviewed under ULURP, while the railyards portion was reviewed under the State process called SEQRA.
NYC is conveying several acres of city-owned streets and sidewalks to Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan, and most of the property is NOT in the railyards.
The real determining factor is REZONING:
- Coney Island is zoned as an AMUSEMENT DISTRICT. This is a unique designation and the City understands that any changes demand careful consideration.
- Atlantic Yards is a TOTAL ZONING OVERRIDE. If built according to Bruce Ratner's plan, Atlantic Yards will become the densest residential community in the nation. This is a fact that would NOT be lost in nearly every stage of the ULURP process, however, it was easily swept under the rug in the SEQRA process. It is not likely that density of historic proportions, as proposed by Ratner, would survive the ULURP process.
It's a little disturbing that a politician who claims to "have the intellect to be a great mayor" can't wrap his head around the dramatic contrast between the Coney Island and Atlantic Yards review processes.
Posted by lumi at 5:01 AM
Marty says he doesn't know why Doctoroff had second thoughts re AY
Atlantic Yards Report
The Brooklyn Paper's edited year-end interview with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz includes most of what he says about Atlantic Yards, but a link to the full audio segment provides a tantalizing coda. In it, Markowitz tells editor-in-chief Gersh Kuntzman that he doesn't know why Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff acknowledged Atlantic Yards should have gone through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) rather than the state review.
The answer, most likely, is that Doctoroff is having second thoughts about the procedure behind Atlantic Yards and Markowitz, at least publicly, won't allow such thoughts. Also, Doctoroff can afford to have some second thoughts; his departure comes as he has accomplished many of his goals, while Markowitz's highest-profile project, Atlantic Yards, remains slowed.
Check out Norman Oder's brief transcript of the Atlantic Yards portion of the interview here.
Posted by lumi at 4:41 AM
December 27, 2007
The year in Marty
The Brooklyn Paper's Year of Living Marty-ly includes these three Atlantic Yards items:
MARCH
Marty loves Bruce, Part I: After weeks of silence on the controversy over Bruce Ratner’s naming-rights deal with slavery-linked Barclays Bank, Markowitz told a constituent that “many institutions with long histories … have had dealings that run counter to the values of all who hold human rights dear.”AUGUST
High anxiety: Markowitz objects to developer David Walentas’s plan for an apartment building that would be 10 feet taller the 50-foot height limit of the Cobble Hill Historic District. Markowitz, who had no problem with the 16 skyscrapers of Atlantic Yards, said the 60-foot building would set a “dangerous precedent.”NOVEMBER
Marty loves Bruce, Part II: Markowitz minimizes some activists’ concern that Bruce Ratner’s glass-walled Atlantic Yards arena would be a terror target. “I am confident that Forest City Ratner is taking the proper steps in working with the NYPD … in ensuring the project adheres to the highest standards of safety,” he said.
In "A year in our neighborhoods," the "Disgruntled Cow" scored a mention for railing against Atlantic Yards in blue painter's tape down the entire facade of his Steuben St. home, while Bruce Ratner tries to Trump the Donald.
Also, Bruce Ratner gets mentioned once in reporter Dana Rubenstein's year-end news wrap-up:
December
Napoleon complex: Apparently still miffed at the failure of his attempt to make Miss Brooklyn — the centerpiece of his Atlantic Yards project — Brooklyn’s tallest skyscraper, Bruce Ratner decided to give it another go, with reported plans to erect a 1,000-foot skyscraper at Jay and Tillary streets, a skyscraper that would dwarf the 512-foot Williamsburgh Savings Bank.
Posted by lumi at 7:58 PM
December 19, 2007
FULL CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO APPROVE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY EXPANSION PLAN
LOCAL POLS REMAIN TRUE TO FORM
 |
The New York City Council just voted to approve the Columbia University expansion plan. For those of you who are wondering how our local councilmembers voted, here's the scoop. Bill de Blasio voted to approve — no surprises there for the Councilmember who notoriously pays lip service to overdevelopment, but does little to nothing in reality. David Yassky also voted to approve the Columbia plan and in typical Yassky flippy-floppy fashion, he laid out his concerns against the plan: Community Benefits Agreements should not take the place of NYC's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and eminent domain should not be used as often. [Can someone get this guy a spine, because he'd probably make a fairly useful politician if he actually believed in SOMETHING.] Many eyes were on City Councilwoman Letitia James, who has taken one of the strongest stands against Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan. However, local supporters wondered, how would their neighborhood champion vote if the project wasn't in her backyard and had the political support of the West Harlem representative. This evening you can practically hear the sigh of relief on the outskirts of Ratnerville, when neighbors heard that Letitia James voted against the plan. A vote to "abstain" would have sent the same message, but without the emphasis of a "no" vote. Here at NoLandGrab, we call 'em as we seem 'em, without reading the political tea leaves, so it's hard to know what, if anything, Tish James risked with her "no" vote. We heard from someone in attendance that a total of five Councilmembers voted "no" and another six "abstained," which gave James a little more political cover than if she had been a lone wolf. We shouldn't be surprised how true to form these three politicians voted, we only wish we had placed a bet on the trifecta. UPDATE: Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn had these words of praise for CIty Councilwoman Letitia James: Staunch (the staunchest) political opponent of Atlantic Yards, Councilwoman Letita James, showed a consistency rare for most elected officials and voted against the Columbia plan, speaking eloquently against eminent domain abuse and for community-based planning. |
Posted by lumi at 5:52 PM
December 14, 2007
After AY announcement, Tish James begins to get her footing
Atlantic Yards Report continues to fill in the history of Bruce Ratner's controversial development plan:
On 12/12/03, the same day that Forest City Ratner CEO Bruce Ratner appeared on WNYC radio's Brian Lehrer Show, so too did City Council Member Letitia James, who ultimately emerged as the public official most strongly identified with the Atlantic Yards opposition.
In comparison to her current stand, the interview shows James (right) still working through her Atlantic Yards position, opposing the arena but not the office space and housing--the bulk of the project. And while she mentions eminent domain and emphasizes the specter of displacement, she only touches on perhaps the strongest argument against the project: the undemocratic process.
Posted by lumi at 6:23 AM
Marty's Atlantic Yards Promises in Retrospect
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn strolls down memory lane with Atlantic Yards Report and revists the things Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said about Atlantic Yards, long before we all knew better:
The BEEP's two big promises were that there would be no city subsidy for the project and that the community would be involved and their concerns would be resolved, both promises have been glaringly untrue.
NoLandGrab: It kinda makes you wonder, what did Marty know and when did he know it?
Posted by lumi at 5:35 AM
December 13, 2007
Marty, after the AY announcement: "this city has no money, no money to provide"
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder continues his series marking the fourth anniversary of the public announcement of Atlantic Yards. Today, there's a look back at a December 11, 2003 appearance by Brookyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, on the Brian Lehrer Show.
Markowitz has been a booster for Atlantic Yards from the day it was announced. In the course of his interview, he puts forth some statements that turn out to be real whoppers, especially in retrospect.
There's a promise, unfulfilled to this day, to involve the community:
...First off, to involve the community, from the get-go, understand number one, that this is not a done deal. To involve the community and get them involved initially, in the planning, when it was far from anywhere completed… I have a pledge, that I’ve made to the residents of that neighborhood, as well as to Bruce Ratner, that is, that my office, me personally, will be coordinating the efforts, through a task force with our community to make sure that their concerns to the fullest degree possible are resolved. But let me tell you the truth, Brian...
Markowitz was making a legitimate point, that it might have been hard to involve the community at that point. Four years later, however, there's a consensus that the community wasn't consulted.
Marty also claims that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not commit any city funds to the Atlantic Yards Project:
I’m not a finance expert. He made it clear, over and over again, the mayor, this city has no money, no money to provide in any way at all. This is all incremental funds. I have to tell you that...
So far, the city has pledged $205 million and the state $100 million for the project.
Posted by steve at 8:42 AM
December 12, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
Queens Crap, Doctoroff reflects
"Crappy" reacts to Deputy Dan's love of ULURP (NYC's local land use review process):
ULURP is a joke, Dan. Deals are "done" before they even get to the community board level. That's probably why you're such a big fan of it.
not another f*cking blog, dysfunctional
"Atlantic Yards" is among the litany of reasons the MTA is dysfunctional:
then there's the fact that they've practically given away the rights to develop over the Vanderbilt Yard in Prospect Heights Brooklyn for the proposed Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards project. that's 100's of millions of dollars that could have been used to avoid a fare hike. unfortunately, Atlantic Yards isn't the first (and, i fear) not the last time that the MTA did not get fair market value for some very rare and valuable real estate. it appears that the MTA is trying to atone for their Atlantic Yards sins by handling the development over the Hudson Yards in Manhattan in what seems to be a rational, functional and considerate fashion. only time will tell, though.
Curbed, Change of Heart
Actually, what [Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff] says is "If it happened again, and the state were to ask" he'd encourage it not to do an end run around the city.
NoLandGrab: In hindsight, running the ball straight up the middle would have given Ratner more pr cover and probably shaved a few months off the process.
The Knickerblogger, Passenger Ships Didn't Have Lifeboats Before the Titanic, Why Have Them Now?
"Knickerblogger" considers the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) brush-off of calls to deal with security concerns for Bruce Ratner's arena plan, and the agency's screwed up logic.
NoLandGrab: Though we're pretty sure that passenger ships DID have life boats before the Titanic, according to the ESDC's thinking, drivers don't really need that extra stuff like seatbelts and airbags.
Posted by lumi at 5:02 AM
December 11, 2007
Daniel Doctoroff's Legacy
Gotham Gazette
By Tom Angotti
Mayor Bloomberg made the comparison between Deputy Dan Doctoroff and Robert Moses at last week's press conference announcing the Deputy Mayor's departure from city government. How do the two city planning czar's legacies compare?
Whatever Doctoroff’s accomplishments may be, the comparison to Moses is a stretch, and the talk of Doctoroff legacy premature by decades. Moses spent over half a century building public infrastructure while Doctoroff spent little more than a half-decade promoting mostly private commercial and residential development.
...
There is one major striking similarity between Moses and Doctoroff – they both claimed a monopoly on grand visions and overlooked the diverse ideas emerging from the city’s neighborhoods. Doctoroff reached out to civic leaders and neighborhood groups in a way that Moses never did. But rather than encouraging a two-way dialogue between City Hall and those who might oppose its decisions, Doctoroff's outreach usually resembled a public relations campaign to sell people on decisions that were already made. According to Greenpoint/Williamsburg community activist Phil DePaolo, when the city was pushing its waterfront zoning in that area, “Doctoroff met just with the groups that would get housing and not with others.”
NoLandGrab: Doctoroff might have gotten the strategy of meeting primarily with beneficiaries from Bruce Ratner, or maybe it's in a secret playbook somewhere.
Then there's the spectre of eminent domain and secondary displacement, which, like in the case of Robert Moses, could haunt Doctoroff's legacy for years to come:
By standing by without intervening, Doctoroff gave the city’s blessing to a number of major projects in which the Empire State Development Corporation, a state authority, promised to use its powers of eminent domain to bulldoze residential and industrial properties. Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn and the Columbia expansion in West Harlem are the most notable of these projects. In Willets Point, Queens, the city itself proposes to use eminent domain to displace 225 businesses and 1,800 jobs in favor of a hotel, convention center, and giant commercial and residential complex. Any claims that Doctoroff promoted development without displacement must ignore the secondary displacement that occurs when large-scale private development forces rents and property values so high that people cannot afford to stay in their neighborhoods.
Posted by lumi at 5:33 AM
December 7, 2007
Coney Island Intrigue
Kinetic Carnival blogger Omar Robau has been keeping an eye on State Senator Carl Kruger and his "politics of inclusion," which bears a striking resemblance to Bruce Ratner's neatly signed, sealed and delivered "community support."
As NoLandGrab readers will recall, Kruger, with B.U.I.L.D. President James Caldwell at his side, effectively scuttled a November 19th "Community Information Session" on the Mayor's Coney Island redevelopment plan.
Kinetic Carnival, All the Developer's Men
At last year's hearings on the Atlantic Yard project Kruger served the same function as BUILD, using his voice as a representative of Brooklyn community's to try to paint Ratner's project as a vehicle for helping Brooklyn residents. "We're not talking about the Nets Arena. We're not talking about Forest City Ratner," said Kruger, "We're talking about Brooklyn, we're talking about communities, we're talking about Brooklyn first." In reality, however, it was not the abstract ideas of 'Brooklyn' and 'community' that Kruger was advocating, but the actual construction of the neighborhood destroying Nets Arena by Forest City Ratner.
The Nov. 19th 'Community Information Session' on the redevelopment of Coney Island was in many ways identical to the hearing on the Atlantic Yards Development project. We have the same politician and the same sham 'community group' trying to portray the plans of millionaire developers as being in the best interest of the very neighborhoods which their development plans seek to destroy.
Robau's not so sure that Kruger really finds the City's version of Coney Island redevelopment so objectionable — rather, he suspects, Kruger is shilling for Thor Equities' Joe Sitt, as he explains in this follow-up post.
Kinetic Carnival, Kruger Paid For Coney Protest With Own Campaign Funds
It is unclear why Kruger remained quiet about this for so long. His silence only served to raise speculation that the protest may have been funded- directly or indirectly- by Thor Equities.
The Daily News got to the bottom of the funding question yesterday. Turns out it was Kruger himself who paid to bus in 400 "protesters," and outfit them in hats and other paraphernalia — all courtesy of his bountiful campaign warchest:
NY Daily News, State Sen. Carl Kruger paid for protest to target hearing on Coney project
"I paid for it all out of my campaign fund," said Kruger, whose move forced city officials to cancel the jam-packed meeting at Coney Island Hospital.
"I bought the hats, made the signs, printed the leaflets and paid for the buses. I financed the entire thing.
Kruger's largesse, however, may have violated campaign-finance laws. Oops!
It was unclear whether Kruger's expenditures violated state Board of Election laws, but a spokesman said the matter had not been investigated nor had a complaint been filed.
If a complaint were filed, "Sen. Kruger would need to explain how this expenditure is related to a political campaign or the holding of a public office," said state Board of Elections spokesman Bob Brehm.
Confused? So are we. But Bob Guskind at Gowanus Lounge may have it figured out.
The Gowanus Lounge, If Bruce Ratner Has Supported BUILD, Which Opposes the Mayor on Coney Island....
There is a strong sense that multiple threads trace back from this "opposition" to developer Joe Sitt and Thor Equities who may not quite be on board with the Bloomberg-Doctoroff vision of a Sitt-Free Coney Island amusement district. This school of thought believes that all Mr. Sitt needs to do is stall and hold up the process through the next Mayoral election and, then, plant the seeds for a mayor more in turn with the Thor Vision.
...Is a political debt being paid to the Southern Brooklyn politician that has anointed himself as the chief opponent of the Bloomberg plan? Does BUILD's lineage mean that a major Brooklyn developer, whose plan depends on deep public subsidies, is roiling the waters for City Hall in another part of the borough? It is all likely to become much, much more interesting.
Most interesting of all, perhaps, is the Senator's vociferous opposition to "back-door eminent domain," since he hasn't exhibited any qualms about Bruce Ratner's wrecking ball coming through the front door. And as Gowanus Lounge reports, Atlantic Yards critics aren't the only ones questioning Kruger's Libertarian conversion.
The Gowanus Lounge, Coney Island People Sending Emails to Sen. Kruger
For example, Coney Island USA's David Gratt:
But I am especially disappointed because while I was in the Bronx, fighting to keep the Yankees out of Macombs Dam Park (another potential example of “backdoor eminent domain”) your office was unfortunately silent. Why is this issue important to you now, when it was not before?
NoLandGrab: Why, indeed?
Posted by lumi at 5:09 PM
Williams Out, McRae In
Brooklyn Downtown Star is catching up on yesterday's news:
[Brooklyn Borough President] Markowitz submitted [Shirley] McRae's name to the City Council, beginning the formal review and approval process.
If appointed, McRae will replace [City Planning Commissioner] Dolly Williams, who was forced to recuse herself from any CPC vote on the Atlantic Yards after it was revealed that she had invested $250,000 in the New Jersey Nets.
The revelation, however, came after Williams had already voted in favor of the Downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan, which affected some areas of the Atlantic Yards proposal.
The same week as McRae's appointment, Williams was fined $4,000 for the vote by the Conflicts of Interest Board.
Posted by lumi at 5:07 AM
December 5, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
MotherSister Brooklyn, A MotherSister Minute: Letitia James
As utterly disenchanted as I’ve become with national politics, I am more engaged with my local representatives, and I’ve been particularly impressed with Tish James, who has been on the front lines of community issues large (such as the Atlantic Yards development) and relatively small (saving the Broken Angel’s owners from eviction).
Gothamist, 7 Line Gets Hudson Yards, But Forget Hell's Kitchen
And yesterday, the five developers bidding on the Hudson Yards took their projects to the public last night by having designer present the plans. Reactions ranged from "meh" to "interesting" to "horrifying", but Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder points out that at least there's a public process for the West Side rail yards, unlike the Atlantic Yards.
Curbed.com, Yardsmania: Huge Crowd Packs Cooper Union
Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder was at Cooper Union last night for the public presentation of the Yards proposals by the competing developers, and he says that the Great Hall was standing room only. Over one thousand people lined up to hear landscape architects talk? Yardsmania!
The Political News You Need to Know, Brooklyn’s Neverending Story: The Debate over Atlantic Yards Continues with Concerns Over Security
A reblog of our reblog on Nets Fan in NY's defense of the lack of a third-party security analysis for Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 4:25 AM
December 2, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
We're still catching up in the wake of last week's news about Forrest "City" Taylor's appointment as the ombudsman, the latest call by local politicians for an independent security analysis, and Dolly Williams's $4,000 fine for using her position on the City Planning Commission to further her own business interests.
Here's what they were saying in the blogosphere:
Brownstoner, Another Call for an Atlantic Yards Security Study
AY opponents are asking for more transparency from the state and Forest City, according to an article in the Daily News: "The [Empire State Development Corp.] and Forest City Ratner are asking us to trust that they have shared a security plan with the NYPD, and that the NYPD is fine with it," said CBN’s Eric McClure. Forest City won’t disclose details of Atlantic Yards-related security studies it’s funded, citing the issue’s sensitivity, but points out that a consulting firm has reviewed AY security plans and found them comprehensive. Atlantic Yards Report, meanwhile, notes that Council Members David Yassky and Bill De Blasio—both of whom have generally supported the project and who are running for Comptroller and Borough President, respectively—came out yesterday to also call for increased scrutiny of the arena’s security. “The ball game’s not over,” said De Blasio, noting that unless Forest City behaves with more transparency, “the future of their project is in danger.”
The Gowanus Lounge, Call for Independent Atlantic Yards Security Study Gets Louder
A broad-based group that includes local officials supporting the Atlantic Yards development renewed their call for an independent study of security at the planned arena at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. Citing a setback that is only 20 feet in some places, the officials said a full public airing of issues is needed. Some of the strongest criticism actually came from arena supporters. “If they start talking about street closings, they will have unyielding opposition,” said Council Member David Yassky. "They will have two choices—push the building back, or close streets.”
The Gowanus Lounge, BREAKING: Underground Railroad House Spared
The Underground Railroad House at 227 Duffield Street will be spared from eminent domain and the wrecking ball.
...
The building is on the site of the proposed Willoughby Square Park atop a big underground garage that will serve some of the massive developments planned downtown. The city was planning a commemorative of the Underground Railroad. Could the shift indicate that after enduring bad publicity in what became a national story, the city might be planning a museum that would include an actual Underground Railroad structure?
The Real Deal, Planning commission member fined for Atlantic Yards vote
City Planning Commission member Dolly Williams was fined $4,000 yesterday for casting a vote three years ago in support of the Atlantic Yards project. Williams allegedly owned property in the neighborhood. The announcement by the Conflicts of Interest Board came as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz appointed Shirley McRae, Community Board 2 chairwoman, as Williams' prospective successor. Following the implication, Williams recused herself from voting on a rezoning plan for Gowanus, where she also has a financial stake.
Moving On, 2 offers
One blogger has an offer in on a nearby brownstone. Though she fears for her car, she is looking forward to gentrification spurred by Atlantic Yards.
This Recording, In Which This Area Is Incapable of Building Anything Interesting
A review of the region's new sports venues gives a favorable nod to Ratnerville:
The