The Occupy Brooklyn movement marched on the Atlantic Yards Project Saturday as part of a “March to Evict Corporate Greed.”

About 100 people participated, including Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

"There is no greater monument to crony capitalism in all of Brooklyn than the Atlantic Yards Project," he said as the group paused in front of the Atlantic Center Mall in the shadow of the rising Barclays Center.

mcbrooklyn, Occupy Brooklyn Marches to Atlantic Yards and Other Sites of Corporate Greed

A multi-generational crowd showed up at Korean War Veterans Plaza in Downtown Brooklyn yesterday for the Occupy Brooklyn community event. The Green Party, FUREE and Common Cause joined the Occupy Brooklyn group.

The day included teach-ins about community organizing and the impact of big money on our politics, a hot lunch, performances and a march to sites of corporate greed in Brooklyn, including Atlantic Yards. Speakers said the 1 percent spend their political money to game the system against the 99 percent.

DIY Business Assoction, Occupy Brooklyn occupies Brooklyn blocks on November 12–13

From where we were standing, Occupy Brooklyn’s small collective of activists were some of the most positive, friendly protesters we’ve ever seen.

Here are some photos from Occupy Brooklyn’s Speak-out and Teach-ins at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall in Cadman Plaza West on Saturday, November 12. The pow-wow was followed by a March to Evict Corporate Greed! at 2:30 p.m.

On Sunday, November 13, Occupy Brooklyn is hosting a meeting for Community Actions from 11–3 p.m. and a General Assembly at 3 p.m.

Posted by steve at 11:05 PM

November 11, 2011

Assemblyman Boyland found not guilty in corruption case, despite lies and no-show job

Atlantic Yards Report

...But believe it or not, we hold our elected officials to an even lower standard than we hold Bruce Ratner.

Assemblyman Carl Kruger, and (by extension) Forest City Ratner must be breathing a little easier after learning that Assemblyman William Boyland, charged in the same overall federal corruption case which snared Kruger and mentioned FCR (in relation to Kruger), was acquitted yesterday.

In Jury Acquits Assemblyman of Conspiring to Take Bribes, the New York Times reported that the jury found Boyland's actions questionable but not criminal:

Most jurors felt that Mr. Boyland “clearly did things wrong,” the juror said, citing evidence that he lied on disclosure forms about his work for MediSys, and that he had a no-show job.

...“We could not connect the dots,” the juror said. “We could not say that because he got the money, he advocated for MediSys... We couldn’t do that beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Other party guilty

Here's what's confusing: the former MediSys CEO, David Rosen, was already convicted of conspiring to bribe Boyland in return for him helping MediSys. Maybe the difference was that Boyland, who did not testify, chose a jury trial, and Rosen chose a bench trial before a judge.

Kruger's trial is in January.

link

Related content...

The New York Times, Jury Acquits Assemblyman of Conspiring to Take Bribes

After the verdict was delivered, Mr. Boyland said, “I’m looking forward to getting back to serving as assemblyman for the 55th District.”

NoLandGrab: We bet he is. Dispensing his patented brand of compassion.

Posted by eric at 10:33 AM

November 10, 2011

Potential Roadblock for Permit Parking Plan

State Sen. Marty Golden and other southern Brooklyn pols are against the idea of permit parking for residents.

Park Slope Patch
by Jamie Schuh

The plan for residential permit parking, lauded by some residents who live near the Barclays Center arena, may not have a chance in Albany, if state Sen. Marty Golden, R–Bay Ridge, has his way.

The Brooklyn Paper reports that though City Council approved the proposal, Golden has called the idea of a voluntary permit parking system “another tax on our communities.”

article

NoLandGrab: Marty Golden, however, was more than happy to spend a billion dollars of taxpayer money on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project.

Posted by eric at 10:55 AM

November 7, 2011

State Senator Kevin Parker makes it blatant: “I help you. You help me." (Yes, he once got Ratner-related funds.)

Atlantic Yards Report

Sure, he has a criminal record and a history of violent outbursts, but at least he's honest.

The Daily News today reports, in State Sen. Kevin Parker panned after invite to benefit asks for ‘help’:

ALBANY -- Controversial state Sen. Kevin Parker has raised eyebrows yet again with a fund-raising invitation that boasts: "I help you. You help me.”
"It would be simpler if he just said ‘quid pro quo’ on the invitation,” cracked Citizens Union executive director Richard Dadey.
...The front of the invitation bears the slogan: “I help you. You help me. Together we build.”
...But state Board of Elections spokesman Tom Connolly said that while it’s not necessarily the wording he would have chosen, the statement is “vague.”

It is, at the least, an example of candor: a campaign contribution does not necessarily guarantee reciprocal help, but it is often a precursor.

The Ratner connection

Has Forest City Ratner been connected to Parker? Of course. Karen Ranucci, sister in law of developer Bruce Ratner and spouse of leftist lawyer Michael Ratner, gave Parker a $3500 campaign contribution in 2006.

Click thru to see the identities of some of the other "statesmen" who've benefitted from the largesse of the extended Ratner family.

article

Posted by eric at 11:46 AM

Big Politically-Connected Real Estate Projects: Ignoring The Public Majority With Futile “Participatory Democracy” Hearing Process

Noticing New York

When I heard Bill Maher on his Real Time show a week ago offer his thesis about the futility of the forms of participatory democracy into which we are routinely channeled by those with the political upper hand I couldn’t help but think of the public hearing process in New York City with respect to big real estate projects. . . I am not thinking about all real estate projects, but the “done deals,” the “wired deals” involving those you know are the politically connected heavyweights.

Maher was speaking about the complacent assurance of plutocrats that they’ve cornered the political market and therefore can expect to have the Occupy Wall Street 99% boxed in, just so long as the opposition movement can be channeled into the regular and routine forms of civic contest. Then plutocrats know that the 99% “will lose” if they can be channeled into the normal ways of doing political battle, says Maher, because “the other side [the plutocratic side] has all the lobbyists and all the suits.” Or, as Rachel Maddow observed in the same conversation, when the 99% does it the way the plutocrats would like, an out-gunned 99% can be ignored.

That’s why, says Maher, the plutocrats are intent on having the opposition do it THEIR way.
...

While Atlantic Yards is not the best example of the public being channeled into conventional participatory processes so they can then be ignored, it is a good example of the tinkering around the edges that occurs as things are engineered when the powers-that-be want a preordained result. Had those in power not had some appreciation of how massively objectionable to the public the Forest City Ratner project was likely to be they might not have decided to override standard public review process to deliver the deal to Ratner.

article

NoLandGrab: Here's one recent example of how to not play by the rules.

Posted by eric at 10:53 AM

Bramson’s Scheme to Over-Ride Cuomo’s Tax-Cap Will Saddle New Rochelle With Large Post-Election Tax Increase

Talk of the Sound
by Anthony Galletta

Guess whose campaign donations are being cited as an issue in New Rochelle's mayoral race?

Bramson would like you to forget that he accepted campaign contributions from New Rochelle’s INDEPENDENT AUDITORS and IDA Tax-Abated wealthy developers like Cappelli & Forest City Ratner.

article

Posted by eric at 10:20 AM

November 3, 2011

Council challenger: Williamson dislikes developer donations to councillors

Cambridge Day
by Marc Levy

Yonkers isn't the only place in which Forest City is at the root of electoral controversy.

James Williamson, self-desribed as an event organizer, publicist, neighborhood activist has been a frequent presence during public comment periods at city meetings, often speaking out on matters of affordable housing, public transportation and safety and representation for the city’s less wealthy residents. He first ran for City Council two years ago, saying “we need citizens on the City Council who will really pay attention to what’s going on in our city and will not be afraid to speak up and do something about it.” He sounded the same themes for this year’s campaign.

Why are you running? What is it in you or the community that compels you to do this now?

I want to actually do something on the City Council, rather than just sit back and do nothing and collect a check from the taxpayers for $70,000 a year along with campaign contributions from the likes of multiple members of the Ratner family (of Forest City, MIT’s “developer”) from places like Shaker Heights, a wealthy suburb of Cleveland— not Cambridge. Don’t we already have enough wealthy contributors and interests right here in good ol’ Cambridge?

Several councillor-candidates seemed to respond to concerns raised at the Area IV candidate forum last Thursday night with policy orders at Monday’s City Council meeting about rats, since residents are worried about rats displaced by major development across Main Street from Newtowne Court — but what about Ratners? The family’ behind much of this so-called development, the excavation generating the “rat problem,” and they’re major contributors to some of these very same councilor-candidates, to wit: Ken Reeves, Denise Simmons, Marjorie Decker, and, of course, Tim Toomey and David Maher.

Voters should be sure to examine the searchable database at the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to see to who the various members of the extended Ratner family have been contributing to in recent months and years. They are certainly not the only corporate real estate company “investing” in Cambridge candidates (see Alexandria, for example, among others), but they are perhaps the most visible. And they are evidently equal opportunity contributors, as they have given to the cash-starved Republican, Mitt Romney, and the ethically challenged former speaker of the House, Sal DiMasi, as well. Generous of them, don’t you think?
...

What is the No. 1 issue facing Cambridge you see now or coming up in the next two years, and what is your approach or solution to that issue? Be as concrete as possible in explaining what you will do.

The No. 1 issue is the tsunami of “development” heading toward Central Square and Kendall Square via proposals from the MIT Investment Management Co. and the Novartis and Forest City/Ratner plans for Massachusetts Avenue. And quo vadis Central Square? As noted, Ken Reeves is taking money from the “multiple Ratners,” as are Decker, Toomey, Maher and Simmons.

article

NoLandGrab: Sound familiar?

Posted by eric at 11:53 AM

October 31, 2011

DOES ED TOWNS EVEN HAVE A POSITION ON CHARTER SCHOOLS (OR ANYTHING ELSE)?

Room Eight: Gatemouth's Blog

Politics maven Howard Graubard (aka Gatemouth) follows up on last week's accusation that State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who's thought to be prepping a primary challenge to longtime 10th District Congressman Ed Towns, is a flip-flopper on charter schools (among other things).

To return to the subject, on this issue and others, like Atlantic Yards, Hakeem Jeffries tends to nuance himself to death, but on this issue, as with Atlantic Yards, he often gets to a place near my own thinking. Further, I‘ll take this moment to remind BPA that he surely prefers Hakeem’s Atlantic yards nuance to ET’s full-throated support of Ratnerville.

But the real question here is “Does Ed Towns even have a stand on Charter Schools?

As I’ve documented before, on so many issues, ET’s thought processes, if one can even call them that, are quite embarrassing.

article

NoLandGrab: The man does have a point.

Posted by eric at 11:43 AM

October 29, 2011

The Markowitz defense/explanation: I did it for Brooklyn (plus a letter the Times didn't print)

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has a letter in today's New York Times, responding to the newspaper's lengthy investigation of his private fundraising:

I wasn’t elected Brooklyn borough president to do nothing, and I certainly wasn’t chosen for my good looks. My office doesn’t set its own budgets, and gets only $300,000 in discretionary money for programming in a borough of 2.6 million people — less than 12 cents per person! I refuse to accept these limitations, and Brooklynites deserve better.

To make a difference for Brooklyn, I’m an aggressive supporter of economic development and proud of every project that has helped our borough reach new heights.

The nonprofits affiliated with my office have helped countless Brooklynites, sending thousands of kids to summer camp, entertaining millions at free summer concerts, playing host to the largest book festival in the Northeast and providing residents in need with toys and food during the holidays.

And to the businesses that have helped these efforts, I say, Bravo! And more companies should do the same.

If when I’m finished, I have made you prouder to be a Brooklynite, improved your life even a little bit and put a smile on your face, then I achieved what I set out to do.

MARTY MARKOWITZ Brooklyn, Oct. 25, 2011

What's missing

Yes, Markowitz has used the money to serve the public--and to burnish his reputation, thus ensuring cakewalks in his two races for re-election. And Markowitz, of course, evades the question of whether those firms that donate get special favors.

link

Posted by steve at 3:36 PM

October 28, 2011

Brooklyn Borough Prez Marty Markowitz: Arm Twister or Force of Nature for Nonprofits?

The Nonprofit Quarterly
by Rick Cohen

Marty Markowitz seems to be New York City’s happy political power broker. According to the New York Times, Markowitz has worked with real estate interests such as Forest City Ratner, the developer of the massive Atlantic Yards complex in downtown Brooklyn, to move their projects through the often-stalled pipeline. As a gesture of political gratitude, Forest City Ratner has contributed $1.7 million since 2003 toward charities favored by the borough president—part of more than $20 million the Times says Markowitz has raised from developers and special interests for four charities that Markowitz has created.
...

He doesn’t think that there’s any problem with donors who “might feel compelled to give because of his political influence,” because, as Markowitz told the Times, “I know the difference between right and wrong, and ethical and nonethical.”
...

Markowitz may see no problem, but the ethical issues are sort of obvious—even though Markowitz’s charities are a sort of Brooklyn boosterism-oriented kinds of groups. It doesn’t matter: if they are seen as the charities of the borough prez, the donations from corporations with borough business, particularly if subject to Markowitz’s arm-twisting, look bad.

article

Posted by eric at 2:05 PM

Hey Bloomberg, Buy Your Own 7 Train to New Jersey!

Forbes
by Stephen Smith

An article about Mayoral support for extending the #7 subway to Secaucus contains this appraisal of the Bloombergian legacy.

Bloomberg has, overall, been a good mayor for New York, but his success in governing has not lived up to his reputation as a businessman. New York has improved its position over the past decade, but so have all American cities – it’s hard to attribute it to his leadership, specifically. The Hudson and Atlantic Yards redevelopment projects are his two greatest accomplishments, and both have been dogged by accusations of cronyism.

article

NoLandGrab: Referring to two development projects whose only "development" is a half-built arena as the Mayor's greatest accomplishments is wildly off-base. Atlantic Yards may be the greatest misstep of his tenure, while things like 311, PlaNYC2030 and the remaking of the city's streetscape actually are noteworthy achievements.

Posted by eric at 1:46 PM

Hakeem Jeffries Sells Out Our Children’s Education & Future for DFER

New York City Parents Union

In July 2011, Jeffries did a flip flop on charters & charter co-locations betraying parents and attacking the NAACP & UFT for standing up for all children. He did this for DFER money. We responded to his selling out with our press release at: http://www.nycparentsunion.org/?p=195.

Now, Jeffries, the only elected to attend this charter town hall meeting yesterday is ramping up his sellout campaign to the privatizing, union busting charter lobby. Apparently, this is nothing new for Jeffries, he flip-flopped/sold out on Atlantic Yards too.

article

NoLandGrab: It really shouldn't be this hard to upgrade from Ed Towns.

Posted by eric at 1:35 PM

October 26, 2011

What's the real Marty Markowitz like? Lawsuit depositions point to a calculating, volatile politician (and some questionable management by Markowitz's then-deputy)

Atlantic Yards Report

Oy vey.

What's the real Marty Markowitz like? "The people in Brooklyn know me," the Brooklyn Borough President yesterday told the New York Times, waving off criticisms about private fundraising from companies doing business in Brooklyn. (Common Cause was not convinced.)

But do they? Those who know only showman Markowitz may smile, but the real Marty is far more calculating and volatile, as detailed in documents in a sex discrimination suit filed in December 2007 by a former staffer against both him and his office.

Some of the headlines--prompted by the plaintiff's effort to lend momentum to her case by sharing depositions--have been lurid, magnifying relatively small incidents: Suit: Marty ran the Beep’s office like a frat-house and Marty Markowitz blasts 'Tinkerbell' ex-staffer.

By my reading of the extant depositions--surely not the whole record--ex-staffer Regina Weiss has a case, though it's not a slam dunk. No, Markowitz's office doesn't resemble the testosterone-fueled atmosphere of, say, a trading floor. Still, there may be evidence of disparate treatment toward male and female staffers.

The real Marty

More than anything else, the lawsuit pulls back the curtain on Markowitz, showing he recognizes the division between policy and his "shtick," can be a "screamer" beneath his jovial exterior, practices retail politics by pumping out proclamations, blurs the already-fuzzy line between governing and campaigning, and obsesses about his Brooklyn!! promotional publication, which aims to mention or honor as many people as possible.

article

Posted by eric at 10:26 AM

October 25, 2011

Following up on the Times's Markowitz story: why the timing? who was left out (Bloomberg)? will Common Cause call for investigation be heeded?

Atlantic Yards Report

Will anything come of the New York Times's coverage of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's curious end-around of campaign finance laws via campaign contributions? Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY issued a statement today:

"This is sheer pay to play and it's dishonest to pretend otherwise. The Borough President has leveraged his position for personal aggrandizement at great expense to the public cause. Democracy demands accountability from our elected officials, anything less undermines us all. We believe that there should be a full investigation by both the Brooklyn District Attorney and the conflict of interest board."

article

NoLandGrab: Given Markowitz's 25-year history or ethics violations, perhaps the Feds would like to have a look?

Posted by eric at 11:22 PM

Times takes belated but critical look at Markowitz's charity strategy; Forest City largest donor; BP claims criticism irrelevant, but what about his shilling for Atlantic Yards?

Atlantic Yards Report

The New York Times today offers a tough--but not tough enough--front-page (in the New York edition) story about Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's remarkable method of fundraising outside the campaign system.

It's headlined From Brooklyn Office, Mixing Clout and Charity. And yes, the largest amount--$2.4 million--comes from developer Forest City Ratner and Atlantic Yards-related firms.
...

A lame take on the Ratner connection

The anecdotes in the article all concern companies other than Forest City Ratner, so Markowitz's favorite project--and biggest source of donations--gets mentioned only at the end:

Forest City Ratner Companies, which is building the Atlantic Yards complex, has long relied on Mr. Markowitz’s backing for the huge project in the face of neighborhood opposition. Forest City is one of the biggest contributors to Mr. Markowitz’s charities, having given approximately $1.7 million.

“Sometimes, the borough president in his advocacy has blurred the lines between the role of private industry and government,” Councilwoman Letitia James of Brooklyn, an opponent of the project, said. “He is taking advantage of a loophole in the law.”

Mr. Markowitz, who has not yet decided whether to retire from politics or to run for mayor in 2013, called such criticism absurd.

“I have everything that I could have,” he said during an interview. “I don’t need anything. I don’t need any of you! I have done this. I loved it. You could raise all the issues you want — the people in Brooklyn know me, they love me.”

That's a nonsensical, evasive response, ultimately, and the Times shouldn't have let him get away with it.

article

NoLandGrab: Somehow "love" doesn't quite seem like the right word.

Posted by eric at 12:32 PM

From Brooklyn Office, Mixing Clout and Charity

The New York Times
by Liz Robbins and Alison Leigh Cowan

What's front-page news to The Times is something that most of us have known for a long time — something is rotten in Brooklyn (Borough Hall).

When one of the biggest real estate developments in Brooklyn was stalled two years ago, its owner turned to the city government for help, seeking $20 million in financing. Nearly 50 projects were applying for a small number of aid packages at the time, but this one, City Point, had a prominent supporter.

“The future of Downtown Brooklyn depends on it,” Marty Markowitz, the Brooklyn borough president, declared.

City Point received the financing, and around the same time, the lead developer on the project, Acadia Realty, gave $50,000 to a charity run by Mr. Markowitz. The donation was one of a series that Acadia has made to Mr. Markowitz’s charities since 2005, totaling more than $300,000, city records and interviews show.

New York City has adopted some of the strictest rules in the nation to curb the influence of money in politics. Donors with business before it are all but barred from contributing to officials in the city’s campaign finance system.

Yet in recent years, Mr. Markowitz has found another way to tap into those donors. He has established a network of four charities that has reaped at least $20 million since 2003, and probably more, according to interviews and an analysis of city records.
...

The donors to the nonprofit groups range from huge corporations like Wal-Mart and TD Bank to local entrepreneurs, but they usually have one thing in common: They have a stake in city legislation, real estate projects, zoning disputes and other Brooklyn issues.

But everything's kosher, according to Marty.

“I know the difference between right and wrong, and ethical and nonethical,” Mr. Markowitz said. “I am not pitching them to give me money, and me in turn give them anything.”

Uh-huh.

Here's how the game works.

Mr. Markowitz was once an outspoken critic of Wal-Mart’s effort to open in the city, contending that the company treated its workers poorly and would harm local businesses.

In 2008, Mr. Markowitz recommended approval of the zoning resolution for a retailer in East New York, Brooklyn, preferably a supermarket, but only on the condition that Wal-Mart could not be the retailer unless it changed its employment practices. He even demanded that the developer promise in writing to prohibit Wal-Mart.

Last spring, Wal-Mart executives donated $150,000 to the Martin Luther King Jr. concerts, a Markowitz group, and met with Mr. Markowitz.

Soon after, Mr. Markowitz softened his criticism of Wal-Mart, saying its executives convinced him that the company had improved its labor practices. He added that shoppers were now going to Wal-Mart on Long Island. “It doesn’t make sense to me how we keep Wal-Mart out of Brooklyn,” he said.

Both Wal-Mart and Mr. Markowitz said the donations were unrelated to Mr. Markowitz’s views on Wal-Mart’s expansion to Brooklyn.

Union leaders, who have long opposed Wal-Mart in New York and elsewhere, disagreed.

“When somebody changes their mind after a corporation has come in and given a large donation, it is seen as an example of everything that people are disgusted with in politics,” said Patrick Purcell, the assistant to the president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500.

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NoLandGrab: Disgusted, indeed.

Posted by eric at 12:16 PM

October 22, 2011

Does Warren Buffett really back Schumer's plan to trade visas for home purchases? It was more an offhand remark amid support for the market's workings

Atlantic Yards Report

Did billionaire Warren Buffett really back the proposal, co-sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT), to stimulate housing demand by offering visas to immigrants who spend $5000,000 in cash for housing?

Despite widespread coverage saying just that, the evidence is far more murky. Actually, Buffett made an offhand, somewhat fanciful comment--not a policy proposal--while urging that the free market work its course, as the video below indicates.

...

NPR reported:

The concept appears to have broad support. Billionaire Warren Buffett endorsed it as an effective way of getting rid of excess housing inventory in an August interview with Charlie Rose.

"If you wanted to change [the] immigration policy so that you let 500,000 families in, but they'd have to have significant net worth and everything, you'd solve things very quickly," Buffett said.

...

Here's an excerpt from the transcript.

BUFFETT: I mean this -- this is a huge correction of a bubble that popped.

ROSE: And -- and what is necessary to take place over the next two years in order to increase household formation and decrease the amount of construction?

BUFFETT: Well, we’re doing pretty well on the decrease in construction.

...ROSE: Demand is a factor in that.

BUFFETT: Demand is a factor and we artificially gave it a little boost when we went with the credit a year or two ago on -- on -- on purchase of homes. I think it’s a mistake to try and -- to try and front end it. I mean it just delays the eventual recovery. If you’ve gone in excess of something -- if I’ve got too many purple dresses and I run a dress shop, I get rid of those purple dresses and -- and then I can start all over again with the dresses that the people want.

ROSE: Yes.

BUFFETT: And I -- I mark them down to whatever it takes. You could -- you could -- you could have -- you could have a bunch of rich immigrants come in and they’d all need houses, for example. I mean if you wanted to change your immigration policy so that you let 500,000 families in but they have to have a significant net worth and everything, you’d -- you’d solve things very quickly. But naturally it’s being solved. Capitalism is solving this. But we’re fortunate in doing this, Japan has a declining population. I mean, if they get in excess of something it isn’t going to get worked off. We have households being formed every day. I’ve got a grandson getting married this weekend so we’re -- we’re forming them all the time. And -- and we’re forming it a lot faster than we’re building homes.

(Emphasis added)

Note that all the news coverage omitted the next sentence Buffett uttered: But naturally it’s being solved.

Sure, there's room to disagree on whether, in the housing market, more should be done to support homeowners and avoid community dislocation. But an offhand remark, amid a larger call for the free market, should not be seen as a policy prescription.

link

Posted by steve at 3:39 PM

October 19, 2011

Catching up on Bruce Ratner's campaign contributions: to de Blasio and New York Uprising (and would past gift to Schneiderman stave off Downtown Brooklyn Partnership investigation?)

Atlantic Yards Report

Money can buy you friends, and even better, the obeisance of people who shouldn't be looking the other way.

After late 2010 campaign contributions to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and to Senate Republicans, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner has made two other notable contributions.

On 12/23/10, he gave $4,950, the maximum, to Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, a likely 2013 mayoral candidate and a reliable, if not always credible, Atlantic Yards supporter. Ratner in June was the co-chair of a de Blasio fundraiser.

Ratner on 4/1/11 gave $25,000 to New York Uprising, the clean-up Albany effort founded by his old mentor Henry Stern of New York Civic, with support from several noted former elected officials, including former Mayor Ed Koch.

article

NoLandGrab: As we've said before, there's something Orwellian, almost about Bruce Ratner giving money to a clean-up Albany effort.

Posted by eric at 1:30 PM

"Status Cuomo": unmet Atlantic Yards oversight means savings to Ratner

Atlantic Yards Report

Governor Andrew Cuomo, dubbed "Status Cuomo" by his political rivals, seems to have earned that appellation regarding Atlantic Yards.

After all, his administration has merely continued the policy of its predecessors, for example defending the failure to conduct a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, even though contracts signed by the state allow a 25-year buildout, rather than the decade predicted.

Job left open, lagging of oversight

Think about it. For four months, the state has left open the community relations position once occupied by Forrest Taylor, then dubbed ombudsman (though he didn't have such power).

Meanwhile, construction noise, dust, and traffic can make life in areas adjacent to the Atlantic Yards construction very trying.

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Posted by eric at 1:16 PM

October 17, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Hits Grand Army Plaza

Prospect Heights Patch
by Amy Sara Clark

We're guessing Marty didn't see the irony.

Occupy Wall Street came to Brooklyn today with dozens gathering at Grand Army Plaza to bring the movement to their own borough.

And the most unlikely occupier — if logic counts for anything — was the one in the middle:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz stopped by to show support, both for the right of free speech and assembly and for the mission of the movement.

“I share a lot of those sentiments,” he said, citing the disparity of wealth, the struggles of the middle class and the migration of jobs overseas as some of his top concerns.

As one commenter on the Brooklyn Paper's story wrote:

"He's been the biggest booster of Atlantic Yards, the poster project for 1% abuse, and has stood with the 1% who have sued to undo traffic calming on Prospect Park West. What a hypocritical opportunist."

Couldn't have said it better ourselves.

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Posted by eric at 12:01 PM

October 15, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Movement and Atlantic Yards

Occupy Wall Street seeks to expand to Brooklyn. As the thrust of the movement is against corporate welfare, the recipient of such largesse, Bruce Ratner and Atlantic Yards soon come into the picture.

Corrente, Whose Park? Our Park.

This blog post reveals the contents of a letter from Occupy Wall Street's legal advisors to Brookfield Properties that ostensibly stopped New York City from ousting Occupy Wall Street from Zucotti Park. Analysis finds that one of the signatories of the letter was none other than Michael Ratner, Bruce's brother.

But it is the name of Michael Ratner that caught my eye last night. For Ratner is not just the number one human rights legal activist in New York City, arguably the US. He is also the scion of a multi billion property development firm run by his brother, Bruce Ratner, who happens to be a crony/buddy of Michael Bloomberg. So much so that he got more than 100 million dollars of tax and price breaks from NYC to build--against community opposition--a boondoggle basketball stadium in Brooklyn.

(Oh, and besides being a crony of Bloomberg, guess what! Bruce Ratner was the real estate developer for the New York Times' shiny new skyscraper. Do you think the Atlantic Yards stadium boondoggle got much coverage in Izvestia?)

So while Michael Ratner's credentials as a legal rights activist are solid, his family/monetary connections (he was conspicuously silent in the community legal battle against his brother Bruce, and he owns shares in the Nets, Ratner's team) place him well inside the cozy embrace of New York's power elite.

About.com, Occupy Brooklyn Arrives Saturday, Oct. 15 at Grand Army Plaza
By Ellen Freudenheim

It was just a matter of time, really, before Brooklyn became the umpteenth site for the Occupy Wall Street phenomenon. So tomorrow, Saturday, along with your Farmers Market pumpkins and squash, you can get (and give) a good dose of politics at 11 AM at Grand Army Plaza in Park Slope. What's their message? It's still being honed and harvested.

Where Will Occupy Wall Street in Brooklyn Hang Its Hat?

Outgrowing Zuccotti Park, the protesters need a place to hang their hats.

Personally, I'd like to see a Speakers Corner in Brooklyn, like the famous one in Hyde Park, London.

But hmm...a big empty space that's privately owned? Too bad there's not a safe public space near that so called "blighted" area, Atlantic Yards. Now wouldn't that be the irony of all ironies, if Occupy Brooklyn were to occupy Atlantic Yards? A bloggling thought...

Atlantic Yards Report, At Occupy Brooklyn rally Saturday, will Markowitz show up? From Grand Army Plaza, why not head past arena site and measure corner pedestrian congestion?

The gathering at Grand Army Plaza is not planned as an occupation, just a rally. Peter Rothberg wrote on Patch that organizers were exploring whether to try to "take up indefinite residence in the borough."

What could be the Brooklyn equivalent of Zuccotti Park, site of Occupy Wall Street? The most obvious example to some would be MetroTech Commons, also a privately-owned public space and home to not only Brooklyn's most powerful developer, Forest City Ratner, but also the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership as well as several city agencies.

Posted by steve at 8:53 PM

October 10, 2011

Bloomberg: "you promise users everything, then you build what you can and what you think they need"

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder ties the cross-examination of Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the trial of a disgraced political consultant to his defense of developer Bruce Ratner.

In a 10/4/11 article headlined Mayor, Not Recalling Much, Testifies in Consultant’s Trial, the New York Times captured a sequence which cast doubt on Mayor Mike Bloomberg's credibility--and suggested that he and developer Bruce Ratner share a penchant for making promises they can't keep.

article

Posted by eric at 11:54 AM

October 9, 2011

Taibbi on why Wall Street isn't in jail: "financial crimes don't feel real"

Atlantic Yards Report

Matt Taibbi, he of the famous "Goldman Sachs as vampire squid" formulation, was on the Leonard Lopate Show Monday.

And that pointed me to his 2/16/11 Rolling Stone article headlined Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail? Financial crooks brought down the world's economy — but the feds are doing more to protect them than to prosecute them.

Here's the close:

The mental stumbling block, for most Americans, is that financial crimes don't feel real; you don't see the culprits waving guns in liquor stores or dragging coeds into bushes. But these frauds are worse than common robberies. They're crimes of intellectual choice, made by people who are already rich and who have every conceivable social advantage, acting on a simple, cynical calculation: Let's steal whatever we can, then dare the victims to find the juice to reclaim their money through a captive bureaucracy. They're attacking the very definition of property — which, after all, depends in part on a legal system that defends everyone's claims of ownership equally. When that definition becomes tenuous or conditional — when the state simply gives up on the notion of justice — this whole American Dream thing recedes even further from reality.

That's not exactly the Atlantic Yards story, but it's also not out of the ballpark. For example, what should we make of the lies presented to potential immigrant investors?

...

Remember how Forest City Ratner, having pledged $100 million cash in 2005 for the rights to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard, in 2009 convinced the agency (via its political patrons) to restructure the deal, putting down $20 million for the initial parcel needed for the arena block and agreeing to pay the rest over 22 years at a gentle interest rate?

link

Posted by steve at 11:02 PM

October 4, 2011

Brooklyn Nets Have Perfect Job for Post-Presidency Marty Markowitz

The L Magazine
by Benjamin Sutton

Last we heard it sounded pretty likely—though not completely certain—that current Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz will be retiring from politics when his current term ends in 2013. But just because he's (probably) leaving public office doesn't mean he has to cease being Brooklyn's most boisterous spokesman: the Brooklyn Nets need an announcer, and we think Marty'd be perfect for the job.

article

Posted by eric at 11:00 AM

September 30, 2011

Top Markowitz aide Scissura positioning himself for Borough President; does he agree with his boss that "Brooklyn is 1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards"?

Atlantic Yards Report

Four more years of Marty? Shouldn't term limits apply to clones, too?

City Hall News reported 9/28/11:

Carlo Scissura is taking another step toward running to replace his boss Marty Markowitz as Brooklyn borough president. The beep’s chief of staff is stepping down from that job to become a special advisor instead, taking a $15,000 pay cut to $124,000, with some of his responsibilities transferred to other staff members. The move frees him from the restrictions that bar top city officials from raising campaign money or doing other overtly political acts. Scissura, who declined to comment, received Conflicts of Interest Board clearance for the move. Markowitz will not replace him as chief of staff.

In other words, Scissura likely will function in several ways as chief of staff, but without the title--for more than two years.

Fundraiser tomorrow

He's holding a fundraiser tomorrow, with one of hosts Andrew Steininger, capital budget/economic development specialist at Borough Hall, and another Sharon Davidson of the North Flatbush Business Improvement District.

(Note how Scissura, in the picture, is wearing a "Brooklyn" pin the way Markowitz does.)
...

Some baggage

City Hall News noted that Scissura's political baggage includes his willingness to represent Markowitz when his bought a house--a conflict of interest that led both to be fined this year.

article

NoLandGrab: Now there's change we can believe in — a pro-land grab, anti-bike lane, ethically challenged Borough President.

Posted by eric at 11:56 AM

September 29, 2011

Getting Near to Holly Near: Performing This Saturday at First Acoustics (with John Bucchino and special guest Linda Tillery)- Plus Notes on Empire

Noticing New York

This blog post begins with musical matters and then moves to thoughts about a contemporary musician, Jay-Z.

But if you want your bad guys pure and straight up bad in their “empire”-building we suggest you direct your attention where gangsta-rap music star Jay-Z directed his attention this week: Atlantic Yards, the Bruce Ratner mega-monopoly. Jay-Z has been given a small piece of the action in Ratner's mega-monopoly to act as a front man dutifully providing ripped-off-the-Teleprompter PR statements centered around unbelievable stories about job creation and similar fictions. Talk about “contrived.”

The problem is that the bad empire-building behavior Jay-Z is supporting is not happening at a safe remove in a by-gone historical era. The damage he is contributing to is going on now in real time. The only good thing good about the fact that it's happening in real time is that this means a conscious and objecting public has options to do something about. Insisting that Ratner's monopoly be broken up and bid out to competing developers would be a good first step in the things to be accomplished. Ensuring that subsidies are fair and minimal with diminished density would be some other good things to accomplish.

...

Jay-Z showed up at the press event this week to announce that the Ratner/Prokhorov basketball team, the New Jersey Nets now in New Jersey are being renamed the “Brooklyn Nets.” The team, of course, along with jay-Z, have are being used to justify Ratner’s land grab, receipt of huge public subsidies and override of laws and the community.

But the only elected representative at the event was Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. All other politicians stayed away, although Ratner is still very much reliant on the Bloomberg and Andrew Cuomo backing he gets in the background.

link

Posted by steve at 2:05 PM

September 18, 2011

Quote of the week, from Marty Markowitz: "I would bring the heart back to this city" (if he decided to run for mayor)

Atlantic Yards Report

The New York Post reported in a 9/14/11 article headlined Fuhgeddaboutit! B’klyn Beep Marty retiring from politics:

Marty Markowitz -- the powerful, popular Brooklyn borough president who had seriously considered a bid to replace Mayor Bloomberg in 2013 -- is no longer interested in the gig, sources told The Post yesterday.

NLG's Eric McClure suggested Markowitz would be "your next Forest City Ratner Companies Vice President of Governmental Affairs!"

Backing off

Then Markowitz backed off--sort of.

In a NY1 piece later that day headlined Markowitz Denies Report He's Ready To Leave Public Office, Markowitz in some ways seemed to confirm the earlier report, acknowledging that, unlike the announced candidates, he hasn't made any steps to campaign.

link

Posted by steve at 10:47 PM

September 14, 2011

Fuhgeddaboutit! B’klyn Beep Marty retiring from politics

NY Post
by Rich Calder

Ladies and gentleman — your next Forest City Ratner Companies Vice President of Governmental Affairs!

Marty Markowitz -- the powerful, popular Brooklyn borough president who had seriously considered a bid to replace Mayor Bloomberg in 2013 -- is no longer interested in the gig, sources told The Post yesterday.

Jeez, and he had such a good chance of winning.

In fact, the 66-year-old Markowitz, who can’t run for re-election again as borough president because of term limits, has been telling close confidants he’s grown tired of the strains of political life altogether and is not planning to run for any other elected post.

He's not the only one who's grown tired.

...
As borough president, he played a major role in the opening of the Red Hook cruise-ship terminal, attracting new development to Downtown Brooklyn and Coney Island and convincing the owners of the NBA New Jersey Nets to move into a new Prospect Heights arena next year.

But Markowitz has also infuriated his share of constituents, including bicycle activists, over his opposition to a bike lane along Prospect Park West.

Opponents of the controversial Atlantic Yards project, including the new Nets arena, regularly ridicule him for being its biggest booster.

article

Related coverage...

Runnin' Scared, Marty Markowitz Is Retiring

This comes after Markowitz's ethics issue in July, in which the city Conflicts of Interest Board fined him $20,000 for accepting free travel for his wife who accompanied him on business trips to Turkey and the Netherlands, though representatives of Markowitz said this was unrelated to the decision not to run.

No formal announcements have been made yet. The big question, along with who will replace Marty Markowitz? is does Fuhgeddaboutit retire too?

Posted by eric at 1:03 PM

August 20, 2011

From the Village Voice's Siegel: Sharpton as mayoral king killer (and, I'd add, the knife in Ferrer's back over AY)

Atlantic Yards Report

This week's Village Voice features on article about the influence of Atlantic Yards supporter Al Sharpton on New York politics. Norman Oder takes a look back at how Sharpton's AY support took precedence in his support of Fernando Ferrer for mayor.

Unmentioned is a key episode in the Ferrer campaign, whereupon the candidate belatedly came out against Atlantic Yards, only to have Sharpton--his supporter--immediately issue a statement criticizing him.

Most in the press played Sharpton's knife in the back over Ferrer's policy switch. The New York Times, for example, published a 10/29/05 article headlined Ferrer Is Chided Over Atlantic Yards:

In a statement sent by e-mail to reporters, Mr. Sharpton said that he and Mr. Ferrer "strongly disagree" on the project, which would place a ridge of skyscrapers and a basketball arena at a major Brooklyn intersection and straddle several low-scale neighborhoods where opposition to the project has recently intensified. Mr. Ferrer, he said, "needs to realize that failure to get projects like this done would be a terrible loss for communities of color throughout this city."

"We cannot play politics with something as important as the Atlantic Yards," Mr. Sharpton said.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Sharpton played down the notion of a rift between the two camps, saying that the statement had been issued in response to calls from reporters and was intended "to make it clear that I wasn't playing politics."

That, people, is Orwellian. What was Sharpton doing other than playing politics?

link

Posted by steve at 3:53 PM

August 15, 2011

From Borough Hall: banning photography and video at the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet meetings is "to prevent disruptions." What are disruptions?

Atlantic Yards Report

At the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet meeting, held the morning of 7/14/11 at Borough Hall, some of us in the audience picked up cameras to take a few photos.

I did, as did Amy Clark of Prospect Heights Patch, Michael D. D. White of Noticing New York, and a couple of academics working on a project related to Atlantic Yards.

A Borough Hall staffer told us to stop taking photos.

Getting an explanation

Later, I asked, as I had done in February, for an explanation of why cameras were banned at the meetings, held bi-monthly.

Markowitz spokesman Mark Zustovich sent me a statement:

“Our office, along with Empire State Development (ESD) and Council Member Letitia James, are preparing a statement about the openness of these meetings and our expectations regarding public attendee behavior, and that statement will be included with each meeting’s agenda so there’s no confusion going forward. However, you will recall that an announcement was made at the second AYDSC earlier this year by Arana Hankin of ESD that since these meetings are non-deliberative, they are not subject to open public meetings law. [see coverage] Therefore, while we’ve allowed the public to attend and view the meetings, we have prohibited the use of film and photography in order to prevent disruptions. The public is encouraged to view, record audio, take notes and report on the proceedings of the cabinet. They are not permitted to film or photograph the meetings.”

Follow the link for Norman Oder's conjecture about the reason for the ban — which might have something to do with vanity.

article

Posted by eric at 10:25 AM

August 7, 2011

Markowitz's concert program: ads from the Barclays Center/Nets (the Dodgers connection!), Forest City Ratner, Turkish restaurants, and many more

Atlantic Yards Report

Atlantic Yards ur-opponent Patti Hagan passed along the program from Borough President Marty Markowitz's August 4 Seaside Summer Concert Series, held in Coney Island.

It's a hefty publication, with actual (promo-ish) articles about such things as Brooklyn movies and Brooklyn writers, and lots of ads, including from the many patrons (listed in graphic below), sponsors, and contributors.

The pages at bottom show the cover, and the ads from the Barclays Center/Nets and Forest City Ratner.

Hagan noted that, at the August 4 concert featuring Aretha Franklin, Markowitz saluted the Nets and Barclays but managed not to mention Forest City Ratner.

...

Inside the program, as shown at right, Barclays Center and the Nets are going straight for the Brooklyn Dodgers-Brooklyn Nets connection, positioning an image of seats from a baseball stadium on the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, the gateway to all things Brooklyn.

It would be a little more difficult to juxtapose photos of the modest, retro Ebbets Field with the modern Atlantic Yards arena, with its "Barclays Center" signage. Such signage turns a publicly-owned (at least nominally) sports facility into a billboard for a sponsor that bought naming rights that the state simply gave away.

...

Note that some but not all are patrons of Markowitz's other concert series, the Martin Luther King, Jr. concert series, but Barclays/Nets and Forest City are patrons of both.

The Seaside series, held in Coney Island, is aimed at a significantly white audience, though it appeals to a broader crowd. The MLK series, held in Crown Heights, is aimed at a significantly black audience, though it appeals to a broader crowd.

link

Posted by steve at 10:43 PM

August 6, 2011

Post: Markowitz gave capital funds to hospital that paid for trip; BP says every hospital gets money; records suggest this hospital did well

Atlantic Yards Report

Now that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has pushed back against a ruling that cost him $20,000 in fines from the city Conflict of Interests Board, the New York Post is looking a little more closely at potential quid pro quo activity.

In today's article, headlined Carib junketeer Marty 'repays' favor to hosp, the newspaper reported:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz delivered more than $2.5 million in capital funds last year to the Brooklyn Hospital Center in Fort Greene -- which paid his way on a Caribbean junket in 2007, The Post has learned.

...One of those trips in 2007 was to the island of Grenada, where the Brooklyn Hospital Center covered airfare and lodging bills estimated at $1,000 to $5,000.

Markowitz listed the purpose of the visit on financial-disclosure forms as: "Promoted intercourse in health-care innovations and Brooklyn as a tourist destination."

He also met with officials of St. George's University medical school, which sends students to the Fort Greene hospital for training.

Every hospital that asks?

The BP's office told the Post pointed out that, since 2007, every hospital in Brooklyn that applied for capital money received an award.

Perhaps, but it looks like the Brooklyn Hospital Center did well. In 2009, the one year for which I have details, two hospitals were funded, at much lower numbers: Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center got $700,000, while Long Island College Hospital got $295,000.

Reasons for concern

However, the Post found a watchdog to say the obvious:

But Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, called the combination of the freebie trip and the government handout worrisome.

"The capital item for the Brooklyn Hospital may be entirely needed. But in the context of him having visited Grenada on their nickel, it raises questions," said Dadey.

link

Posted by steve at 10:57 PM

August 2, 2011

Markowitz on wife Jamie: "I ask her if I've made right decisions."

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder still can't get over Marty Markowitz's hyperbolic boosterism, but in Oder's defense, is there really any Brooklynite more tedious than Markowitz?

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, defending his flouting of a directive not to let his wife Jamie take freebies, tells New York Post columnist Cindy Adams, in Markowitzes two peas in a pod: "It's foreign to me not to have her. I need her. She's got a great sense of what's important. I ask her if I've made right decisions. Yin to the yang, she's my life. My soul mate."

Um, did Jamie agree that, as Markowitz said on video, "Brooklyn is 1000 percent--1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards"?

link

Posted by eric at 12:22 PM

July 27, 2011

Following up on the Markowitz campaign fine: two editorials criticize him; Brooklyn Paper suggests wife is First Lady; poll (taken before fine surfaced) shows BP high in 2013 Mayoral rice

Atlantic Yards Report

That $20,000 fine levied against Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz for letting his wife get her expenses paid on three international trips--despite explicit advice to the contrary (which he ignores)--is still provoking discussion.

The Daily News reports, in Irked Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz: Change city travel law, that Markowitz is hoping for the City Council to allow spouses to travel for free. Council Members say that's unlikely.

Is Jamie "First Lady" of Brooklyn?

In an editorial, Marty Markowitz scores another Knucklehead Award for trying to pass off his wife as first lady of BK, the Daily News simply says Markowitz is wrong, without noting how the judge in the case contrasted Jamie Markowitz's duties with that of a real First Lady.

article

NoLandGrab: First lady? Somehow, we don't see Michelle Obama grabbing up as many expensive place mats as she can carry, and telling people who didn't get one "you snooze, you lose."

Posted by eric at 10:33 AM

July 26, 2011

Markowitz fined $20,000 for accepting free airfare and other travel perks for his wife--despite having stated he knew he had to pay her way

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has been slammed with a $20,000 fine by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) for gaining free travel for his wife on three foreign trips, two to Turkey and one to the Netherlands.

And while Markowitz, in press statements, has produced some part-justifying and entertaining explanations--yes, there was a lot of official business, yes, it's hard to split hotel costs--he (and many in the press) ignore the fact that, before the first of the three trips, Markowitz told the COIB that he'd pay for his wife.

It's been a rough stretch for Markowitz at the COIB. In February, he was fined $2,000 by the COIB for using Chief of Staff Carlo Scissura as his lawyer for a home-buying transaction in 2009. Scissura was fined $1100.

And his wife Jamie has previously taken advantage of her position, taking home eight valuable placemats given to attendees at a Brooklyn Museum gala in April 2008.

article

NoLandGrab: And to think the whole spurious legal case against Brooklyn's beautiful Prospect Park West bike path hangs on Markowitz's sworn statement.

Posted by eric at 11:54 AM

July 24, 2011

Stringer calls for abolition of member items in City Council; Daily News editorial points to importance of fairness in contracting

Atlantic Yards Report

The distribution of Member items is inequitable and have become a way of keeping Council members in line. This has led to a critical report from the Manhattan Borough President. Atlantic Yards helps provide an example of how member items are doled out.

The Daily News pointed to this:

Consider two councilmen - Domenic Recchia and Charles Barron - who were elected in Brooklyn districts located fairly close to each other.

Recchia is a Quinn lieutenant and chairman of the Finance Committee. He represents Coney Island, Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach and Gravesend. This year, he distributed $1,630,064 to groups such as the Brighton Ballet Theater Company, the Russian American Foundation and the Brooklyn Chinese-American Association. His total amounted to $10.30 per resident.

Barron is a self-styled civil rights firebrand who has attacked Quinn's leadership. He represents East New York, Brownsville and Canarsie and was permitted to deliver less than a quarter of Recchia's sum to groups in his neighborhood: $399,464, or $2.40 per person.

Not that it was germane to the distribution of funds, but guess which Council Member supported Atlantic Yards, and which one did not? Right.

...

In fiscal year 2012, Council Districts received an average of $638,479. City Council Member Letitia James, serving her second full term (plus part of the late Council Member James Davis's unfinished term), has seniority, but not an in with Quinn.

So in 2012, James's 35th District received $481,964.00, ranking 37th among 51 Council Districts.

link

Posted by steve at 9:42 PM

July 21, 2011

Querying Bill de Blasio on Atlantic Yards progress: "I still believe this is a project that can create a lot of jobs and a lot of affordable housing"

Atlantic Yards Report

After a panel on jobs, during which there was time for only a couple of questions, I approached de Blasio and introduced myself. He was friendly, recognizing me--after all, we'd spent a memorable couple of hours jousting about Atlantic Yards in in 2007, leading to my rather critical portrayal.

Below is the transcript of our exchange, unedited, but with some commentary.
...

NO: And now the numbers on jobs are pretty low, the numbers on housing are zero. Has that caused you to rethink either the concept of CBAs, or your support, or government's posture--any sort of cause to rethink?

BdB: I want to get the results we wanted originally, or as close to them as possible. So my framework here--I don't think this history's over yet.

NO: --Of course not.

BdB: And I know you feel differently. So let's just--

NO: It's not a question of whether I feel differently, it's whether I analyzed it.

BdB: I appreciate you. I've always appreciated analysis. I remember when we sat in the Tea Lounge long ago--we disagreed, but I admire how much work you put into it, I think you do some good thinking. But my bottom line is, I still believe this is a project that can create a lot of jobs and a lot of affordable housing, and what I want to do is see that come to fruition.

NO: Right--but, fair enough, but how do you do that, to go from the rhetoric to the actual performance?

BdB: Y'know, I don't have the chapter and verse, I didn't see this morning's article--

NO: Understood.

BdB: But my point to you--I'm trying to be honest about the question. I still believe the project can be very effective, and my job is to try and help make it effective, that's the bottom line.

Arguably his job is to protect the public interest, so "effective" means gaining the public benefits without too many public costs. And his reliance on developer Bruce Ratner to help raise funds certainly raises some question of his loyalties.
...

In February 2011, I queried two of his spokesmen to ask whether the Public Advocate had a position on Forest City Ratner's failure to hire an Independent Compliance Monitor. I never got a response.

NO: This CBA was supposed to have something called an Independent Compliance Monitor. It never happened. And because the only people who can enforce the CBA are the signatories, government can't intervene. In L.A., where the CBA is also signed by the government, government can actually try to enforce it. So your thoughts about CBAs, to the extent that you do think about them, because I know you've got a lot on your plate--have you thought about whether government should be a part of CBAs?

BdB: I think it depends on the context. But again, where I'm trying to focus, I think it's kindred to your point, is clearer definitions, better enforcement. And that's something I'm working on.

What next?

How exactly de Blasio's working on it remains unclear because, at that point, one of his aides intervened and he moved on to another interlocutor.

article

Posted by eric at 11:45 AM

July 20, 2011

In the Village Voice, a tough portrait of Mayor Bloomberg, but a missed opportunity to mention Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder has a short review of a recent Village Voice piece headlined Citizen Bloomberg: How our mayor has given us the business.

article

Posted by eric at 9:36 PM

July 14, 2011

Hakeem Jeffries breaks it down: court decision means ESDC has done the developer's bidding, illustrates need for Atlantic Yards governance

Atlantic Yards Report

I asked Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, sponsor of governance legislation that has passed the Assembly but still waiting in the Senate, if he had any comment on the court decision yesterday ordering the Empire State Development Corporation to conduct an additional environmental review of the Atlantic Yards project.

"The court decision further illustrates the need for the Atlantic Yards governance legislation, given the mounting evidence that ESDC has repeatedly failed to protect the public interest in this project in order to do the developer's bidding," he stated.

link

NoLandGrab: That's all well and good, but other than sponsoring this not terribly toothy legislation, has Hakeem ever really done anything to fight Atlantic Yards? Better governance of a total disaster doesn't really solve the basic problem.

Posted by eric at 3:25 PM

New Mayoral candidate Tom Allon, of Manhattan Media, and his ill-fated work for Forest City Ratner's Brooklyn Standard "publication"

Atlantic Yards Report

The newest 2013 mayoral candidate is another rich media mogul — this one a man infamous for publishing a fake Atlantic Yards newspaper.

Tom Allon, President/CEO of Manhattan Media is a (mini)mogul running for Mayor in a self-professed Bloombergian mode, and his campaign so far has drawn skepticism mainly because of his longshot status.

But if Allon gets serious attention, he should be questioned about his company's ill-fated, un-journalistic alliance with Forest City Ratner on the promotional Brooklyn Standard "publication."

The "publication" lasted all of two issues in 2005, folding after ridicule in the Times (headline: O.K., the Whole Paper Is Basically an Ad) and a mini-scandal over putting a contributor's byline on articles he didn't write. (Allon promised a retraction in the next issue, but no issue ever emerged.)

"I encourage our journalists to cover the Mayoral race, as well as politics in general, with neither fear nor favor," Allon said in a letter this month to staffers, according to the Observer. "I am a journalist first, and would have it no other way."

He sure wasn't a journalist first back in 2005, appearing on the Brooklyn Standard masthead below two Forest City Ratner "editors in chief."

article

Posted by eric at 10:36 AM

Mayor Bloomberg’s New York: A Model or Cautionary Tale?

BeyondChron
by Randy Shaw

Bloomberg’s approach to governance offers a complex case that requires a particularly nuanced and fact-driven analysis. Julian Brash’s new book, Bloomberg’s New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City, addresses some components of the mayor’s leadership strategy, particularly emphasizing his effort to run the city like a private corporation.
...

The use of Hudson Yards as the chief case study is also questionable because it involved a unique political obstacle, needing and ultimately failing to gain the support of state Assemblymember Sheldon Silver.

Brash had many better examples available to prove his thesis about Bloomberg’s autocratic and often elite-driven approach to governance, including Bloomberg’s support for the outrageous Atlantic Yards land grab in Brooklyn. That project had all of the features Brash found compelling in the Hudson yards struggle, including a new stadium as a “front” for a massive new office development scheme. The difference is that Silver or any other single state official lacked the power to kill Atlantic Yards, whose construction reflects how Bloomberg has almost always gotten his way.

article

NoLandGrab: Actually, Silver (or former State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, or any number of Governors), could have killed Atlantic Yards — had they wanted to.

Posted by eric at 10:06 AM

July 9, 2011

Status Cuomo? Governor names Lawrence Schwartz, top Paterson aide (including on AY) to be his top aide

Atlantic Yards Report

Status Cuomo?

The New York Times, in Cuomo Picks Schwartz to Be New Top Aide, today reported:

In a shakeup of his senior staff, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday appointed Lawrence S. Schwartz, a senior adviser in his administration, to be his top aide.

As secretary to the governor, Mr. Schwartz will return to a position he held under Gov. David A. Paterson. The move establishes him as arguably the most influential unelected official in state government over the past several years, and marks a rare instance of one man serving as the top staffer to two consecutive governors.

Schwartz played a quiet but not insignificant goal gatekeeping Atlantic Yards for Paterson, for example meeting in December 2009 with Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries on the issue.

That month, Paterson himself met with Atlantic Yards opponents, promising "an objective and fair hearing," but nothing came of it.

In fact, at the March 2010 groundbreaking, Paterson repeated some myths about Atlantic Yards job projections.

link

Posted by steve at 5:01 PM

July 7, 2011

Jim Brennan Wants to Force Ratner to Build More Atlantic Yards Parking

Streetsblog
by Noah Kazis

More on Jim Brennan's really bad Atlantic Yards parking idea.

According to Tonice Sgrignoli, a legislative aide for Brennan, the legislation is still being researched and no details are available at this point. According to Sgrignoli, ESDC eliminated a requirement to build underground off-street parking that had been in an earlier agreement with Forest City Ratner and this legislation would likely undo that change.

When Streetsblog asked why Brennan thought that Atlantic Yards should have more parking in the first place, Sgrignoli replied that “Anyone who’s ever tried to drive a car and park it in that area will understand why it’s important to provide parking.”

Hopefully, Brennan himself has a more sophisticated understanding of parking policy. As former Boerum Hill Association president Jo Ann Simon said, no conceivable amount of off-street parking is going to free up on-street spaces so long as they are cheaper than going to a garage and available to anybody. “If people drive there, they will always try and find something free on the street,” she said. What happens on-street — many in the area, including Simon, have long pushed for residential parking permits — Simon said, “is entirely irrelevant to whether there should be more off-street parking to serve the arena.”

Simon’s argument is borne out by the reality at Yankee Stadium. There, despite a whopping 9,000 off-street spaces, area residents still complain that on-street parking is impossible on game day, according to a Crain’s report.

Moreover, building extra parking will simply mean that more people are able to drive to the area instead. “Brennan’s proposal to compel more off-street parking in one of New York City’s most transit-accessible locations betrays a terrible lack of understanding regarding transportation and mobility,” said University of Pennsylvania parking expert Rachel Weinberger. “His idea will invite more traffic through his district, more traffic in adjoining districts, and by requiring all of that parking, other development is preempted.”

article

Posted by eric at 11:55 AM

Bloomberg's Principles

The Future of Capitali$m
by Ira Stoll

Mayor Bloomberg has been doing a fine job of defending Walmart's right to open a store in New York City, but a New York Times news article overstates it some when it refers to Mr. Bloomberg as "a longtime defender of free-market principles." Was he defending free-market principles when he backed the use of eminent domain to seize private property for subsidized housing and a basketball arena at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn?

link

Posted by eric at 11:16 AM

June 29, 2011

Atlantic Yards Watch gets $4000 in discretionary funding from Council Member James

Atlantic Yards Report

Among the many member items in the City Council's just-passed 2012 discretionary budget [PDF] is $4000 from City Council Member Letitia James to Atlantic Yards Watch:

The Atlantic Yards Watch is an initiative currently co-sponsored by the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, the Boerum Hill Association and the Park Slope Civic Council to collect important data about the impacts from the construction and operation of the Atlantic Yards Project. The goal is to ensure the health and sustainability of the neighborhoods the project impacts.

link

NoLandGrab: Tish, where's the love? We're going to hike our IPO price based on that valuation.

Posted by eric at 10:19 AM

June 27, 2011

U.S. Supreme Court Threatens Campaign Finance Reform in NYC

Untapped New York
by Janos Marton

New York City’s campaign finance system, often lauded as the best in the nation, has a secret. It’s under attack.

On the heels of last year’s devastating Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates for more corporate spending in elections, the United States Supreme Court may be about to severely curtail the role of public financing in elections. The case, McComish v. Bennett, involves a challenge to Arizona’s public financing system, specifically a provision granting “trigger funding” to participating candidates facing well-funded opponents. Following oral arguments in late March of this year, it appears the Supreme Court is likely to declare “trigger funds” unconstitutional, a determination that could have wide-ranging implications and affect the way we run elections here in New York.
...

In the case of a massive, multi-hundred-million-dollar project like Atlantic Yards or the planned Vornado Tower, where the developers stand to make far more than their colossal investment, it becomes clear why a real estate mogul might want to drop a mere million dollars to win a Council seat, if that outlay virtually assured approval of a controversial building or complex.

Trigger funds are a key safeguard against this type of brazen manipulation of the system, because they prevent all but those with Bloomberg bucks from overwhelming the political process with money. Though certainly a robust campaign finance system is not without its cost — the CFB distributed $27 million in taxpayer dollars in 2009 — the expense is relatively small in relation to its effectiveness in limiting the power of special interests in shaping government policy and public works. If the Supreme Court rules trigger funds unconstitutional, it is likely that local candidates will find themselves trapped in a financial arms race, where the temptation of selling out to special interests for campaign cash will be increasing difficult to resist.

article

Posted by eric at 10:52 AM

June 25, 2011

Atlantic Yards down the memory hole: no, the City Council never held sway (and thus campaign finance reform had no impact)

Atlantic Yards Report

In Huffington Post, New York Civic's Morgan Pehme explains how the city's campaign finance system, which guarantees candidates matching funds (unlike candidates for state offices), is in jeopardy.

The headline is Pulling the Trigger: U.S. Supreme Court Threatens Campaign Finance Reform in NYC.

I commented:

Please note that the situation regarding Atlantic Yards was even less democratic than described: "In the case of a massive, multi-hund­red-millio­n-dollar project like Atlantic Yards... it becomes clear why a real estate mogul might want to drop a mere million dollars to win a Council seat, if that outlay virtually assured approval of a controvers­ial building or complex."

With Atlantic Yards, the local City Council member, Letitia James, never got to vote, because the mayoral administra­tion agreed to have the approval process bypass the city's typical Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and instead be shepherded by the unelected Empire State Developmen­t Corporatio­n, controlled by gubernator­ial appointees­.

Even former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff has said, in hindsight, that Atlantic Yards should have gone through ULURP.

That said, ULURP has its problems and the local City Council member does not always hold sway. For example, the administra­tion, along with Council leadership­, outmaneuve­red Council Member Stephen Levin on the New Domino project in Williamsbu­rg.

link

Posted by steve at 8:55 PM

June 24, 2011

Letitia James: A Strong Voice during Tough Times

Our Time Press
by Mary Alice Miller

What next for Letitia James? Voters from all walks of life are asking that she run for the 10th Congressional seat when current Congressman Ed Towns eventually retires. And, why not?
...

James took exception to the Atlantic Yards project being taken out of the City Council’s land review process. Her vocal opposition to the displacement of her constituents via eminent domain was heard across the state. She remains firmly in support of the Unity Plan’s alternative principle that the community needs affordable housing more than it needs a sports arena.
...

Letitia James is an unwavering voice who speaks truth to power.

article

Posted by eric at 10:34 AM

June 20, 2011

Some of the Markowitz back story: if he runs for mayor, his record, and personality, will get more scrutiny

Atlantic Yards Report

Last week, we learned that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who avoided a potential 2009 mayoral run thanks to the extension of term limits, is considering a 2013 mayoral race, after the implosion of Anthony Weiner's political career.

I pointed out that Markowitz would face not merely ridicule but scorn for his Atlantic Yards support, given his blatant lie to potential immigrant investors: "Brooklyn is 1000 percent, 1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards."

The Post's criticism

Markowitz surely has a record to run on--he will credit his leadership for the "renaissance" of Brooklyn (debatable), but can claim innovations (some with dubiously gained private funds) like the Brooklyn Book Festival, Dine In Brooklyn, as well as a capital budget geared to big projects like his (now-stalled) Asser Levy Park bandshell.

The New York Post, in a 6/18/11 editorial headlined When beeps fly, slammed the aspirations of not only Markowitz but Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio:

Truth is, beeps haven't had much on their plates since 1990, when their powers were sapped and they became figureheads with expense accounts.

Likewise the public advocate, who is nominally the No. 2 official in New York, but whose role is mostly limited to smiling and collecting a paycheck while offending no one and waiting patiently for the mayor to depart.

Well, the offices have relatively light duties, but they are what the officeholder makes of them. Stringer and other Borough Presidents have paid more attention to policy than has Markowitz.

And another Public Advocate, say Norman Siegel, might have prioritized policy more than de Blasio.

So it's the people, not the job.

article

Posted by eric at 9:55 AM

June 18, 2011

On Battle for Brooklyn day, Markowitz, Nets, allies plant tree in Fort Greene Park to promote donations

Atlantic Yards Report

Yesterday, as the film Battle for Brooklyn opened commercially to widespread positive reviews, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and the city of New York were doing their best to promote the Nets, the Barclays Center, and the salubrious effect of the team's move in 2012.

The event: a tree donation, and a photo op, with associated advertising for the team, the arena, and a lawn care company. (There was no mention of how Forest City Ratner tried to evade paying for street trees it demolished.)

The media event drew coverage from the New York Post's Brooklyn blog and NY 1.

link

Posted by steve at 2:11 PM

June 13, 2011

Legislators: one week left to get the state Legislature to pass a bill establishing a subsdiary to oversee Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

It seems like an obvious argument: Atlantic Yards, as a massive development project, deserves a subsidiary or authority overseeing it long-term, just as other major projects, from Battery Park City to Brooklyn Bridge Park, have their own governance entities, helping evaluate the terms of the project and revising the schedule and plans as necessary.

And the bill, in its current form, is hardly prescriptive, giving community members a fractional voice but not definitive power, as the subsidiary would be appointed by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).

That argument, however, has gained relatively little traction in Albany over the last few years, as Forest City Ratner lobbying, which includes a close relationship with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and consistent Atlantic Yards support from governors, has managed to stymie any progress.

With barely a week left in the legislative session, this year the governance bill has a greater chance than before, elected officials said at a forum Saturday sponsored by BrooklynSpeaks. (Photos of the event, which drew some 60 people, by Tracy Collins.) That doesn't mean it's likely, but the bill has passed two Assembly committees, one more than previously, which gives it a fighting chance in the Assembly.

Beyond that, the dynamic surrounding the project--recognition that promised benefits are far off, and Forest City Ratner's entanglement (though not indictment) in a prominent corruption case--has changed somewhat.

BrooklynSpeaks leaders, who handed out letters to be filled out at the meeting to be sent to Albany, urged further phone calls and lobbying.

article

Related coverage...

Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Patch, June 13: All Eyes On Albany

Procrastinators everywhere will recognize the flurry of activity in the halls of the State Capitol in the coming days as our elected representatives struggle to resolve tough issues before they join schoolchildren across the state on summer break.

For months, they have debated, revised and negotiated details of bills with big-time implications for many Brooklyn residents, including whether to extend rent regulations, to create a panel to oversee Atlantic Yards redevelopment or to legalize same-sex unions.

Now it's crunch time.

Posted by eric at 10:27 AM

Markowitz running for Mayor? He'll have to explain why he lied blatantly about Atlantic Yards (on video) to help Forest City Ratner

Atlantic Yards Report

Markowitz deserves more than merely ridicule.
...

He deserves scorn.

His performance in a video presented to potential immigrant investors in Atlantic Yards--a dubious program offering huge savings to Forest City Ratner--as I wrote in February, is spectacular.

Markowitz claims, incredibly, "Brooklyn is 1000 percent, 1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards."

He knows that's false. But it could help save Forest City Ratner some $191 million under the dubious exploitation of a federal program in which immigrant investors get green cards for themselves and their families in exchange for purportedly job-creating investments.

link

Posted by eric at 10:03 AM

Marty eyes mayor run

NY Post
by Rich Calder

Run, Marty, run!

The king of Kings now has his eye on all five boroughs.

Marty Markowitz is “strongly considering” a run for mayor in 2013, sources close to the Brooklyn borough president told The Post.

“He’s very serious about it but will take the summer to think it over,” one source said.

With Rep. Anthony Weiner sexting himself out of New York’s mayoral race, political experts say the door is wide open for Markowitz to mount a successful campaign.
...

However, Markowitz has also infuriated his share of constituents, including bike activists over his opposition of a bike lane at Prospect Park West. And opponents of the controversial Atlantic Yards project, which includes the arena, regularly ridicule him for being its biggest booster.

Doug Muzzio, a political-science professor at Baruch College, said Markowitz’s "great sense of humor" and being a "cheerleader" might only go so far with voters.

article

Posted by eric at 9:56 AM

June 12, 2011

Lawmakers Demand Public Oversight For Atlantic Yards Project

NY 1

Brooklyn lawmakers want the public to have more of a say in the Atlantic Yards project.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery are asking community advocates to round up support for the Atlantic Yards Governance Act.

The bill would allow a corporation to be set up to oversee the project and give the public a forum for feedback.

"This is a multi-billion-dollar development that is going to impact the Prospect Heights and Fort Greene and Park Slope and Boerum Hill communities," said Jeffries. "It's important to create a structure, legislatively, where we can have public involvement, transparency, and participation."

"It's the exact opposite of what was promised, and we want to ensure that the local community and local elected have a say," said Fifth Avenue Committee Executive Director Michelle de la Uz.

Leaders are trying to get Albany lawmakers and Governor Andrew Cuomo to support the bill, which is currently in a legislative committee.

link

Related coverage...

Carroll Gardens Patch, In the Fight Against Atlantic Yards, Community Enters a New Phase

The bill to create an oversight panel for the Atlantic Yards construction site is currently in the Assembly's powerful Rules Committee, which is chaired by Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Speaking in an empty space, the steel girders of the rising Barclays Center visible through a window in the background, Jeffries seemed optimistic about the bill's chances of getting a full Assembly vote before the Legislature convened for its summer recess on June 20.

However, Montgomery — who saw a similar effort fail to pass through a Democrat-controlled state Senate last year — left on a more pragmatic note.

"We are dealing with an environment where money trumps almost everything," she said. "It's been our problem since the beginning."

Posted by steve at 5:36 PM

June 9, 2011

Pro-bike CB10 member not reappointed by lane foe Gentile

The Brooklyn Paper
by Kimberly Lightbody

Long-time community activist and bike lane advocate Bob Cassara has been booted from Community Board 10 after nearly 10 years, the only member of the panel who sought re-appointment but did not get it.

Insiders believe that Cassara was tossed by Councilman Vince Gentile because the two disagreed over new bike lanes — though the veteran board member wouldn’t go that far.

“Community boards are all about politics, so what can I say?” Cassara mused.
...

The specifics of the Cassara non-appointment remain unclear, but it wouldn’t be the first time that a prominent community board member was silenced for taking a strong position against the will of his political patron.

In 2007, Borough President Markowitz declined to reappoint 10 members of community boards near the Atlantic Yards mega-project after those board members opposed Markowitz’s beloved project.

At the time, Markowitz denied that he had purged anti-Yards members, saying also that he was seeking new blood.

article

NoLandGrab: Marowitz would've been more believable if he'd just claimed that his Community Board appointments had been hacked.

Posted by eric at 9:49 AM

June 1, 2011

Bruce Ratner among the co-chairs of planned de Blasio fundraiser

Atlantic Yards Report

Capital Tonight's Liz Benjamin reports that Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, widely seen as a mayoral candidate in 2013, is holding a 50th birthday fundraiser on June 23.

Check out the list of co-chairs (below) and see the name Bruce Ratner.

That suggests that de Blasio's essential backing of Atlantic Yards--he belatedly criticized the process, not the project--hasn't deterred Ratner. (Here's my analysis of de Blasio's due diligence.)

Is Ratner backing just one horse in 2013? Too soon to tell.

link

Posted by eric at 4:00 PM

May 24, 2011

On NY1, Markowitz practices Atlantic Yards revisionism, FCR cheerleading: "they have every intention of keeping their word"

Atlantic Yards Report

For a preview of Atlantic Yards revisionism, take a look at Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's appearance last week on NY1's Inside City Hall.

The high points:

• Half of the housing will be affordable (no, just the half the rentals)
• "Seven years of lawsuits" delayed the project (the first lawsuit began in 2006)
• "Atlantic Yards" is the railyard (no, the Vanderbilt Yard is less than 40% of the 22-acre site)
• the railyard was "totally empty" (no, it was a working railyard that only in recent years became attractive to developers, as with Hudson Yards)
• "they [developer Forest City Ratner] have every intention of keeping their word" (shouldn't Markowitz have gotten a little skeptical after promises, for example, that architect Frank Gehry would remain on the job?)

(Note: To reach the Atlantic Yards segment, you must cycle through the first loop of the interview, which lasts 8:26.)

article

Related content...

NY1 Online, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz On "Inside City Hall"

"Inside City Hall" talked with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz on Thursday about the proposed closing of eight fire companies, his concerns about bike lanes and development of Coney Island.

NoLandGrab: Markowitz also has the audacity to claim — in talking about recent Community Board 6 votes on the Prospect Park West bike path — that "I reappoint members on community boards that don't agree with me." That must be a change in policy, since Markowitz infamously purged nine CB6 members in 2007 because they didn't agree with him on Atlantic Yards.

Posted by eric at 12:01 PM

May 23, 2011

The Tappan Zee Is Falling Down

Why is New York taking so long to replace a vital bridge?

City Limits
by Nicole Gelinas

Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn mega-project makes a cameo appearance in this in-depth look at the Tappan Zee Bridge's interesting past and perilous future.

The deeper problem behind all the delays, however, is not regulatory but political. When New York officials want to do something quickly, they don’t worry overmuch about legal niceties, public input, or possible court challenges. It took politicians little more than a year to comply with NEPA’s (National Environmental Protection Act) requirements for the Fulton Street transit center in lower Manhattan, for example—a project favored by Sheldon Silver, the powerful Speaker of the state assembly. It also took little more than a year to secure NEPA approval of extending the Number 7 subway line to the Far West Side of Manhattan, a project that Mayor Michael Bloomberg threw his political weight—and the city’s money—behind. The Atlantic Yards basketball stadium and housing project in Brooklyn doesn’t involve federal money, so officials didn’t need to deal with NEPA in that case, but they did steamroll over a similarly rigid state-environmental review process, inviting the state court cases that arose.

No politicians, though, have championed the Tappan Zee. That’s not surprising, since they wouldn’t get much out of it politically. It doesn’t offer affordable housing, as Atlantic Yards supposedly does. Nor does it open up vast new tracts of land to development and tax revenues, as the West Side extension is supposed to. And it isn’t a project funded by a pot of 9/11 money, as the Fulton Street project was (at least until costs exceeded those funds). All the pols will get for building a new Tappan Zee is complaints for years on end about construction and money—so that some future politician won’t have to watch a bridge collapse.

article

NoLandGrab: Unmentioned by Gelinas is the fact that we might have more dollars for bridges if we didn't squander boatloads of them on unnecessary arena boondoggles.

Posted by eric at 10:15 AM

May 21, 2011

Marty Golden's silence on Carl Kruger; Richard Lipsky's campaign money for Golden, and a wide variety of politicians

Atlantic Yards Report

In March, I pointed to a couple of posts Room 8 blogger Gatemouth, aka Howard Graubard, had written about the charges against state Senator Carl Carl Kruger (who, by the way, says he's running for re-election!), Assemblyman William Boyland, and lobbyist Richard Lipsky.

Now Gatemouth points out that state Senator Marty Golden, who in 2008 took three days to introduce a resolution concerning arrested state Senator Hiram Monserrate, has been conspicuously silent regarding Carl Kruger, who helped to elect Golden.

And, Gatemouth points to another curious connection between Kruger and Golden: a $3000 campaign contribution by Dorothy Lipsky (lobbyist Lipsky's wife) to Golden.

Spreading the wealth

I took a look at campaign contributions that Richard Lipsky and Dorothy Lipsky gave from their three addresses (all listed in the city's lobbying database; search on Richard Lipsky) and found a varied set of recipients.

See below for the full list, but it includes significant contributions--$9000 from 2008-10--from Dorothy Lipsky to "Friends of Carl," which is Kruger's campaign committee.

(If Richard Lipsky was funneling cash to Carl Kruger, as charged, this would be considered the legal element of a larger scheme. Lipsky himself gave $3500 to Kruger from 2003-07.)

Dorothy Lipsky made a $3800 contribution in 2009 to the untouchable Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. She gave $2500 to Monserrate in 2006 and again in 2009. Her husband gave $4500 from 2005-08.

Richard Lipsky gave $4800 from 2008-10 to Assembly powerhouse and Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez and $5000 in 2009 to Senator Pedro Espada, who was later indicted for embezzlement (and goes to trial in September).

He also gave $3000 in 2010 to former City Council Member Tony Avella in his successful campaign for state Senate. (City Hall News reported 1/27/10 on Avella's new conciliatory strategy.)

Most of Lipsky's contributions have been to Democrats, though, as the contribution to Golden suggests, he and his family are not doctrinaire. Indeed, in 2002 and again in 2010, he gave $2000nto the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee.

The AY angle

Lipsky, a longtime lobbyist for Forest City Ratner, made one set of contributions that might be seen as furthering the developer's interests.

In 2006, he gave three contributions totaling $2500 to Tracy Boyland's stealth campaign against incumbent state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, an Atlantic Yards opponent.

Was Boyland, in fact, the "Ratner candidate," as some charged? Not exactly, but there were some signficant intersections. As predicted by a source in the Crain's Insider, Boyland indeed used the same consulting firm--Knickerbocker SKD--that FCR has used for its deceptive Atlantic Yards mailers.

(As noted, former Council Member Boyland told the Brooklyn Papers that she's friends with FCR's Bruce Bender, a former top City Council aide.)

link

Posted by steve at 11:47 PM

May 19, 2011

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries Forms Congressional Exporatory Committee

The L Magazine
by Mark Asch

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, of the 57th District (Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights) has formed a congressional exploratory committee, Politicker reports. Jeffries, a personal, well-educated, well-dressed 40-year-old, is seen as something of a comer in Brooklyn Democratic politics; he's been touted as an Obama-like crossover figure. As the districts are currently drawn, he'd be challenging the 10th district's incumbent-for-life, Ed Towns, should he run.
...

District and neighborhood boundaries are something of a pet issue for Jeffries—he successfully cosponsored a bill to end prison-based gerrymandering in New York State, and he recently got Corcoran to stop using their real estate listings to expand Prospect Heights into Crown Heights.

This could be seen as something of a sandbag levee constructed against the creep of gentrification; Jeffries's other recent pet project, Project Reclaim, aims to fill unfinished and under-occupied boom-era condo developments with low- and middle-income tenants. (Which is not to say that he's gone full populist: he was a noted fence-sitter on Atlantic Yards.)
...

Also on the list of Young African-American Brooklyn Pols Who Are Not Going to Wait Forever, by all accounts, is the second-term City Councilwoman Letitia "Tish" James, who would, if elected to congress, bear a rather uncanny resemblance to the House member played by Queen Latifah on 30 Rock that time.

article

NoLandGrab: Tish, of course, has been anything but a fence-sitter on Atlantic Yards.

Posted by eric at 10:34 AM

May 13, 2011

'Living wage' backers storm City Hall

Advocates rally before a hearing on a bill to hike wages at city-subsidized projects. But mayoral aides and business leaders say the measure would kill jobs.

Crain's NY Business
by Daniel Massey

Proponents of a bill to mandate higher wages at city-subsidized projects took to the streets Thursday morning to call for its passage and to protest a city-funded study that found the measure would stifle development and job growth.

The City Hall Park rally, attended by several hundred people, including dozens of pastors, preceded a City Council hearing on the bill that was expected to last late into the afternoon. Protestors carried signs pressing for a “living wage” and accusing its opponents of “putting New Yorkers to work for less.” The latter sign mocked Putting New Yorkers to Work, a nonprofit group established by the Real Estate Board of New York that has led opposition to the bill.

“When companies and developers benefit from government support, they should provide something in return—jobs that allow people to live in dignity, not jobs that keep people in poverty,” Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, told the crowd.
...

The bill, Intro 251-A, which would compel employers at projects that receive $100,000 or more in city subsidies to pay workers $10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 without benefits, was expected to draw passionate testimony from supporters and opponents.

Tokumbo Shobowale, chief of staff in the office of the deputy mayor for economic development, planned to testify on the findings of the city-funded study, details of which were released earlier this week. His prepared testimony called for him to say that wage mandates would hinder development and result in tens of thousands of jobs lost and billions of dollars of lost private investment over the next 20 years.

The job loss and disinvestment would occur disproportionately in neighborhoods outside Manhattan and could potentially prevent some two dozen projects—including the World Trade Center, Coney Island and Atlantic Yards—from going forward, his prepared testimony said.

article

NoLandGrab: OK, how is compelling Bruce Ratner to pay workers $10 an hour going to prevent Atlantic Yards from going forward? We thought the project was supposed to deliver thousands of good-paying, family-supporting jobs, and in New York City, a "good-paying" job doesn't have an hourly wage that's in the single digits.

It's time to stop blaming the project's failings on everything but Forest City Ratner and its long list of phony promises.

Posted by eric at 11:45 AM

May 12, 2011

Tea’d Off: Lone N.Y.C. GOPer Michael Grimm Feels the Pinch

PolitickerNY
by David Freedlander

"Do-gooder, liberal" Bruce Ratner makes a cameo in the Observer's profile of conservative local Congressman Michael Grimm.

A few days before the New Yorker piece, and before Mr. Grimm met the voters of Brooklyn, and before Republicans pulled the rug from under the backers of the Ryan budget, Mr. Grimm toured Beekman Tower, a still-under construction residential tower in Lower Manhattan, which, when completed, will be the tallest such structure in the city’s history. Mr. Grimm wore a hard hat and blue jeans and chewed gum and was led on the tour by a bunch of similarly outfitted union reps and the project’s developer, Bruce Ratner. The group took a rickety cage of a construction elevator up the side of the building. The whole city seemed to breeze through the bars. “It’s the working people of America that drive this country, Mr. Grimm told the group. “Always has been.”

His presence there illustrated the awkwardness of life as a Republican these days. It is hard to talk about the need to reduce government spending and simultaneously call for more government investment in construction projects.

article

NoLandGrab: Nobody can reach across the aisle (and into the public pocketbook) like Bruce can! Wonder if Grimm noticed that the building's flat side faces Staten Island?

Posted by eric at 11:38 AM

New York Campaign Contributions from Big Banks & Real Estate Developers Hit New Highs in 2010

$3.9 Million in Contributions to New York State and City Candidates

New York Stimulus Alliance via readMedia

As the On May 12 coalition prepares to challenge the logic behind Mayor Bloomberg's proposed budget with a teach-in and rally tomorrow, one of the questions that Common Cause/NY members asks is why are New York State and City leaders refusing to balance spending cuts with reductions in generous subsidies for big banks and real estate developers? Part of the reason may be because New York politicians are increasingly dependent on them for campaign contributions.
...

Twelve major residential real estate developers -- The Donald Zucker Company, Durst Fetner Residential, Extell Development Company, Forest City Ratner, Jack Resnick & Sons, Milstein Properties, Rose Associates, Rudin Management Company, The Brodsky Organization, The Related Companies, Tishman Speyer Properties, and Two Trees Management – and the Real Estate Board of New York made over $3 million in New York campaign contributions in 2010. This figure is triple the amount of contributions made in 2009 and almost double the amount of contributions made in 2008. Crucial policies up for renewal in Albany this year, such as rent control and the extension of the 421a subsidy, are likely fueling the record spending.

link

Posted by eric at 10:40 AM

May 11, 2011

Even in 1997, some in the press were questioning Ratner's use of political donations and influence

Atlantic Yards Report

On May 3, I pointed to a 11/1/2000 City Limits article that cast a critical perspective on Forest City Ratner--evidence that, despite claims in the Real Deal that developer Bruce Ratner "enjoyed largely favorable PR" before Atlantic Yards, less favorable PR was hardly insignificant.

Consider this 12/28/97 article from the New York Post, headlined King of the Retail Deals:

Ask megadeveloper Bruce Ratner why questions of political donations and connections dog virtually every development his hugely successful Forest City Ratner Companies builds - or even vies for - and he snaps, "It's just silly."

The 52-year-old developer, lawyer and former commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs angrily dismisses the persistent notion that his heavy contributions at the city, state and federal level get Forest City favored treatment - and even allow him to make special deals.

article

Posted by eric at 10:32 AM

May 10, 2011

Jeffries gets Corcoran to revise listings from Prospect Heights to Crown Heights; why not challenge FCR's claim AY would be in "downtown Brooklyn"?

Atlantic Yards Report

What was that we were saying earlier about a whole heap of nothing?

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who's drawn attention, praise, and skepticism (I Love Franklin Ave., Brownstoner) for his announced plan to "punish real estate agents for inventing neighborhood names and for falsely stretching their boundaries," can report some success with the latter part of his effort.

(Perhaps not coincidentally, Jeffries just opened an exploratory committee for a possible race for the Congressional seat now occupied by longtime Rep. Ed Towns, who may retire.)

He announced yesterday (full press release below) that, in response to his request, the Corcoran Group, a major real estate company, agreed to move "the eastern boundary of the Prospect Heights community back to its proper border, and correct[ed] several listings that had improperly marketed Crown Heights properties as located in Prospect Heights."
...

What about AY?

Given that Jeffries is apparently a stickler for Prospect Heights' boundaries, citing Flatbush Avenue as its western border, it's notable that the Assemblyman has not taken on a bigger target, challenging Forest City Ratner's ongoing claim, since 2003, that Atlantic Yards would be in "downtown Brooklyn."

But Jeffries has often been on the fence regarding Atlantic Yards. And his constituents likely are more divided on Atlantic Yards than on real estate brokers claiming that Franklin Avenue = Prospect Heights, or even the emerging ProCro coinage to describe the zone just east of the recognized Prospect Heights border.

article

Posted by eric at 12:35 PM

In profile of ESDC head Adams, Jeffries expresses optimism about stability and accountability; did Adams's AY testimony merit that?

Atlantic Yard Report

From a profile in The Capitol headlined Empire Building: Andrew Cuomo, Kenneth Adams and the struggle to restore New York’s economy:

The governor’s desire to grow the private sector will be tested, though, by the internal complexities at ESDC, a sprawling agency with 10 regional offices, 430 state employees, hundreds of subsidiaries and oversight over thousands of public-private partnerships, from mega-projects like the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn to much smaller grant programs for equipment procurement and facility upgrades.

Optimism about Adams

The article notes:

But even critics of the agency’s work express optimism that change is on the way.

“Ken Adams should provide a greater measure of stability and accountability at the agency, which has suffered over the years as a result of the constant musical chairs at the top,” said Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, an outspoken critic of the agency’s handling of the Atlantic Yards project.

Jeffries is more of a selective critic than an "outspoken critic," making the legitimate case that a subsidiary is needed to oversee Atlantic Yards but, unlike some fellow elected officials, steering clear of any lawsuits challenging or criticizing the project.

Accountability coming?

Beyond that, during testimony last month at a confirmation hearing, Adams expressed optimism that the delayed project would proceed, spoke vaguely about ensuring community voices would be heard, and, when asked about eminent domain, changed the subject to explain how, with incentives for projects smaller than Atlantic Yards, the state does better to ensure that promised results be delivered before benefits are paid out.

Adams's entrance may suggest stability, but his testimony didn't promise accountability.

link

NoLandGrab: Jeffries is more like a CINO — a "critic in name only," since his "criticism" has accomplished a whole heap of nothing.

Related content...

The Capitol, Empire Building

Posted by eric at 11:40 AM

May 6, 2011

Good Grief! More Stories (Involving Computers and Schools) Deflating The Bloomberg Management Expertise Myth

Noticing New York

When you are questioning the reliability Bloomberg’s management expertise and the extent to which his statistics reflect a real world versus Bloomberg’s desire for an exulting edifice-complex oriented headline, the statement the in the Times about Bloomberg’s “big push” for an applied sciences school (“envisioned as one of the largest development projects in the city’s history” - What? Bigger than the Atlantic Yards mega-monoploy handed to Bruce Ratner?) has more ominous resonance:

William A. Zajc, chairman of Columbia’s* physics department, said the idea for an applied sciences school was a “field of dreams venture.”

(* Is this gripe just because Columbia doesn’t want competition for its takeover of West Harlem?)

(See: Bloomberg’s Big Push for an Applied Sciences School, by Javier C. Hernnandez, April 26, 2011.)
...

The Times story also includes criticism that the mayor should, instead, be thinking in terms of deploying the city capital (“the city has pledged to offer capital [$100 million or more] and public land”) to build upon and expand existing resources and programs rather than these grandiose plans to “start from scratch” which NYU’s proposal to the mayor dares to criticize:

“A ‘start from scratch’ approach that parachutes a new player into New York without the requisite ingredients that lead to success has the potential to be a waste of resources.”

Willlets Point, Atlantic Yards, Coney Island, even the Columbia expansion into West Harlem (potentially competing with the mayor's applied sciences school vision): Where else have we been hearing about the mayor’s intoxication with wiping the slate clean in order to “start from scratch” before building anything?

article

Posted by eric at 10:32 AM

May 3, 2011

Markowitz, de Blasio outraged by potential conflicts in taxi selection, but they didn't mind conflicts with Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Public Advocate (and Brooklyn resident) Bill de Blasio, and Assemblyman Micah Kellner have written a letter (below) to New York City Comptroller John C. Liu asking him to investigate the process by which the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) has selected the new "Taxi of Tomorrow."

They believe that the Turkish manufacturer Karsan, the only one of the three RFP respondents that promised to build parts for the taxis in Brooklyn, was eliminated due to several potential conflicts of interest, including a leak of a consultant's report to the New York Times, and that consultant's work for the other two finalists.

(Here's coverage in the Brooklyn Paper and Patch. The winner was Nissan.)

Selective outrage

They make a reasonable case--I haven't studied it enough to be sure--but I'm struck by the (ahem) selective outrage.

Other potential and real conflicts related to Atlantic Yards did not draw the ire of Markowitz and de Blasio, notably 1) the essential decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to give the Vanderbilt Yard to Forest City Ratner without an RFP (which was belatedly issued), and 2) the role of environmental consultant AKRF, which worked consecutively for FCR and the Empire State Development Corporation.

link

NoLandGrab: Surely Markowitz and de Blasio only care about the merits, and not the politics, right? Right? 'Cause we know, when we go car shopping, Karsan is always at the top of our list.

Posted by eric at 9:03 PM

April 28, 2011

Avella to donate campaign funds to offset Lipsky cash

Queens Campaigner
by Connor Adams Sheets

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) said Tuesday he has planned since shortly after Richard Lipsky turned himself in to authorities March 10 on corruption charges to donate to charity an amount equal to the $3,000 in campaign contributions the lobbyist made to his 2010 campaign. Avella said he has also cut off all contact with Lipsky and suggests others do the same.

For the two years before his federal indictment, Lipsky was one of the most prominent voices in defending Willets Point United, a coalition of small business and property owners in Willets Point who have sought to fight the city’s plans to replace the 62-acre district of auto repair shops and factories with a $3 billion development project.
...

“I told people that may have Lipsky on their payroll that he may under no circumstances contact my office or come to my office,” Avella said. “We will have no contact with the individual. And my recommendation is for any group that had hired him as a lobbyist to let him go.”

article

Posted by eric at 9:54 AM

April 21, 2011

Fighting His Third Term Curse Bloomberg Now Uses His Own Money To Promote Mega-Projects That Aren’t Happening

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White has noticed that Mike Bloomberg is running self-financed campaign-style TV spots, absent a campaign.

I caught one of these personally financed Bloomberg “campaign-style advertisements” the other day (it ended with the legend: “Paid for by Michael R. Bloomberg”). Whether it was nominally or otherwise intended “to bolster his battle with the teachers’ union” or “an effort to lift his sagging approval ratings” it, surprisingly, prominently devoted precious moments of its 30 seconds to promoting Bloomberg’s big, city-assisted real estate developments.
...

It is a surprise that Bloomberg should be promoting his city-assisted real estate developments given that Bloomberg, now into his third four-year term, has made so little headway with any of his mega-development dreams. Truth to tell, most of the 'jobs' they have so far created have been only for those in the demolition trades.
...

The projects initiated under Bloomberg have all so far involved mostly just destruction: Atlantic Yards, Willets Point, the Columbia University’s takeover of West Harlem, Coney Island.
...

It is also surprising that Bloomberg is advertising his languishing city real estate projects as “job creation projects” given that, for instance the Atlantic Yards arena is now mainly famous for the jobs it isn’t creating while the housing to be constructed is now conspicuously in the news for the cutback in jobs associated with the developer’s announced intention to shift to modular construction, building the tallest modular building in the world (if this pushing-the-limits of technology is permitted), and perhaps making the densest area of North America a forest of such units.

article

Posted by eric at 10:51 AM

April 20, 2011

Paying the price to be heard in Albany

LoHud.com

Consider the saga of Patricia Lynch Associates LLC, as discussed in the Sunday article. The robust lobbying firm paid a $500,000 fine last year as part of a settlement with then-Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office. Investigators asserted that the firm arranged campaign contributions, gifts and other favors to gain access for clients to the state Comptroller's Office under the disgraced Alan Hevesi. The firm also agreed to a five-year ban on lobbying the comptroller's office.

In 2010, Patricia Lynch Associates clients included the City of Yonkers, which paid it a total of $78,486. Another Lynch client is Forest City Ratner, the developer building the massive, mixed-use Ridge Hill complex in Yonkers. It figures prominently in a federal corruption case against former Yonkers Councilmember Sandy Annabi, a Democrat accused of accepting a bribe to drop her longstanding opposition to Ridge Hill.

article

Posted by eric at 10:28 AM

April 17, 2011

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership aims to take over MetroTech BID funding; yes, Forest City Ratner's involved

Atlantic Yards Report

Opponents of Atlantic Yards would be glad to see Atlantic Yards cheerleader, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, just go away. The Partnership is essentially a representative of developers, including Bruce Ratner, and has lost much of it's funding after accomplishing very little. Now it's trying to stay in existence by taking over the Metrotech BID and its more substantial funding.

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a reliable cheerleader for Atlantic Yards, and once (and perhaps still) under investigation for improper lobbying, is in a tussle over funding with one of its components--and, yes, Forest City Ratner is entangled in it.

In an article April 14 headlined Brooklyn BID takeover moves forward, Crain's Insider reported:

Allies of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership have managed, for now, to beat back a proposal aimed at blocking its ability to usurp funding from the MetroTech BID, which it oversees.

The BID held an emergency meeting yesterday that was attended by board members, Bloomberg administration staff, and lawyers for some of downtown's largest developers. The sole item on the agenda: revising the BID's conflict-of-interest policy.

...“This is not just about MetroTech,” said BID President Victoria Aviles. “This is about all the BIDs in New York City and how umbrella organizations can take them over.”

Despite her efforts, opponents managed to stall the vote after lawyers for Forest City Ratner and Muss Development criticized the proposed conflict-of-interest proposal for being vague. Following an onslaught of hoots and hollers, members voted to form a committee that will review the policy.

The DBP has seen its city funding decline, while BIDs are funded by extra tax assessments. The DBP manages three BIDs: the MetroTech BID, Fulton Mall Improvement Association, and the Court-Livingston-Schermerhorn BID.

The MetroTech BID board next meets May 5.

The back story

In a 7/11/10 article headlined A partnership slows in Downtown B'klyn: Stalled merger exposes political divisions, Crain's reported:

The seed money it was getting from the city, a robust $2 million only two years ago, has plunged to a mere $250,000, forcing it to shed personnel and accelerate a long-envisioned takeover of three local business-improvement districts and their reliable revenue streams. But the longtime head of one BID has balked, and local politicians have put the merger on hold.

The partnership must pull off the ambitious reorganization if it is to survive as anything but a shell. The BIDs would account for $5 million of the organization's proposed $7.5 million budget for the fiscal year that began this month. Member contributions would total just $340,000.

Meanwhile, some Brooklyn City Council members—who view the organization as an arm of the Bloomberg administration, characterized by big salaries and nebulous accomplishments—want it disbanded.

The leader of the MetroTech BID, Michael Weiss, seeing the potential loss of his job in the reorganization, has "rounded up political support to stall it," Crain's said.

Crain's reported:

[DBP President] Mr. [Joe] Chan declined to comment, but his spokesman, Lee Silberstein, paints a bright picture of the partnership's accomplishments and future. “On balance, this is playing out as it was supposed to,” he says, noting that the partnership enjoys strong support from the downtown Brooklyn business community, including titans like developer Bruce Ratner, banker Alan Fishman and former KeySpan chief Robert Catell.

Ratner to the rescue?

Crain's reported:

But Councilwoman Letitia James says Mr. Chan miscalculated in his handling of Mr. Weiss's BID. “Joe's usurpation of MetroTech was not wise, was not smart politically. He did not do his homework and is now suffering the consequences,” she says.

Mr. Ratner tried to broker a compromise by offering Mr. Weiss a job paying more than the $165,000 he is making, but Mr. Weiss declined.

“Right now, we're at a standstill,” says Ms. James. “We're trying to work something out.”

link

Posted by steve at 10:59 PM

April 13, 2011

Here comes the bribe: Kruger hit with more charges

The Brooklyn Paper
by Thomas Tracy

More crimes have been added to the morass of charges filed against state Sen. Carl Kruger — leaving the embattled legislator in even hotter water than he was before.

An indictment released last week adds bribery to the fraud and money laundering charges filed against Kruger (D–Brighton Beach) last month.

If convicted on all counts, Kruger, 61, would face 90 years in prison. He would also have to pay more than $10 million in fines.

During an arraignment hearing on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Harrington told U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff that he has 100,000 documents and 30,000 recorded phone conversations that establish his case.

Kruger is accused of taking close to $1 million in bribes from lobbyist Richard Lipsky, Brooklyn developer Aaron Malinsky, David Rosen, the former CEO of Brookdale Hospital, and a handful of other hospital officials between 2006 and 2010.
...

During the brief hearing, attorneys for four of the legislator’s would-be co-conspirators, including Turano, announced that they were planning to sever their cases from the senator, apparently believing they’ll have a better chance with a jury without Kruger’s alleged crimes dragging them down. Severing the cases would also improve a defendant’s chances of a plea deal as they approach trial.

Defense attorneys say severing their cases from Kruger’s is logical since the FBI’s case involves several different conspiracies that do not involve all of the defendants.

“It’s a confusing indictment,” attorney Jeff Lefcourt, who is defending Lipsky, said. “It alleges six different conspiracies, but my client isn’t in all of them.”

article

Posted by eric at 2:45 PM

April 12, 2011

State Sen. Kruger pleads not guilty to bribery

Democratic Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he took $1 million in bribes for helping a developer, a lobbyist and two hospital executives.

AP via Crain's NY Business

A New York state senator has pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he took $1 million in bribes in a federal influence-peddling case.

Democratic Sen. Carl Kruger of Brooklyn entered the plea Tuesday. The hearing came days after prosecutors boosted charges against him, adding bribery.

Outside court in Manhattan, Mr. Kruger's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said his client "never accepted bribes from anyone for any matter, and he never abused his office in any way whatsoever."

In court, Mr. Brafman said a substantial number of 30,000 calls intercepted by the FBI during the investigation involved his client either directly or indirectly.

link

NoLandGrab: 30,000 calls intercepted by the FBI. Wonder who might be sweating that?

Posted by eric at 10:03 PM

April 10, 2011

Add To Bloomberg’s Other Mistakes: Mistakes In NOT Acknowledging Mistakes, Including A Certain Ratner Mega-Monopoly

Noticing New York

Everyone knows that the first step in correcting a mistake is recognizing when you've made one. Mayor Mike Bloomberg should take a step back, recognize his error in supporting Atlantic Yards and do what he can to fix his mistake.

Atlantic Yards is probably Bloomberg’s supreme mistake. . . . 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.

The Bloomberg administration has implicitly acknowledged the ignominy of its failure with respect to Atlantic Yards. It did so in the way it handled the departure of Deputy Mayor for Development Daniel Doctoroff (see: Atlantic Yards As Political Hot Potato.)

However disgraceful all its lapses, the Bloomberg administration has done nothing to correct the misreckoned Atlantic Yards course it is on. Correction could be made with less difficulty than continuing through the bog in which the city is now steeped. It would be relatively easy to do what is needed which is to take the project back to the drawing board and bid it out to multiple developers. (Yes, this time the megaproject, currently 17 separate building sites, should actually be bid out.) The project is adrift, amorphously ill-defined and the developer repeatedly transgresses with unacceptable behavior that should long ago have disqualified the developer from Bloomberg’s ongoing accommodation and indulgence.

...

Bloomberg still has the opportunity to walk away from the Atlantic Yards mega-project and declare it a recognized mistake. Bloomberg’s recently departed housing commissioner Rafael Cestero said that Atlantic Yards is not deserving of additional housing subsidies (it, "was not a good public investment"). Such subsidies would be disproportionate and greater than the subsidies that other more deserving projects would be eligible for elsewhere in the city. Nevertheless, given Bloomberg's very recent defense of the megadevelopment (immediately after talking with Bruce Ratner), Atlantic Yards Report is predicting that we should all gird for the awfulness of yet more subsidies for Atlantic Yards courtesy of Mr. Bloomberg. Atlantic Yards Report has an excellent record in making such calls.

link

Posted by steve at 8:42 PM

April 8, 2011

Council Member James: departure of Cathie Black, along with Atlantic Yards, a sign of Bloomberg's "third-term curse"

Atlantic Yards Report

In response to Mayor Mike Bloomberg's dissmissal of the much-criticized, little-qualified Schools Chancellor Cathie Black, City Council Member Letitia James, a leading critic of the publishing executive, said, "The Blizzard of 2011, CityTime, the Atlantic Yards project, and now this; many would consider this the third term curse.”

(Gothamist noted that the blizzard actually happened at the end of last year.)

James was a leading critic of Bloomberg's effort to overturn term limits and engineer a third term.

Atlantic Yards a third-term curse?

James is not exactly shy in her rhetoric, and there's a good deal of media fatigue regarding Atlantic Yards, but there's reason to consider Atlantic Yards a third-term curse:

• the impact of delays and changes (like modular construction) on expected revenues
• Bloomberg's willingness to go to bat for Forest City Ratner's dubious effort to raise cheap money from immigrant investors seeking green cards

Actually, Atlantic Yards might be better considered a first-term (and ongoing) curse, since Bloomberg backed the project unquestioningly from the start.

link

Posted by eric at 10:41 AM

Malinsky indicted on more charges in Kruger bribery scandal case

The Real Deal
by David Jones

A federal grand jury handed down a new 11-count indictment in the state Sen. Carl Kruger ongoing bribery scandal charging the defendants, including real estate developer Aaron Malinsky and lobbyist Richard Lipsky, with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Malinsky was previously indicted for allegedly making $500,000 in bribes to Kruger, a Democrat from Brooklyn, who later stepped in to help move forward several major real estate developments.

Lipsky, who represented various high-profile clients including Forest City Ratner, also allegedly paid off Kruger.

article

Posted by eric at 10:27 AM

April 6, 2011

Mayor Bloomberg scores four season tickets for New Jersey Nets before stadium is even finished

NY Daily News
by Adam Lisberg

Maybe it's us, but we're guessing they meant "Brooklyn Nets" in that headline.

Mayor Bloomberg is bullish on Brooklyn basketball - snapping up four season tickets at the new Nets arena when it opens next year.

"The Nets are going to provide some great entertainment," he said. "It's going to be exciting basketball."

The steel skeleton of the arena, rising above Atlantic and Flatbush Aves., is 30% finished.

"We are thrilled that the mayor has decided to become a season-ticket holder," said Nets CEO Brett Yormark. "The mayor is one of the most astute investors in the city, and we are pleased that he sees the Nets in Brooklyn as a great investment."

link

NoLandGrab: The astute Mayor must indeed be viewing those tickets as an investment, because we surely don't expect to see him court-side beyond opening night. Of course, when your net worth is reportedly more than $20 billion, it's no big deal to piss away $176,000 (assuming a $1,000-per-ticket face value) on something as awful as Nets basketball. The equivalent purchase for someone with just a million dollars to his name would run less than nine bucks.

Posted by eric at 9:58 PM

April 5, 2011

As media pile on to Post's questionable scoop, Bloomberg defends Ratner; get ready for request for additional subsidies

Atlantic Yards Report

The New York Post's questionable, conclusory article yesterday, based on SEC worst-case warnings, drew unskeptical follow-up in Gothamist, New York, Business Insider, Huffington Post, and others.

Even the Star-Ledger, in Nets' Brooklyn project reportedly could be scaled back, chose to trust the Post's framing of the story rather than the facts its reporters noted.
...

Bloomberg professes optimism

In Mike believes Atl. Yards hoopla, the Post followed up:

A confident Mayor Bloomberg insisted yesterday that the housing and commercial component of the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards complex won't be scrapped, saying he was certain that developer Bruce Ratner is proceeding as planned.

"I talked to Bruce Ratner as late as 30 minutes ago, and let me tell you, he thinks his business is going very well out there and he's very optimistic about Atlantic Yards," Bloomberg said.

Except Ratner's business isn't going very well; that's why he sold 49% of 15 retail properties.

Nor is the project proceeding as planned; after all, Bloomberg's own administration--at least under the recently-departed HPD head--denied additional subsidies for the first tower.

article

Posted by eric at 4:32 PM

April 3, 2011

Brooklyn pastor scores prime seats at Nets' new venue

New York Post
By Gary Buiso

Rev. Daughtry was for jobs, hoops and housing for the Atlantic Yards project. Who knows when the jobs and housing might show up. He's got hoops!

Want Nets tickets? You'll have to make a higher calling.

Rev. Herbert Daughtry, pastor of a Boerum Hill church, will have the final say over the distribution of 54 free tickets and a luxury box for every event at the new Nets arena when it opens next year.

The deal is part of a "community benefits agreement" the clergyman -- who was a high-profile proponent of the arena's construction -- hammered out with developer Forest City Ratner on behalf of his nonprofit Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Association, which was formed with $50,000 in seed money from Forest City in 2005.

The deal includes four seats in the $1 billion Barclays Center's lower bowl, 50 ducats in the upper section, and a posh suite, according to Nets spokesman Barry Baum.

...

"This is [Daughtry's] little piece of the pie for having been a cheerleader to Ratner," said Candace Carponter, legal director of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, a group opposed to Atlantic Yards.

link

Related coverage...

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Who Needs Housing When You Have Free Tix?

So just when it looked like all the promised benefits of the Atlantic Yards project--loads of construction jobs, lots of affordable housing--were empty promises, Bruce Ratner has finally come through with the big payoff for the community. Well, not exactly for the community, but for long-time Ratner cheerleader Rev. Herbert Daughtry, who will get to distribute 54 free tickets and a luxury box for every event at the new Nets arena when it opens next year.

And those gratis ducats aren't chump change. Season tickets for the Nets went on sale last week, with an average price of $132 a seat, about double the prices that prevailed last season in New Jersey. Fans were not delighted, even with the lowest price point. According to one commenter on a Nets fan site:

In the end, I may actually be priced out of this place if I don’t want to be in the rafters. Think about the starting price of $99 for the All Access Pass ticket sections. That’s $99 per game, per seat so basically...you are signing a contract to pay $26,400 for 2 seats for the next 3 years without knowing what the product will be on the floor.

To me, that’s just too much at this point....

But displaced fans shouldn't look to Daughtry for his freebies. The Reverend told the New York Post that "he hopes to use some tickets as a carrot for kids to get better grades and perhaps offer the suite to sick patients at Fort Greene's Brooklyn Hospital Center."

Better yet: maybe that luxury box could be retrofited to be the affordable housing component of Atlantic Yards. Who says promises don't come true?

Atlantic Yards Report, Post focuses on the Rev. Daughtry's control of arena tickets; will he also control use of the arena ten times a year by community groups?

The New York Post discovers that the Reverend Herbert Daughtry and his created-for-the-Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA) will be in charge of free tickets for the Barclays Center arena, as we've long known.

But the big news--if true--was slipped in as an aside: Daughtry's group also would control the ten-times-a-year use of the arena by community groups. That was never specified in the DCBA.

Daughtry's role

In Brooklyn pastor scores prime seats at Nets' new venue, the Post reports:

Want Nets tickets? You'll have to make a higher calling.

Rev. Herbert Daughtry, pastor of a Boerum Hill church, will have the final say over the distribution of 54 free tickets and a luxury box for every event at the new Nets arena when it opens next year.

The deal is part of a "community benefits agreement" the clergyman -- who was a high-profile proponent of the arena's construction -- hammered out with developer Forest City Ratner on behalf of his nonprofit Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Association, which was formed with $50,000 in seed money from Forest City in 2005.

The deal includes four seats in the $1 billion Barclays Center's lower bowl, 50 ducats in the upper section, and a posh suite, according to Nets spokesman Barry Baum.

Note: I reported after the March 2010 groundbreaking that Daughtry had spoken of controlling access to 50 free tickets--valued at $33,000, a mere blip in the total of public subsidies and tax breaks the developer has received.

(I'm assuming such $15 tickets would all sell out. And while lower bowl seats and a a suite would have a higher face value, it shouldn't be assumed that any value should be assigned, since they wouldn't all sell out.)

Some background

The Post reports:

The 80-year-old activist, who was an adviser to the Rev. Jesse Jackson and slain rapper Tupac Shakur, found God after doing a four-year stint in state and federal prison in 1953 for attempted armed robbery.

Daughtry's group was among eight that signed the benefits agreement in 2005 and stand to gain as the project proceeds. One signatory, for example, the Mutual Housing Association of New York -- it replaced the defunct activist group ACORN and in 2008 received a $1.5 million loan from Forest City -- will be in charge of marketing the project's affordable-housing component.

It's worth mentioning that, while Daughtry claims to live in Brooklyn, he raised his kids in Teaneck, NJ.

As for ACORN, that was not a $1.5 million loan, but a $1.5 million grant/loan. The distinction isn't crucial; ACORN isn't paying Forest City Ratner, and the developer still got a good deal.

Posted by steve at 11:00 PM

April 1, 2011

Former hospital executive David Rosen indicted in Kruger corruption case

NY Daily News
by Robert Gearty

When you're bribing crooked politicians, it's apparently a really bad idea to cut out the middle man.

A former hospital executive on Thursday became the first defendant in the corruption case against Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger to be indicted.

David Rosen, the former head of Jamaica Hospital, is charged in a bribery scheme involving Kruger and Assemblyman William Boyland, both Democrats.

A federal grand jury in Manhattan accused Rosen of bribing Kruger, Boyland Jr. and the late Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio to get them to support the hospital's requests in Albany.

Rosen was ousted as CEO after being arrested last month.

article

Posted by eric at 11:28 AM

March 28, 2011

Take TWO (AYR’s) On Times Coverage- Revisiting Light Shed by CityTime Outsourcing Scandal When Reexamining Bloomberg Management Myth

Noticing New York

In beating the New York Times to the punch covering the Bloomberg administration’s admissions about the city’s failed outsourcing policy, an about-face in that came in response to the CityTime scandal, Noticing New York presented a very different and much bigger big picture story than did the Times Sunday. - - Missed in being so Johnny-on-the-spot was the opportunity to incorporate observations by Atlantic Yards Report today about how the Times story buttressing a key point of that Noticing New York coverage: That the ill-fated trust the administration placed in delegations of government duties to the private sector carries over into its failures with respect to the management of the city’s mega-development projects.

article

Posted by eric at 10:08 PM

So, the Prospect Park Alliance actually welcomed Bruce Bender's help to get state funding via Carl Kruger for a new skating rink

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder follows up on Emily Lloyd's letter to the New York Post.

I'd point out that there's a little wiggle room there. Alliance staff asked Amy Bender for help. They didn't necessarily ask her to ask her husband. But perhaps that was implied. And it certainly was welcomed, according to Lloyd's letter.

Also note that the article cited, “Kruger Crony Leaned on Me for Vote”, doesn't actually say anything about the Prospect Park Alliance. Rather, a March 16 Post article, headlined Prospect Park group rage at 'Kruger' exec, began:

A top Atlantic Yards executive who requested state funds for Prospect Park's skating rink from embattled state Sen. Carl Kruger was never asked to do so by the park's fund-raising group -- and now park advocates are furious at being linked to the corruption scandal, sources told The Post.

"He has dragged our name through the mud," fumed a Prospect Park Alliance source about Forest City Ratner Vice President Bruce Bender, whose conversation with Kruger was featured in a federal criminal complaint against the Brooklyn Democrat.

The claim that Bruce Bender wasn't asked is not inconsistent with Lloyd's statement. Prospect Park Alliance board members may not have agreed to have Bruce Bender raise funds for them, though some might have recognized that asking Amy Bender would involve her husband.
...

I'd add that the Alliance might not want to be involved in dialogues like these, as described in federal charges.

"The Vice President said he needed a 'combo of two projects... the park and Carlton Avenue Bridge." Kruger said "the bridge is out," and asked Bender to choose:

The Vice President said that he did not know and that "this" was "bad." KRUGER said, "I guess the park, fuck the bridge." The Vice President said that "my dilemma is as you know, I don't mind fucking the bridge, I can't fuck it right now, I've got to leverage that bridge, what's my value?"

link

Posted by eric at 11:18 AM

Behind the Bloomberg administration's CityTime scandal: budget director Mark Page (who helped steer the revision of Forest City Ratner's MTA deal)

Atlantic Yard Report

Mark Page, the Bloomberg deputy most responsible for the CityTime scandal, has a bit of Atlantic Yards history.

Page, it should be remembered, was one of the two Bloomberg appointees on the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who pushed hard against any skepticism toward Forest City Ratner's requested June 2009 revision of the September 2005 deal for Vanderbilt Yard development rights, allowing the developer to save on upfront cash and a smaller replacement railyard.

As I wrote 6/25/09, as for the last-minute character of the deal, which had been aired only two days earlier, Page claimed unrealistically that, because MTA staff had been busy working on the deal, “it’s not as though it’s something that’s been dropped in our laps suddenly to consider.”

“I think that realizing value from railyard property that we own is something that we have learned over the last number of years, much of which has been in a boom real estate cycle, is extraordinarily difficult,” Page said. “Because we require the railyard function... we’re selling the space above it. To have an opportunity to actually realize value for the space above our land requires a tremendous upfront investment by the buyer to actually build the platform, an upfront, major investment before the buyer can then move on.”

However, I pointed out, there's no obligation that Forest City Ratner build the platform on the majority of the Vanderbilt Yard site.

article

Posted by eric at 10:41 AM

March 27, 2011

Daily News investigation of City Council Members points to (AY supporters) Dilan, Mealy as "the worst of the worst," also targets Sanders

Atlantic Yards

The New York Daily News has been publishing a dismaying series on the ethical shortcomings of one-third of the 51 City Council Members.

An editorial yesterday, The City Council is a sorry spectacle, the Daily News investigation showed in sordid detail, highlights a few, including these two:

Two Brooklynites won the award for the worst of the worst. Erik Dilan and Darlene Mealy represent districts with large low-income populations, where families with limited resources face the tough challenge of finding decent places to live.

And what has Dilan, of Bushwick, chairman of the Housing Committee, done to help? He helped himself, of course. He moved into a subsidized apartment that is supposed to be for families with incomes of less than $114,000. He and his wife reported incomes $40,000 over the limit.

Mealy, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, is also squatting on housing that should be occupied by someone making a lot less than the $112,500 salary plus a $10,000 lulu she gets for her part-time Council job.

She and her sister bought a taxpayer-subsized three-bedroom co-op in Bed-Stuy in 1993, when Mealy worked for the Transit Authority. Their joint income was supposed to be less than $15,000. Two years later, they came up with a $14,000 down payment for a brownstone.

Mealy was one of the two members of the 16-member Brooklyn City Council delegation to show up at the March 2010 Atlantic Yards arena groundbreaking. Mealy's gotten campaign contributions from members of BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development), an Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement signatory, and has supported BUILD with discretionary grants.

Dilan, as the graphic at left shows, was one of the earliest elected officials to support Atlantic Yards; the list is from the bid for the Vanderbilt Yard that Forest City Ratner delivered in July 2005 to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

What about Sanders?

Also note the presence on that list of Council Member James Sanders.

He presided over the notorious May 2004 City Council Committee hearing in which Forest City Ratner and its allies spoke all morning, before a full slate of committee members and the press, while project opponents faced empty chairs and a media blackout in the afternoon--a scene prominent in the upcoming Battle for Brooklyn documentary.

The Daily News pointed out that Sanders, while criticizing predatory lenders, had his own conflict:

He failed to mention that he had stopped paying his mortgage and his home was in foreclosure. He calls himself a "victim" and represents himself in court, trying to avoid eviction and damning predatory lenders.
...Sanders declined to discuss his case, but predicted his final settlement will allow "other victims to learn that they, too, have a way to fight back.

That reasoning prompted an editorial scoffing at his excuse:

Identified by the Daily News I-Team as delinquent on his payments, Sanders countered that he was a victim of predatory lending rather than a plain old deadbeat.
It was the bank that lured him into a $588,000 mortgage on a Far Rockaway home in 2006.
It was the bank that made him believe he could afford $3,000-a-month payments.
It was the bank that got annoyed when he stopped sending in checks.
It was the bank that has insisted on foreclosing.
It was the bank that doesn't understand why he should be allowed to stay in the house payment-free after two years.
As Sanders pleaded in court, "My family and I were likely the victims of dishonest, deceitful and ... corrupt lending practices."
So here we have an elected official who purports to be smart enough to write laws while pleading that he was bamboozled into borrowing half a million dollars he could not afford.
How dumb is that?
New York Knucklehead dumb.

link

Posted by steve at 10:37 PM

The Myth Of Bloomberg’s Management Expertise Reexamined: What Happens When Government Doesn’t Manage Its Programs

Noticing New York

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent considerable time and energy promoting himself as a great manager. Is this really the case? Not if you first consider the backpedaling that his administration has done after losing control of the outsourced CityTime project.

Word is that the Bloomberg administration is busy making acknowledgments that it screwed up (and consequently needs to make some serious readjustments) when it delegated to the private sector complex technical projects for which the administration should have retained responsible for itself. In its ill-fated relinquishment of these responsibilities to others, the administration much vaunted for its management expertise lost control of the management, cost, and scope of essential work and tens of millions of dollars of fraud ensued. All of this is surfacing with announcements Thursday night that the administration is now shifting (contritely?) to a policy of “insourcing” from what it had been a policy of “outsourcing.”

...

At the end of last year it came out that the city was the victim of a “$80 million information technology fraud scheme involving development of the CityTime project, “an automated system devised to streamline employee timekeeping.” The New York Times wrote that the ongoing federal investigation was:

casting a pall over an initiative that the mayor had championed as a hallmark of efficient, computerized management, the case does little to help the opinion of the administration’s outsourcing practices.

Similarly, Bloomberg has lost control over large development projects that are essentially outsourced to developers.

Do you want to know what was most on my Noticing New York mind the entire time I was considering all this information about the ill-advised course taken with the Bloomberg administration’s outsourcing of these sophisticated and technically complex projects? It’s the penchant of the Bloomberg administration to do essentially the same thing when, by policy, it hands over large swaths of the city like Atlantic Yards, Willets Point, Columbia's West Harlem takeover, and Hudson Yards, to private developers (or paves the way for the leveling of Coney Island), essentially subcontracting the public’s warfare to those developers and just hoping for the best. It is the same thing: Government walking away from the job that only government can really do well.

Surely, with these subcontracted handouts to the private sector, the public similarly loses money, but this time billions instead of hundreds of millions. Similarly, just as Deputy Mayor Goldsmith says: “the bigger problem is they become the City. Right? We lose control of the scope and we lose control of the price and we need to bring more of the management on our side of the table.” And if this loss of control doesn’t lead to what is technically “fraud” it leads to essentially the same kind of losses for the public as the unleashed developers ultimately deliver mega-messes that differ significantly in quality, scope, and nature from what they promised on day one.

link

Posted by steve at 10:15 PM

March 23, 2011

Kruger scandal costs developer another project

The Brooklyn Paper
by Thomas Tracy

A deep-pocketed developer entrenched in an ambitious, federally funded plan to build the borough’s tallest building at Albee Square has been quietly thrown off the project for his involvement in the FBI’s sweeping bribery probe into state Sen. Carl Kruger.

Acadia Realty Trust, the builders behind the $750-million City Point project, which received $20 million in tax-exempt federal stimulus money when it suffered financial troubles in 2009, confirmed that developer Aaron Malinsky’s PA Associates has been “removed from all operational involvement” behind the plan to bring a four-story shopping mall and as many as 700 units of housing to the Fulton Mall.
...

“Acadia would never have tolerated anything improper being done [to the City Point project],” project spokesman Rick Matthews said in a statement. “We have no knowledge of any improper or illegal activities related to Malinsky’s projects, but we have strong policies in place prohibiting illegal or unethical conduct by employees, associates or affiliates.”
...

The developer was arrested alongside Kruger (D–Mill Basin) and six others on March 10, and was charged with bribing Kruger and his lover Michael Turano with $472,500 over the years.

In return, Kruger:

• Tried to get Forest City Ratner Companies, the lead developer on the soon-to-be-built Four Sparrows Retail Center on the southern tip of Flatbush Avenue, to give a portion of the project to Malinsky so he could build a department store on the city-owned site.

article

Posted by eric at 10:50 AM

Who Made the New Brooklyn (and Who Controls the Old)

The L Magazine

Brooklyn is the fourth-largest city in the country—as such, it is a complex place. For some, it is a throwback to the greatness of immigrant America, for others, it is the frontline of international hipster monoculture... Whatever the case, the idea of "Brooklyness" has never been more out in the world, even if it's impossible to pin down. What follows is a look at the people who've created that idea, and in whose hands its future rests.
...

Marty Markowitz
Though powerless to undo new bicycle infrastructure (phew!), Marty remains a mighty political force, by far the likeliest borough president to make a bid for city hall if/when Bloomberg's reign ends. Brooklyn has changed dramatically since the third-term prez took office in 2001. He's notched noble efforts in education and affordable housing, but there's the far more substantial list of less laudatory causes Marty has championed: tearing down Admiral's Row; turning Brooklyn from a place where people live into a brand that people buy; and a little real estate project called Atlantic Yards—he harnessed the power of denial for a recent video message courting potential Chinese investors, proclaiming: "Brooklyn is one thousand percent behind Atlantic Yards!"
...

The Forever Yards: Bruce Ratner
However many of Atlantic Yards' planned infrastructure-toppling residential towers ever go up over "blighted" Prospect Heights, given the current housing market (and however many pol-placating low-income units they ever include), the man still brought major league sports back to the BK, and the shockwaves—like Park Slope's panic over a stadium-crowd-catering hip-hop club—have already begun.

link

Posted by eric at 10:17 AM

March 22, 2011

Kruger crony thrown off B'klyn skyscraper plan

NY Post
by Rich Calder

A New York developer nabbed in the sweeping federal corruption probe that snared state Sen. Carl Kruger earlier this month has been quietly cut out of one of Brooklyn's biggest projects, which was slated to bring the borough its tallest building, The Post has learned.

Aaron Malinsky's PA Associates had been partnering in City Point, a mixed-use project slated to rise as high as 65 stories at the city-owned former Albee Square Mall site in Downtown Brooklyn.

But Acadia Realty Trust confirmed yesterday that it has used its powers as majority partner to remove Malinsky "from all operational involvement" in City Point.
...

The feds say Malinsky funneled $472,500 in bribe money to Kruger through a shell company set up by Kruger's lover and alleged accomplice, Michael Turano. In exchange, the feds say, Kruger assisted Malinsky in getting approvals to develop the $65 million Canarsie Plaza Shopping Center on city property and Kruger tried to get developer Forest City Ratner to give Malinsky a piece of a retail center Ratner is building on city land in Mill Basin.

Kruger even arranged a meeting with Forest City officials and Malinsky, the complaint says.

article

NoLandGrab: No word yet as to whether the ESDC has thrown Forest City Ratner off the Atlantic Yards project.

Posted by eric at 10:53 AM

March 21, 2011

Corrupt Brooklyn Politician's House Looks Exactly How You'd Expect

Curbed
by Joey Arak

State Senator Carl Kruger, accused of shady dealings in connection with a number of Brooklyn real estate projects—including Atlantic Yards and the Brooklyn Navy Yard—has had a long and complicated and possibly intimate relationship with members of the Turano family of Mill Basin. And seeing as how the Kruger case will one day make for a great Dateline special, the Times investigated these colorful characters in great detail. But the star of the show, by far, is the Turano's gaudy 7,000-square-foot waterfront mansion, which looks like it was built for a mobster, probably because it was.

link

Photo: Emily Berl for The New York Times

Posted by eric at 11:13 AM

The Day: Modular Construction and Political Corruption

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Mitchell Trinka

Last week we watched a new clip from “Battle for Brooklyn”, a documentary (by Local contributor Michael Galinsky) coming out this spring chronicling the fight over the Atlantic Yards Project. The clip shows Bruce Bender, Forest City Ratner executive vice president, and politicians talking about the local jobs the project will create.

The claims of job creation came under scrutiny last week, after The New York Times reported that developers are constructing a 34-story modular high-rise at the site. The building, which would be the world’s tallest prefabricated steel structure, could cut construction costs in half by requiring fewer and cheaper workers.

That potential reduction in Atlantic Yards construction jobs has refueled the drive to closely examine the project and Forest City Ratner, which was recently mentioned in a corruption case against New York State Senator Carl Kruger. The New York Times also reported that the developer pressed Mr. Kruger for $9 million to rebuild the Carlton Avenue Bridge at Atlantic Yards.

link

NoLandGrab: Forest City actually said they were considering prefab construction.

Posted by eric at 11:07 AM

March 20, 2011

Kruger's campaigns see big 'Net' gains

New York Post
By Gary Buiso and Aaron Short

Talk about team spirit.

State Sen. Carl Kruger -- who, the feds charge, directed state money to the Atlantic Yards project, which includes a new Nets arena -- took thousands of dollars in campaign cash from deep-pocketed donors connected to its developer, the team and the arena.

Nets investor Michael Ratner -- a lawyer and brother of the developer, Bruce Ratner -- and Michael's wife, Karen Ranucci, each gave $2,000 to the Brooklyn Democrat's campaign weeks before Bruce bought the team in 2004. Bruce's company, Forest City Ratner, is also building the Brooklyn arena.

Richard Lipsky, a former Ratner lobbyist who, with Kruger, was charged by feds on March 9 in a $1 million bribery case, legally gave Kruger's coffers $3,500 between 2003 and 2007, and Lipsky's wife, Dorothy, gave $9,000 between 2008 and 2010, state data show.

Lipsky was caught on FBI wiretaps allegedly paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Kruger, who is charged with directing state cash to Forest City's $4 billion Atlantic Yards project and other Lipsky clients.

Other Nets investors in the Kruger campaign-money mix were Vincent Viola, a Wall Street mogul and former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange, who gave $5,000 in 2009, Ahron Hersh, a former CEO of a handbag company, who gave $5,000 in 2005, and Martin Rostowsky, president of a Sunset Park electric-supply company, who gave $250 in 2004.

...

Kruger, 61, has gone out of his way to cheer for the Atlantic Yards project in Prospect Heights, which sits well outside his South Brooklyn district.

At a public hearing in 2006, he gushed: "We're not talking about the Nets arena. We're not talking about Forest City Ratner . . . We're talking about Brooklyn first. What better way can we talk about Brooklyn than bringing an arena and a first-class team to the doorstep of what is truly the capital of our world, our borough, Brooklyn?"

Critics blasted Kruger's cozy relationships with Nets and arena backers.

"Contributors feel as if they have to make campaign gifts in order to have the support of crooked officials like Kruger," said Dick Dadey, head of the watchdog group Citizens Union.

Michael Ratner, Viola, Lipsky and Rostowsky did not return calls for comment. Ranucci hung up the phone when Kruger's name was mentioned. Joe DePlasco, a spokesman for Forest City Ratner, declined to comment, as did Nets spokesman Barry Baum.

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, New York Post notices contributions from Michael Ratner and wife to Kruger, discovers other Nets investors who gave

When, in September 2006, I first wrote about lawyer Michael Ratner's campaign contribution in apparent furtherance of the goals of Forest City Ratner (run by his brother Bruce), nobody in the press seemed to care.

When news of corruption charges against state Senator Carl Kruger first surfaced this month, I mentioned that Kruger had received FCR-related campaign contributions, and on Friday I wrote again about Michael Ratner.

Exclusive?

Today, in an article labeled "Exclusive," the New York Post offers Kruger's campaigns see big 'Net' gains:

State Sen. Carl Kruger -- who, the feds charge, directed state money to the Atlantic Yards project, which includes a new Nets arena -- took thousands of dollars in campaign cash from deep-pocketed donors connected to its developer, the team and the arena.

(Actually, he directed state money toward a Prospect Park project pushed by Forest City executive Bruce Bender.)

Nets investor Michael Ratner and his wife, Karen Ranucci, are cited first, with no reference to my coverage.

New findings

The others listed advance the story:

• Richard Lipsky, a former Ratner lobbyist, and his wife, Dorothy (Lipsky's also been charged, for illegal gifts, as well)
  
• Vincent Viola, a Wall Street mogul and former chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange
  
• Ahron Hersh, a former CEO of a handbag company
  
• Martin Rostowsky, president of a Sunset Park electric-supply company

Hersh said his gift thanked Kruger for helping Russian Jews, while no one else, including reps for the developer and the Nets, would comment.

The numbers are not so great as to suggest a massively organized plan; still, it's notable that so few would comment.

link

Posted by steve at 10:02 PM

At tense Council hearing, James, Lander cite AY delays, construction changes, press NYC EDC's Pinsky on need for updated cost-benefit analysis

Atlantic Yards

City Council Members Tish James and Brad Lander questioned Seth Pinsky about what the true benefits would be for Atlantic Yards. Pinsky continues to acknowledge the 25 year build-out that call into question any return for the City's subsidies for the project.

Two Brooklyn City Council Members yesterday grilled Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) about Atlantic Yards, but Pinsky both defended Forest City Ratner’s potential plan to build modular housing for the project, and argued that it, along with delays in tax revenues from a longer buildout, would not necessarily affect the city’s cost-benefit analysis of the project.

The latter statement, which Pinsky repeated in several ways, left Council Member Brad Lander dismayed and dumbfounded, calling Pinsky’s answers to Council Member Letitia James “deeply inadequate” and warning that the city has “misplaced confidence” in Forest City Ratner (FCR).

I'd also suggest that it requires an independent cost-benefit analysis, by the Independent Budget Office, rather than a self-serving one by the city.

...

“Let me go to may favorite project of all time, Atlantic Yards, they've been in the news,” James said. “They've been involved in two controversies, sort of unindicted co-conspirators.” She cited the Ridge Hill corruption case and the charges against state Senator Carl Kruger.

Does the $24 million “we so graciously have provided them” for the Carlton Avenue Bridge represent new money?

“No. That's money that's been in the budget now for some time,” Pinsky responded. “As you know, the original investment that the city was going to make in the Atlantic Yards project was about $200 million. Over the course of our negotiations, we finalized an agreement with Forest City last year which brought the total investment by the city to $179 million. the $24 million for work that were doing to help it go forward, $24 million for the Carlton Avenue Bridge, and $131 million for land acquisition.”

“What was original commitment to Forest City Ratner from the City of New York?” James asked.

“I believe the $200 million,” Pinsky responded.

That’s not true. The city initially committed $100 million, only to double that figure in 2007 after the project received initial approvals, and later to dial back slightly. (I think it’s still murky, given the likelihood that the city is also paying for some work on the FCR side of the ledger.)

...

“Have you done an updated cost-benefit analysis to determine how many jobs are being created by Atlantic Yards, because this project has changed?” James asked.

“The project actually has not changed significantly,” Pinsky maintained. The build program still calls for 16 towers. The arena size, though it’s decreased in square footage, continues to have the same number of seats. The MTA yard continues to meet the needs of the MTA.”

(That’s a bit of a euphemism, because, while a replacement railyard remains planned, it’s smaller than originally announced.)

“We haven't updated the cost-benefit analysis since we made the investment, but the analysis that we did showed that this would yield hundreds of millions of dollars in net incremental benefits to the city,” he stated.

James then referenced the recent news that Forest City Ratner is considering constructing the tallest-ever building made via modular construction, to meet its affordable housing obligations.

“Does that concern you?” she asked, noting that it would affect the number of jobs and the cost-benefit analysis.

“As I understand, this is an option that’s being explored,” Pinsky said carefully. ”I think, more importantly, that it's really not our place to stand in the way of innovations in technology relating to buildings.” He added that "it’s obviously incredibly important” that whatever is built complies with the project Design Guidelines and with safety requirements, but said that it’s tough to speculate on the impact until Forest City Ratner makes a decision.

He then went on to speculate a bit. “One thing I do know, in the articles, Forest City said they were looking at using a factory in New York City to do the construction, which is a benefit and job creator that we certainly didn't ever factor into our analysis,” he said. So, “if we were to go back,” that would have to be factored in.

“Well, clearly they're not going to complete this in ten years,” James noted, adding that the city committed funds based on that timetable.

Council Member Brad Lander continued the questioning:

“Everything you've said so far, in response to my questions, I think, has been a thoughtful answer. I have to say the answers you gave to Council Member James’s questions, I think, were deeply inadequate,” Lander began. “To begin with, let’s talk about the cost-benefit analysis. If I promise you a dollar today, and then instead I say, ‘I’ll give you a dollar in 15 years, is that dollar worth the same amount?’”

“Well, actually, that's not what the agreement was,” replied Pinsky with a touch of pique. A veteran of grilling by the bombastically prosecutorial legislator Richard Brodsky, Pinsky is no shrinking violet. “If we’re going to play an intellectual game it has to be fair.”

“I'm talking about the cost benefit analysis on the project revenues,” Lander continued, in a genially prosecutorial tone. “Your cost-benefit analysis evaluated a city investment of capital against projected tax revenues to the city, correct?”

“Among other things, correct,” Pinsky replied, a bit cagily.

“A pretty important one, though, the revenues, in terms of figuring out whether it’s a net positive to the city,” Lander asked.

“Absolutely,” confirmed Pinsky.

“So,” Lander continued, with increasing incredulity, “if the project is delayed from the timetable of ten years, and you earlier in your remarks said ‘over the course of the next several years,’ which I think is extremely generous, to a minimum of 25 years, with total uncertainty on whether the full buildout will happen at all, when and whether the office jobs will actually happen, the revenues that are going to come to city as a result of the construction and implementation and operation, are likely to be dramatically delayed from what you originally estimated in the cost benefit analysis that you did when you agreed to put all this capital into that project. I don’t see how you can say that’s not true.”

link

Posted by steve at 9:27 PM

March 19, 2011

Press Release: Councilmember Lander Criticizes EDC for Refusal to Conduct New Cost-Benefit Analysis for Atlantic Yards, Calls for Suspension and Reduction of City Subsidies

Councilmember Brad Lander

New York, NY – On the heels of the revelation that Forest City Ratner may build the first residential tower at Atlantic Yards with modular construction, thus dramatically reducing total wages and tax revenues to the City, City Councilmember Brad Lander today criticized NYC Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky's refusal to reevaluate the City's capital contribution to the Atlantic Yards project and conduct an updated cost-benefit analysis in light of significant changes to the project. Lander called for the City’s subsidy to Atlantic Yards to be suspended, and subjected to the same 17% capital cut that EDC is taking overall.

At the City Council's preliminary budget hearing on EDC's budget, Lander argued that changes to the project since EDC committed $200 million to Forest City – a much-longer timeframe, uncertainty about full build-out and the contemplated office space, and now the potential of modular construction significantly reducing wages and tax revenues – are likely to dramatically reduce the project’s tax revenues to the City, and therefore require a fully updated cost-benefit analysis, before the City proceeds to distribute any remaining subsidy dollars.

“The City’s subsidy to Atlantic Yards should be suspended until we have a new cost-benefit analysis, and subjected to the same 17% capital cut that EDC is taking overall,” Lander said. “I was not initially a die-hard opponent of this project, but I had many questions and concerns about whether the benefits would be realized, the public costs would be contained, the developer would live up to its obligations, and the process would be transparent. Unfortunately, those concerns have grown enormously, and it has become clear that City is very likely to lose many millions of dollars on this project, even as many of the contemplated benefits have evaporated. We need a new cost-benefit analysis before we proceed to put City taxpayer money into this project, just as we need real public oversight and accountability.”

Lander, together with Councilmember Letitia James, also asked Pinsky a series of questions about several troubling developments related to the project, including allegations that Senator Carl Kruger took bribes for his efforts to secure New York State subsidies for the Atlantic Yards project, and that representatives of Forest City Ratner and its partners may have misled foreign investors as part of its efforts under the EB-5 program to secure investment through the procurement of US visas, despite the fact that these investments will create no new jobs beyond what had already been promised.

Mayor Bloomberg has imposed a 10% capital cut for parks and infrastructure, and EDC overall has taken a 17% capital cut. Yet the City’s contribution to Atlantic Yards has not been reduced – despite the City’s fiscal difficulties, despite the many concerns surrounding the project, and despite the likelihood that the project’s tax revenues to the City are likely to be significantly reduced.

Posted by steve at 11:49 PM

March 18, 2011

Bruce Ratner's late 2010 campaign contributions: $12,500 to AG candidate Schneiderman, $7500 to the Senate Republicans

Atlantic Yards Report

Michael Ratner, of course, is not the only Ratner doling out lavish campaign money.

To architect Frank Gehry, whose grasp of development politics appears (in retrospect) enormously shaky, Bruce Ratner is "politically like me" and a fellow "liberal, do-gooder."

But a look at Ratner's pattern of campaign contributions again suggests otherwise.

Would a "liberal, do-gooder" in New York State give $7500 to the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee, as Ratner did on 11/1/10?

Or would that donor more likely be, as I wrote in February 2008, someone who "plays hardball when it counts?"

The Schneiderman contribution

Ratner on 10/28/10 also gave $12,500 to the campaign of Democratic Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman, who won his race with 55 percent of the vote.

(The contribution limit in statewide elections is $37,800.)

Could that be an effort to ensure that Schneiderman not pursue a lingering investigation from the Andrew Cuomo-led AG's office into the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's lobbying on behalf of Atlantic Yards and other projects?

Or is it just to make sure that Schneiderman takes some calls ahead of others?

Previous coverage

Last year, I noted $12,500 in contributions to Cuomo's gubernatorial campaign, $2000 to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's campaign, and $10,000 to New York Uprising, the clean-up-Albany project spearheaded by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Citizens Union Director Dick Dadey, and former New York City Parks Commissioner and New York Civic Director Henry Stern, Ratner's mentor.

article

NoLandGrab: The idea of Bruce Ratner supporting an effort to clean up Albany always makes us chuckle — right before we puke.

Posted by eric at 12:06 PM

The Ratner-Kruger campaign connection; one month after Atlantic Yards was announced, (brother) Michael Ratner and his wife gave $2000 each

Atlantic Yards Report

Follow the money.

Now that charges are swirling around state Senator Carl Kruger, it's worth a look back to see how Forest City Ratner (FCR) apparently steered campaign contributions to him less than a month after the Atlantic Yards plan was announced.

Kruger, along with some other undistinguished Brooklyn politicians, received campaign contributions via a most unusual source: FCR CEO Bruce Ratner's brother Michael Ratner, the eminent human rights lawyer, as well as his wife Karen Ranucci.

Kruger got $2000 from each on 1/6/04, as indicated in the graphic (click to enlarge; full list at bottom). Atlantic Yards was announced on 12/10/03.

Michael Ratner's curious pattern

Michael Ratner wouldn't comment when I first wrote about this in September 2006. I suggested that he was carrying water for his brother Bruce, who for a stretch was a "refusenik" from campaign contributions.

Michael Ratner's Brooklyn political contributions--in a pattern quite different from his other contributions to progressive politicians--seem to have been guided not by ideology but by corporate interests.

He was an investor in the Nets, as well as significant stock in the publicly traded corporation, Forest City Enterprises, controlled by the Ratners' extended family.

Indeed, the evidence is damning: Michael Ratner and his wife, Karen Ranucci, both Greenwich Village residents, both made campaign contributions using Forest City Ratner's Brooklyn building as a return address, as well as from their home address.

Click through to learn how many of Michael Ratner's favorite pols have ended up behind bars.

article

Posted by eric at 11:57 AM

HOSPITAL BRIBERY CHARGES: Willets sticks with Lipsky

YourNabe.com
by Connor Adams Sheets

You have to hand it to the Willets Point United crew — they're far more loyal than Richard Lipsky has ever been. Or Forest City Ratner, for that matter.

Willets Point United was keeping Lipsky’s services as of Monday, bucking the trend of cutting ties with him set by many of his other clients and associates. The group paid Lipsky $57,500 in 2010, according to lobbying records.

“The allegations have nothing whatsoever to do with Willets Point, and we consider that Dr. Lipsky has done a most effective job on behalf of WPU to expose the severe negative impacts of the proposed Willets Point development,” the group said in a lengthy statement on its website. “WPU is motivated, indefatigable, and inspired by Dr. Lipsky’s contact with federal enforcement agencies.”

Forest City Ratner Cos., the developer of the controversial Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, a flashpoint in the national eminent domain debate, hired Lipsky, effectively barring him from being able to work on behalf of project opponents.

Joe DePlasco, a spokesman for the developer, said Lipsky worked for Forest City Ratner as a consultant for about five years before he was terminated last week.

“He actually worked on issues related to youth and sports. His background is in sports. He has a doctorate in sports psychology or something like that,” DePlasco said. “He was a consultant, so he wasn’t directly employed.”

Hmm. We'll have to go back and re-read all of Lipsky's "Daniel Does Destroy" blog posts attacking Atlantic Yards critics to try to find the youth and sports angle.

Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), an outspoken opponent of the $3 billion plan to redevelop Willets Point, spoke at that same protest. He said Friday he was “very surprised” to hear that the lobbyist worked on both sides of the eminent domain issue.

“I wouldn’t have expected Lipsky to be involved, but it’s symptomatic of the system,” he said. “How the hell can you be involved in helping the Willets Point owners fight the misuse of eminent domain and yet you’re supporting the misuse of eminent domain by Ratner at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn?”

Indeed.

article

Posted by eric at 11:21 AM

March 17, 2011

Kruger crony leaned on me for vote: pol

NY Post
by Rich Calder and Dan Mangan

A Forest City Ratner executive whose cozy relationship with state Sen. Carl Kruger is featured in a new criminal complaint against the Brooklyn politician personally lobbied a Yonkers councilman hours before a controversial vote that later led to bribery charges against a councilwoman.

Yonkers Council Majority Leader John Murtagh Jr. said FCR Vice President Bruce Bender leaned on him in 2006 to change his expected vote opposing a controversial FCR development. The meeting was set up hours before a Yonkers council vote by then-Yonkers Republican Party chairman Zehy Jereis.

Bender, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, was the point man for FCR’s efforts to win the Yonkers council’s approval for the $630 million 81-acre “Ridge Hill” retail, commercial and residential development there.

Murtagh told The Post that Jereis called him “hours before the vote” and asked him to meet at a Yonkers Starbucks.

When he arrived, Jereis, who was with Bender, warned Murtagh that Councilwoman Sandy Annabi “is going to vote ‘yes,’ so this is going to pass, and it would help me politically if I vote in favor of it also,” Murtagh recalled.

Murtagh said he refused, adding, “I don’t make decisions like that, to do so would be political suicide.“ Jereis in Oct. 2006 was given a one-year, $60,000 real estate consulting contract by FCR in what prosecutors claim was a payoff by the company for getting Annabi to drop her opposition to the development.

Jereis had no experience in the real estate business and never submitted monthly work reports to FCR until March 2007 when the feds began dropping subpoenas as part of the Yonkers investigation, prosecutors said.

Last year, Annabi was charged by federal authorities with accepting more than $166,000 in bribes to vote in favor of Ridge Hill and another Yonkers development.

article

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Post: Yonkers Council Member says Bender pushed him to change vote in Ridge Hill case

In Kruger crony leaned on me for vote: pol, the New York Post continues chipping away at the relationship between developer Forest City Ratner and scandal-plagued state Senator Carl Kruger, again looking at the Ridge Hill case in Yonkers.
...

And this time, unlike in an article earlier this week, the Post completes the story, explaining that Jereis got a consulting job from Forest City in an apparent reward, even as the developer and its staff evaded any charges.

Posted by eric at 9:40 AM

March 16, 2011

Post: Backlash from Prospect Park Alliance toward FCR's Bender over fundraising conversation with Kruger

Atlantic Yards Report

You'd think that the Prospect Park Alliance, a group of civic-minded folk raising money for a beloved resource, might be a little peeved at being caught up in some apparently sleazy politics, and at least a few are.
...

Did the group get the $4.5 million promised? Apparently not, according to the Post:

A Prospect Park Alliance spokesman said the group never got the money, and another official there said they doubt it ever will.

link

Posted by eric at 4:18 PM

March 15, 2011

Krugerpalooza: Tuesday Edition

NY Post, Ratner's Kruger connection! Bruce had dealings with indicted senator

The biggest developer in the borough — whose Atlantic Yards project is the biggest in Brooklyn history — is now linked to the biggest pay-to-play story in years.

Federal wiretaps show that a lobbyist for Forest City Ratner, which is building the Barclays Center arena as part of the 16-tower apartment and retail complex, paid hundreds of thousands in bribes to state Sen. Carl Kruger (D–Brighton Beach), the former Finance Committee powerhouse.

The lobbyist, Richard Lipsky, was indicted by federal prosecutors with Kruger and several others last week, for his role in the scandal, which included funneling $252,000 to Kruger, who in turn provided state funding to projects being developed by Forest City and other clients.

No one from Forest City was indicated or charged — and it is unclear if the company knew what Lipsky was allegedly doing.

But Forest City Vice President Bruce Bender was caught on the federal wiretap negotiating with Kruger, who has steered millions in state money to the $4-billion project.

The Brooklyn Paper, Arrested Kruger: I’m not going anywhere

State Sen. Carl Kruger says he’s going to continue serving the people of Southern Brooklyn despite federal charges that could earn him up to 120 years in the Big House — and land him in the poorhouse.

Five days after federal authorities announced that the Democrat sold his political clout and government connections for close to $1 million in payoffs to deep-pocketed lobbyists and developers, the embattled legislator said he’s going to keep on fighting for the residents who sent him to Albany.

“I am here to represent the people of my district,” Kruger, who’s facing more than $5 million in fines, repeated to reporters in Albany on Monday during his first public appearance since his arrest last week. “I am here to do my job and that’s what I’m doing.”

NoLandGrab: What a statesman — only thinking about his beloved constituents.

Cleveland Scene, A Brooklyn Bridge, Cute State Senator, Involve Forest City in New York Corruption Case

New York news is finding its way back to the Forest City.

Wire-taps, bribes, scathing snippets of conversation published in the newspaper; ring a bell? The scenario must be annoyingly familiar to Cleveland’s best-loved real estate developer, Forest City Enterprises. Although the company avoided the Cuyahoga County corruption fallout, it’s not faring so well in New York where it is being showcased as “Real Estate Developer No. 1” in a federal public corruption case there.

The criminal case was unsealed last week and is a little complicated. We will try to boil it down for you. There is a skating rink, a retail development, and a bridge in Brooklyn. To clarify—not the Brooklyn Bridge, but another one. All are part of a new complex that the company's Forest City Ratner division is developing to be the new home to the Nets.

Let's hope they're wrong about Prospect Park being part of the project.

The Times notes that this is the second time in less than two years that Forest City Ratner has been named in a federal corruption investigation involving New York. The company has escaped indictment both times.

NLG: So far.

Posted by eric at 11:40 PM

The Carl Kruger backstory, via Gatemouth's long memory

Atlantic Yard Report

Room 8 blogger Gatemouth, aka Howard Graubard, has a couple of very interesting posts on the charges against state Senator Carl Carl Kruger, Assemblyman William Boyland, and lobbyist Richard Lipsky.

First, in Restling With Our Rights, or Lincoln Suspends the Constitution (Due Process for Electeds, Part One), he criticizes District Leader Lincoln Restler, who became the first pol to call for the elected officials' resignations before a trial.

But he's no supporter of Kruger, not at all. He writes:

Carl Kruger and I go back a long way.

I’ve despised Carl ever since 1984.

Brooklyn Democrats were then in the midst of a leadership war between the forces of Borough President Howard Golden and the late Tony Genovesi, fighting a series of proxy wars across the County.

The anecdote continues for a while, leading to this:

I then looked at an angry looking bald man watching us warily. Having already been through a morgue of newspapers clippings looking for dirt on Maisel’s associates, I said the following, and nothing more:

“You must be Carl Kruger.”

The man turned blood red.

I guess I understand why. If someone called me “Carl Kruger,“ I’d be insulted too.

But this man was Carl Kruger.

The mad man now started screaming at the top of his lungs.

“FUCK YOU!!!!…AND FUCK YOU, KENNY, FOR BRINGING HIM OVER HERE.”

There's much more, including an account of Democrat Kruger's endorsement of Republican Rudy Giuliani for U.S. Senate and Republican Marty Golden against sitting Democratic State Senator Vincent Gentile, a trade that ensured Kruger's safe seat, and an explanation of how Kruger's alliance with Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno sabotaged the reform efforts of Gov. Eliot Spitzer:

Truthfully, no one writing on the blogs today has a longer and more distinguished record of hatred for Carl Kruger than I do.

Click through for Part II.

link

Posted by eric at 12:14 PM

March 14, 2011

Lightning Keeps Striking: It Couldn’t Happen To Some More Deserving People . . Over and Over, Again- Ratner, Illegal Bribes and Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White ponders how it can be that Forest City Ratner keeps popping up in the pages of federal corruption indictments.

It’s that OMG-lightning keeps striking in the same place phenomenon. It may startle you, but if you know your science then you know that not only can lightning keep striking the same place, if the conditions are there it is quite likely to.

Suspense and . . .

It may also be described as the couldn’t happen to a better person phenomenon. That is to say that sometimes when you have watched the operations of a firm like Forest City Ratner closely for a long time you have found yourself wondering for just how long they are going to escape the consequence of a certain style of heinously cynical conduct. Looks like the answer may be not much longer. . . or, at least, not forever.

article

Posted by eric at 4:15 PM

More shocking than Kruger's $500,000 gift to Bruce Bender's pet project is the Senate leadership's willingness to let Bender allocate funds himself

Atlantic Yards Report

Though state Senator Carl Kruger has certainly helped developer Forest City Ratner over the years, and the charges described last week certainly put that help in a new light, the federal complaint does not show Kruger allocating funds to the developer.

Sure, he seemed willing, but he didn't have enough money, so what he did have went to a Prospect Park project requested by Forest City Ratner Executive VP Bruce Bender.

That might be seen as much as helping an old crony as anything else.

Senate leaders bend to Bender?

Still, another look at the complaint suggests some shocking--at least to those who believe what they learned in civics class--behavior from a Senate staffer, apparently at the behest of "Senate Leader #1."

Who's that? Apparently Senator John Sampson (as identified in news coverage), who has had supporters use Forest City Ratner offices for a fundraiser.

That staffer was willing to essentially outsource government "pork" directly to Bender, letting the real estate executive allocate money "as he saw fit."

article

Posted by eric at 4:06 PM

Is the Kruger/Lipsky case the end of the scandal investigations in Albany? Maybe not. What about the Aqueduct "racino"?

Atlantic Yards Report

In Piling On Carl Kruger, Convicted Already In Court Of Public Opinion, City Hall News explains that state Senator Carl Kruger, unlike many charged with corruption, is not even being given the doubt in the recently announced case involving payments from Richard Lipsky.

Why? City Hall News reports:

“Everyone who’s been paying attention to politics in Brooklyn, has long known that these two gentlemen play pay-to-play politics,” said one politician who asked not to be named, referring to Kruger and Assembly Member William Boyland, Jr., who was also accused of accepting bribes. “They are shady folks, period.”

Kruger’s personal life is already the source of much speculation and innuendo. But his political behavior did not win him any friends either.

Dan Feldman, a former Brooklyn Assembly member tried to explain why.

“A high percentage of the time, I’m amazed and shocked when these people get into trouble. Frankly, this is one of those cases where I’m not shocked—I just didn’t get good vibes,” Feldman said. “Most politicians are very gregarious. With Carl, you never got the feeling of any kind of personal connection. I don’t mean to be cruel—to some extent, it felt like you were talking to a computer.”

Also, Kruger's clear role in Senate shenanigans--one of the "Four Amigos" whose party allegiance was malleable--surely played a role.

Anyone else?

The newspaper reports:

Some wondered how much further the scandal would go. Would there be more arrests in addition to the eight already?

“The cynical analysis is this is the tip of something much larger and this could explode,” [Baruch College professor Doug] Muzzio said. “It’s not only waiting for the other shoe to drop. There seems to be a whole shoe closet here with shoes ready to fall out.”

If so, who could that be? Perhaps the investigation of the Aqueduct "racino" will yield further charges.

If so, those could involve state Senators Malcolm Smith of Queens and John Sampson of Brooklyn.

And if so, there might be a tangential connection to Forest City Ratner.

link

Posted by eric at 2:43 PM

Time for an update? Markowitz, on video, praised Forest City to potential investors: "I can assure you that their reputation is unbelievably reliable"

Atlantic Yards Report

In December, I first wrote about Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's hyperbolic praise for Forest City Ratner, assisting the developer's effort to raise low-cost capital from Chinese (and Korean) investors seeking green cards.

Now that Forest City executive Bruce Bender has been caught on government wiretap trying to get government help to fulfill the obligation to rebuild the Carlton Avenue Bridge, and also saying, "I don't mind fucking the bridge," maybe Markowitz's claims of FCR reliability deserve a rethink.

"The largest company in Brooklyn is Forest City development, and I can assure you that their reputation is unbelievably reliable," he declared on the video produced to pitch the project to the investors. "They're a great company to work with; they've worked very closely with government. And the most important thing: they make a promise, they keep it."

Right.

article

Posted by eric at 11:48 AM

March 13, 2011

Yes, Kruger apparently helped FCR, but not on Atlantic Yards; Post focuses on the Mill Basin connection, where pol tried to delay public review

Atlantic Yards Report

I've been so focused on the not-quite-favor on Atlantic Yards Forest City Ratner's Bruce Bender tried to negotiate with the indicted Carl Kruger that I didn't look closely at the other FCR deal, where Kruger apparently was helpful.

Rich Calder of the New York Post follows up today, in Kruger's political favor:

State Sen. Carl Kruger -- who is facing federal corruption charges in an alleged pay-to-play scheme -- used his political muscle to hold up a Bloomberg administration project in Brooklyn at least three years to benefit a favored developer also highlighted in the embattled pol’s criminal complaint, the Post has learned.

Note that the details are outside the official complaint, which focuses on the role of another developer in the Mill Basin project.

The article continues:

At issue is a 15-acre city project that includes a new retail center in Mill Basin, built by developer Forest City Ratner. The project, along Flatbush Avenue, is also supposed to hold a Cadillac car dealership. The site currently houses a Toys-R-Us store.

Kruger (D-Brooklyn) sent former Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber a scathing letter in January 2008 threatening to sue the city because it wanted to begin the mandatory public review process on the dealership’s portion of the project, without FCR’s part.

At the time, the car dealership plan was in jeopardy if the city didn’t move quickly, but FCR wasn’t ready to begin a public review – and was concerned that segmenting the project could hurt its plans, sources said.

“It is our intent, and the shared intent of the community and other elected officials, to commence legal action if necessary,” Kruger said in the letter.

The city ultimately gave in to Kruger’s demands, but luckily was able to save the dealership deal. Last month, the entire project’s public review finally began.

FCR has not been charged, but the doubts about whether it's a good corporate citizen--as the Empire State Development Corporation asserted last year--increase.

link

Posted by steve at 10:40 PM

Crain's: Lipsky's relationship with Kruger may have solidified after the lobbyist signed on with Forest City Ratner

Atlantic Yards Report

In Lobbyist Richard Lipsky's downfall: Lobbyist in bribery scandal touched nearly every biz cause, Crain's New York Business describes Richard Lipsky's ethical flexibility and, near the end of the article, suggests that a connection with developer Forest City Ratner led Lipsky to ally with state Senator Carl Kruger.

Crain's reports:

In the 1990s, lobbyist Richard Lipsky fought ferociously on behalf of small business owners against building a Pathmark supermarket in East Harlem, and, a decade later, against a Walmart store on Staten Island. But the underdog narrative that ran through his three-decade career became muddied more recently as signs emerged that Mr. Lipsky was following the money rather than his principles.

Forest City Ratner hired him in 2006 for its $5 billion Atlantic Yards megaproject in Brooklyn, and a related corporate entity snagged him to pave the way for an East Harlem shopping mall whose anchor is a Target superstore. Those moves were widely attributed to the developer's desire to prevent Mr. Lipsky from stirring up and advocating for the little guys, his traditional constituency.

He aligned himself with four rogue legislators who upended the Democrats' tenuous hold on the Senate in 2009. And he recently signed on with the Committee to Save New York, a big-business alliance backing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscally conservative agenda.

“He was serving far too many masters,” said a Democratic operative. “You could purchase his position on an issue.”

Um, I think Atlantic Yards critics and opponents were pointing that out well before charges surfaced last week.

link

Posted by steve at 10:38 PM

Kruger's vote on gay marriage, protests by activists, and the need for scrutiny

Atlantic Yards Report

In Media Runs With Kruger Gay Stories: Activists' charge indicted anti-equality senator is closeted finally surface, Gay City News reports on the mainstream media's willingness--for the Times, tentative, for the Post, certain--to finally look closely at some evidence that seemed to have been staring at them in the face:

Shortly after Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger joined seven other Democrats in voting against New York’s marriage equality bill in December 2009 –– dooming it to a 38-24 loss –– a busload of LGBT activists descended on two homes blocks apart where Kruger either claimed to live or in fact resided, with some picketers loudly decrying him for being closeted.

In the wake of Kruger’s indictment March 10 on federal charges of taking more than $1 million in bribes in exchange for political favors, the story of Kruger’s homosexuality –– indeed accounts that he is lovers with the son of a woman who was often his companion in public –– have made it into the mainstream press.

A March 11 New York Times story recounts the gay rights protest at Kruger’s residences, noting that the senator has denied being gay. The newspaper also notes that while neighbors of 73-year-old Dorothy Turano's staggeringly gaudy house in Mill Basin described her and the senator as a couple, “it was the oldest son, Michael, to whom Mr. Kruger was closest, and they forged a relationship in which they ‘supported and relied on one another,’” according to the federal indictment.

Michael Turano, a 49-year-old gynecologist, was indicted for helping Kruger to launder his alleged illegal gains.

Both the Times and the New York Post make clear that Kruger was not living in his legal residence in Georgetown, where his sister lives, but with the two Turanos and “Dottie’s” other son, Gerard, who is 47.

The Post is more definitive in its characterization of the relationship between Kruger and Michael Turano, describing the senator as “closeted” and the younger man as his “beau” and “secret longtime companion.”

Kruger and Michael Turano were in near daily contact, according to the U.S. Attorney. Maybe if the protests in 2009 had been taken more seriously, and Kruger's living arrangements scrutinized--if not his companionship, at least the outlandish luxury in which he apparently lived--the press would have been ahead of the feds.

link

Posted by steve at 10:35 PM

What kept Carl Kruger untouchable: member items, and the redistricting that carved up territory for him and Marty Golden

Atlantic Yards Report

In the wake of the charges against state Senator Carl Kruger and others, it's worth another look at my 10/30/06 review of former State Senator Seymour Lachman's timely book of analysis and advocacy, Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse, coauthored by Robert Polner. Indeed, the entire legislative and governmental process is distorted by an absence of democracy.

As I wrote, few of our elected representatives come off well. Is it no surprise that several of the officials who back the Atlantic Yards plan are among those who benefit from and support the systematic dysfunction?

Member items

How do leaders keep people in line and maintain incumbency?

“Member items,” basically a discretionary fund that can be used for worthy civic purposes and also to build political capital. In the Republican-controlled Senate, a minority Democrat might get $100,000 to $200,000 to distribute to local community groups and local services, Republicans sometimes get ten times more. (In the Democrat-controlled Assembly, the flip side obtains.)

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Posted by steve at 10:30 PM

The Sunday Krugerpalooza

Insights into the relationship between State Senator Carl Kruger, lobbyist John Lipsky and developer Forest City Ratner continue.

New York Daily News, Crooked Carl Kruger wallowed in Albany's corrupt pork-barrel slush-fund ways

An FBI listening device showed just how much money an individual lawmaker can control - and just how routinely a legislator can dole it out, without accountability or sound judgment, to special friends.

This particular transaction unfolded in December, when Kruger fielded a call from Forest City Ratner honcho Bruce Bender - a client of lobbyist Richard Lipsky, who had allegedly bribed Kruger for help on other matters.

Bender was seeking an amazing $15 million: $9 million for a bridge related to his company's Atlantic Yards project, $2 million for a retail center in Mill Basin and $4 million to renovate a skating rink in Prospect Park.

As it happens, Bender's wife sits on the board of the Prospect Park Alliance.

Kruger laments that he has but $4 million to offer and asks, "What do you want done?" adding, "I guess the park. F--- the bridge."

But Bender prods Kruger for more. You're the Finance Committee chairman, he says. Can't you squeeze something additional out of Senate Democratic leader John Sampson?

Kruger replies that other community groups "would take $10,000 and kiss somebody's a--."

Crain's New York, Lobbyist Richard Lipsky's downfall

In the 1990s, lobbyist Richard Lipsky fought ferociously on behalf of small business owners against building a Pathmark supermarket in East Harlem, and, a decade later, against a Walmart store on Staten Island. But the underdog narrative that ran through his three-decade career became muddied more recently as signs emerged that Mr. Lipsky was following the money rather than his principles.

Forest City Ratner hired him in 2006 for its $5 billion Atlantic Yards megaproject in Brooklyn, and a related corporate entity snagged him to pave the way for an East Harlem shopping mall whose anchor is a Target superstore. Those moves were widely attributed to the developer's desire to prevent Mr. Lipsky from stirring up and advocating for the little guys, his traditional constituency.

He aligned himself with four rogue legislators who upended the Democrats' tenuous hold on the Senate in 2009. And he recently signed on with the Committee to Save New York, a big-business alliance backing Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscally conservative agenda.

“He was serving far too many masters,” said a Democratic operative. “You could purchase his position on an issue.”

...

It isn't clear when his relationship with Mr. Kruger developed, but observers suspect their ties solidified around 2006, when Mr. Lipsky signed on with Forest City Ratner. Its executive vice president for government affairs, Bruce Bender, has known Mr. Kruger for decades.

New York Post, Kruger's political favor

State Sen. Carl Kruger -- who is facing federal corruption charges in an alleged pay-to-play scheme -- used his political muscle to hold up a Bloomberg administration project in Brooklyn at least three years to benefit a favored developer also highlighted in the embattled pol’s criminal complaint, the Post has learned.

At issue is a 15-acre city project that includes a new retail center in Mill Basin, built by developer Forest City Ratner. The project, along Flatbush Avenue, is also supposed to hold a Cadillac car dealership. The site currently houses a Toys-R-Us store. Tim Wiencis/Splash News

Kruger (D-Brooklyn) sent former Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber a scathing letter in January 2008 threatening to sue the city because it wanted to begin the mandatory public review process on the dealership’s portion of the project, without FCR’s part.

...

“He cost the city three years it can’t get back on a project that already faces a lot of opposition,“ said one city official.

Kruger and Bruce Bender, a vice president for government relations at FCR, are longtime allies who both got their starts in Southern Brooklyn’s Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club.

According to the complaint, Bender in December asked Kruger for $11 million in state funds for two FCR projects in Brooklyn – the Mill Basin project and Atlantic Yards – and another $4 million to renovate a Prospect Park skating rink near Bender’s Park Slope home.

Talk of the Sound, Lobbyist for Forest City Ratner, New Rochelle's Echo Bay Developer, Indicted for Bribing Elected Officials in Brooklyn

Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist employed by Forest City Ratner, has been indicted on allegations of paying bribes to New York State Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn). Vice President of Governmental Affairs and Public Relations Bruce Bender is also identified in the complaint for his role in seek funds from Kruger last December for three projects -- $9 million for a bridge related to the Atlantic Yards project; $2 million for the Mill Basin retail development in Brooklyn; and $4 million for a skating rink in Prospect Park. Mr. Bender’s wife, Amy Bender, is on the board of the Prospect Park Alliance, the park’s fund-raising group.

Referred to in the charging document as "a significant real estate development firm ("Real Estate Developer #1")", Forest City employed Richard Lipsky up until Wednesday when the developer terminated the relationship.

Forest City Ratner is the developer behind the Echo Bay Development project in New Rochelle which recently received an extension of a Memorandum of Understanding. Mayor Noam Bramson aggressively pushed through the M.O.U. after a series of secret meetings with City officials and refusing to allow public comment on a revised development plan. Bramson has received thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the Ratner family. Bramson also receives tens of thousands of dollars a year in payments from Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) who has, in turn, also received funds from the Ratner family. Bramson has been the most vocal proponent for the Forest City Ratner plan to develop Echo Bay.

Posted by steve at 10:08 PM

March 11, 2011

KRUGERPALOOZA!

The headlines are awash today with the indictments of State Senator (and big Atlantic Yards booster) Carl Kruger and his not-so-trusty sidekick (and paid Atlantic Yards lobbyist) Richard Lipsky, and of course, "Real Estate Developer #1."

The New York Times, Developer Among Cast of Characters in Kruger Case

A corruption case unsealed on Thursday included a large cast of characters beyond State Senator Carl Kruger, Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. and six others who were charged.

Also highlighted in the criminal complaint was “a significant real estate development firm,” identified as “Real Estate Developer No. 1,” that was “spearheading an over $4 billion, multiyear, mixed-use commercial and residential development project in Brooklyn.” The description left little doubt that the firm was Forest City Ratner, the developer behind the Atlantic Yards project, a 22-acre residential and retail complex in Brooklyn that includes a new home for the Nets.

It was the second time in less than two years that the company played a role in a corruption case, though it was not charged either time.

The complaint accused Mr. Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, of taking at least $1 million in bribes in exchange for help on state matters, including bribes from Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist for Forest City Ratner, and other clients.

The complaint said the company’s “vice president of governmental affairs and public relations” — Bruce R. Bender has that role at Forest City Ratner — had asked Mr. Kruger last December for state money for three projects: $9 million for the Carlton Avenue Bridge, which is to be replaced as part of the Atlantic Yards project; $2 million for a retail development in the Mill Basin neighborhood of Brooklyn; and $4 million for the renovation of the skating rink in Prospect Park, a public project.

Mr. Bender’s wife, Amy Bender, is on the board of the Prospect Park Alliance, the park’s fund-raising group.
...

[Forest City spokesman Joe] DePlasco said the company ended its relationship with Mr. Lipsky on Wednesday, when word of the case began to leak out, because of the “serious nature of the charges.” Forest City Ratner was the development partner of The New York Times Company on its Midtown headquarters.

Although the complaint contained no evidence that Mr. Bender believed Mr. Kruger was taking bribes, longtime opponents of Atlantic Yards were dismayed that no one from the company had been charged.

“I find it sad that politicians are expendable, but rich developers are not,” said Candace Carponter, the legal director of the group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

Atlantic Yards Report, Two unanswered questions in the Kruger case: Does the ESDC still trust FCR? Why did FCR try to get the state to pay for its bridge obligation?

The New York Times, to its partial credit, follows up on the charges against Carl Kruger and Richard Lipsky with an article headlined, at least online, Developer Among Cast of Characters in Kruger Case.

There's not much there that wasn't in this blog yesterday, but the Times did get a quote in the developer's defense:

Forest City Ratner did not deny that Mr. Bender was the person to whom Mr. Kruger was speaking. “I don’t think it will come as a surprise to anyone that the person in charge of government relations at Forest City Ratner speaks to government officials,” said Joe DePlasco, a spokesman. The complaint, he said, “does not suggest that Forest City Ratner behaved in any way that’s inappropriate.”

Mr. Bender lives in Brooklyn, Mr. DePlasco said, “and I assume he likes Prospect Park.”

DePlasco's partly right--there's no evidence that Forest City Ratner instructed Lipsky to pass on lobbying fees to Kruger.

Weaseling out of bridge obligation?

But Forest City, arguably, did behave inappropriately, though not criminally. The developer, as of last June, was supposed to pay $16 million of the $40 million cost of the Carlton Avenue Bridge reconstruction.

The taped conversation shows that Forest City was trying to get $9 million in state funds to reduce its obligation. If the developer is still scrounging, what does it say about its commitment to rebuilding the bridge?

NoLandGrab: We're pretty sure it says "f*ck the bridge!"

Curbed, BROOKLYN BACKSCRATCHING

The Times takes a more detailed look at the involvement of developer Forest City Ratner in the corruption charges against Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger. There are no smoking guns for Atlantic Yards opponents, nor has FCR been charged with any wrongdoing, but wow, it just makes you feel dirty reading it. Ratner's VP of governmental affairs, Bruce Bender, tried to get Kruger to steer millions in state funds to three Brooklyn projects, and then Kruger made him choose one. Bender picked the skating rink renovation at Prospect Park, where his wife is a major fundraiser.

NLG: Like Carl said, "f*ck the bridge!"

The New York Times, Federal Corruption Case Ensnares a Self-Styled Fighter for the Underdog

...according to federal prosecutors, Mr. Lipsky had come to rely heavily on one well-placed politician to do his bidding, State Senator Carl Kruger, Democrat of Brooklyn, and was secretly paying him for his services.

Prosecutors said over $100,000 in cash was found in a safe in his home, and some $4,000 in crisp bills was in his suit pocket.

NLG: Wonder if they've dusted those bills for fingerprints yet.

LoHud.com, High-profile state senator charged in state's latest political scandal

Forest City Ratner and its affiliates have paid Lipsky more than $320,000 since 2005 for help with its projects in Yonkers, Brooklyn, Har-lem and Queens. Included in that was $256,000 that covered lobbying Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone and City Council members regarding the $600 million Ridge Hill project. Forest City Ratner terminated its contract with Lipsky on Thursday, as did some other clients. Yonkers officials did not respond to messages for comment.
...

The indictment relates to none of those projects, although prosecutors contend that Lipsky's efforts on behalf of Forest City's massive Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn did receive help from Kruger.

NY Daily News, State Sen. Carl Kruger and Assemblyman William Boyland surrender to feds to face bribe rap

key player was co-defendant Michael Turano, son of Kruger's longtime friend, Dorothy Turano. Michael Turano controlled a shell company, Olympian Strategic Development, that served as Kruger's indirect ATM.

The FBI described Turano as Kruger's "intimate associate." Prosecutors say Kruger was so deeply involved with Turano's family, that by giving money to Turano, the bribers effectively paid off Kruger.

Olympian got $472,500 from developer Aaron Malinsky over several years to back his Brooklyn projects.

Recently, Malinsky tried to get a piece of mega-developer Bruce Ratner's project to build a retail complex called the Four Sparrows on city property in Mill Basin.

Ratner was torn between bringing in small department stores - the plan Malinsky wanted - or going with a "big box" superstore."

NLG: Yeah, we bet he was losing a lot of sleep over that one.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, "I Don't Mind F-king The Bridge."

Forest City Ratner has shown a knack for appearing in corruption cases, but never seems to get a proper screen credit. In the Ridge Hill corruption scandal they were billed as "Developer #2" and now, in the state Senator Carl Kruger indictment they appear as "Developer #1".
...

The FBI reported that when told by Kruger, during a wire-tapped conversation, that there would be funds for a Prospect Park project but no public money to steer toward replacing the Carlton Avenue bridge, Bender was not happy:

The Vice President said that ..."this" was "bad." Kruger said, "I guess the park, fuck the bridge." The Vice President said that "my dilemma is as you know, I don't mind fucking the bridge, I can't fuck it right now, I've got to leverage that bridge, what's my value?"

It's hard to imagine that even a screenwriter could come up with an exchange that better encapsulates Forest City Ratner: a company whose only regard for the public is how much of our money can be siphoned off.

Atlantic Yards Report, If anyone else is snared in the federal investigation, who could it be? Maybe another legislator who's expressed excess Atlantic Yards enthusiasm

A reader asked if anyone, besides state Senator Carl Kruger, might be caught up in the federal investigation that snared Kruger and lobbyist Richard Lipsky.

We don't know--and there's no evidence that any other legislator is under investigation.

But who else, the reader asked, resembles Kruger in performance--a Brooklyn legislator who represents a district far from the Atlantic Yards site, but has vocally and dramatically backed the project?

That would be state Senator Marty Golden, who led a rally for the developer (below) at the 7/29/09 public hearing on Atlantic Yards and entered late, rudely interrupting the proceedings, at a 5/29/09 oversight hearing held by state Senator Bill Perkins.

The Village Voice has reported on Golden's questionable ethics, directing much business to a catering hall he used to own, and family members still run.

Is there any evidence Golden took money from lobbyist Richard Lipsky, or anyone else, to help Forest City Ratner? No.

But, just as Kruger's enthusiasm for Atlantic Yards should now be seen in new light, Golden's outsize enthusiasm deserves some reconsideration.

Park Slope Patch, Ratner Exec Tied to Pol Arrested for Corruption

A top Atlantic Yards executive pressed a Brooklyn state senator for millions of dollars to fund the controversial development, as well as a new ice-skating for Prospect Park, court documents reveal.

The charges filed against state Sen. Carl Kruger by federal prosecutors on Thursday do not explicitly name Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner, but they do describe conversations with officials from a “real estate developer which is spearheading an over $4 billion, multi-year, mixed-use commercial and residential development project in Brooklyn.”
...

Like the entire Atlantic Yards development, the reopening of the Carlton Avenue bridge — which links Prospect Heights and Fort Greene — has been beset with delays.

Originally the bridge was slated to close from roughly early 2008 to early 2011. Now, as the watchdog blog Atlantic Yards Report noted, the bridge is set to reopen in the summer of 2012.

NLG: Wonder what Vegas is giving on the Summer 2012 bridge reopening? 60-1? 70-1? We'll bet the over/under is October 2015.

Posted by eric at 11:24 AM

Best Wiretap Dialogue from a Federal Corruption Indictment Ever

[Warning: this exchange is rated NC-17 for inappropriate language]

From page 22 of the 53-page federal corruption indictment of New York State Senator Carl Kruger, lobbyist Richard Lipsky et al...

Kruger asked "what do you want done?"

The Vice President [Forest City Ratner's Bruce Bender] said that he did not know and that "this" was "bad."

Kruger said, "I guess the park, fuck the bridge."

The Vice President said that "my dilemma is as you know, I don't mind fucking the bridge, I can't fuck it right now."

And that, friends, is how business gets done in Brooklyn, USA.

Posted by eric at 12:26 AM

March 10, 2011

Yes, Kruger corruption charges involve Atlantic Yards; unnamed "Developer #1" is FCR; Bender: "I don't mind fucking the Carlton Avenue Bridge"

Atlantic Yards Report

I had questioned whether the corruption charges regarding Carl Kruger's involvement with a "Brooklyn developer" meant Atlantic Yards, but apparently they do.

From the Daily News:

The complaint also points out Kruger's involvement in supporting mega-developer Bruce Ratner's planned $4 billion stadium project in downtown Brooklyn.

Kruger took elaborate steps to hide the payments, having checks funneled through a company called Adex Management Inc., then through a shell company, Olympian Strategic Development.

Olympian was controlled by Michael Turano, a son of Kruger's longtime friend and local community board director, Dorothy Turano. Michael Turano was also charged Thursday.

Kruger is accused of receiving at least $1 million in bribes, sharing lobbying fees paid to Richard Lipsky, another defendant, and then taking the official acts in favor of which Lipsky had been paid to lobby.

If Forest City Ratner, which is not named, is not a target, this might be a repeat of Ridge Hill, in which the developer benefits from apparent corruption but is not penalized.

Can the Empire State Development Corporation repeat its statement, in response to my queries about Ridge Hill, that they "remain confident in Forest City as a developer and as a good corporate citizen"?

From the complaint

The complaint (page 7) notes defendant Richard Lipksy's clients "include, among others, a significant real estate development firm ("Real Estate Developer #1") which is spearheading an over $4 billion, multi-year, mixed-use commercial and residential development project in Brooklyn, New York, as well as various unions and associations...."

On p. 14, it states that Kruger has taken a number of official actions to benefit Lipsky's clients, including "Developer #1."

More coming...

Click through to the complaint, and begin reading at the bottom of page 21 to find out why the reconstruction of the Carlton Avenue bridge is taking so long. Warning: rated NC-17 for adult language.

link

Posted by eric at 12:47 PM

$leaze rap for top pol

Corruption case

NY Post
by Mitchel Maddux, Josh Margolin and Dan Mangan

Speaking of mom 'n' pop businesses, MomandPopNYC blogger, retail consultant and Atlantic Yards lobbyist Richard Lipsky has been swept up in a corruption investigation that netted Brooklyn State Senator — and big Atlantic Yards booster — Carl Kruger.

State Sen. Carl Kruger, a powerful Brooklyn Democrat, will surrender to federal authorities today to face corruption charges, along with an Upper West Side lobbyist linked to him, sources told The Post.

Kruger has been under investigation since 2007 by Brooklyn federal prosecutors for allegations he performed official acts in exchange for campaign donations.

But that ongoing probe is not related to charges Kruger, the ranking Democrat on the Senate's Finance Committee, will face today in Manhattan federal court, sources said.

Those charges relate to lobbying involving hospitals in the city, NBC said.

In addition, longtime Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. of the 55th District in Brooklyn is facing corruption charges today, the station reported.

Also surrendering is lobbyist Richard Lipsky -- well-known for helping small businesses oppose plans that would benefit larger business, including big-box retailers such as Walmart, The Post has learned.

He recently has been advising developers of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards project.

article

Related coverage...

The Brooklyn Paper, Report: Kruger will surrender to feds in corruption case

State Sen. Carl Kruger is expected to surrender to federal authorities and be charged with trading his political clout for personal gain today — just one week after his attorney claimed the FBI was no longer investigating the Brooklyn legislator.
...

Federal prosecutors haven’t disclosed the criminal charges that Kruger is facing, nor have they named any of his would-be co-conspirators, although the Times claims that Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. (D–Brownsville) and Richard Lipsky, a longtime small business lobbyist and blogger whose client list includes Forest City Ratner Companies, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the Neighborhood Retail Alliance, will be charged alongside the senator.

Kruger isn’t talking either — he hung up on this reporter on Wednesday evening.

The New York Times, 2 State Legislators Surrender in Corruption Case

State Senator Karl Kruger, Assemblyman William F. Boyland Jr. and an influential lobbyist were among eight people who surrendered on Thursday to face charges in a federal corruption case accusing the lawmakers of taking bribes over the course of a decade in schemes large and small, from pushing hospital mergers to extending business hours for liquor stores.

In addition to the lawmakers and the lobbyist, Richard Lipsky, those charged in a criminal complaint unsealed Thursday morning included a real estate developer, two hospital executives, a hospital consultant and a Brooklyn doctor.

Photo: NY Post

Posted by eric at 11:18 AM

March 9, 2011

State Senator Kruger, lobbyist Lipsky said to surrender on corruption charges; details coming Thursday

Atlantic Yards Report

With the expected indictments of Brooklyn State Sen. Carl Kruger and lobbyist Richard Lipsky on corruption charges--not related to Atlantic Yards, at least so far (but see below)--the ranks of Atlantic Yards supporters/enablers with a taint keep growing.

Quick: former Assemblyman Roger Green had to resign (and run again) after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor; Darryl Greene, Forest City Ratner's consultant on minority hiring, had to withdraw from the Aqueduct "racino" project because of his record of mail fraud; Carpenters Union official Sal Zarzana was cited by a court-appointed monitor for inappropriate expenditures; Carpenters Union official John Holt was cited for obstructing an investigation and giving false answers to an investigator.
...

Note of course that charges are not convictions, so the "taint" described above could be removed should Kruger and Lipsky emerge vindicated.

Last summer, news broke about an investigation into Kruger,--an aggressively unabashed supporter of Atlantic Yards, and recipient of Forest City Ratner-related campaign contributions.

Lipsky, who's worked for developer Forest City Ratner and against eminent domain for projects such as the Columbia University expansion and Willets Point, had not been mentioned as part of the Kruger investigation.

Click thru for more, and links to more coverage — some of it titillating.

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Posted by eric at 11:50 PM

Brooklyn Senator to Turn Himself In

The New York Times

State Senator Carl Kruger, a powerful and at times controversial Brooklyn Democrat, is expected to turn himself in on Thursday to federal authorities in Manhattan on corruption charges, according to several people briefed on the matter. An influential lobbyist, Richard Lipsky, is expected to surrender alongside Mr. Kruger.

Mr. Kruger had been under investigation by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn who were looking into accusations that he had helped businessmen surmount bureaucratic hurdles in exchange for assistance raising campaign money, but the charges stemmed from an investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors and the F.B.I.

Others were also expected to be charged in the case, according to one person briefed on the matter, who, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity because the charges had not been made public.
...

Details of the Manhattan case against Mr. Kruger and Mr. Lipsky were not available on Wednesday night. The United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation were expected to hold a news conference on Thursday to announce the charges.

Mr. Kruger’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, declined to comment on Wednesday. Mr. Lipsky’s lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt, also declined to comment.

article

NoLandGrab: People who've followed the Atlantic Yards fight over the years are familiar with Mr. Kruger and Mr. Lipsky, both fervent supporters of the project.

Posted by eric at 11:16 PM

If Cuomo's seeking to expand fight against financial fraud, maybe he should look at Forest City Ratner's EB-5 effort

Atlantic Yards Report

A front-age New York Times article February 16 headlined online Cuomo’s Deep Reach Into Regulatory Territory Could Provoke Clash in Albany and, in print, "Cuomo Seeking to Expand Grip to Fight Fraud," stated:

Buried in the governor’s new budget are provisions that would grant the executive branch sweeping new powers to investigate Wall Street banks, hedge funds and insurance companies, alarming some industry officials and raising the prospect of a major clash with his successor as attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, and local prosecutors over high-profile securities and investment cases.

The provisions accompany Mr. Cuomo’s proposed merger of the state’s Insurance and Banking Departments, along with the Consumer Protection Board, into a new Department of Financial Regulation. Mr. Cuomo has argued that those changes are necessary to create a more efficient and modern regulatory framework for businesses and better protection for consumers.

But the budget language would also empower the new agency to issue subpoenas, compel testimony and seek damages and penalties from anyone committing “financial fraud,” a term defined broadly to encompass investments, securities and derivatives marketed and sold by Wall Street investment houses, as well as financial services, life insurance and more.

Wouldn't it be worth looking into the potential "financial fraud" involved in Forest City Ratner's quest for $249 million from immigrant investors under the federal government's EB-5 immigration program?

After all, potential investors are clearly being misled, and the spirit--if not the letter--of the federal program is being violated.

And the Empire State Development Corporation, Cuomo's economic development agency, is helping.

link

Posted by eric at 12:15 PM

March 5, 2011

Times slams Louisiana governor for dubious charity run by wife, ignores Markowitz's use of his own charity to draw corporate donations

Atlantic Yards Report

A front-page New York Times article March 3, headlined Wife’s Charity Offers Corporate Tie to a Governor, begins:

Louisiana’s biggest corporate players, many with long agendas before the state government, are restricted in making campaign contributions to Gov. Bobby Jindal. But they can give whatever they like to the foundation set up by his wife months after he took office.

Transpose the issue to Brooklyn, and change set up by his wife to he himself set up, and the Times might have reason to examine the work of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Missing the point

However, in a 7/16/10 article about Markowitz's concert series, headlined Bringing Fun to Brooklyn and appearing on the front page of the Weekend section, a Times music reporter barely touched on the issue:

Artists are paid for their appearances; each series has a budget of around $1.3 million, three-quarters of which comes from corporate sponsorships. But performing for a big, appreciative crowd deep in Brooklyn can be its own reward, said John Legend, who played the King series two years ago and will return to Seaside on Aug. 5.

As I wrote, that skates over that fact that corporate and foundation contributions, such as from Forest City Ratner and its foundation, mean Markowitz might be indebted to big developers like Forest City Ratner.

Those donations continue, as I pointed out this past January, with $50,000 to each of the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series and the Seaside Summer Concert Series.

Also, as the New York Post has pointed out, Markowitz's separate charity, Best of Brooklyn, has a record of issuing no-bid contracts.

link

Posted by steve at 6:31 PM

March 4, 2011

Is Brooklyn thriving and an economic engine? Markowitz cheerleads, but the evidence of unemployment is sobering

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz gets on his soapbox for an essay that's part of the March/April issue of City Limits, Defining Brooklyn.

The headline is Beep Says Brooklyn Is NYC's Economic Engine: "In spite of saying 'goodbye' to our treasures of yesterday, Brooklyn is thriving," writes Borough President Marty Markowitz.

(The essay is mostly adapted--self-plagiarized?--from his State of the Borough Address last month. More importantly, not that Markowitz is embarrassing himself by lying about Atlantic Yards in an attempt to help Forest City Ratner recruit Chinese investors, how much credibility does he have left?)

The evidence for his optimism?

In spite of saying "goodbye" to our treasures of yesterday–Brooklyn is thriving. The reason is simple: Brooklyn has embraced modernization without forgetting its past and become an economic engine for New York City.

Don't believe me? The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. And in this case the pudding is employment data. From June 2009 to June 2010 none of New York's boroughs were even close to Brooklyn. Brooklyn increased employment by 3.6 percent. Not only is that nearly double the next highest number in New York City, it's good enough for 2nd best of all large counties … IN THE COUNTRY. And Crain's New York Business proclaimed Brooklyn to be "at the forefront of the city's economic recovery" thanks to the 14,000 jobs Brooklyn added in 2010.

Do the math

The problem? A 3.6 percent increase in employment is a mere dent in an 11 percent unemployment rate. In other words, you don't subtract 3.6 from 11. (To reduce 11 percent to 7.4 percent would require a near 40 percent drop.)

But don't worry, Marty's prioritizing Borough Hall's spending to address our most pressing needs.

Is spending $1 million of his capital budget on a business incubator a significant allotment? After all, more than one third of his capital budget for 2009, some $24.6 million, was directed to the $64 million amphitheater planned for Asser Levy Park in Coney Island, home of his concert series.

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Posted by eric at 10:21 AM

March 2, 2011

Brooklyn Loves Atlantic Yards, Adorable Old Man Tells China

Curbed
by Joey Arak

Atlantic Yards critic/blogger Norman Oder has finally captured his white whale: The video message recorded by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz to pitch Chinese investors on that green-cards-for-cash Atlantic Yards scheme. The one in which Markowitz says Brooklyn is 1000% behind the controversial megaproject. It's even better than promised. Like the boss says, there's nothin' betta than China and Brooklyn tuhgedda! Anyone else feel like they need a shower after watching this?

link

Posted by eric at 10:43 PM

How Hakeem Jeffries Became the Barack of Brooklyn

NY Observer
by David Freedlander

The parishioners and many far beyond central Brooklyn have been expecting bigger and better things from Hakeem Jeffries since before he was even a candidate for the Assembly. His funky first name, his appeal to both black churchgoers and earnest reform types and his academic pedigree-graduate degree from Georgetown University, law degree from N.Y.U.-have earned him the label "Brooklyn's Barack."
...

Mr. Jeffries has been a shrewd political operator-his detractors see him as overly calculating-since he finally won the Assembly seat, in 2006. He is a favorite of Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez, but he is also close to a group of reformers who want to oust Mr. Lopez. He has come down in the middle of the heated fight over Atlantic Yards. His district includes some of the most rapidly gentrifying parts of Brooklyn, including Fort Green, Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill, but he has made a name for himself racking up legislative victories on issues that may matter more to the desperately poor precincts that surround those neighborhoods, including the outlawing of the NYPD's stop-and-frisk database.

If he takes on Mr. Towns in '12, he could have a clear shot at the longtime congressman. If he waits, he could see a Congressional district redrawn to better suit his political base, but he could face the prospect of running in a crowded primary that would feature not only Ms. James, but also Councilman Charles Barron.

article

NoLandGrab: And neither Tish James, nor Charles Barron, for that matter, have "come down in the middle" regarding Atlantic Yards — both have firmly opposed it.

Posted by eric at 12:10 PM

February 22, 2011

Jeffries, Barron, James seen as leading candidates for Congressional seat now held by Towns

Atlantic Yards Report

City Hall News reports on the expected departure of Rep. Ed Towns and his son Darryl Towns' recent appointment to a post in Albany, in Next Towns Over: The next expected Brooklyn Congressional vacancy:

Now, the field for the coveted north Brooklyn seat has likely narrowed to four frontrunners: Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries, Council Member Charles Barron, Council Member Tish James and, depending on whether he runs for re-election, Ed Towns himself.

There are reasons to believe Towns may not. He not only lost his chairmanship but also was very publicly bounced as the ranking member of his committee by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over fears that Towns would not aggressively combat investigations launched by the new chair, California Rep. Darrell Issa.

Still, a Towns spokesman said last week that the Congressman would run again.
...

Tish for Public Advocate?

The newspaper reports:

Council Member Tish James is also seen as a potential candidate, though she and Jeffries both share the same Fort Greene base. James was noncommittal about her plans.

...According to two people who have spoken to James about her plans, James is strongly leaning towards running for public advocate if Bill de Blasio runs for mayor.

article

Posted by eric at 11:19 PM

February 12, 2011

Cuomo Appoints Towns (the Younger One)

The Wonkster
By Gail Robinson

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named Brooklyn Assemblymember Darryl Towns commissioner and CEO of the state’s Homes and Community Renewal, which includes the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the state mortgage agency and other housing agencies.

Towns, who has served in the legislature since 1992, is the son of U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns and has often been mentioned as a possible successor to him.

...

Towns currently chairs the Assembly’s Committee on Banks and the Black, Puerto Rican/Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus. During his time in the legislature, Towns, whose district includes parts of Cypress Hills, Bushwick and East New York, helped win passage of the ANCHOR Program. He has backed the Atlantic Yards project and recently penned an op-ed for the Post, essentially supporting the idea of a Walmart in East New York. He was a sponsor of a bill that would have end the city police’s shoot to kill policy, instead requiring them to wound suspects if forced to fire.

link

More coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Cuomo's appointment of Assemblyman Towns may be good news for colleague Jeffries, with a clearer path to the House of Representatives

The ascension of Brooklyn Assemblyman Darryl Towns as commissioner and CEO of New York State's umbrella housing agency is good news for his colleague, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, according to City Hall News, in its 2/11/10, Winners and Losers:

Hakeem Jeffries – Darryl Towns is going to have all sorts of projects in his portfolio as he leaves the Assembly for his new job, but it’s his father’s seat in the House of Representatives that might be affected first and most visibly by his appointment as Andrew Cuomo’s housing commissioner. Now the eventual race to replace Rep. Ed Towns, whose retirement has been expected for years, will almost certainly have one less candidate. That’s good news for Hakeem Jeffries—the Brooklyn Assemblyman who most people have assumed was headed to DC from even before he first arrived in Albany—precisely because it’s bad news for Charles Barron, who will likely need another split primary vote if he wants to squeak through the open primary, whenever it finally comes.

Another potential candidate is the perennial Kevin Powell.

Posted by steve at 5:01 PM

February 10, 2011

Brooklyn's Brennan named Chair of Assembly Corporations Committee; will he press ESDC on Atlantic Yards?

Atlantic Yards Report

A press release from the office of Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan:

BRENNAN ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT AS CHAIR OF CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS

Assemblymember Jim Brennan (D-Brooklyn) announced that Speaker Silver has appointed him Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions.

Mr. Brennan has served as a member of the committee for 26 years, and served as counsel to his predecessor, who chaired the Subcommittee on Public Power, a subcommittee of the Corporations Committee, for three years prior to his election. Mr. Brennan previously chaired two subcommittees of this 26-member committee – the Subcommittee on Business Corporation Law and the Telecommunications Task Force.

“I want to express my thanks to Speaker Silver for appointing me Chair of this committee,” said Mr. Brennan. “I look forward to the challenges ahead on the issues confronting the committee, including mass transit funding, utilities, and the accountability and governance of our public authorities and corporate entities.”

That's a powerful position, one Brennan's predecessor Richard Brodsky used to pursue reform of laws governing public authorities and to take a tough look at the New York Yankees' new stadium.

Avoiding AY in the Assembly

It's also one that Brodsky chose not to use to look at Atlantic Yards, which just happens to be favored by Speaker Sheldon Silver. So I wouldn't bet on Brennan holding an Atlantic Yards hearing (but am willing to be surprised).

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Posted by eric at 9:09 PM

Cuomo Appoints Towns (the Younger One)

Gotham Gazette
by Gail Robinson

Governor status-Cuomo has gotten a bit sidetracked from his "reform" agenda, apparently.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has named Brooklyn Assemblymember Darryl Towns commissioner and CEO of the state’s Homes and Community Renewal, which includes the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, the state mortgage agency and other housing agencies.

Towns, who has served in the legislature since 1992, is the son of U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns and has often been mentioned as a possible successor to him.

In the release from the governor’s office both Steven Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, and Duncan MacKenzie, chief of the New York State Association of Realtors, praised the appointment, as did the New York State Association for Affordable Housing, a trade group. The statement did not include comments from any tenant groups.

We don't know about you, but three cheers from the real estate industry always screams "reform" to us.

He has backed the Atlantic Yards project and recently penned an op-ed for the Post, essentially supporting the idea of a Walmart in East New York.

link

NoLandGrab: No need for Forest City to run up to Albany — Mr. Towns has already cashed Bruce's checks.

Posted by eric at 8:46 PM

February 9, 2011

Looking for local coverage of Markowitz's fine

Atlantic Yards Report

On Monday, the dailies reported that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz was fined by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board for using Chief of Staff Carlo Scissura as his lawyer for a home-buying transaction in 2009.

The Brooklyn Paper hasn't reported that news yet, though yesterday it offered a tough story about Markowitz's objectification of women in public comments--a point I raised in my coverage last week of the State of the Borough address--and today covers the news/photo op involving the visit of Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas to Borough Hall.

link

Posted by eric at 10:57 AM

February 8, 2011

Second meeting of Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet slated for Thursday at Borough Hall; updates on first tower, web site coming?

Atlantic Yards Report

The second meeting of the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet will be held Thursday, February 10, at Brooklyn Borough Hall, from 9:30-11 am, allowing various agencies and entities involved with Atlantic Yards to update each other, and to hear from developer Forest City Ratner.

As with the first meeting, held in November, neither the Borough President's office nor any other sponsoring entity has publicized the event, though a staffer in the office of Council Member Letitia James confirmed the time and location in response to my query.

In contrast with such reticence, last September, Empire State Development Corporation Project Manager Arana Hankin said at a public meeting, "The structure and schedule of these meetings will be announced shortly, and we look forward to your participation."

Questions beforehand

The event is open to the public for observation, but questions must be submitted beforehand to local community boards, James's office, or the Borough President's Office.

Expect an update on construction progress, with an increased number of workers at the site.

New web site delayed

At the November meeting, Forest City Ratner Executive VP MaryAnne Gilmartin said the developer was "working on creating an information web page. This will provide the public with regular updates on the project, including issues around construction and traffic. Our goal is to have this up by the end of the year."

That didn't happen.

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NoLandGrab: God knows, in the year of our Lord, two-aught-eleven, it takes a loooong time to create a web page.

Posted by eric at 10:39 AM

Marty’s ‘pole’ numbers are dropping

The Brooklyn Paper

The pole dancing climax to Borough President Markowitz’s State of the Borough address didn’t go over so well — and some critics are saying that Markowitz’s objectification of women can no longer be ignored.

“I just didn’t think it was necessary,” said Chinita Pointer, who was honored at the Feb. 4 speech for running the non-profit music program, the Noel Pointer Foundation.
...

Markowitz couldn’t resist showing off photos of him with glittery celebrities Beyonce, Brooklyn Decker and Christy Turlington, who were included in the speech for eye candy.

“Tall women have a thing for short, chubby guys,” cracked Markowitz.

The joke was anything but isolated to this one speech.

Markowitz also made some frat house-groaners about Beyonce at the Atlantic Yards ground-breaking ceremony in March, which was attended by her hubby, the rapper Jay-Z.

article

NoLandGrab: It's time for him to go.

Posted by eric at 10:09 AM

February 7, 2011

Markowitz fined for using staff lawyer to close home purchase, had denied doing so until confronted with documents; BP's travel record gets a look

Atlantic Yards Report

Tsk, tsk, Marty.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, according to the Times's CityRoom post, Brooklyn Borough Chief Fined for Conflict of Interest, has been fined $2,000 by the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board for using Chief of Staff Carlo Scissura as his lawyer for a home-buying transaction in 2009. Scissura was fined $1100.

Scissura, in response to Markowitz's request, had recommended Leslie Lombard, who worked at his law firm. But Lombard was on maternity leave and Scissura replaced her. Markowitz didn't get a bill until the COIB began investigating.

The Daily News, in Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz slapped with $2K fine for using work lawyer for home deal, adds to the story it broke, pointing to some duplicity:

Markowitz initially denied that Scissura had represented him - then claimed, when presented with contradicting documents, that the law applies only to lawyers working for the city as attorneys, not as chiefs of staffs.

Beyond conflicts, travel

The Wall Street Journal, in its report, links to a 7/21/10 report, Officials Disclose Freebies, Debt, that stars the BP:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz accepted more free travel than any other elected official in New York City last year, journeying with his wife to Turkey and the Netherlands, records released Tuesday showed.

Mr. Markowitz, and his wife, Jamie, visited the Netherlands March 18-21, 2009, and they spent Nov. 13-17 in Turkey. Each trip cost between $5,000 and $39,999, and in both cases the couple allowed others to pay their way, records show.

link

NoLandGrab: WE DON'T BELIEVE A WORD coming out of Marty's pie hole.

Posted by eric at 11:39 PM

STATE OF THE BOROUGH: MARTY MARKOWITZ HAS ISSUES

F**ked in Park Slope

I'm starting to think it's time for our unmedicated esteemed borough president Marty Markowitz to retire to Century Village or Naples, FL where he can ride his tricycle in peace.

Don't we have term limits around here? His schtick is getting old.
...

He talked about a few controversial projects without actually mentioning that they're pissing a lot of people off: Atlantic Yards and the expansion of the Gateway Mall (yeah, the Walmart one), to name a couple.

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Posted by eric at 10:37 AM

February 5, 2011

“You should let the marketplace decide,” Bloomberg asserts, regarding Wal-Mart; sound familiar?

Atlantic Yards Report

From yesterday's New York Times, headlined Wal-Mart Skips Council Hearing as Impact of Stores Is Assailed:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has said that New York should be open to any legal business that wants to come here, was asked by a reporter on Thursday about the hearing and if it was in the city’s best interest to let Wal-Mart set up shop.

“You should let the marketplace decide,” he said. “Anybody who has tried to manage the marketplace, it has not turned out very well. I think the Soviet Union is as good an example as you’d ever need of that.”

Bloomberg has similarly suggested that the market for sports teams is a free market, which, of course, it's not. It's a cartel, with limited supply.

And that leads localities to offer subsidies and other support to encourage them, such as an inside track on valuable public property like development rights to a railyard.

That's why Bloomberg’s identification with the developer, nearly 18 months before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s belated RFP for its Vanderbilt Yard, was clear in this verbal slip: "Then, we’ve got to find a find a ways--Bruce Ratner’s got to find a ways--to build this complex in Brooklyn."

link

Posted by steve at 2:50 PM

Markowitz Puts on a State of the Borough Spectacle

Carroll Gardens Patch
By Patrick Wall

Vesti la giubba, Marty.

But though the long speech was full of gimmicks and gags, the borough president didn’t avoid controversial topics, touching upon bicycle lanes, the Atlantic Yards project and the decision this week to close more than two dozen city schools.

...

As expected, the borough president also lauded the Atlantic Yards development, which he said would be an economic boon to Brooklyn.

“After seven years of planning and legal fights,” Markowitz said, “construction on the first phase of the Atlantic Yards project finally got underway, which means thousands of union jobs and an anchor for a rejuvenated downtown.”

The multi-billion dollar Atlantic Yards project, which will include commercial space, thousands of apartments and a basketball arena, has inspired passionate debate – and a few lawsuits – since it was first introduced in 2003.

link

Related coverage...

The Brooklyn Eagle, Marty’s Speech: It Wasn’t Just Bikes
By Raanan Geberer

He largely avoided controversy. Indeed, he mentioned several news developments — such as the Atlantic Yards project, the conversion of the old Domino sugar factory and the planned redevelopment of the Tobacco Warehouse by Arts at St. Ann’s — without saying that they were contentious issues. The one area in which he came out swinging (and, unfortunately, the only area that some news outlets and blogs chose to report) was the issue of bike lanes, specifically the expanded one on Prospect Park West. His entrance atop the “senior bike” on a synthetic-turf “bike lane” was meant to call attention to the subject in a humorous way.

Posted by steve at 2:11 PM

February 4, 2011

Markowitz uses new Strategic Policy Statement for tendentious, erroneous defense of his Atlantic Yards advocacy

Atlantic Yards Report

Does anyone know how to start the impeachment process?

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's new 2011 STRATEGIC POLICY STATEMENT [PDF] contains, among other things, a vigorous, tendentious, and erroneous defense of his Atlantic Yards advocacy, suggesting that the project would make use of an "abandoned rail-yard" and knit together neighborhoods rather than divide them.

It deserves several footnotes.

It starts:

I’m sometimes called a cheerleader or even a pitch-man for Brooklyn. One idea that I pitched on behalf of our borough was a long-held dream of mine that I’m thrilled is now definitely coming to fruition—my promise to bring major league sports back to Brooklyn. As a boyhood fan whose heart was broken when the Brooklyn Dodgers left for "La-La Land" in 1958, I wanted to bring that excitement back to the kids and families of Brooklyn. Nothing brings people together like music, food, religion and sports. I approached Forest City Ratner and expressed my desire for a NBA team in Brooklyn. Now all of Brooklyn awaits the arrival of the Brooklyn Nets! The plans evolved for an arena, retail and residential housing, including, at my insistence, 2,500 affordable units, located on the City’s third-largest transit hub, making modern use of an abandoned rail-yard and knitting together previously divided neighborhoods. The Atlantic Yards project will form a new cultural center befitting the nation’s fourth largest "city" of 2.6 million.

Though surely some Brooklynites await a new team, the tepid response from an invited audience at Markowitz's annual pronouncements during his State of the Borough address undermines his hyperbole about how "all of Brooklyn" awaits the Nets.

The railyard was and remains a working railyard to store and service trains; that's why Forest City Ratner had to build a temporary railyard and is supposed to build a permanent replacement.

There would be 2250, not 2500 subsidized apartments, but a good quantity--perhaps half--wouldn't be that affordable to the "real Brooklyn," as defined by the Daily News suggested.

Nor would superblocks knit neighborhoods; rather, insertion of new streets, as in the proposed UNITY Plan, might do so.

And "plans evolved" from a promise for 10,000 office jobs in four towers around the arena. Now just one of the towers is slated for offices, and indefinitely delayed.

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Posted by eric at 9:51 AM

At State of the Borough, Markowitz makes theater out of bike lane flap, touts "jobs, jobs, jobs," gets tepid response to Atlantic Yards salute

Atlantic Yards Report

It was an invitation-only audience, and the response to the Atlantic Yards arena was mostly tepid (as I'll describe below), which suggests that, when Markowitz makes the area more of a focal point, either in 2012 or 2013, he'll make sure to import a pro-arena contingent.
...

Markowitz said, "I also want to wish everyone a joyous Chinese New Year—'gung hay fat choy!' —happy Year of the Rabbit!" Of course, he made no mention of his shilling for Forest City Ratner's effort to recruit Chinese investors seeking green cards.

And while he kept talking about "jobs, jobs, jobs," he strained to connect that priority--“job one,” he asserted, for elected officials--to his favorite project.

His Atlantic Yards segment was brief:

Seriously, though, 2010 was the year that one of the grandest visions for Brooklyn finally became a reality. After seven years of planning and seven years of legal battles, construction on the first phase of the Atlantic Yards project finally got underway, which means, in the future, thousands of union jobs and an anchor for a rejuvenated Downtown.

That line drew no reaction, typical of past addresses. He didn't mention that jobs fall far short of expectations.

He continued:

Beginning in the fall of 2012, the Barclays Center will not only be the home of the Brooklyn Nets, who will mop up the floor with the Manhattan Knicks, it will also host the kind of events you used to have to leave Brooklyn to enjoy. But it’s not just about the arena; the affordable housing built nearby will help make sure that Brooklyn remains proud home to everyone from everywhere.

The reference to beating "the Manhattan Knicks" drew a brief burst of applause, less than for many other people and places mentioned. The other lines drew silence.

No one from Forest City Ratner or the Nets were present to take credit.

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Posted by eric at 9:38 AM

January 28, 2011

At State of the District, Jeffries talks education, jobs, housing, public safety--but not AY (later, he says he's waiting for an ESDC chair)

Atlantic Yards Report

At his fourth annual State of the District address last night, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries had some tangible and less tangible achievements to report to a supportive crowd, concerned with education, employment, housing, and public safety. And a few jabs at Mayor Mike Bloomberg certainly were well-received.

Ever more polished--part lawyer, politician, preacher--Jeffries drew a reasonable crowd on a snowy night, with local District Leaders (Walter Mosley, Olanike Alabi, Lincoln Restler) in attendance, along with Community Board 8 Chair Nizjoni Granville, CB 2 Chair John Dew, and Joe Chan, president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.

Atlantic Yards, as with last year’s address, was not mentioned, a sign, perhaps, of Jeffries’ recognition that neither prominent criticism nor active support of such a divisive, complicated, and delayed project would play well with his base.

Or perhaps, Jeffries recognizes that he has relatively little clout at this point. I did interview him afterward (video below), and he said he hasn’t yet talked with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about Atlantic Yards because, understandably, a new Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) leader is not yet in place. (Update: Ken Adams was named today.)

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Related coverage...

Bed-Stuy Patch, Hakeem Looks Back at 2010

...he extolled his initiative meant to convert vacant luxury apartments into affordable housing, though he admitted progress was slowgoing.

“Since this law was passed several units of affordable housing have been created, but much work remains to be done,” Jeffries said. "We need more cooperation from financial institutions...some of them got more hustle than the fellas on 125th Street."

The Assemblyman only hinted at what was on his agenda this year, saying that the key to solving crime and poverty was jobs. Notably, he did not point to the Atlantic Yards project — often touted as a job creator — as a solution to the economic woes affecting neighborhoods in the vicinity of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues.

Posted by eric at 11:13 AM

January 26, 2011

Markowitz quiz: "The [???] will distort and manipulate anything they have to, to justify their action"

Atlantic Yards Report

Both Streetsblog and Aaron Naparstek point to a stunning interview of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz by Marcia Kramer of CBS, opposing the Prospect Park West bike lane.

"I don't believe a word coming out of that department, not a word," Markowitz says of the Department of Transportation. "The Department of Transportation will use any way to justify their action, distort and manipulate anything they have to, to justify their action."

While Markowitz thinks bike advocacy groups juiced the statistics by showing up the day of a survey, the DOT had a plausible explanation for the counter-statistics offered by Markowitz's favorite civic group: they counted only at the end of the line.

The Borough President wants an independent group to study usage of the bike lane, one not beholden to the DOT or the community.

The AY contrast

As several commenters pointed out, this sequence contrasts mightily with Markowitz's unyielding support of Atlantic Yards.

Consider, by contrast, Markowitz's lost opportunity to question the obviously distorted statistics on the Brooklyn housing market, contained in a KPMG report to the Empire State Development Corporation.

Or consider Markowitz's blatant lies in service to Forest City Ratner's effort to raise cheap capital from Chinese millionaires seeking green cards.

link

NoLandGrab: If you answered "Forest City Ratner" or "ESDC" or "Neighbors for Better Bike Lanes," give yourself full credit.

Posted by eric at 11:46 AM

Required Reading for Brooklynites of a Political Persuasion: What’s Happening to Our Borough?

About.com Brooklyn, NY Blog
by Ellen Freudenheim

In case you missed them, two important pieces were published in the past few days about Brooklyn. Not about restaurants and places to spend money, but about Brooklyn's fundamental direction--and the power of big developers to literally shape the landscape of a borough that so many call home.

"We're Essentially Powerless"

Sunday's New York Times published a powerful piece calling out Brooklyn's lack of political muscle. Brooklyn civic activist Norman Oder (who, as author of the Atlantic Yards Report blog, certainly has had a birdseye view of power politics in Brooklyn) says, "We lack meaningful local government, as well as broad-based media and civic organizations." His conclusion? Putting it mildly, "Brooklyn's powerful developers, institutions and politicians often evade scrutiny."

link

Posted by eric at 11:13 AM

January 24, 2011

The Vanishing City: film focuses on the fruits of a corporate-friendly mentality and the "luxury city"; AY gets a cameo

Atlantic Yards Report

Trying to understand the arc of the city that led to such projects as Atlantic Yards, I've been writing recently about the loss of manufacturing. That's part of a larger story, told intriguingly--if incompletely--in the 55-minute 2010 documentary, The Vanishing City, by Fiore DiRosa and Jen Senko.

The overview:

Told through the eyes of tenants, city planners, business owners, scholars, and politicians, The Vanishing City exposes the real politic behind the alarming disappearance of New York’s beloved neighborhoods, the truth about its finance-dominated economy, and the myth of “inevitable change.” Artfully documented through interviews, hearings, demonstrations, and archival footage, the film takes a sober look at the city’s “luxury” policies and high-end development, the power role of the elite, and accusations of corruption surrounding land use and rezoning. The film also links New York trends to other global cities where multinational corporations continue to victimize the middle and working classes.

Opening with the voices of neighborhood residents who fear they are being pushed out, the film pivots on the insights of anthropologist and urban historian Julian Brash, author of Bloomberg’s New York: Class and Governance in the Luxury City and subject of this 10/22/08 Q&A on Jeremiah's Vanishing New York blog.

The "luxury city" quote, as noted at the bottom, reflects Mayor Mike Bloomberg's framing of the city as a luxury product for corporations to choose as a location--a philosophy, as the film points out, that's belied by the tax breaks targeted for big employers.

But the film, not inappropriately, points to an emphasis on building luxury housing, with the attendant shift in the character of neighborhoods, as small businesses close.

The question, echoed in the 2007 and 2008 discussions of Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses, is whether that was simply the market at work. As the film reminds us, it wasn't.

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Posted by eric at 9:04 AM

January 21, 2011

Complaint Box | Powerless in Brooklyn

City Room
by Norman Oder

The man who launched Atlantic Yards Report as TimesRatnerReport is becoming a semi-regular fixture in the paper. This essay will also appear in Sunday's Times.

Of the boroughs outside Manhattan, Brooklyn gets the most buzz — as a tourist attraction, a “hipster brand” and an incubator of art and artisanal products. That has provoked a backlash from longtime Brooklynites and others wary of smugness from the borough’s Brownstone Belt.

However entertaining these debates, Brooklynites — and, I dare say, all of us in the non-Manhattan boroughs — share one common problem: we’re essentially powerless. We lack meaningful local government, as well as broad-based media and civic organizations.

Marty Markowitz, the borough’s president and its relentless cheerleader, says that Brooklyn has nearly everything a city needs and that fulfillment will arrive when a professional sports team, the Nets, finally moves to an arena here in 2012 or 2013.

If only that were true.
...

Thus, Brooklyn’s powerful developers, institutions and politicians often evade scrutiny. While local blogs and community weeklies do their part, the latter have been diminished. After Rupert Murdoch bought the independent weekly Courier-Life chain in 2006, its rival, The Brooklyn Paper, trumpeted its independence, only to suffer the same fate — a Murdoch takeover — three years later. The papers have since moved into the same building, cut the staff and published many of the same articles. In my blog, AtlanticYardsReport.com, I’ve observed how The Brooklyn Paper has muted once-tough coverage and editorial criticism of Mr. Markowitz’s beloved arena project, Atlantic Yards, which is being developed by the newspapers’ landlord, Forest City Ratner.
...

The upshot? While Brooklyn may make a neat T-shirt slogan and be shorthand for culinary innovation, such a focus on consumption and authenticity gives a pass to the powers that be.

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Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, New York Times Complaint Box essay: Powerless in Brooklyn (without meaningful local government and broad-based media, civic organizations)

I have a Complaint Box essay in the Metropolitan section of Sunday's New York Times, now online at CityRoom, headlined Powerless in Brooklyn.
...

It's a bit of a departure for Complaint Box, which tends toward examinations of the nuances of such things as subway etiquette or tipping, but, given the limited space for op-eds in the paper--after all, the former City section is gone--any space is welcome. (Fun fact: they don't pay for this type of reader contribution.)

And yes, in only about 500 words, my essay is less nuanced than a longer version, so let's see how the comments play out.

Comments and responses

I will update this post with some comments and responses to them.

Posted by eric at 11:01 AM

January 19, 2011

Why the NYPD Bicycle Crackdown Is a Sign of How New York Sucks in 2011

myFDL

Something is rotten in the state of New York. The putrescent miasma, leaching out slowly from the windows in towering pre-war apartments, from out of the sidewalk vents where one can hear from below the failing heartbeat of the subway system, slowly being bled to death. The stench is everywhere… thick, suffocating, lethal. Some are immune, born with the resistance through inheritance, countless others traded away their soul for it. Everyone else just has to suffer.
...

Bloomberg’s administration has, through a variety of policies, criminalized any kind of independence of thought. The rezoning of certain areas in a number of examples, the far west side/Hudson Yards, or the Atlantic Yards catastrophe that awaits the people of downtown Brooklyn. One of the most egregious, the 125th St. rezoning plan where the city has changed the code to allow for residential construction as high as 30 stories tall, increasing the residential capacity of the corridor by as much as 750%. Developers are awarded height bonuses for ‘inclusive housing’, lottery winners from the immediate neighborhood, or in other words the lucky few who won’t have to be a part of the mass exodus of the poor Harlem denizens to the Bronx and points further afield. Retailers that can afford these newly zoned spaces are ones that can afford the high new rent: Old Navy, American Apparel (although them maybe not much longer), Nike, M.A.C., The Body Shop, Starbucks, and the list goes on. Local retailers need not apply.

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Posted by eric at 9:49 AM

January 11, 2011

Comptroller DiNapoli issues report on public-private partnerships: needed are full and fair value, realistic agreements

Atlantic Yards Report

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has released a new report, Controlling Risk Without Gimmicks: New York’s Infrastructure Crisis and Public-Private Partnerships [PDF], an effort to evaluate both the opportunities and risks with turning infrastructure over to partnership with the private sector.

The report notes that the state faces an estimated $250 billion in infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, notably transportation ($175 billion), municipal wastewater ($36 billion) and clean water ($39 billion). (Here's coverage from City Hall News.)

The Atlantic Yards example is not mentioned, but is at least partly on point: the main issue was the marketing of public land without a fair process, and secondary issues involved the packaging and valuation of public infrastructure such as a new railyard and transit entrance.

Essential principles

So DiNapoli's conclusions are worth noting:

There are four essential principles that New York must adopt in order to mitigate the financial risks inherent in public-private partnerships:

Full and Fair Value: Identify and use the best practices for the valuation of public assets to ensure that the public receives the full, fair value for the use of its property.

Reasonable Pricing: Keep private sector profits within reason to ensure that P3 agreements do not burden the public with unwarranted expenses, excessive fees, or high toll increases.

Realistic Agreements: Carefully draft P3 agreements to ensure that they do not include unrealistic expectations or inaccurate financial calculations.

Responsible Budgeting: Avoid budget gimmickry by adopting financing rules that prevent a disproportionate shift of current capital costs onto future taxpayers. This must be based on a comprehensive reform of the State’s debt and capital financing practices.

What about AY?

Given the history of Atlantic Yards, I'd argue that public assets were not fairly valued, nor have costs and benefits been accurately assessed.

Meanwhile, developer Forest City Ratner's efforts to renegotiate the Vanderbilt Yard deal with the MTA suggests that private sector profits--bolstered by a mayor and governor firmly on board with the Atlantic Yards project-- held sway over public value.

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Posted by eric at 11:23 AM

January 10, 2011

On Brian Lehrer Live, Markowitz asks, "Is it a matter of public policy to make New York City like Beijing of 1940?"

Atlantic Yards Report

It's such a slow day for Atlantic Yards news that Norman Oder could only provide us with a little comic diversion.

Last week, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz appeared on CUNY-TV's Brian Lehrer Live, and while he didn't quite discuss one of the questions posed by Lehrer in the segment intro--how can to strike a better balance between big development and the human scale--his performance was telling, both in his over-the-top rhetoric and his Atlantic Yards blind spot.

Click the link for more, if you can stand it.

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Posted by eric at 10:23 AM

January 6, 2011

The Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club: lasting connections to a Brooklyn power base have meant Atlantic Yards support

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder takes a look at the history of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, a veritable factory for the minting of sleazy politicians, slimy political operatives and Atlantic Yards enthusiasts.

Within the amazingly (and disturbingly) detailed 1988 book, City for Sale: Ed Koch and the Betrayal of New York, by Jack Newfield (R.I.P.) and Wayne Barrett, just let go by the Village Voice, is a highly unflattering portrayal of Meade Esposito, for 15 years the chair of the county Democratic Party until his resignation in 1984 (and his later conviction in an influence-peddling scandal).

Esposito's homebase was the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in Canarsie, described in the book as "patronage-rich."

The AY connection

What's the Atlantic Yards connection? Well, the club remains one of the city's most powerful, and longstanding ties among those spawned by the club mean support for Atlantic Yards.

Specifically, Forest City Ratner Executive VP Bruce Bender, a former chief of staff to City Council Speaker Peter Vallone, comes out of the club, as Matthew Schuerman of the Observer pointed out 5/31/06.

And that's partly why politicians from southern Brooklyn, like Carl Kruger (under investigation, and a beneficiary of Ratner campaign cash), Marty Golden, Lew Fidler, Mike Nelson, and Alan Maisel, have been staunch supporters of Atlantic Yards, even though it's hardly a priority for their constituents.

And that's partly why the New York Times reported, 12/18/06, that it was unlikely that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, as a member of the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), would block Atlantic Yards:

“I’ve articulated my concerns to the speaker in writing, and beyond that, I think it would be counterproductive at this time to discuss the matter publicly,” said Mr. Jeffries, who said he was “confident” that Mr. Silver would take into account the views of the Brooklyn delegation.

That includes, however, a cluster of state lawmakers from south Brooklyn, who are almost unequivocal in their support of the project as it now stands. Forest City Ratner’s chief lobbyist, Bruce Bender, is close to those members; like many of them, he began his career in the area’s leading political organization, the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club.

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NoLandGrab: Thomas Jefferson would surely be thrilled that his name has been appropriated by these paragons of democratic principles.

Posted by eric at 10:23 AM

January 4, 2011

The Bloomberg Era, Part Two

Nathan Kensinger Photography

Forced Change
December 31, 2010 - At the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century, this multi-part photo essay examines how New York City's built environment has changed over the past 10 years, and what the future of New York's skyline might be. Part one of this essay can be seen here.

On January 1st 2010, Michael Bloomberg was sworn into office for a nearly unprecedented third term as the Mayor of New York City. Bloomberg, the 23rd richest person in the world, is only the fourth mayor in the city's history to serve a third term in office, and accomplished that goal by running "the most expensive self-financed political campaign in U.S. history," according to the Huffington Post. During his tenure, Mayor Bloomberg has "amassed so much power and respect that he seems more a Medici than a mayor," according to The New Yorker. He has used his power and wealth to enact an agenda of post-9/11 development that has radically changed the city's landscape. As described in part one of this photo essay, "not since Robert Moses has a single individual presided over such a large-scale transformation of New York City's built environment."

Like Robert Moses, the legendary Power Broker, Mayor Bloomberg currently exerts a stranglehold of power over New York City. In 2009, New York Magazine bluntly declared "Mike Bloomberg owns this town," and "in the past seven years Michael Bloomberg has become the only powerful figure in New York who really matters.... The mayor is not a dictator... but Bloomberg gets what he wants more than any mayor in modern memory." Also like Robert Moses, who was called New York's Master Builder, much of Mayor Bloomberg's work has focused on constructing a new version of the city. In 2009, Bloomberg drew comparisons between his accomplishments and Robert Moses', telling The New Yorker that "we’ve done more in the last seven years than—I don’t know if it’s fair to say more than Moses did, but I hope history will show the things we did made a lot more sense." Unfortunately, the parallels between Bloomberg and Moses also include the use of controversial methods to force development projects through, often at the expense of New York's unique fabric of small neighborhoods.

One of the most controversial tools Mayor Bloomberg has utilized in his quest to transform New York City is eminent domain, a practice whereby the state seizes private property to clear the way for an impending development meant for civic and public improvement. This was a favorite tool of Robert Moses, "who rammed highways through dense urban neighborhoods with a 'meat-ax' and became the un stoppable engine of 'slum clearance'," according to Metropolis Magazine. Moses' methods were often vilified, but he created the infrastructure for present day New York City, building highways, bridges, tunnels, parks and institutional landmarks like the Lincoln Center and the United Nations that have been freely used by countless millions of people. Michael Bloomberg, on the other hand, has approved the use of eminent domain for private development projects that include luxury residences and retail shops, college campus facilities and a sports arena. When completed, none of these developments will be open to the general public. They include several neighborhoods documented on this website: Willets Point (aka The Iron Triangle), Manhattanville and the Atlantic Yards.

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Posted by eric at 1:28 PM

December 28, 2010

Brodsky, in final report, warns of importance of further public authorities reform, "failure to receive value for investments," doesn't mention AY

Atlantic Yards Report

AYR remains the only source of Atlantic Yards news that has dug out from under the snow.

Departing Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, the crusader for public authority reform who focused on the new Yankee Stadium rather than the Atlantic Yards project, has left with a valedictory report warning of the need for further reform, including this common-sense statement, "In an era when government is instructed to behave more like business, the failure to receive value for its investments is a crisis that can no longer be ignored."

Unmentioned in the six-page report (embedded below) is Atlantic Yards, nor the state's failure to receive any value for giving away arena naming rights.

Indeed, "the massive transfer of public property into private hands... not... accompanied by commensurate public benefits" hints at Yankee Stadium ("publicly funded sports facilities by IDA's") and the Columbia University expansion ("university construction using eminent domain powers") but not the equally controversial Atlantic Yards.

But Brodsky, who ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General, does get the politics:

To be sure, the rhetoric of job creation and economic development is powerfully expressed by elected officials, authority leaders and private sector beneficiaries of these transfers. But in the end the State has failed to protect its assets and interests.

And the issues he cites in the report, including added staff and increased power for oversight (the need for which I've previously reported), remain basic. Brodsky told City Hall News the future if very much up in the air:

Ultimately, ensuring that PARA is enforced is up to everyone in state government, he said, not just one legislative chamber or one governor.

“Everyone, the speaker, the new chair, the members, the governor, the comptroller. This is real and big and it has enemies,” Brodsky said. “Everyone is on the hook.”

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Posted by eric at 9:57 AM

December 11, 2010

Patricia Lynch, former Silver aide and lobbyist for FCR, among others, gets fined, but will that clean up Albany? Doubtful.

Atlantic Yards Report

One of Forest City Ratner's (and many others') lobbyists got her hand slapped this week, but it's hardly clear it will make a difference.

From an editorial yesterday in the New York Times, Lobbying for Gold in Albany:

Patricia Lynch, one of the most influential lobbyists in New York State, has agreed to pay a $500,000 fine and will be prohibited from doing any business with the state pension fund for five years. When one considers the sleazy way she maneuvered to get lucrative pension investments for her clients, that is only a slap on the wrist.

Ms. Lynch, who was once the top aide to Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, did acknowledge that she tried to “curry favor” with Alan Hevesi, the former comptroller, and his office. (Mr. Hevesi was one of eight people who pleaded guilty in a pay-to-play scheme.) As part of her agreement with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, she was not required to admit any wrongdoing.

We fear it is going to take a lot stronger medicine to change Albany’s relentlessly corrupt culture.

Albany’s lobbyists have far too much power to craft legislation or, more often, kill it. State lobbying codes are scandalously unfair to regular people who don’t have the $10,000 a month that is the going rate to hire Ms. Lynch and her well-connected colleagues.

(Emphasis added)

Among the non-regular people who do have the scratch to hire Lynch are Walt Disney, General Motors, Vornado Realty Trust, the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, and (ta da) Forest City Ratner, as shown in the state's Project Sunlight and the city lobbying database.

Read the rest of this blog post to see why skepticism is needed if anyone thinks that incoming governor Cuomo will act to diminish the influence of lobbyists.

link

Posted by steve at 9:33 AM

December 10, 2010

Jeffries says ESDC "has fallen down on the job" regarding AY oversight; will new governance bill help?; Governor-elect Cuomo wants an AY meeting

Atlantic Yards Report

At the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council's forum Wednesday on Atlantic Yards traffic, it was impossible for Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries to untangle potential solutions from governance issues.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries said his goal was that “if this project comes to fruition we will minimize the detrimental impacts it will have on quality of life.”

He reflected on the “interesting time” in state politics since he took office in January 2007, with turmoil in the governor's office, state Senate, and other Albany entitities.

From December 2006 through January 2011, Jeffries said, “We will have been through four governors in five years, and the consequence of that, I believe, given that this initiative was conceived at least as a public-private partnership with public involvement and oversight at the state level from the Empire State Development Corporation [ESDC], is that there's been chaos and uncertainty and a lack of direction and focus from the state agency that is charged with oversight and accountability and responsibility.”

“And that's been very detrimental,” he said. “Because in essence, what has occurred is that we've had a public-private project without any real public input.”
...

Later, Council Member Letitia James reported that, at a recent meeting, Cuomo “whispered in my ear that we need to have a conversation about Atlantic Yards.” Several people in the audience clapped.

“I said, thank you Governor-elect, but said Governor Paterson said the same thing and let me down," James said. "I hope you don't let me down.”

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NoLandGrab: We expect that conversation to go something like this:

Tish James: [Steam coming from ears.]

Posted by eric at 11:17 AM

The editorial that hasn't (yet) appeared: "Shame on you, Marty Markowitz, promoting Atlantic Yards in China as if there's no opposition"

Atlantic Yards Report

Markowitz in October backed out of a plan to take a privately-funded trip to China to support Forest City Ratner's effort to get a no-interest loan from Chinese millionaires interested in trading purportedly job-creating investments for green cards.

Still, he did his best to support the project--which could save the developer at least $191 million while delivering questionable public benefits--from afar.

Markowitz appeared several times in a video aimed to convince potential investors that this distant, hard-to-grasp project was a valid one, likely to bring green cards and ensure the return of their capital.

"All I can say, Brooklyn is 1000 percent, 1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards, and we invite Chinese investors to join with us, because there's nothing better than China and Brooklyn together," the Borough President declared.

His statement is laughable. First, there's no way Brooklyn is "1000 percent behind Atlantic Yards," and Markowitz knows that. The borough is divided, and many people are indifferent.

Moreover, clownish lines like "there's nothing better than China and Brooklyn together" simply distract potential investors from looking closely.

His statement is also grimly disturbing. Markowitz was elected to fulfill a public trust, not to boost the borough's most powerful developer.

Markowitz has every right to support Atlantic Yards and to devote some of his office's resources to that end.

He doesn't have the right to lie, here or overseas, regarding Atlantic Yards.

And he should have the sense to recognize that Forest City Ratner's plan to raise money from immigrant investors tests the spirit if not the letter of federal immigration law.

Shame on you, Marty.

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Posted by eric at 11:02 AM

December 3, 2010

The "Brooklyn buy-in" for the Aqueduct "racino" involves the Darman Group and the state minority contractors' group (and Forest City, tangentially)

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder looks at the sleazy shenanigans behind the Aqueduct "racino" bidding.

As I wrote November 29, Forest City Ratner continues to rely significantly on The Darman Group, a firm run by Darryl Greene, which was unfit to participate in a bid for the Aqueduct "racino" because of Greene's criminal record.

Indeed, in the past two years, Greene's firm has expanded beyond its Queens office, as indicated in the screenshot below, to Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

The Brooklyn office is at 182 Duffield Street, a row house adjacent to the MetroTech development, which is owned by Forest City Ratner's First New York Management division.

(Photos by Jonathan Barkey)

The IG's Aqueduct report

Greene and his firm came in for some tough treatment in the state Inspector General's 10/21/10 report that criticized the Governor’s Office and state Legislative leaders for failing to fulfill their public duty in the January 2010 selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) to operate Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. (Full report here.)

According to the IG, AEG should have been disregarded at the start, and that the chaotic process resulting in AEG’s multi-billion dollar award was a “political free-for-all” marked by unfair advantages and more than $100,000 in campaign donations.

The report has been forwarded to United States Attorney Preet Bharara and New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., for appropriate action and referring Senators John Sampson and Malcolm Smith (Greene's former partner) and Senate Secretary Angelo Aponte to the Legislative Ethics Commission.

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NoLandGrab: Surely Governor-elect Status Cuomo is going to clean up this mess, though, right?

Posted by eric at 10:20 AM

Senate Democrats spend big bucks on consultants, including Melvin Lowe and BerlinRosen, both with Forest City Ratner ties

Atlantic Yards Report

A City Hall News article yesterday, headlined Helping Build Senate Democrats’ Debt, $6 Million In Outside Consultants And Vendors, explains that state Senate Democrats spent more than $6 million between consultants and outside vendors.

And two of those recipients have ties to Forest City Ratner and the Community Benefits Agreement.

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NoLandGrab: Surely Governor-elect Status Cuomo is going to clean up this mess, though, right?

Posted by eric at 10:16 AM

November 27, 2010

Flashback: How scout Khalid Green got hired by the Nets; his father's Ratner connection made the difference for a successful high school coach

Atlantic Yards Report

I missed this when it was announced, but veteran Bishop Loughlin basketball coach Khalid Green, son of longtime Assemblyman Roger Green, a leading local political backer of Atlantic Yards when it was announced in 2003, got a job two years ago as a scout for the Nets.

And his father helped connect him to the job.

All evidence suggest Khalid Green, as a successful high school coach, was qualified, but, as with so much about Atlantic Yards, it sure helps to know the right people to nudge ahead on the line.

(Remember how former Forest City Ratner point man Jim Stuckey said in 2005 that he didn't know whether railyard contract McKissack & McKissack was chosen by a bidding process?)

As No Land Grab's Lumi Rolley pointed out two years ago, "A 'casual introduction' to Bruce Ratner is one of those tangible 'community benefits' of the Atlantic Yards project."

link

Posted by steve at 8:19 AM

November 26, 2010

Coming soon? Still waiting for Best of Brooklyn web site

Atlantic Yards Report

The web site for Marty Markowitz's not-so-transparent Best of Brooklyn charity (logo at right) is apparently "coming soon," I wrote in February 2009.

Still.

link

NoLandGrab: 1,131 days and counting.

Posted by eric at 11:54 AM

November 25, 2010

In the latest issue of Marty's promotional Brooklyn!! "newspaper," some Nets cheerleading but no mention of "In the Footprint"

Atlantic Yards Report

Maybe the best way to analyze Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's promotional "newspaper" Brooklyn!! (latest issue embedded below) is to consider it a giant block association newsletter, with Markowitz as the president of the confederation of block associations.

A year ago, I pointed out (as in the past) that Brooklyn!! avoided any mention of Atlantic Yards. That's not so this issue.

Brooklyn Beat

Nudging up against mention of the Homecrest Senior Health Fair, the Borough President’s Latino Heritage celebration, and the participation of Randazzo’s Clam Bar at the Grand Central Oyster Bar's “Oyster Frenzy" in a page labeled headlined Brooklyn Beat, we learn:

Net’s [sic] new coach Avery “Little General” Johnson (center, back row) met with students of MS 51 in Park Slope to talk about positive choices and let kids know that they can “get to the next level.” He also encouraged his future fan base in Brooklyn to get ready to cheer for future NBA champions, the Brooklyn Nets!

The September visit prompted a dubious photo and caption in the New York Times. (How to "get to the next level"? The story of the Nets and Atlantic Yards offers numerous avenues surely not explored by the coach.)

Notably, Markowitz eschews the opportunity to recommend to fellow Brooklynites that they might learn something by going to see The Civilians' somewhat less rah-rah performance of IN THE FOOTPRINT: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards. Instead, he takes the safe route and recommends The Nutcracker.

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NoLandGrab: Around here, we're thankful for Norman Oder — and that January 1, 2014 is only 1,132 days away.

Posted by eric at 9:50 AM

November 21, 2010

Columnist Lee Siegel on Mayor Mike Bloomberg: "Tammany Hall with a Carnegie Hall face"

Atlantic Yards Repot

Without mentioning Atlantic Yards, New York Observer columnist Lee Siegel, in a pungent column headlined Boss Pinstripes: Bloomberg Isn’t a Democrat, or a Republican, or an Independent. He’s 18 Billion Dollars., summarizes how Mayor Mike Bloomberg does his job:

The surprise that greeted Mayor Michael Bloomberg's announcement of the exceptionally unqualified Cathie Black, the former chairman of Hearst Magazines, as the city's new schools chancellor was par for the course. The very fact of Mr. Bloomberg as mayor is an ongoing surprise. His political ascension in New York is as unnatural an event as a typhoon in Ohio.

In a capital of the world that has always prided itself on a rich public life, Mr. Bloomberg is devoted to managing government like a private enterprise. To go from the hot banter of Lindsay's, or Koch's, or even Giuliani's news conferences to Mr. Bloomberg's petulantly ignoring a question by saying, "I have a city to run"—yes, well, that's what we want to talk to you about, if you have a minute—is to go from being a rambunctiously engaged citizen of New York to feeling like the frustrated client of a remote service provider. In a place that demands colorful candor from its mayors, he is secretive and peremptory, hiring Ms. Black without any kind of public discussion...

And in the city of the Draft riots, and the Columbia student protests, and Stonewall, and bohemian dissent, and bristling intellectuality, and Baldwin, and Mailer, and Steinem, and Hamill, and Kramer (Larry), and William F. Buckley, for heaven's sake—in this primordially independent and troublemaking place, Mayor Mike buys himself the right to run for an unprecedented third term, and then carpet-spends his way to an easy win.

Chutzpah? Try contempt. The chutzpah would be to defy him. But he gets his third term with no more than a hushed protest from his once-ferocious city-state. Under Mr. Bloomberg, the city that never has to sleep has become the city that doesn't make a peep.

Worth mentioning: a likely reason why mayoral rival Bill Thompson never took the gloves off: the mayor poured money into pet project of the Comptroller's wife.

The influence on media

Siegel writes:

Mr. Bloomberg's gravitational force affects everyone who might be in the business of consequentially criticizing him. (For example: Go after him, and you can forget about opining on the Bloomberg L.P.-funded Charlie Rose Show.) His enveloping wealth produces all the effects of corruption without, itself (as far as we know), being corrupt.

Well, the New York Times has produced some reasonably tough coverage of Bloomberg's appointment of Black. And the Daily News has reported civic concern.

But the editorial pages report to the publishers and, as with Atlantic Yards and term limits, they seem to be getting in line. Today the Daily News opines, Mayor Bloomberg must get Cathie Black as schools chancellor if mayoral control means anything.

The Daily News front page that reported the Black pick summed up the response with the word, "HUH?" over the question, "No education experience, kids went to private school - she's perfect to run our struggling schools! Right?"

Bloomberg is convinced she is. His opinion demands respect, given his track record in identifying talent and the fact that mayoral control of the schools means mayoral control of the schools.

The power of the (lack of) paycheck

Seigel writes about machine politics upended:

Machine politics derives its staying power from putting the "little people" on the payroll. Mr. Bloomberg doesn't need to do that. He puts business-executive friends like Robert Lieber, Daniel Doctoroff and Patricia Harris—many of whom shuttle back and forth between his media business and his mayoral administration—in charge of the payroll and centralizes the system so seamlessly that top-down management performs the ordering function of a political machine. The whole thing stinks of undemocracy. When Mr. Bloomberg's rich appointees boast that they are taking only one dollar as an annual salary, they want to demonstrate a public servant's self-sacrifice. But what they are really doing is displaying an investor's indifference to the relationship between money and work. They are redefining responsibility in government. If the public doesn't pay their salary, then they are not accountable to the public. The result is Tammany Hall with a Carnegie Hall face. Mr. Bloomberg is not Boss Tweed. He is Boss Pinstripes.

Such a business arrangement recalls somewhat the role of Susan Rahm, a volunteer helping the Empire State Development Corporation manage the Atlantic Yards project at the request of then-Governor Eliot Spitzer. To whom was she accountable?

link

Posted by steve at 11:21 AM

November 18, 2010

Brooklyn's New Politicos

Lincoln Restler crashed the gates of the Democratic political machine, now what’s next for the bespectacled wunderkind?

New York Press
by Dan Rivoli

A stalwart of the fight against Atlantic Yards — and a prolific photographer/videographer — makes an appearance in an article about Brooklyn's youthful Democratic Party reform movement.

Raul Rothblatt, who owns a worldmusic management company, got involved in city politics because of Atlantic Yards, a development only a short walk from his Prospect Heights apartment. He found the club to be an access point for politically motivated people, especially the growing number of new arrivals.

According to Rothblatt, “It’s not easy to find out about local stuff.” Rothblatt is also the first vice president of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats, so he has experience in political clubs, but the reform clubs in the borough were started during the Vietnam War. Try as they might, attracting newer and younger members is difficult. “In a lot of existing clubs, often, the members are older,” Rothblatt says.

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Posted by eric at 10:57 AM

November 17, 2010

Client 9 (Spitzer): Divided by 3, No 2 Ways About It

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White reviews the new Eliot Spitzer documentary Client 9, with a heaping side dish of Atlantic Yards.

Darren Dopp, who resigned as Spitzer’s director of communications over his own role in the Troopergate scandal, suggests that a primary reason Spitzer’s outing lead to ouster was that the “reservoir of good will was empty” drained by Spitzer’s “combative style.” That is probably largely true, especially if the phrase “combative style” incorporates Spitzer’s near vendetta-based crossing of ethical lines in pursuing his adversaries together with his hypocritical holier-than-thou superiority. Still, Spitzer might have had access to a deeper “reservoir of good will” if he had also not been hypocritical about the basic principles for which he was elected. Noticing New York would have been much more reluctant to see him hurried out of office had he been doing and saying the right things with respect to Atlantic Yards. He wasn’t and David Paterson, the Lieutenant Governor, was standing promisingly in the wings with a history of opposing eminent domain abuse. (David Paterson is obviously another politician whose hypocrisy helped usher him quickly out of office.)

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Posted by eric at 11:44 AM

November 11, 2010

Voice warns Cuomo to steer clear of lobbyists, says closest firm to governor-elect is DKC (which works for Ratner)

Atlantic Yards Report

Wayne Barrett's cover story in this week's Village Voice, headlined PECKING ORDER: Andrew Cuomo Goes to Albany, Where Lobbyists Are Waiting, offers a blunt warning to Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo to change the way he does business in Albany.

I wouldn't bet on it, but Barrett lays down the line:

If he doesn't take dramatic executive order action in his early days as governor to blunt the sway of lobbyists, they will chip away at his credibility, and voters will come to believe over time that all that has changed are the names of the ins and the outs. He can finance his next campaign without them. He can't restore public faith in state government with them.

Dan Klores firm has direct pipeline

Guess what: the firm with the most direct pipeline to the new governor is DKC, the firm that Forest City Ratner hired to massage its message. (This goes unmentioned in the Voice, which hasn't covered Atlantic Yards very closely.)

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NoLandGrab: We're preparing ourselves for the Status Cuomo.

Posted by eric at 10:29 AM

November 10, 2010

Big Real Estate's Super: Steve Spinola Has Run REBNY But How Will He Get on With Another Cuomo?

NY Observer
by Zeke Turner

You might not believe this, but in New York City, real estate and politics are the same thing!

Developer Bruce Ratner came to Steven Spinola for help in 1985. Mr. Ratner needed to get tenants for his planned MetroTech Center in Brooklyn, and Mr. Spinola was Ed Koch's economic development chief. Part of his job was to keep tenants in New York, and Morgan Stanley was thinking about moving its back offices to New Jersey.

"They were trying to convince Morgan Stanley to go to MetroTech," said Mr. Spinola last Friday, sitting at the lunch counter at Junior's near Times Square, his left hand surrounding a Diet Coke with lemon as he recalled his rise to prominence. "They asked me to go to a meeting with Morgan Stanley to discuss and to tell them that the city was ready to encourage them to do whatever."

Mr. Spinola was wearing a dark brown, three-button suit with a black-and-gold Real Estate Board of New York lapel pin. For the past 24 years, REBNY has been the seat of Mr. Spinola's power. He's the longest-serving president in the century-plus history of the city's largest trade group and arguably the most powerful real estate lobbyist in the state. He faces his sharpest challenge in years in dealing with an incoming governor, Andrew Cuomo, who has an electoral mandate and also a need to work with a real estate industry whose interests do not always jibe with his party's political machinery.

After Mr. Spinola's meeting with Morgan Stanley, the prospects for a deal looked dim. "We went down in the elevator. I turned to Bruce Ratner and I said, 'There's no way you get them to MetroTech.' I said, 'But I have a site on Pierrepont Street that's currently a garage. And one of my guys came to me two months earlier and said, "The city's about to give a new lease for this garage. We oughta have a cancellation clause in case we ever need it."'"
...

"So I called up City Hall, I asked for it, they gave it to me. So I said to Ratner, 'Can you spend the weekend coming up with a design for a building on that site? I'll sole-source it to you if we can get Morgan Stanley to be the principal tenant.' And we made that deal."

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Posted by eric at 8:48 AM

November 8, 2010

Cuomo's Urban Agenda: vague regarding housing and transportation, but rhetoric about community development promises local consultation

Atlantic Yards Report

New York Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has an Urban Agenda (details in PDF), which sounds good in places, but is also vague and cautious. He was been criticized for issuing it too late and not grappling with big challenges like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Interestingly enough, when it comes to affordable housing, Cuomo says nothing about mega-projects and suggests, with perhaps more hope than anything else, that the federal government could play a much bigger role.

While the little press coverage focused on the politics of the agenda (e.g., outreach to the black community), the MTA, and housing, the document contains some impressive boilerplate in the direction of good planning.

Should such rhetoric be followed and Community Development Blueprints be created, projects like Atlantic Yards would be much more difficult to achieve, given the rhetorical importance given to community consultation.

But that's not necessarily how development gets done, especially when developers like Bruce Ratner have given campaign contributions and have the governor's ear.

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Posted by eric at 10:55 AM

November 5, 2010

Andrew Cuomo: How will he do with his shot at 'day one?'

Syracuse.com
by Sean Kirst

The more things change...

It struck me the other night, as I watched Andrew Cuomo make his acceptance speech, just how surreal the events of the last 48 months have been. It was only four years ago that we elected Eliot Spitzer, and I think most New Yorkers assumed we'd have him for governor for at least eight years - at which point he'd look toward Washington D.C. In any event, I went back and found the column I wrote when Spitzer was elected; an awful lot of it still goes for the attorney general who's becoming governor, this time around:

SPITZER IS VICTOR, BUT WHOM DID WE ELECT?

For Eliot Spitzer, this is Day One.

That's the theme he's used throughout his long campaign for governor. Today, at least symbolically, that time has come. George Pataki will have a month or two to clean out his office, but Spitzer becomes the one calling the shots.
...

Spitzer has supported the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, yet he remains so keenly aware of community concerns in his native New York City that he wisely called last summer for additional time to review the project. Compare that with what Spitzer did at almost the same time in Syracuse: One of his campaign aides, behind the scenes, lobbied Councilor Bill Ryan, a Democrat, for a quick "yes" vote on the equally complicated billion-dollar final deal for the Carousel Center expansion, Ryan said.

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NoLandGrab: Fear not, Syracusians. You can rest assured that Eliot Spitzer didn't spend a second more contemplating Atlantic Yards than he did your Carousel Center project. It was all an act.

And don't hold your breath for anything different under Andrew Cuomo. We sure aren't. His pockets have already been lined with Bruce Ratner's money.

Posted by eric at 11:19 AM

November 2, 2010

Matt Damon: Working Families Party Mouthpiece

Big Government

Even Andrew Breitbart's web sites can be right twice a day.

It looks like Matt Damon’s been overdosing on Kool-Aid again. He’s apparently doing the bidding now for the ACORN spawn, Working Families Party.
...

Former Working Families Party co-chair and NY state co-chair Bertha Lewis was also once the CEO and Chief Organizer of the mighty ACORN, before it disbanded from its national brand name to a multitude of local and statewide affiliates under different names (thanks to those infamous prostitution tapes).

Ms. Lewis departed from the WFP organization in February this year, in the wake of the federal investigation of its for-profit company, Data and Field Services over claims it was using their company to skirt around the city’s stringent campaign finance laws. In the end, the feds decided not to file any charges against WFP; however, the investigation resulted in the organization’s restructuring to create firewalls between the for-profit company from the rest of WFP.

Let’s also not forget the sordid story behind real estate mogul Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner. The infamous Atlantic Yards project in NY is a multi-year long story of buyoffs, intimidation and corruption, not to mention the audacity of a massive land grab. Bertha Lewis and the WFP, initially opposed to the land grab because of their concerns about the “gentrification” of Brooklyn, quickly turncoated on their Brooklyn neighbors as soon as Ratner offered Lewis a $1.5 million bailout and a 50/50 deal on housing in his future high-end condos.

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Posted by eric at 3:22 PM

Jay-Z to Jeezy: 10 Rappers Who Should Run For Political Office

RapFix
by Chris Yuscavage

Why couldn't a rapper with a rap sheet hold office — plenty of other crooks in New York already do.

So today, in honor of Rhymefest's announcement and voting day tomorrow, RapFix came up with 10 other rappers who should consider running for political office. These guys would definitely get our vote if they ever decided to put their names on a ballot.

The Rapper: Jay-Z
The Political Office He Could Hold: Borough President of Brooklyn
His Qualifications: Jay's been holding BK down through his music for more than a decade now. But, more importantly to the people of NYC's biggest borough, he's been influential in helping bring the NBA's New Jersey Nets to BK's Atlantic Yards complex, a move that should help the local economy. It's also put him in touch with BK's current Borough President. So, how long until President Carter becomes, well, President Carter?

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NoLandGrab: If experience tells us anything, it's that nearly anyone can hold the office of Brooklyn Borough President.

Posted by eric at 3:14 PM

November 1, 2010

The Charter Commission's missed opportunity to address real change, and the "Morton's fork" faced by voters Tuesday on term limits, reform package

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder attempts to sift through the absurdly confusing, non-reformist Charter "reforms" on Tuesday's ballot. What's a voter to do?

New York City voters on Tuesday will turn over their ballots to see two ballot referenda in small type, the relatively minor but not unimportant results of a Charter Revision Commission, appointed by Mayor Mike Bloomberg, that, this summer, heard much concern about issues such as land use reform.

Instead, the commission devised a question on term limits that's quite cynical--the current three-term limit, enacted after the City Council did Bloomberg's bidding, would be replaced by the old two-term limit, but not apply to current incumbents.

And, rather than offer yes-no voting on several other issues, the commission--claiming it was told that ballot strictures required it--lumped seven disparate reform measures into one vote.

On term limits, cynicism time

Wrote Craig Gurian in a Remapping Debate commentary headlined And then they’ll say we ratified their scheme:

We won’t know the outcome, of course, for another week. But there is something that we can safely predict. If voters reject the [term limits] proposal, those apparently believing in the divine right of municipal officials to a third term will say: “See, voters really don’t want us limited to three terms.” If voters approve the proposals, they will describe the outcome as: “See, voters think that relaxing limits to permit three terms is a good idea.” Heads the New Royalists win; tails we lose.

Will press coverage do anything more than uncritically convey the spin that term limit extenders choose to rationalize the ultimate outcome? As the Journal’s Riley put it two years ago: “[T]here's something deeply disturbing about a local press corps that lets the political class get away with it.”

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Posted by eric at 10:39 AM

October 30, 2010

Phoenix Suns owner Sarver on how arenas get built: "They get built through politics and political connections"

Atlantic Yards Report

Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver gets praise in The Atlantic's Brave Thinkers feature for agreeing to have the team wear "Los Suns" jerseys as a rebuke to newly-passed legislation, aimed at illegal immigrants but feared as fostering racial profiling.

Part of his explanation:

A lot of people looked at the decision as an inappropriate mixture of sports and politics. But I think it’s naive to say that sports and politics don’t mix. I mean, how do stadiums and arenas get built? They get built through politics and political connections. Almost all professional sports owners are active in politics to support candidates and causes, but it’s usually based on a financial agenda. To me, this law was more of a human-rights issue—and just an issue of fairness—than it was political.

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Posted by steve at 7:36 AM

Five Questions for Chris Owens

Prospect Heights Patch
By Graydon Gordian

Citizens are urged to keep a critical eye on Atlantic Yards in this interview with District Leader for the 52nd Assembly and Atlantic Yards opponent, Chris Owens.

Now that the construction of the Atlantic Yards development, or at least the Barclays Center, appears inevitable, how should the neighborhood engage with the development? Are there ways for Prospect Heights residents and other Brooklynites to interact with the development in a positive way? Or should those who opposed the development initially remain staunch in their opposition?

It is imperative that Prospect Heights residents remain extremely engaged in the development of the Atlantic Yards project. As a staunch opponent of the project, even I realized that if we lost the battles we would need to "sit at the various tables" as the project moved forward. I am proud to say that many PH residents have been active in fighting to ensure that the project does not totally destroy Prospect Heights as a special neighborhood.

Just last week I attended a block association meeting where representatives of the Empire State Development Corporation and Forest City Ratner were doing a lot of explaining about the impending traffic challenges for Prospect Heights.

In the end, our elected officials have to be unafraid to make a stink if things are not going right -- including the low level of employment for local community residents thus far, for example, and the uncertainty surrounding traffic patterns. (Look at the disasters already unfolding on Flatbush Avenue.)

Assembly Members Hakeem Jeffries (57th AD) and Joan Millman (52nd AD) along with State Senators [Velmanette] Montgomery and [Eric] Adams, and Congresswoman [Yvette] Clarke now bear the responsibility of enforcing appropriate and meaningful regulatory and political oversight of this monstrous project.

All of us have direct influence over these representatives whether or not we have direct influence over [Borough President Marty] Markowitz, [New York City Mayor Michael] Bloomberg or the next Governor of our state. I will certainly be involved with these efforts as much as possible.

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Posted by steve at 7:27 AM

Green Party Candidates Want ‘Green New Deal’

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Atlantic Yards opponent Gloria Mattera is running for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Green Party ticket.

“We’re building a green political movement with a very diverse, exciting slate of candidates who represent a true cross-section of the population,” said Mattera.

Currently a member of the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn steering committee and an executive board member of Physicians for a National Health Program NY Metro Chapter, Mattera is running for office for a fourth time in a decade.

...

Mattera ran for borough president in 2005 against popular Democratic incumbent Marty Markowitz, objecting to his support of the Atlantic Yards project. Mattera’s run for the top Brooklyn office called for “human scale sustainable development driven by community special needs.”

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Posted by steve at 7:20 AM

October 29, 2010

Green Party Candidates Want ‘Green New Deal’

Slope’s Gloria Mattera Runs for Lt. Governor

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Harold Egeln

As Albany stews in a political cauldron of dysfunction, one of the alternative tickets being offered for the state’s top leadership posts offers a “Green New Deal.”

One of those candidates is from Park Slope, Green Party lieutenant governor hopeful Gloria Mattera, a healthcare worker known for her community and political activism.
...

Currently a member of the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn steering committee and an executive board member of Physicians for a National Health Program NY Metro Chapter, Mattera is running for office for a fourth time in a decade.

In 2001 and 2003 she ran for City Council against Democrat Bill de Blasio, with campaigns focused on growing economic inequities, reaching out to the Muslim communities, and opposition to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In her 2003 challenge to de Blasio, she emerged second with 20 percent of the vote.

Mattera ran for borough president in 2005 against popular Democratic incumbent Marty Markowitz, objecting to his support of the Atlantic Yards project. Mattera’s run for the top Brooklyn office called for “human scale sustainable development driven by community special needs.”

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Posted by eric at 10:34 AM

October 27, 2010

Cuomo has apparently put on back burner investigations of Willets Point, Downtown Brooklyn Partnership lobbying

Atlantic Yards Report

There's a very intriguing passage within a New York Times article today about Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, likely to win election as Governor next Tuesday, headlined Mixed Views on Cuomo as Attorney General:

But the praise is neither universal nor complete, and there are many who assert that Mr. Cuomo has, not unlike his predecessor, been more interested in headlines than in undertaking the tedious chores needed to bring lasting reform, and that he has mishandled, sidestepped or prolonged some public integrity cases.

For example, an investigation into whether the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and some public officials violated lobbying laws in their redevelopment efforts is still unresolved after two years. (Mr. Bloomberg last month endorsed Mr. Cuomo’s campaign for governor.)

What might that refer to? It's time to repeat my post from 12/12/09, adding that I never got a response to my queries from Cuomo's office:

Learning from Willets Point, Part 2: is the Attorney General still investigating lobbying by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership?

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Posted by eric at 4:18 PM

October 21, 2010

State IG probes problematic Aqueduct racino bidding; no such investigation was made of Vanderbilt Yard process

Atlantic Yards Report

A New York Times article today, headlined Report Says State Senators Manipulated Casino Bidding, cites the state Inspector General's report on the Aqueduct "racino":

In a scathing 300-page report [PDF] on the competition to install video slot machines at the Aqueduct racetrack in Queens, the inspector general described a chaotic and ultimately doomed process that was without formal rules or objective criteria, and was awash in “unrestrained political considerations,” lobbyists and targeted campaign contributions.

But when Forest City Ratner was anointed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard without any competiton--and when an RFP was issued 18 months later--there was no such inquiry.

And, as I argued in March, the Vanderbilt Yard deal was worse.

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NoLandGrab: These clowns might go down, but we all know nothing ever sticks to "Teflon Bruce."

Posted by eric at 3:53 PM

October 20, 2010

Marty Hypocritz Calls for City Council Approval for Bike Lanes, Atlantic Yards Not So Much

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is upset with the new bike lanes on Prospect Park West and real hot under the collar about them (when isn't he hot under the collar?).

What does he think the solution is? According to the Brooklyn Paper:

“This issue of where to place bike lanes, it’s worthy of review by the City Council,” said Markowitz. “What is our objective in this city? To stigmatize the use of cars? To make it difficult to park? Do we want Brooklyn to replicate Amsterdam? These are legitimate policy issues.”
(Emphasis added.)

Right, Markowitz, a few bike lanes to calm traffic on PPW should go under City Council review, but the largest development project in Brooklyn's history shouldn't. Surely there must have been some "legitimate policy issues" raised by Ratner's land grab, no?

(Btw, Brooklyn could learn a lot from Amsterdam.)

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NoLandGrab: People who disagree with the Borough President might be interested in this.

Photo: Ben Muessig/Brooklyn Paper, via Gothamist

Posted by eric at 4:53 PM

October 14, 2010

DiSanto to Voters: Golden Responsible For Status Quo After Nearly a Decade in Albany

Atlas Shrugs in Brooklyn
by Dagny Taggart

Atlantic Yards-loving political hack Marty Golden is taking some flak from fellow Republicans — those of the reform variety.

Now, even before our blog took a critical look at Golden, a fellow Republican, he has never done anything to convince us or our readers that we are wrong in any way. He has never commented regarding our local GOP coverage and has kept entirely to himself, even as the local media has taken interest.

This campaign apparently has not provoked a different response from him.

But Golden continues to make a huge mistake by allowing a vacuum to form around him with GOP voters. Let’s not forget–and Mr. DiSanto intimates this in his statement–Sen. Golden has had some tough press lately. First, it was his involvement with Atlantic Yards. Then, it was his flip-flop on a critical piece of gun legislation. Most recently, he has been noticeably absent during crucial votes in the Senate.

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Posted by eric at 10:28 AM

October 9, 2010

Mr. Paladino and the System

The New York Times, Editorial

Does The Times have a double-standard when it comes to nutty, belligerent Tea-Partying gubernatorial-candidate and "liberal do-gooder" real estate developers?

Carl Paladino, the Republican nominee for governor of New York, portrays himself as a business-hardened outsider who would reform Albany’s corrupt and bloated bureaucracy and drive out the pay-to-play special interests. “I’m just a regular guy from Buffalo,” he says.

A look at his record as a developer shows that he has been an eager recipient of just the sort of government largess he so bitterly condemns and a generous contributor to politicians who can best do him favors.

His flourishing real estate business was stoked with tax breaks, multimillion-dollar state leases and government land giveaways. At the same time, he used his partnerships and corporations to donate nearly $500,000 to scores of elected officials, judges and candidates since 1999 — a bit more than most regular guys from Buffalo.

Mr. Paladino is the largest landowner in Buffalo, and building his empire required many local zoning variances and municipal permissions. Buffalo’s politicians, who received generous donations from him for years, were happy to help.

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NoLandGrab: Does this means that if Bruce Ratner ran for governor, The Times might actually condemn his modus operandi?

Posted by eric at 11:31 AM

October 3, 2010

Markowitz isn't "taking full-advantage of permissible perks to boost economic investment in the borough;” rather, he's doing Ratner's bidding

Atlantic Yards Report

Who does the Brooklyn Borough President work for?

The more I think about it, the quote from Dick Dadey of the Citizens Union about Borough President Marty Markowitz's putative trip to China was way off, and in more ways than one.

The Post reported:

"[Markowitz] is clearly taking full-advantage of permissible perks to boost economic investment in the borough,” said Dick Dadey of the government-watchdog group Citizens Union.

Well, Citizens Union isn't much of a watchdog if it thinks that Markowitz's effort to get Forest City Ratner low-cost financing by flacking green cards will "boost economic investment in the borough."

It would more likely boost the developer.

More importantly, Markowitz, however much he may enjoy a foreign trip, would not be going in order to be "taking full-advantage of permissible perks."

Rather, he'd be doing Ratner's bidding, and the bidding of the New York City Regional Center funding the trip.

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Posted by steve at 9:04 AM

September 30, 2010

Markowitz planning China trip to trade green cards for Atlantic Yards funding

NY Post
by Rich Calder

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s latest planned overseas trip sounds more like a punch line than official business.

Markowitz – who racks up more frequent-flyer miles on government business than most local elected officials and all of the city’s other Beeps combined -- is seeking city blessing to travel expenses-paid to China.

His mission: fly 7,000 miles to the other side of the world to help his longtime ally, developer Bruce Ratner, peddle green cards to rich foreigners in exchange for investing in Ratner's embattled Atlantic Yards project.

They want to use a little-known federal program to raise about $250 million for the financially troubled $4.9 billion Prospect Heights project, which includes an arena for the NBA’s Nets, officials said.

"[Markowitz] is clearly taking full-advantage of permissible perks to boost economic investment in the borough,” said Dick Dadey of the government-watchdog group Citizens Union.

Markowitz’s many other expenses-paid business trips the past three years include visits to the Netherlands and Israel and a Trans-Atlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2.

The planned China trip was first reported yesterday by the blog Atlantic Yards Report.

If the city’s Conflict of Interest Board says the China trip won’t violate city ethics laws, the beep will spent a week abroad -- – five days in China and two days traveling, sources told the Post. He also intends to pay out-of-pocket for his wife, Jamie, to accompany him.

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NoLandGrab: Note to China — better hide the placemats.

Posted by eric at 8:58 PM

September 25, 2010

Quote of the week: economist Shiller says people feel "a small group of wealthy people who get bailed out and bribe the government are in charge"

Atlantic Yards Report

Atlantic Yards is a reflection of something gone seriously wrong in the United States, not just Brooklyn.

Economist Robert Shiller, BusinessWeek:

There are many dimensions to trying to restore confidence. A plan to reduce the national debt is a relatively small part of it at this point. The really big thing is, people are very upset. They feel that the country is not theirs, and that a small group of wealthy people who get bailed out and bribe the government are in charge.

link

Posted by steve at 8:54 AM

September 23, 2010

Brooklyn Democrat Is Said to Be Investigated

The New York Times
by William K. Rashbaum

Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez, architect of the Atlantic Yards 421-a "carve out,", is under investigation by the Feds.

Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez, a long-serving Brooklyn Democratic leader who is widely viewed as the borough’s patronage king, is at the center of two separate federal investigations, according to several people briefed on the matter. A third inquiry, by the city’s Department of Investigation, those people said, is focused on a network of nonprofit groups Mr. Lopez controls.

All three investigations focus to some extent on the nexus of politics, nonprofit groups and real estate developers in Brooklyn, the people familiar with the inquiries said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

“The name of the game” is real estate development, one of the people said, adding that the inquiries have produced masses of records, and in several of the cases the authorities have “mounds of paper to go through.” The person would not name the developers under scrutiny, saying only, “There is a lot of developers in the game here.”

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Posted by eric at 11:52 AM

September 17, 2010

Now they tell us: ads for Montgomery proclaiming independence from "special interests" come from (not disclosed) special interest (NYSUT)

Atlantic Yards Report

Like other residents of the 18th Senatorial District, I got several slick mailings with the same "Velmanette Montgomery" logo but no returning mailing address, just a tiny, unreadable logo.

And Montgomery's campaign said they didn't know who was responsible.

That's unacceptable. Either they were lying or should know. (It's shades of BUILD's James Caldwell, in 2005, claiming he didn't know who was paying for the group's public relations.)

The day after Montgomery cruised to a more than 4-to-1 margin--thanks, in part to a 10-to 1 advantage in volunteers, many from unions--I got a message from Montgomery staffer Jim Vogel.

"Senator Montgomery’s campaign finally discovered who sent out the mailer you were wondering about," he wrote. "Yesterday afternoon we had a visit from the local head of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) who told Senator Montgomery they did the mailing. She really had no idea before then."

It's a logical contribution, given that Montgomery was opposed by Mark Pollard, funded by charter school supporters, but it wasn't a transparent one.

(And I'm now assuming that the campaign call I thought was funded by Pollard's campaign came from the teachers.)
...

There's no little irony in Montgomery not only getting support from the teachers, but having them produce a somewhat deceptive campaign mailer about her opposition to Atlantic Yards.

After all, they're not on the same page regarding the project.

In August 2006, there was United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten at a pro-project rally, declaring confidently that “the advantages outweigh the risks,” citing the importance of affordable housing to schoolteachers who want to live near the communities where they work.

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NoLandGrab: As Oder points out, Montgomery finally got some financial support from State Senate Conference President (and Forest City fundraiser beneficiary) John Sampson on September 3rd — likely once they figured out she was going to crush her opponent on Primary Day.

Posted by eric at 12:04 PM

September 16, 2010

Leading Atlantic Yards Opponents Trounce Opponents in Democratic Primary

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

While Bruce Ratner is making a mess over at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush after putting shovels in the ground, two of the most high profile political opponents of Atlantic Yards were held in high regard yesterday by the voters. Of course Atlantic Yards was not the defining issue in yesterday's races for State Senate in the 18th district and State Committee member (Male District Leader) in the 52nd district, but the fervor of the opposition sure helped Chris Owens win office for the first time and Senator Velmanette Montgomery retain her seat in the Senate. And both highlighted their Atlantic Yards opposition during their campaigns.
...

It is pretty clear that in Central Brooklyn an overwhelming percentage of the electorate is very comfortable with the position these two leaders have held over the past seven years.

link

Posted by eric at 9:17 AM

Candidates of Wall Street, Charter Schools Wash Out in Democratic Primaries

The L Magazine
by Mark Asch

Earlier this year, the great Tom Robbins reported on deep-pocketed charter school advocates essentially sponsoring primary challenges to three Democratic state senators "whose tough talk during the debate rubbed charter advocates the wrong way," though they eventually did vote for a bill that worked out to charters' advantage (having gotten concessions about auditing and conflicts of interest inserted into the bill). The piece begins at a meet-and-greet sponsored by a rich millionaire, at which candidates are introduced to the hedge-fund millionaires largely behind the candidacy of Reshma Saujani, the former finance-industry professional running as a "fresh face" against Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, of the Upper East Side.

The three Senators who offended the charter schools were Harlem's pretty great Bill Perkins (also a persuasive, vociferous opponent of Atlantic Yards), who chaired hearings on the subject and wondered aloud, "What about the 97 percent of kids in regular schools? Where's the energy and attention for them?"; my state senator, the distinguished Velmanette Montgomery (asked why he was gunning for the state senate, the opponent recruited to run against her told Robbins only said, "It's time for new, energetic leadership), and Shirley Huntley, of Queens, who also voted against gay marriage (her opponent, previously a candidate for City Council, also received support from gay advocacy groups).

Yesterday, in the Democratic primary, Perkins defeated former Hillary Clinton aide Basil Smikle with more than three quarters of the vote. Montgomery defeated lawyer Mark Pollard, garnering more than four fifths of the vote. Huntley won with slightly less than three quarters of the vote.

article

Posted by eric at 7:55 AM

September 15, 2010

In the 52nd, Owens, Simon win big over machine; Restler edges out Cohn; Montgomery, Millman, Towns cruise to victory

Atlantic Yards Report

In the 52nd District: Owens and Simon

Despite endorsements and robo-calls from Borough President Marty Markowitz and 33rd District Council Member Steve Levin, and a slew of mailings, the two machine candidates for District Leader in the 52nd Assembly District, Hope Reichhbach and Steve Williamson, lost big.
...

One source of suspense was whether Jesse Strauss, who ran with Simon, both endorsed by the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, would split the reform vote with Owens sufficiently to let Williamson prevail.

That was not to be, as Owens, who has more name recognition due to longer service and his 2006 race for Congress (in which he was the candidate against Atlantic Yards), relied on the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) and other endorsements.
...

Owens: anti-Atlantic Yards spirit helped

CBID First VP Raul Rothblatt shot the video below, in which Owens said an anti-Atlantic Yards spirit helped him win.

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Posted by eric at 12:34 PM

No surprises at all in local primaries

The Brooklyn Paper
by Aaron Short and Andy Campbell

The headline overstates the absence of surprises, but one thing was very clear: candidates with a strong record of fighting Atlantic Yards won big.

State Senate — Democrats
Velmanette Montgomery, 12,742
Mark Pollard, 3,104

18th District

Fort Greene, Park Slope and Red Hook

Incumbent Velmanette Montgomery won in an 81-19 percent landslide over newcomer Mark Pollard, yet another weak challenger to a senator who has been in Albany since 1986.

Some said Pollard was a fresh face, but Montgomery won big, in part due to her support for the federal Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus Canal, the fetid waterway that now has a federal budget, and her longtime opposition to the Atlantic Yards mega-development.
...

District leaders
Chris Owens, 2,154
Jesse Strauss, 1,361
Stephen Williamson, 771

Jo Anne Simon, 2,645
Hope Reichbach, 1,657

52nd Assembly District

DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Park Slope

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Posted by eric at 12:19 PM

September 14, 2010

It Now Comes Down To This: Democrats Should (Run Off and) Vote Tomorrow For Eric Schneiderman as Attorney General

Noticing New York

To get a feel for all of these issues we still feel that best touchstone is Atlantic Yards and the hard questions that can be asked about the specifics that come to light when that is given focus. That includes the fact that Andrew Cuomo, our current state Attorney General and presumptive governor-to-be, has taken and not returned campaign contributions from Forest City Ratner, the developer of Atlantic Yards notwithstanding requests that he take action with respect to the megadevelopment. (At an event not long ago one of his campaign representatives explained that the contributions did not need to be returned because of the timing of their acceptance!)

We therefore suggest that the best way to get a feeling for what the candidates might do in terms of cleaning up Albany (a better feel than you will get listening to the debates) is to read our earlier article that uses Atlantic Yards and eminent domain abuse as a touchstone. We think that when you have duly considered the matter you will vote Eric Schneiderman especially when you consider that he seems to be the one with the momentum necessary to defeat Kathleen Rice.

link

Posted by eric at 9:23 AM

Primary Day: A few mini-endorsements

Joshua Malbin

For most of the ultralocal races, it matters most who’s most willing to take on Kings County boss Vito Lopez. So I’m following The Brooklyn Paper and going with Chris Owens for male District Leader over Jesse Strauss and Steve Williamson; and Jo Anne Simon over Hope Reichbach for female District Leader. (I’m breaking my personal rule of thumb here to always do the opposite of what Gatemouth wants.)

And Velmanette Montgomery over Mark Pollard. Montgomery is one of the guys with her heart in the right place. She stood up against the Atlantic Yards project and so as far as I’m concerned she gets to go back to Albany until I see a strong reason why she shouldn’t.

link

Posted by eric at 8:58 AM

September 13, 2010

Election preview: why the race in the 18th Senatorial District is no inspiring example of democratic debate

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder has an in-depth rundown on the race for the 18th State Senate district, in which anti-Atlantic Yards stalwart Velmanette Montgomery faces a challenge from Charter School advocate Mark Pollard, who promises he'll keep a close eye on Bruce C. Ratner. Uh huh.

I can't say the 18th Senatorial District race between 26-year incumbent Velmanette Montgomery and challenger Mark Pollard has been a particularly inspiring example of democracy.

While the candidates have been out campaigning, the main contact many of us have with this race is by receiving propaganda in the mail.

article

Posted by eric at 10:24 AM

September 11, 2010

Atlantic Yards Report Saturday Morning Coverage of Local Races

Atlantic Yards Report

In the 57th, a District Leader debate that wasn't, and some signs of the times

Given the charged nature of the battle (as cited in The Local) between incumbent Olanike Alabi and challenger Renee Collymore for the position of Female District Leader in the 57th Assembly District, and given the announcement of the first debate for a District Leader position this season, I hauled over to the Humble Martial Arts Dojo on Fulton Street last night.

After all, some of these District Leader races are highly charged, but fought mainly with press releases and campaign fliers. Nobody debates.

It was not to be.

A handful of people showed up, a couple of them organizers from the Prospect Heights Action Coaltion (aka sisters Patti Hagan, who lives in Prospect Heights, and Schellie Hagan, who lives nearby in Clinton Hill) who know both candidates well; guest moderator Medhanie Estiphanos, a candidate for the 35th District Council seat last year; a couple of bloggers; a staffer for City Council Member Letitia James, and a couple of civilians.

Collymore came 15 minutes late. Olabi never arrived. (She told The Local her attorney advised her not to show and she had another engagement.

In 52nd District race, Owens mailer takes aim at both opponents

I was wondering how Chris Owens, running for Male District Leader in the 52nd Assembly District, would try to distinguish himself from not only the machine candidate, Stephen Williamson, but the other reform candidate, Jesse Strauss, who has the endorsement from one major political club (while Owens has more endorsements).

The answer: call Strauss the "Albany candidate." There's no proof, but maybe that's supposed to mean support from Assemblymember Joan Millman. (The rest of his fundraising has no obvious Albany connection.)

A more subtle critique--and one that should've been aired in a debate between the two--comes from Owens supporter David Michaelson, who writes that Owens said he wouldn't have run without the Lambda Independent Democrats' endorsement, while Strauss said he'd stay in.

Michaelson doesn't call Strauss an "Albany candidate," just a potential spoiler. The lesson, again, is that Instant Runoff Voting is needed, so voters can rank preferences. And that debates would help, so we don't have to rely on campaign advertising.

(Also, watch Room 8 blogger Gatemouth, aka Howard Graubard, and Strauss go at it.)

Posted by steve at 8:58 AM

Guest Blog: Hope Reichbach, Candidate for District Leader 52nd AD

Brooklyn Heights Blog

Hope Reichbach, endorsed by Brooklyn Democratic Party boss and Atlantic Yards supporter, Vito Lopez, uses this blog entry to take swings at her opponent, Jo Anne Simon. One big miss is her mischaracterization of Simon, a long-time opponent of Atlantic Yards.

Up until recently, she was pro-Atlantic Yards. Suddenly, when it seemed politically beneficial, she became a crusader against Atlantic Yards.

Despite Reichbach's claim of not wanting to sling mud, click through for the mudfest.

link

Posted by steve at 8:46 AM

September 10, 2010

District Leader races: Lopez issue gets more play in Voice than Brooklyn Paper; an Orwellian mailing in the 52nd; a debate tonight in the 57th

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder takes a well-worth-reading look at a number of contested races in Tuesday's primary — a job the Brooklyn Paper fails to tackle.

There a primary election Tuesday, with some hard-fought races, especially on the District Leader level.

So what does the Brooklyn Paper put on the quite-diverse front page of its new issue? Tabloid stuff, mostly, stories to get people talking but not that address that boring but important issue of power.

So, along with some news, we get a report on the Brooklyn Cyclones (hm, the Cyclones page inside is sponsored by stadium sponsor MCU, which means there's another article), an article about kickball (!), and a story plus major graphics about an all-insect dinner.

The editorial page? No endorsements, but a safe enough stand for religious tolerance.

There's a full page ad about using the new voting machines. On page 12, there's an Election Guide that takes up about one-third of a page, with brief descriptions of contested legislative races.

(It's the first mention, as far as I can tell, of the 18th District Senate primary between incumbent Velmanette Montgomery and challenger Mark Pollard; I'll have more on that race Monday.)

article

Posted by eric at 8:16 AM

September 5, 2010

In race for State Committee in the 52nd: Jo Anne Simon (finally) takes gloves off; also, Lopez candidate gains as Owens, Strauss vie for reform votes

Atlantic Yards Report

This is a look at races for Female and Male District leaders in the 52nd Assembly District, with a short mention of the the Female District Leader race in the 57th Assembly District.

A year after it really mattered, Jo Anne Simon has directly gone after the candidate endorsed by Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez.

This time it's for re-election to her unpaid position as State Committeewoman, or Female District Leader (Democratic) for the 52nd Assembly District (represented by Joan Millman). The vote will be during the primary election on September 14.

Like a couple of other races, it is essentially (as the Brooklyn Paper described) a referendum on Lopez, the political powerhouse, who, among other things, ensured that a new law toughening subsidies for affordable housing would not apply to Atlantic Yards. (The developer's argument was that the project was planned under the assumption 421-a subsidies would be available.)

And unlike the race for Male District Leader, in which the presence of two reformers should help the Lopez candidate, this one's one-on-one.

...

Reichbach's running mate, Williamson, also worked on Levin's campaign. He was set to challenge incumbent Alan Fleishman, a Lopez foe.

But Fleishman has since withdrawn, which has set up an interesting situation. Simon's mailer says that Jesse Strauss has "taken Fleishman's place on the ballot," which isn't quite true.

Strauss, a CB2 member and a member of the executive committee of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND), has been endorsed, as has Simon, by Joan Millman and the IND.

Chris Owens, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2006 and has a long history of activism challenging Atlantic Yards (among other things), got endorsements from the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (of which he was once president) and the Lambda Independent Democrats.

In such obscure races on a primary day with no major race to bring voters to the polls--the biggest statewide contest is the Attorney General primary--the candidates understandably want most to get voters out in the first place.

But without IRV, Strauss and Owens should be doing their best to remind reform-minded voters not merely that they are reformers, but that only one of them has the best chance to beat the candidate favored by Lopez and Markowitz.

(By the way, the race for Female District Leader in the 57th Assembly District is getting rather tabloid, at least according to The Local.)

link

Posted by steve at 11:10 AM

August 31, 2010

Why does Ratner not contribute to local races? Maybe because contributions keep the line open to Cuomo, the next governor

Atlantic Yards Report

A couple of people have asked me: if Bruce Ratner is no longer a campaign contribution refusenik, why isn't he giving money to Mark Pollard, who's challenging Atlantic Yards opponent Velmanette Montgomery in the 18th Senatorial District and has gained the support of some Atlantic Yards backers?

Well, maybe it's purely pragmatic; Montgomery has endorsements galore and a record of achievement.

Even a strong candidate--and I don't think Pollard qualifies, having started his campaign only in May, rather than building momentum over time, and relying disproportionately on charter school backers outside the district--would have trouble beating a veteran like Montgomery, even in this anti-incumbent political climate (and her failure to fully embrace reforms in Albany).

(When the 11-day pre-primary reports are made available on Friday, we'll see if Ratner's changed his tactics.)

Influence at the top

Ratner is not averse to contributions in local races, but maybe it's purely pragmatic on another level.

Ratner, I suspect, doesn't worry much about local elected officials; his concern is the governor, who controls the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the unelected agency that's shepherding Atlantic Yards and not looking too hard.

So that's why Ratner gave $5000 to the campaign of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo in February 2009, plus another $7500 this past May.

From Ratner's perspective, Montgomery may be a pest. But as long as the man at the top takes his calls, he'll be fine.

Or, to paraphrase Leona Helmsley, only the little people need to buy state Senators.

Even better, how's this for a laugh?

Ratner also gave $10,000 to New York Uprising, the clean-up-Albany project spearheaded by former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Citizens Union Director Dick Dadey, and former New York City Parks Commissioner and New York Civic Director Henry Stern.

I suspect that Ratner's contribution was generated less by desire to support candidates signing New York Uprising's worthy three-part pledge (Non-Partisan, Independent Redistricting; Responsible Budgeting; and Ethics Reform), than by his relationship with his old mentor Stern, an often-useful civic watchdog whose critical scrutiny has reliably bypassed Atlantic Yards.

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NoLandGrab: Ratner giving money to an effort to clean up Albany is like Bonnie and Clyde making a deposit five minutes before robbing the bank. And the fact that they would take Ratner's money tells you all you need to know about New York Uprising.

Posted by eric at 1:04 PM

August 30, 2010

In 18th District, Citizens Union prefers Pollard over Montgomery, who's reticent about addressing some reforms; challenger tries to thread AY needle

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder takes another look — two looks, actually — at the race for the state Senate's 18th district.

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery can point to some real achievements, as noted in a campaign mailer (right; click to enlarge), such as reforming the juvenile justice system and the Rockefeller drug laws.

But her reluctance to sign onto a full suite of Albany reforms means the 26-year incumbent, who has the support of veteran Brooklyn pols like Council Member Al Vann, may be sweating just a bit.

The Citizens Union last week announced it supported the reelection of only six incumbents, issued a "no preference" in several races, and endorsed several challengers, including Montgomery rival Mark Pollard.

(Pollard hasn't yet noted this on his web site. Montgomery doesn't have a current campaign web site--the one from the previous election has not been updated. Neither are particularly nimble in cyberspace; are they convinced that getting out the vote for the September 14 primary represents retail politics?)

While the CU did not elaborate on the Montgomery race (and some others), Executive Director Dick Dadey said the CU's preference "provide a clear signal to voters which incumbents have made an effort to bring change to Albany and which ones have stood in the way of reform and need to be replaced."

The CU doesn't hold the power it once had--its endorsement, for example, of Evan Thies in the 33rd Council District last year meant little--but it does aim to set benchmarks for good government practices.

article

NoLandGrab: Neither does the CU have the reputation for integrity it once had, since it refused to take a strong stance against Atlantic Yards, despite the project's lengthy list of vices.

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Ziggy for Pollard: a not-quite-Atlantic Yards connection in the 18th District Senate race

State campaign finance filings (32-day report, July periodic report) show that Mark Pollard, the pro-Atlantic Yards challenger to state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, has paid $8000 in consulting fees to Brooklyn Sports MMM, which just happens to share the same address as Brooklyn USA Basketball.

Both Brooklyn Sports Management, Marketing, and Memorabilia and Brooklyn USA Basketball are the work of Thomas (Ziggy) Sicignano, coach of a traveling basketball team that's gotten $10,000 in funding from Forest City Ratner and whose players have bolstered some Atlantic Yards rallies.

(He's also notorious for cooperating in a federal investigation of prostitution he organized at an Atlanta strip club he managed. Correction August 31: Sicignano points out that he did not receive probation, as reported in the Brooklyn Paper.)
...

Sicignano said he's not working for Pollard at the behest of FCR, though he does think it would be "good for Brooklyn that we have a Senator who can deal with the developer."

NLG: By "a senator who can deal with the developer," Sicignano means "a senator who can provide unqualified support for the developer's deals."

Posted by eric at 9:52 AM

August 28, 2010

From City Pragmatist: behind the Charter Revision Commission, an effort to shift power to the mayor

Atlantic Yards Report

Please click through to this blog entry and learn about two important proposals you're going to be voting on this November.

So, it turns out that the Charter Revision Commission did nothing--beyond a hearing--to grapple with issues like land use reform. And while a complicated term limits vote is one of the two proposals on the November ballot, the real import of the Commission's work is the second proposal, which--despite a fig leaf of reform--would essentially strengthen an already strong mayor.

Credit CityPragmatist blogger Alvin Berk, who's been following the Commission closely, concluding, NYC Charter Revision Proposals: A Hobson’s Choice.

He writes:

Here are the proposals being placed on November’s ballot by the New York City Charter Revision Commission. The commission has restricted voters’ options by lumping the changes into just two ballot questions, putatively because this year’s new paper voting forms are too small to show the proposals individually.

He's skeptical--and any serious reader of these long and thus confusing ballot questions would have reason to agree. (The Daily News also slammed the decision.)

link

Posted by steve at 9:16 AM

August 26, 2010

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shuns Montgomery (among few incumbents); could Sampson's Atlantic Yards support be the reason?

Atlantic Yards Report

Sleazeball NY Senate Democrats brook no dissent against the Party's unofficial chairman, Bruce C. Ratner (who also happens to be unofficial chairman of the state's Republican Party, too).

There was a unexplored angle to a City Hall News article yesterday headlined DSCC Spends On Consultants, WFP, But Not Espada.

The main news was that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was not helping scandal-tinged Majority Leader Pedro Espada but helping incumbents with safe seats as well as incumbents faced with primaries but in districts that will remain in Democratic hands. (Shouldn't the DSCC be stressing seats that could be lost to the Republicans? Not in New York.)

However, if Senate Democrats are spending on "nearly every incumbent facing a primary," it was notable that Espada was joined on a very short list of the "outs" by his Bronx ally Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr. and 18th District Senator Velmanette Montgomery, who represents Central Brooklyn.

The AY connection

I haven't been able to learn why Montgomery got the short end of the stick--there could be internal political dynamics at work--but it's worth noting that Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, some major contributors, and the Senate Democratic Conference's prime strategist are supporters of Atlantic Yards or have ties to Forest City Ratner.

Sampson, notably, was the beneficiary of a fundraiser held at Forest City Ratner offices and signed a letter to Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov calling Atlantic Yards "a major economic development venture that is vital to the economy and the future of Brooklyn."

He didn't attend the arena groundbreaking in March but sent his regrets.

article

NoLandGrab: We sent our regrets, too, after being held back by some 200 police officers, including the counter-terrorism squad.

Posted by eric at 9:52 AM

August 14, 2010

A push poll in the state Senate race, perhaps from the Pollard camp

Atlantic Yards Report

If you wanted to know anything about any kind of a poll was being conducted around the primary race for the State Senate between incumbent Velmanette Montgomery and challenger Mark Pollard, the best person to receive the call would be Norman Oder.

The call was probably linked to the Pollard camp, since a Montgomery representative said it wasn't them. (Update: Maybe that was too conclusory. It could've come from a group supporting Montgomery.)

The caller said she was a representative of a public opinion research firm called M.E.M. "We're conducting a brief survey about important issues in your area," I was told.

I asked for the location of the firm and a web site. There's no web site, I was told, and "I'm just in a call center." (She couldn't pronounce "Gowanus," so she was clearly from way out of town.) So I took a few notes.

Atlantic Yards makes an appearance in a poll question.

The next two questions concerned what is apparently the principal issue--or at least the principal campaign issue, given Pollard's funding by charter school supporters:

• What do I think of the United Federation of Teachers
• What do I think of charter schools?

The next question concerned what is apparently a significant secondary issue:

• What are my feelings about Atlantic Yards?

link

Posted by steve at 2:23 PM

August 4, 2010

Deputy Mayor Wolfson owns $5000 of Forest City Enterprises shares; does it matter? Nah

Atlantic Yards Report

Does it make a difference that Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson, who joined the Bloomberg administration in March, bought about $5000 worth of Forest City Enterprises (FCE) stock in 2007?

No, because 1) the administration was already behind the Atlantic Yards project promoted by FCE subsidiary Forest City Ratner and 2) the amount is too low to trigger action by the Conflicts of Interests Board (COIB).

Wolfson reported stock in the company, parent of Forest City Ratner, worth $5,000 to $39,999, but officials told the Post it was close to the minimum.

Unmentioned in the Post or AP reports is that $40,000 is the threshold for an "ownership interest" that, for someone in Wolfson's position, would require either divestment of that interest or disclosure to the COIB of that interest, subjecting him to the board's ruling.

article

NoLandGrab: $39,999 of Forest City stock purchased on April 16th, 2007 would be worth less than $7,300 today.

Posted by eric at 1:20 PM

Bloomberg staffer owns stock in company building B'klyn arena

NY Post
by Rich Calder

One of Mayor Bloomberg’s top staffers owns stock in a company whose subsidiary is getting city funding and tax breaks to build a Brooklyn arena for the NBA’s Nets — a revelation that’s raising eyebrows among opponents of the controversial project.

Former Hillary Clinton political strategist Howard Wolfson, who joined the Bloomberg administration in March as deputy mayor for governmental affairs, listed investments totaling $250,000 to $935,000 — including stock in Forest City Enterprises worth $5,000 to $39,999 – in a city financial disclosure report made public today.

"This project has never had any real oversight or accountability or full public transparency, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that a member of the Bloomberg administration has money invested in it," said Councilwoman Letitia James, whose district includes the 22-acre project footprint within Prospect Heights.

A city spokesman said Wolfson bought the stock in 2007 – three years before he took the post – and that the investment amount was "close to $5,000" and, therefore, "far below the threshold that raises potential conflict of interest issues" for city employees.

James, however, said Wolfson should sell the stock or put it in trust until he leaves City Hall.

The project is getting more than $200 million in city money for land acquisition and infrastructure repairs, plus tax exemptions and city-owned property at no cost.

article

Related coverage...

NY Daily News, Bloomberg administration disclosures: Ethics issues for Howard Wolfson, Raymond Kelly and others

A deputy mayor owns stock in the company building the controversial Atlantic Yards stadium - and the police commissioner takes rides on the mayor's plane.

Those are two of the eyebrow-raising disclosures in the annual ethics forms released Tuesday for top officials in Mayor Bloomberg's administration.

Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson reported owning $5,000 to $40,000 worth of stock in Forest City Enterprises, the parent company of the firm developing a stadium and apartments over former railyards in Brooklyn with up to $205 million in city subsidies.

"He doesn't have any responsibilities that affect Forest City," Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said. "He's not an economic development person."

NoLandGrab: Let's hope Wolfson is a better Deputy Mayor than he is an investor. The low for Forest City stock in 2007, when Wolfson bought it, was about $44 per share; today it trades below $13.

Posted by eric at 12:45 PM

August 2, 2010

Brooklyn Focus: August 3rd: MEET AND SUPPORT STATE SENATOR VELMANETTE MONTGOMERY

Mole's Progressive Democrat

I urge anyone who can to go to this event and support one of the best Democrats in New York:

MEET AND SUPPORT STATE SENATOR VELMANETTE MONTGOMERY

At the home of Joan Reutershan and Meg Harper

70 South Portland Avenue (near Lafayette) 6:00 – 8:00PM

Join Council Member Letitia James along with hosts Joan Reutershan, Meg Harper, Naomi Dickerson, Charles Jarden, Lucy Koteen, Patricia Johnson, Paul Palazzo, and Steve Soblick.

Senator Montgomery, currently the Chairperson of the Children and Families Committee, has stood up for all the right issues:

• Community Supported Development
• Reforming the Juvenile Justice system
• Affordable Housing for all
• Marriage Equality
• Democratic Education
• Opposition to Atlantic Yards
  ...

Velmanette is my state senator and she is one of the very few in Albany who is worth anything. She has led the fight against Atlantic Yards overdevelopment, led the fight to clean up the Gowanus Canal, led the fight for better and more effective sex education in our schools, and I have to say, led pretty much every fight I support in Albany.

link

Posted by eric at 9:40 AM

July 31, 2010

At heart of Pollard's challenge to Senator Montgomery, charter schools (and big bucks from charter school proponents)

Atlantic Yards Report

Senator Velmanette Montgomery, foe of the Atlantic Yards project, is facing an opponent in the September primary.

I got a mailing the other day from Mark Pollard, who's challenging 13-term incumbent state Senator Velmanette Montgomery in the 18th District, which includes Atlantic Yards.

What it doesn't say is that the contest is significantly about charter schools, given that charter school proponents from outside Brooklyn have contributed a large majority of his $87,385 war chest.

(The candidates allso differ on Atlantic Yards, but I didn't see any AY backers contributing to Pollard yet, other than $25 contributions from Delia Hunley-Adossa, chair of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement Coalition and head of the potemkin Brooklyn Endeavor Experience, and her daughter Saadia. Hunley-Adossa last year challenged incumbent 35th District City Council Member Letitia James, a Montgomery ally.)

Click through to see how individual Pollard supporters, mostly from Manhattan, are contributing as much as $6,000 to his campaign.

link

Posted by steve at 8:42 AM

July 29, 2010

Phone calls from Utah firm about Atlantic Yards: is Pacific Crest Research back? and is this about the Senate race or just AY p.r.?

Atlantic Yards Report

It looks like the shadowy, Utah-based polling firm Pacific Crest Research (PCR) may be back and involved in tapping/shaping public opinion about Atlantic Yards.

From Brooklynian, selected comments:

• just got off the phone with someone, based in utah, who peppered me with a lot of questions about the yards project, and whether i agree that forest city ratner's doing a great thing for the slope and the community as a whole. i assume ratner's paying for the survey since many of the questions seemed tilted in his favor.. but i had some free time, and it was a very cathartic experience....still, to be doing a survey like this, the developers must be really worried about something.
• I took the survey and it was obviously sponsored by Ratner. I told the guy that I really shouldn't be taking the survey as my husband used to work for FCR and says the affordable housing phase of the project ain't never gonna happen.
• I took the survey too and also think it was sponsored by Ratner. Whenever they asked whether finding out something positive e.g., about job creation changed my mind, I just responded that I didn't believe any of it (the good stuff) would happen.

The background

None of the commenters on Brooklynian mentioned the name of the firm, but the Utah connection offers a significant hint. Remember, in 2006, I got two calls from the company, the second “a very brief public opinion survey on some very interesting issues in Brooklyn.”
...

Why now?

It could be that FCR is simply trying to gauge public opinion in anticipation, for example, of the its next phase of p.r. statements regarding the project.

It could be that FCR is trying to help candidates such as Mark Pollard, who's challenging incumbent state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, an Atlantic Yards opponent (though the big backing for Pollard in that race comes from charter school proponents).

After all, in one 2006 call, I was asked some general questions, but most focused on the race between last-minute challenger Tracy Boyland and Montgomery.

Or maybe it's another client with another motive.

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NoLandGrab:

Related coverage...

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, More Annoying Atlantic Yards Phone Polling

One would think that 30 years of construction and massive parking lots would be enough of an imposition on Brooklynites. But no!

Someone (Ratner, Barclays, an unknown) is polling Brooklynites on Ratner's Atlantic Yards to tap and shape public opinion.

Posted by eric at 10:31 AM

July 23, 2010

Carl Paladino: I'd Use Eminent Domain To Block Ground Zero Mosque

NY Daily News
by Celeste Katz

New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino has dreamed up a novel new use for eminent domain: religious bigotry!

If elected governor, WNY's Carl Paladino vows in a new radio ad that he'd use the eminent domain laws to stop the construction of a controversial Islamic center/mosque near Ground Zero.

(I'm not sure he could actually do that, by the way, but I'm looking into it.)

It's New York State. You can use eminent domain for anything, as long as you're rich and powerful enough to get away with it. Just ask Bruce Ratner.

Paladino says sure he can, and instead of a mosque, the site should be a war memorial.
...

It's notable from a political standpoint that Paladino is going after Cuomo here, leaving out that other Republican guy who wants to be governor, Rick Lazio.

Cuomo and Lazio have tangled on the topic, with Lazio doing most of the tangling.

Lazio spokesman Barney Keller replied to my inquiry about Paladino: “Since Rick Lazio called on Andrew Cuomo to do his job several weeks ago and look into the funding stream of the Cordoba Mosque voices of opposition have emerged from coast to coast.”

Also weighing in on this one: Libertarian gubernatorial hopeful Warren Redlich, who's dumping on the "knee-jerk" Paladino idea as a "plan to waste money and abuse property rights through eminent domain."

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NoLandGrab: We had to look it up, too — "WNY" stands for "Western New York," not "Wing Nut Yokel."

Posted by eric at 11:20 AM

July 22, 2010

DSCC consultant Lowe, connected to Sampson and Ratner (and Boyland's challenge to Montgomery), racks up the bucks

Atlantic Yards Report

State Senate leader John Sampson involved in sleazy dealings? Who knew?

From an article in City Hall News headlined Largely Unknown DSCC Consultant Cleared $300k In Last Year:

The Democratic State Senate Committee and Conference Leader John Sampson have spent over $300,000 with two companies run by the same consultant, a shadowy operative named Melvin Lowe who had worked on only a few campaigns prior to being brought on in the wake of the Senate coup last year.

...Several people familiar with the DSCC and Lowe have expressed mystification at what his position entails to justify being paid this sum, and the DSCC itself declined to provide details.

Lowe, who was brought on to provide oversight for the DSCC, is the principal of both Prestige Strategic Communications and G&L Consulting, which, as reported on Wednesday by Liz Benjamin on the State of Politics blog, share an address at 350 West 110th Street...

Before the massive influx of money to the campaigns in the last 12 months, Lowe had retained only a handful of clients... $16,000 paid to him by former Council Member Tracy Boyland in her 2006 race against State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery that was paid to Prestige...

Immediately before starting with Sampson and the DSCC, Lowe was a lobbyist for Forest City Ratner Companies, helping lobby on behalf of the Atlantic Yards. While at that job, Lowe got involved in the Ridge Hill development in Yonkers and is among the people mentioned in subpoenas that came out of the local U.S. Attorney’s office related to the passage of that project.

Here's brief coverage from 8/31/09 about Lowe's DSCC hiring, his role in Ridge Hill, and reports of consulting work regarding Atlantic Yards.
...

The Boyland connection

News to me from the City Hall News story: Lowe was paid by Boyland's campaign. That reinforces suspicions that Boyland's shadowy run was connected to Ratner.

Remember, Boyland used the same consulting firm--Knickerbocker SKD--that FCR uses for its deceptive Atlantic Yards mailers and Boyland told the Brooklyn Papers that she's friends with FCR's Bruce Bender, a former top City Council aide.

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Posted by eric at 11:05 AM

July 14, 2010

Virtually ignored by the Charter Commission report: a strong mayor, weak Borough Presidents, and the fact that there's "no real local government"

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder files another report on the review of New York City's Charter.

The news from the city's Charter Revision Commission is that a vote on term limits (and maybe Instant Runoff Voting) are apparently on the agenda, but more substantive change, regarding issues like more public input into land use and expanded power of Borough Presidents, is not.

That's plausible, given the tight schedule to get measures on the November ballot, but the commission's staff report was dismissively brief, ignoring many legitimate criticisms posed by the Borough Presidents and others.

As the Staten Island Advance reported yesterday, that ticked off one Commission member:

"The fact the conversation on borough presidents and community boards warrants maybe two paragraphs, to me is utterly disrespectful to the communities," said Carlo A. Scissura, who is chief of staff to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Almost as disrespectful as the sham Atlantic Yards "process" that his boss so heartily embraced.

The fundamental problem

The failure to address the BPs' concerns reflects a larger issue, one that doesn't get traction in the Commission report, and one that explains the hundred successful rezonings under Mayor Mike Bloomberg and his ability to get agencies to march in lockstep to support projects like Atlantic Yards.

"The fundamental principle in this city is that there’s no real local government," suggested Gerald Benjamin, a professor at SUNY New Paltz, speaking at a June 10 hearing of the Commission.

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Posted by eric at 9:57 AM

July 13, 2010

Charter Panel's Narrow Scope Stirs Concerns

When the Charter Revision Commission meets Monday night, it will weigh its staff's recommendations against advocates' calls for a wider vision.

City Limits
by Jarrett Murphy

The site of the Atlantic Yards development, the biggest land use battle in recent memory. Advocates and developers both want changes to the city's land use process, but the staff of the Charter Revision Commission has recommended that those questions be put off to a later day.

link

Photo: Marc Fader/City Limits

Posted by eric at 11:03 AM

July 10, 2010

Charter Revision Commission: term limits, instant runoff voting on agenda, but not land use or the power of Borough Presidents and Community Boards

Atlantic Yards Report

The City's Charter Revision Commission has held some interesting (and undercovered) hearings on issues like land use and the power of Borough Presidents and Community Boards, but it doesn't look like those complex topics are going to make it to the ballot this November.

Far more likely are term limits and instant runoff voting (IRV); the latter would be especially welcome to allow voters to rank their preferences in multi-candidate races.

It makes sense that issues like land use deserve more time and discussion; I'll have reports this coming week on some of the testimony.

link

Posted by steve at 8:50 AM

July 5, 2010

Carl Kruger, already under investigation, now has Post looking at his questionable campaign spending

Atlantic Yards Report

After news surfaced of a federal corruption investigation involving Brooklyn state Senator Carl Kruger--an aggressively unabashed supporter of Atlantic Yards, and recipient of Forest City Ratner-related campaign contributions--now the New York Post is following up with a close look at his campaign spending.

In Senate's biggest 'waste' Probed pol a lavish campaign spender, the Post reported yesterday:

The state Senate's top fat cat lives like a king off his campaign cash, tapping donations to pay for his meals, car, hotel rooms, phone, computers -- even flowers, candy and iTunes, records show.

While Dick Dadey, executive director of the government watchdog Citizens Union, called for a criminal investigation, he acknowledged that lax state laws provide a lot of leeway: "He's abusing the law, even if he's not necessarily violating it."

(The article came with a requisite ambush photo of Kruger.)
...

Today, in Probed pol's bizarre money trail, the Post followed up:

Embattled Brooklyn state Sen. Carl Kruger last year tapped his campaign fund for $10,500 in payments to an obscure New Jersey company that operates out of a private home and communicates via post-office box, The Post has learned.

The payments went to Reliable Repair Inc., a Fair Lawn, NJ, firm the Democratic lawmaker said was hired to install air conditioning and heating systems at his district office.

...Reached by phone to answer questions about work done for Kruger, Mark Yanishevsky, named as Reliable Repair's vice president, asked: "Why are you trying to blackmail me? How did you find me?"

What if the Post looked into the equally suspicious Pacific Crest Research?

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NoLandGrab: Does Kruger look guilty? You decide.

Posted by eric at 10:17 AM

July 4, 2010

Hakeem Jeffries returns for summer "office hours" at subway stops; ask him about AY and the vague governance bill

Atlantic Yards Report

Beginning Wednesday, July 7, for the fourth straight year, central Brooklyn Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries will host his “Summer at the Subway” evening office hours (schedule below) at subway stops in his 57th District.

Jeffries and staff members will visit stops in the Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and parts of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods.

...

Jeffries' web site highlights the following issues, all surely less controversial in his district than Atlantic Yards:

• employment of housing authority residents, as per federal law
  
• counting prisoners in their home counties rather than the location of the prison
  
• keeping personal information out of the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk
  database
• the conversion of vacant luxury apartments into affordable housing
  

...

Note that Atlantic Yards is not a priority, perhaps because Jeffries--who's long taken a cautious position on the project--doesn't think he can do that much about it and perhaps because it's an issue on which his constituents are divided, and resigned.

...

He has pushed to ensure that 200 of the planned 1930 condos on site are subsidized, but we haven't heard much about that lately.

And he has sponsored a new version of a bill to establish a governance entity for Atlantic Yards, a bill that the Empire State Development Corporation happens to support.

Given the ESDC's resistance to oversight, that's a bit of a red flag.

Jeffries acknowledged that, "The bill, as written, still requires significant negotiation between elected officials, community leaders and ESDC as to the precise nature of the governance structure moving forward."

Which means that, unless it's written into the legislation, the governance entity could be toothless. It's worth some questions for Jeffries.

Click on the link to see where and when Assemblyman Jeffries will be holding his evening office hours.

link

Posted by steve at 9:16 AM

June 28, 2010

THE GATEWAY (WARNING: INCLUDES ACTUAL BREAKING POLITICAL NEWS)

Gatemouth's Blog [Room Eight]

WOW! You Heard It Here First Department:

Supposedly Purer Than Thou anti-development, anti-establishment, Doug Biviano is circulating joint nominating petitions with Mark Pollard, the pro-development shill Bruce Ratner is running against State Senator Velmanette Montgomery.

Does this make Biviano Ratner's means of punishing Joan Millman?

link

Posted by eric at 10:22 AM

June 27, 2010

Federal corruption investigation reportedly involves Senator Carl Kruger, whose attorney says he's "not a target"

Atlantic Yards Report

Southern Brooklyn State Senator Carl Kruger, he of the big political war chest and questionable allegiances (e.g., the "Three Amigos" insurrection in Albany), has long carried Forest City Ratner's water on Atlantic Yards.

And while a reported federal corruption investigation of Kruger does not apparently touch on Atlantic Yards, it suggests some more dubious behavior on the part of the Senator--though parties involved say that's not so.

...

Who can forget how, at a 5/29/09 oversight hearing, he criticized the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for "foot-dragging in developing a dialogue” that could advance the project and also cited the MTA's “apparent refusal to move forward on a project that is critical to New York City’s economic future.”

Kruger represents another district tied to the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, , part of the southern Brooklyn zone from which Forest City Ratner executive Bruce Bender sprung (as noted by Matthew Schuerman in the Observer).

Kruger endorsed 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.

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Posted by steve at 8:00 AM

June 26, 2010

Catching up on AY-related campaign contributions to Andrew Cuomo, and reasons to expect little reform when it comes to developers

Atlantic Yards Report

As with Attorney General-turned-Governor Eliot Spitzer, it's unwise to expect Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the gubernatorial front-runner, to enact fundamental reforms when it comes to developers.

The campaign finance system is just too entrenched.

And while Cuomo has said nothing about Atlantic Yards, and taken campaign contributions from those associated with the project, he--assuming he's elected--would have a significant role in overseeing the project via the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and the proposed (and yet undesigned) governance entity.

His lengthy campaign platform does not discuss reform of the ESDC when it comes to projects like Atlantic Yards. Nor does it address reforms regarding eminent domain, even though New York is an outlier among states that have tightened their laws in the last five years.

Even without following the advice of libertarians like the Institute for Justice, Cuomo might conclude that cases like that regarding the expansion of Columbia University show that the eminent domain system needs a second look.

Attorney General Cuomo sat on his hands for Atlantic Yards.

As Attorney General, Cuomo has remained singularly uninterested in Atlantic Yards. State Senator Bill Perkins last December asked Cuomo for a written opinion regarding the Atlantic Yards bond deal, focusing on the absence of a PACB review.

As far as I know, no formal response was issued.

link

Posted by steve at 8:13 AM

Brooklyn Senator a Focus of Federal Corruption Inquiry

The New York Times
By Danny Hakim and A.G. Sulzberger

Atlantic Yards booster, Carl Kruger, is the object a corruption investigation. Kruger comes out of the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club, which also produced Bruce Bender, aide to developer Bruce Ratner.

Federal investigators are examining whether Senator Carl Kruger, one of the State Legislature’s most powerful members, sought campaign contributions in exchange for political favors, according to court filings and people briefed on the case.

Mr. Kruger, a Democrat from Brooklyn who has amassed the Senate’s largest campaign account, declined to comment on the investigation.

But a Senate Democratic spokesman confirmed Friday that the F.B.I. and the United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn were reviewing allegations that Mr. Kruger helped businessmen with bureaucratic hurdles, with the expectation that they would hold fund-raisers for him.

link

Posted by steve at 7:49 AM

June 24, 2010

Cuomo Accepts Millions From Interests He Assails

The New York Times
by Serge F. Kovaleski and Griffin Palmer

The more things change, the more Albany remains a nest of dysfunctional sleazeballs.

Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, declaring his candidacy for governor of New York, could not have been clearer.

“The influence of lobbyists and their special interests must be drastically reduced with new contribution limits,” Mr. Cuomo said last month. “We will be taking on very powerful special interests which have much to lose. We must change systems and cultures long in the making.”

But as he delivered his announcement, Mr. Cuomo was sitting on millions in campaign cash from the very special interests whose influence he said he wanted to limit.

One of those "special" interests was none other than Bruce C. Ratner, who gave Mr. Cuomo a nice $5,000 "gift."

An analysis by The New York Times shows that of the estimated $7.1 million that the Cuomo campaign has received from political action committees, associations, limited liability corporations and other entities, more than half has come from the biggest players in Albany: organized labor, the real estate and related industries like construction, the health care sector and lobbying firms.
...

The donations underscore the awkwardness of Mr. Cuomo’s effort to run against Albany and its insiders at the same time he is benefiting from their largess and, in some cases, his long relationships with them. He drew a similar proportion of his campaign money from special interests in his failed 2002 campaign for governor and his 2006 bid for attorney general.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, declined repeated requests to be interviewed for this article.
...

Kenneth L. Shapiro, managing partner of the Albany office of the law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker L.L.P., is also not put off by Mr. Cuomo’s remarks.
...

A political action committee of Mr. Shapiro’s firm and the partnership itself — whose clients have included the Atlantic Yards Development Company, Consolidated Edison, the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association and numerous hospitals — has contributed about $59,200 to the Cuomo campaign.

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NoLandGrab: Of course, The New York Times is one to talk.

Posted by eric at 9:41 AM

June 20, 2010

The Aqueduct racino deal: AEG deal seen as unethical but not illegal; Sampson-Andrews leak provokes more controversy; bonus: AY/AEG parallels

Atlantic Yards Report

The scandals keep coming from the state's attempt to award the contract for a Racino video casino at Aqueduct Raceway. Those following the Atlantic Yards fight might wonder why this particular story is getting so much play in New York papers, while the MTA's decision to award rights to the Vanderbilt Yard to developer Bruce Ratner 18 months before issuing an RFP in 2005 was largely ignored.

Is it really surprising that some of the cast of characters for the Racino scandal also show up in Atlantic Yards dealings? Amongst those making an appearance are Senate Democratic leader John Sampson and Carl Andrews, a lobbyist for Aqueduct Entertainment Group (one of the parties vying for the contract).

Andrews famously asked a Forest City Ratner representative, "What are you going to do for my support?" a question a former staffer apparently interpreted as a request without civic betterment at its heart.

A fundraiser for Sampson was held last October at Forest City Ratner's MetroTech offices.

Rap entrepreneur Jay-Z, who has a small piece of the Nets, had a small piece of the AEG deal before he dropped out.

Shady minority contracting consultant Darryl Greene, source of much controversy in the AEG deal, exited that deal but has received little flak for his role in the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement.

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Posted by steve at 7:17 AM

June 19, 2010

Should the Public Advocate be in charge of overseeing CBAs? Or is some more general oversight needed?

Atlantic Yards Report

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has issued several proposals for reforms of the City Charter, and a couple involve oversight of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs).

(He believes that the Charter Revision Commission should only place questions regarding term limits on the 2010 ballot, and to reserve action on all other issues until 2012.)

His proposals include:

• Increasing disclosure by making more government operations and decision-making available online including capital and discretionary funding requests, Requests For Proposals, Community Benefits Agreements, the responsiveness of City agencies to Freedom of Information Law requests, lobbyists visits, and other aspects of City government;

• Granting subpoena power to the Public Advocate’s office to strengthen its oversight role and empowering the office to track compliance with Community Benefits Agreements;

It certainly makes sense to put all CBAs--at least those in which the government is involved--online.

But empowering the Public Advocate to track CBA compliance is hardly a reform to inspire confidence, considering de Blasio's failure to do due diligence on Atlantic Yards and its CBA.

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Posted by steve at 8:27 AM

June 5, 2010

That new office to monitor public authorities? Hamstrung by funding shortfall

Atlantic Yards Report

Remember the big battle last year to get the state legislature to reform the state's myriad public authorities?

In Manhattan Media's The Capitol newspaper, a 5/10/10 article headlined New Authorities Budget Office Could Be Swept Away By Lack Of Funding explains:

When Gov. David Paterson signed a bill last December to regulate the state’s 700-plus public authorities, the legislation was hailed as one of Albany’s most significant reforms in decades—the beginning of the end for the state’s “Soviet-style bureaucracies” that have amassed $45 billion in public debt.

The centerpiece of the dense 25-page bill was the creation of the Independent Authorities Budget Office, which replaced a similarly named office that had existed with limited scope and responsibility since 2006. The new office was given a host of new powers—such as the ability to issue subpoenas and remove authorities’ board member. It also was given a number of responsibilities, including the ability to audit authorities for potential financial abuses, oversight of new lobbying regulations for authority board members and regulation of the sale of authority land, among others.

But the office appears to have so far fallen victim to the same budget woes that it was supposed to help alleviate.

The office had seven employees before the law took effect March 1, and is supposed to go to 11 under Gov. David Paterson's budget, even though, when the bill was "first being seriously considered," it was supposed to have at least 25.

So here's where they're at:

With its resources limited, the office had not launched a new review of any public authority’s operations since the law was passed in March, said the office’s director, David Kidera.

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NoLandGrab: The mostly unaccountable public authorities (including the tool of developer Bruce Ratner, the ESDC) are responsible for running up most of the state's debt, yet an agency designed to reign them in is endangered due to cost-cutting.

Posted by steve at 8:41 AM

May 29, 2010

Noticing New York's White puts the AG candidates on the spot re Atlantic Yards; Brodsky's in high dudgeon over suggestion he went easy on AY

Atlantic Yards Report

In Touchstone For Whether There Will Be Change In Albany: Attorney General Candidates on Atlantic Yards and Eminent Domain, Michael D.D. White offers a long but important-to-read post. The summary:

The good news with respect to the possibility of change is that at least two of the candidates for state Attorney General (the Erics) think that the job of Attorney General should entail actions designed to stop Atlantic Yards dead in its tracks. That includes, in the case of state senator Eric T. Schneiderman, investigation of likely violations of law and, in the case of former state insurance superintendent Eric R. Dinallo, use of the Attorney General’s power to issue opinions and rulings to make clear that the law is not being properly interpreted when eminent domain is abused by state officials. (We will be quoting both at length further on.)

The bad news is that if the Erics are correct and that addressing these Atlantic Yards abuses should be part of the Attorney General’s job (or at least within the AG’s discretion), none of the current AG candidates are willing to say that it is improper for gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, the current holder of the AG position, to be taking campaign money from Forest City Ratner, the mega-project’s developer. That this is not improper notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Cuomo has been asked to investigate Atlantic Yards and issue rulings on the conduct by the public authorities facilitating it. That it is not improper notwithstanding the questions that lurk: Is Mr. Cuomo taking action on Atlantic Yards and is Mr. Cuomo taking appropriate action?

Atlantic Yards as "Superlative Touchstone"

White calls Atlantic Yards "the superlative touchstone to detect for true reform-mindedness," comparing it to Yankee Stadium, the Aqueduct "racino," the destruction of the Coney Island amusement area, Willets Point, Columbia University's expansion, and putting it in the context of public authority reform and campaign finance, state ethics and lobbying reform.

He notes that, while Cuomo has given back some campaign contributions, he's failed to return a contribution from Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, nor has he issued some publicly requested opinions on AY.

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Posted by eric at 11:02 AM

Touchstone For Whether There Will Be Change In Albany: Attorney General Candidates on Atlantic Yards and Eminent Domain

Noticing New York

Might we get actual, honest-to-God change in Albany this November? Who needs tea leaves when we have Atlantic Yards.

Are things in Albany about to change? We are in the middle of an election cycle where we will see turnover in all the important offices. Notwithstanding that all the candidates will be talking about reform, is change and reform what we will get in the end or will we just get be more of the same, a continuing lack of transparency, pay-to-play political contributions, and the same old mire of tangled political relationships that separate us form proceeding directly to the reforms that need to implemented?

Do we really need to remind our readers that in the last election cycle, just four years ago, the candidates Eliot Spitzer, Alan Hevesi, David Paterson, also all ran on the platform of reform? Because of scandal one of those candidates, Alan Hevesi, never took office as state Comptroller, Eliot Spitzer soon resigned from the governorship in scandal and David Paterson who succeeded Spitzer is now enmeshed in is own crippling scandals that would likely remove him from office were he not so close to the end of his term and were the public not already so utterly exhausted by the scandal-driven midterm turnovers to date.

Touchstones and Stepping Stones

Are things in Albany about to change? We think we can furnish some insight. We arrive at the perceptions we can offer by use of the singular touchstone reference which we think cuts through obfuscation and the political posture and pretense like a hot knife through butter: Atlantic Yards. We apply our test to a race for a state office which itself can serve as a touchstone, the race for New York State Attorney General. That race is a touchstone not only because of how key the office is itself, but also because it is now being vacated by Andrew Cuomo, the perceived front runner in the race for Governor, the highest office in the state, who like his predecessor, the disgraced Eliot Spitzer, has been able to use the AG’s office as the penultimate stepping stone to the highest state office.
...

Think of anything going on the state that is objectionable to reformers and Atlantic Yards trumps it by several shades of darkness.

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Posted by eric at 10:44 AM

May 27, 2010

Green Party Nominates Clark and Lawrence for US Senate

Via NewsChannel34.com (Binghamton, NY)

New York's Green Party has nominated its candidates for statewide office, and among them is local activist Gloria Mattera, a stalwart of the fight to stop Atlantic Yards, who's running for Lieutenant Governor.

From Green Party of New York State:

The Green Party state convention in Albany last weekend nominated a full slate of candidates for statewide office in New York this November.

Gloria Mattera, a long time peace activist from Brooklyn was nominated to run for Lt. Governor on a ticket with Syracuse labor activist Howie Hawkins (www.howiehawkins.org).
...

In 2005, Mattera challenged incumbent Marty Markowitz for Brooklyn Borough President, after he enraged local communities by championing the use of eminent domain to seize homes for the benefit of private developer Bruce Ratner’s professional basketball arena and a multiple high-rise tower project. Mattera advocated human scale development driven by community specific needs that promoted sustainability and offered truly affordable housing.
...

Mattera is a long time Executive Board member of Physicians for A National Health Program NY Metro Chapter and on the steering committee of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

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Posted by eric at 10:40 PM

May 25, 2010

How about that under-the-radar Charter Revision Commission? Hearing Tuesday in Brooklyn takes on term limits

Atlantic Yards Report

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who spends an inordinate amount of time sending out press releases commenting on every possible matter of public interest (except one), is doing something useful: casting light on the shadowy efforts by the New York City Charter Revision Commission to amend the charter regarding issues like term limits, land use, and public integrity.

There's no small self-interest, as well; Mayor Mike Bloomberg wants the commission to examine whether the Public Advocate's office should be abolished.

Hearing on term limits

On Tuesday at 6 pm, the commission will hold a hearing on term limits at Brooklyn Borough Hall. It will be webcast live. Three nationally recognized experts will testify and those wishing to testify can begin signing up one half-hour prior to the start of the forum.

The hearing on land use will be Thursday, June 24, in Flushing, Queens.

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Posted by eric at 9:50 AM

On the Brian Lehrer Show Tuesday: Marty Markowitz and "Your Anecdotal Census"

Atlantic Yards Report

As part of the program’s ongoing Census coverage, WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show presents YOUR ANECDOTAL CENSUS–a county-by-county look at the stories emerging from each neighborhood in 2010. The series debuted earlier this month, and continues each Tuesday at 11 am through September.

Tomorrow today the subject is Brooklyn. Among the guests: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Anecdotes welcomed

Listeners have been asked how the world around them has changed in the past decade. One of the more interesting comments already posted:

Jacqueline Woodson from Park Slope, Brooklyn

I think I am one of a shrinking number of African American recent homebuyers in Park Slope. We bought our house in 2002 when my daughter was 10 months old. I had lived as a renter in the neighborhood for many years before that and have watched the neighborhood go from being racially and economically diverse (as well as having a large number of queer people living here) to being a predominantly white, wealthy, straight neighborhood. It saddens me to see this change. Saddens me that my daughter (and now young son) aren't growing up in a neighborhood where they see their worlds constantly reflected back at them. I find myself thinking about organization IJack & Jill -- started so that African American children could meet other children of color. Who ever thought there would be a need in Brooklyn? But the children of color on our own block can be counted on one hand. Our mixed race gay family is a rarity in the neighborhood and when my partner and I walk through the neighborhood holding hands now, we get stares we wouldn't have imagined ten years ago.

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Posted by eric at 9:14 AM

May 24, 2010

Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth? An Examination of Brooklyn Bridge Park in Terms of the Politics of Development

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White publishes an epic three-part look at the politics of development in New York City, viewed through the prism of Brooklyn Bridge Park. It touches only tangentially on Atlantic Yards, but the delays in construction of the park conjure scary visions of a 50-year buildout in Prospect Heights.

This three-part article, which is principally about the new Brooklyn Bridge Park currently under development, wends a long, more serpentine path through the politics of New York City development than perhaps any other we have written. As you would expect, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's appearance is much more than a cameo. We don’t offer him praise.

Inevitably the metaphor of looking a gift horse in the mouth comes to mind when we contemplate the spectacular change to the city’s waterfront that will one day be Brooklyn Bridge Park. Whatever our government agencies ultimately do, the park will provide desirable benefits that will be extremely hard to complain about. But not conscientiously examining “gifts” that government officials deliver just doesn’t work in the political environment of New York. Besides Brooklyn Bridge Park is not truly a gift; it is something that community activists worked for years to obtain. Our elected representatives are, after all, supposed to be working for us. It is their job to properly administer our available public resources. Whether they are doing so requires a conscientious examination. We hope you will find that conscientious examination takes us on an interesting and worthwhile trip.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Posted by eric at 10:59 AM

May 23, 2010

How Lieber fills Doctoroff's shoes

Crain's (requires subscription)
By Greg David

This article on current Deputy Mayor Bob Lieber discusses predecessor Dan Doctoroff's legacy including Doctroff's participation in the Atlantic Yards project.

Mr. Doctoroff was the passion behind the effort to first build a stadium on the far West Side and then rezone the area for a new commercial and residential neighborhood. He led the rezoning of Greenpoint-Williamsburg, made the deals for the new baseball stadiums, and behind the scenes pushed through approval of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn.

The article concludes with this assessment of Lieber:

In the end, he will be known for completing the agenda. It will always be called the Doctoroff era, and the final grade will depend on whether those projects survive the recession and live up to their promise.

link

NoLandGrab: With promises of jobs, affordable housing and tax revenues greatly diminished or evaporating and a completion date some 25 years hence, Atlantic Yards is well on target towards failure.

Posted by steve at 9:05 AM

May 21, 2010

Vote On Charter Schools Questioned, Sen. Montgomery Gets A Challenger

City Hall
by Andre Tartar

Trial attorney and law professor Mark Pollard is preparing to mount a campaign to unseat 13-term State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, whose 18th senatorial district covers much of central Brooklyn.

Pollard is positioning himself as an upstart outsider, though that hardly seems the case. What kind of grassroots candidate takes his cues from "party bosses."

This is not Pollard’s first foray into politics. In 1997, he considered running for City Council, but dropped out because he says party bosses told him to wait his turn. Last year, he was angling to take a run for the seat held by his former boss Al Vann, until the term limits extension allowed for Vann’s re-election.

“Velmanette Montgomery is no Al Vann,” Pollard said, explaining why he finally pulled the trigger.
...

Pollard also hopes to win the support of Assembly member Bill Boynard and trade unions alienated by Montgomery’s opposition to the Atlantic Yards development.

But so far, most of the political establishment is backing Montgomery. Although Pollard used to work for Al Vann, the Council member is backing Montgomery, saying in a statement to City Hall that, “I think it is unwise for someone with no track record to run against her.”

Council Member Letitia James, whose district overlaps Montgomery’s and is also an Atlantic Yards opponent, is likewise backing Montgomery.

“She’s been my mentor and is arguably one of the most progressive voices in the State Senate,” James said. “I’m confident she will win re-election.”

article

NoLandGrab: Pollard is right about one thing — Velmanette Montgomery is no Al Vann, and thank goodness for that. She's been a staunch opponent of Atlantic Yards, and, as Tish James points out, a progressive voice in the ass-backwards NY State Senate.

Posted by eric at 11:54 AM

May 20, 2010

Run, Dennis, run? ESDC Chairman Mullen, a Republican, said to be tapped to run for governor (but ESDC says no)

Atlantic Yard Report

Capitol Tonight's Liz Benjamin wrote today, in a piece headlined Source: Cox Approached ESDC Chair To Run For Gov:

State GOP Chairman Ed Cox is so worried about party-flipping Suffolk County Steve Levy’s chances of getting on the ballot at the party’s upcoming convention that he has been actively recruiting a fourth gubernatorial candidate, multiple sources confirm.

Less than one month ago, Cox approached Dennis Mullen, a Rochester businessman who was confirmed by the Senate last week as ESDC chairman, to sound him out about potentially running, according to a source with direct knowledge of the conversation.

State GOP spokesman Alex Carey told Benjamin the two spoke but didn't discuss a gubernatorial run, and ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston said "Mullen’s number one priority is his work as the leader of New York State’s economic development agency" and "has no plans to seek elected office."

What if? Mullen would move AY

Well, that sounds definitive. But a Mullen governorship--he'd have to get the nomination and then beat Andrew Cuomo, which is a tall order--might prove interesting for the Atlantic Yards project.

After all, at an ESDC meeting March 26, Mullen joked that Atlantic Yards is "a project that I would like to move off our portfolio."

link

NoLandGrab: Uh, desperate much, NYS Republican Party? With the fine fettle in which Democratic rule has placed us, this is the best you can do?

Posted by eric at 10:46 PM

May 11, 2010

De Blasio: Eminent Domain Is Needed

GlobeSt.com
by Ian Ritter

NYC Public Advobdicate Bill de Blasio has apparently forgotten that the only need for eminent domain in the Atlantic Yards footprint is to clear the way for a basketball arena.

Certain projects that provide affordable housing to residents here are in the best interest of the city and require the need for eminent domain, said Bill de Blasio, New York City’s public advocate, speaking at a breakfast put on by non-profit association ABNY. He specifically pointed to the controversial mixed-use Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn being built by developer Bruce Ratner, which bought out a number of residences and building in the area and was the center of a contentious legal battle.

“I do think there’s a place for eminent domain,” de Blasio said, explaining that he is a “pro development progressive.” “When appropriate you do maximize height and density to maximize affordable housing.”

article

NoLandGrab: The "non-profit" ABNY is run by a real estate magnate, with assistance from a former senior advisor to the chairman and CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation and ex-flack for stellar governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson. De Blasio, no doubt, is starting to line up donors for his 2013 run for mayor.

Related coverage...

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Developers' Advocate Bill de Blasio: Eminent Domain Was Needed for Atlantic Yards Housing

A "pro-development progressive" would realize that Atlantic Yards and the use of eminent domain for it, is all about the developer's profit.
...

Worse is this: affordable housing could be accomplished over the Vanderbilt Rail Yards in a high density and highrise community without the use of eminent domain at all. And when eminent domain is continuously used for private benefit, the eventual backlash will be such that it will be difficult to use it when it is actually crucial for a public purpose.

Atlantic Yards Report, Public Advocate de Blasio defends eminent domain for Atlantic Yards; he's apparently forgotten his "no more subsidies" position

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who issues daily press releases but did not see fit to attend or comment on the Atlantic Yards groundbreaking in March, now concludes he's happy with the project, at least according to a speech before the business-friendly Association for a Better New York (ABNY).
...

No more subsidies?

During the campaign last August, de Blasio said in a debate, "But no more subsidies. That project has gotten all the subsidy it deserves. And they either have to figure out a way to make it work or we should pull the plug."

As I wrote, de Blasio came a little late to "no more subsidies," given his silence when the developer gained more than $100 million by renegotiating the Vanderbilt Yard deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

Beyond that, when the Empire State Development Corporation a few weeks later announced new concessions to developer Forest City Ratner, de Blasio was silent.

Posted by eric at 8:40 PM

May 10, 2010

Harlem group's chaos endangers $76M gift

'The appearance of impropriety, favoritism or conflict . . . could harm [West Harlem] as a whole.'

NY Post
by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein

You'll never believe this, but another "Community Benefits Agreement" appears to be failing to benefit the community.

A $76 million windfall intended to help Harlem residents is in limbo -- and may never be paid -- because the politician-backed nonprofit in charge of distributing the money is in disarray, The Post has learned.

Although it formed four years ago, the West Harlem Local Development Corp. lacks a mission statement, has yet to get tax-exempt status from the IRS and doesn't even have a phone number.

The group already has received $500,000 from Columbia University -- part of a 16-year payout designed to assuage community fears over the school's expansion -- yet hasn't spent a cent on the neighborhood.

At least five people have quit the nonprofit, alleging that it was becoming a "slush fund" for Manhattan politicians.

The delay "threatens to undermine" the agreement and leave Harlem with nothing, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer charged in a scathing letter to the group.

article

NoLandGrab: Pot, meet kettle. Stringer was instrumental in setting up the LDC, which undermined community opposition to Columbia's landgrab.

Posted by eric at 11:44 AM

May 4, 2010

Brodsky gains Assembly Speaker Silver's endorsement in Attorney General race; was quiet about Atlantic Yards a factor?

Atlantic Yards Report

Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, known for pursuit of public authorities reform and criticism of the Yankee Stadium deal (but not the similar Atlantic Yards deal), has won a key endorsement in the hard-fought race for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General.

Today Brodsky announced support from four Manhattan Assembly Members and, notably, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who said, "I'm proud of the way Richard has taken on difficult and controversial matters, and changed the outcomes. We can elect statewide leaders who know how to build coalitions and fix problems. He'll be a great Attorney General."

As I've written, it's widely believed that Brodsky didn't push on Atlantic Yards (despite occasional swipes at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's failure to fulfill its fiduciary duty) so as to not offend Silver.

Also in the race

Those also in the race include state Senator Eric Schneiderman (endorsed by the state’s largest labor union, 1199/SEIU, not to mention Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz), former New York insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo; former U.S. Representative Liz Holtzman; Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice; and attorney Sean Coffey.

The incumbent, Andrew Cuomo, is widely expected to run for governor.

link

NoLandGrab: How does one choose between candidates endorsed by Shelly Silver and Marty Markowitz? By opting for "none of the above." Meanwhile, Cuomo has already accepted a nice fat contribution from Bruce C. Ratner.

Posted by eric at 7:39 PM

April 30, 2010

Schumer Says Atlantic Yards Area Is Not Blighted. Doesn’t See AY As A Ratner Mega-Monopoly, But Could His Support Wane?

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White recounts a conversation with Chuck Schumer, and wonders if the Senator's support for Atlantic Yards isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Among other things, we discussed whether the no-bid Atlantic Yards effectively leverages the housing subsidies it is getting. Supplying the Senator with documentation that Atlantic Yards is not leveraging its housing subsides effectively could conceivably get the Senator to withdraw his support for the project if it is provided in a manner so as to be sufficiently incontrovertible. Such documentation, however, is already available and we are not overly sanguine about politicians, Schumer included, paying attention to facts over politics and campaign contributions when it comes to Atlantic Yards.
...

So might Senator Schumer further reconsider his support of the mega-project? (In fact, is there maybe even an indication of the possibility of ebbing support when he uses the phrase “not as much” saying: "The reason I supported it, and it’s still part of it, not as much but still, is affordable housing.") If there is no “blight” as he assures us he knows there isn’t, then it’s illegal. And as for the inappropriate use of housing subsidy, surely our calculations that there is approximately $638.67 million in housing subsidies involved should convince him that the amount is substantial. Our review of what Ms. Bertha Lewis of ACORN “negotiated” should convince him that the community is really getting virtually nothing in terms of true affordable housing. And the testimony of urban planner Ron Shiffman and Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee, ought to convince that the subsidies can be far better used and leveraged elsewhere.

article

NoLandGrab: Schumer's recent Harry Reid fundraiser, hosted by none other than the Devil himself, would indicate otherwise. Plus, at this point, does Schumer's support — or lack of it — really matter?

Posted by eric at 12:50 PM

April 27, 2010

In City Hall News article, Markowitz credits Chief of Staff Scissura for lowering the heat on AY; remember testimony to MTA?

Atlantic Yards Report

From a City Hall News article headlined The 20 Most Influential Unelecteds: That most New Yorkers Have Never Heard Of:

CARLO SCISSURA

Chief of Staff, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

...“He said, ‘Here is how budgeting works, here is how to appoint community boards,’” said Brad Lander, the new Council member from Park Slope and one of Scissura’s luncheon companions. “He has a sense of how things work and he is willing to be helpful and share that knowledge.”

Scissura calls himself the “consigliere” to the colorful borough president, and says his job description is simply “everything.”

Markowitz credits him with helping reach out to communities affected by the Atlantic Yards and Domino developments.

“If we aren’t able to get everyone to agree all the time, Carlo is at least able to lower the heat,” Markowitz said. “Plus, I value his judgment. He has a great ability to present all sides of an issue.”

What's missing

Hold on. Scissura's surely an able aide and amiable fellow, but lowering the heat?

Remember his testimony last June before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, channeling Markowitz?

article

NoLandGrab: We always find it charming when unelected pubic officials describe themselves as mobsters. Don't you?

Posted by eric at 10:06 AM

April 17, 2010

Watchdog Role Essential in Tough Times, Says Liu

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Raanan Geberer

This coverage of a briefing held by City Comptroller John Liu mentions a question of oversight of Atlantic Yards. Liu seems to have some idea of what could be done but is not articulating what that would be.

As far as Brooklyn specifically is concerned, one reporter asked Liu about oversight of the Atlantic Yards Project. Atlantic Yards, said Liu, “goes far beyond land use. … For me the problem is not what benefits [such as the controversial Community Benefits Agreement] have been negotiated, but to ensure that agreements are realized to ensure actual delivery” of jobs and affordable housing.

link

Posted by steve at 8:04 AM

April 7, 2010

Suit: Marty ran the Beep’s office like a frat-house

The Brooklyn Paper
by Stephen Brown

We weren't going to touch this story, thanks to our great willpower, but then former Marty Markowitz Chief of Staff Greg Atkins raised Atlantic Yards in his deposition.

Borough President Markowitz turned his office into a macho frat house featuring sexist jokes, double standards and possible violation of campaign regulations, bombshell court documents revealed this week.

New details about the inner workings of Markowitz’s top staff have emerged from the sex discrimination suit brought by Markowitz’s former communications director, Regina Weiss, which portray a work environment filled with dim-witted chauvinist wisecracks and even “volunteer” work for Markowitz’s re-election campaign.

The descriptions of the goings-on come straight from Markowitz himself, along with former chief of staff, Greg Atkins, in depositions the two took under oath.
...

But one final detail hints at the rampant machismo at Borough Hall. Markowitz’s testosterone-fueled staff was so full of bluster that it even had lengthy internal discussions on how best to pick a fight with The Brooklyn Paper because the Beep had become irked with the paper’s hard-hitting, award-winning coverage of the Atlantic Yards project.

“At a staff level [there were] numerous discussion about how they [The Brooklyn Paper] were going about their … unfair and unbalanced coverage of Atlantic Yards,” Atkins said, adding that the staff discussed cutting off The Paper from the borough president’s regular press releases.

“I was not sure if it was ever agreed upon,” he said. “I certainly wished it.”

Brooklyn Paper Editor Gersh Kuntzman declined to comment.

article

NoLandGrab: Wonder what kind of fight they were contemplating picking with NoLandGrab? Go ahead, we dare you to cut us off from your regular press releases. Ouch.

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Deposition in lawsuit says Markowitz was upset about Brooklyn Paper's (former) Atlantic Yards coverage

Posted by eric at 9:44 AM

March 25, 2010

NYC Comptroller Liu's CBA task force & more to come from the DuBois Bunche Center

Community Benefits Agreements
by Amy Lavine

Last week, New York City Comptroller John Liu announced the formation of his task force on Public Benefit Agreements. (Why he chose the "PBA" nomenclature is unclear.) According to Liu's website, "The Task Force will develop recommendations on best practices and draft a framework for a more effective and equitable process to guide public subsidized economic development projects in the City of New York, including accountability and enforcement mechanisms that would apply when tax dollars, rezonings, and other public resources are used to facilitate private development."
...

One of those three [pro-Atlantic Yards] task force members is Roger Green, the executive director of the DuBois-Bunche Urban Policy Center (and former New York Assembly member). The DBC announced that it will be undertaking its own study of CBAs, which will "review the origins of the various Community Benefits Agreements to determine their effectiveness in enhancing minority business and equal employment opportunities."

link

Posted by eric at 10:13 PM

March 16, 2010

Pols Didn't Want to Be Seen at Ratner's Arena Groundtaking Ceremony

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

DDDB follows up on Norman Oder's report this morning on who showed (and who didn't) at last week's Bruce Ratner tent show.

Granted, Ratner had an unelected Governor, a Mayor who bought a third term through a multi-million dollar power grab, and a borough president who rode that power grab's coattails all present and pronouncing science fiction-worthy numbers at his March 11th groundbreakingtaking ceremony.

But who else was there, willing to show their faces under the boondoggle tent?

Six elected officials, all but one representing districts far away from the project site, and all with deep financial and/or political ties to Ratner, his partners (BUILD), and his South Brooklyn political fixer Bruce Bender.

Atlantic Yards, they all claim, is the most important project in Brooklyn, and one of the two most important in all of NYC. So where was Speaker Quinn, Public Advocate de Blasio, Comptroller Liu or any one else from Brooklyn or beyond? (Where was Chuck Schumer, or a single member of the Brooklyn Congressional delegation?)

The poor showing gives the lie to the claimed popularity and importance of the bait and switch project. It also seems to be perhaps the biggest missed story of the day. Until now...

link

Posted by eric at 7:08 PM

Deep bench at the groundbreaking? There were only enough Brooklyn elected officials to play three-on-three

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder continues his examination of last week's official groundbreaking.

Yes, Bruce Ratner had the top elected officials from the state, city, and borough behind the Atlantic Yards project, and they happily wielded shovels for the inevitable photo opportunities.

But a deep bench of supporters (to quote the Brooklyn Paper)?

Not if you consider that there were only enough Brooklyn elected officials to play three-on-three, and none of them came from close to the Atlantic Yards site. That has to indicate dismay toward the process, if not the project, a process that bypassed any local elected official.

Among the missing were Assemblyman (and Brooklyn Democratic Chair) Vito Lopez, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Public Advocate (and former Council Member) Bill de Blasio.

And, of course, the representatives of the neighborhoods closest to the site: Council Members Letitia James, Brad Lander, and Steve Levin; Assemblymembers Hakeem Jeffries, Jim Brennan, and Joan Millman, and state Senators Velmanette Montgomery and Eric Adams.

Introductions from Markowitz

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz tummled up a storm introducing these officials, but they were a motley crew, distinguished by no particular ideology but rather connections to Forest City Ratner executive Bruce Bender, receipt of campaign funds, and ties to Ratner-funded groups.

Click through for a rundown on the Atlantic Yards hall of shame.

article

Posted by eric at 9:56 AM

March 11, 2010

Paterson still rues Dr. J trade at groundbreaking for new Nets arena

NY Post
By Rich Calder & Bill Sanderson

The Governor who tried to rewrite history in a recent statement placing the final blame for Atlantic Yards on the Court of Appeals cracked wise at today's groundbreaking held at the temporary tent city in Ratnerville:

Dr. J’s departure was "one of the worst days of my life — before I became governor," Paterson cracked at the groundbreaking for the Nets’ new arena in Brooklyn.

The line got a big roar of applause and a standing ovation from the crowd — no doubt a lift for a governor whose approval rating hit 21 percent in a recent Quinnipiac poll.

article

NoLandGrab-bed: A 21-percent approval rating isn't bad for a spineless hypocrite — this was the same Paterson who called for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain, before he incidentally became governor.

Posted by lumi at 7:17 PM

Passing the buck: when it comes to Atlantic Yards, elected officials and judges say the other's responsible

Atlantic Yards Report

From state Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman's decision yesterday in the case challenging the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) 2009 approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan:

At this late juncture, petitioners’ redress is a matter for the political will, and not for this court which is constrained, under the limited standard for SEQRA review, to reject petitioners’ challenge.

From Governor David Paterson's statement in response to a question on Tuesday:

"Since the project was already in implementation when I came into office, I waited for the Court of Appeals to make a decision, and they ruled the way they did."

That makes it look like, once Atlantic Yards got started, it had inevitable momentum.

But that's not so. After all, as I noted, it was a pretty "late juncture" when, last year, Forest City Ratner renegotiated deals with the ESDC and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

link

NoLandGrab: It's comforting to know that New York State's appointed judges and elected unelected officials are equally cowardly.

Posted by eric at 10:30 AM

March 9, 2010

Campaigning for Governor

WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show

Another Republican candidate for Governor, former Congressman Rick Lazio, hems and haws about Atlantic Yards and eminent domain on yesterday's Brian Lehrer Show.

The brief "yes or no" question begins around the 16:20 mark.

Lehrer: "Do you support eminent domain for Atlantic Yards?"

Lazio: "Uh, hffff, uh, I, I, I, I say yes, but a qualified yes, and I need to look at that plan more carefully to make sure that this is being done in a way that is..., that doesn't undermine the historic neighborhood...."

link

NoLandGrab: We would hope that after "careful" review, Mr. Lazio's "qualified yes" might become an unqualified no.

Posted by eric at 12:47 PM

Redlich Condemns Atlantic Yards Decision

Redlich for Governor

Libertarian (and Republican) gubernatorial candidate Warren Redlich draws a stark contrast with equivocating sitting Governor David Paterson when it comes to Atlantic Yards.

Governor candidate Warren Redlich condemned the latest Atlantic Yards court decision. Justice Abraham Gerges upheld the seizure of homes and businesses so that developer Bruce Ratner can build apartments, office space and a sports arena in Brooklyn.

In Redlich’s view, Atlantic Yards is a symptom of the state’s problems: “Politicians reward and protect insiders, like we keep seeing in the Capitol. Eminent domain can be used, sparingly, when government takes private property for public purposes such as a road. But the Kelo decision and projects like Atlantic Yards grossly abuse eminent domain to benefit private developers connected with political leaders.”

While other states have acted to curb eminent domain abuse, New York’s legislators and governors have done nothing. New York taxpayers fund the violation of property rights in such cases as Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and West Harlem in Manhattan, for the benefit of developers. Redlich would amend eminent domain laws to protect property owners.

Redlich also calls for abolishing the involved state agencies, including the Empire State Development Corporation and others. Eliminating “economic development” spending would save approximately $3 billion in the state budget.

link

Posted by eric at 12:40 PM

At Borough Hall, Paterson asserts he's making tough decisions, but when it comes to Atlantic Yards, he punts (with video)

Atlantic Yards Report

Speaking at a budget Town Hall meeting yesterday before a friendly audience at Brooklyn, Gov. David Paterson portrayed his administration as making tough decisions, speaking the truth, and maintaining accountability.

However, when he faced a tough question about the Atlantic Yards project, he deferred to the courts, somehow ignoring the fact that, under his watch, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) both approved the project and defended it to the hilt in court.

The video below contains segments edited from Paterson's opening address; an Atlantic Yards question from Council Member Letitia James; an AY question from Noticing New York blogger Michael D.D. White; Paterson's closing remarks; and comments from Dean Street resident Peter Krashes on Paterson's unfulfilled opportunity to create a governance structure for the project.

Norman Oder has much more on the Town Hall meeting via the link.

article

Additional coverage...

Courier-Life Publications, Paterson comes to Brooklyn Borough Hall

Embattled Governor David Paterson came to Borough Hall Monday to talk budget, amid continued questions of his alleged misconduct.

Along the way, Paterson appeared to sidestep Atlantic Yards while addressing such issues as a tax on sugary drinks and allowing the sale of wine in grocery stores.

When asked about his support of the $4-plus billion Atlantic Yards including the Barclays Center arena, Paterson noted the project was already in place when he took office.

There has been plenty of debate on both sides of this issue, he said, noting the Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of condemning property for the 22-acre project at the Flatbush/Atlantic Avenue intersection.

“Ten years from now they [proponents of the project] will be right or you’ll be right, but I didn’t want to impose on the court’s decision,” said Paterson.

Runnin' Scared, Paterson's Town Hall -- Some Other Moments of Truth, Or As Close As We Can Get

He took some small flak from council member Tish James about both Atlantic Yards and his proposed soda "fat tax" proposal which she said was "regressive." The governor, seated cross-legged in a wooden chair on a platform, said that the decision on the Yards happened on someone else's watch and that he is now just going along with an appeals court decision on it, one that "surprised him."

So nice they covered it twice?

Runnin' Scared, David Paterson Budget Town Hall: As Pointless As You'd Imagine It To Be

[Councilwoman Letitia James] asked him to fill the budget gap by closing prisons upstate, and by diverting public money from the Atlantic Yards project, which is in her district and which she considers "a waste of taxpayer dollars."
...

When a follow up questioner also asked him why he wasn't fighting to keep the state from paying $2.9 billion towards the Atlantic Yards "boondoggle," Paterson punted to the Court of Appeals, and tried to side-step the issue as something that was in place before he arrived and decided by the courts during his tenure beyond his control.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Paterson, at Borough Hall, Takes Break From Scandal

Several people in the audience criticized the state’s sponsorship of Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project, calling it a boondoggle that costs the state $7.3 billion [sic: the state's contribution, while still substantial, would be a fraction of that amount]. They called attention to the fact that Paterson, while a state senator, had made statements critical of the plan.

Paterson replied that, while he realizes that the plan is contentious on both sides, he waited to make any public pronouncement until state Supreme Court Justice Abraham G. Gerges made his ruling. Justice Gerges recently ruled that the state could take the title of land in the Atlantic Yards “footprint” from private landowners.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Paterson, Shirking Responsibility, Tries to Rewrite Atlantic Yards History

Paterson is trying to re-write history. While Atlantic Yards was unveiled and approved under Pataki, a new sweeter-heart deal with the MTA was struck with Ratner under Governor Paterson, and a Modified General Project Plan was introduced and approved under the Paterson Administration. Both of those Paterson actions took place in September 2009.

Posted by eric at 12:05 PM

March 4, 2010

Despite eerie parallels, more outrage over Queens video casino deal than Vanderbilt Yard bids; however, FCR, not AEG, had an 18-month head start

Atlantic Yards Report

In the Battle of the Boroughs, Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn's Boondoggle is still the heavyweight champ.

What's the difference between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) questionable procedure for disposing of the Vanderbilt Yard--the key public property inthe Atlantic Yards project--and the state's recent selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG) to run a video casino at Aqueduct Raceway?

Well, there are several similar red flags, and the Vanderbilt Yard deal is clearly more of an outlier regarding one fundamental issue.

But the press and politicians are far more exercised about AEG.

Norman Oder brings us the tale of the tape:

article

Posted by lumi at 5:15 AM

March 1, 2010

Daily News: Markowitz raises $122K from campaign donors for State of the Borough

Atlantic Yards Report

During Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's State of the Borough address last month came this acknowledgment:

AND FOR MAKING THIS EVENT POSSIBLE TONIGHT, MY DEAR FRIEND AND CAMPAIGN TREASURER FOR MANY YEARS, MIKE WEISS, TREASURER OF “BRAVO BROOKLYN” 2009

The Daily News, which noted that Markowitz's speech lasted an hour and 15 minutes (vs. the 20-minute speech by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall), asked about the cost; a Markowitz spokesman said no numbers were available, but "his campaign inaugural committee, Bravo Brooklyn, would pick up the tab."

(Weiss is Executive Director of the MetroTech Business Improvement District, an organization with ties to MetroTech developer Forest City Ratner here's the only official mention I could find of Bravo Brooklyn.)

Following up

Credit the Daily News for following up and finding some notable numbers:

Most pols went for modest ceremonies in the poor economy, but Markowitz raised $122,000 for a State of the Borough address featuring singing, dancing and a multimedia production - plus food and beer for 1,600.

"Marty's famous for finding every opportunity to host big events on behalf of Brooklyn and not incidentally on behalf of Marty," said David Birdsell, dean of Baruch College's School of Public Affairs. "The question is whether it's politically useful. It would seem perhaps the least prudent time in recent memory to launch a big celebration of someone's ascension to office."

...Many Markowitz contributors - mostly Brooklyn developers and business owners - gave him the maximum contribution of $3,850 for his campaign and then ponied up another maximum $3,500 for his inauguration.

article

NoLandGrab: Like Marty says, "if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all." So mum's the word.

Posted by eric at 11:07 AM

February 27, 2010

Governor Paterson Had Strong Ties to Brooklyn

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By David Caruso, Associated Press and Raanan Geberer, Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Governor David Paterson announced yesterday that he will not run for a full term. This article takes the opportunity to review Paterson's appearances in Brooklyn and his involvement with Brooklyn issues, including his broken promise to take a much-needed hard look at Atlantic Yards.

Paterson, however, was criticized by opponents of the Atlantic Yards/Barclays Arena project, who had hoped that he would come out strongly against the plan.

“We met with the governor and he had promised an independent review of Atlantic Yards in December, but he never followed through,” said Dan Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn. Goldstein concurred with Village Voice writer Wayne Barrett’s depiction of Paterson as a “pathological liar.”

NoLandGrab: Paterson's failure to execute a review of the proposed Atlantic Yards project allows the ESDC, the tool of developer Bruce Ratner, to run roughshod over Prospect Heights.

link

Posted by steve at 8:58 AM

February 24, 2010

Liu Outlines Powers Being Exercised, Powers He Would Like And State Of Campaign Plans

At City Hall Event, comptroller talks budget, charter commission, CBAs and slush fund

City Hall
by Selena Ross

Liu said he believes encouraging private development is important but crucial to keep tabs on developers who receive public help. In major projects like Yankee Stadium and Atlantic Yards, he said he would consider looking back over Community Benefits Agreements signed before he came into office to see if they had been upheld.

With this week’s news that ACORN, a signatory to the Atlantic Yards agreement, has folded its New York operation and relaunched as New York Communities for Change, Liu said there were many questions surrounding the enforcement of CBAs and that he wanted to create a clear framework for similar agreements in the future.

“That probably would not be the only example of a community organization that was part of putting together and signing onto a Community Benefits Agreement that is no longer in existence,” Liu said. “That just highlights the problem even more so. It's very difficult to hold developers accountable to the CBAs that they’ve signed onto in years past.”

article

Posted by eric at 10:47 PM

February 17, 2010

Atlantic Yards YES! New York's parks and historic sites, NO!!

While Atlantic Yards, which the Paterson administration is supporting with hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies, promises a paltry eight acres of "publicly accessible" (private) open space (most of it planned for the highly tenuous second phase of the project), the cash-strapped state may close nearly half of our parks and historic sites this year due to — wait for it — a lack of cash. Really, you can't make this stuff up.

AP via Crain's NY Business, Closings loom for NY parks, historic sites

About 100 state parks and historic sites will likely close this year as budget woes plague the state, and high-profile attractions such as Niagra Falls and Jones Beach could make the list.

No nuptials at Niagara Falls? Jones Beach off limits on a 90-degree day? The "Grand Canyon of the East" devoid of campers?

New York's state parks system, the nation's oldest, is facing another round of funding cuts that is likely to result in the first budget-related closures in the system's 125-year history. State officials say even popular parks at Niagara Falls and Jones Beach, with attendance figures in the millions, could be closed, along with such destinations as Letchworth, a popular hiking and camping spot ringing the rugged Genesee Gorge south of Rochester.

"It's going to be pretty bad. As bad as I've ever seen it," said Robin Dropkin, executive director of Parks & Trails New York, a 25-year-old nonprofit advocacy group.

Peter Humphrey, a member of the State Council of Parks, predicts as many as 100 of New York's 213 state parks and historic sites could be shut down because of the state's fiscal problems.
...

Carol Ash, the commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, has said park closures are unavoidable in 2010 as the state deals with a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
...

Gov. David Paterson's amended budget proposal calls for cutting $20 million from state parks. When added to budget cuts made in the two previous fiscal years, the agency stands to see its funding reduced by some 40% over the span of three years, Ms. Ash said.

$20 million? Bruce Ratner's basketball arena is slated for some $700 million in public assistance from the state and New York City. But what about the jobs and economic development, you ask?

The parks system will operate with 1,100 fewer people — including lifeguards, cleaners and security guards — than it had just a few years ago, is canceling its park police training academy for the third consecutive year, and will cut park police staffing this summer to 266 full and part-time uniformed officers, about half the number that were on the job in 2003.
...

Closing the Niagara Falls park would be a "disaster" for local businesses, said the owner of one of a handful of companies that provide wedding services on the American side of the falls.
...

Messers. Dropkin and Humphrey pointed out that parks' $155 million budget isn't all that much in a state that plans to spend more than $130 billion. Meanwhile, the parks system contributes $1.9 billion a year in economic activity statewide, according to one recent study.

Closing parks, Mr. Humphrey said, would cut off a revenue source while shutting out visitors looking to spend money in local communities.

"This is clearly, purely from an economic standpoint, a lose-lose," he said.

Posted by eric at 10:24 PM

February 15, 2010

If Cuomo has "the strictest" campaign finance policy in the state, shouldn't he give back Bruce Ratner's $5000 contribution?

Atlantic Yards Report

The New York Daily News reported today, in an article about the real estate industry taking advantage of campaign finance loopholes, that Andrew Cuomo's campaign spokesman, Phil Singer, said, "The AG has the strictest self-imposed campaign finance policy in the state, prohibiting donors from contributing if any matter is pending before his office and for 90 days thereafter."

(Cuomo is widely believed to be running for governor.)

Cuomo's gift from Bruce Ratner

Well, why hasn't Cuomo returned the $5000 he received on 2/4/09 from developer Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner?

While Ratner did not have a matter pending directly before Cuomo's office, Ratner's company was a defendant in a pending case challenging the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Atlantic Yards.
...

But if the Attorney General, who has a vast lead over Governor David Paterson in fundraising--$16 million to $3 million, as of last month--wants to avoid the widespread perception that the real estate industry has an inside track, shouldn't he give the money back?

article

NoLandGrab: "Strictest self-imposed campaign finance policy in the state" of New York isn't exactly setting the bar very high, is it?

Posted by eric at 11:17 AM

February 7, 2010

NY State Governor Under Fire for Bidding Wars

The Watering Hole
by Clinton Miller

New York State Governor David Patterson has been criticized by New York State Republicans, The Daily News and The New York Post for his handling of the bidding process for the upcoming “Racino” featured at Aqueduct Race Track.

Is this the first time that municipal bidding processes have been controversial and questionable? How about Forest City Ratner (Bruce Ratner) getting the bid for the Atlantic Yards project when his company bid $100,000,000 less than the other bidder in the midst of financial insolvency for the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority? How about all of the conflicting deals that Joe Bruno engineered when he was the leader of the New York State Senate? Isn’t this how Albany has always worked?

Perhaps there is such an outcry over this selection because the usual beneficiaries of the winning entities did not come out on top this time around.

link

Posted by eric at 11:24 PM

February 4, 2010

Atlantic Yards gets a cameo in Markowitz's State of the Borough address; response is light (and nonexistent to mention of "Brooklyn Islanders")

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder had the, um, pleasure, of attending Marty Markowitz's swearing-in and State-of-the-Borough address last night.

Well, Atlantic Yards is still not quite ready for prime time, judging from the underwhelming response to the AY segment last night in Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's typically overstuffed State of the Borough Address.

The speech, held at the handsomely renovated Park Slope Armory, now a recreation center, was preceded by the usual parade of official speakers and diverse entertainers. It also included the swearing-in conducted by a jovial Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose effort to overturn and extend term limits gave Markowitz his third term.

How did talk of Atlantic Yards go over?

The applause was light and Markowitz rushed rather than paused on the term "Atlantic Yards." (There was far more applause a few minutes later when Markowitz proposed opening up a call center in East New York rather than halfway across the world.)

The crowd made no response to the mention of the "Brooklyn Islanders," which is where the NY1 segment ended. (There's no evidence the arena could accommodate major league hockey.)

article

Posted by eric at 10:19 AM

Markowitz Sworn In For Third Term; Touts Borough's Progress

NY1

After being sworn in for a third term Wednesday night by Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz outlined his commitment to several high profile projects.
...

"In 2009, confident investors also rushed to buy bonds for Atlantic Yards, meaning they believe Brooklyn is the future. Soon we will have affordable housing, union jobs and the downtown cultural center that the fourth largest city in America deserves with a state-of-the-art arena hosting everything from music and theater to pro basketball and maybe a hockey team called the Brooklyn Islanders," Markowitz said.

article

NoLandGrab: By "soon," Markowitz means "perhaps never," at least where affordable housing is concerned.

Posted by eric at 10:02 AM

January 29, 2010

Real Estate Interests Help Cuomo Gain a Big Edge

New York Times
By Christine Haughney

The real estate industry seems to prefer Andrew Cuomo as governor over incumbent David Paterson.

As Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo readies his candidacy for governor, one industry is helping him amass a huge fund-raising advantage: real estate.

The real estate industry, which Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo helps oversee, has been his top giver, even as it has hit hard times.

New records show that even as the industry has confronted its worst crisis in decades, developers, construction executives and real estate lobbyists have given millions of dollars to Mr. Cuomo, providing one in every five dollars over the past six months

It will come as little surprise that Bruce Ratner is on the list of donors to Cuomo.

Other prominent givers included Lloyd Goldman, an owner of the World Trade Center site; Bruce C. Ratner, the Atlantic Yards developer; Steven Roth, the chief of Vornado Realty Trust; Stephen M. Ross, the chief of the Related Companies; and Richard Lefrak, whose family developed Lefrak City in Queens and owns tens of thousands of apartments.

link

NoLandGrab: Since he doesn't seem to have Ratner's backing, maybe Governor Paterson can finally give Atlantic Yards a promised "objective and fair hearing."

Posted by steve at 4:49 AM

January 28, 2010

Jeffries: "less than cautiously optimistic" on AY, waiting for Paterson response, says ESDC hasn't explained why governance structure isn't needed

Atlantic Yards Report

At his third annual State of the District address, held last night in the Pratt Institute's Higgins Hall, 57th District Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries spoke to a supportive crowd about three main issues, none of them Atlantic Yards, though he did answer questions about the project afterward.

His bottom line on AY: after initiating dialogue with the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), he's "less than cautiously optimistic" about progress on most issues, including the use of eminent domain and the commitment to build affordable housing expeditiously. (He mentioned a letter to Governor David Paterson that he hadn't released when it was sent in December.)

Nor has the ESDC convinced him why Atlantic Yards, unlike such other large projects as Queens West or Brooklyn Bridge Park, does not deserve a separate governance structure to provide oversight over the long term. He was most animated in his frustration over that issue.

Jeffries, unlike other local legislators (City Council Member Letitia James, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, Assemblywoman Joan Millman, and state Senator Velmanette Montgomery), has not gone to court to challenge decisions by the ESDC and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He's said that doing so would compromise his advocacy.

Thus he walks a careful line: expressing opposition to eminent domain but not standing with the main groups fighting eminent domain for the project; hoping to ensure that, if the project goes forward, there are jobs for community residents and sufficient affordable housing; and hoping to ensure that, if the project goes forward, there's a credible governance structure.

AYR also links to a video, posted on Jeffries's YouTube page, featuring an appearance on Fox News last November that included the Assemblyman and Matthew Brinckerhoff, the attorney who has argued the Atlantic Yards eminent domain cases on behalf of property owners. We missed that segment when it aired originally.

Click through Norman Oder's Q&A with Jeffries following his address last night.

article

Posted by eric at 9:50 AM

January 26, 2010

Brooklyn jobless rate continues to grow

Borough's unemployment rate exceeds city, state and national average

Courier Life Publications
by Stephen Witt

Don't worry, Brooklyn. Borough President Marty Markowitz has a plan.

“There are still far too many in our borough for whom economic and employment opportunities are few and far between, and that’s why creating jobs must remain ‘job one,’” said Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Markowitz said the borough’s high unemployment rate is deeply troubling, and his office has been proactive in creating employment opportunities throughout the borough.

This includes everything from hosting economic strategy sessions at Borough Hall to supporting job-creating projects in Coney Island, Gateway Estates Shopping Center, Atlantic Yards and the Navy Yard, he said.

link

NoLandGrab: The jobs-per-dollar of public investment in Atlantic Yards would surely make the project the least efficient jobs program in America.

Posted by eric at 11:35 PM

January 23, 2010

Jeffries to hold State of the District address on Wednesday, January 27

Atlantic Yards Report

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries will hold his annual State of the District address at the Pratt Institute's Higgins Hall at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, January 27.

The address is 61 St. James Place at Lafayette Avenue. An RSVP is requested, to either (718)596-0100 or jeffriesh[at]assembly.state.ny.us.

According to a press release:

This will be the assemblyman’s third State of the District address since taking office in 2007. This year’s speech will mention an update on Project Reclaim, the initiative introduced at last year’s address which seeks to transform market-rate condominiums that have failed into desperately needed affordable housing. The assemblyman will also hold a discussion on the Section 3 Campaign for HUD, and legislative initiatives to combat alleged police misconduct and shootings.

In his first and second addresses, he made only glancing mentions of Atlantic Yards, so, according to that pattern, we shouldn't expect much more. Then again, AY is in the news these days.

link

Posted by steve at 8:25 AM

January 20, 2010

New Public Advocate Assails Bloomberg’s Performance on Homelessness

The New York Times
by Julie Bosman

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is apparently making homelessness job one, so we're wondering what prevented him from standing with the protesters Monday night who held a vigil for families being evicted from the Prospect Heights shelter in the Atlantic Yards footprint that Bruce Ratner plans to turn into a parking lot?

Was it his support for the project, despite no iron-clad guarantee that affordable housing will ever be built? Was it the dearth of TV news cameras? Or is this just more "empty rhetoric" from a politician, to quote Councilmember Letitia James.

In his first policy announcement since taking office, Bill de Blasio, the city’s new public advocate, will challenge Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s record on homelessness and call on him to intensify his efforts to address the problem.

A day before Mr. Bloomberg’s State of the City address, scheduled for Wednesday, Mr. de Blasio will hold a news conference of his own at his office at noon on Tuesday, surrounded by invited elected officials and advocates for the homeless.

article

Posted by eric at 11:03 AM

January 15, 2010

Brodsky seeks investigation of "shady, inadequate, unfunded" MTA agreement on tunnel repairs associated with Atlantic Yards (fake)

Atlantic Yards Report

Since thing are a bit slow over at AYR (only five other posts today), Norman Oder imagines the kind of press release New York State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky might issue if he wasn't mysteriously AWOL on the matter of Atlantic Yards.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, the watchdog of public authorities, leader on public authority reform, fierce after-the-fact critic of the Yankee Stadium deal, and putative Attorney General candidate, has chosen not to look closely at Atlantic Yards (despite occasional swipes at the MTA's failure to fulfill its fiduciary duty), so the below press release is only what Brodsky might have said.

Click through for the goods.

Posted by eric at 12:41 PM

January 7, 2010

Brooklyn BackBroadside Double Dose

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Dennis Holt

New Atlantic Avenue LIRR/Subway Entrance Fits the New Brooklyn

The decision by the MTA to finally bring the complex into the new century was not made in isolation. As has frequently happened in recent Brooklyn history, Bruce Ratner influenced matters. After the Atlantic Center was built, he made plans to build what we now call the Atlantic Terminal Mall. Then, after 9/11, he decided to build a new office building for a displaced company.

The patriotic Bruce also saw an opportunity to get his hands on a pile of federal subsidies.

And then came the master plan for Atlantic Yards across Atlantic Avenue, and independent of Ratner, the concept of a new cultural center, in and around BAM.

One did not have to have a degree in urban planning to realize that a lot more people would be coming that way, everything would be new, and it would make no sense for people to get off at a station that looked like a dump.

Moreover, Ratner, with the MTA’s hearty endorsement, planned to link the station underground with the new sports arena, and the MTA concluded it was time to get cracking. While they were at it, someone decided, why not build a whole new entrance to go along with all the other jazzy stuff coming to the neighborhood?

Only problem is, the ESDC says it won't be "feasible" for LIRR passengers to get from the train to the arena underground.

New Talent to Match Old In City Government Posts

These are [Bloomberg's] visions for the city in the decades to come — big goals supported by big development projects.

Atlantic Yards and the West Side Rail Yards will not be finished in four years, but should be far enough along to assure completion. And Bloomberg will not be content to coast along — he will want to see his Coney Island plan in movement.

Actually, it's very likely that only the arena, and maybe one of Atlantic Yards' planned 16 buildings, will be finished by the time Bloomberg leaves office (assuming he doesn't try to buy a fourth term). But Prospect Heights will have acres of surface parking lots as his monument.

Posted by eric at 4:42 PM

January 6, 2010

Atlantic Yards Report: coffers and sewers...

Ratner, no longer a campaign contribution "refusenik," is already investing in Cuomo and DiNapoli 2010

Norman Oder examines Forest City Ratner's money trail leading to politicians that have been called upon to investigate the legality of the quasi-public corporation that issued the tax-free bonds for the arena at Atlantic Yards.

More recently, in a look ahead to next year's statewide elections, Ratner gave $5000 to Andrew Cuomo 2010. (He hasn't given to Gov. David Paterson's campaign, though Cuomo, now Attorney General, is expected to challenge the sitting Governor.)

And he gave $2000 to DiNapoli 2010, the campaign committee for Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. (Both Cuomo and DiNapoli have been asked by state Senator Bill Perkins to weigh in on the legality of the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation, or BALDC).

More "sewer money" from Forest City to Housekeeping accounts, including $10,000 from a Cleveland Ratner to New York Senate Republicans

Today Governor David Paterson is expected to unveil a plan to ban corporate campaign contributions, lower the maximum contribution for any candidate for state office to $1000, and cut back severely on Housekeeping accounts, where political parties can now get unlimited gifts they can dispense to candidates.

The latter was dubbed "sewer money" in a 10/19/09, a New York Times editorial headlined Fed Up With Albany, which criticized New York's "notoriously loose" campaign finance laws.

And Forest City Ratner is one of the prominent participants. I pointed out at the time that the Times missed an opportunity to criticize Forest City Ratner's January 200, contribution of $58,420 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee's Housekeeping account.

But I should have checked further. On 12/4/08, FCR gave another $3644 to the Democrats' Housekeeping account.

And if you keep following the money, it includes some bucks for New York State Republicans from a caring contributor in Cleveland with a last name that begins with "R" and rhymes with "Fat-cat-ner."

Posted by lumi at 7:28 AM

January 5, 2010

Jan 5. Senator Perkins' Hearing on Eminent Domain and Reforming New York State's Heinous Laws

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE: NEW YORK STATE SENATE

Senate Standing Committee
Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
Senator Bill Perkins, Chair

Unconstitutional: What the Appellate Division’s Eminent Domain Ruling Means for the Columbia Expansion

Location – Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building
163 W. 125th Street, 2nd Floor Art Gallery
New York, New York 10027

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 – 4 P.M. to 7 P.M.

link

Posted by eric at 2:19 PM

January 4, 2010

Senate Democrats Look to Repair the Damage -- Before It's Too Late

Gotham Gazette
by David King

It was too late for Albany a long time ago — nothing short of a mass uprising by the citizenry will bring real change — but there is one potentially game-changing piece of legislation in the offing.

Another major piece of legislation the Senate will consider -- if Sen. Bill Perkins has anything to say about it -- is legislation to change the state's current eminent domain law. Perkins was motivated by a recent appellate court ruling that found the Empire State Development Corp. overstepped its bounds by declaring as blighted parts of Manhattanville where Columbia University hopes to build a new campus. The state backed Columbia's efforts.

Perkins has called on Paterson to declare a moratorium on the use of eminent domain and asked that the state not appeal the appellate court ruling; Paterson has indicated he plans an appeal and has not declared a moratorium. Nevertheless Perkins has hearings planned across the state, including one on Jan. 5 in Harlem. Perkins' actions could have bearing on the Atlantic Yards project as well as the Columbia case. But, according to Shafran, it is unclear where the Perkins' colleagues stand on the issue.

link

NoLandGrab: Unlike the vast majority of his colleagues, who seem to care only about enriching themselves and their cronies and wielding political power, Bill Perkins actually thinks government should serve the people.

Posted by eric at 10:38 AM

December 24, 2009

Bloomberg salutes AY progress, continues to ignore IBO findings on loss to the city

Atlantic Yards Report

A statement from the mayor:

STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON PROGRESS OF ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT
“While the rest of the country wrings its hands about the national recession, we’re building our way out of it. The $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project - the most extensive development ever undertaken in Brooklyn - is moving forward, bringing thousands of units of housing and thousands of jobs for New York City’s middle class. In the past few weeks alone, we’ve made major investments or reached critical milestones on development projects decades in the making at areas like the Hudson Yards, Hunter’s Point South, Coney Island, Willets Point and other neighborhoods across the City. This is no time to wait and see what happens with the national economy and just hope for the best. We’re acting more aggressively than ever to create jobs and ensure New York City’s best days are still to come.”

Well, as the mayor conveniently forgets, the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) found the arena--the only part of the project with a design--to be a net loss for the city. As for the thousands of units of housing, they depend on yet-to-be-announced city subsidies.

And while construction of the arena and other buildings surely would bring construction jobs, the number of permanent jobs projected has been steadily shrinking, with the market for office space questionable.

article

Posted by eric at 12:39 AM

December 23, 2009

As master closing proceeds, with filing of condemnation, Perkins says governor's response unacceptable; is lawsuit coming?

Atlantic Yards Report

With the governor's blessing, it looks like the "master closing" for Bruce Ratner's subsidy-sucking, eminent-domain-abusing, public-accountability-circumventing, Atlantic Yards megaproject will proceed today, despite the use of a questionable quasi-governmental "creation" to issue the arena bonds.

No one has a written statement responding to questions raised by state Senator Bill Perkins about irregularities in the issuance of arena bonds, but the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) yesterday said it expected the Atlantic Yards project to proceed through final approvals today, with the final contracts signed and the eminent domain process to begin in earnest.

"We anticipate the Master Closing to happen tomorrow," spokeswoman Elizabeth Mitchell said yesterday in an email message. "It will include the bond closing, deposit of the funds and real estate documents in escrow, and the filing of the condemnation petition. ESDC expects possession of the title on or near February 1st, 2010."

"We are going to continue to demand that there is going to be accountability and transparency with this project," Perkins said. "We think it’s clearly in violation of the type of scrutiny that is required by law… I know that a lawsuit is being considered." But he didn't say what role he might play in such a lawsuit or who might be plaintiffs.
...
I spoke yesterday with Perkins, who said he’d spoken with Peter Kiernan, Paterson's Counsel, on Monday.

“I asked him, as per our prior conversation on Friday, what he came up with," Perkins recalled. "And he said 'We’re satisfied with what we got from ESDC and others.' I said, 'Well, what does that mean?' He said, "It’s a creation of JDA.' So I said, 'OK, Is that a subsidiary?' He says, 'No, it’s a creation.' I say, 'What does that mean? Because that sounds like a new word in the context of the conversation… because you said at first it was a subsidiary.'"

article

NoLandGrab: By calling the BALDC a "creation", not a "subsidiary," of the Job Development Authority (JDA), the BALDC is not subject to any of the laws regulating either the Empire State Development Corporation or the JDA?

This is another example of the mind-boggling contortions New York State has performed, in order to give Bruce Ratner what amounts to the largest single-source private development project in NYC history.

State government has run amok... disgusting!

Posted by lumi at 5:49 AM

December 22, 2009

Pol says Brooklyn arena financing is illegal

New York Post
By Rich Calder

Here is further mention of State Senator Perkins' letter to Governor Paterson regarding concerns that bonds for the proposed Nets arena are illegal.

A state Senator says that a $511 million finance plan to help pay off an NBA arena proposed for Brooklyn appears to be illegal.

Sen. Bill Perkins (D- Harlem), chair of the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, sent a letter to Gov. Paterson Friday addressing legal concerns about the $511 million in tax-exempt bonds floated for developer Bruce Ratner’s project by the state-created Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation.

He said the funding plan raises “the spectre of fraud,” and that the bonds are “effectively worthless.”

At issue is the BALDC’s origin.

It was created by the Job Development Authority, a dormant state public authority, rather than directly through the Empire State Development Corporation.

...

ESDC did not return a message seeking comment.

All concerned are still awaiting a definite statement from Governor Paterson on this matter.

When asked about the letter Saturday, Paterson said “If there is information in the letter that is asking us to take a look to see that everything was done properly, we would certainly be happy to do that.”

A spokeswoman for Paterson today sent the Post an e-mail saying “In addition, I can add that there is an objective, ongoing review being conducted by our counsel on the procedures. Top administration officials along with the chairmen of ESDC and the MTA met with Assemblyman [Hakeem] Jeffries last week to address concerns that he has with respect to Mr. Ratner’s commitment to building affordable housing. We are carefully reviewing.”

link

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report: Still waiting for the ESDC to comment on the BALDC questions, but something's percolating

Ok, so perhaps the counsel for Paterson, Peter Kiernan, will produce a statement sometime Tuesday, a day before the expected "master closing" in which all contracts are supposed to be signed.

As for Jeffries' concerns, the affordable housing depends on incentives and penalties built into the contractual documents that won't be made available, as well as the city's willingness to allocate scarce tax-exempt housing bonds to this project above others.

Posted by steve at 7:54 AM

Markowitz basks in Barclays/Nets photo op

Atlantic Yards Report

That's Borough President Marty Markowitz at a media event--as opposed to, say, the much quieter announcement of the lawsuit that helped him raise the money for his new home--in which his favorite developer brought holiday toys to Brooklyn children. To his left is Forest City Ratner's Scott Cantone; to his right is Nets rookie ("star" in the press release) Terrence Williams, in the Santa hat.

...

At the press conference, Markowitz again invoked the Brooklyn Dodgers. "You're so lucky," he addressed the children. "Brooklyn will be back on the map in the national sports arena." He ended his five-minute address by excitedly saluting the Brooklyn Nets.

...

The Salvation Army takes sides

To quote Eric McClure of NoLand Grab:

Far be it for us to throw a wet blanket over a little holiday cheer for children who might otherwise have none, but perhaps this explains why the Salvation Army's Travis Lock testified before a board meeting of the Empire State Development Corporation on September 17th, saying "It is my sincere hope this morning that you would move forward with this project, the Atlantic Yard projects, on behalf of the Forest City Ratner Corporation."

Yes, Lock said exactly that, without irony. And that's Lock in the video, too.

link

Posted by steve at 7:29 AM

Public authorities: not reformed quite yet

New York Fiscal Watch
By Nicole Gelinas

Did the ESDC cut one corner too many and end up helping to issue fraudulent bonds?

Are New York’s public authorities fixed? Little more than a week ago, Gov. Paterson signed a bill to “rein in” New York’s “free-spending public authorities.”

But State Senator Bill Perkins of Harlem thinks that the convolutions New York’s Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) put itself through to get the Atlantic Yards basketball arena funded “vitiate the longstanding efforts of the Legislature to reform public authorities and make them more accountable and transparent.”

Moreover, Atlantic Yards may not even pass muster under the law, Perkins says.

How could that happen?ESDC, the state agency in charge of Atlantic Yards, has worked with developer Bruce Ratner to complete the $511 million bond deal for the arena portion of the Brooklyn project through something called the “Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corp,” or BALDC.

...

Whatever the complexities, the PACB and the comptroller should vote on the debt issuance, because the Atlantic Yards debt carries a moral guarantee from Albany. A vote “would have required the PACB to undertake a substantive review of the financial merits of the bond issue, which are questionable,” Perkins notes.

link

Posted by steve at 7:03 AM

Council OK’s Broadway Triangle rezoning

The Brooklyn Paper
By Andy Campbell

Because the "Broadway Triangle" project went through the city's ULURP process, outgoing Councilmember David Yassky was able to look past a development featuring a no-bid contract. He tried to justify his decision by pointing to the even worse process used for the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

“This is not an Atlantic Yards project that circumvented [the process],” Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) said at what would be his final hearing in office. The Triangle is in his district and, as such, he played a large role in seeing it get through the Council.

“We’re going to have 800 affordable apartments. We went through the process and had public input.”

link

Posted by steve at 6:13 AM

December 21, 2009

HOLIDAY STORY PHOTO OP TODAY

The office of the Brooklyn Borough President put out the following press advisory earlier today:

BP MARKOWITZ, NETS PLAYERS CHRIS DOUGLAS-ROBERTS AND TERRENCE WILLIAMS, NETS LEGEND DARRYL DAWKINS TO DELIVER TOYS TO 60 BROOKLYN CHILDREN

4:00 P.M. – 5:00 P.M.
TODAY, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21
BROOKLYN BOROUGH HALL
...

Today, Monday, December 21, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will join NETS players Chris Douglas-Roberts and Terrence Williams, NETS legend Darryl Dawkins and The Salvation Army to deliver hundreds of toys to 60 children at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The toys are being donated by the Barclays/Nets Community Alliance, which includes a partnership among Barclays, the NETS, and Forest City Ratner Companies. Presented by National Grid, a NETS sponsor, the event will provide toys to children who otherwise might not have received any during the holiday season. The Barclays/Nets Community Alliance is donating to The Salvation Army more than 1,100 toys for Brooklyn youngsters, as well as funding children’s holiday parties at each of the five main Salvation Army centers that serve Brooklyn, including in Bay Ridge, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, Bushwick and Sunset Park.

Far be it for us to throw a wet blanket over a little holiday cheer for children who might otherwise have none, but perhaps this explains why the Salvation Army's Travis Locke testified before a board meeting of the Empire State Development Corporation on September 17th, saying "It is my sincere hope this morning that you would move forward with this project, the Atlantic Yard projects, on behalf of the Forest City Ratner Corporation."

At that meeting, the ESDC board voted to enhance public funding for Atlantic Yards.

Posted by eric at 4:38 PM

Mayor says big projects will go forward in NYC in 2010

SILive.com

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today that, going into 2010, major public and private projects are moving forward in the city despite the recession.

Here are his remarks as prepared for delivery on 1010 WINS News Radio:

"Great cities grow and change. And despite the lingering impact of the national recession, growth and change are reshaping New York - for the better.
...

And the proposed Atlantic Yards project at the heart of Brooklyn got a big vote of confidence last week from private investors, who snapped up more than $500 million worth of bonds for that housing and commercial development in just two hours time.

link

Posted by eric at 3:47 PM

December 20, 2009

Asked About Taking a Promised Hard Look at Atlantic Yards Before Issuing Arena Bonds Does Paterson Understand AY?

Noticing New York

Michael White catches up with Governor Paterson

Governor Paterson was asked questions today about the hard look his administration said it would take at Atlantic Yards. Questions came from Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report (see, Saturday, December 19, 2009, Hail Mary or silver bullet: Perkins, raising questions of fraud in arena bond sale, asks Paterson to put Atlantic Yards on hold) and Noticing New York was able to ask our own question at the same brief press conference.

At a critical time the governor probably still needs to get up to speed on Atlantic Yards.

Our question to the governor and his response were as follows:

NNY: Governor, you are trying to close a budget gap and the MTA is trying to close a budget gap. You said that you will take a serious, hard look at the Atlantic Yards project. That project is perhaps $2-3 billion in public subsidies and it’s calculated by the city Independent Budget Office to be a $220 million net loss to the public, that’s the net loss not te cost. Don’t you think that perhaps taking that serious look should happen before bonds are issued for the arena?

Paterson: The bonds were issued for the arena. There are a number of projects that probably add up to tens of billions of dollars that we could take off the table if we were trying to save cash. The whole premise of these sort of public-private arrangements is to create jobs and bring revenues back into the state. So, if you take a snapshot in time it is a loss. If you take a snapshot in time funding the educational system is a loss, but the revenues that you generate from the workforce in the years to come far outweigh the investment that you make.

...

The governor’s statement that the bonds have been issued is not correct. Goldman Sachs has found buyers for the bonds but the bonds are not currently scheduled to be “issued” until this Wednesday, December 23rd, and that date could be postponed if the governor and his counsel decide they need time to think about whether they should be issued at all. This is a very important distinction for the governor to understand since he had just finished answering questions from Mr. Oder about the serious likelihood that the bonds, if issued, would be illegal.

Read the rest to see that Paterson still needs to come up to speed on the Atlantic Yards Project. Otherwise, he might continue to try and compare the proposed Atlantic Yards project to the construction of a public school. Also, he might want to understand how the almost phantom Job Development Authority's (JDA) creation the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) resulted in the issuance of illegal bonds.

link

Posted by steve at 7:06 PM

December 19, 2009

Hail Mary or silver bullet: Perkins, raising questions of fraud in arena bond sale, asks Paterson to put Atlantic Yards on hold

Atlantic Yards Report

Did the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) slip up in authorizing bonds for a proposed Nets arena? State Senator Bill Perkins thinks so and is calling on Governor Paterson to take action.

Suggesting that bonds for the Brooklyn arena were issued improperly, state Senator Bill Perkins yesterday asked Governor David Paterson to halt the "master closing" for the project scheduled for Wednesday and to stay condemnation proceedings until "serious questions... are addressed."

Had the bonds been issued by an Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) subsidiary, they could be repaid via for payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), but the issuance would have had to have been approved by the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), Perkins wrote in a letter. However, in an apparent effort to avoid the PACB, the ESDC created the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), and that murky entity--which issued $511 million in bonds--should not possess a property tax exemption, the letter said.

Perkins, speaking at a public meeting in Harlem this morning, said that last night he spoke to the governor's counsel, Peter Kiernan, who was taking the matter seriously.

Paterson, interviewed this afternoon at a separate event, did not seem aware of the controversy.

...

The bond issuance, Perkins said, "prevents it really from going forward," adding that "we consider [it] an illegal action."

Perkins, who has stood out as the legislator most interested in reforming the state's much-criticized eminent domain laws, said he expects to hold hearings on the Columbia case, the Willets Point plan, and even another hearing on Atlantic Yards, in light of the bond issue.

"Essentially what we have here is a situation in which it unfortunately it appears that the government is in cahoots with the developers, that the best interests of the community are not being represented but rather the best interests of, let's say, the elite," he said.

...

The "spectre of fraud"

The letter, citing a unanimous Court of Appeals decision from June, suggests that the arena does not deserve a tax exemption:

In light of this analysis, the BALDC property is not tax exempt if used for arena purposes. Consequently, payments-in-lieu of taxes cannot be used to secure the bonds, and they are effectively worthless. If ESDC knowingly misrepresented the legitimacy of these bonds, this raises the spectre of fraud.

The letter was also sent to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

What next?

I asked Perkins (off camera) what happens now.

"We sent that out yesterday; I spoke with the governor's counsel," he responded. "He seemed to acknowledge that he needs to take a look at it. He indicated that he would get back to me."

And if they don't?

"I'm going to reach out to them again this week," he said. "But in the event that they have a different point of view, we'll see some legal measures we can take."

"As I said to him, the murkiness of this situation flies in the face of the [public authorities reform] legislation we just passed," Perkins said. "This is a representation of the old way of doing business."

Read the rest of this blog entry to get an explanation from Amy Lavine, a staff attorney at the Albany Law School's Government Law Center, who first discovered this issue.

link

Posted by steve at 3:06 PM

December 18, 2009

On Brian Lehrer Show, DDDB's Goldstein points to Paterson, but the governor hasn't spoken out on his AY pledge

Atlantic Yards Report

So, maybe it's up to Gov. David Paterson now.

At about 16:30 of yesterday's Brian Lehrer segment, Recent Developments, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein was the guest. He said that, while legal strategies remain, only Paterson can stop the planned "master closing" of contracts regarding Atlantic Yards scheduled for next week.

And Paterson, who on December 1 made a public pledge to conduct a further inquiry into Atlantic Yards, has not made a statement since, with queries to his aides coming up blank.

Click through for some highlights from the show, and Norman Oder's commentary.

link

Posted by eric at 9:36 AM

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz purchases $1.45 million home in Windsor Terrace

NY Daily News
by Erin Einhorn and Erin Durkin

Lifelong tenant Marty Markowitz is trading his Park Slope rental for a home of his own - a two-story, three-bedroom brick house in Windsor Terrace.

The borough president and his wife, Jamie, dropped $1.45million on the new house - a semidetached home nestled on a tree-lined street a block from Prospect Park - on Nov. 30 with a $417,000 mortgage.

"I've always been a tenant, all my life. This is the first time I'm a property owner," Markowitz said.

Ah, the irony! As the Empire State Development Corporation and Forest City Ratner get ready to seize the properties of the remaining homeowners in the footprint of the Atlantic Yards project — for which Markowitz has played chief cheerleader for the past six years — Markowitz himself is becoming a first-time homeowner.

Markowitz wouldn't give details about the purchase, initially refusing to say where he got the money for his $1 million-plus down payment.
...

Later, an aide said about $750,000 of the down payment came from the sale of a Manhattan Beach home his wife inherited from her parents when they died.

The rest came from savings and from a settlement paid to Markowitz in a slip-and-fall case [NLG: Say what?!], his spokesman Mark Zustovich said.
...

Still, the sale comes with controversy.

Markowitz used his chief of staff, Carlo Scissura, as a lawyer for the property deal. City law says city lawyers can't represent their public official bosses in private legal matters.

Markowitz initially denied Scissura was involved. "I do not believe he was the attorney of record," he said.

When the Daily News noted that Scissura is listed as the lawyer in property records, Zustovich argued that the law applies only to lawyers working for the city as attorneys, not as chiefs of staff.

article


Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, When Markowitz played poor at the affordable housing information session, he and his wife had a down payment in hand

But the purchase, and the funds behind it, also undermine one very conspicuous "man of the people" claim Markowitz made in the midst of the Atlantic Yards debate.

At a 7/11/06 affordable housing information session sponsored by Forest City Ratner, Markowitz declared, as I reported, that “this is an exciting time to live in Brooklyn,” but, regarding new developments, “Sadly, almost all are beyond our reach—yours and mine.”

I noted that Markowitz earned $135,000, and eats a lot of free meals.

Now the Daily News tells us that about $750,000 of the down payment for the $1.45 million house came from the sale of a Manhattan Beach home Markowitz's wife Jamie Snow inherited from her parents.

And a check of records suggests that Markowitz and Snow had that money in hand when the BP appeared at that affordable housing information session.

Snow's mother died on 7/7/04. The family house was sold on 2/7/05 for $1.4 million, with Jamie Snow Markowitz, her brother, and her mother's estate listed as the sellers. The affordable housing information session came 17 months later.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, BEEP Markowitz's New Home Is Blighted

Congratulations to the BEEP on his new home!

There is only one problem. It seems to be underutlized. It also looks like there are a few sidewalk cracks, and we can't be sure but that bush looks more like a big patch of weeds. And it looks like the mortar is cracking in some spots.

In other words, we're sorry to inform the Borough President that his new home is blighted and must be taken by eminent domain. Because, it really could serve a better purpose than housing him and his wife.

Them's the breaks.

Posted by eric at 12:29 AM

December 13, 2009

Public authorities reform bill signed; why is Assemblyman Brodsky not mentioning the BALDC?

Atlantic Yards Report

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky has sponsored legislation to rein in New York's Public Authorities. Although he has been critical of public financing of the new Yankees and Mets stadiums, he has held back in his criticism of the proposed Atlantic Yards project and its associated Nets arena.

From a New York Times article headlined Paterson Signs Bill to Rein in State’s Free-Spending Public Authorities:

Mr. Brodsky, who spent months battling New York City officials over the legality of public financing for the new Yankee Stadium, said that if the law had been in effect, it would have forced far more transparency on city officials as they negotiated the Yankees deal.

“Three billion dollars in taxpayer-backed debt was issued by 12 anonymous people who were essentially doing the bidding of the mayor,” Mr. Brodsky said, referring to the board of the New York City Industrial Development Agency, which issued the bonds on behalf of the Yankees, the wealthiest team in baseball.

Well, it might have forced more transparency, but it's a questionable whether it's taxpayer-backed debt. Formally, it's not; the bonds for Yankee Stadium are non-recourse bonds, backed only by the revenue or property behind it.

What about the BALDC?

So too are the $500 million in tax-exempt bonds issued--and being sold right now--by the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC).

Except BALDC officials wouldn't rule out a state bailout, only saying that it was speculation. Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute has written:

Ahead of any bond sale, Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg should make it crystal-clear, publicly and to potential investors, that no New York State or City entity will step in to make up for any shortfall in Atlantic Yards’s revenues, even if it means a bond default.

Brodsky, however, has remained far more quiet about Atlantic Yards.

link

Posted by steve at 6:05 AM

December 12, 2009

Paterson Signs Bill to Rein in State’s Free-Spending Public Authorities

The New York Times
By Nicholas Confessore

Governor David Paterson signs into law legislation to force public authorities, like the ESDC and the MTA, to act more responsibly. The sponsors of the bill were Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and State Senator Bill Perkins.

For the first time, board members of those authorities will have a legal obligation, known as a fiduciary duty, to protect the interests and mission of the authorities they supervise, rather than being beholden to the mayors, governors and legislative leaders who appoint them. The new law will require authorities to seek approval from the state comptroller for most contracts of over $1 million that are not competitively bid.

The Governor notes the incredible amount of debt being run up by authorities. Will he step up and do the promised review of the proposed Atlantic Yards project before it becomes an albatross for Brooklyn and the rest of New York State?

Mr. Paterson said that passing the law this year was crucial because of the state’s perilous fiscal condition, which the public authorities have added to with the enormous amount of debt they have taken on. Taxpayers have almost no say over that debt, but are ultimately responsible for it. Public authorities have between $140 billion and $150 billion in debt — significantly more than the state’s entire annual budget.

“Public authorities play a tremendous role in government,” Mr. Paterson said. “But for a very long period of time, they have operated really without any oversight and operated very much in the dark, and often have amassed crippling back-door financing that has threatened the stability of our economy.”

The MTA's part in delivering a sweetheart deal to developer Bruce Ratner is shown as an example of reckless behavior.

Under the new law, authorities, some of which have acquired significant and, in some cases, secret real estate holdings, will also face limits on the sale of real property. With some exceptions, authorities will no longer be allowed to sell real estate for below-market value, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority did when it sold rights to build over railyards in Brooklyn to the developers of the Atlantic Yards project.

link

Posted by steve at 6:43 AM

December 9, 2009

Pol says Columbia case should halt Atlantic Yards

The Brooklyn Blog [NY Post]
by Rich Calder

Is this the last hope for Atlantic Yards opponents?

State Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) is asking Gov. Paterson not to appeal a recent court ruling blocking the use of eminent domain for Columbia University’s expansion and to order "a statewide moratorium" on the use of the controversial land-grabbing procedure.

Such a move would obviously affect developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, which the Paterson-controlled Empire State Development Corp. is expected to begin seizing private land for through eminent domain in the coming weeks.

But the ESDC isn’t caving in. A spokeswoman said the ESDC plans to appeal the Columbia ruling, which it believes "doesn’t impact" Atlantic Yards.

article

Additional coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Perkins asks Paterson for moratorium on eminent domain, not to appeal Columbia case

State Senator Bill Perkins, who represents West Harlem and in September 2008 held a hearing on reform of emiment domain, has asked Governor David Paterson "to forego an appeal" of the Appellate Division decision blocking the use of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion, "and to order a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain within the State of New York pending legislative action."

That would include eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project.
...

It would be more difficult for Paterson to reverse course on Atlantic Yards; for example, the MTA, which he controls, argues that the Atlantic Yards deal was too far along to consider seeking another bidder for the Vanderbilt Yard.

Perkins' letter draws significantly on the decision in the Columbia case, known in shorthand as Kaur. It says little about the Court of Appeals' decision in the Atlantic Yards case, but does make a fundamental point: For one, no one knows what 'blight' is—the crucial and fundamental issue in both the Columbia and Atlantic Yards cases.

NY Observer, Perkins to Paterson: Don’t Appeal Columbia Decision, Reform Eminent Domain

In a letter to the governor dated Tuesday, Mr. Perkins called for "a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain," and said he was preparing "a bill to reform how eminent domain is exercised."

He also tries to invoke the issue on a more personal level with the governor, bringing up a 2005 rally the two of them attended, protesting the use of eminent domain:

You may recall that back in 2005 you and I stood on the steps of City Hall together with several members of the City Council to protest the United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London which affirmed the use of eminent domain for private development that entails a so-called "public use." That decision contained language encouraging states to review their own eminent domain statutes. Some states have done just that. It is now New York's turn.

Mr. Perkins has established himself as one of few loud voices in the Legislature to protest eminent domain.

Posted by eric at 8:38 PM

DDDB PRESS RELEASE: Sen Perkins: Gov, Stop Eminent Domain for Atlantic Yards

New York/December 9, 2009—Senator Bill Perkins (30th Senate District, D-Harlem, Manhattanville) has sent a letter to Governor Paterson calling on the Empire State Development Corporation not to appeal the court ruling barring it from using eminent domain for Columbia University's expansion.

The letter also supports the Governor in his recent public comments that he would convene an objective review of the Atlantic Yards project.

In light of the confusion in the courts regarding eminent domain and blight, Senator Perkins calls on the Governor to stop the Empire State Development Corporation from proceeding with taking properties by eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards project and reminds the Governor of his 2005 call for a moratorium on eminent domain, even more urgent now.

Excerpted from letter:

...At the time of the Kelo decision, as a State Senator and Minority Leader you understood that the current process is flawed and called for a blanket moratorium on the use of eminent domain. The same reasons for instituting a moratorium back then still exist. In fact they are even more urgent given the Kaur decision, and the recent decision by the Court of Appeals affirming the taking in the case involving Atlantic Yards. It is my understanding you recently and publicly committed to a full objective review of that project and its financing.

...The Columbia decision has intolerably heightened the confusion and uncertainty over what, if anything, constrains the ESDC from taking anyone’s property whenever it suits its fancy. For one, no one knows what “blight” is—the crucial and fundamental issue in both the Columbia and Atlantic Yards cases....

[The full text of Perkins's letter can be found after the jump, as well as at http://www.nysenate.gov/report/letter-governor-paterson-eminent-domain.

December 8, 2009

Hon. David A. Paterson
Governor, State of New York
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224

Dear Governor Paterson:

I write with a great sense of urgency in respectfully calling upon you to forego an appeal of last week’s decision in Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corporation, and to order a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain within the State of New York pending legislative action.

As you are aware, last week’s court decision struck down as unconstitutional the taking of property by the Urban Development Corporation d/b/a“ESDC” for the benefit of Columbia University.

The court found ESDC violated both state and federal due process clauses in an effort to prevent affected property owners from obtaining information, and that ESDC’s finding of blight was “bereft of facts which established the neighborhood in question was blighted.” Furthermore, ESDC’s determination that the project even has a public use, benefit or civic purpose is wholly unsupported by the record. The court also noted the glaring conflict of interest, which reeks of bad faith, that existed as a result of ESDC and Columbia using the exact same consultant to review the project and determine blight.

You may recall that back in 2005 you and I stood on the steps of City Hall together with several members of the City Council to protest the United States Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London which affirmed the use of eminent domain for private development that entails a so-called “public use.” That decision contained language encouraging states to review their own eminent domain statutes. Some states have done just that. It is now New York’s turn.

At the time of the Kelo decision, as a State Senator and Minority Leader you understood that the current process is flawed and called for a blanket moratorium on the use of eminent domain. The same reasons for instituting a moratorium back then still exist. In fact they are even more urgent given the Kaur decision, and the recent decision by the Court of Appeals affirming the taking in the case involving Atlantic Yards. It is my understanding you recently and publicly committed to a full objective review of that project and its financing.

As Chair of the Senate’s Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee, I held hearings involving the topic of eminent domain. I have gone on record on numerous occasions against what I perceive to be the abuse of eminent domain in this state, particularly as it relates to private development projects. I have often described that abuse as a “mugging”, and one equal to “placing a gun to the community’s head”.

The Columbia decision has intolerably heightened the confusion and uncertainty over what, if anything, constrains the ESDC from taking anyone’s property whenever it suits its fancy. For one, no one knows what “blight” is—the crucial and fundamental issue in both the Columbia and Atlantic Yards cases. What is clear, however, are the signals that the ESDC was not acting in good faith. This I would suggest, is evidenced by the court’s statement that “the record before ESDC contains no evidence whatsoever that Manhattanville was blighted prior to Columbia gaining control over the vast majority of property therein.” The opinion also makes a strong case that the blight determination in that case was severely flawed, and in large part the product of the ESDC’s desire to transfer property to a “private elite education institution”. As a result, I am left with my own opinion, and that of others in my community, that these type of actions on the part of the ESDC are part of an insidious form of discrimination and civil rights violations that must not stand. As the Kaur decision reads, “‘few policies have done more to destroy community and opportunity for minorities than eminent domain.’” In fact, the Court found that the ESDC’s actions in the Columbia expansion is, “clear evidence of that reality. The unbridled use of eminent domain not only disproportionately affects minority communities, but threatens basic principles of property contained in the Fifth Amendment.”

For these and other reasons I request that you urge the ESDC not to appeal the Kaur decision. Please impose a statewide moratorium on further eminent domain actions and then let us work together on a legislative solution. I am currently working on a bill to reform how eminent domain is exercised in the State of New York. The purpose is not to hamper development, but to make the process more transparent and provide stakeholders with substantive due process. This will result in development that reflects community input and serves community needs. Your participation will be critical. An enlightened eminent domain procedure will be a significant victory for all involved.

I respectfully request your support on these issues and am ready to stand with you publicly again, this time for the purpose of announcing actions that will lead to genuine reform. Please feel free to contact me for any further discussion at 212-222-7315, or in my Albany office at 518-455-2441. I look forward to hearing from you at the earliest convenience, and I thank you in advance for your attention to this very important matter.

Very truly yours,

Senator Bill Perkins
30th District

cc: Dennis M. Mullen, President & CEO, Empire State Development Corp.

Posted by eric at 3:55 PM

December 2, 2009

Paterson meets with Atlantic Yards opponents, promises "objective and fair hearing" (but what does that mean now?)

Atlantic Yards Report

So, as the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) moves forward with Atlantic Yards, can the man in charge of the agency, Governor David Paterson--once a public opponent of eminent domain (as DDDB's Daniel Goldstein reminds us), now a tacit supporter of Atlantic Yards--do anything?

Well, at least he's listening. Last night, before a "community conversation" at the First A.M.E. Zion Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, organized by local elected officials. Paterson held a hastily-called meeting with a small group of Atlantic Yards opponents.

He promised them "an objective and fair hearing"--seemingly meaningless (and too late) boilerplate given that state agencies like the ESDC and Metropolitan Transportation Authority have already been charged to do so and have vigorously defended their actions in court after being sued.

Also, with a bond sale in the works, surely others in the administration would tell Paterson that the horse is about to leave the barn and stopping the project would lead to a huge legal mess. Then again, there's a serious argument--as per Nicole Gelinas--that the bond sale is risky, thus giving Paterson some cover, should he invoke his maverick streak.

(What could he do? Tell the ESDC not to pursue eminent domain? Stall the bond sale?)

article

Posted by lumi at 7:50 AM

December 1, 2009

In Bloomberg statement on AY, inflated jobs figures come from FCR; by contrast, ESDC projections are more conservative

Atlantic Yards Report

If Atlantic Yards is such a great project, why do the politicians need to repeat developer Forest City Ratner's lies about the benefits?

From Mayor Bloomberg's radio address last Friday:

All told, Atlantic Yards is expected to create some 8,000 new permanent jobs in Brooklyn. More immediately, building it is also going to produce nearly 17,000 of the new union construction jobs that New Yorkers need.

Norman Oder explains:

Well, not exactly. Those figures--17,000 "construction jobs" and 8000 permanent jobs--come directly from Forest City Ratner's press release rather than a governmental source.

By constrast, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), in its 2009 Modified General Project Plan, projects 12,568 new direct job-years and 21,976 total job-years (direct, indirect, and induced) for project construction and 4,538 new jobs in New York City (direct, indirect, and induced).

Keep in mind that the 17,000 jobs--overstated--would be in job-years, and that all figure presume a project buildout over a decade, which is highly doubtful. For example, a good portion of those new permanent jobs would be in an office tower, but there's no market for office space right now, as Bruce Ratner recently told Crain's.

article

NoLandGrab: By the same logic, Bloomberg has been elected to "four more jobs."

Posted by lumi at 5:15 AM

November 25, 2009

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: NY State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries

"I am extremely disappointed with the decision of the Court. The power of eminent domain is extraordinary and should only be authorized in limited circumstances where, unlike in this case, there is a clear and robust public benefit. The use of eminent domain to benefit a private developer to build a basketball arena for a team owned by a foreign billionaire is an abuse of this extraordinary power, and I hope that Governor Paterson will choose not to exercise it."

— Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries

Posted by lumi at 4:33 AM

November 19, 2009

Given no 2009 feasibility study of AY after changes, DDDB calls for new PACB review of project financing

Atlantic Yards Report

Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has sent a letter to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, State Senator Bill Perkins, and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (chairs of the respective committees on public authorities) arguing that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) needs to convene and vote on whether to approve the Atlantic Yards project’s financing.

Crucially, the letter points out that, before project approval in 2006, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) hired KPMG to do a report about the feasibility of the project, no such analysis was conducted before the ESDC passed the 2009 Modified General Project Plan (MGPP) in September.

Unmentioned in the letter is that the ESDC did ask KPMG for an update, but only on the feasibility of the housing market over a ten-year buildout--a market study that was highly dubious.

article

Posted by eric at 10:52 PM

November 16, 2009

No answers to tough questions for NYC EDC's Pinsky on sweet deals on stadiums

Atlantic Yards Report

Last week, Seth Pinsky, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC), answered questions from readers of the New York Times's CityRoom blog about citywide entrepreneurship.

Given the circumscribed topic, it's unsurprising that, in his answers (Round 1, Round 2), Pinksy bypassed hard questions on development issues. Still, it's notable--and further evidence for Mayor Mike Bloomberg's tougher-than-predicted re-election bid--how much anger there is about the city's willingness to push stadium deals. (The state, of course, is in charge of Atlantic Yards, with the city's agreement and Pinsky's support.)

Click through for a sampling of some of the questions Pinsky didn't answer.

article

Posted by eric at 12:06 PM

November 12, 2009

Meeting with Roger Green

Battle of Brooklyn via Kickstarter

In the winter of 2004/2005 Roger Green, state assemblyman for part of the project site, addressed the community in regards to his position on the project. This scene has become part of a montage in the film.

link

More than 100 people have pledged more than $7,500 to help fund the production of Battle of Brooklyn. Click here to add your support.

Posted by eric at 12:12 PM

November 11, 2009

Borough President Marty Markowitz still has a few tricks up his sleeve, woos big companies

NY Daily News
by Erin Durkin

After eight years in office, Marty Markowitz knows Brooklynites might be getting "tired" of him.
...

While acknowledging he may be old hat - or shoe - Markowitz, who won reelection with 85% of the vote, said he's got some tricks up his sleeve to ward off the third-term blues.

At the top of his agenda is luring big corporations to Brooklyn to combat the borough's whopping 11% unemployment rate.
...

That's not all that's on his wish list: Markowitz is pushing a groundbreaking for the controversial Atlantic Yards project, and last but not least, a bigger Nathan's hot dog.

article

Additional coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, The Markowitz wish list: Atlantic Yards groundbreaking and bigger Nathan's hot dog

Well, it wasn't Markowitz who yoked the clearly frivolous--the bigger hot dog--with the highly deceptive--the groundbreaking--but the sentence does sketch the BP's rather curious universe of duties.

Should there be a groundbreaking, assuming a victory for the state in the eminent domain case and the sale of some $700 million in arena bonds--it almost surely would involve only the arena (with perhaps one tower in tow), not the project at large.

And it most likely would occur before footprint residents, owners, and commercial tenants have been removed via eminent domain.

Posted by eric at 9:57 AM

November 6, 2009

New York City's Comptroller: John Liu

WNYC Radio [The Brian Lehrer Show]

New York City Comptroller-elect John Liu gets asked by "Lenore in Brooklyn" about the Atlantic Yards project, beginning at about the 10:20 mark. Says Liu:

"Large developments like Atlantic Yards... have used up quite a bit of taxpayer subsidy in exchange for promises; the promises have been slow to materialize. I will use the full audit powers of the Comptroller's office to take a look at what in fact has transpired and set each one of these projects on a timetable to actually deliver those promises."

link

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, On Brian Lehrer, caller asks about "enormous" AY subsidies; Liu says he will ensure benefits; why not look into PILOTs and naming rights?

Better yet, he should take a look at the Department of Finance's arena block assessments and gauge whether the agency has, as with Yankee Stadium, stretched credulity with its numbers.

And why can't he recommend a city policy regarding the selling of sports facility naming rights, which most jurisdictions simply give away (but shouldn't)?

Posted by eric at 12:38 PM

Paterson calls special session, will include public authority reform

Atlantic Yards Report

NY Governor David Paterson has called a special legislative session for this month, and the reform of Public Authorities (i.e. Atlantic Yards sponsor the Empire State Development Corporation) is on the agenda. However, since the Public Authorities-reform standardbearer, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, would rather rail at the Yankee Stadium deal after the fact than unwind an equally twisted boondoggle yet in the works, don't hold your breath for any reforms that could get in the way of Bruce Ratner's megaproject.

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Posted by lumi at 5:36 AM

November 4, 2009

Atlantic Yards Report post-election posts

Times columnist sees how Bloomberg alienated Stuy Town residents; could a Thompson focus on AY have had an impact?

Had [NY Times columnist Jim] Dwyer come to Brooklyn, he would've found voters angry about Atlantic Yards divided about whether Thompson represented a viable alternative. And Thompson's posture toward AY was a sign of (take your pick) the challenger's ineptitude or the difficulty of taking on a project that still retains some powerful backers.

Does Marty Markowitz consider the Atlantic Yards arena his legacy? He says no, others say yes

Posted by lumi at 7:21 PM

Markowitz celebrates borough president re-election

Courier Life Publications, via YourNabe.com
By Stephen Witt

He isn’t often referred to as “Party Marty” for nothing.
...
In his victory speech, [Borough President Marty] Markowitz thanked Mayor Michael Bloomberg for overturning the term limit law allowing him to run for a third term.

NoLandGrab: Because Markowitz knows in his heart that he's not qualified to run for anything other than "Party Marty?"

Looking ahead to his third term, Markowitz said he can’t wait to get the shovel in the ground for the $4 billion-plus Atlantic Yards project that will see the NBA’s Nets move to Brooklyn into a newly built arena at the Flatbush/Atlantic avenues intersection.

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NLG: Maybe Markowitz ran for a third term in order to hang around for an Atlantic Yards groundbreaking. Bruce Ratner's megaproject was announced in the middle of Markowitz's first(!) term.

Posted by lumi at 6:36 PM

Bloomberg's third term seen as challenge

amNY
By Jason Fink

With Mayor Michael Bloomberg winning another term, New Yorkers can expect him to continue pushing two of his biggest goals: improving school test scores and redeveloping large areas of the city.

But experts caution that the unexpected closeness of his victory and the city’s fiscal problem will blunt his agenda.
...
“Whatever policy initiatives the mayor has are going to be very much compromised by the city budget,” said Bruce Berg, a Fordham University political science professor.
...
Still, Berg and others point to several projects on which Bloomberg will likely spend political capital, including Coney Island and Atlantic Yards.

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Atlantic Yards Report, Three papers, two views of reality: Bloomberg's narrow victory in the Post, Times, and Daily News online

The results are in and Bloomberg either steamrolled over or squeaked by the competition, depending on which daily newspaper you read.

Posted by lumi at 5:14 AM

November 3, 2009

Election Day Triangles

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White urges a vote for Bill Thompson.

The fact is that while Thompson’s errant support for some version of Atlantic Yards is a problem (he has occasionally said he doesn’t know "what" the mega-project is at this point), there is hope that with a Thompson city administration support for Atlantic Yards will ultimately (and logically) fade. There is no such hope with the stubborn Bloomberg administration, irrespective of the way Bloomberg may try to hide, misrepresent or deny his administration’s support.

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NoLandGrab: We wish we could share White's hopefulness for a different Atlantic Yards outcome if Bill Thompson somehow managed an upset, but given every chance to differentiate himself from Bloomberg on development issues — seemingly his best chance to win — he's instead presented himself as Bloomberg light, a recipe , no doubt, for runner-up status.

Posted by eric at 7:07 PM

On Election Day, a Bloomberg story: the mayor disavows influence on Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Peter Krashes, former president of the Dean Street Block Association, encountered Mayor Mike Bloomberg on the campaign trail two Saturdays ago at the Grand Army Plaza Farmers Market.

Krashes told the mayor that neighbors near the Atlantic Yards footprint had problems with ongoing construction activities. Bloomberg responded that there wasn't much the city could do.

"He specifically said it's a state project and the city doesn't have much sway or influence," Krashes recalled. "I told him I didn't think that was true. From what I hear, you are pushing quite hard on the project."

(After all, didn't his MTA appointees lead the charge for the revision of the Vanderbilt Yard deal?)

"I said I didn't believe the project had a public benefit." Krashes recalled, "and I asked him what he thought it was." The conversation ended, however, as campaign aides stepped in and moved Bloomberg along to another appointment.

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Posted by lumi at 5:36 AM

November 2, 2009

It came from the Blogosphere... (election eve edition)

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill], Challenger TKO’d by Technicality

Tish James dispatched Forest City Ratner's hand-picked candidate in the Democratic primary; one of her general election opponents just dispatched himself.

City Council Member Letitia James has one challenger fewer to worry about in tomorrow’s election: Osaretin Ighile, an independent, who was kicked off the ballot last week.
...

His failure to write in one number — 35, the district he is running in — made all the difference, the appellate division of State Supreme Court ruled last week.

We'd be sympathetic about his being removed from the ballot on a technicality, except for this:

He supports the Atlantic Yards project and is critical of Ms. James’s opposition to it.

“Anything that will create jobs for our community, I’m for that,” he said. “I want to make life less bothersome to the working class.”

NoLandGrab: And you can be sure that two or three decades of massive surface parking lots won't be bothersome at all.

Lucid Culture, The Brooklyn What Runs for Brooklyn Borough President

Local punk rockers The Brooklyn What have officially launched a write-in campaign for the Brooklyn Borough Presidency, an effort that actually got started a couple years back.

The local, Brooklyn raised punk rock band has been running informally since summer 2007, when lead singer Jamie Frey and guitarist Evan O’Donnell encountered current Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz at a concert in Coney Island, and informed him that they were not interested in the planned Nets arena in Prospect Heights. “Marty took one look at our shirtless, sweaty, hairy bodies and told us to ‘move out’,” Recalls O’Donnell. “From then on, it was war.”
...

The Brooklyn What’s Top Five Reasons not to vote for Marty:

• The Proposed Atlantic Yards Project, which illegally uses eminent domain to give land to a private developer for a fraction of its valu, in order to build a basketball arena and several high rise condo buildings in the middle of prospect heights.

• Marty is Corrupt. The New York Post reported that Markowitz has steered nearly $700,000 in no bid contracts to his personal non-profit, which has also been recipient of $1 million in contributions from who else? Bruce Ratner, the Atlantic Yards developer

• Marty knocked his only democratic challenger off the ballot. Thanks for the democracy, Marty!

• Marty Endorses Bloomberg. Bloomberg has made living in this city without a million dollar salary nearly impossible.

• Marty is Manhattan-izing Brooklyn. Skyscrapers, exorbitant rents, local treasures (Coney Island) turned into tourist traps, sound familiar?

Washington Square Park, Why you should not vote for Mike Bloomberg for Mayor Tomorrow Election Day NYC!

Tomorrow, Tuesday November 3rd, is Election Day for Mayor, City Council, and other races in New York City. The Mayoral election is very important. Please vote! — for anyone but Mike Bloomberg.

Here are some reasons why:

* The Bloomberg Administration has shown no regard – or use for – community input, planning, and participation. In fact, Mayor Michael Bloomberg does not care about maintaining the character and uniqueness of our city. That’s been evident throughout the “process” of the redesign of Washington Square Park and many other places – Yankee Stadium (destroyed parkland and corporation giveaways), Union Square, Willets Point, Atlantic Yards, etc. etc.

Found in Brooklyn, Don't Forget to VOTE Bloomberg OUT TOMORROW!!

Atlantic Yards, Coney Island, Gowanus, Williamsburg, Long Island City, the lower east side, all uglified or on their way to become uglified. Get this man O-U-T!

Posted by eric at 9:14 PM

On Your To Way Vote, We Quizzically Ask: How “Green” Is Our Bloomberg?

Noticing New York

Michael D.D. White offers up a little election eve quiz.

True or False: Bloomberg uses his environmental PlaNYC as a justification for promoting more city real estate development.
...

But the question with the Bloomberg administration is which came first: A love of the environment or the promotion of big development? By 2007, long before PlaNYC the Bloomberg administration was well on its away to promoting megadevelopments and most of the 100 upzonings covering a fifth of the city were in place. We have also seen, in other situations, how prone the Bloomberg administration is to the cynical use of beneficial things, for instance “affordable housing” as excuses to justify otherwise indefensible mega-monopolies like Atlantic Yards.

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Posted by eric at 8:47 PM

AY opponents James, Owens endorse AY supporter Vann in the 36th CD, neglect AY opponent Griffith

Atlantic Yards Report

It's not every day that we disagree with Tish James and Chris Owens, and agree with Errol Louis, but hey, it's election day eve.

In the race between incumbent 36th District Council Member Al Vann, who won an eight-person Democratic primary by a slim margin, and challenger Mark Winston Griffith, who came in second and is running on the Working Families Party line, you'd think 35th District Council Member Letitia James might endorse the challenger.

After all, Vann voted to overturn and extend term limits, while James was a fierce opponent of that effort. And Vann is a supporter of Atlantic Yards, attending the MetroTech tree-lighting last December, while James is the project's leading political opponent--and Griffith opposes the project.

You'd also think that Chris Owens, who ran for the 11th Congressional District in 2006 as the only candidate opposing Atlantic Yards, also might endorse Griffith.

But James and Owens are endorsing Vann, as the New York Times reports today. Along with their citation of his very long track record as a patriarch of black politics in Brooklyn, I'd have to suspect that mutual crusades and mutual favors go a long way. (James used to work for Vann. And Atlantic Yards is hardly the major issue in the district.)

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NoLandGrab: Al Vann's vote in favor of overturning term limits, and his support for Atlantic Yards, automatically disqualify him; Mark Winston Griffith, despite having to run on the Working Families/ACORN line, has been outspoken about his opposition to Bruce Ratner's boondoggle.

Posted by eric at 8:28 PM

Markowitz campaign mailer touts "Marty's Brooklyn Story," omits Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklynites this weekend got a mailer reminding us to vote for [Marty] Markowitz, with the essential argument that the job of Borough President is to increase pride and happiness, rather than, say, to weigh in on things like land use.

...the mailer consists of endless photos of Markowitz meeting Brooklynites and presiding over things Brooklyn, including Dine in Brooklyn, the new cruise ship terminal, the Coney Island circus, and even a soccer team.

Atlantic Yards is conspicuously absent, just as Markowitz's promotional Brooklyn!! publication (1, 2, 3)--essentially, a cousin of the campaign mailer--omits or downplays the borough's most controversial project, the project on which Markowitz has staked his reputation.

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Posted by lumi at 4:52 AM

October 31, 2009

Pechefsky challenges 39th CD frontrunner Lander on AY, but differences are small; will Council hold the AY hearing Lander seeks?

Atlantic Yards Report

In overwhelmingly-Democratic New York City, the winner of the primary normally wins in the general election as well. Brad Lander, the Democratic candidate for City Council in the 39th District, is being challenged by David Pechefsky of the Green Party. This blog entry compares/contrasts the two candidates who are both opposed to the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

David Pechefsky (right), the Green Party candidate for the 39th City Council District, may be a long-shot, but he's run a lively campaign, most notably challenging Democratic frontrunner Brad Lander (below, left) on the role of the Council and, secondarily, on Atlantic Yards.

Indeed, while Pechefsky critiques Lander for not having a plan to stop the project, neither does Pechefsky, though he contends that, should the City Council be able to block additional or approved-but-not-delivered funding, the project could be hampered.

Rather, Pechefsky's candidacy speaks more to reforming the City Council budget process (including member items), thus challenging a candidate like Lander who would represent a mostly progressive constituency but must also play nice with the power structure.

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Posted by steve at 7:19 AM

October 29, 2009

The Gamble

Weighing the risks and rewards of a Bloomberg third term

City Hall News
by Edward-Isaac Dovere

"Our view is that if we do everything conceivable to get our message out and turn our voters out, we’ll win—and the better a job we do, the more votes we get,” explained Bloomberg campaign manager Bradley Tusk. “I’m paraphrasing it, but LBJ said something along the lines of ‘If you do everything you possibly, humanly can and then a little more, you should win.’ That’s how I see it too.”

Um, doesn't he mean "if we spend everything conceivable" and "if you spend everything you possibly, humanly can?"

Many people have called for Bloomberg to seek and get control of development at Ground Zero, but to date, he has given no indication that he wants that particular albatross. Still, his frustrations at past failures simmering just below the surface, he does not seem content to have his biggest contributions to the skyline be whatever has grown out of his administration’s comprehensive rezonings over the last two terms and the new Bloomberg LP headquarters on the Upper East Side.

“We have to do the big projects,” he said at a recent press conference, his face scrunched in a grimace as he addressed the current condition of Atlantic Yards.
...

“Once you make a decision that you’re not facing any future elections, does it give you a greater sense of independence? It does,” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who this year endorsed the mayor for the second time.

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NoLandGrab: OK, one, how does Marty Markowitz, who refuses to go gracefully into the night, know what it feels like to decide one is not going to face any future elections? And two, what's preventing Emperor Mike from overriding term limits again in the future, should NYC voters be so foolish as to give him the third term he covets?

Posted by eric at 12:31 PM

Rev. Billy: Brooklyn’s Third-Party Candidate

Anti-Consumerism Is Windsor Resident’s Theme

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Raanan Geberer

The Rev. Billy, whose real name is Bill Talen, grew up in the Midwest but has lived in Brooklyn for quite a few years. He has lived for six years in quiet Windsor Terrace and lived in Fort Greene beforehand. He has often gotten involved in Brooklyn issues such as the Atlantic Yards project and the Coney Island development plan – both of which he opposes.

The Rev. Billy’s main theme is anti-consumerism – his organization is known as the “Church of Stop Shopping.” He opposes the “mono-culture” of shopping malls, gentrification and large-scale development in favor of mom-and-pop shops and neighborhood-based cooperation.
...

On the subject of his two much-better-known rivals, he says, “Mayor Bloomberg and Thompson are both proponents of an attack on neighborhoods, almost like a military assault, of chain stores [although he does like Fairway], gentrification and skyrocketing rents. There is a partnership between the city and landlords and developers, and that partnership is corrupt.

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Posted by eric at 10:02 AM

Down to the wire with Dave

YourNabe.com

Green Party candidate David Pechefsky may or may not be victorious in his bid for the 39th District’s New York City Council seat next week, but he’s sure injected some sorely-needed adrenaline into an otherwise anemic election cycle.
...

Among the latest, his contention that the New York City Council, through the power of the purse, has the ability to scrap earmarks for Atlantic Yards and thus slay the controversial project once and for all - if only members of the city council had the political will.

In recent weeks, Pechefsky has also gone after all-important member items - those tantalizing monies allotted to city council members for disbursement to non-profits in their districts.

“As it now stands, members who are loyal to the speaker or have a constituency that the speaker cannot alienate get the most money, and those who oppose the speaker get the least,” Pechefsky says. “The only way to compensate is by horse-trading votes for money.”

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Posted by eric at 9:58 AM

October 28, 2009

Press release: "DE BLASIO PROTECTS RESIDENTIAL BROOKLYN FROM HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT‏"

Atlantic Yards Report

Shocker! From a press release from City Council Member (and presumptive Public Advocate) Bill de Blasio:

DE BLASIO PROTECTS RESIDENTIAL BROOKLYN FROM HIGH RISE DEVELOPMENT

CITY COUNCIL IS EXPECTED TO PASS DOWN-ZONING IMPOSING STRICT HEIGHT LIMITS ON BUILDINGS IN CARROLL GARDENS
...

Atlantic Yards, and the transition between a border zone and a historic district, has not gotten the same attention from de Blasio.

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Posted by eric at 11:18 PM

Thompson criticizes Bloomberg on MTA, ignores AY

Atlantic Yards Report

From a press release from Democratic Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson regarding remarks today on the MTA:

Thompson said, “Our City’s economic health and quality of life depend on leadership at City Hall that speaks up for transit riders. Unfortunately, New Yorkers haven’t had that advocacy under Mayor Bloomberg. The Mayor’s top-down decision-making approach has led to two fare hikes in 15 months, service cuts, and crumbling subway stations. As fares have gone up, the Mayor and his MTA appointees have been largely silent.”
...
Addressing the MTA’s mismanagement, Thompson said, “I will appoint MTA Board members who are transit activists and more representatives of the riding public—unlike the Bloomberg Administration’s loyalists who have no special knowledge or even prior familiarity with transit. And my appointees will be instructed that raising fares will not be the silver bullet solution to the MTA’s mismanagement and bloated budget.”

Unmentioned: the leadership of Bloomberg's MTA appointees in revising the deal for the Vanderbilt Yard at Forest City Ratner's request--now the subject of a lawsuit.

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Posted by lumi at 4:01 AM

October 26, 2009

Gotham Gazette and Endorsements

The Wonkster [Gotham Gazette]

Gotham Gazette does not now and never, ever has endorsed candidates. It would be a violation of our tax status and even if we could endorse candidates, we wouldn’t want to.

Gotham Gazette is published by Citizens Union Foundation (it says so on the site!). Citizen’s Union Foundation does not endorse candidates either.

Citizens Union Foundation’s sister organization is Citizens Union, which does endorse candidates. But those preferences play no role — none ! — in Gotham Gazette’s coverage.

In fact, Gotham Gazette does not take official stands on any of the weighty issues facing our city. We are not for (or against ) the millionaire’s tax or slashing city services. We had no position on mayoral control of schools, Atlantic Yards or what to do with the city’s garbage. And we do not urge City Council to adopt or reject any particular piece of legislation.

Our only stand — if you can call it that — is to believe that citizens should be informed about their government.

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NoLandGrab: And one of the best ways to inform the citizenry is to call the government out when it intentionally misleads its citizens — which has clearly been the case with city and state support for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. Unfortunately, Citizens Union, "an independent, nonpartisan, civic organization of members who promote good government and advance political reform in the city and state of New York," has declined to join other good government groups in legal action to stop Atlantic Yards — and has endorsed third-term powergrabber Mike Bloomberg for re-re-election.

Posted by eric at 4:01 PM

Another Look at the Dinkins Administration, and Not by Giuliani

The New York Times
by Michael Powell

In the wake of Rudy Giuliani's none-too-subtle invocation of race politics last week, The Times's "Political Memo" column looks back at the last time New York City had an African American mayor.

Mr. Dinkins also negotiated a stadium deal that still draws applause. His administration gave the United States Tennis Association a 99-year lease on city parkland; in exchange, the tennis association built a stadium and tennis complex in Flushing Meadows, Queens, and shares the courts with the public.

The tennis deal, Mayor Bloomberg proclaimed several years ago, was “the only good athletic sports stadium deal, not just in New York but in the country.”

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NoLandGrab: And after two Bloomberg-championed baseball stadiums, and a full-court press to build Bruce Ratner's basketball palace, it's still true.

Posted by eric at 10:07 AM

October 23, 2009

Atlantic Yards critic turns conciliatory

Boro Politics
by Stephen Witt

Hakeem Jeffries has of course clarified his position, but that didn't make it into the story until the seventh paragraph, nor, obviously, into the headline. Meanwhile...

[Assemblyman Nick] Perry, who represents East Flatbush, Canarsie and Brownsville, said he remains mostly supportive with some reservations about the project.

“If we can get this project off the ground it would benefit all of Brooklyn in tough economic times,” said Perry of the letter. “We just want to make sure our expectations abide to it [the CBA] and even go beyond it. We have an obligation to keep their feet to the fire.”

Perry said he does not turn a deaf ear to Atlantic Yards critics, but feels their concerns can be worked out.

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NoLandGrab: We admire Perry's altruism when it comes to the CBA, since the community he represents is about two-and-a-half miles from the Atlantic Yards footprint at its nearest point. As for working out our concerns, sure, we expect that to happen any day now.

Posted by eric at 11:51 AM

At PHNDC meeting, Jeffries says meeting with governor needed, ombudsman not empowered; Adams invokes security (and Jeffries says feds should weigh in)

Atlantic Yards Report

Three local elected officials appeared last night at a meeting of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC), and the Atlantic Yards news came not from City Council Member Letitia James (speaking at left), who barely mentioned the project, noting that her position was well-known.

Rather, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and state Senator Eric Adams, two elected officials somewhat critical of AY but--unlike James--have not stood with project opponents in protests and lawsuits, offered some clarification of their positions.

Notably, Jeffries said he and other local elected officials seek a meeting with the state's leaders to discuss Atlantic Yards; that he didn't have editorial control of a seemingly pro-AY letter he signed; that the federal Department of Homeland Security, not just the New York Police Department, should advise on security issues; and that the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) had not empowered its own AY ombudsman to do the job.

Adams added that the history of a failed terrorist attack at the Atlantic Avenue terminal made a careful security review imperative, which means he can't endorse the project at this time.

(Adams and Jeffries, among others, have called for a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement, which was rejected.)

Click thru for much more detail, including video clips of the meeting.

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Posted by eric at 11:34 AM

October 22, 2009

Your 2 Cents: Daniel Goldstein Of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

NY1 News

NY1 VIDEO: Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn offers his take on the mayor's urban development policy in "Your 2 Cents," a series of on-camera, unedited guest editorials delivered by prominent New Yorkers.

link

Posted by eric at 4:27 PM

October 21, 2009

An update from Jeffries: "I remain highly critical" of Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, the subject of criticism for signing a letter with a very positive posture toward Atlantic Yards, has issued the following statement backing away from the tone of the letter:

"My colleagues in the legislature, including Sen. John Sampson, the leader of the democratic majority of the New York State Senate, requested a meeting with the principal developer of the proposed Atlantic Yards project, and invited me to participate. I remain highly critical of the project and the direction it has taken in recent years. I continue to believe that the extraordinary measure of eminent domain should not be used for the purpose of building a basketball arena."

So I'm guessing he didn't write the letter he signed along with Sampson and Assemblyman Nick Perry. The question, which I suspect will be raised at tomorrow's PHNDC meeting, is why he signed it.

Jeffries added, in response to my question, "Yes, I did not draft the letter, and to the extent there is any additional uncertainty about my views toward the project, I would of course be delighted to address the issue at tomorrow's town hall meeting."

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Posted by eric at 6:10 PM

Assemblyman Jeffries' Evolution on Atlantic Yards and His Co-signed Letter to Ratner and Prokhorov

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

DDDB looks at the history of Prospect Heights Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries' stance on Atlantic Yards, and wonders what his recent letter to Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov portends.

link

Posted by eric at 11:48 AM

Rawyal — Issues

Atlantic Yards makes a cameo (around the 1:50 mark) in Hip Hop artist Rief Rawyal's get-out-the-(anti-Bloomberg)-vote rap.

link

Posted by eric at 11:38 AM

Republican Seeks To Replace De Blasio

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Harold Egeln

Joe Nardiello, the Republican candidate for City Council in the 39th:

On Atlantic Yards and development, he said he is “a proponent of bringing the Nets to Brooklyn,” creating manufacturing in Central Brooklyn and “making Brooklyn the epicenter of solar power usage.”

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NoLandGrab: Idiocracy — the candidate for "reining in high transit fares and preventing East River bridge tolls by reforming the MTA" is in favor of the MTA's sweetheart deal with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.

Posted by lumi at 6:24 AM

October 20, 2009

Jeffries changes tune, calls AY "vital to the economy," wants meeting with Prokhorov; also, PHNDC Town Hall with electeds on Thursday

Atlantic Yards Report

Once upon a time (actually 5/3/08) Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries said publicly, "Let's give Governor Paterson a chance to say no to eminent domain."

Now, along with legislative leaders John Sampson (beneficiary of a fundraiser held at Forest City Ratner offices) and Nick Perry, he's calling for a meeting with Bruce Ratner and prospective Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

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Posted by eric at 11:03 PM

Dear Messrs. Ratner and Prokhorov...

Are one or more of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefit Agreement signatories getting nervous, or are a couple of local legislators trying to hop on the gravy train before it leaves the Vanderbilt Yard?

State Senator John Sampson and Assemblymen Nick Perry and Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov yesterday, praising the basketball impresarios for their "recent efforts to propose new business arrangements to sustain" Atlantic Yards "in these challenging economic times," while expressing concern that "all covenants previously executed" in the CBA "remain in force, and are fully executed."

NoLandGrab: ROTFLMAO. The Atlantic Yards CBA is about as firm as a bowl of Jello.

They're also seeking "a meeting with [Bruce and Proko] at the earliest opportunity to review... this vital economic development project."

NLG: We're not sure what angle Sampson (who recently held a fundraiser in Forest City Ratner's Metrotech offices) and Perry are playing, but we would've expected the normally cagey Jeffries to take pains to appear a bit more savvy.

Related coverage...

NY Observer, Sampson, Jeffries to Russian Billionaire, Ratner: Please Meet With Us

Posted by eric at 9:32 PM

October 19, 2009

What Bloomberg and Stuckey have in common: the Detroit dodge

Atlantic Yards Report

Rudy Giuliani says that if we don't reelect Mike Bloomberg, then New York City will turn into Detroit.

Jim Stuckey said that if we don't build Atlantic Yards, then New York City will turn into Detroit.

Norman Oder says not so fast:

As I responded:

Actually, New York has no chance of becoming the next Detroit, a city based on one industry, with no public transportation, and which is not exactly the country’s cultural and financial capital.

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NoLandGrab: Actually, if we do build Atlantic Yards, we will become Detroit.

Posted by eric at 11:21 PM

As the Times says "Stop the sewer money" in Albany, a prime exhibit could be Ratner's $58K check to a Silver-controlled committee

Atlantic Yards Report

The New York Times is Fed Up With Albany.

Several commenters noted that the editorial, which covered several issues, failed to mention all-powerful Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who, among other things, has refused to reveal the identities of his legal clients.

Also, consider that, in January 2008, Forest City Ratner apparently reversed a pledge to refrain from campaign contributions, giving $58,420 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee's Housekeeping account. That's part of the mutual closeness between the developer and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

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Posted by eric at 11:16 PM

Calling it, for Thompson

Columbia Spectator
by Al Benninghoff

Adventures in phone banking.

Phone banking for Thompson, however, is quite a different experience.

No one that answered the phones hadn’t heard of Bloomberg. It would be hard not to. He’s spent $60 million on his campaign so far, with plans to spend another $60 million in these final weeks. He’s bought so many advertisements that people are beginning to complain that it’s overkill, but when you call voters, you can tell that the commercials’ contents are beginning to sink in. The people I was calling were spouting rhetoric found not only in his commercials and on his fliers, but in the articles that have churned out weekly covering the campaign. There are a few constant themes.
...

#3. Bloomberg is a businessman who has brought huge economic development projects to New York.

He’s made some big promises, but most of the big ideas Bloomberg touts never get off the ground. Ground Zero is still just a hole, the West Side Stadium project was a dud, and the Atlantic Yards project seems to have stalled.

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Posted by eric at 11:54 AM

October 16, 2009

Jeffries: MTA has breached fiduciary duty, but joining new lawsuit would compromise his advocacy

Atlantic Yards Report

Continuing down the well worn path, which for the past five years has tediously led nowhere, NY State Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries tells Norman Oder that he chose not to join other elected officials in the lawsuit challenging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) re-sweetened sweetheart deal with Bruce Ratner because his "ability to forcefully and candidly advocate on behalf of the community, with the Governor and the MTA on the other side of the negotiating table, would be compromised if [he] were to be a named plaintiff in the litigation at this point in time."

Oder's analysis:

I can only speculate at the additional motives behind Jeffries' decision.
...
Perhaps Jeffries has calculated that Atlantic Yards is more likely than not, and that, should the project move forward, he wants to make sure that Forest City Ratner, and government agencies that could provide housing subsidies, deliver on the 200 affordable homeowner units the developer promised in December 2006 but which have never been incorporated into government documentation.

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Posted by lumi at 6:20 AM

October 15, 2009

Thompson lays out an economic agenda

Mayoral candidate City Comptroller Bill Thompson is light on specifics as he offers an economic plan for the city at a Crain's forum.

Crain's NY Business
by Erik Engquist

He was more forceful in attacking the mayor’s record on development. Mr. Thompson focused on three projects that have not moved forward as quickly as the administration had hoped. “Hudson Yards, Atlantic Yards, Willets Point and on and on and on,” the comptroller said. “I don’t think we’ve seen much growth there.”

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NoLandGrab: Bill Thompson just doesn't get it, does he? Let us offer up some free political advice — criticizing Bloomberg for being an underdeveloper, no matter the audience, is not a recipe for a November 3rd upset.

Posted by eric at 10:16 PM

October 13, 2009

Mayoral battle for the city’s skyline

Thompson up against most ambitious real estate planner in decades

MetroNY
By Carly Baldwin

So where do mayoral rivals Michael Bloomberg and William Thompson stand on building the city?

Bloomberg embraces development to increase economic growth and tax revenue. He supports the controversial Atlantic Yards project, gave tax breaks to Yankee Stadium, and changed zoning in Greenpoint-Williamsburg and Coney Island to increase residential development.
...
Thompson paints himself as an advocate for tempered growth, who will protect neighborhoods from overdevelopment and demand good jobs in exchange for public financing.

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NoLandGrab: Somewhere along the line, we believe that Bruce Ratner's overdevelopment was renamed "the controversial Atlantic Yards project."

FYI: Thompson is for the controversial project, though he's believes that his support represents "a very different position" from the Mayor's support.

Posted by lumi at 5:33 AM

October 12, 2009

Bloomberg wants to get rid of Public Advocate position, says "we have an aggressive enough press"

Atlantic Yards Report

Mayor Mike Bloomberg says that the Public Advocate position should be abandoned:
"You should get rid of the public advocate," he said. "It's a total waste of everybody's money. Nobody needs another gadfly and we have an aggressive enough press," he said.

Well, incumbent Betsy Gotbaum hasn't exactly distinguished herself. But Bloomberg thinks the press is aggressive enough. How about the publishers who agreed to support his effort to overturn and extend term limits?

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NoLandGrab: Norman Oder is too kind. The mainstream press in NYC has more or less rolled over and played dead for the Mayor.

Posted by eric at 4:55 PM

October 8, 2009

Thompson claims major development projects require cost-benefit analyses, but ignores Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

From Democratic Mayoral nominee Bill Thompson's speech yesterday on the economy:
Enormous staff resources and time were wasted planning a West Side Jets Stadium that was never built. Huge subsidies went to the New York Yankees for a stadium project with little local economic impact.

As Mayor, I will require that decisions to invest taxpayer dollars in major development projects undergo rigorous cost, jobs, and community-benefit analyses.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg's campaign responded that Thompson "flip-flopped"--as opposed to, maybe, changed his mind--on Yankee Stadium.

Thompson ignored the Independent Budget Office's analysis that the Atlantic Yards arena would be a money-loser for the city.

link

NoLandGrab: We'll give Thompson the benefit of the doubt and say he "came to his senses" on Yankee Stadium.

Posted by eric at 11:15 AM

The speaker? A squeaker!

The Brooklyn Paper
by Gersh Kuntzman

The City Council is a big fish that stinks from the head down — or so says would-be Councilman David Pechefsky, a Green Party candidate challenging Democratic front-runner Brad Lander to represent Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens and parts of Cobble Hill and Gowanus.
...

David Pechefsky, Green
I will not support a Speaker who voted to overturn term limits. But regardless of who is Speaker, without the reforms I have advocated, including reform of the committee structure, reform in the hiring and retention of staff, and reform of the member item system and budget process as a whole, the Council will continue to inadequately fulfill its responsibility as a counterweight to the mayor. A councilmember who votes for Speaker Quinn has little credibility on the term limits issue and therefore on commitment to reform more generally. It would also call into question that Councilmember’s commitment and ability to stand up to the mayor on such issues as Atlantic Yards and the Gowanus Canal.

Click thru to see what the other candidates speak about the Speaker.

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Posted by eric at 8:57 AM

October 6, 2009

Lobbying firm hosts $1000 (minimum) fundraiser for Senator Sampson at FCR's MetroTech offices

Atlantic Yards Report

Bruce Ratner makes an in-kind contribution.

Forest City Ratner offices at MetroTech are the site tonight for a fundraiser (minimum contribution: $1000) supporting Senator John Sampson, leader of the New York State Democratic Conference.

The evening is sponsored by the Albany-based lobbying firm of State & Broadway. (Click on graphics to enlarge.)

Forest City Ratner for years avoided direct political contributions, preferring to rely on lobbying. However, in January 2008, the company gave $58,420 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee's Housekeeping account.

So this indirect support might be seen as a way of maintaining influence, given the need for future tax breaks and other governmental goodies for projects like Atlantic Yards.

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NoLandGrab: We guess that $1,000 a plate buys Sampson's ignorance of the rude treatment — orchestrated by Forest City operatives — heaped on his colleague, Sen. Bill Perkins, at the May 29th State Senate hearing on Atlantic Yards.

Posted by eric at 6:57 PM

Bloomberg's biographer offers gentle treatment of development issues, and barely a mention of the Nets arena (but no AY)

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder critiques Joyce Purnick's bio of NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, where, through the lense of rezoning and development shortcomings, Atlantic Yards is the 800-lb. gorilla.

For Purnick's verdict on development issues, consider this summary paragraph (p. 4):

And in every rundown corner of the city he aggressively cleared the way for renovation and real estate development, to the chagrin of serious city planners and devotees of city landmarks, to the delight of builders, construction unions and pragmatists who share his preference for imperfect development over neglect.

A reader might conclude that casual city planners and those who care partially about landmarks are fine with Bloomberg's record. But Purnick sets up a false dichotomy between imperfect development and neglect, fails to look into project like Atlantic Yards, and does not even hold Bloomberg to his own standards, as I point out below.

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Posted by lumi at 5:56 AM

BORO PRESIDENTS' FIGHT

CityLimits.org
By Jarret Murphy

Brooklyn's Marty Markowitz, who was elected in 2001 and considered a run for mayor before term limits were extended, faces a long-shot Republican opponent, businessman Marc D'Ottavio. A libertarian candidate, Michael Sanchez, is also in the race.

D'Ottavio says his campaign is about listening to needs that don't get much attention. "You hear about Atlantic Yards, you hear about Coney Island, the Gowanus Canal. You don’t hear about these parking garages in residential areas," or about a failing pedestrian bridge near the New York Aquarium on Coney Island, he says.

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NoLandGrab: Frankly, it's pretty amazing that you hear about Atlantic Yards — it takes a lot of jumping up and down to get folks to pay attention to the largest private development project in NYC history.

D'Ottavio makes the case for the need for better outer-borough coverage.

Posted by lumi at 4:36 AM

October 3, 2009

Deal could give New York State power over hundreds of public authorities

Daily News
By Juan Gonzalez

Here is word that Governor David Paterson may be on his way to signing legislation that would make state authorities like the ESDC, tool of developer Bruce Ratner, more accountable. This change in law probably comes too late to correct the lack of accountability of state support for the proposed Atlantic Yards project. The prime sponsors of this legislation are Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and Harlem state Sen. William Perkins.

It's hard to believe that any meaningful reform could come out of the Legislature these days, but this could be the exception, thanks to the dogged work of Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and Harlem state Sen. William Perkins, the prime sponsors of the legislation.

The new law would:

• Require appointees to authority boards to act in the interest of that authority and not simply follow instructions from the local mayor or the governor who appointed them.

• Give the state Senate the power to confirm the chief executives of some of those authorities.

• Set up an independent Authority Budget Office with subpoena power. That office would set operating rules and monitor the finances of the agencies.

• Forbid agencies from selling public assets at below market prices unless there is a clear public purpose.

• Require the state controller to review all major contracts issued by the authorities.

...

"These authorities have been Soviet-style bureaucracies for too long," Brodsky said. "We're bringing them back under the rules of American democracy."

link

Posted by steve at 9:20 AM

October 2, 2009

Thompson claims his AY support is "a very different position" than Bloomberg's AY support

Atlantic Yards Report

On today's Brian Lehrer Show, Democratic Mayoral candidate Comptroller Bill Thompson, eschewing the opportunity to criticize Atlantic Yards as a "boondoggle" as did 2005 Democratic candidate Freddy Ferrer, instead stuck to calling for the affordable housing to be built.

And that, he asserted, showed how he differed with Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has supported the project to the hilt.

The action begins at about 22:20

BL: Do you differ with the mayor at all on this point on what should happen next at Atlantic Yards?

BT: I supported, maybe not the mayor's original plan at Atlantic Yards, but I had supported Atlantic Yards based on two reasons. The large number of affordable units that were supposed to happen there, and the Community Benefits Agreement that also was happening at Atlantic Yards. Over a period of time, I'm not going to say that I haven't been concerned at the constant changes in Atlantic Yards. I still have a number of questions and continue to pay attention and monitor that. Because that project continues to change and morph. And I have to tell you, it continues to raise concern with me.

He's not monitoring it much. (The statement sounded as convincing as the statement July 22, by the Empire State Development Corporation Steve Matlin, that "We're constantly updating" the fiscal analysis of Atlantic Yards.). Otherwise Thompson would have noticed the mayor's criticism of CBAs, the lack of guarantees and doubts whether enough subsidies would be available, and the unenforceability of the CBA.

link

NoLandGrab: For an actually different position on Atlantic Yards, we suggest voters pull the lever for the unbought and unbowed (and well-coifed) Green Party candidate, Rev. Billy Talen.

Related coverage...

WNYC Radio [The Brian Lehrer Show], 30 Issues: Thompson on Development

Posted by eric at 10:14 AM

Markowitz Endorses Bloomberg for Mayor

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Raanan Geberer

Two term-limit abusing politicians have a lovefest.

These tough times, however, call for someone extraordinary, said Markowitz. The Democratic borough president compared Bloomberg, an independent and former Republican, to Chelsey [sic] “Sully” Sullenberger, the airline pilot responsible for the successful emergency landing of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River. He stressed that in his opinion, the mayor and he share many of the same goals and support many of the same projects. These include “a 24/7 Downtown Brooklyn, the City Point project, Atlantic Yards, the continuing development of the Navy Yard, the Weeksville historic museum, the redevelopment of Coney Island” and more.

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NoLandGrab: Captain Chesley Sullenberger should sue for defamation.

Posted by eric at 10:00 AM

October 1, 2009

CHatter: With Win, James Shrugs Off Forest City Ratner

City Hall News

The race between Council Member Letitia James and Delia Hunley-Adossa centered on Atlantic Yards.

Hunley-Adossa, head of the local precinct’s community council, hit James on her opposition to the Atlantic Yards project, saying the new amenities will create jobs and needed housing. But James and her supporters saw Hunley-Adossa as a mouthpiece for developer Forest City Ratner.
...
Taking more than 80 percent of 9,214 votes, James said the results sent a message to the Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner that the community is against the mega-project.

“Sorry, Forest City Ratner,” James said. “You got to deal with me for another term.”

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NoLandGrab: The way Ratner played it, the election turned into a referendum on Atlantic Yards with the developer losing. If the aim was to unseat Letitia James or make her break a sweat, why did the normally politically savvy developer back a candidate who was so blatantly for the project, and lacked public polish?

Posted by lumi at 6:52 AM

September 30, 2009

On Brian Lehrer, Mayor (in clip) disses IBO; Schuerman explains why it’s tough for Thompson; Council candidate Griffith gets a say

Atlantic Yards Report

AYR analyzes today's two Atlantic Yards-related segments on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show.

The Atlantic Yards segment on today’s Brian Lehrer show concentrated mainly on the minor differences between full-throated project support Mayor Mike Bloomberg and supporter-with-concerns Comptroller Bill Thompson, the Democratic candidate.

The most valuable moment in the segment came at about 13:45, when Lehrer brought up the fact that New York City Independent Budget Office Mayor Mike Bloomberg, in full voice, disses the cost-benefit analysis of the Atlantic Yards arena: “I don’t know what the IBO studies would have shown back when they tried to establish the value of Central Park or Prospect Park or anything else. These are the kinds of projects you have to do because without that we don’t have a future, and we’re going to get this one done.”

As Schuerman pointed out, “The funny thing is, he applauded the IBO study when it came out four years ago, showing it was a slight positive net gain for the city.” Schuerman noted that the effort to analyze costs and benefits is “murky,” given that the IBO was able to look only at the arena.

Has the Comptroller reacted to the IBO study? “More than anything, I don’t think Thompson has taken a position on Atlantic Yards,” Schuerman added, noting that Thompson has not chosen to audit the project.
...

Caller Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don’t Destroy suggested that Thompson could challenge Bloomberg on Atlantic Yards, given that it’s “a poster child of all the mayor has done wrong, when it comes to megadevelopments.”

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Posted by eric at 7:54 PM

Our pick: Mike Bloomberg for mayor

The Brooklyn Paper

The Community Newspaper Group's endorsement of incumbent Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who orchestrated the overturning of term limits to clear the way so he could run again, is not totally outlandish, since it's well nigh impossible to get excited about his Democratic challenger, Bill Thompson. But someone must have spiked the coffee down at the CNG's Metrotech offices, because some of the reasons they give for supporting Bloomberg are downright nutty.

Protecting neighborhoods: To his ill-informed critics, the mayor is a tool of developers who want to pillage our communities. But on the ground in the neighborhoods we cover, the mayor has moved ahead with zoning changes to preserve neighborhoods or revitalize commercial areas, such as Carroll Gardens and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, Jamaica in Queens or along the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. In such cases, we’ve seen the benefits of the mayor’s big-picture approach.

First off, we've never called Bloomberg a "tool" of developers, since he's richer than all of them. More like a BFF.

But seriously, the "benefits" of the Fourth Avenue rezoning? You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who praises that ill-conceived effort. Here's a shining example of that "big-picture approach."

Concerning the sprawling Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the mayor’s team admitted long ago that it didn’t handle the development properly and has since done a much better job. That improvement deserves praise.

WTF? We'll defer to Norman Oder's critique, below, but suffice it to say, the "mayor's team" in this instance was one ex-staffer, former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who admitted the project should have gone through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, rather than have short-circuited that process with a state-level zoning override. As for the "much better job" since, well, that's pure fantasy. And "praise?" Sorry, not here.

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More coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, CNG editorial claims Bloomberg's "not a politician" and has "done a much better job" on Atlantic Yards

Here's Norman Oder on the Mayor's alleged Atlantic Yards improvement:

A much better job? Do they mean the accelerated transfer of subsidies or the dissing of the Independent Budget Office?

Term limits

Remember, the Community Newspaper Group is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who agreed to have his New York Post support Bloomberg's effort to overturn and extend term limits.
...

The endorsement claims:
And best of all, he’s not a politician.
...

I'll point people to Tom Robbins in the Village Voice, critiquing Bloomberg's claim of "Progress. Not Politics":
The first word is a debate worth having. The next two are simply lies.

Not politics? Whatever you think of Bill Thompson's erratic campaign, at least he was being nominated that very night by his own party in an open primary. Mike Bloomberg? His GOP endorsement came courtesy of a classic, old-school political deal in which five Republican county leaders sat down in a room and agreed to give the mayor their ballot line.

He cut the same insiders' pact with the cultish local chapter of the Independence Party. The party's nominating convention this spring featured all the democracy of a Chinese Politburo meeting, including a ruling clique that fawned over the visiting mayor. A few weeks later, Bloomberg sealed the deal with a $250,000 down-payment to the party's coffers, with presumably a great deal more to come.

Not politics? Bloomberg continues to scorn the city's campaign finance system, the hard-won reform designed to curb the influence of big money in elections. He spends as much as he wants—the same way the hacks used to do before limits were adopted.

Then there's the bare-bones political scheming that won the mayor the very right to even appear on the ballot this year. That's the one topic Mike Bloomberg still refuses to talk about. He gets an electric-like jolt whenever the topic is raised. Just when and why Mike Bloomberg decided to overturn the city's term limits laws is shrouded in mystery. He's done his best to keep it that way.

Posted by eric at 5:13 PM

Proposed Supermarket Divides Bronx Community

The New York Times
by Terry Pristin

An article about a Bronx supermarket project and a related Community Benefits Agreement highlights the Mayor's flip-flop.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who in the past has supported the efforts of community groups to forge their own pacts with developers for projects like Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn, is now adamantly opposed to so-called community benefits agreements. City officials say that benefits to local residents should be considered as part of the public approval process, not in separate agreements.

Seth W. Pinsky, president of the city Economic Development Corporation, said the split over the supermarket illustrated the flaws inherent in these pacts. “On the one hand you have groups that are claiming to represent the communities saying no to grocery stores,” he said, “while on the other hand there are community groups saying we desperately need more grocery stores.”

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NoLandGrab: The truth is probably that the Bloomberg Administration will embrace CBAs when they suit their goals, and oppose them when they don't.

Posted by eric at 10:29 AM

September 29, 2009

Two Runoff Elections: Your Votes Sure Could Make a Difference, Or Is That Really So?

Noticing New York

With both candidates for Public Advocate in favor of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards megaproject and both candidates for Comptroller tepidly against the project, blogger Michael D.D. White recommends that you cast your ballot today.

link

Posted by lumi at 5:34 AM

September 28, 2009

Opportunity for Thompson? Looking at Bloomberg's support for the West Side Stadium, reflexive backing for AY, and how AY was reframed in polls

Atlantic Yards Report

Underdog Democratic mayoral nominee Bill Thompson's an Atlantic Yards supporter. Indeed, he signed a boilerplate letter (left) in July 2005 to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in support of the project.

Should Thompson somehow challenge Mayor Mike Bloomberg on his support for the project, the challenger might gain some headway--only if he looked back in history and framed the issue appropriately. (Right now the only AY critic in the race is Green Party candidate Rev. Billy Talen.)

Click here for Norman Oder's look back at the political history of Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 6:41 AM

September 23, 2009

Answers About Michael R. Bloomberg

City Room [NYTimes.com]

Joyce Purnick, the author of “Mike Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics,” plays oracle to SteveFtGreene's question about Atlantic Yards:

Question: Why does Mayor Bloomberg continue to support Atlantic Yards when the supposed public benefits, especially the affordable housing will not be available until decades in the future, or never?

Answer: His argument: Economic development is good for the economy. It puts people to work, it generates tax revenues so the city can build more moderately priced housing and spend on other services. That is what he would say if you asked him. Others, and not only opponents of the Atlantic Yards project, don’t see it that way, to put it mildly.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:44 PM

September 20, 2009

Really Wylde? New NY Federal Reserve Bank Director Supported Major NYC Net Loss ($220 Million) Megadevelopment

Noticing New York

This blog entry focuses on Kathy Wylde, who was recently appointed to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Wylde has been a supporter of Michael Bloomberg, helping to overturn voter wishes on term limits, and also a supporter of the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

Here is a description of much of what is so wrong about Atlantic Yards:

A spectacularly flawed project in almost all respects, New York City’s Independent Budget Office has concluded that the Atlantic Yards arena, the only part of the Atlantic Yards project currently designed or for which any kind of enforceable, documented deal exists will be a net money loser for the city to the tune of $220 million($39.5 million in direct losses and $180.5 million in opportunity losses). The megadevelopment’s guaranteed inadequacies flow principally from the fact that it was set up and concocted by the developer, Forest City Ratner, as a subsidy-infusion system intended to deliver maximum benefit to the developer at the expense of the public. The IBO has conservatively calculated that on the arena alone the city will be giving the developer$726 million in no-bid giveaways.

The as yet undesigned rest of the megadevelopment has been formulated as a multi-decade no-obligation developer monopoly on a swath of valuable Brooklyn real estate that will allow the developer to blackmail the public into deeper subsidies, redoubling its net losses. In fact, just this week the developer caused New York Governor Paterson’s Empire State Development Corporation to casually shake the advance of another $25 million out of its sleeve. (See: Thursday, September 17, 2009, Noticing New York Comment on and at Today’s ESDC Board Meeting.) Since the project is unlikely ever to return the accelerated advance of that money, this extra $25 million could well bring the calculated net loss on the project up from $220 million to $245 million.

...

The mega-project, containing the seeds for its own demise from the get-go, has been foundering embarrassingly for the five years since it was proposed. The developer could quite likely go under financially. There have thus been ample and repeated opportunities for responsible organizations to call for pulling the plug on the degenerating deal. We have written before about how Ms. Wylde has, instead, errantly recommitted her support to it no matter how far it degrades. (See: Monday, July 6, 2009, Wylde Ideas, Making For a Wrong Partnership.) Most recently, despite a change in the economic environment which should have made it possible to get a much better deal for the public, Ms. Wylde endorsed a far worse one on behalf of the Partnership (see the article just linked to) where hundreds of millions of extra giveaways are being lavished on the project without quid pro quo.

Wylde will join Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University, and eminent domain abuser on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York board. The entry ends with this warning:

So, if you are wondering about what kind of biases might govern the Federal Reserve in conducting federal policy to protect the public and ensure soundness of the economy, just remember that two of its board members who are there to set policy and direction are Atlantic Yards, Bloomberg and eminent domain supporter Kathy Wylde and eminent domain abuser Lee Bollinger from Columbia.

And there is this. According to Crain’s:

The New York Fed also has the ear of Washington, D.C.—U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was president of the New York Fed until his White House appointment.

Worried?

link

Posted by steve at 10:43 AM

September 19, 2009

Congratulations, Councilman Levin…Now What?

Real Reform Brooklyn: Eye on the 33rd

Steven Levin won the Democratic primary this week for a seat on the City Council. This open letter is a suggestion list. One of the asks is that Levin fix the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

Dear Councilman Levin:

We know that it is premature to call you that. You still need to go through the general election and get sworn in. But we all know those are mere formalities. You won. Vito Lopez hooked you up every which way from Tuesday: the Zalmanite faction with Rabbi Niederman and UJO, the union endorsements, the Bushwick United Democratic Club. But it would be unfair to say that Lopez won the election for you. The other candidates sliced and diced themselves up to a fair-thee-well. All that, and good honest campaigning on your behalf, won the day. You are to be personally credited with running an honorable campaign. You never went negative. You never took a shot below the belt. That is why we said “we really want to like you.”

The question is, now what? We thought that we would give you a few suggestions for your new office:

...

1. Don’t Fold On Atlantic Yards. You have the real opportunity to curb the excesses of Atlantic Yards. You should work with Lopez to make this happen. On December 31st, Ratner’s tax-free financing is going to go “poof.” You need to use that opportunity to force a re-orienting of the proposed arena so that eminent domain is not needed. You also need to bring about a contextual re-working of the plan to integrate it into the surrounding communities.

This appears in this item's comments section:

“You need to use that opportunity to force a re-orienting of the proposed arena so that eminent domain is not needed.”

the arena doesn’t fit at that location without eminent domain. so better: you need to denounce the use of eminent domain to build an arena.

link

Posted by steve at 7:31 AM

September 17, 2009

More primary election wrap-up in Ratnerville

The Local, Crunching, and Chewing on, Some Numbers

And we can confirm commenter harriet’s report that Letitia James won by the biggest margin of any council candidate in the city — 67 percentage points over Delia Hunley-Adossa. But we need to correct her statement that Ms. James got the most votes. That honor goes to Inez Dickens of Harlem’s 9th District.

Can the results in other districts be analyzed through the rubric of the "Atlantic Yards effect?"

This morning we linked to Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s post stating that all three council districts surrounding and including Atlantic Yards were carried by anti-AY candidates.

But Atlantic Yards Report says it’s a bit more complicated than that, calling one of the winners, Steve Levin in the 33rd, a “fence-sitter” and the other, Brad Lander in the 39th, a “latecomer to opposition,” at least compared to Josh Skaller, whom he defeated.

In the citywide races for public advocate and comptroller, which will take runoffs to decide, Atlantic Yards Report notes that while the next comptroller will be less kindly disposed towards AY than the present one, Bill Thompson, the next public advocate will be a supporter, like the current one.

Do you think that yesterday’s results augur anything in particular for the political fortunes of Atlantic Yards, which seems likely to need as much political support as it can possibly get in order to get off the ground? Please share.

The Brooklyn Paper, Tuesday’s primary results are in!

Democratic voters in the 35th District, which covers Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, resounding backed their incumbent, Letitia James against the better-funded challenger, Delia Hunley-Adossa, whose campaign benefitted financially from her support of the Atlantic Yards project.

James won with 81.2 percent of the vote to Hunley-Adossa’s 14 percent.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Lander and Levin Sweep To City Council Victories

Atlantic Yards opponent Councilwoman Letitia James easily trounced project supporter Delia Hunley-Adossa with 7, 479 votes, a landslide of 81.2 of the vote, to Hunley-Adossa’s 1,275, or 13.9 percent.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Little-Known Mayoral Candidate Represents Conservative Party

What kind of world is it when the Conservative Party mayoral candidate takes a wait-and-see approach to ham-fisted-pork-barrel-top-down overdevelopment?

On developments such as Atlantic Yards and Coney Island, [Conservative Party candidate Rev. Stephen] Christopher wants to see what lessons may be learned from these controversial proposals. “Everything in the city is made excessively complicated. Agencies play a huge role and developers’ deep pockets take precedent, and the middle class is squeezed out,” he said.

NoLandGrab: Ironically, deep-pocketed developer Bruce Ratner probably believes that things started off pretty simple and only became "excessively complicated" when the neighbors in around the footprint of his Atlantic Yards scheme didn't roll over.

Posted by lumi at 5:38 AM

September 16, 2009

Primary Election Round-up: Atlantic Yards edition

It's hard to say that Atlantic Yards played much of a role in the outcomes of yesterday's primary elections, since in many races, such as Brooklyn's 33rd and 39th District City Council primaries, all the candidates professed at least some degree of opposition to the project.

There was one race, however, which could be viewed as a referendum on Atlantic Yards, and the results were not pretty for Bruce Ratner's hand-picked candidate. More on that, and all relevant results, below.

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill], James, in a Landslide

City Councilwoman Letitia James coasted to victory over Delia Hunley-Adossa and Medhanie Estiphanos in the Democratic primary tonight, drawing more than 80 percent of the vote and virtually guaranteeing that she will be elected to a third term in the general election in November.

With 99 percent of the votes tallied, Ms. James had 7,479 votes to Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s 1,275 and Mr. Estiphanos’s 460, the city Board of Elections reported. That works out to 81 percent for Ms. James, 14 percent for Ms. Hunley-Adossa and 5 percent for Mr. Estiphanos.
...

The campaign took place against the backdrop of Atlantic Yards, the gargantuan $4.9 billion development proposed for the western edge of the district. Ms. James has fought against it. Ms. Hunley-Adossa, as head of a coalition of nonprofits that entered into a community benefits agreement with the developer, supports it.

At Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s headquarters on Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights, the scene was also animated, but not in a happy way. A cluster of her campaign workers milled in front of the office, complaining loudly and profanely that they had not been paid.

The Brooklyn Paper, In the 35th District: Letitia James steamrolls Yards-loving foe

Letitia James* 7,479 (81.2 percent)
Delia Hunley-Adossa 1,275 (13.9 percent)
Medhanie Estiphanos 460 (5 percent)

35th Council District covering Fort Greene and Clinton Hill

The popular incumbent James fended off a challenge from Hunley-Adossa that turned out to be mostly a financial one. Backed by construction union workers thanks to her support for the Atlantic Yards mega-project, Hunley-Adossa was able to raise more money than the incumbent — a rarity in New York.

But her inaccessability, plus her poor performance in a Community Newspaper Group-sponsored debate, hurt her ability to capitalize on her funding.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, The Results Are In: Three Who Oppose Atlantic Yards Win Local Races

In the three districts that surround the proposed Atlantic Yards site, all three primary election victors have professed opposition to Atlantic Yards.

Here are the positions of the winning candidates on the beleaguered project:

33rd Council District (seat currently held by David Yassky)
Winner: Steve Levin
(33.7% of the vote)
"At the present moment, it looks like it's probably not going to happen," Levin said. "So I do not support the plan as it currently stands. I think it's too much, it's too big. And I believe that it shouldn't be supported because the silver lining in the original plan, the affordable housing and the union jobs that would be created, does not look like it's going to be there."
(From Atlantic Yards Report coverage of News12 debate.)
...

35th Council District
Winner: Incumbent Councilmember Letitia James
(81.17% of the vote)
Councilwoman James is the leading political opponent of the Atlantic Yards proposal since it was unveiled in December 2003.

(AY Community Benefits Agreement chairwoman, Forest City AY Partner and political surrogate Delia Hunley-Adossa whose Brooklyn Endeavor Experience received at least $400,000 from Forest City Ratner for her salary and other questionable uses, received 13.4% of the vote.)

39th Council District (seat currently held by Bill de Blasio)
Winner: Brad Lander
(41.15% of the vote)
Brad Lander said, "We should scrap the Atlantic Yards plan and go back to the drawing board." He referenced a critical report he co-authored in 2005 and said the developer "had time to address" the critiques but made the project worse.
(From Atlantic Yards Report coverage of News12 debate.)

We look forward to working with our newest local councilmembers.

Congratulations to all of the candidates who competed, and congratulations to the winners.

Now, let's all hold their feet to the fire when it comes to their campaign positions on Atlantic Yards.

Atlantic Yards Report, The election results, the argument for IRV, and the AY effect

Maybe I was wrong when I took the New York Times to task for not issuing an endorsement in the race for the 35th Council district.

The Times announced endorsements in "several of the most competitive districts" and I thought that Delia Hunley-Adossa would give incumbent Letitia James a decent run. Well, despite something of a stealth campaign, Hunley-Adossa's camp worked hard in the final weeks, with a significant presence putting up posters.

But James won 81% of the vote in a low-turnout election, despite some Hunley-Adossa shenanigans. I still think the race deserved editorial comment, but it clearly wasn't competitive.

The ever-clear-eyed Oder gauges what it all means for the Atlantic Yards battle.

The AY effect

The current configuration regarding Atlantic Yards is changed only somewhat. DDDB claims that three who oppose AY won, but one is a fence-sitter and the other a latecomer to opposition. Veteran opponents of AY lost in both districts.

Project opponent James remains in office. In the 33rd, Levin's fence-sitting posture is not unlike that of incumbent David Yassky, though clearly the current climate pushed Levin toward more rhetorical criticism.

Lander, though not a longtime opponent like Skaller, is a longtime critic who now says the project should be scrapped--again, likely to respond to Skaller's challenge.

Though Lander may feel pressure from some supporters to moderate that position, it's a much tougher position than that held by the incumbent, Bill de Blasio. So Lander should be more of an ally to James on the issue.

Public Advocate candidate Norman Siegel, an AY opponent, lost, and the two candidates in the runoff, Mark Green and Blasio, are supporters. But so is incumbent Betsy Gotbaum.

In the Comptroller's race, AY supporter Bill Thompson will be replaced by either Council Member David Yassky and John Liu, both of whom have expressed occasional skepticism along with essential support.

Thompson beat AY opponent Tony Avella in the race for Democratic nomination for mayor. Perhaps most importantly, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, an unyielding project supporter, is highly favored to win a third term.

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill], The Day: Yay for James, Nay for Atlantic Yards?

The Brooklyn Paper, In the 39th District: Lander crushes four rivals

Lander, an affordable housing developer best known for his work leading the Fifth Avenue Committee and the Pratt Center for Community Development, dominated his four Democratic rivals, winning all but one polling location outside the heavily Orthodox Jewish, and largely conservative, Borough Park portion of the district.
...

“As badly as we lost, we also won something,” Skaller told his supporters at Johnny Mack’s on Eighth Avenue and 12th Street. “Before we got into the race, the importance of taking on Atlantic Yards was not seen as serious, the need to fight developers in Carroll Gardens was not on the agenda, and the urgency of a Superfund clean-up of the Gowanus Canal was not understood — but it all is now.”

park slope on a rope, Primary wrap and Park Slope

What does this mean for you? I have no idea, I didn't vote either. What I do know is that Lander used to be for Atlantic Yards before he was against it. He's a public housing advocate though and now that well known sonofabitch Bruce Ratner, of AY developer Forest City Ratner, has all but punted on the affordable housing component that was crucial to getting city approval for the project, watch for Lander to be a thorn in Ratner's side. Good. Make sense? Great.

Last note is that Lander held his victory party at Commonwealth, home of the world's greatest bathroom graffiti. I like this guy more and more.

NoLandGrab: Brad was never for Atlantic Yards; he's been a critic from the beginning.

City Room, Snapshots of Primary Day

Dan Avallone, a remodeling contractor who declined to say whom he was voting for, said he was not excited about the election.

“I’m one of the few people who think the Atlantic Yards is a good idea,” he said, blaming the opposition for the long delays that have hampered the project. “Politicians and my neighbors missed an opportunity. They are looking at the future through a rear-view mirror.”

Pardon Me For Asking, Disappointed? Yes! Regretful? No! The Day After The Primaries

I hope that Josh will continue to be a strong voice for change. We need him, be it in the fight against Atlantic Yards, in the fight for the Gowanus Canal Superfund designation or in the fight to preserve our brownstone neighborhoods.

Posted by eric at 10:48 AM

September 15, 2009

Hunley-Adossa palm card claims alliance with anti-AY candidate Norman "Siegal"

Atlantic Yards Report

Hey, if you can't win by running for Atlantic Yards, try running against it!

It's not clear if Atlantic Yards booster Delia Hunley-Adossa, challenging Council Member Letitia James in the 35th District, has any significant endorsements. (You can't find any on her web site. No newspaper has endorsed her.)

But on the palm card her camp distributed today, she's shown in alliance with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who surely shares her views on Atlantic Yards.

The rest of the poorly proofed document says she's "working along side our trusted leaders," including Comptroller Bill Thompson, Markowitz, Council Member (and Comptroller candidate) David Yassky, and Public Advocate candidate "Norman Siegal."

That would be news to Siegel, who's a vehement opponent of Atlantic Yards and has brought up eminent domain abuse regularly during Public Advocate debates.

And Yassky has stayed out of the race.

link

NoLandGrab: Perhaps it should be called a greased-palm card.

Posted by eric at 2:48 PM

Our Endorsements for Tuesday's Primaries

Atlantic Yards Voter Guide

These endorsements are based on one thing only: true blue, principled, consistent and active opposition to Atlantic Yards. And if you think that is too "single-issue" keep in mind that Atlantic Yards involves nearly every single important issue to New York City in the 21st century (we said nearly, not all).

With that in mind, our choices for the primaries on September 15

33rd Council Race (soon to be former Yassky seat)
-- Vote for Ken Baer or Ken Diamondstone

35th Council District (Absolute no brainer)
-- Vote for Letitia James
(Delia Hunley-Adossa should be investigated, not on a ballot.)

36th Council District (Absolute no brainer)
-- Vote for Mark Winston Griffith

39th Council District (soon to be former de Blasio seat, also a no brainer)
-- Vote for Josh Skaller

Public Advocate (Absolute no brainer)
-- Vote for Norman Siegel

Comptroller
Sorry, but they all stink when it comes to Atlantic Yards, but if you must hold your nose, and hold it hard and tight, David Yassky is the only one of the four who has at times, over the years, been critical of Atlantic Yards, though he does support it. But we repeat, they all stink when it comes to Atlantic Yards. (Note well that Melinda Katz never saw a real estate developer she couldn't embrace.)

Mayor
-- Vote for Tony Avella

link

NoLandGrab's endorsements are here.

Posted by eric at 9:57 AM

Voting booth

We've already put up the NoLandGrab slate of candidates for today's primary elections. Here are some others.

Noticing New York, Our thoughts on Navigating the Voter Minefields When All the Candidates Know the Words to Mouth on Development

This will provide our good government, good real estate development oriented, Noticing New York thoughts on who to vote for in a number of tomorrow’s most important primary elections and why: Tony Avella for Mayor. Norman Siegel for Public Advocate. John Liu (or David Yassky?) for Comptroller. Josh Skaller in the 39th City Council District. Jo Ann Simon (or Evan Thies?) for the 33rd. Tish James for the 35th. Yetta Kurland in the 3rd to defeat Christine Quinn and unseat her as speaker of the City Council.

Michael D. D. White explains how he came up with his slate, including the Marty and WFP anti-endorsement.

Atlantic Yards Report, Thinking about the 33rd Council District (Part 2): why I'm voting (gingerly) for Simon

Though it is a little uncharacteristic for Norman Oder to share his personal views on his blog, he explains that his tepid vote for Jo Anne Simon has more to do with casting a vote against Stephen Levin.

Posted by lumi at 5:19 AM

September 14, 2009

The NoLandGrab Primary Slate

The polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. tomorrow. If you don't know your polling location, click here.

NoLandGrab offers the following candidate endorsements for your consideration.

For Mayor

Tony Avella has been a staunch opponent of Atlantic Yards and eminent domain abuse. From Prospect Heights to Willets Point to Columbia, he has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with property owners and residents and against publicly subsidized, land-grabbing boondoggles.

His democratic opponent, City Comptroller Bill Thompson, says he's a "late supporter" of Atlantic Yards, has collected tons of developer money, and has done nothing — remember, he's the city's CFO — to investigate or even evaluate the hundreds of millions of dollars the city is throwing at project developer Bruce Ratner.

The choice is clear: Tony Avella will pull the plug on the city's support for Atlantic Yards on his first day in office.

For Public Advocate

This is another race in which the choice is crystal-clear. Norman Siegel has made a career of fighting for just causes, and has been a fierce critic of eminent domain abuse. He represented DDDB in the early days of the fight against Atlantic Yards, and is the attorney for Nick Sprayregen, the Manhattanville business owner fighting the Columbia University land grab. Siegel has been New York City's de facto public advocate for years — he deserves to have his name on the office officially.

For Comptroller

None of the four candidates for Comptroller has expressed clear opposition to Atlantic Yards. Melinda Katz has taken more developer money than any candidate in the city. David Weprin says he's against eminent domain for private projects, but has voted in favor of such projects in the City Council. David Yassky has been for and against Atlantic Yards on numerous occasions; he's more in the anti camp now, but it's too little, too late. John Liu perhaps shows the most promise on land-use issues, and he's drawn the support of some prominent Atlantic Yards opponents, but his failure to stake out a concrete position on the project keeps us on the sidelines in the Comptroller's race.

For City Council, 33rd District

All seven candidates in this race have at least claimed some degree of opposition to Atlantic Yards, but two stand apart from the rest. Ken Baer and Ken Diamondstone were early, vocal opponents of the project; Baer led the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter when it signed on as a plaintiff to the lawsuit challenging the Atlantic Yards environmental review, and Diamondstone had to fight to keep his Community Board seat after speaking out early and often against the project.

While some critics of Atlantic Yards have spent time trying to handicap the race in the 33rd in order to cast a defensive vote (trying to prevent the election of machine candidate Steve Levin), we're more interested in who should win rather than playing the complicated game of who can win. With that in mind, we endorse the Kens, Baer and Diamondstone.

For City Council, 35th District

Incumbent Letitia James is running for re-election. 'Nuff said. The staunchest, most outspoken opponent of Atlantic Yards holding elective office, she is highly deserving of another term. It's hardly worth mentioning that her chief opponent, Delia Hunley-Adossa, is a signatory of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement, heads an organization that has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Forest City Ratner, and is an unquestioned proxy for Bruce Ratner. Brooklyn needs Tish James in City Hall.

For City Council, 36th District

There are a host of candidates challenging Atlantic Yards-supporting incumbent Councilmember Al Vann (who voted to overturn term limits), but nearly all of them support the project, too. Except one: Mark Winston Griffith. He's been a community activist for two decades, and currently serves as Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute, in which position he has repeatedly criticized Atlantic Yards and developer Forest City Ratner. Mark Winston Griffith is the obvious choice in the 36th.

For City Council, 39th District

Four of the five candidates in the 39th District race have been at a minimum deeply critical of the Atlantic Yards project, but only one has earned the widespread support of the most dedicated opponents of Bruce Ratner's boondoggle. Josh Skaller, who as president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats led the organization to join the lawsuit challenging the Atlantic Yards EIS, has been unwavering in his opposition to the project, and he pledged from the start of his campaign to take no money from developers — a position that some of his opponents were later forced to adopt. We have no doubt that, if elected, Josh Skaller will be a feisty, principled Tish James-like independent in the City Council, and we endorse him wholeheartedly.

Posted by eric at 4:34 PM

Candidate Profile: Ken Baer

YourNabe.com
by Aaron Short

Park Slope resident Ken Baer is a one-man show.

He has no staff, no vehicle, and no cell phone, but he is running an ambitious do-it-yourself City Council campaign in the 33rd District, which he believes he can win on September 15.
...

Baer moved to Park Slope in 1979, and promptly joined the Park Slope Food Co-op.His 21 years as a Sierra Club activist have shaped his political views considerably, from opposing the Atlantic Yards project and the proposal to construct high-rise residential buildings in Brooklyn Bridge Park to urging the EPA to designate the Gowanus Canal as a superfund site and urging the MTA to find a long-term solution to its financial situation.

“Development is an environmental issue. Atlantic Yards, if constructed, would lead to a considerable amount more traffic, noise and air pollution. It would put shadows on Fort Greene which would preclude the installation of solar panels and affect people’s gardens,” he said.

article

Posted by eric at 4:27 PM

Real Estate's Last Stand

Gotham Gazette
by Courtney Gross

Who are big real estate developers supporting in tomorrow's primary?

Wielding the city's most lucrative resource -- land -- developers have long used their purse strings to try to influence City Hall. And this year is no different.

The most viable citywide candidates have collected more than $2.5 million from real estate interests for the 2009 election, according to an analysis by Gotham Gazette. None have collected more than comptroller candidate and Land Use Committee Chair Melinda Katz, who took in more than 30 percent of that figure. Thompson and public advocate candidate and Councilmember Eric Gioia have also pulled in considerable sums, at $393,000 and $314,807, respectively.

At the same time, some of the city's most well known or active developers have increased their donations by more than 30 percent since 2001 -- and we haven't even passed the primary.
...

On stage at New York Law School earlier this summer, public advocate candidate and civil rights attorney Norman Siegel gave the audience a warning for this year's election.

"Developers are out of control," he cautioned, wearing his trademark tan suit. "You should ask every candidate here whether they get money from developers. They should disclose what developers they get money from, where they stand on these issues of eminent domain. I, for one, don't get any money from developers."

But no one, not even Siegel or Avella, is immune from the development industry.

Some are more immune than others, however.

Of the citywide candidates, both Avella and Siegel have been the most critical of developers. Nearly all of Siegel's contributions associated with the industry -- which total $8,405 -- come from low-level realtors. He has one $4,950 contribution from a West Harlem developer that fought against the expansion of Columbia University -- a position Siegel also took.
...

In Fort Greene, Councilmember Letitia James is facing off against Delia Hunley-Adossa, who is an ally of Atlantic Yards developer, Forest City Ratner. Even though Hunley-Adossa has not received funds from Ratner directly, her ties to the project have caused controversy.
...

"If you look at the amount of money [the industry] spends, you find they are one of the biggest contributor blocks as a profession," said Josh Skaller, who is running for City Council in the 39th district in Brooklyn and has pledged to not take developer money. "There is a direct correlation, in my opinion, in how our neighborhoods are being overbuilt right now."

Click thru for lists of the top recipients of developer money — and its sources.

article

NoLandGrab: Two things to note. Mayor Bloomberg, were he not already New York's richest person (and self-financed candidate), loves developers too, even if he doesn't need their money. And Forest City, which appears to give next to nothing to candidates, actually funnels significant contributions through relatives of CEO Bruce Ratner, including his brother, constitutional rights attorney Michael Ratner, and college-student cousins.

Posted by eric at 3:50 PM

Atlantic Yards Report's Primary Colors

The Daily News's non-endorsement in the 35th District

In August I wrote that I doubted that the Atlantic Yards-loving Daily News could legitimately endorse challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa in the 35th Council District after her unwillingness to subject herself to public scrutiny.

Indeed, today's endorsements for "those City Council candidates whose primary victories tomorrow hold the greatest promise of raising the low quality of the municipal legislature" ignores the 35th District.

Thinking about the 39th: why Dov Hikind causes Brad Lander to sound curiously like Charles Barkley

[Josh] Skaller's been a longtime opponent of Atlantic Yards--hence the support connected to DDDB.

[Brad] Lander has been a longtime critic, though not unsympathetic to the potential benefits, who now says the project should be scrapped; in other words, he didn't oppose the fundamental decision by the Empire State Development Corporation to declare the site blighted and to pursue eminent domain, but he's now gotten much tougher.

(The WFP has close ties to ACORN, Forest City Ratner's partner on AY. In the 33rd District, the WFP has endorsed the most pro-AY candidate, Steve Levin. Then again, the WFP also supports Mark Winston Griffith, the candidate in the 36th District who's most critical of Atlantic Yards, as well as project opponent Letitia James in the 35th District.)

Still, Lander's supported by Ron Shiffman, a DDDB board member who has a professional tie as his predecessor at the Pratt Center for Community Development.

Thinking about the 33rd Council District (Part 1)

At the debate, [Steve] Levin came off with unctuous insincerity, claiming, for example, that "I am not in favor of Atlantic Yards." (Actually, he's more of a fence-sitter.)

Perhaps the most telling answer came in response to the (very good) question about which Council Members the candidates would feel closest to. Levin said he'd built relationships with Council Members Lew Fidler, Dominic Recchia, and Erik Dilan--all reliable allies of the clubhouse and Forest City Ratner, with the first two from deep southern Brooklyn, far from Levin's base in north Brooklyn.

Posted by eric at 1:07 PM

Political developerments in the 35th

Gotham Gazette, Real Estate's Last Stand

Courtney Gross examines the role real estate developers are playing in this week's elections. Atlantic Yards makes a cameo in Ft. Greene:

In Fort Greene, Councilmember Letitia James is facing off against Delia Hunley-Adossa, who is an ally of Atlantic Yards developer, Forest City Ratner. Even though Hunley-Adossa has not received funds from Ratner directly, her ties to the project have caused controversy.

The Local, Newcomer in Council Race Argues for Change

Medhanie Estiphanos is running for City Council against incumbent Letitia James and Atlantic Yards ally Delia Hunley-Adossa:

Third on his list of concerns is the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of apartments, driven in part by the many new luxury developments — like Atlantic Yards — coming into the area.

Posted by lumi at 5:12 AM

September 13, 2009

Jo Anne Simon Endorsement Update: Veterans and Atlantic Yards

Mole 333 makes an endorsement in the City Council District 33 race. Simon's position on the proposed Atlantic Yards project is a factor.

Now the other clarification regarding endorsements in the 33rd race. Three of the other candidates in the race have as their main strategy negative campaigning against Jo Anne Simon. Among their attacks have been trying to portray her as pro-Ratner. This is very much not the case. I want to emphsize that Jo Anne Simon is THE candidate endorsed by many of the core anti-Ratner activists. I have highlighted some of them in the past, but let me give a more comprehensive list (with a reminder of some I have forgotten before thanks to the Simon campaign).

Jo Anne Simon has been endorsed by:

Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats
Councilwoman Tish James
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
State Senator Eric Adams
Candace Carpenter (head of the DDDB legal team fighting Ratner)
Isabel Hill (film maker who made Brooklyn Matters, an award winning documentary about the fight against Ratner)

All of these have been champions in the fight against Ratner and they have ALL endorsed Jo Anne Simon. Believe me that Tish James, CBID, the head of the DDDB legal team and the maker of Brooklyn Matters would NOT endorse a pro-Ratner candidate! So don't believe misleading negative campaigning. A vote for Jo Anne Simon is a vote against not just the Vito Lopez machine but a vote against Bruce Ratner.

link

Posted by steve at 7:58 AM

September 12, 2009

Three profiles of the 35th District City Council candidates

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
By Sarah Maslin Nir

These are rather lengthy profiles of three City Council candidates. Only brief excepts having to do with the proposed Atlantic Yards project are being quoted here.

In Council Race, James Banks on AY Opposition

But the battle that has ended up defining Ms. James’s tenure on the council was only beginning to take shape in 2003 — Atlantic Yards, the $4.9 billion development proposed for a western swath of her district, which Ms. James has fought against for years.

Ms. James, who also heads the council’s contracts committee and is co-chairwoman of its infrastructure task force, is counting on popular opposition to the project to carry her to victory over her main challenger, Delia Hunley-Adossa, one of Atlantic Yards’ most prominent supporters.

Hunley-Adossa: FCR Alliance for the Community’s Good

It’s the elephant in the room, so let’s say it right up front: The non-profit organization run by Delia Hunley-Adossa, the leading primary challenger to City Councilwoman Letitia James, has accepted somewhere in the area of $400,000 from Forest City Ratner, the developer behind the Atlantic Yards project.

Ms. Hunley-Adossa, 52, whose friends call her “Dee,” makes no apologies for her nonprofit group, Brooklyn Endeavor Experience — an entity distinct from herself and from her campaign — accepting the money.

“Yes, I have taken and I have gotten money on behalf of the developer to give back to the community,” said Ms. Hunley-Adossa, a first-time contender for public office. “I could be cited for that, and I will do it again and again.”

Newcomer in Council Race Argues for Change

Third on his list of concerns is the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of apartments, driven in part by the many new luxury developments — like Atlantic Yards –coming into the area.

Whether it’s “Myrtle Avenue or Park Avenue,” Mr. Estiphanos said, all new developments must be required to have a portion of their units allocated as affordable housing, a move that he said will foster “economic, racial, ethnic” and even sexual orientation diversity, and improve New Yorkers’ lives.

Posted by steve at 6:16 AM

The Day: Politics and More Politics

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
By Andy Newman

As the race for the City Council seat for 35th District City Council comes down the wire, candidate and Ratner beneficiary Delia Hunley-Adossa has gone negative against incumbent and pro-UNITY stalwart, Tish James.

As if you needed to be reminded, there are just four more shopping days until Tuesday’s primaries. Stand by for mini-profiles of all three council candidates, plus the last three installments of our virtual debate, the candidates’ schedules for the next few days if we can get them, as well as any other campaign news that crosses the transom.

Speaking of which, the Delia Hunley-Adossa brochure we characterized yesterday as “feel-good” (compared to a flier accusing Letitia James of buying her way into office) was not entirely so, as commenter Mike pointed out. It claims, among other things, that Ms. James moved to the district in order to run for office and is “too weak to negotiate” with big developers — presumably Forest City Ratner.

Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s supporters also inflated a union rat yesterday outside Ms. James’s council office on Hanson Place, an allusion to the construction jobs Ms. James is accused of chasing away by opposing Atlantic Yards.

link

NoLandGrab: It's a safe bet that the inflatable rat was courtesy of construction unions that have contributed to Hunley-Adossa's campaign, but whose members live outside of the council district.

Posted by steve at 5:33 AM

September 11, 2009

Friday Politics Watch

Here's a round-up of the latest Atlantic Yards-related campaign news. It'll be mostly all over on Tuesday, which'll save a lot of trees.

Atlantic Yards Report, Public Advocate candidate Siegel: public hearings should be called on development process

What can the Public Advocate do to question the Department of Finance's questionable assessments in the Atlantic Yards footprint? I got an answer from candidate Norman Siegel: public hearings and even judicial inquiries.
...

Siegel responded:
My answer to your question is yes, the Department of Finance’s assessment of the Atlantic Yards footprint is a matter of great concern to me. As many readers of your blog know, I opposed the Atlantic Yards project from the beginning and served as counsel to Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn in the effort to stop the project. I am also involved with community groups opposing the New York Yankees’ broken promises to replace park space in the South Bronx that was taken over by their new stadium. The favorability of the Department of Finance’s assessments to the developers in both these cases is extremely troubling. It highlights a primary reason that the abuse of eminent domain in the case of Atlantic Yards is unconstitutional – the negotiations have not been undertaken in good faith, and they have been completely developer-driven from the get go.

There is a lot that the Public Advocate can do to hold the Department of Finance accountable, because the Public Advocate has the responsibility to oversee all city agencies. While I hope that other elected officials would support me in this effort, there has not been enough focus on the Administration or Department of Finance from the more powerful, citywide office holders. One of the most important features of the Public Advocate’s office is its authority to hold public hearings. When dealing with City agencies accused of wrongdoing, one can be assured that holding hearings is a tool I will use liberally. If I were Public Advocate, I would have already called for multiple public hearings into the city’s most roiling development projects, such as Atlantic Yards, the new Yankee Stadium, Columbia University’s expansion, and the Willets Point plan. In many of these cases public hearings aren’t sufficient to discern what discussions really occurred between government officials and developers and whether they indeed constituted bad-faith negotiating; New York law also allows the Public Advocate to petition for judicial public hearings when there has been any showing of government impropriety, which allows the public to hear the acts in a court of law.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Greetings from Scott Turner: ST's Personal Guide for Voters

Fans for Fair Play's Scott Turner offers his primary endorsements via OTBKB. Here's a sampling.

Brooklyn's 33rd City Council District: Ken Diamondstone, Ken Baer, or anyone else named Ken. Diamondstone and Baer are straightshooters, excellent AY stance, and environmentally sound

Brooklyn's 35th City Council District: Letitia James. The bravest politician in NYC these past five years, speaking the truth to power. Her chief opponent is bankrolled by Forest City Ratner.

Brooklyn's 39th City Council District: Josh Skaller. Hands down. When you say "why can't we ever get somebody good into office?", it's Josh that you're wishing for. Smart, brash, compassionate and uncompromisingly principled, Josh is it. Also, an elected official whose name sounds like a scrubbing pad is nothing to sneeze at.

Atlantic Yards Report, As Hunley-Adossa goes negative and avoids questions, her top campaign promise is... more CBAs

Delia Hunley-Adossa, challenging incumbent Letitia James in the 35th Council District, previously agreed to answer written questions posed by the New York Times blog, The Local, but has backed off, her campaign manager claiming she's too busy.
...

Hunley-Adossa has not shown a deep knowledge of policy, as evinced in her performance in two debates (sponsored by CNG and News12).

But she did respond, at least in part, to a questionnaire from the Citizens Union (CU). In the questionnaire, Hunley-Adossa reveals that her number one campaign promise, despite its absence on her web site, is "Community Benefits Agreements for all development projects."

NoLandGrab: Ka-ching! With the Atlantic Yards CBA funneling several hundred thousand dollars to Hunley-Adossa's Brooklyn Endeavor Experience — which spends a good chunk of it on Hunley-Adossa's salary — her enthusiasm for more CBAs is no surprise.

City Hall News, Beneath Atlantic Yards Dispute, Complaints About Funding, Politicking In James’ Race

Delia Hunley-Adossa, a well-funded community fixture, has made a name for herself as a candidate, both for her support of the controversial Atlantic Yards development project and her campaign strategy of shunning the spotlight for several months before attempting to come out strong in the final weeks before the primary.

“You can’t show all your hands at the beginning,” Hunley-Adossa said, by way of explaining her seemingly counter-intuitive election strategy. “So we’ve been playing our cards close to the chest.”

NLG: That's also a good strategy for not revealing how utterly devoid of ideas one's campaign might be. Coincidence?

YourNabe.com, Thompson talks Bronx at CNG candidate Q&A

Here's another fan of CBAs.

Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson huddled with reporters at the downtown Brooklyn headquarters of the Community Newspaper Group on Monday, September [NLG: we think he means August] 31 to discuss his five-borough plan.
...

Thompson is a proponent of community benefits agreements linked to development, granted that the city formulate a benefits agreement blueprint. Benefits agreements should be negotiated as part of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, he said.

Bloomberg has attempted to shut out neighborhood stakeholders at the Atlantic Yards and Kingsbridge Armory developments.

The Brooklyn Paper, And from the mailbag...

To the editor,

It is disappointing, to say the least, that The Brooklyn Paper based so much of its endorsement for the 39th District Council seat on its position in favor of the arena at Atlantic Yards (“Dems should pick Heyer in the 39th District,” Sept. 4).

The arena would produce few good, long-term jobs, but plenty of congestion and even urban blight. And you gave short shrift to an impressive group of other candidates, in particular Gary Reilly, who has articulated very well-thought-out positions on this and other issues.

All in all, a baffling endorsement from a paper that should know better.

Michael Cairl, Park Slope

mole333's blog [The Daily Gotham], An Updated Rundown of the 39th City Council Candidates

Via Room Eight, Simon’s Atlantic Yards Fence-Sitting Buys Her Another Endorsement; Biviano Leads Groundswell Urging End to Business As Usual

Posted by eric at 9:44 AM

September 10, 2009

Ask the Candidates: If Atlantic Yards Is Built

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]

But if the project does move forward in one form or another, the district’s city council member will have to figure out how to deal with the developer — the subject of this installment in our reader-driven ask-the-candidates forum. Here are thoughts on the subject from challenger Medhanie Estiphanos and incumbent Letitia James, cut and pasted, without editing.

Though the other Democratic challenger, Delia Hunley-Adossa, had said she would participate in this forum, she has not answered any of the questions yet, and her campaign manager, Musa Moore, told us yesterday she has been too busy. “We’re trying to win a campaign against a seven-year incumbent,” Mr. Moore said. “The luxury of incumbency gives you that power. I have to keep my candidate in the street from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.”

article

However, Moore's candidate has apparently had time to print up a glossy attack flyer, 'cause when you've got nothing to say, attack your opponent.

The Local, When Candidates Attack

Some residents of the 35th City Council district received two mailers today from the Friends of Delia M. Hunley-Adossa.

The other one was different. It featured a photo of the incumbent, Councilwoman Letitia James, above the headline “Convicted Brooklyn County Organization Leaders Sold Political Offices to the Highest Bidder.” The next line says, “So just how much did Letitia James have to pay?”
...

Ms. James said that she did not buy her council seat from the party organization, and that moreover, the flier is factually incorrect — when she ran successfully in 2003, she was no longer the machine candidate.

“It’s basically desperation,” she said of the flier. “That’s all that it is.”

Click thru to see the reverse side.

NoLandGrab: Now who would've expected Bruce Ratner's hand-picked Council candidate to start slinging mud? Desperate times apparently call for desperate measures, and speaking of time, the clock's running out on Ms. Hunley-Adossa's candidacy.

Posted by eric at 5:22 PM

Atlantic Yards Report React-o-matic

Some analysis of press releases we already posted yesterday from Norman Oder's Atlantic Yards Report:

ESDC announces second public information session, focused on arena design, but after public comment period has closed

Well, the Empire State Development Corporation won't renege completely on the promise, made publicly by former CEO Marisa Lago, to hold two community information sessions.

However, the second session, to be held in conjunction with Forest City Ratner and the Center for Architecture, will be "focused on the new arena design," the ESDC said in a press release issued today.

The meeting will be held at Brooklyn Borough Hall on Monday, September 14 from 6 pm to 7:30 pm.

While the meeting might be intriguing, it's fairly meaningless. There are far more questions about the project than the arena itself and, given that the public comment period has closed, any issues raised in the session Monday can't be brought up before the ESDC board meets on September 17 to approve the plan.

Yes, Markowitz is on board (just as he was in June)

Borough President Marty Markowitz issued a statement regarding the new arena design:

“As I have said all along, Brooklyn is the greatest city in America. We’re ready to get back into professional sports’ big leagues, and this arena is going to make it happen. I am thrilled that the new design delivers not only a luminous, iconic structure that celebrates Brooklyn’s industrial heritage with its steel and glass exterior, but one that harmonizes with the architecture of the surrounding neighborhoods and creates a welcoming environment for the public at street-level.
...
In June, after the original architect, Frank Gehry, had been dropped for arena designer Ellerbe Becket, Markowitz declared that the new design, derided as a "hangar," was "actually better for Brooklyn."

DDDB statement on arena design: "lipstick on a corrupt pig"

Posted by lumi at 7:14 AM

Politics as unusual

The Local, Ask the Candidates: Atlantic Yards

The NY Times local blog querried the City Council candidates from the 35th District about their opinions on what should happen if Bruce Ratner is unable to build Atlantic Yards and the alternative UNITY plan. Two candidates support the UNITY plan, and "the other Democratic challenger" (aka, "the Ratner candidate") is MIA (again).

Atlantic Yards Report, In Public Advocate debate, Siegel again returns to eminent domain issue

Norman Oder reviews this week's Public Advocate debate. Candidates Norman Siegel and Eric Gioia scored points against their opponents on eminent domain.

Posted by lumi at 6:55 AM

September 8, 2009

Thompson vs. Avella on Atlantic Yards, affordable housing, and CBAs

Atlantic Yards Report

While the Community Newspaper Group's interviews with the Democratic Mayoral candidates, Comptroller Bill Thompson and Queens City Council Member Tony Avella, have already been summarized in the CNG's reports, the video is worth watching for an extended look at their analyses of Atlantic Yards.

Notably, Thompson showed himself to be a supporter of affordable housing and Community Benefits Agreements... while Avella addressed both issues with more criticism and more detail.

Unlike many candidates, who rely on funds from the real estate industry, Avella said his game plan was to tell the industry they no longer control the city's land use agenda.
...

Look for Atlantic Yards to come up again during an hour-long debate between the two on Wednesday, September 9, to be broadcast live on WABC television (Channel 7) and 1010 WINS.

article

Posted by lumi at 5:20 AM

September 6, 2009

NY Times City Council Endorsements (Or Lack Thereof) In Districts Most Affected by Atlantic Yards

Two blog entries concern themselves with endorsements from the New York Times in city council races taking place in districts most directly affected by the proposed Atlantic Yards development. The New York Times is a business partner with developer Bruce Ratner.

Atlantic Yards Voter Guide - Old Gray Lady Dare Not Mention Atlantic Yards, Even When It Would Be Enlightening

In the 39th District, the Times has endorsed Brad Lander. For those who have been fighting the proposed Atlantic Yards development, Josh Skaller is the obvious choice. Skaller has been strictly opposed to Bruce Ratner's land grab early on.

However, the Times can't even bring itself to mention the despised project, instead, saying that Skaller "made a name fighting big development in the area."

Only The Times, with its conflicted relationship with Forest City Ratner, could turn "Atlantic Yards" into the generic "big development in the area." Had the paper actually used the name of the big development Skaller has been fighting it would have alerted readers who care about Atlantic Yards who their candidate is; by diluting it thoroughly the editorial has underinformed its readers and done a solid for Lander. (And that's not to mention the fact that Skaller is well-known for many other reasons including being the former president of the area's most active and reformist political club.)

Atlantic Yards Report - Was AY a factor? The Times's endorsements: Simon in the 33rd; Lander in the 39th; and silence in the 35th

Norman Oder looks at additional City Council races.

There is no endorsement in the 35 Council District seat which is occupied by encumbent and anty-AY stalward Tish James.

Notably, the Times, which said it was weighing in on "several of the most competitive districts," chose not to opine regarding the 35th Council District.

That essentially suggests that the newspaper considers incumbent Letitia James, an AY opponent, and challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa, an AY supporter, equally qualified (or non-qualified)--despite, for example, Hunley-Adossa's curious explanation for her inaccessibility.

The endorsement for Joanne Simon the 33rd District manages to avoid her opposition to Atlantic Yards.

The anonymous Thies partisans at Real Reform Brooklyn (RRB) called it "a pretty naked nod to its development partner" and said "the Times endorsed the one candidate who has done more to undermine unified community opposition to Atlantic Yards than any other."

Well, I wouldn't go that far, but it's notable that the Times didn't see fit to mention AY in any part of the editorial. As I've written, though BrooklynSpeaks's stated position is "mend it, don't end it," I think (contra RRB) the group's record is more mixed, and that it engaged people, such as elected officials, who were never going to join Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and other opponents filing lawsuits

I also note that Thies, though he is a strong opponent of the project now, has not played such a longtime role (given his position as an aide to Council Member David Yassky). And surely the Times doesn't endorse Simon's criticism of the project.

But I would agree with RRB that the endorsement is "pretty lukewarm," given that Simon's legal background and work with the disabled are less relevant than her positions on development issues and independence from the county party.

Brad Lander is endorsed over stronger and long-time Atlantic Yards opponent Josh Skaller in the 39th District. In this case the Times can only mention Atlantic Yards as "big development in the area"

Regarding Skaller, the Times could not see fit to translate "big development" into "Atlantic Yards. Lander has been more associated with BrooklynSpeaks than Atlantic Yards opponents, though he now says the project should be scrapped--another position that the Times surely doesn't support.

The 36th District race doesn't even get a mention.

Also, bizarrely enough, the Times ignored the highly competitive 36th District, where incumbent Al Vann faces seven challengers, with AY critic Mark Winston Griffith one of the best-qualified.

Posted by steve at 4:30 AM

September 5, 2009

Hunley-Adossa campaigners said to be rude in front of incumbent James's office

Atlantic Yards Report

Is Delia Hunley-Adossa, who is running for the City Council seat held by incumbent Tish James, sending young campaign workers to harass Tish's campaign workers at their headquarters? One correspondent thinks so, and Norman Oder wants to know if this is the case.

I and others got an email from a Frank Lavergneau, pointing to apparent rude behavior by teenage campaigners for Delia Hunley-Adossa, who's challenging incumbent Letitia (Tish) James in the 35th Council District:

My name is Frank, I'm a Clinton Hill resident, and I'm somewhat interested/involved in local politics. Today, I was enjoying some coffee along Fulton Street, and I didn't believe what I saw. Around 3:00pm, I saw around 10-12 young women carrying Delia Hunnly signs in front of Tish James' campaign office. None of these girls could have been over 16 years of age, and they were a loud, rude, gyrating crew. I didn't see from which direction they arrived, but they were walking back and forth maybe 2 blocks of Fulton (that included Tish's campaign office), so I couldn't imagine they were there for any other reason but to heckle Tish's campaign people.

It seems really disrespectful, unprofessional, and a bit sad that Delia has to resort to sending children to taunt her opponent [and they did taunt, I overheard them saying, "You should work for Dee! She pays gooood!" to the office, who as far as I could tell ignored the entire event]. Furthermore, this is really disrespectful to the neighbors and businesses to send these loud children into our community for this foolishness. Delia should be thoroughly embarrassed, because I am embarrassed for her. I am not a hard "Tish supporter", but this has made the choice for me. I have attached photos I took on my cell phone as proof, and I am sending this email to all the media I could find online or had already, because this kind of behavior needs to be exposed.

More here on Room 8, which means it was posted by someone with some political/media savvy, likely not the original source.

I have a question in to Hunley-Adossa's campaign.

link

Posted by steve at 9:22 PM

A Check and a Balance? JOHN LIU with Theodore Hamm

The Brooklyn Rail
By Theodore Hamm

This interview with candidate for Comptroller, John Liu, touches on the proposed Atlantic Yards development. It's not clear exactly where he stands regarding the project and if he believes that developer Bruce Ratner can eventually deliver on promises of jobs and housing.

Rail: What about oversight of large development projects? For example, consider the Atlantic Yards. It’s almost impossible that the initial projections will be realized. How can you play a role in seeing that future promises come true?

Liu: I’m the only one in the race talking about these issues. Over the last several years the Bloomberg administration has announced several mega-development projects, including Atlantic Yards, and a number in the Bronx and in Queens. And all these projects promise thousands of jobs and thousands of affordable housing units—and several years later, today, what do we see? Nada, zilch. As comptroller, I will be able to use the audit powers immediately to look at what was announced, and how much progress has been made to see how short we are. Because I’m sure that in every single one of these cases they are significantly short of their goals. And I do that not to say “I got you,” but to put every one of these deals on a timetable with milestones for deliverables on the promises. Right now there is no timetable for any of these major projects.

link

Posted by steve at 6:14 PM

September 4, 2009

Also on News 12: the 33rd, 34th, 36th, and 39th District candidates on Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Politics, always politics. Just 11 days to go until the September 15th primary election.

Along with the feisty 35th District debate held recently on News 12, some other News12 debates for Council seats are worth a look, especially for the Atlantic Yards discussion.

article

Posted by eric at 10:14 AM

Looking at the weekly newspaper endorsements: James, Thies, Skaller, plus some contradictions

Atlantic Yards Report

Well, the endorsements from Brooklyn's major weeklies (Brooklyn Paper and Courier-Life, plus Ledger/Star and Caribbean Life) are out and there are some (relative) surprises:

• three endorsements for incumbent Letitia James in the 35th District and none for challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa
• two endorsements for Even Thies in the 33rd District and one for Steve Levin
• two endorsements for Josh Skaller in the 39th District and one for John Heyer (and none for Brad Lander).

Clearly, the Atlantic Yards issue isn't dispositive; otherwise the Brooklyn Paper would not have endorsed AY opponent James as well as proponent Heyer.

Clearly, the issue of independence from the county Democratic Party isn't dispositive; otherwise, the Courier-Life wouldn't have endorsed reformer Skaller as well as Levin, chief of staff to party boss Vito Lopez. (Skaller's an AY opponent, Levin a fence-sitting supporter.)

article

Posted by eric at 9:46 AM

The Brooklyn Paper's Schizophrenic Endorsements

The Brooklyn Paper can't seem to make up its mind about Atlantic Yards as a campaign issue.

Incumbent James deserves re-election

No one in elected office has been a more outspoken opponent of Atlantic Yards, and especially its planned basketball arena, than Tish James.

She is a talented community leader who has shown gutsy independence by breaking with the city’s power elite when appropriate.
...

But above all, Letitia James has consistently been ahead of her colleagues in criticizing much-hyped development projects that don’t create as much affordable housing or community benefits as promised.

As a reward for her various fights, James finds herself in a tough struggle for re-election. Her opponent, Delia Hunley-Adossa, is a strong supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, which has allowed her to raise enough money from the construction trades and other allies of the development to wage a serious campaign.

James has had to raise her money the old-fashioned way: by hitting up members of her community for small donations.

Despite her large war-chest, Hunley-Adossa offers little else but her support for Atlantic Yards.
...

For all these reasons, we heartily endorse Letitia James for the Democratic nomination in the 35th District.

Dems should pick Heyer for the 39th District

Democratic voters in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Carroll Gardens and other parts of the 39th Council District have four extremely qualified candidates for the nomination to succeed Councilman Bill DeBlasio.
...

But the candidate we are endorsing for the Democratic nomination is John Heyer.
...

And he’s the only candidate in the race who is not ashamed to say that he wants the Atlantic Yards basketball arena built at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, a position that we share.

The Brooklyn Paper also endorsed long-time Atlantic Yards opponent Norman Siegel in the race for Public Advocate, and Evan Thies, who has become a very outspoken opponent of the project, in the 33rd District City Council primary.

Posted by eric at 9:33 AM

Jo Anne Simon & More Questionable $$$

Real Reform Brooklyn

RRB's anonymous blogger (or bloggers) raises (raise) more questions about fundraising and perceived conflicts of interest in the 33rd District City Council race, and seeks the counsel of DDDB and Norman Oder.

Following up on our earlier report of Jo Anne Simon’s real estate related campaign contributions, we are deeply troubled because she has also taken money from three board members of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corporation (“BBPDC”). BBPDC is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation (“ESDC”). ESDC is the state agency that has been approving Atlantic Yards through by-passing the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Process.
...

We would be interested in the opinion of Norman Oder and DDDB regarding Simon taking funds from board members approving ESDC development in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

article

Posted by eric at 9:20 AM

September 3, 2009

Brooklyn For Barack Hosts Comptroller Debate

Our Time Press
by Mary Alice Miller

Comptroller candidates David Weprin and John Liu were asked about their views on Atlantic Yards.

Regarding the Atlantic Yards development, Weprin said he “supports some form of development. It is very important the community have input. Regarding I know there was a Community Benefits Agreement. There were commitments that were supposed to provide housing. From what I understand, there is some disagreement whether that commitment is being fulfilled. I have questions about where the project is going. I have reservations about the project’s size and scope and a situation where we throw good money after bad money. It happened after ground zero. Nothing there is happening sufficiently after 8 years. I would hate to see that kind of situation happen at Atlantic Yards. As a citywide official, the Comptroller can use the bully pulpit, but the Comptroller does not have direct control in that particular development, per se.”
...

[Liu] would use the powers of audit to review huge development deals. Regarding Atlantic Yards, that have announced promises of thousands of jobs, affordable housing and years later “I don’t see where all those promises are materializing. I would use the powers of audit to see how far short they are and put these projects on a strict timetable to make sure those promises are delivered to the people.”

article

Posted by eric at 10:38 PM

Atlantic Yards Report political watch

In a second debate, Hunley-Adossa and James clash; challenger says that half the money from FCR to BEE went to her building

Council Member Tish James and challenger Delia "Dee" Hunley-Adossa face off in another debate.

A News 12 debate taped last Thursday between 35th District Council incumbent Letitia James and challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa shows both candidates going at each other, unlike in their previous debate, when James tangled with third candidate Medhanie Estiphanos.

Hunley-Adossa spoke somewhat more effectively than she did in the previous debate. Despite lobbying the same charge against James, she showed her focus was essentially Atlantic Yards, which she repeatedly pronounced herself in agreement with.

She also claimed--for the first time publicly--that half the money received by her nonprofit, Brooklyn Endeavor Experience (BEE), went to air conditioners for her building--a curious example of Forest City Ratner routing money through a third party rather than simply doing the job itself, as it has done for other residents of the area around the AY footprint. It's a reminder that the pleasantly-named BEE, whose board members are Hunley-Adossa's family and neighbors, was originally called the First Atlantic Terminal Housing Committee.

NoLandGrab: Since Brooklyn Endeavor Experience's biggest expense is Dee Hunley-Adossa's salary, and half the money received from Forest City was spent in her own building, maybe "BEE" should be renamed "DEE."

What the 33rd District race is about: Vito Lopez, and the circular firing squad favoring Steve Levin

In the Village Voice, Tom Robbins lays out Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez's role in the 33rd and 34th Council District races, but doesn't quite point out how infighting favors his candidate, Steve Levin, in the 33rd.

And yes, this year, Lopez is pushing the envelope even further, promoting not one, not two, but three of Ridgewood Bushwick's allies into elective office. He is seeking nothing less than a sweep, a kind of Vito-fecta that will further extend his political influence.
...

I wrote earlier about Lopez's power base, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (RBSCC). And more on Lopez's connections, notably judicial appointments and support for Atlantic Yards, from the anonymous blog Real Reform Brooklyn.

See how RBSCC received nearly $800,000 in the current (FY 10) budget in discretionary funding from the City Council, notably a $350,000 grant attributed to Council Member Lew Fidler and the Brooklyn delegation.

In the FY 09 budget, it received more than $900,000. Note that nearly $280,000 in grants attributed to 34th District City Council Member Diana Reyna were not renewed, as Reyna has split with Lopez and he now backs challenger Maritza Davila. Now 37th District Council Member Erik Martin Dilan has picked up the slack. A victory by Levin in the 33rd would certainly help Lopez and his organization.

NLG: Levin has ducked at least half of the 33rd District candidates' debates — not a promising sign for constituent service and accessibility should he win the primary election.

Posted by eric at 10:41 AM

Atlantic Yards political watch

If it doesn't actually make your stomach turn, then it's kinda fun watching citywide candidates trying to get their stories straight on Bruce Ratner's controversial Brooklyn boondoggle:

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Thompson "Late Supporter" of Atlantic Yards. Says Urban Planning Not About "Developer Accommodation"

Whoopsie! Despite what Mayoral hopeful and current City Comptroller William Thopmson says, he seems to have forgotten that he publicly supports Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards boondoggle, at least since 2005.

Comptroller and mayoral candidate Bill Thompson says he is a "late supporter" of Atlantic Yards. Late supporter? Support has moved away from the project over the years due to more and more coming to light about what a boondoggle it is. Becoming a late supporter means one is moving towards a boondoggle.

Anyway, it is hardly true. Thompson was an early supporter. Thompson's letter of support was part of the development proposal package submitted to the MTA by Forest City Ratner in 2005. Download his letter here [pdf].

Atlantic Yards Report, At the Comptroller debate, Yassky's contradiction on AY

In all fairness, it can be hard to keep the facts and figures straight on Atlantic Yards, especially since some of them are such moving targets. However after seriously lowballing some of the figures for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, City Councilmember and candidate for City Comptroller David Yassky declares, "The project should not be built with taxpayer money."

Norman Oder points out:

[T]he only way Forest City Ratner would build it is with taxpayer money, and a "right-sized project" might require more subsidies. Still, Yassky thinks it's a "good project," so he's been unwilling to challenge such things as the state's dubious finding of blight.

Check out the rest of the article to learn more about how the other candidates bungle the issue.

NoLandGrab: In classic Yassky fashion, he's managed to confuse his position on Atlantic Yards. At this point, we have to assume that he's for the project, if only it could be a different project, and will occasionally speak out against it, but won't do anything about it.

Atlantic Yards Report, On Brian Lehrer Show, de Blasio wants "original interpretation" of AY

City Councilmember and Public Advocate candidate Bill de Blasio wants you to know that when it comes to Atlantic Yards he's a strict constructionist:

[WNYC Radio host Brian] Lehrer asked, "Do you have a position on Atlantic Yards and what should happen next?"

"I have said from the beginning I believe in the affordable housing, the hiring of local residents and living wage levels," de Blasio said. "This vision has not been fulfilled so far. I think there should be no more subsidies. I think there should be no more demolitions. I think the company involved has to prove that they will keep to the original interpretation or we should pull the plug."

No more demolitions? De Blasio is repeating talking points from April 2008.

The original interpretation? Forest City Ratner has changed its plans in numerous ways, but the single biggest one, about which de Blasio was noticeably silent, was the revision in June of the deal for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard, saving developer Forest City Ratner more than $100 million and leading to a smaller, rather than larger (as promised), permanent railyard.

NoLandGrab: No more demolitions?? Sorry Bill — Ratner has already taken down every building he can, except for the Spalding building, which at this point is worth more standing, should Atlantic Yards not get built. Plus, de Blasio was nowhere near the footprint when the wrecking balls were flying.

Posted by lumi at 7:19 AM

September 2, 2009

Brooklyn elections for borough Council districts pit incumbents against upstart challengers

NY Daily News
by Erin Durkin

It's a battle over Atlantic Yards in the race for the 35th District seat.

Incumbent Letitia James is one of the most vocal opponents of developer Bruce Ratner's plan for a Nets arena and 16 towers in Prospect Heights. She faces challenge from Delia Hunley-Adossa, a project backer whose nonprofit, Brooklyn Endeavor Experience, is funded by Ratner under a community benefits agreement.

"Being in opposition and not sitting at the table or attempting to negotiate with the developer on behalf of the community is unacceptable," said Hunley-Adossa, who is also president of the 88th Precinct Community Council.

"Her position is one way: 'I'm against it. I don't care who's for it. I don't care what everybody's saying that needs jobs, that needs housing,'" she said.

Hunley-Adossa said her group got about $400,000 from Forest City Ratner. Its biggest single expenditure has been her salary - $51,000 over six years, she said.

"I'm not ashamed," she said, adding the money has gone to pay for air conditioners and rat abatement for homes near the construction site, environmental awareness classes, and sending kids to summer camp.

article

NoLandGrab: We're not surprised that Ms. Hunley-Adossa is "not ashamed." We would be surprised if she produced receipts for all those claimed expenses, however.

Related coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Parsing the Daily News story on the 35th District; Hunley-Adossa, treated unskeptically, says Ratner gave $400,000

Norman Oder is a bit skeptical, too.

While Delia Hunley-Adossa mostly steers clear of Atlantic Yards on her campaign web site, and has disingenuously claimed that her candidacy for the 35th Council District has nothing to do with the project she supports, the Daily News today places the project front and center--and does an inadequate job by not looking closely enough at her statements regarding the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA).
...

Also, she'd never before said that the money went to rat abatement or air conditioners--both the responsibility of Forest City Ratner under the Memorandum of Environmental Commitments, with no mention of its CBA partners. Nor does the BEE web site claim such spending.

Posted by eric at 11:13 AM

September 1, 2009

Green, de Blasio support AY without considering balance between costs and benefits

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder goes to the heart of the matter in the recent Community Newspaper Group debate among candidates vying in the Democratic primary for NYC Public Advocate.

I wrote earlier about the divide on Atlantic Yards in the Public Advocate race, as shown in a recent WABC debate, but a previous debate, sponsored by the Community Newspaper Group, and Brooklyn Community Access Television, also is instructive.

Not only does it show candidate Bill de Blasio supporting affordable housing and jobs without any reflection on the cost of those benefits, it shows former Public Advocate (and frontrunner) Mark Green deferring to the mayor and economic development agencies to determine the benefits, without any acknowledgment that such analyses are absent or deeply flawed.

The issue of AY came up at about 13:03. (Previous coverage in the Courier-Life described the AY issue, but not in as much detail as below.)

Click thru for the Atlantic Yards blow-by-blow.

article

NoLandGrab: "Public" advocate? De Blasio and Green seem to define "public" quite narrowly.

Posted by eric at 8:42 PM

Bill de Blasio's evasiveness on Atlantic Yards (and opposition from Public Advocate candidates Siegel and Gioia)

Atlantic Yards Report

DDDB's unofficial transcript of the Atlantic Yards portion of the recent Public Advocate debate shows Brooklyn City Council Member Bill de Blasio, currently second in the polls to former Public Advocate Mark Green (and gaining thanks to a New York Times endorsement), continuing his ignorance and obfuscation on Atlantic Yards.

Meanwhile, candidates Norman Siegel and Eric Gioia expressed opposition to the project, while frontrunner Mark Green, a former Public Advocate, wouldn't criticize it. Even the supporters, de Blasio and Green, agreed there should be no more subsidies for the project, but they haven't exactly criticized increased subsidies in the past two months.

The AY piece somehow didn't make the print coverage in the Times, which called the debate "light on policy" even though there was a lively discussion about the City Council "slush fund" scandal, with Siegel and Green landing some blows. For those who remember, the Times in 2005 ignored Siegel's challenge on AY to incumbent Betsy Gotbaum.

article

Posted by lumi at 4:34 AM

August 30, 2009

Watch our public advocate debate now!

The Brooklyn Paper
By Jeremy Walsh

A debate between four candidates for Public Advocate included a discussion of eminent domain abuse.

Last week, the candidates — Councilmembers Bill DeBlasio (D–Park Slope) and Eric Gioia (D-Queens), civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel and former Public Advocate Mark Green — clashed in a spirited debate held by The Brooklyn Paper in conjunction with Brooklyn Independent Television.

The debate aired on the BCAT TV Network last week, but it’s available to watch whenever you want both on this Web site and on BoroPolitics.com, a new site set up by the Community Newspaper Group, the parent company of this newspaper.

...

Indeed, some of the most-heated exchanges came during a question about the city’s use of eminent domain in its Willets Point redevelopment.

DeBlasio said he supported eminent domain in “very certain circumstances,” including the Queens project, while Gioia called the practice “absolutely wrong” for economic development.

“Often the city says it will only use eminent domain if it has to, but that’s like negotiating with Al Capone, who walks in, puts a gun on the table, and says, ‘Pay no attention to the gun. I’ll only use it if I have to.’”

Siegel agreed that there has been “abuse” of eminent domain, not just at Willets Point, but at Atlantic Yards, too. He cited the Supreme Court’s 2005 Kelo verdict, which allowed such use of eminent domain to seize privately owned land under many circumstances, but not if there is a closed process or if there is bad faith.

Green, who supports the Willets Point redevelopment, challenged Siegel’s reading of the law, but Siegel’s reiterated that his interpretation of the 5-4 verdict was correct because there had been both bad faith and a closed process at Willets Point.

link

Posted by steve at 9:28 AM

August 29, 2009

Mr. Mayor comes to Metrotech

A Short Story

In this account of going-ons at the Community Newspaper Group's (CNG) headquarters in the Ratner-built Metrotech development, Courier Life reporter Aaron Short ends with an oddly breezy mention of the debate sponsored by the CNG between candidates of the 35th council district, one of whom is the incumbent and anti-Ratner stalwart, Tish James.

Finally, Letitia James, Delia-Hunley Adossa, and Medhanie Estiphanos (35th District, Fort Greene/ Clinton Hill) dropped by late afternoon to settle some scores. First off, Hunley-Adossa her unreachability, saying that the reason why she didn't return reporters' phone calls was because they were calling her cell and her home number, and she won't return calls on private lines until after the election. But enough about that. From the reports, it sounds like Tish mopped the floor with the others.
It's all fun. Afterwards, we tried to see how many candidates we could stuff into an elevator. The answer? Three candidates. Plus Gersh.

link

Posted by steve at 9:21 AM

August 28, 2009

Looking at the 35th District debate: Delia Hunley-Adossa surfaces (and shows why she's been inaccessible)

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder watched the debate so you wouldn't have to, though his report on it may be longer than the debate itself. Still, it's well worth a read, especially for insight into Forest City Ratner-backed challenger Delia Hunley-Adossa.

While the Brooklyn Paper’s coverage (headlined Our debate is a brawl! Candidates for Fort Greene seat get testy) of the 35th Council District debate focused on the clash between Council Member Letitia James and longshot challenger Medhanie Estiphanos, perhaps the real news came from watching challenger (and Atlantic Yards supporter) Delia Hunley-Adossa, who currently leads AY opponent James in cash on hand, in action.

Now we know why Hunley-Adossa has been so inaccessible. She relies on platitudes and her speaking style is peppered with malapropisms.

Yes, people speaking extemporaneously shouldn’t be expected to speak perfectly, but Hunley-Adossa was well below the bar for political candidates.

James spent most of her time clashing with Estiphanos, an energetic neophyte who lobbed criticims both off-base and cogent, leaving Hunley-Adossa mostly unscathed--not a wise tactic for the incumbent. The toughest questions for Hunley-Adossa came from Brooklyn Paper staffers, and she didn’t handle them too well.

(Note that the video, which lasts nearly 49 minutes, often cuts off the heads of the participants. The Democratic primary is September 15, and a victory then is tantamount to victory in November.)

article

Posted by eric at 9:32 AM

Politics: Candidate Baer Seeks ‘Leadership by Example’

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Howard Egeln

City Council candidate Ken Baer has been a stalwart opponent of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards boondoggle from early on.

It’s green thumbs up for a sustainable city from Ken Baer, one of seven candidates in the 33rd Council District Democratic Party primary election campaign, with an action plan growing from a “grassroots democratic vision” rooted in his civic, environmental and finance work.

“I am the only candidate among seven who does not use a car, so I won’t need a special parking permit. I travel by mass transit and favor bicycling,” said Baer. His background includes being the New York State Sierra Club leader, filing eminent domain lawsuits for “Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn” on Atlantic Yards and being an accountant.

Egeln mixes up his facts. Baer didn't file eminent domain lawsuits for DDDB; rather, the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter joined the suit challenging the environmental review of the Atlantic Yards project under his leadership.

Changing the way community board members are chosen and giving boards more clout is a major goal for Baer. “We may need some way to elect members. At Community Board 6, Borough President Marty Markowitz did not reappoint nine members he chose because they opposed him on supporting Atlantic Yards.”

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Posted by eric at 9:07 AM

August 27, 2009

Our debate is a brawl! Candidates for Fort Greene seat get testy

Boro Politics

The Community Newspaper Group hosted a debate among the candidates for the 35th City Council district, incumbent Letitia James and challengers Delia Hunley-Adossa and Medhanie Estiphanos.

Forest City Ratner's anointed candidate didn't exactly shine.

Hunley-Adossa, who had not taken questions from The Brooklyn Paper until this debate, said far less than her opponents, often not even taking the 30-second allotment for her answers and referring to a binder full of newspaper articles, notes and other study aides.
...

Later, Hunley-Adossa explained her close connections to Ratner, who pumped — in her words, “a little over a couple of hundred-thousand dollars” — into her group Brooklyn Endeavor Experience through a “community benefits agreement” that Hunley-Adossa and others signed in 2005. (Coincidentally, Bloomberg, in a separate interview this week with editors and reporters from The Brooklyn Paper and other outlets in the Community Newspaper Group, said he’s “violently opposed” to such agreements.)

Hunley-Adossa said her group, whose board is filled with many of her family members, helped “downsize” Ratner’s initial plan, though it is actually larger than when it was first unveiled in 2003, and negotiate high environmental standards for the buildings.

"Downsize?"

It also has an educational component, she claimed.

“We have attempted to educate young people on how to be little green people,” Hunley-Adossa said, but its work has been suspended while the construction project is stalled, showing its reliance on Ratner.

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Posted by eric at 10:26 AM

Markowitz, endorsing Levin in the 33rd, joins Lopez (and Moses) in prioritizing results over process

Atlantic Yards Report

Process be damned.

The issue re-emerges in a Brooklyn Paper article regarding Borough President Marty Markowitz's endorsement of machine candidate Steve Levin, chief of staff to Assemblyman (and Brooklyn Democratic Party head) Vito Lopez in the crowded 33rd District Council race.

Levin is the only candidate to support the Lopez-backed Broadway Triangle rezoning, which Markowitz supports:
“I know Steve’s opponents think process is more important than results … but he understands that results are the most important thing,” said Markowitz.

“By working closely with Vito Lopez, Steve Levin understands the necessity of delivering affordable housing to his community,” the Beep added.
...

And, of course, Markowitz has long supported Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan, erroneously claiming, "The Atlantic Yards area has been available for any developer in America for over 100 years."

He hadn't suggested that the Vanderbilt Yard--or the privately-owned (and generally occupied) properties around it--be put out for bid or declared blighted.

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Posted by eric at 10:18 AM

Bloomberg "violently opposed to community benefits agreements"

A couple of days ago, NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg ranted against critics of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project, while in the same interview he whined about Community Benefits Agreements... yes, the very same type of agreement that he supports (and pretended to sign) for Atlantic Yards.

The Brooklyn Paper, Bloomy still wants Gehry — plus other tidbits from the mayor in our endorsement sit-down

...[Bloomberg] also blasted the kinds of community benefits agreement that Ratner signed with several groups, some of which did not exist before they signed an agreement to support the project in exchange for some financial backing.

“I’m violently opposed to community benefits agreements,” he said. “A small group of people, to feather their own nests, extort money from the developer? That’s just not good government.”

NoLandGrab: It sorta makes you wonder if Bloomberg just forgets things, or isn't detail-oriented, or will take any side on an issue, as long as it serves his desired outcome.

[Photo: Mayor Bloomberg signing something at the ceremony for the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement, from The Brooklyn Papers, by Tom Callan, July 2005]

DDDB.net, Doubletake: Bloomberg "Violently" Opposes CBAs but Loves Atlantic Yards CBA

Yup, that is Mayor Bloomberg right next to Bruce Ratner signing the Atlantic Yards Nest-feathering Developer Extortion Agreement Community Benefits Agreement (BUILD President James Caldwell on the right who, by the way, appeared in a Bloomberg campaign television ad last time he ran).

No, the Mayor didn't sign the Nest-feathering Developer Extortion Agreement Community Benefits Agreement but he and his friends sure have hyped it to the hilt.

I guess we'd call that bad government.

Atlantic Yards Report, AY CBA witness Bloomberg blasts CBAs as extortion; signatory Nimmons brushes off questions from The Local

...it's unclear whether Bloomberg specifically targeted the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement. As reported in the Times, he began criticizing CBAs in April 2006, less than a year after he presided over the ceremony for the AY CBA.

(Despite the headline on the mayor's site, he was a witness, not a signatory. Moreover, the press release was incoherent, having the mayor declare, "This Community Benefits Agreement is the largest private sector investment in Brooklyn's history.")

So much for the "modern blueprint" to harvest community support for AY, as discerned by a Times reporter in October 2006, during his first weeks on the AY beat.

Posted by lumi at 6:48 AM

Bloomberg Opines on Atantic Yards, Coney Island

Brownstoner

Mayor Bloomberg spoke with reporters from the Community Newspaper Group, the parent company of The Brooklyn Paper, on Monday as part of his campaign tour, where they discussed everything from overzealous ticketing agents to Atlantic Yards. Concerning the latter, he hopes that developer Forest City Ratner can use the Frank Gehry designs for the arena and skyscrapers, as originally planned but later abandoned due to cost. It would make the arena—and Brooklyn—even more of an international draw, he reasoned: "Simon and Garfunkel on their tour would go to Brooklyn in a second before they go to Madison Square Garden. They’re New Yorkers." (Has MSG been airlifted out of NYC recently?) Concerning the epic legal battles and financial concerns behind the massive development, the mayor sided with Ratner. "One of the great sins here is this small group of people stalled it so long [that] the economy is different," he said.

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Posted by lumi at 4:49 AM

August 26, 2009

A Near-Brush with Information

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Andy Newman

Back in March, we noted with interest an Atlantic Yards Report piece about the treasurer of Delia Hunley-Adossa’s City Council campaign, Charlene Nimmons.

The AYR post included a vain attempt to find out where Ms. Nimmons’s nonprofit, Public Housing Communtities, gets its money. That inquiry was in the service of the broader question (which several contributors to our growing list of questions for the candidates have echoed), “To what extent, if any, is Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s campaign bankrolled, directly or indirectly, by Forest City Ratner, the developer of the Atlantic Yards?”

Both Ms. Hunley-Adossa and Ms. Nimmons strongly support the project and, as heads of their respective nonprofits, are signatories of a community benefits agreement with Forest City. Ms. Hunley-Adossa has acknowledged that Forest City supported one of her nonprofit’s programs and Ms. Nimmons has cited a Forest-City-supported event sponsored by her organization.

But Ms. Hunley-Adossa has refused so far to answer questions on the subject, and in March, Ms. Nimmons would not even take calls from The Local or Atlantic Yards Report.

Well. (If you’re hoping for an answer to the big question, you might as well stop reading now.)

Actually, it's worth it to keep reading.

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NoLandGrab: If Atlantic Yards is so great, why are some of its most ardent supporters so reluctant to talk about the developer's support for them?

Posted by eric at 5:48 PM

Bloomy still wants Gehry — plus other tidbits from the mayor in our endorsement sit-down

The Brooklyn Paper

In an interview with the Community Newspaper Group, Mayor Bloomberg whined about the loss of architect Frank Gehry and ragged on Atlantic Yards critics:

Mayor Bloomberg said on Monday that Atlantic Yards would be a better project if Bruce Ratner would bring back Frank Gehry’s much-hyped designs for the stalled and increasingly costly arena and 16 skyscrapers.

“If there’s any way Ratner can possibly do it, he should use the Gehry design, because he will get great events from around the world going directly to Brooklyn,” the mayor told a team of reporters and editors from the Community Newspaper Group, the parent company of The Brooklyn Paper. “Simon and Garfunkel on their tour would go to Brooklyn in a second before they go to Madison Square Garden. They’re New Yorkers.”
...
Like the developer himself — and the borough president he admires — Bloomberg argued that Ratner’s opponents, who have waged numerous court battles against Ratner and his government allies, were largely responsible for depriving Brooklyn of the vaunted architect’s vision.

“One of the great sins here is this small group of people stalled it so long [that] the economy is different,” Bloomberg said.

“I tried to get Ratner to go ahead and do the Gehry design. I thought it would have been an icon, but the economy is just not there.”

But the mayor conceded that Ratner probably would have faltered during the real-estate bust, even without relentless opposition from groups like Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

“He might have been in trouble halfway through, but at least he would have a project in the ground, going up.”

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Atlantic Yards Report, Bloomberg blames AY opponents for loss of Gehry, fails to analyze 50% leap in arena cost

For the Mayor's benefit, Norman Oder explains why Gehry is out:

The cost of the Gehry arena went up from $637.2 million in December 2006 to $950 million in March 2008, well beyond the cost of inflation, and in part because of the cost of security. Did AY opponents have anything to do with that?

Now the arena would cost $772 million. Maybe Bloomberg should be asking for a cost breakdown.

Moreover, given the longstanding slowdown in Downtown Brooklyn office space--well before the economic downturn--it would've been impossible to build Building 1 (once "Miss Brooklyn") in tandem with the arena and impossible to build the four towers integrated into the arena block as Gehry planned.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Bloomberg Maintains Out of Touch Stance on Atlantic Yards

Who is the Mayor callin' small?

Would a financial wizard have a problem understanding that Ratner can't afford Frank Gehry any more (if he ever could, which is doubtful)? Would a financial wizard miss a bait and switch if it bit him in the rear?

And would a master handler of the City's business really think that a "small group of people" could stop a $4.9 billion development project?

Some news for the Mayor: The opposition to Atlantic Yards is very big, the small group is the one including you that has tried to foist Ratner's boondoggle on Brooklyn.

Posted by lumi at 5:46 AM

Submit Questions to Council Candidates for the 35th District - Home to the Atlantic Yards Proposal

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is encouraging Atlantic Yards critics to submit questions for the "virtual town hall" for candidates in the 35th District:

The three candidates running in the Democratic primary (Sept. 15th) for the 35th City Council District are incumbent Letitia James, Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement chair Delia Hunley-Adossa, and financial consultant Medhanie Estiphanos.

The Times "The Local" blog is asking you for tough questions to ask the candidates for the blog's "virtual town hall."

Go here to submit your questions in the comments section.

link

Posted by lumi at 5:34 AM

August 24, 2009

Looking again at the New Yorker's Bloomberg profile--what's missing?

Atlantic Yards Report

I took a second read of the past week's New Yorker profile of Mayor Mike Bloomberg, headlined THE UNTOUCHABLE: Can a good mayor amass too much power? and was struck by the absence of a significant critique.

Yes, as I wrote, had the profile encompassed public authorities reform and delved into Atlantic Yards, it could've been much tougher. But writer Ben McGrath gave Bloomberg too much of a bye.

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Posted by lumi at 4:56 AM

August 23, 2009

De Blasio, Why Start Now?

Atlantic Yards Voter Guide

City Council member, Bill de Blasio , is now running for Public Advocate. He could never quite bring himself to say he was against the proposed Atlantic Yards project. For example, this month, he did request a Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement for the project, but at the same time he says he supports the project, but just doesn't like the process moving it forward.

The Atlantic Yards Voter Guide wants to know why de Blasio now wants to portray himself as a stalwart against over-development when he never opposed Atlantic Yards.

Here is the front of one of Public Advocate candidate Bill de Blasio's (why is he running for this office?) recent literature:

...

The highlighted passage reads:

Fighting Overdevelopment in Brooklyn
All too often, development in our city is pro-big business and anti-neighborhood. As Public Adovcate, Bill will fight overdevelopment, making sure Brooklyn's development projects reflect community values. And he will always push for more truly affordable housing for hardworking New Yorkers.

It's a good use of buzzwords by the Councilman. But why would he start doing all of this now?

Let's look at...Atlantic Yards, the consensus poster child for overdevelopment, the consensus poster child for "pro-big business" development, and the consensus poster child for "anti-neighborhood" development. Atlantic Yards is the consensus poster child for ignoring "community values" entirely. And Atlantic Yards would have barely any "truly affordable housing" even under the best case outcome.

Atlantic Yards has been controversial since 2003 and would be built right in de Blasio's backyard. Yet h has never gone past the most tepid criticism of small aspects of the project and when he has, he has done nothing beyond press statements or not-so-strongly-worded letters.

He supports Atlantic Yards, which demonstrates everything his literature says he "will fight." Or to be more accurate let's look at what de Blasio said about the Ratner project most recently at Public Advocate debate according to YourNabe.com:

...De Blasio said in the past he has supported the project for the jobs and affordable housing it would create, and that while he still supports it, he is against the way the process is moving forward.

De Blasio added he is against the project receiving more subsidies, and said there should be a new EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and a full disclosure of the current project plan.

Upon being pressed on the issue, de Blasio said the neighborhood around Atlantic Yards is rapidly gentrifying and without affordable housing it would be further gentrified.

So there you have it, more buzz words, more non sequitur and new improved gobbleydeegook.

He supports it and is against it.

So why, Mr. Councilman, would you start doing now (or, god forbid, in the Public Advocate office) what your campaign lit imagines you to have done in the past?

Or perhaps we misread. Perhaps the literature, all in the future tense, is an admission that he has done none of this fighting of "big-business" and "overdevelopment" in the past.

But we doubt that.

link

Posted by steve at 7:46 AM

August 22, 2009

David Yassky's Ad: Complete Bullshit

The Daily Gotham

Daily Gotham author Mole333 is seeing red over a television ad for Comptroller candidate David Yassky. The ad suggests that Yassky would be a good watchdog over taxpayer money. Three different episodes from Yassky's time on the City Council show that he's not always been terribly responsible. One episode concerns how an endorsement of Yassky by James Caldwell, the head of BUILD, soon led to Yassky's efforts to further fund Bruce Ratner's astroturf organization.

Yassky is claiming he will close loopholes and watch every dollar the government spends, yet those of us who are actually in his district knows he has NEVER watched where dollars went unless they bought him endorsements. I think, in honor of Yassky's latest ad, I should remind people of a couple of sleazy moves Yassky has done that shows he either can't keep track of dollars at all or knows very well where dollars go and uses them to buy political favors...

An article from the Brooklyn Paper is used to fill in the background for Yassky's association with BUILD.

Yassky bill would push $3M to Ratner crony
By Ariella Cohen
The Brooklyn Papers

City Councilman David Yassky is under fire for asking city taxpayers to underwrite a promise that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner made to a handful of community organizations.

Under the provisions of a "community benefits agreement" negotiated by Ratner and the groups, the developer and his supporters pledged to create a job-training program.

Thus far, Ratner has given $285,000 towards that worker-training program, which is being administered by Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD).

Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) now proposes a city contribution of $3 million--more than 10 times what Ratner's given...

Experts on CBAs thought the Yassky bill was misguided.

"[Public funding] usually doesn't happen after the CBA is signed," said Roxanna Tynan, a spokeswoman for the LA Alliance for a New Economy, which was involved in a landmark CBA in that city...

Critics were quick to point out that Yassky submitted the budget request after BUILD President James Caldwell and other CBA signatories endorsed his bid to succeed retiring Rep. Major Owens (D-Crown Heights)...

So, BUILD President James Caldwell endorses Yassky and immediately afterwards Yassky proposes an unorthodox public funding (to the tune of $3 million of our taxpayer money) of BUILD. At about the same time, Steve DiBrienza endorses Yassky and right afterwards Yassky arranges $15,000 for DiBrienza's fake non-profit (which did nothing but paid salaries to DiBrienza and his cronies) even though it was out of Yassky's district. And Yassky wants to be the guy to keep an eye on the City's money???

...

To me this suggests three corrupt bargains Yassky has clearly been a part of. How many more such corrupt bargains are out there that Yassky was part of that we don't yet know about. Keep these scandals in mind as you watch Yassky's latest commercial. Also keep in mind Yassky is running a distant third in the race for Comptroller, so it seems like no one really is buying his bullshit.

link

Posted by steve at 7:33 AM

August 21, 2009

The Day: Big Boo$t for Hunley-Adossa

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Michael Szeto

The coffers of City Council candidate Delia Hunley-Adossa got a big boost yesterday with an infusion of $59,422 in matching funds from the city.

Her opponents, City Councilwoman Letitia James and Medhanie Estiphanos, did not receive matching funds in the round of payments announced yesterday, making Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s campaign the richest with less than four weeks to go before the Sept. 15 Democratic primary.

Ms. Hunley-Adossa, who only had $2,528 cash on hand on Wednesday, now has $61,950. Based on the latest finance filing made last week, Ms. James has $32,510 cash on hand while Mr. Estiphanos has $4,795.

Ms. Hunley-Adossa had been passed over for matching funds earlier this month by the Campaign Finance Board because of unspecified “compliance issues.” But Thursday, the campaign finance board said all compliance issues have been resolved.
...

Ms. James did not qualify for matching funds this time around because her opponents had not raised or spent enough money.

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Posted by eric at 12:16 PM

Advocate hopefuls talk turkey in debate

Yournabe.com
by Stephen Witt

The four Democratic candidates for Public Advocate, Norman Siegel, Eric Gioia, Mark Green and Bill de Blasio debated this week.

Among the most spirited discussions centered around the issue of the $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project at the Atlantic/Flatbush avenues intersection.

Gioia claimed Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner sold a “bill of goods” to the people to move ahead with the project and he was against it receiving more subsidies. He also suggested the NBA’s Nets move to Sunnyside, Queens.

Siegel said he thought the arena was a ruse to gain control of the site and suggested a venue be built in Coney Island. Additionally, he said the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the use of eminent domain for a private developer.

De Blasio said in the past he has supported the project for the jobs and affordable housing it would create, and that while he still supports it, he is against the way the process is moving forward.

De Blasio added he is against the project receiving more subsidies, and said there should be a new EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and a full disclosure of the current project plan.

Upon being pressed on the issue, de Blasio said the neighborhood around Atlantic Yards is rapidly gentrifying and without affordable housing it would be further gentrified.

Green said he is against additional subsidies for the project, but noted that there is a substantial public benefit. He also pointed out that the Supreme Court ruled that the use of eminent domain is legal, even through private developers, if it is in good faith for economic development.

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NoLandGrab: Someone needs to explain to us what being for the project but "against the way the process is moving forward" actually means. And we challenge Mark Green to outline Atlantic Yards' "substantial public benefit" (and the right of citizens to pay a lot of money for a ticket to a basketball game or even more money for a luxury apartment doesn't count).

Posted by eric at 10:53 AM

Infrastructure First, Development Second

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Harold Egeln

An interview with transit advocate and City Council candidate Gary Reilly, who's running in the 39th district.

One of his top issues is over-development and bringing in smart sustainable development emphasizing infrastructure work for basic services and schools along with community input before developers first present their plans. “This is a major concern I hear from voters all over the district after all the ‘wild west’ development we’ve seen,” said Reilly.

On the contentious Atlantic Yards issue, Reilly sees a better use. “I’m for the Vanderbilt Yards development. The open rail yards are a tremendous piece of real estate and the tracks could better serve the alphabet soup of subway lines that intersect there, which the MTA may need,” he said.

The Unity Plan is the best way to go and grow suitable development with affordable housing and right-fit public facilities and commercial uses “attractive to private investment,” Reilly said, rather than the troubled ambitious original plan. “Smart development has happened in other cities, so why not here?”

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Posted by eric at 10:47 AM

August 19, 2009

Brodsky, Perkins fire back at objections to public authority reform raised by Paterson aide; are authorities really checked by elected officials?

Atlantic Yards Report

In a scorching letter issued yesterday, Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and state Senator Bill Perkins slammed an attempt to gut public authorities reform legislation and charged that objections raised in a memo by Peter Kiernan, Counsel to Governor David Paterson, would gut authority reform.

Kiernan’s memo was dated August 14 but released yesterday by the legislators, who, protesting that no objections were raised while the bill was pending in the legislature, promised a detailed reply.

Notably Kiernan suggests, unreliably, that the elected officials serve as a sufficient check on authorities, and proposes that, in lieu of a requirement that property be sold at market rates, there be greater disclosure, including the appraised value.

While this would be fall short of the provisions in the bill, recommended by a bipartisan commission appointed by former Gov. George Pataki, it nonetheless would represent somewhat more disclosure than emerged in June when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority approved a revised deal with Forest City Ratner for the Vanderbilt Yard.

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NoLandGrab: Yes, that's right, the people who direct their appointees on the boards of public authorities to carry out their bidding and approve crooked deals like Atlantic Yards are the very same people who are going to act as a check against the abuses of public authorities. Excellent plan!

Is it any wonder that New York State's government is widely viewed as the nation's most dysfunctional? Please contact Governor Paterson today and tell him to sign the Public Authorities Reform Bill.

Posted by eric at 10:10 AM

August 18, 2009

Missing from the New Yorker's Bloomberg profile: public authorities and the real story of Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

A profile in this week's New Yorker, clocking in at more than ten thousand words, is headlined The Untouchable: Can a good mayor amass too much power?, and presents this tension:

Thanks to his money, Bloomberg has managed, perhaps more than any democratic politician ever before, to govern strictly with what he considers to be the greater good in mind. And, thanks to his money, the counterargument goes, he has essentially corrupted the system itself.

Is it always the greater good? In other words, should the Mayor be seen, at worst, as using questionable means for good ends, or do questionable means lead to questionable ends?

I think Bloomberg's record is mixed, but on Atlantic Yards and development issues, he's vulnerable to much criticism. So Ben McGrath's New Yorker profile, while reasonably thorough and hardly a valentine, could've been much tougher.

Notably, had McGrath waited until this week to write, he would've learned that Bloomberg is the prime culprit in an effort to stall reform of public authorities, as Assemblyman Richard Brodsky pointed out yesterday.

And if he'd dug further, he would've concluded that Bloomberg's appointees on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board provided the crucial, but dubious, justification in June for revising the Vanderbilt Yard deal with Forest City Ratner.

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Posted by lumi at 5:45 AM

The Day: Cleaner Eateries, Louder Bikes

The Local: Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill
By Andy Newman

The Gotham Gazette has a large (1,500-word) piece this morning on the 35th District city council race, featuring interviews with all three candidates — incumbent Letitia James and challengers Delia Hunley-Adossa and Medhanie Estiphanos, also name-checking (who knew? not us) Republican/Conservative candidate Stuart A. Balberg and independent Osaretin Ighile.

In the article, Ms. Hunley-Adossa, who says the the Atlantic Yards project would bring affordable housing and jobs to the district, criticizes Ms. James, who opposes the project, charging that she “seems to have not engaged the developer into bringing forth some of these benefits to the community.”

Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s engagement with the developer, Forest City Ratner, includes securing funding from Forest City for her nonprofit, Brooklyn Endeavor Experience. She refused to tell Gotham Gazette how much Forest City had given her group and noted correctly that Ms. James had funded groups opposing Atlantic Yards.

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NoLandGrab: James's support for groups opposing Atlantic Yards is irrelevant to the fact that Hunley-Adossa is too ashamed to speak openly about receiving financial support from Ratner.

Posted by lumi at 5:38 AM

August 17, 2009

Perkins, Brodsky say Paterson should listen to the people, not Bloomberg, regarding the Public Authorities Reform Act

Atlantic Yards Report

Blaming New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for Gov. David Paterson’s apparent reluctance to sign sweeping legislation that would reform the governance of the state’s public authorities, state Senator Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), yesterday urged Paterson to sign the bill, offered forceful rebuttals to Bloomberg’s concerns, and said they were considering public meetings and hearings to focus attention on the bill.

“This bill is as American as apple pie,” Brodsky said of the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009. “This is a power struggle between the needs of the people and the needs of a powerful mayor.” The bill has drawn broad support from editorialists and civic groups.

Perkins said Paterson should “return to his roots,” noting that, “when the governor had this office [state Senator from Harlem], he was a leading voice for reform.” They spoke at a hastily-called press conference at Perkins’s Harlem office, attended by journalists from the Associated Press, WNYC, and City Hall News, along with AYR. (News of Paterson's reluctance broke Friday.)

While neither mentioned Atlantic Yards by name, Brodsky made what could be interpreted as an indirect reference, noting that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) “has been pressured to... give away property to developers.” Without identifying specific projects, he said such sales represented a violation of the fiduciary duty required in the bill. (Note that the MTA bailout bill this spring allowed removal of board members if they breached their fiduciary duty, but the new bill would make the duty more enforceable, and more explicit.)

In July, Brodsky said that, in the case of AY, the West Side Yards, and the #7 line extension, “it seems to be me provable that... the MTA's fiduciary responsibility to the system and the riders was to maximize the value of the assets it was putting out. It could not do that in many of those cases. That struck me as a violation of the fiduciary duty.”

Perkins said his office was still looking into Atlantic Yards.
...

“The cry for reform in this state is universal,” said Brodsky, nothing that authorities such as the MTA, the Thruway Authority, Long Island Power Authority, New York Power Authority, Empire State Development Corporation, and others constitute an unregulated “shadow government.”

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Posted by eric at 9:38 AM

Atlantic Yards Dominates Debate in District 35

Gotham Gazette
by Alex Kane

Here's a thorough rundown on the race in the 35th Council District, in which incumbent and staunch Atlantic Yards opponent Tish James faces two challengers, including the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement signatory and Forest City Ratner-backed Delia Hunley-Adossa.

The starkest contrast between James and Hunley-Adossa surrounds Atlantic Yards, which would lie partly in this district. James vehemently opposes it, while Hunley-Adossa supports it. In one way, the election battle in this district can be seen as a community referendum on the Atlantic Yards project.
...

"I oppose an outside developer's vision for this community. ... I oppose the fact that low-income residents and small businesses are being displaced," said James. "I oppose the fact that this project wasn't subject to a vote by the City Council."

Hunley-Adossa said that Atlantic Yards will create "a lot of economic development, affordable housing, and [James] seems to have not engaged the developer into bringing forth some of these benefits to the community."

Estaphanos had largely minimized Atlantic Yards as a campaign issue and, in interviews, kept a neutral position on the development.

Money is a multi-pronged issue for Ms. Hunley-Adossa:

The other challenger, Hunley-Adossa, has raised $28,429, but is not eligible for matching funds, because the New York City Campaign Finance Board is auditing her filings. [emphasis, ours]
...

When pressed, Hunley-Adossa refused to say how much money Forest City Ratner provided her organization and fired back by saying James had funded groups opposed to the development.

James said that she has given City Council money to the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, a group that has criticized the project, and that she has personally contributed to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the main group opposing Atlantic Yards.

article

*NoLandGrab: One note — the caption under the lead photo says "Atlantic Yards." That photo, which documents Bruce Ratner's destruction of the landmark-eligible Ward Bakery building, would more accurately be captioned "the planned site of Atlantic Yards."

More Gotham Gazette election coverage...

Democratic Mayoral Candidates Would Plan from the Bottom Up

Hunter College urban affairs professor and stalwart Atlantic Yards opponent Tom Angotti looks at the Mayoral race and community-planning issues.

Avella has been a vocal critic of developer-initiated and controlled plans such as Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. He also opposed the plan for redevelopment of Willets Point in Queens, prepared by the city's Economic Development Corp. Avella's approach favors "bottom up" planning that involves local residents and businesses and does not resort to the use of eminent domain to promote private real estate projects.

To accomplish this, he has been a vocal advocate for community-based planning and has worked with the Municipal Art Society to craft legislation that would support communities that do their own plans. "I've been saying these things all along. Other cities are ahead of us. Community planning sets the stage for all of the issues in neighborhoods. We shouldn't just give neighborhoods opportunities to plan but also the funding to address their needs," he said.

There are around 100 community-based plans in New York City, but according to the citywide Task Force on Community-based Planning they do not receive sufficient support from city government. (I am a member of the Task Force).

Thompson also calls for more -- and more strongly supported -- community plans. "Community-based planning that includes input from local community boards, elected officials, and other stakeholders is incredibly important and, like community board budget priorities, should be better incorporated into an overall citywide framework," he said. "Once developed, zoning changes and siting of facilities should be considered in the context of these collaboratively created plans."

The Mayor, on the other hand, isn't so interested in what communities know or want.

Eight Candidates Run in a District Marked by Change

Eight candidates are vying to replace David Yassky in the 33rd Council District, and Atlantic Yards and other development issues are major topics in the race.

Posted by eric at 6:20 AM

August 15, 2009

Empowering Neighborhoods Is Candidate Simon’s Focus

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Harold Egeln

Jo Anne Simon, one of seven candidates for Brooklyn's 33rd City Council District is featured in the first in what is projected to be a series of profiles. Simon's stance on Atlantic Yards is mentioned.

Atlantic Yards did not go through the ULURP process and the court appeals on eminent domain are being watched closely, she said, as well as the possibility of breaking ground by this year’s end.

“The Atlantic Yards plan is flawed in so many ways, a failed design idea, as well as horribly polarizing and wildly emotional,” Simon said. “Maybe there will be a chance to go back to square one. If the developer is limited in what it can do, there are a lot of good creative ideas out there.”

link

Posted by steve at 7:22 AM

August 14, 2009

The Day: Park Pork and Political Discourse

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Andy Newman and Michael Szeto

Good news! Delia Hunley-Adossa's campaign manager is going to let her answer some questions.

Hunley-Adossa to Take Part in Our Online Forum

Thursday afternoon, Musa Moore, Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s campaign manager, said his client would participate in the town hall.

article

Posted by eric at 12:09 PM

Steve Levin: How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Hate Atlantic Yards

Real Reform Brooklyn

With that said, we think it only fair to turn back to Steve Levin and his relationship to Atlantic Yards. If Jo Anne Simon can be accused of conciliation (BrooklynSpeaks) and inaction (not helping with the legal fight), Levin’s record is one of collusion and now (conveniently) religious conversion.

It all goes back to 2007 when Levin was Vito Lopez’s Chief of Staff. The District needs to be reminded about it now. (Some would say it is earlier in the fall of 2006 when Vito Lopez received a total of $6,200 in campaign contributions from Michael Ratner and his wife. Lopez was facing a non-contest primary. Michael Ratner is a bit of a sacred cow because of his great work at the Center for Constitutional Rights. But we will just leave it there.) In June 2007, however, Lopez final oversaw final negotiations of the revised 421-a program. He was literally designated by Assembly Speaker Silver and now-indicted Sentate Leader Joe Bruno to hammer out the final, final deal with New York Real Estate Board of New York executive Steven Spinola. The revision added to the exclusion area where developers would not get a tax break for building market-rate housing without including affordable units Unless, of course, you are Vito Lopez’s friend Bruce Ratner. Specifically, when the bill was being finalized, Lopez slipped in wording specifically tailored for Ratner. The language gave an estimated minimum of $100 million in real estate tax exemptions and as much as $170 million for the market-rate condos. The deal also provided no obligation to build affordable housing in Atlantic Yard condominium buildings, which added again to Ratner’s bottom line.

Levin has now supposedly professed found religion by opposing the project. But we seriously question his conversion given the sell out he presided over as Vito Lopez’s Chief of Staff.

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Posted by eric at 10:14 AM

Here’s how to watch our TV debates!

The Brooklyn Paper
by Gersh Kuntzman

BCAT will be airing a series of taped debates next week, a collaboration between the Community Newspaper Group and Brooklyn Independent Television.

All the major races will be cablecast on BCAT, which is channel 56 on Time Warner customers and channel 69 for Cablevision subscribers:

• City Council District 33 (currently held by David Yassky): Monday, Aug. 17.

• City Council District 39 (currently held by Bill DeBlasio): Tuesday, Aug. 18.

• City Council District 45 (currently held by Kendall Stewart): Wednesday, Aug. 19.

• Comptroller (featuring Yassky, John Liu, Melinda Katz and David Weprin): Thursday, Aug. 20.

• Public Advocate (featuring DeBlasio, Mark Green, Norman Siegel and Eric Gioia): Friday, Aug. 21 (repeated on Tuesday, Aug. 25).

All broadcasts will be at 9 pm. And all shows will be available online roughly 24 hours after its initial airing at www.bricartsmedia.org/BITspecials and the Community Newspaper Group’s new political Web site BoroPolitics.com.

It ain’t Lincoln vs. Douglas, but in the days after the debates were taped, several have made headlines, including the 39th Council debate, where leading candidates Brad Lander and Josh Skaller went at it over Atlantic Yards and the schooling of Skaller’s son, Wolf.

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Posted by eric at 9:57 AM

So, was Jo Anne Simon an “early vocal opponent" of eminent domain for AY? Yes, but it's complicated

Atlantic Yards Report

So, did Jo Anne Simon, the 52nd District Leader, civil rights attorney, and fundraising leader in the race for the 33rd District Council seat, say that she was an “early vocal opponent of the use of eminent domain” at the debate on Tuesday, as noted by her anonymous critics on the Real Reform Brooklyn blog?

The answer, as far as I can tell:

• she said something at least pretty close
• she did announce opposition to eminent domain early on
• she has been less vocal than leaders of the AY opposition regarding eminent domain

Simon is not the most anti-Atlantic Yards candidate for the seat--Ken Baer and Ken Diamondstone are longstanding opponents standing with Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), and Doug Biviano and Evan Thies are making AY an issue--though she's far more critical and knowledgeable than the current officeholder, David Yassky. She also has endorsements from and ties to various Brooklyn political figures.

The question for voters seeking reform is whether the most important issue is the first order of reform--a candidate other than Stephen Levin, who's tied to Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez--or the second order of reform, the most "reformist" of the rest of the pool.

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Posted by eric at 9:28 AM

August 13, 2009

Hunley-Adossa Surfaces

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Michael Szeto

Forest City Ratner-backed City Council candidate Delia Hunley-Adossa has turned up at last.

The Local got a callback from the City Council candidate Delia Hunley-Adossa on Wednesday after we wrote about our efforts to reach her and the mysteriously low profile of her campaign.

Ms. Hunley-Adossa, who is challenging City Councilwoman Letitia James, said she has been campaigning hard, knocking on doors and greeting voters on the street.

“I haven’t had many large fund-raisers and I obviously didn’t have any rallies,” Ms. Hunley-Adossa said. “What I do is meet-and-greets and go meet people throughout the community.”

She said she did not know how many doors she has knocked on or the number of voters with whom she has spoken. When asked where, specifically, she had campaigned, Ms. Hunley-Adossa would only say, “Around the community.”

Will Ms. Hunley-Adossa take part in The Local's online town hall for candidates?

She said we would have to wait for her campaign manager to decide if she would participate.

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NoLandGrab: This isn't the first time Ms. Hunley Adossa has gone missing. As far as we know, the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement's Committee on Environmental Assurances, which she chairs, has been AWOL since its inception.

Posted by eric at 11:14 AM

Delia Hunley-Adossa's stealth candidacy for the 35th Council District; will there be a September push?

Atlantic Yards Report

Yesterday, The NY Times stopped short of posting a missing poster on The Local blog for Atlantic Yards supporter Delia Hunley-Adossa, who surely has had numerous opportunities to return the paper's call. [NoLandGrab's take: The Times might have better luck going through the Forest City Ratner switchboard.]

Norman Oder offers color commentary:

So, what to make of the stealth campaign of Delia Hunley-Adossa, known for her work as president of 88th Precinct Community Council and her questionable ties to the Atlantic Yards project? Perhaps because of the latter, she's avoiding the press and public debates. But is that the way to win a Council seat held by incumbent Letitia James, who won her last primary with 84% of the vote?

I don't think so. I doubt even the AY-loving Daily News could legitimately endorse her after her unwillingness to subject herself to public scrutiny.

Has Hunley-Adossa given up, concluding that the political fight is not for her? Maybe, but I doubt it. Perhaps she'll pour her remaining resources into a final push during the week before the election--remember (pro-AY candidate) Tracy Boyland's stealth campaign in 2006 for (anti-AY) Velmanette Montgomery's state Senate seat.

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Posted by lumi at 6:22 AM

August 12, 2009

…And What About Jo Anne Simon? Atlantic Yards & Beyond

Real Reform Brooklyn

In Brooklyn politics, every yin has a yang. Yesterday, we posted a link to The Brooklyn Rail's flattering interview with City Council candidate Jo Anne Simon. But anonymous/pseudonymous blogger realreformbrooklyn is a critic.

So what does that all mean, exactly? Well, it appears to mean that she has gone to a lot of meetings, submitted written testimony at public hearings, and nothing really beyond that. For instance, and perhaps the best example, on Atlantic Yards, Simon claimed strenuously this evening to have been an “early vocal opponent of the use of eminent domain.” But her “Testimony to the Empire State Development Corporation on the General Project Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Condemnation of Real Property and terms for the proposed acquisition and conveyance of the Atlantic Yards Project Site”, dated August 23, 2006, never even mentions, let alone objects, to the use of eminent domain or condemnation. Her August 25, 2006 letter to the head of the Empire State Development Corporation about the project also make no mention whatsoever about the use of eminent domain. How vocal is that? It’s not. In reality, Simon is most identified with BrooklynSpeaks and its “mend-it-don’t-end-it” stance on Atlantic Yards.

Simon’s track record is even more troubling, however, because of who she is — a purportedly talented civil rights lawyer. The simple fact is that she has never lifted a legal finger to help litigate the numerous Atlantic Yard eminent domain cases. By way of sterling example, Develop Don’t Destroy has an active volunteer legal team that has worked pro bono for years against that project. Simon’s contribution to the effort: nothing.

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NoLandGrab: While Ms. Simon has not volunteered her legal expertise to DDDB, she has certainly been engaged in the battle over Atlantic Yards. However, BrooklynSpeaks's push for an Atlantic Yards governance structure presupposes the project getting built, and the project won't get built without the eminent domain takings.

Posted by eric at 7:01 PM

The Day: Have You Seen This Woman?

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Michael Szeto

Interesting story from The Times's Brooklyn blog.

She’s running for City Council and has been since March. She must be running some kind of campaign because she has spent $23,392 and raised $22,585, according to her latest filing in July.

But Delia Hunley-Adossa remains oddly invisible, at least to the media.

Last week, The Local made many telephone calls to Ms. Hunley-Adossa and left several voice messages. All went unanswered and unreturned. In fact, The Local dialed her number so many times we can remember it.

Calls to friends and supporters didn’t help.
...

Ms. Hunley-Adossa’s opponents do not seem to know what is going on, either.

City Councilwoman Letitia James says she hasn’t seen Ms. Hunley-Adossa for at least a month.

“It’s a bit perplexing,” said Medhanie Estiphanos, the other candidate in the race.

Nor are we the only news outlet that is having trouble contacting Ms. Hunley-Adossa.

“We at The Brooklyn Paper have been astounded by the lack of response to our questions from Delia and her campaign,” said Gersh Kuntzman, editor of The Brooklyn Paper. “She aspires to a very lofty position –- public servant –- and, as such, she needs to answer questions from independent media.”
...

Ms. Hunley-Adossa, 52, was last spotted on July 30 next to State Senator Marty Golden and Bertha Lewis, an organizer for the activist organization, ACORN, at an Atlantic Yards hearing. The three of them were at the hearing to show support for the Atlantic Yards project.

article

NoLandGrab: It's more than highly unusual for a candidate challenging a popular incumbent in a primary race less than five weeks away to disappear, or at least to appear to disappear. Let us offer our sincere hope that Ms. Hunley-Adossa is ok and missing only from the media.

Posted by eric at 1:08 PM

August 11, 2009

Woman vs. the Machine: Jo Anne Simon

BrooklynRail.com
by Theodore Hamm

Brooklyn Rail editor Ted Hamm sits down with City Council candidate Jo Anne Simon.

Brooklyn Rail: And what about Atlantic Yards—have the opponents also been right in forecasting the problems with the project?

Jo Anne Simon: Yes, the community has been right: Atlantic Yards is fundamentally a flawed plan. It follows almost every failed urban design approach, cutting off streets from the surrounding neighborhoods and so on. Obviously the use of eminent domain for private enrichment is very, very bad public policy. The level of public subsidy is problematic—almost no arena has ever been built without public dollars. And the level of the affordability in the housing is too high: very few people from the area will be ever to come back to the new development, if and when it ever happens.

Rail: So should the project go forward? If not, how would you respond to those who say that by not doing so, we’re just left with a giant hole in the ground?

Simon: I didn’t want the project to go forward in the first place, and that hasn’t changed. But nobody who opposed this project wanted a giant hole in the ground. In fact, we warned against allowing demolition to occur ten years earlier than necessary, because there was never a real expectation that Phase Two of the project would begin in the next ten years. They started that demolition in order to gain site control and to create the perception that they had to build here. So the developer (Forest City Ratner) created blight, whereas the neighborhood surrounding the project had been bringing itself back without the need for public investment. Arenas do not stimulate the economy—we know this from other cities’ experiences. The kinds of jobs created are low-level and seasonal. And the infrastructure problems would be tremendous, especially since this is already the most congested area in Brooklyn.

article

Posted by eric at 4:17 PM

In the 33rd: Levin vs. everyone else, AY & Broadway Triangle, and the argument for IRV (Instant Runoff Voting)

Atlantic Yards Report

If you're interested in some insight into the race in the 33rd Council District, be sure to read this excellent analysis by Norman Oder.

Let’s face it. Despite some lively debates, and clear differences in style, experience, policy (only somewhat), and geography among the seven candidates vying to succeed David Yassky in the bizarrely-shaped 33rd City Council District, the race--to be resolved at the Democratic primary September 15--comes down to one thing: Stephen Levin versus everybody else.

That should matter to those following Atlantic Yards. Despite Levin’s expression of “serious concern” about the project, he supports the affordability ratio proposed by Ratner--without pointing out that it was part of an essentially private rezoning, which ACORN has unquestionably supported--and works for the Brooklyn Democratic Party boss who's done Ratner's bidding. The other candidates are all more critical of Atlantic Yards.

(Map from Gotham Gazette)

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Related coverage...

The Brooklyn Paper, Candidates savage the front-runners in Brooklyn Paper debate

The Brooklyn Paper hosted a debate of the candidates for the 33rd District Council seat last night, and, of course, Atlantic Yards figured into the discussion.

Posted by eric at 9:43 AM

August 8, 2009

The case against Mayor Mike.

Pinko Magazine

A section of this criticism of Michael Bloomberg includes mention of the proposed Atlantic Yards project. But the the author only seems dissatisfied that the project as originally proposed will never be built.

(3) He can’t get the big things done. When I look at my bulleted list above (and I LOVE a bulleted list) I can almost convince myself to vote for the Mayor. But the reality is that the visionary, big-picture projects haven’t been accomplished. Congestion pricing failed, not just because Albany wouldn’t allow it but also because the Mayor wasn’t able to win over key allies in the outer boroughs, or make a persuasive public case. The Penn Station overhaul? Didn’t happen. West Side Redevelopment, Atlantic Yards, downtown/ground zero? No, no no. They’re worse than failures actually – in the case of Atlantic Yards, the entire project has been stripped down to the bare essentials needed for the developer to make back his investment – a cookie-cutter arena and some over-priced condos. The features that could remake a city, or that showed some innovation have been stripped away.

link

NoLandGrab: The question is whether we should believe that any of the features used to gain public support for this land grab (i.e. affordable housing, open public space, starchitect) were ever anything more than empty promises.

Posted by steve at 7:40 AM

August 6, 2009

ELECTIONS 2009: THE RACE FOR MAYOR

Queens Ledger

The Ledger interviews mayoral challenger Bill Thompson and the incumbent himself.

Thompson

On development in the city:

I'm not against large-scale development, but I will cite two of the biggest announcements over the last ten years: Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan and Atlantic yards in Downtown Brooklyn. How many units of housing are there? How many jobs? What has happened since the ribbon cuttings and the big announcements? You haven't seen anything that has occurred there. I'm not against large-scale development, but I'm for smart growth in conjunction with communities and not by going around them. This mega-project that you give all to one developer isn't working. There are other models that work better...like Battery Park City.

On Atlantic Yards:

It's starting to look like a basketball stadium and one building.

NoLandGrab: Thompson has a chance to really differentiate himself from Bloomberg on projects like Atlantic Yards and issues like eminent domain (the use of which, for purposes of "economic development," is opposed by about 90% of Americans), but he just can't bring himself to actually do so.

Bloomberg

On whether the city's large-scale development projects are overly ambitious:

No, the zoning for Willets Point was started for the 1964 World's Fair and we just got it done. So for the next 10 or 15 years, I don't know how fast the economy is going to come back, but when you want to build, the zoning will have been done. That's the tough part.

NLG: In the case of Atlantic Yards, there was no rezoning — New York State has overridden local zoning. And "the tough part?" Hardly, when City Planning acts like puppets on a string and the City Council rolls over for the Mayor at every turn.

article

Additional coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, Bloomberg (implicitly) misleads on AY: "the zoning will have been done"

In an interview in the Queens Ledger, headlined ELECTIONS 2009: THE RACE FOR MAYOR, Mayor Mike Bloomberg implicitly lumps Atlantic Yards, where he permitted a state override of city zoning, with other large-scale projects for which the City Council has approved a rezoning.

As for Thompson:

If Thompson were truly a critic of Atlantic Yards, he would've shown up--or sent a surrogate--to the public hearing last week.

Posted by eric at 1:41 PM

Brownstoner: Hold off on angry letters and glassed up

City Officials Call for Atlantic Yards Disclosure

If you have an angry letter for City Council Members David Yassky and Bill de Blasio regarding their apathy towards the Atlantic Yards development, hold off on stamping and sending it.... According to the press release from the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, they are "calling on the Empire State Development Corporation to fully disclose plans for the Atlantic Yards project, including an updated site plan, and prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) for public review."

Development Watch: 80 Dekalb Getting Close

The 36-story development that Forest City Ratner is building at 80 Dekalb Avenue topped out in May and, according to this photo we snapped yesterday, is almost all glassed up. It looks like they changed the facade a little on the upper floors, replacing the exterior panels with windows, doesn't it?

Posted by lumi at 6:39 AM

August 5, 2009

After Myrick's off the ballot, no clear option for an anti-Markowitz protest vote in Borough President's race

Atlantic Yards Report

Long-shot candidate Eugene Myrick, who was trying to challenge Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in the Democratic primary, has been kicked off the ballot for having invalid petitions, leaving the only alternative to the incumbent a Republican (!) or a write-in.

(That's Markowitz, host of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, joined on July 27 by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and performers Anita Baker and Charlie Wilson. Photo by Kathryn Kirk. Three of the seven series sponsors are Forest City Ratner, Nets Basketball, and Barclays.)

The integrity of the process

Markowitz's lawyer, former state Senator Martin Connor, asserted (as per the Brooklyn Paper) that the challenge was to protect the validity of the process, and the Board of Elections agreed.

Now, the elimination of Myrick means that the significant slice of Brooklynites who might want to lodge an anti-Markowitz protest vote have no clear option.

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Posted by eric at 8:54 AM

August 4, 2009

Candidates waste big chance to be king of Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Paper
by the Politicrasher

I’ve finally got my candidates for public advocate and comptroller, thanks to last night’s Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce debate.

While most of the Democratic candidates for those esteemed offices missed the gift-wrapped opportunity to court Brooklyn’s 2-1/2-million residents by showing off a keen understanding of the city’s most populous and best borough, only Queens Councilman John Liu (running for comptroller) and civil liberties lawyer Norman Siegel (public advocate) had the guts to hit me where it counts.

In my Brooklyn gut.
...

Earlier in the night, Siegel showed the broadest awareness of Brooklyn issues.

He said he “would challenge the use of eminent domain” in development projects, saying that the state’s plans to condemn homes and businesses for Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project is “developer driven,” rather than providing a clear public benefit.

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NoLandGrab: Siegel, who in many ways has been NYC's de facto public advocate for decades, has deep support among critics of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project.

Posted by eric at 9:01 PM

TERM LIMITS BACKLASH: INCUMBENTS IN TROUBLE

From the central Bronx to the North Shore of Staten Island, an unusually high number of incumbent City Councilmembers are in tough races this year. A look at some of the issues -- and seats -- in play.

City Limits
by Jarrett Murphy

Prospect Heights Councilwoman Tish James voted against the extension of term limits, but City Limits characterizes her re-election race as "more competitive."

Other more competitive races in Brooklyn include that of incumbent Diana Reyna, the target of challenger Martiza Davila, a protégé of Brooklyn Democratic chairman and Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Letitia James, a leading opponent of the Atlantic Yards arena and housing project, is being challenged by a project supporter, Delia Hunley-Adossa, who heads a local precinct council. Al Vann also faces a potentially challenging race against seven opponents led by Drum Major Institute executive director Mark Winston-Griffith (a board member of City Limits' parent organization, City Futures, Inc.) and former police detective David Grinage.

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NoLandGrab: We'll see how competitive the Ratner-backed Hunley-Adossa is against the popular James. It's worth noting, too, that Winston-Griffith is an opponent of Atlantic Yards, too.

Posted by eric at 12:55 PM

August 3, 2009

King Marty! Markowitz’s Dem challenger booted off the ballot!

The Brooklyn Paper
by Jared Foretek

Borough President Markowitz locked up a third-term in a Manhattan board room this afternoon as the Board of Elections kicked the Beep’s Democratic challenger off the ballot.

The 10-member Elections commission unanimously ruled that political newcomer Eugene Myrick had not collected the required 4,000 signatures to earn a spot on the ballot.

Myrick had handed in more than 10,000 John Hancocks, but the vast majority were ruled invalid because the signers were either not registered voters or did not live in Brooklyn (or both!).

In the end, the commissioners credited him with just 2,637 valid signatures.

“There is nothing we can do to help you, sir,” said Board of Elections President Frederic Umane.

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NoLandGrab: The Brooklyn Paper may be underestimating the depth of pro-Atlantic Yards support ;-) for Republican challenger Marc D'Ottavio, who has accused Markowitz of not being vociferous enough in his support of the floundering boondoggle.

Posted by eric at 7:27 PM

CHOCOLATE KISS-OFF: JIMMY MACK'S CHOCOLATE BRIDE DITCHES HIM AT THE ALTAR

Gatemouth's blog [Room 8]
by Howard Graubard

Gatemouth correctly calls us out for referring to him as "anonymous" (we meant to type "pseudonymous" but the day after the ESDC Atlantic Yards hearing was way busy here at NLG and we got a wee bit sloppy) last Thursday.

But Gatemouth's reflexive dislike for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn seems a wee bit obsessive, as he cites fellow-pseudonymous blogger J. Cheever Loophole's (no, Mr. Graubard, we're not going to spend time tracking down Mr. Loophole's real identity) post about amicus briefs:

I do not think that opposing Atlantic Yards makes one reflexively anti-development. I just think that DDDB has shown itself to be so. I think a joining with far right-wig [sic] ideologues in their blunderbuss crusade against eminent domain, which the right uses to mask a far more pernicious agenda, proves it.

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NoLandGrab: If the Institute for Justice is going to file an amicus brief, they're going to file an amicus brief. And if the left is going to play deaf, dumb and blind when it comes to the abuse of eminent domain for a bloody private developer's money-pit basketball arena, then one can hardly lay the blame for the gutting of environmental regulations by right-wing nuts and the likes of Scalia, Alito and Roberts at the feet of DDDB. If so-called progressives won't reform eminent domain laws (let's remember that the vast majority of Americans find fault with the Kelo decision), which disproportionately victimize poor people of color, then the door is going to be left wide open for Conservatives to do so.

Posted by eric at 3:06 PM

Stepping out, and stepping up: the absence of de Blasio and Yassky; the louder voices from Brennan and BrooklynSpeaks members

Atlantic Yards Report

Wanna know who is really for and against Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project? Never mind the stump speeches, Norman Oder has a quick check-up on which politicians showed up and which politicians stayed home:

Notable absences at the two-day Atlantic Yards public hearing held last week by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) were two Council Members, Bill de Blasio of the 39th District and David Yassky of the 33rd District, whose districts border the AY footprint.

(Whatever their other obligations, they could have sent surrogates, as did some loyal elected officials in Forest City Ratner's camp.)
...
As I've noted, de Blasio has completely muted his criticism of Atlantic Yards, and likely will not resume, given endorsements in his race for Public Advocate by several AY-supporting unions and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.

Yassky, however, had kept up criticism until fairly recently, but not after he was endorsed by Markowitz.

Sure, I'm speculating here on the political calculus, but consider that both de Blasio and Yassky, in their campaigns, stress independence and fiscal rectitude.

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NoLandGrab: de Blasio has hardly wavered from his original position, that Atlantic Yards is an opportunity to build a lot of affordable housing (even though the devil is in the details). However, the hallmark of Yassky's political career has been to stand with his constituents and then abandon them to strike an ineffectual compromise and declare a win for the community.

Posted by lumi at 5:37 AM

July 23, 2009

They’re off! Fields are set for September primaries — and The Brooklyn Paper is there

The Brooklyn Paper
By Mike McLaughlin and Ben Muessig

District 35

Parts of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, parts of Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant

Democratic incumbent Letitia James would have been eligible for re-election even without the term limits extension, but that hasn’t stopped two challengers from entering the political ring to unseat her.

Delia Hunley–Adossa, a pro-Atlantic Yards neighborhood activist, and Medhanie Estiphanos, an unknown newcomer, seek to defy the odds — no sitting councilmembers lost in 2005 — and beat James.

James is popular in her district and holds all the advantages of incumbency, but her Achilles heel could be her paltry fundraising, making it tougher to flood the district with a pro-Tish message. Unlike other legislators, she had not focused on fundraising, and has raised just $31,030 compared to the surprisingly strong $22,585 raised by Hunley-Adossa.

Her support for the troubled Atlantic Yards project has helped her .

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NoLandGrab: Expect Pro-Atlantic Yards candidates to give opponents a run for "the money."

Posted by lumi at 5:29 AM

July 21, 2009

Electallujah! Reverend Billy Takes on Bloomberg, Corporate Hegemony and Consumerism

Fog City Journal
By Sunny Angulo and Andy Blue

Atlantic Yards is Reverend Billy's posterproject for Bloomberg-supported boondoggles:

“We’ve shopped ourselves to death. The enormous shopping utopias that Mike Bloomberg had envisioned - just huge projects, some of them the biggest urban renewal projects ever seen in history - they’re killing us. One of them here in Brooklyn involved 16 skyscrapers, the Atlantic Yards Project, a very controversial project. It’s getting smaller and smaller over time, but that’s because the community continues to rise up against it. The government is in such a state of chaos out here in New York now, the community is actually becoming emboldened. It’s a very encouraging time for facing down abusive development. In the case of Atlantic Yards, it was tax-payer financed and led by a billionaire, through a very narrow kind cultural design, really created for 28-year old stockbrokers. Shopping, shopping, shopping - no street lights at all, all glassy, metal and stone hard fronts, with additional space for the 20,000 new cars expected everyday.

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Posted by lumi at 4:55 AM

July 19, 2009

Support Tish James on July 27th at Moe’s

The Real Fort Greene

The author of this blog entry reviews the candidates challenging Atlantic Yards opponent, Councilwoman Letitia James and argues why James should be returned to the City Council.

In my opinion the choice is obvious. Two relatively unknown, inexperienced candidates who haven’t shown (at this point) a great deal of understanding regarding the myriad of issues facing this community. One candidate in the pocket of Bruce Ratner who seems to be one issue candidate. An experienced incumbent with history of fighting the good fight to stand up for her constituents.

Please attend the fundraiser and show your support.

link

Posted by steve at 8:57 AM

July 17, 2009

The money primary, updated; James nudges ahead; Simon's rivals have cash on hand; Lander leads, Skaller also ready to spend

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder updates the fundraising efforts in the 35th, 33rd and 39th district City Council races.

The latest fundraising reports to the New York City Campaign Finance Board are out.

In a contrast to the reports from May, City Council Member Letitia James has raised more than $8000 more than rival Delia Hunley-Adossa in the race for the 35th District, though the totals raised by each would put them well behind candidates in the nearby 33rd and 39th Districts, where there are vigorous contests for open seats to succeed David Yassky and Bill de Blasio, respectively. In terms of cash on hand, the race is closer; James has about $3000 more.
...

James has raised $31,030 and has spent $27,713, including $8500 on office rent, $4410 on her fundraising treasurer, and $2000 on the Rosa Parks Democratic Club for petitioning.

James's largest contributor, giving $1000 is Trevor Wilson of Prestige Management, which manages the three Mitchell-Lama towers of Atlantic Terminal II. She also got $500 each from Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union and Local 702 of the Board of Education employees. She gave $500 herself.

Hunley-Adossa has raised $22,585 and spent $23,392, including $7000 to election lawyer and former state Senator Martin Connor.

After in-kind contribution of $2300 from Idris Abdullah for office expenses, Hunley-Adossa's next-largest donor, at $1135, is herself. Also, giving $1000 each are the New York City Council of Carpenters, Willard Hawkins, and Dorothy Bembry-Guet.

Also giving $1000 is Alan Weisberg of One Stop Promotions, an Atlantic Yards supporter (and, perhaps, the same Alan Weisberg associated with the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club in south Brooklyn that spawned Forest City Ratner public affairs VP Bruce Bender).

article

Posted by eric at 10:05 AM

July 16, 2009

Diamondstone: Over 5,000 Brooklynites Call for Real Reform

Hot Indie News

City Council candidate Ken Diamondstone announces petitioning results in a release that touts his long-standing and well-documented opposition to Atlantic Yards.

“I am the only candidate in this race with a record of real reforms,” Diamondstone said. “I’m not afraid to stand up to the powers that be. Borough President Markowitz tried to force me off the Community Board when I dared to question Atlantic Yards, and I fought back and won. If elected I will continue to fight for the people, not the powerful.”

Diamondstone has a well-earned reputation as a reformer willing to take risks and standing on principle. He has always opposed developments that put community interests second, including the Dock Street project that blocks views of the Brooklyn Bridge and his opposition to luxury housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

link

Posted by eric at 11:00 AM

July 10, 2009

A Street Encounter Raises Questions About The Working Families Party, ACORN and Atlantic Yards That Seem To Lack Satisfactory Answers

Noticing New York

A Working Families Party canvasser's claim that the WFP and ACORN had parted ways sets Michael D.D. White on a quest for answers (here's one: he got bad info from that canvasser).

Interesting, we thought. This was worthy of investigation. What better way to investigate than to go directly to the Working families Party and ask. A split would be interesting. The Working Families Party was formed by ACORN (and by the auto and communications workers’ unions) in 1998.
...

We contacted Dan Levitan, spokesperson for the Working Families Party. This is how our discussion unfolded.

Mr. Levitan told us that despite the information we had received on the street, the Working Families Party has NOT disaffiliated from and still maintains relations with ACORN. More specifically, Mr. Levitan informed us that "the scandals at ACORN" at had not caused any disaffiliation.

Clearly Distinguishing Scandals in Actual Question

We had to be clear in our discussion to confirm with Mr. Levitan that by “scandals,” we were not talking about anything like the Fox News attacks on ACORN about their voter registration activities. We were specific that we were instead talking about the embezzlement that was concealed from various people, including the ACORN board and interested government agencies with which ACORN transacts business. We said that we were also talking about the huge loan that ACORN received from Forest City Ratner that was reportedly similarly concealed. We expressed to Mr. Levitan that we believed that when New Yorkers think of the ACORN scandals this is what we think typically jumps to mind.

Will the WFP answer Michael White's questions? Read on for the answer(s).

article

NoLandGrab: Our own experience with WFP canvassers is that they're quick to claim disavowal of Atlantic Yards, but the reality is a lot messier.

Posted by eric at 9:45 AM

July 9, 2009

Markowitz: "Please, please, please" get AY started (because he'd never support anything not in the interests of Brooklyn)

Atlantic Yards Report

[At last month's MTA Finance Committee meeting, the] only elected official to offer pro-project views was Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who sent Chief of Staff Carlo Scissura, who presented several questionable arguments.

One of the lines was so classic Markowitz that it deserves its own excerpt.

"As we all know, the Borough President would never support anything that is not in the interests of all of Brooklyn and all Brooklynites," Scissura declared.

He wouldn't? Have the interests of Brooklyn been distilled into the consciousness of one enlightened BP? Can they be?

Check out the rest of the article for some stunning lies and developer propaganda delivered by Marty's representative.

NoLandGrab: Since the interests of NY State has been distilled into the consciousness of one enlightened developer, could the BP be right?

Posted by lumi at 6:10 AM

July 8, 2009

Newcomer Bids to Deny Markowitz a Third Term

The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Michael Szeto

Eugene Myrick has a message for Fort Greene: Slow down.

Mr. Myrick, an online entrepreneur who is hoping to challenge Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in his bid for a third term, said the neighborhood is developing too quickly.

“On the Fort Greene side of town you have to slow down,” he said in an interview. “Fort Greene is becoming more like Clinton Hill.”

The yield message includes the Atlantic Yards project, which Mr. Myrick strongly opposes, arguing in his campaign that it has received too much support from Borough Hall.

article

NoLandGrab: Though New York City's electorate twice voted for two-term limits, Markowitz is happily seeking a third, courtesy of Mayor Bloomberg, Christine Quinn and the Bloomberg 29.

Posted by eric at 4:59 PM

July 6, 2009

Who didn't show up at the MTA meetings? State Senator Carl Kruger and his topsy-turvy view of Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report reviews summer ficition...

Everyone, including the Mad Overkiller Norman Oder, missed State Senator Carl Kruger's May 13 press release "accusing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of intransigence as Forest City Ratner tried to reduce its obligations to pay cash and provide and upgraded railyard." In this alternate parallel universe, Kruger hilariously demanded that the MTA meet with him to show its financial records for Atlantic Yards or "he'll take the matter to the next step."

For a good beach read, check out the rest of the article where Oder provides color commentary as Kruger declares that "all of Forest City’s project obligations will be honored" and bolsters the "MTA’s widely-held image as a secretive entity that works not for the good of the public but for its own financial benefit."

Posted by lumi at 6:05 AM

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.

article

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."

article

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.

link

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:

1. 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”).
2. 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.)
3. Less will be done by the developer up front, and
4. 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.

article

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.

article

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.”

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.”

article

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.

link

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.

article

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."

link

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.

article

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?)

article

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.

article

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.

article

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."

article

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.”

article

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.

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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?

link

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.

article

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."

linki

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.

article

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.

article

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.”

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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."

1. It's the "VANDERBILT YARDS." "Atlantic Yards" is Bruce Ratner's brand name for the entire project.
2. 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.

article

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."

article

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.

article

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.

article

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...

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

link

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 Address

Apparently 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.

link

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.

link

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......

link

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.”

link

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.

article

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.

article

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."

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

Atlantic Yards Report writes:

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.

article

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!

link

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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 cigarettes

Answer: 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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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 Projects

Considering 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.

article
About those jobs...

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)

article

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.]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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."

article

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 RATNER

Can’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.

article

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.

article

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.”

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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."

article

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.)

article

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.

link

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."

article

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.

article

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.

more

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?

article

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.

article

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.

Choose Powell for the 10th CD

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.

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

link

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.”

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.)

article

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.

article

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."

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

Listen Here

link

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.

link

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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

link

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."

article

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.'

link

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.

article

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."

link

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.

article

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.

link

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....

article

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."

article

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.

article

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...

article

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.

link

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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?”

article

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."

article

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.

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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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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."

article

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.”

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

link

[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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.”

link

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.

article

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.

link

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."

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.”

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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).

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.)

article

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.”

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

link

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.

article

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.

article

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.

article

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 most interesting of the new stadium concepts was developed by tycoon Bruce Ratner, in a project conceived by Frank Gehry and titled Atlantic Yards. There has been moderate community opposition to this proposal. It’s tougher to build stadiums in cities because of community opposition and other lobbying interests. It’s also important to build them there so that these Babel Towers doesn’t cower in New Jersey, some place where we don’t care if God sees us.

The interior of the arena, a small part of the overhaul pacakge, is an exciting contemporary area, suited for concerts and other cultural events, expansive enough to keep prices down for the people of the area. It is the total opposite of the only New York arena stadium not being totally rethought, Madison Square Garden.

NoLandGrab: "People of the area?" Could one be more condescending, while trying not to be?

Posted by lumi at 7:50 PM

December 1, 2007

Christine Quinn and the Prisms of LGBT Advocate and Mayoral Candidate

The Village Voice
Julie Bolcer

Development was likewise on the minds of audience members, who asked a limited amount of questions in the final ten minutes of the conversation. One woman mentioned the effort to stop the Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn, and asked what Quinn thinks should be done now.

“I think there’s not a lot that’s left to be done and that the project will be getting developed,” the Speaker replied. She reminded the audience that she never took a public position on the matter because it moved forward in a significant way before she took her citywide office. However, she did offer that she believes the development should not be excused from ULURP simply because it is a state process, and she recited her similar belief about the West Side Stadium.

Quinn as future Mayor: "And rats? They were here before I became Mayor, so they are not my problem. Oh, and traffic - that happened before I got here."

And by the way, Quinn took office in January of 2006. The public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was August 23, 2006.

article

Posted by amy at 9:32 AM

November 30, 2007

Officials redouble call for AY security study, warn that street closings would unleash a “tsunami”

Atlantic Yards Report

Here is coverage of yesterday's Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods press conference calling for an independent review of Atlantic Yards security issues.

Elected officials and community activists yesterday again called for an independent study of Atlantic Yards security, given the belated revelation last week, thanks to the New York Times, that parts of the planned Atlantic Yards arena would be only 20 feet from Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.

City and state officials, along with developer Forest City Ratner, have not been willing to explain why the facility would be safer than the Prudential Center in Newark, where two adjacent blocks are closed during (and before/after) events because the arena was deemed too close to the street.

A stern quote from Councilman Bill de Blasio:

“The ball game’s not over,” he said, noting that subsidies and other issues must be resolved for the project to move forward. If the developer doesn’t behave more transparently, “then the future of their project is in danger,” he warned.

Councilwoman Letitia James emphasized the need for an independent security review:

“The project has been shrouded in secrecy from Day One,” declared James, the staunchest political opponent of the project. Acknowledging concerns that too much disclosure could compromise security—the blanket explanation for the cap on public discussion—she suggested that documents could be redacted so some information emerges.

If no independent study is ordered, James said, she will again ask for a hearing on the project before the Council’s transportation committee. Then she topped Yassky's formulation, deeming that the closure of streets near and at a notoriously congested intersection would yield a “tsunami.”

article

Posted by steve at 7:55 AM

Dolly Williams is fined for her conflicted Yards vote

The Brooklyn Paper
by Dana Rubinstein

The Brooklyn Paper adds to the coverage of the $4,000 fine levied against former Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams. The fine comes as a result of a Conflict of Interest Board investigation done three years after a conflict-of-interest complaint was filed.

“I acknowledge that by voting on the Downtown Brooklyn Plan, which conferred a benefit on the Atlantic Yards project in which I was an investor … I violated [the law],” Williams said in a statement released on Tuesday.

The admission was a far cry from her assertion to The Brooklyn Paper in October that she had served her term with integrity.

article

Posted by steve at 5:30 AM

November 29, 2007

Three years after complaint, Williams departs Planning Commission with a $4000 fine; McRae the replacement

Atlantic Yards Report on Dolly Williams's fine:

The real question here is why it took the Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) more than three years to reach a resolution after a complaint was filed by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB). However, the board is prohibited by law from commenting beyond the disposition it issues.

This resolution can’t be good for Williams’ reputation, but she did avoid any criminal proceeding. And from another perspective, it might be seen as a cost of doing business in New York. Consider that Williams last December gave a $4950 campaign contribution to Markowitz, which is nearly 25% more than the fine she paid.

Also consider that, as the Times pointed out, Williams earned $48,000 a year for part-time work as a commissioner.

article

The NY Times ran an article on the paper's City Room blog with a curious headline, "A Casualty in the Atlantic Yards Battle." It makes it sound like Williams was somehow a victim.

NoLandGrab: The truth of the matter is that Williams played fast and loose with her governmental appointment and got her reputation handed to her.

Posted by lumi at 6:20 AM

Ratner, Markowitz at the MetroTech tree lighting ceremony

Atlantic Yards Report

Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz appeared yesterday at the annual tree-lighting ceremony at Ratner's MetroTech project.

article

Posted by steve at 6:10 AM

A community group set up to be bought out by Ratner?

Atlantic Yards Report

At a panel last night held at the Museum of the City of New York, Modernism and the Public Realm, Fred Siegel, a historian and urbanist, offered a tantalizing Atlantic Yards anecdote.

Siegel, a Brooklynite, was highly critical of Atlantic Yards. (More on the panel tomorrow.) At one point, he said, "I know a local politician who began a community group with the express purpose of being bought out by Bruce Ratner."

I caught up with him afterward to ask him to elaborate, but he begged off. But what politician and group could he have been talking about?

article

Posted by lumi at 5:54 AM

Dolly's Follies

Disgraced City Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams Fined for Atlantic Yards Conflict of Interest

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

Though Williams feigned innocence, it only took three years to show that where there's smoke, there's fire:

In August 2004, it was reported in the Brooklyn Paper that Brooklyn's only representative on the City Planning Commission, Dolly Williams, had become an investor in Bruce Ratner's Nets. It was amply clear to us that her financial stake with the team and her role as a Commissioner created a conflict of interest that broke the Ethics Law of the City Charter, which says that a city officer with ownership interest in firms doing business with the city has a conflict of interest. . Days after the disclosure Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn lodged a complaint with the city's Conflicts of Interest Board (click to download the complaint).

At the time, Ms. Williams told the Brooklyn Paper: "It is not a conflict, otherwise I would not do it."

Tuesday, over three years after the complaint was filed, the Conflicts of Interest Board released a disposition by Ms. Williams where she admitted that her partial ownership of the Nets and her vote in favor of the 2004 Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning -- which included a rezoning of a small part of the Atlantic Yards project site which would benefit Forest City Ratner -- was a conflict of interest. The Board also announced a $4,000 dollar fine it has imposed on the now disgraced commissioner. Ms. Williams has not explained why she did not recuse herself from that vote and admit to her conflict much earlier.

link

Posted by lumi at 5:41 AM

November 28, 2007

City Planning Commission member fined, successor named

NY Daily News
By Jotham Sederstrom

Controversial City Planning Commission member Dolly Williams was fined Tuesday for voting in support of Atlantic Yards while she was an investor in the project.

The $4,000 fine was announced Tuesday by the city Conflicts of Interest Board at the same time Borough President Marty Markowitz named longtime Community Board 2 Chairwoman Shirley McRae as Williams' prospective replacement for the commission's Brooklyn representative.

Williams could not be reached for comment, although she was seen at Borough Hall briefly just before the press conference announcing McRae's appointment to the post.

"We heard it a little while ago," said Markowitz when asked about the fines imposed on Williams, who was representing Brooklyn when she cast the vote.

Asked about the timing of his announcement of McRae and the news about Williams, Markowitz didn't deny a connection.

article

Posted by lumi at 5:46 AM

Atlantic Yards Ombudsman Looks Forward to Hearing from You

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

After more than six months of searching for the perfect candidate for the job (and after three people had refused offers), an ombudsman for the Atlantic Yards project has finally been found: Forrest R. Taylor, a communications and government relations consultant who worked as chief of staff to former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and as deputy executive director for operations at the MTA. One word of advice to Mr. Taylor: Duck!

link

Posted by lumi at 5:23 AM

Planning Commissioner Fined for Atlantic Yards Conflict of Interest

The NY Sun
By Benjamin Sarlin

This Sun article covering Dolly Williams's $4,000 fine from the NYC Conflict of Interest Board slightly exaggerates the embattled Planning Commish's role in the approval of Bruce Ratner's controversial megaproject.

Despite her critical role in approving the project, Ms. Williams in 2004 invested $250,000 in the New Jersey Nets, which is owned by the developer of Atlantic Yards, Forest City Ratner Companies.

Atlantic Yards is a state project. NYC's Planning Commission played a bit part, approving changes related to the project, but not the project itself, which was approved last December by the Public Authorities Control Board, which is comprised of representatives of the Governor, Assembly Speaker and Senate Leader.

The article goes into more detail, which clarifies Dolly Williams's actions and the Planning Commission's actual role:

Ms. Williams, the CFO of A. Williams Construction, signed a statement with the Conflicts of Interest Board admitting that she had invested in the Nets just weeks before she voted in favor of the downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan, which would benefit some of the land to be included in the Atlantic Yards project. The decision by the board comes more than three years after the Brooklyn Paper originally reported that Ms. Williams's financial holdings posed a conflict of interest. After her relationship with the developer was disclosed, Ms. Williams recused herself from future involvement with the project, including design recommendations in 2006 that gave the commission's stamp of approval to the plan.

article

NoLandGrab: Williams has connsistently displayed a pattern of personal entitlement, as demonstrated by her use of a City Government parking placard to illegally park her signature yellow Porsche.

Posted by lumi at 5:08 AM

$4K FINE FOR DIP IN 'ATLANTIC'

NY Post
By Maggie Haberman

An embattled city Planning Commission member was fined $4,000 for approving part of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn - a controversial plan that she'd personally invested in, officials said yesterday.

Dolly Williams admitted she violated the city charter section saying public servants can't use their positions to personally benefit themselves or associates, the city Conflicts of Interest Board said.
...
In April 2004, Williams put $250,000 into escrow to start paying for her investment in the Nets basketball team and a new arena at the Atlantic Yards site.

Less than three weeks later, she voted to approve the plan that would modify a parcel in the Atlantic Yards plan, she admitted in an affidavit.

NoLandGrab: The appearance of conflict of interest has been festering for more than three years; it is hardly surprising that Williams actually took action to personally enrich herself.

Additionally, the Post reports:

[Williams] continues to serve in her post until Markowitz fills the position.

That explains why Marty Markowitz announced the appointment of Shirley McRae on the same day this decision was handed down.

article

Posted by lumi at 5:00 AM

Markowitz Appoints CB2 Chair McRae to City Planning Commission

Brooklyn Heights Blog

The Brooklyn Paper reports that Borough President Marty Markowitz has named Shirley McRae, Chair of Community Board 2, which includes the Heights along with Boerum Hill, Clinton Hill, DUMBO and Fort Greene, to be Brooklyn's sole representative on the City Planning Commission.
...
Ms. McRae has called for greater community participation in oversight of the Atlantic Yards proposal, criticized the conduct of public hearings concerning the Yards, and signed a letter (along with other CB chairs) taking Mr. Ratner to task for claiming that the Boards had participated significantly in a report favoring the development.

link

Posted by lumi at 4:47 AM

November 27, 2007

Former Commissioner Fined for Atlantic Yards Connection

Gotham Gazette is reporting that Dolly Williams was fined $4,000 by the NYC Conflict of Interest Board on the same day that we find that Shirley McRae will succeed Ms. Williams on the City Planning Commission.

According to a deposition released by the Conflicts of Interest Board today, Dolly Williams, who has served as a commissioner since 2003 and announced she would leave the board last month, voted in favor of the project while she was simultaneously becoming an investor in the New Jersey Nets - who will move to Brooklyn as part of the major downtown development, Atlantic Yards.

In late April of 2004, Williams put $250,000 in escrow to guarantee her investment in the Nets. A little over two weeks later she voted in favor of the project that expanded the commercial use of a site within the Atlantic Yards plan.

article

NoLandGrab: It should be noted that it took over THREE YEARS after Atlantic Yards critics and Brooklyn Papers noted WIlliams's conflict for the Board to act.

Perhaps this closes one of the early bizarre chapters in the Atlantic Yards saga.

Posted by lumi at 7:46 PM

McRae to replace Williams on Planning board

The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman

Borough President Markowitz has named Community Board 2 chair Shirley McRae to be the new Brooklyn representative to the city Planning Commission, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.

The official announcement will be at a press conference tomorrow.

McRae has been the longtime head of Community Board 2, which covers Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO.

McRae will be replacing Dolly Williams, whose part-ownership in the New Jersey Nets and business relationship with developer Bruce Ratner became a major embarrassment for Borough Hall when Williams — Brooklyn’s sole representative on the Planning Commission — was forced her to recuse herself from discussions about Atlantic Yards, the borough’s largest development project ever.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:37 PM

Eagle Twofer: Real Estate Round-Up, November 26, 2007

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Sarah Ryley
link

City Council hopes to expand oversight on massive NYC building boom:

The City Council is proposing a new task force that would examine the impact that large, private development projects have on surrounding infrastructure, included those sponsored by the city and state, reported The New York Sun. Headed by Council Members Daniel Garodnick and Letitia James, a chief opponent of the Atlantic Yards arena and high rise project, the task force would examine impacts on traffic, schools and energy.

So the glass-walled arena and high-rises are only 20 ft. from Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, what's the big deal?

The New York Times confirmed that the Atlantic Yards arena, renamed the Barclays Center, would be set back from Atlantic and Flatbush avenues only 20 feet in most places. The issue, brought up by opponents of the project as early as 2005 and the subject of a lawsuit, reemerged after Newark police decided two weeks before the grand opening of the Prudential Center arena to close adjacent streets during events because it was deemed too close at 25 feet.

Posted by lumi at 6:01 AM

November 25, 2007

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Sunday Twofer

Wanted: Official Comment

It's lovely that The New York Times is asking questions about the security for the planned Nets arena, but a few quotes from public officials would give greater depth to the story.

It's a shame that the Times was unable to, or did not, get comment from or cite a single city or state official, or any third-parties to give meaningful texture to the article beyond the NYPD's silence.
...
Perhaps the press will seek these people out and ask them: How are Brooklyn's 20-foot arena setbacks different than Newark's?

What Makes Brooklyn Different than Newark? - Nothing; not even the stonewalling.

From yesterday's article in The New York Times regarding the New York Police Department's security analysis for the planned Nets arena: "The Police Department has said that it does not comment on such matters. The department’s security analysis, which found that the arena was safe and streets need not be closed on game days, would stand."

In the case of the Prudential Center arena, the Newark Police Department seemed to suddenly realize, only days before it opened, that the facility was vulnerable because it isn't set back sufficiently from the street. Now street closings are required during event days.

A better decision-making process should be required for Brooklyn.

So at some point in that process, the Newark police department must have "found that the arena was safe and streets need not be closed on game days." And then when it was built and two weeks away from opening, the Newark police department looked at it again and changed their minds, and decided they must close two streets abutting their new arena.

Imagine if this same scenario plays out in Brooklyn. We don't have the luxury of closing Atlantic and Flatbush, two already clogged arteries. No amount of congestion pricing will be able to solve the problems at the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush and 4th Avenues.

Posted by steve at 5:38 AM

November 22, 2007

Real-Estate Round-Up, November 21, 2007

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Sarah Ryley

Though BUILD Prez James Caldwell is hard to track down, two nights ago, he was spotted in Coney Island:

Has James Caldwell, president of Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD), turned on Mayor Michael Bloomberg? Caldwell, representing BUILD, was front and center with the mayor and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner at the signing of the Community Benefits Agreement for the project in 2005, and is ostensibly charged with hooking locals up with jobs resulting from the project. Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a group that opposes Atlantic Yards, noticed Caldwell pictured front and center with Senator Carl Kruger on Monday night in Coney Island as Kruger vowed to stop Bloomberg’s radical proposal to create a 15-acre amusement park there through the transfer of city parkland. Caldwell was unable to be reached — BUILD’s phone number has been disconnected, as has Caldwell’s home number listed in the White Pages.

link

Posted by lumi at 4:49 AM

Hypocrisy in Coney

The Brooklyn Paper, Editorial

Indeed, Atlantic Yards supporters who are now foes of the mayor’s Coney Island plan pretend to be blind to the many similarities between the administration’s approach to both mega-projects:

• In both cases, the government will use the threat of eminent domain to get existing landowners to sell.

• In both cases, the financial details of the project are cloaked in secrecy, hidden from the very public that will ultimately pay for them.

• In both cases, opponents are tarred as merely being part of the Not In My Back Yard crowd, as if raising reasonable questions is a crime.

• In both cases, the government has too cozy a relationship to the hand-picked developer. At Atlantic Yards, that was Bruce Ratner. At Coney Island, the existing landowner, Sitt, is being tossed aside so that the mayor can bring in whomever he chooses. It is unclear whether the public will have any say in that process.

• In both cases, there is ample opportunity for the area to develop organically, without a top-down, master-planned scheme. It was already happening in Prospect Heights, the supposedly “blighted” area where brownstones sell for more than $1 million. And it could have happened in Coney Island, if Sitt was given a chance to send his proposal through the normal public-review process.

article

Posted by lumi at 4:36 AM

November 21, 2007

Fascinating...

Ratner supporter and Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development head James Caldwell (right) was spotted last night, with State Senator Carl Kruger (left), at the Coney Island hearing, asking the same questions folks have been asking about Atlantic Yards.

How much $?
How long?
Who pays?

Indeed.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn offers its take on Mr. Caldwell's apparent conversion here.

Posted by lumi at 5:40 AM

November 17, 2007

On "brownstone-bourgeois" policy wonkery and New York magazine

Atlantic Yards Report shows what happened 'behind the news' to inspire the NY Magazine assertion that Brad Lander "is also popular with the brownstone-bourgeois crowd."

Brad Lander directs the Pratt Center for Community Development and is running for Bill DeBlasio's City Council seat.

Other candidates, according to the Courier-Life chain, are expected to include Craig Hammerman, district manager of Community Board 6; Bob Zuckerman, executive director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation; and Josh Skaller, president of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats.

article

Posted by amy at 9:50 AM

November 7, 2007

2009 mayoral campaign shaping up

amNY

Our great leader, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, was cited as a wild card in a list of potential 2009 mayoral candidates, though the Scarlet A could get in the way :

Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president:

Probably too parochial to be formidable citywide; affiliation with Atlantic Yards won't help.

article

Posted by lumi at 5:39 AM

November 5, 2007

Cash-rich DeBlasio seeks Beep post

The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman

NYC Councilman Bill de Blasio is running for Brooklyn Borough President, a post he "actually" doesn't have to apologize for:

“I actually think it’s a great office,” he said. “Brooklyn is obviously the center of the most-important stuff going on in the city right now — culturally, politically with our progressive values and progressive ideas, and development-wise. The next borough president will get to shape a lot of that.”

What kind of stuff will de Blasio focus on? Irresponsible development stuff, excluding the Atlantic Yards stuff:

In an interview this week with The Brooklyn Paper, DeBlasio said he would emphasize his support for affordable housing and “protecting neighborhoods” from “irresponsible developers.”

He did not mention his support for the Atlantic Yards project, a position that has earned him substantial opposition from many residents of his Park Slope base.

article

To understand, or at least try to wrap your head around the "essential truth" of Bill de Blasio's opinions on Atlantic Yards, check out Norman Oder's in-depth article from Atlantic Yards Report, posted last week.

Posted by lumi at 6:40 AM

October 31, 2007

Audit AY? Probably not this comptroller

Atlantic Yards Report

While the Independent Budget Office has done its own reasonably detailed (though still incomplete) cost-benefit study of Atlantic Yards, the question remains: would Thompson ever audit Atlantic Yards expenditures to advise the public "of the City's financial condition"?

It's too early for an audit, most likely, but Thompson isn't exactly in a position to scrutinize Atlantic Yards carefully. He has already signed on as a project supporter.

His cheerleading letter, citing jobs and revenues without acknowledging costs, appears as part of a document filed in the challenge to the Atlantic Yards environmental review. Did campaign contributions to Thompson from friends and relatives of Bruce Ratner play a part?

Read the complete article to learn more about how Thompson dedicates the resources of his office to uncover a couple of million here and there of wasted city money, but will probably never go near one of the City's biggest boondoggles ever.

Posted by lumi at 8:53 AM

October 30, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

Pardon me for asking, A Must Read: Atlantic Yards And Bill De Blasio

The question we've been encountering on the street is, what do you think about de Blasio? Since the City Councilmember and candidate for Borough President has kept a pretty low profile during his two terms, people seem to want more info.

Norman Oder, author of the Atlantic Yards Report posted a very well written analysis of Bill De Blasio and his stand on Ratner's mega-project, affordable housing and over-development. A must read, especially since De Blasio just declared his candidacy for Borough President.

Daily Politics, Odds and Ends

The Lambda Independent Democrats voted unanimous in favor of a resolution opposing Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project despite the fact that he is in talks to create a LGBT comunity center in Brooklyn.

NoLandGrab: "Despite?" We think Daily Politics meant "because" Ratner is trying to toss them a bone, unless they mean to imply that Brooklyn's LGBT community is ungrateful.

Daily Gotham, Lambda Independent Democrats: Just say "No" to Ratner and Noach Dear

At its meeting held October 22, 2007, Lambda Independent Democrats, Brooklyn's LGBT Political voice adopted a resolution opposing the Atlantic Yards Project of the Forest City Ratner Development Company.

The club also contined to express it's disappointment in the Brooklyn Democratic party's support for Noach Dear.
...
And for those who want to know about what Lambda has to say about Noach Dear, they were so incensed at the acceptance by Brooklyn's "Democratic" machine of this homophobic, unqualified hack as a judge that they issued a clear, public warning to all Democrats who endorsed him that Lambda will hold them accountable for their endorsement.

NoLandGrab: The one politician who holds the short end of the stick on both issues is Borough President Marty Markowitz, which does not bode well for his plan to run for Mayor.

Ohio Daily Blog, Congressman LaTourette Gets Blogger Fired From "Wide Open"
The Cleveland Plain Dealer bows to pressure from a Congressional Representative and fires one of the paper's team of political bloggers. This blogger had, "written extensively about LaTourette's 2006 re-election contest and... explicitly supported his challenger, law professor Lew Katz (D-Pepper Pike)." He "also wrote about... the suspicious connection between large amounts of campaign cash LaTourette received from the Ratner family of Cleveland, of the Forest City real estate empire, and their receiving an enormous contract to develop 44 acres of the Southeast Federal Center in Washington DC."

Save The Earth - All About Environment, Green Construction
Those who live and work near construction sites get the double whammy — noise and air pollution — and only their windows can save them:

Stein, who works on safety issues for his union, says his office at 90 Church Street is "surrounded by" pollution from construction. It is a problem that goes far beyond lower Manhattan.

From the proposed Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn to the water filtration plant in the northern Bronx, critics almost always complain not just about the project itself, but about the inconvenience, pollution, noise and dangerous accidents they will face during its construction.

Posted by lumi at 10:18 PM

The due diligence of BP candidate Bill de Blasio, or the (AY) end justifies the means

Atlantic Yards Report

In advance of yesterday's announcement that City Councilman Bill de Blasio was officially running for Brooklyn Borough President, he held two rap sessions with local bloggers.

Norman Oder attended the second session to learn more about de Blasio's opinions about the "essential truth" (the Councilmember's words) of Atlantic Yards. What Oder discovered was that de Blasio not only nearly contradicted his own position on Atlantic Yards, but, when it came to other neighborhoods and projects, the Councilmember articulated many of the same arguments that critics have leveled against Atlantic Yards. Further, de Blasio was fairly ignorant of the facts regarding the "essential value" (the Councilmember's words) of many of the project's attributes.

Needless to say, the article is "essential reading" (our words).

Indeed, when it comes to Atlantic Yards, de Blasio remains ill-informed, relying on the progressive allies he trusts to vouch for the project as a whole, but failing to keep up with crucial changes in the project or to take a close look at some controversial aspects.

He’s willing to offer peripheral criticism but not to challenge the project’s fundamentals, given his belief in the “essential truth” of the project.

Probably a closer look at many public officials would turn up similar contradictions. And the press—well, most of the mainstream press—has done too little to point out the flaws in the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement, the decline in promised jobs and tax revenue, and the real contours of the affordable housing deal.

Posted by lumi at 7:16 AM

October 26, 2007

LID nay to AY

We've been wondering why Lambda Independent Democrats (LID) chose this late date to take a position against Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan, nearly ten months after the project received approval from the NY State Public Authorities Control Board.

Initially, we speculated that the move had something to do with project cheerleader Borough President Marty Markowitz's support of notorious anti-gay former city councilmember Noach Dear.

This week, another clue surfaces in two articles in the weekly papers The Brooklyn Paper and Gay City News.

From our perch here in Ratnerville, it appears that Marty and Bruce might have been trying to co-opt the gay community by offering them space in a Ratner-owned building. Uncomfortable with such cozy quarters, the executive board members of LID, many of whom are ardent critics of the Ratner megaproject, sought to make their position clear on the project in general.

The Brooklyn Paper, Gays won’t shack up with Bruce

Many political groups and activists have opposed Atlantic Yards, but there is a deeper context to Lambda’s seemingly day-late/dollar short resolution. Earlier this year, Borough President Markowitz promised gay and lesbian activists that he would work towards developing a community center, much like the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Greenwich Village, in a Ratner-owned building in Downtown.

At Monday’s meeting, many members of the Lambda club honed in on the irony.

“I feel like our favorite borough president [Markowitz] is holding a carrot in front of our faces saying, ‘Ooh, gay people, you can have a community center if you support Atlantic Yards,’” said Lisa Badner, a member of the Lambda executive committee.

Gay City News, Gays Tackle Atlantic Yards

A leading gay political group voted to oppose the Atlantic Yards, a $4 billion development project that would build a basketball arena and 16 towers in downtown Brooklyn.

"The process here has been so abhorrent," said Ken Diamondstone, a member of the executive committee of the Lambda Independent Democrats (LID), Brooklyn's gay political club. "We need to go on record here and I support it."

Not everyone thought that taking a position was a good idea, though no one spoke in favor of the project:

"I want to know why Lambda should touch this issue at all," said Alan Fleishman, an LID member and longtime gay politico who serves as a Democratic district leader and opposes the project. "Outside of the death penalty and abortion, Lambda hasn't dealt with issues outside of gay rights."

Others said the project was inevitable and a vote opposing it now would only alienate public officials who support it.

LID invited Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn's borough president and a project booster, to speak in favor of the development, but he declined. No one spoke in favor of Atlantic Yards.

Though the article doesn't quote a the Ratner spokesperson directly, it seems that the developer is eager to promote the idea that the project isn't going require very much public money at all:

A Ratner spokesperson said the development would get $300 million in subsidies. Other estimates have put that figure at nearly $2 billion.

It appears that Ratner and Marty miscalculated the effect that their overture would have on the group:

James Whitty, an LID member and Atlantic Yards opponent, said the club is responding, in part, to a proposal by Markowitz to include a gay community center in the development.

"They feel that the enticement to the gay community to offer us a lesbian and gay community center in Brooklyn was made to divide people," Whitty said. "It hit home where we were like we don't want to be involved in this."

Ratner's clean-up crew issued this statement:

In a statement, Forest City Ratner wrote that it has "a tremendous amount of respect for New York's gay and lesbian communities and it is unfortunate that this organization did not get their facts correct prior to their vote. Atlantic Yards was approved by the state last year after three years of lengthy and rigorous discussions with the local community, local leaders, and city and state officials... The Frank Gehry-designed Atlantic Yards will revitalize the current site, creating over 2,250 units of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers... Atlantic Yards is not only supported by a majority of Brooklyn's State Assembly, State Senate, and City Council delegations, but also, according to the last major poll, the development is supported by over 60 percent of all Brooklynites and New Yorkers."

Posted by lumi at 10:32 AM

October 19, 2007

‘History’ rewrites itself

The Brooklyn Paper
By Michael McLaughlin

City Councilman Bill DeBlasio's Wikipedia entry keeps getting scrubbed of controversial references to Atlantic Yards and a new Trader Joe's supermarket, and the snail trail leads to a computer on the NYC government network.

In fact, DeBlasio’s Wikipedia page has been in a near constant state of flux, with several people taking aim at his stance on hot-button issues. But unlike the memory holes of Orwell’s dystopia, Wikipedia edits leave a “paper” trail, making it possible to view a record of all changes made to any listing.

The most-recent changes, first reported on the blog, Pardon Me For Asking, have involved the insertion and deletion of a paragraph about whether DeBlasio is in tune with his constituents.
...
A spokesman for the city Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication said the agency could not easily determine which city computer system — whose IP address is recorded whenever edits are made — is being used to alter DeBlasio’s Wikipedia page because so many individual computers have the same IP address.

But this much is clear: Seven times between June 28 and July 2, that same city computer system changed DeBlasio’s page — sometimes to burnish his image, other times to diminish it.

The most-recent edit from the city computer was a pro-DeBlasio change: The original paragraph — “DeBlasio is also a supporter of the generally unpopular Atlantic Yards development, which critics contend will be excessive in size, provide major tax subsidies to the developer and will have a detrimental impact upon the neighborhood” — was politically purged to become, “DeBlasio is a supporter of the generally popular Atlantic Yards development, which is a major mixed-income housing, retail, office and sports complex.”

Another time, the person at the city computer added this anti-DeBlasio sentence: “He is a highly controversial figure, known for his alliances with anti-development and NIMBY homeowners and has been accused of grandstanding on development issues.” The back-and-forth from the same city computer indicates that more than one person may be logging on to flog and praise DeBlasio.

article

NoLandGrab: If the City really can't determine who is making the edits, it's impossible to know for a fact that it is actually a single person waging a Wikiwar with him or herself.

For the record, we've had two conversations with Bill de Blasio on Atlantic Yards. The Councilman's position is that he thinks the project is too big, but will do nothing to jeopardize the large amount of affordable housing promised by developer Bruce Ratner.

Posted by lumi at 8:43 AM

October 18, 2007

Jeffries: ESDC's traffic/transit plans still need work

Atlantic Yards Report

Residents of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Prospect Heights attending a Mass Transportation Community Speak Out last night sponsored by Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries had a lot of things on their minds, including infrequent subway service, bus clustering, and mysteriously protracted street renovations.

But the pressure of new development was a backdrop to the concerns and Atlantic Yards, the biggest planned such development, came in for some special criticism.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:26 AM

October 15, 2007

Trinidad Contractor Officially Booted Off NY City Planning Commission

HardBeatNews.com covers Borough President Marty Markowitz's announcement that Dolly Williams would not be reappointed as Brooklyn's representative to the City Planning Commission. The article recounts the litany of controversies that may have led to the decision (despite what Marty's statement says) and includes some analysis of campaign finance records.

Markowitz, in a statement, insisted that the decision was mutual. “Dolly and I come to the joint decision that in this time of great growth and change in Brooklyn, when there are many voices seeking to be heard on land use matters, it would be best for a new appointee to assume the Planning Commission position,” stated Markowitz, who has pocketed a reported $12,000 in campaign donations from Williams and her company according to Campaign Finance records surveyed by HBN. No replacement has been named.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:14 AM

October 12, 2007

Hit the road, Dolly!

The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubenstein

Dolly Williams speaks out against her critics after Borough President Marty Markowitz announced that he would not be reappointing her to the City Planning Commission. At issue are two major recusals due to conflict of interest and some uncivil-servant-like behavior:

“There are hundreds and hundreds of projects before us,” said Williams. “In my five years, I’ve recused myself maybe five times. I think most of the commissioners have at least done that. And I think we underestimate the ability of other commissioners to consider Brooklyn items.”

A Planning spokeswoman said that the Commission considers 500 cases a year, and confirmed that it is fairly commonplace for commissioners to occasionally recuse themselves.

Beyond Williams’s professional shortcomings, opponents also focussed on her train wreck of a personal life. In July, for example, a blogger uploaded photos of Williams’s yellow Porsche — with its city placard prominently displayed in the front window — parked at a fire hydrant.

She had refused to talk about the issue, but this week told The Brooklyn Paper that the photos were “a “cheap shot.” She said she was parked in front of the hydrant for just five minutes, while she dropped off a gallon of milk at her grandson’s house.

She also denied a blogger’s report she had sideswiped a car in front of the Tea Lounge in Park Slope while appearing intoxicated.

“I never get into my car when I have a drink or two,” she told The Brooklyn Paper. “I have never gotten drunk in my life, come to think of it.” (She did admit she had ripped off her side-view mirror in the incident.)
...
No litany of complaints about Williams would be compete without reference to a widely blogged photo of her cheering on Atlantic Yards at a public hearing on the project in 2006. Though she rooted for Ratner then, she’s currently entangled in an ugly billing dispute with Ratner over a mall project in Harlem.

Williams told The Paper that she has served “proudly,” but expressed discontent that her term has been so rife with controversy.

“I have done my job legally, ethically and morally correct,” she said. “Some of the other commissioners are in the real-estate business, too.”

article

NoLandGrab: Folks, it's all lies, cheap shots and misunderstandings: she has never been drunk, only parked in front of a hydrant once in the case of an emergency, and she would have told everyone that she was an investor in the Nets, only it leaked out before she had a chance, but now that everyone knows, "Let's go Nets!"

Posted by lumi at 5:47 AM

Marty skips gay Atlantic Yards talk

The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubenstein

Borough President Markowitz has declined a gay Democratic club’s invitation to herald the positives of the Atlantic Yards project at a forum later this month, and, while he’s there, explain why he supported a notoriously homophobic Borough Park politician in his race for a Civil Court seat, telling the president of the group in an e-mail, “I have little interest in becoming someone’s punching bag.”

Markowitz had been invited to speak at the Lambda Independent Democrats forum on Oct. 22 after asking club leaders for a private meeting at which he could explain his endorsement of homophobic former City Councilman Noach Dear for the judgeship.

“I called you about the [Noach] Dear endorsement because I have, for all my years in public service, been a strong supporter of the LGBT community,” read Markowitz’s Sept. 18 e-mail to LID Co-President Christopher Murray. “My call to you had nothing to do with Atlantic Yards, which is a totally different subject, and I have little interest in becoming someone’s punching bag.”
...
“Marty had requested that we have a private meeting,” said Fleishman. “We decided as a club that we didn’t want to discuss it in private, and that we were planning on inviting him to a forum to discuss Atlantic Yards.”

article

Posted by lumi at 5:14 AM

October 10, 2007

Markowitz Declines To Reappoint Williams to Planning Commission

Building Co. Exec Was Often Under Fire for Ratner Ties

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Raanan Geberer

Borough President Marty Markowitz has decided not to reappoint construction company executive Dolly Williams, whom he appointed to the City Planning Commission in 2002, to another term.
...
She was often criticized in the press, even for a seemingly small matter as getting a ticket for her yellow Porsche being parked in front of a fire hydrant when she had her own private parking space nearby. But the main focus of the criticism against her, especially by such anti-Forest City Ratner Web sites as No Land Grab, had to do with her ties to Bruce Ratner and the Ratner-owned New York Nets.

NoLandGrab: Williams was NOT ticketed for parking at the hydrant. On the contrary, she displayed her NYC Gov parking placard in her window, presumably to dissuade parking enforcement agents from citing her.

Calling NoLandGrab.org an "anti-Forest City Ratner Web site" is peculiar. NLG is generally characterized as a critic of Forest City's Atlantic Yards project and the company's use of eminent domain, especially Bruce Ratner's division here in NY. But we're the only web site that attempts to observe the corporate culture of the entire Cleveland-based company, which includes some ambitious and progressive developments elsewhere in the nation, some of which even preserve and adaptively resue old buildings when possible.

In 2005, Williams had to recuse herself from any discussion on the City Planning Commission involving the Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project and the Ratner-owned New York Nets because she and her husband were found to have a more than $1 million investment in the basketball team. The Nets, as part the Atlantic Yards plan, would move to a new arena in the Yards’ “footprint” near the LIRR rail yards.

Williams didn't voluntarily reveal that she was an investor in Bruce Ratner's NJ Nets ownership group. The story broke in the Brooklyn Paper and she was subsequently forced to recuse herself.

As each borough president only has one appointee on the 13-member City Planning Commission, Atlantic Yards opponents charged that Brooklyn had “no voice” if the important development plan comes before the commission.

More recently, Williams was barred from any discussion or vote on the Gowanus rezoning, this time because her company owns property within the area under consideration.

More recently, her firm has been involved in a building dispute at an East Harlem mall that is being co-developed by the same Forest City Ratner.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:19 AM

October 7, 2007

THE BROOKLYN BUREAU CELEBRATES 141 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service

NoLandGrab: As a companion piece to the Errol Louis column today, we thought we would share this story and photo from June 2007 that we seem to have missed. The photo is of Errol Louis on the right, Nets legend Darryl Dawkins on the left.

Brooklyn, NY - June 6, 2007 - The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service celebrated 141 years of building stronger and healthier individuals, families and communities in New York City at a recent event at Bridgewaters in Manhattan. The 141st Anniversary Celebration event, which nearly 500 people attended, was generously supported by Barclays, the title sponsor.
...
The Honorable Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, and his wife, Jamie Markowitz, served as Honorary Chairs for the event. New York Daily News Columnist, Errol Louis, served as Master of Ceremonies, and New Jersey Nets legend Darryl Dawkins served as Celebrity Auctioneer for the Nets' live sports memorabilia auction.

Notable guests included Jason Kidd of the Nets; Bruce Ratner, President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies; Gerard LaRocca, Chief Administrative Officer, Americas, Barclays Capital; Charles J. Hamm, Chairman Emeritus of the Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service; and Brett Yormark, President and CEO of Nets Sports and Entertainment.

link

Atlantic Yards Report found this event announcement back in August and had this to say:

I don't know the Daily News's ethical guidelines, but if Louis worked at the New York Times, he'd probably be running afoul of the guideline that says:
[Staffers] may not lend their names to campaigns, benefit dinners or similar events if doing so might reasonably raise doubts about their ability or their newsroom's ability to remain neutral in covering the news.

Posted by amy at 10:09 AM

October 5, 2007

The obvious headline is: "GOODBYE DOLLY"

HardbeatNews.com, Trinidad-Born Brooklyn Commish Was Consistent Supporter Of Brooklyn Borough Prez.

This week, Hardbeat News analyzed campaign-finance records and discovered that City Planning Commish and NJ Nets minority shareholder Dolly Williams and members of her family have contributed, over the years, up to $18,950 to her political patron, Borough President Marty Markowitz. That's more than all of their other campaign contributions to local and national candidates combined.

This all may be moot, because...

NY Daily News, Brooklyn Beep will replace City Planning rep Dolly Williams

...a string of controversial and embarassing actions and revelations seem to have forced Marty Markowitz to not reappoint the disgraced Park Slope resident, despite their close ties.

Borough President Marty Markowitz ended months of speculation Thursday when he announced he would not reinstate his Planning Commission appointee, Dolly Williams, to a second five-year term.

"We have come to the joint decision that in this time of great growth and change in Brooklyn, when there are many voices seeking to be heard on land-use matters, it would be best for a new appointee to assume the Planning Commission position," Markowitz said in a statement that praised Williams' role in bringing additional housing and parks to Brooklyn.

"I have asked Dolly to serve until the new appointment is made, and she has agreed to do so," he added.

To recap Dolly's woes from today's articles:

RECUSED TWICE

Williams has caught heat for having to recuse herself from voting on at least two development projects in Brooklyn in which she has financial interests, the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project and a Gowanus rezoning effort. (Daily News)

NO PARKING?

Adding to her embarrassment, bloggers posted pictures in August of Williams' flashy yellow Porsche, which was adorned with City Planning placards while parked illegally in Park Slope. (Daily News)

STIFFING SUBS

Just last month, court records show that a judge ordered compensation of over $200,000 for plaintiff, Safeco Insurance Company of America, in its cases against A. Williams Trucking and Backhoe Trenching Inc.

Safeco Insurance claimed it suffered thousands in losses for both a Medgar Evers contracting project and a Harlem Auto Mall project for which it had entered into an indemnity agreement with Williams’ company. Safeco claims it was forced to pay thousands to unpaid subcontractors of A. Williams Trucking and Backhoe Trenching Inc., who claimed payments from them under the terms of a Labor & Material Payment Bond. (Hardbeat News)

STIFFING SUBS ENCORE

Her private company is involved in a billing dispute at a Harlem mega-mall being built by Forest City Ratner, the developer behind the Atlantic Yards project. (Daily News)

Posted by lumi at 9:26 AM

October 4, 2007

Dolly Williams to be honored by Brooklyn Public Library

Atlantic Yards Report

We laughed our glasses off when we found out that the Brooklyn Public Library was honoring City Planning Commish and investor in the NJ Nets Dolly Williams.

Norman Oder had a few words to say about it this morning:

...[the Library,] we must remember, does owe some fealty to the powers that be. We have to assume the library folk are not closely reading Streetsblog or NoLandGrab regarding Williams's questionable record. Brutally weird.

link

We hate it when Norman uses little words that are like big words in disguise, so for those of us who barely made it out of high school:

fe·al·ty
Pronunciation: \ˈfē(-ə)l-tē\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural fe·al·ties
Etymology: Middle English feute, fealtye, from Anglo-French feelté, fealté, from Latin fidelitat-, fidelitas — more at fidelity
Date: 14th century

1 a: the fidelity of a vassal or feudal tenant to his lord b: the obligation of such fidelity
2: intense fidelity

Posted by lumi at 7:30 AM

September 29, 2007

Real Estate Round-Up: September 28, 2007

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Are Dolly Williams’ days as a member of the City Planning Commission numbered? The Daily News reported that she’s been serving on the board for three months without an official reinstatement from Borough President Marty Markowitz. Some speculate that she hasn’t been officially appointed to a second term because, during her first term, she had to rescue herself from voting on major projects, such as Atlantic Yards and the Gowanus rezoning, because she stood to gain financially from the outcome.

link
NoLandGrab: The correct word is "recuse" not "rescue."

Posted by amy at 9:33 AM

September 28, 2007

De Blasio Talks Real Estate With Brooklyn Bloggers

Brownstoner reports on City Councilman Bill de Blasio's pow-wow with bloggers. Here's the excerpt about Atlantic Yards:

Thus, he thinks City Planning's initial framework for the rezoning of Gowanus is "legitimate," particularly in terms of the height and density that are being proposed for the Public Place site (where towers may be allowed to rise as high as 14 stories), since he believes that sort of height is necessary to support the creation of affordable housing. Similarly, he said he approved of Atlantic Yards in large part because of its "tiered approach" to affordable housing (whereby units are set aside for low- to middle-income residents), and that the project deserved the special subsidies it received through the revamp of 421-a tax abatement legislation because of the number of affordable housing units that Forest City Ratner has pledged to build. The councilman was critical of Forest City Ratner's lack of "transparency," especially in terms of keeping community members abreast of demolitions.

article

Readers should be aware of a few things:

• For many large development projects which include affordable housing, it is common to have a "tiered approach."

• De Blasio is using the large amount of affordable housing units (some of which on a per-sq-ft basis would cost more than the market-rate units) to justify Ratner receiving a larger affordable-housing subsidy than any other developer who would qualify. On the flip side, he said at the last meeting with bloggers that "I still think it's too tall.

• The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) has been keeping community members abreast of demolitions by posting demolition updates on the ESDC web site every two weeks, though they have turned down requests from communtiy members to distribute the updates via email. NoLandGrab can forward them to the Councilmember's office upon request.

The general impression we get from de Blasio is that he is plugged into the Brooklyn Party Machine and will not do anything to upset the apple cart; he knows way more about the backroom dealings concerning Atlantic Yards than we do; but he is remarkably under-informed about significant details and impacts of the project, especially those about which his own constituents are most concerned.

Posted by lumi at 11:19 AM

Trinidadian Contractor's Re-Appointment To NY Commisison Up In The Air

HardbeatNews.com
By Philomena Robertson

Will Trinidad-born, Brooklyn-based entrepreneur, Dolly Williams, be reappointed to the New York City Planning Commission amidst allegations of non-payment to several sub-contractors?

That question burns uppermost in the minds of many three months after the expiration of her appointment to the powerful zoning body and amidst allegations in a CRAIN news report that she owes millions to contractors her company hired.

article

NoLandGrab: Though the article notes the scandal that resulted in Dolly Williams's recusal from decisions regarding Atlantic Yards due to conflict of interest, unmentioned was Dolly's Gowanus rezoning conflict of interest and her illegal-parking conduct.

Also unmentioned was the "NoLandGrab" photo credit (crazy!). Note to for-profit media organizations: stealing from unpaid bloggers is not halal.

Posted by lumi at 8:42 AM

September 27, 2007

Marty Markowitz may pull plug on Dolly Williams

NY Daily News
By Jotham Sederstrom

The News has the next scoop on Dolly:

Goodbye, Dolly?

Borough President Marty Markowitz's controversial appointee to the city Planning Commission has been serving the board for three months without an official reinstatement, fueling speculation her days are numbered.

What's the problem with Dolly?

Dolly Williams, who as an Atlantic Yards investor was forced to recuse herself from voting on the $4.2 billion project, wants Markowitz to reappoint her to a second term.

Besides recusing herself from voting on Atlantic Yards matters, Williams will not be able to vote on a Gowanus rezoning effort because she owns land in the area.

Williams' development company also was involved in a billing dispute at a Harlem mega-mall being built by Forest City Ratner, the developer behind the Yards project.

Adding to her embarrassment, bloggers posted pictures in August of Williams' yellow Porsche, which was parked illegally in Park Slope and boasted city Planning placards.

A NYPIRG spokesperson sums it up:

"If a person is actively engaged in ongoing construction projects and has to recuse themselves on projects of importance, it raises questions of whether they can represent the borough properly," said New York Public Interest Research Group government reform coordinator Neal Rosenstein.

article

NoLandGrab: In addition, Dolly typically does not volunteer her conflicts of interest, and it's usually up to vigilant reporters, residents and public officals to call her on them.

Marty is still mulling over his decision, but the fact that he has to think so hard about it indicates to voters where his loyalties lie.

Many will surely miss Dolly if she isn't reappointed and loses her Goverment Official parking placard — she has been one of the low-hanging fruits for critics of Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 7:24 AM

A Bit Of Editing On Bill De Blasio's Wiki Page

As a prelude to Bill de Blasio's meeting with local bloggers last night, Pardon me for asking takes a close look at changes to de Blasio's Wikipedia entry, which has been edited and scrubbed regarding his position on Atlantic Yards, by someone with a City of NY IP address.

First, "De Blasio is also a supporter of the generally popular Atlantic Yards development proposed by Bruce Ratner."

Then, "De Blasio is also a supporter of the generally popular Atlantic Yards development, a major affordable housing initiative currently under development."

Next, "De Blasio is also a supporter of the generally unpopular Atlantic Yards development, which critics contend will be excessive in size,provide major tax subsidies to the developer and will have a detrimental impact upon the neighborhood."

Followed by, "On the other hand, De Blasio has supported some popular development projects. De Blasio is a supporter of the generally popular Atlantic Yards development, which is a major mixed-income housing, retail, office and sports complex."

Finally, the paragraph was removed all together. Maybe one of the bloggers from yesterday's meeting (we couldn't attend) will set the record straight.

article

From our notes from the last pow-wow with bloggers:

BDB told us:

"What led me to support it from the beginning was the development of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)."

"The number of the affordable units is an extraordinarily postive impact for this part of Brooklyn, an area that's unrelentingly gentrifying. It's government's role to create the maximum amount of affordable housing. This was a way to create some guarantees of affordability. I think you've never seen these kind of precentages in this kind of project before."

"I still think it's too tall. Aesthetically problematic, to say the least. A lot of the look should blend in more with the surrounding neighborhoods. Minimize negative impacts on the community and mass transit."

In a nutshell, BDB supports Atlantic Yards because some handpicked groups signed an agreement with Bruce Ratner (including groups formed for the sole purpose of promoting the project and the CBA) and because it will bring more affordable housing than any other project, but it's too big?

Posted by lumi at 5:56 AM

September 26, 2007

Tish James on the UNITY plan

Atlantic Yards Report

The UNITY plan launched yesterday may not have the backing of numerous public officials, but it does have Council Member Letitia James, the elected official most prominent in opposition to Atlantic Yards. Since I missed her appearance at yesterday's press conference, I asked her for a comment.

She said that UNITY "truly respects the character of this historic community. Open space and low-rise residential growth reflect the wishes of community residents regarding what should be built over the rail yards. The community and I do not oppose development, just eminent domain abuse and out-of-scale buildings."

more

Posted by lumi at 7:34 AM

September 18, 2007

PRIMARY DAY, TODAY: Campaign for Surrogate Judge

Did anyone know that there is a primary today in Brooklyn for Surrogate Judge? Although this might not be a position directly related to Atlantic Yards, it is notable that the big names opposing Atlantic Yards are supporting Judge Diana Johnson. Vito Lopez (of the Ratner carve-out) supports Shawndya Simpson.

From voteowens.com:

Dear Friends and Neighbors: Next Tuesday, September 18, is the Democratic Primary election in New York. In Brooklyn, the contests are limited to three judicial races, one of which is critical: Surrogate Court.

The turnout in the September 18th Democratic Primary election will be incredibly low, but the Primary winner will become the next Surrogate Judge. Every vote will matter. And voters should support Judge Diana Johnson for Surrogate Court.
...
As of today, Judge Johnson has received the following endorsements (partial list; [more on website]):

* NY Daily News
* Our Time Press
* Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (reform Democrats)
* Independent Neighborhood Democrats (reform Democrats)
* Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
* State Senator Velmanette Montgomery
* City Councilmember Letitia James
* Retired Congressman Major R. Owens
* District Council 1707
* TWU, Local 100
* Ken Diamondstone

link

Posted by amy at 9:18 AM

September 12, 2007

FIRM MALLED

BIZ OWED $2.3M FOR CONCRETE

NY Post
By Chuck Bennett

You may know Dolly as the City Planning Commish who had to recuse herself from any decisions affecting Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards because she's also an investor in the NJ Nets, or you may know her as Marty's scantily clad sidekick from the West Indian Day Carnival 2006, or you may know her as the City Planning Commish who was barred from decisions affecting the Gowanus rezoning because her company owns property in the boundaries, or, most recently, you may have recognized her lemon-yellow Porsche illegally parked at a fire hydrant less than a block from her house, where she has her own private parking space (hey, it's hard to climb The Slope in heels).

In the end, she may be best known as Bruce Ratner's contractor and investment partner who stiffed a sub-contractor over $2 million.

Michael DiTore, a partner of Daurio & Russo & Sons in Brooklyn, says he's owed $2.3 million for concrete work done this year on the mall between East 116th and East 119th streets along the FDR Drive.

His company, along with at least three other subcontractors, were never paid by A. Williams Construction, the contractor hired to do excavation work.

"It just about put us out of business," DiTore said. " A. Williams Construction was co-founded by Dolly Williams, who was appointed a planning commissioner in 2002. She has since invested $1 million in the Ratner-owed New Jersey Nets.
...
Numerous excavation delays on the East River Plaza project caused Ratner and his partner, Blumenfeld Development Group, to fire Williams in May. The subcontractors, too, were cut.

Sources said A. Williams was overaggressive in its $30 million bid and couldn't meet deadlines.

"Private discussions between A. Williams and [Ratner-Blumenfeld] are ongoing. These discussions are amicable and nonlegal," A. Williams said in a statement.

The mall is slated to open next summer, but that's now in question. "We don't know what impact it will have to our schedule," said a Ratner spokesman.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:06 AM

September 5, 2007

MISSING: Candidate Marty Markowitz

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn stumbled over an old interview with candidate Marty Markowitz when he was first running for Borough President. Amazingly, Markowitz makes the case against mega-projects like Atlantic Yards:

Marty Markowitz, current State Senator, talks to host Lora Chio about housing issues facing Brooklyn including his extensive career as a tenant organizer and advocate, his 27 years of experience as an elected State Senator (known as "Mr. Tenant" in Albany), and his personal history as a child who grew up in public and rent controlled housing. He also discusses the changing face of the housing crisis, the need for preservation and help to keep moderate and low-income families from being displaced, and his priority, if elected, to protect the housing for Brooklyn residents, rather than to focus on building housing to attract the wealthy from other boroughs, and much, much more.

link

NoLandGrab: This just proves that Markowitz knows what Atlantic Yards critics are talking about and explains why the Borough President's head nearly explodes when he starts ranting about the project that politicians hate to love.

Posted by lumi at 7:11 AM

August 24, 2007

Marty’s varying views

The Brooklyn Paper

We were gonna say that Marty's stand against overdevelopment, in light of his support of the Atlantic Yards mega-project, is LAUGHABLE, but Brooklyn Paper beat us to it:

The developer who is bringing Trader Joe’s to Court Street wants to build a six-story annex to that store on a parking lot on Atlantic Avenue that is only zoned for a five-story building.

That single extra story — 10 feet! — drew the ire of Borough President Markowitz last week when the Beep recommended that the city deny the developer, Two Trees Management, a variance to build a little higher.

Yes, this is the same Marty Markowitz who continues to cheer the Atlantic Yards project, a massive, 16-tower, highly subsidized mega-development that would overshadow thriving neighborhoods all around it, create life-draining “superblocks,” suck up taxpaper resources, congest local streets and use the state’s power of eminent domain to evict residents so their land can be turned over to a private developer — in this case, his friend, Bruce Ratner.
...
It is no secret that this page has frequently clashed with Markowitz over his support for the [Atlantic Yards] project, which remains his greatest error in judgment since he took office.

But his attempt to now present himself as a foe of overdevelopment because he opposes a 60-foot building in a 50-foot zone is laughable.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:15 AM

August 23, 2007

Vito Lopez: Bought By Bruce Ratner?

Daily Gotham
By "Mole333"

This is the story of the special tax break for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Nets-arena-and-highrise complex; Vito Lopez — the politician who delivered the special tax break for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Nets-arena-and-highrise complex; Michael Ratner — the brother of Bruce Ratner and NJ Nets' investor who gave money to the politician who delivered the special tax break for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Nets-arena-and-highrise complex; and Karen Ranucci — the wife of the brother of Bruce Ratner and NJ Nets' investor who gave money to the politician who delivered the special tax break for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Nets-arena-and-highrise complex.

One of the main problems has been the corruption that surrounds Albany like a vortex of slime, with the old triumvirate of Pataki, Bruno and Silver at the center of it. Another part of the Albany vortex of corruption is Vito Lopez, Assemblyman from Brooklyn and considered one of the most corrupt politicians outside of prison.

Vito Lopez gets most of his campaign contributions from developers and, interestingly enough, chiropractors. Not sure why he's so popular among chiropractors, but it is easy to see why he is so beloved by developers. Now it becomes clear that Lopez has been bought by Bruce Ratner's family.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:02 AM

August 9, 2007

POLS SEEKING SAY ON ARENA

NY Post
By Rich Calder

Saying the Atlantic Yards project lacks accountability, many Brooklyn politicians and civic groups want Gov. Spitzer to give the community significantly more input on the $4 billion project.

Councilwoman Letitia James and Assemblyman Jim Brennan were among local elected officials yesterday calling on the Empire State Development Corp. to create a new subsidiary corporation to directly oversee the state-approved NBA arena/residential complex.

The contingent said the new subsidiary's board should include community officials and leaders and that the ESDC should also devise "a stakeholder council" that would get project input from residents and report back to the new subsidiary.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:01 AM

Jeffries offers measured criticism of "carve-out" compromise

Atlantic Yards Report

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, who two weeks ago called the original iteration of the “Atlantic Yards carve-out” “offensive,” yesterday offered measured criticism of the compromise that would give Forest City Ratner $150 million, or $200 million, of the $300 million bonus it had sought.
...
The original “carve-out” would’ve given four or five Atlantic Yards condo buildings the 25-year tax break with nothing in return—in effect, grandfathering in Atlantic Yards while treating other developments in Jeffries' Prospect Heights district (and beyond) differently. The “compromise” shortens the tax break to 15 years.

"While the modification of the Atlantic Yards carve-out provision is a step in the right direction, I remain concerned that this project is treated differently than any other in the city,” Jeffries said in a statement. “Given the need for increased affordable home ownership opportunities in our community, I will continue to push the developer to build at least twenty percent of the apartments in each on-site condominium building in a manner that is affordable to working families and moderate income households.” Two weeks ago, he had called it “economic segregation.”

article

Posted by lumi at 9:49 AM

Press Release, Brooklyn Speaks: Brennan, Jeffries, Montgomery, Adams, James, Yassky and civic groups call for reform of Atlantic Yards governance

Responding to the continued lack of public accountability and involvement with the Atlantic Yards project, elected officials and civic groups today called on the State and the City to overhaul how the Atlantic Yards project is governed.

“One of the most alarming aspects of the Atlantic Yards process over the last few years has been Forest City's lack of accountability to the public,” said Brooklyn City Councilman David Yassky. “This must change. An appropriate governance structure should be put in place to actively monitor any developments in the Atlantic Yards Project.”

“We still have no real governance structure in place, no ombudsman, and no place for the community to voice their concerns,” said Councilmember Letitia James. “The 421-a tax abatement carve-out for the Ratner project is beyond unacceptable. It shows yet again that this project is not, and has never been, about the community benefits.”

more

Posted by lumi at 8:54 AM

Park Slope Porsche's Very Special Parking Placard

Gothamist has a cool suggestion in their follow-up of StreetsBlog's story on City Planning Commissioner and NJ Nets shareholder Dolly Williams' shameful use of her city-issued parking placard to illegally park at a hydrant two blocks from her home, where she has her own curbcut and parking space in the back lot:

Question: Will the city consider taking a cue from Thailand and make public officials who do shameful things wear Hello Kitty armbands?

link

NoLandGrab: Somehow we don't see the flamboyant and shameless Dolly being put off by a Hello Kitty armband (photo rendering, NoLandGrab).

Posted by lumi at 8:29 AM

August 5, 2007

Council Member Avella: community plans, rezonings needed

Atlantic Yards Report looks at an interview with City Council Member Tony Avella that appeared in the Brooklyn Rail. Avella is a declared mayoral candidate for 2009.

Rail: If you were elected mayor, how would you counteract the overdevelopment seen in many neighborhoods during the Bloomberg years?

Avella: Well, first of all, we’ve got to do a comprehensive re-do rezoning in the city of New York. We need to make sure that we accurately reflect the residential character of the neighborhoods. At the same time, we need to work with neighborhoods and communities to see where development can go. We need to eliminate all of the illegal construction and put some real teeth into the problem of the Department of Buildings. That agency is in total chaos. I mean, if you are a homeowner and you do the simplest little thing wrong, they’ll come down on you like a ton of bricks—but developers get away with anything. We also need to take control of the little-known, quasi-judicial agency called the Board of Standards and Appeals, which is made up of five commissioners appointed by the mayor who really have almost total power, but there’s no oversight of that agency whatsoever.

Community plans needed

Rail: And no one really knows what they do.

Avella: Exactly. No one knows what they do, but they give the variances that allow the developers to obviate any part of the zoning codes. It is amazing to me that they’re supposed to have five criteria by which they approve of a variance, but they really can do whatever they want. For example, a developer buys a piece of property and goes to the Board of Standards and Appeals. He’ll tell them, “I can’t build a 12-story building on it because the zoning’s different” or “I paid too much money for it and the only way I can make it back is to build a 12-story building.” And they’ll give him the variance. It’s insane. In addition to changing this process, my other main plan regarding development is to go out in every neighborhood and do comprehensive planning. In every neighborhood, community leaders will get together and determine what’s wrong or what’s right with their neighborhood now, what needs to be done, and where they’d like to see their community five, ten years down the line. Those plans would get put together into borough-wide documents, which would be compiled into a city-wide document that becomes the planning blueprint for the city.

link

Posted by amy at 8:44 AM

August 1, 2007

Hot Dog With Relish

Cyclones put Markowitz on a bobblehead doll. Now he'll pop up even more.

Village Voice
By Keith Greenberg

The Chairman of the Atlantic Yards Chamber of Commerce and Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz is officially a bobblehead:

Abe Beame never had a bobblehead. Nor did Donald Manes, Charles Barron, or Ruth Messinger. So what is it about Marty Markowitz?

"I wish I knew," says the 62-year-old Brooklyn borough president. Oh, he knows—anybody who describes himself as a "character," as Markowitz does, knows it's no accident.
...
But what does Markowitz do for Brooklyn? With a puzzled look, Eliyahu turns to Shlomo, who replies, "We're not sure, but he seems to care."

In reality, the borough president appoints some 900 members to the borough's community boards, panels that influence decisions on matters like the transfer of public property to private use. As a result, in places like Park Slope and Prospect Heights, Markowitz catches a lot of heat for exerting that authority to support developer Bruce Ratner's plan to use eminent domain to build his Atlantic Yards project.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:44 AM

July 28, 2007

Many rail against Brooklyn building blitz - Course of the borough leaves many residents cold

Courier-Life
Joe Maniscalco

De Blasio is embroiled in a pitched battle with infamous New York City architect Robert Scarano, who is currently the subject of a number of special investigations.

Scarano is now designing a controversial multi-story building at 360 Smith Street in Carroll Gardens. The councilman wants to revoke Scarano’s architectural license in hopes of stopping construction.

But members of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association have criticized de Blasio himself for not vigorously supporting their plan to rezone the community against further overdevelopment.

Others are angry with de Blasio’s stance on the Atlantic Yards project.

link

Posted by amy at 11:45 AM

July 27, 2007

Marty’s blind spot

The Brooklyn Paper

While the Brooklyn Borough President rails against a transit fare hike, he can't say enough nice things about the sweetheart deal between Bruce Ratner and the MTA (isn't that's OUR MONEY TOO?):

The Beep, a strong supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, put out an angry press release on Wednesday railing against a Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan to cover an expected $300-million deficit next year by hiking subway fares by 10 percent.

Here’s where the fancy footwork comes in.

Markowitz’s beloved Atlantic Yards project is largely being built over land that the MTA sold to Ratner in 2005 for a mere $100 million — $114 million less than the MTA’s own appraisal said the development rights were worth. In a truly open market, those rights might have even gone for more.

Not only did Markowitz not object to the MTA’s fare-busting giveaway, he loudly supported it, calling it “good for Brooklyn.”

article

Posted by lumi at 7:38 AM

Letters to the Editor

The Brooklyn Paper ran a few letters this week (link) that reference Atlantic Yards and the guy who really seems to run things in this town, Bruce Ratner:

Markowitz for mayor? Our readers respond

It is no surprise to me that Borough President Markowitz is raising money from large developers and other big-time political donors, yet precious little from the grassroots (“Marty money misses mark,” July 21). After all, this is a borough president who has spent the last six years doing the bidding of developers like Bruce Ratner, whose vision for Brooklyn is counter to many of Markowitz’s own constituents.

— Tom Sutton, Sunset Park

A.R.E.A.–nation

When I read your original story about Arena Bagels, I was angered that a bunch of bullies forced the store owner to change his name because they objected to anyone using a noun that brought to mind Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project.

But your articles showed me that the bagel store owner, Ravi Aggarwaal, was not angry about the neighbors who demanded that he re-name the store.

He taught us all a lesson in turning the other cheek.

— Nancy Melnick, Prospect Heights

Kick pols in career

We should honor Lady Bird Johnson by turning Atlantic Yards into meadows of native planted trees.

Our parks are becoming overcrowded. Maybe Bruce Ratner wants to declare the parks blighted so his cronies in elected office can condemn them and hand them over so he can build on them.

— Rhudi Eagle, Park Slope

Posted by lumi at 7:23 AM

Plenty of traffic in race for Boro Prez

The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman

City Councilman Charles Barron has announced his candidacy for Brooklyn Borough President:

The kickoff announcement wasn’t all about race, of course. Barron, a staunch opponent of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development, also used Sunday’s press conference to attack the current officeholder, Borough President Markowitz, who strongly supports the project.

“We need to make to make sure that Brooklyn is not a borough for developers to come get rich and for working people to struggle every day,” he said. “We need a visionary leader in this office, not just a cheerleader.”

article

Posted by lumi at 7:20 AM

July 25, 2007

Jeffries calls AY carve-out "offensive"--and his base agrees

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder checked out what Hakeem Jeffries had to say at the freshman NY State Assemblyman's first Town Hall meeting and noted:

As a candidate last year, Hakeem Jeffries was a qualified supporter of Atlantic Yards. And as a freshman member of the State Assembly, he still welcomes the project’s affordable housing.

But Jeffries' posture has gotten tougher lately, and last night he delivered an eloquent criticism of the project, declaring that promised affordable housing was easily matched by government support for developer Forest City Ratner and that the “Atlantic Yards carve-out,” a tax break available only to the developer, was “offensive” because it promoted “economic segregation.” And his audience, responding to the notion of special treatment, seemed to agree.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:30 AM

What a Difference Party Affiliation Makes

Daily Gotham

Mole333 explains how a small chorus of local pols are calling out the rest of the politicians who are tyring to outdo one another by throwing money at Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan.

Everything goes screwy when Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-Independent Mayor Bloomberg calls on the former-reformer Eliot Spitzer to veto legislation that includes a special windfall for the developer Brooklyn loves to hate.

But wait...how can Republican Bloomberg give away taxpayer money to Ratner then Independent Bloomberg complain about the state giving taxpayer money to Ratner? Wow! What a difference a change of party affiliation makes! Is Bloomberg abandoning crony capitalism along with the Republican Party? Boy THAT would be sweet!

This would be a good time for Spitzer to show us what he's worth. How about putting a stop to these giveaways to Ratner?

article

Posted by lumi at 7:49 AM

July 24, 2007

Last month, Bloomy was offering a boilerplate defense of AY

Atlantic Yards Report

Mayor Mike Bloomberg seems to be coming to the realization that the Atlantic Yards project shouldn't get a special tax break and is apparently threatening to withdraw some pledged subsidies.

Is that a belated recognition that Atlantic Yards might be a drain on the public coffers or should not get special benefits? Is it part of a larger tactic to resist the state's revision of the 421-a tax break? Or is it something else altogether?

It is clear, however, that until recently, Bloomberg was offering a boilerplate defense of the project. A month ago, after Brooklyn resident Michael D.D. White wrote a thoughtful and pointed letter of complaint to the mayor, he received the following canned response, which he forwarded to me.

Click here to read the letter with Oder's comments interspersed.

Posted by lumi at 9:07 AM

July 23, 2007

Barron declares candidacy for Beep

One of the few City Councilmembers to speak out against the abuse of eminent domain in NYC and Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards announced his cadidacy for Brooklyn Borough President:

amNY, Barron plans run for Brooklyn post

One of the most outspoken and controversial members of the City Council is running for Brooklyn borough president, and he's making no secret of his ambitions for Gracie Mansion.

"We need to make to make sure that Brooklyn is not a borough for developers to come get rich and for working people to struggle every day," said Councilman Charles Barron (D-East New York).

The NY Sun, Barron Opens Candidacy For Brooklyn

Thirty-six of the council's 51 members face term limits in 2009 and council members Bill de Blasio and Domenic Recchia are among those believed to be considering a run to replace the president of Brooklyn, Martin Markowitz.

NoLandGrab: While Barron has been unwaivering in his position against Bruce Ratner's controversial plan to take private property for the Atlantic Yards superblock arena and high-rise project, Bill de Blasio and Domenic Recchia both publicly support it.

Posted by lumi at 9:41 AM

Compromising on Congestion and Campaign Cash

Gotham Gazette
By Courtney Gross and Gail Robinson

An article about the compromises and agreements reached in overtime between the City and State lists a few items that didn't get done, including the 421-a reform bill that contains the "Ratner Clause:"

Tax Credits for Housing: The legislature has approved a version of 421a, a city program that provides tax breaks to housing developers in an effort to encourage construction of affordable housing. The mayor and City Council had proposed their own version late last year. But the version approved by the legislature - and apparently authored by Assemblymember Vito Lopez of Brooklyn -- included a huge tax break for Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project. And according to the city housing agency, the legislature's bill places additional conditions on developers that would hamper the city's effort to promote building of middle class housing. Bloomberg and Quinn have both urged Spitzer to veto it.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:23 AM

July 21, 2007

THE PROBLEM WITH BILL DE BLASIO

Views from the Bridge

Mr. de Blasio holds that buildings, in some cases, should not be too tall unless it would be better if they were. In that he stands shoulder to shoulder with David Yassky who has stated that the Ratner Atlantic Yards project should not be built, unless it is “done well.” In that spirit, Mr. de Blasio has gone after Scarano Architects for ‘unprofessional practices’ but he seems perfectly happy with Frank Gehry’s mega-plex dystopia. The latter apparently will create jobs whereas the former will not though he has not as yet provided the reasoning behind that assertion.

I have no brief for Scarano Architects. What bothers me is that Mr. de Blasio is a master at finding the political path of least resistance. In the one instance he is mightily worried about zoning codes. In the case of Mr. Ratner, wherever the flood of public treasure flows -- as well as the ensuing overflow to our already overtaxed sewer system -- seems fine with him.

link

Posted by amy at 9:13 AM

July 20, 2007

Marty's base includes Brooklyn developers (but not Ratner*)

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, contemplating a run for mayor but not yet declaring for the race, has raised a respectable sum of money but remains well behind several rivals, as the Brooklyn Paper reports this week.

Among the donors of the maximum $4950, as the Brooklyn Paper notes, are developers Joe Sitt, Shaya Boymelgreen, Joshua Muss, and Dolly Williams, who just happens to be Markowitz's appointee to the City Planning Commission. (As an investor in the Nets, Williams recused herself from the Atlantic Yards discussion.)

Norman Oder pokes around looking for some Ratner-related contributions:

And where's the heavyweight, Forest City Ratner? We know that Bruce Ratner stopped giving campaign contributions but his brother Michael Ratner and sister-in-law Karen Ranucci, both Manhattan residents, have dutifully given to Brooklyn politicians. They haven't donated to Markowitz (yet).

But there is a $1000 contribution from Cheryl McKissack Felder, president/CEO of The McKissack Group, Inc. (Her name is misspelled "McKissick.") McKissack & McKissack, the nation’s oldest minority-owned professional design and construction firm, is the construction manager for the $182 million project to relocate the Vanderbilt Yard.

article

NoLandGrab: It would be remarkable if Bruce Ratner continued to funnel contributions through family members, now that Norman Oder has exposed the scheme.

Posted by lumi at 10:27 AM

He smells a Ratner

The Brooklyn Paper, Letters to the Editor

A Park Sloper lays the blame at Ratner's feet, but calls on voters to take it out on their elected representatives:

Those newly released Atlantic Yards documents (“Yassky: Stop Ratner gravy train,” July 14) make it very clear that the 2,250 low-cost housing units that are proposed as part of Bruce Ratner’s development may, in fact, never be built.

But if not, blame Ratner. Their future is in doubt due to cost under-estimates, and this should concern every taxpaying citizen. Ratner’s project will ultimately be funded with taxpayer money solely for private use, and in the end will not benefit the community in any way shape or form, but will only further deplete already overtaxed utilities in the area and in nearby neighborhoods.

Moving forward with this project, with the assistance of city officials and planners, violates the terms of Eminent Domain laws, and is unethical. The developer, with government assistance, is knowingly seizing private property for private use under the guise of public benefit.

To add insult to injury, a recent state Assembly vote awarded Ratner a tax break estimated as being worth between $175 and $300 million.

It’s time to stop turning a blind eye to all that’s going on in our own backyards — we need to act.

If the officials we elect to protect our interests are unwilling to do so, they must be voted out of office. We’ve been complacent long enough, Brooklynites — “Wake up! Speak up! Use your vote!”

Robert Segarra, Park Slope

Posted by lumi at 9:56 AM

July 19, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

Zoned-In, Economic Development: The Stronger Transportation Solution

One blogger repackages Atlantic Yards as a regional business center:

Rather than developing strategies to facilitate long-distance travel routes, be they from Canarsie on the subway or from Suffolk County on the LIRR, why not develop job centers throughout the region, creating job opportunities closer to the homes of the region’s 18 million? Perhaps once Downtown Brooklyn, Jamaica, the Bronx Hub, the Nassau Hub, and other secondary central business districts have emerged as competitive, diverse job centers, it will become more practical for the region’s residents to walk or bicycle – or at least drive shorter distances – on their daily commutes, relieving the region’s traffic congestion. The Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, for instance, would benefit from making office and retail space the emphasis of the project.

NoLandGrab: It sounds like a good idea — the only problem is that the track record for creating a regional business center in Downtown Brooklyn has been fairly poor:

• Bruce Ratner's MetroTech was supposed to be exactly that. However, after the tenants failed to materialize, the City moved administrative offices into the complex, becoming its largest tenant.

• After only three years, the Downtown Brooklyn Plan has already run off its tracks. Instead of yeilding millions of square feet of office space, developers have flocked to the luxury condo market.

Streets Blog, Critical Transportation Reforms Sink With Pricing

The sinking of the congestion pricing ship took other victims with it. Lost with congestion pricing was legislation approving bus lane enforcement cameras, residential parking permits, and reclassifying "block the box" as an easier to enforce parking violation.
...
Permits might make sense as a mitigation for reducing the "edge effect" of a congestion pricing zone and to prevent driving to major trip-generators like the proposed Atlantic Yards arena in Brooklyn.

NoLandGrab: The conventional wisdom among transpo nerds is that congestion pricing and residential parking permits are necessary to mitigate some of the effects of placing an arena and 16 high-rise towers on one of the busiest intersections in Brooklyn.

Pardon me for asking, Hey, We Are All Invited To Bill De Blasio's Place
After being elected to two City Council terms, Bill de Blasio is starting to hold meet-and-greets. "Pardonez-moi" blogger Katia Kelly shares one reader's email:

Bill de Blasio, everybody's favorite beamish boy, needs to sort out his loyalties about the Atlantic Yards before he starts hustling cash around here. He does not need a town hall meeting for that, just a published statement.

Of course, if you'd like to share your views on Atlantic Yards, you can drop by De Blasio's district office (2907 Ft. Hamilton Parkway) next Tuesday, July 24, 3PM-7PM.

Posted by lumi at 7:22 AM

July 13, 2007

50% profit for Ratner? Not so fast

Atlantic Yards Report

The "Mad O" oderizes this week's article in The Brooklyn Paper about City Councilman David Yassky's claim that "Bruce Ratner will reap a whopping 50-percent profit on his Atlantic Yards investment."

Oder explains:

Actually, we still don't know how much profit Forest City Ratner would make because the developer hasn't revealed how much money it will put up. We do know, according to the New York Times, that Forest City expects a 5 percent development fee on the value of the entire $4 billion project, which would mean a $200 million return.

So maybe Forest City would make 50 percent--or not. More details, and public analysis, would be helpful.

article

NoLandGrab: Readers of Atlantic Yards Report sometimes struggle to keep up with Norman Oder (i.e. NoLandGrab.org), but politicians hoping to avoid rookie errors need to pay more attention.

Posted by lumi at 11:17 AM

Pols: Easy going ‘green’

The Brooklyn Paper's Dana Rubinstein is reporting that Brooklyn politicians are falling over themselves trying to brand themselves GREEN. Some, like NYC Councilman Bill deBlasio, have a record that stands in their way:

Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D–Park Slope)

Green initiative: Rid public schools of Styrofoam lunch trays.

Less-green initiative: Supports Atlantic Yards, which critics say will block the sun, pollute the air and befoul the water.

article

NoLandGrab: DeBlasio is also going after Brooklyn development-crook Robert Scarano again. [Wonder if the Hagans will show?] However, his support for Atlantic Yards still stands in the way of a crusade against Brooklyn developer overlords.

Posted by lumi at 9:13 AM

July 11, 2007

MOU Wasn't True...and They Knew It.

Here's Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's reaction to news from Atlantic Yards Report that politicians knew in advance that the public tab for Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan was going to be higher than what they publicly acknowledged:

Yup. State government, at least, knew that the public tab for Atlantic Yards would go much higher than the "public contribution" envisioned and disclosed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the State, City and Forest City Ratner in February, 2005.

Moral of the story? As per the Robert Moses playbook: If you are going to mislead the public, especially on costs to taxpayers, make sure they don't know until political approval is in the bag so elected officials can then claim** that they've got to get the taxpayers to pay for their "commitments", no matter what the cost "overruns" are.

(** February 3, 2007: "We have a commitment to pay for infrastructure costs and we will meet that commitment," the mayor said.)

link

Posted by lumi at 8:13 AM

Protesters jeer ‘Dictator Vito’ Lopez

Courier-Life Publications
By Thomas Tracy

News of the "Veto Vito" demonstration at last week's Kings County Dems annual dinner, where protesters were especially mad about the State Assemblyman Vito Lopez's big gift to Ratner. Lopez later commented, "I and the people that came in almost did not notice them."

article

Posted by lumi at 7:32 AM

July 9, 2007

A comparison of the mayors on key issues

NY Newsday

Like it or hate it, "Atlantic Yards" is attached to Mayor Bloomberg's record in the tale of the tape between two mayoral heavyweights:

DEVELOPMENT

Giuliani: His deal for new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets was scuttled by the Bloomberg administration. He is credited with cleaning up business districts, notably Times Square. He increased tax incentives to attract business to Wall Street and elsewhere.

Bloomberg: He made deals for new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets. His aggressive plan to build a West Side Stadium and draw the 2012 Olympics to New York City failed. His administration has overseen major construction projects for new housing around the city, including the controversial Atlantic Yards and Nets stadium complex in Downtown Brooklyn.

link

NoLandGrab: Three-and-a-half years after the announcement, reporters and editors still get facts muddled: it's an ARENA, not a STADIUM (yes, there's a difference), and it's still in PROSPECT HEIGHTS, not DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN.

Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

July 6, 2007

Bloomberg's Insistent Call for Partisan Disarmament

Gay City, Opinion
By: NATHAN RILEY

Mayor Bloomberg is mulling over his decision to run for President. As local voices reflect on his record, one $4-billion, 22-acre, eminent-domain-abusing mega-headache keeps popping up:

Mayor Mike dislikes partisan government; that much has always been clear. He left the Democrats because that made it easier to run for mayor, and now by leaving the Republicans there would be a clearer path to run for president. His speech revealed his basic beliefs, and probably his basic campaign message should he run in 2008.

Happily for him, the emphasis on unity and bipartisan policy reflects the latest polling results. The voters believe both parties fail in addressing their problems, pollster Stanley Greenberg concluded in an article in the American Prospect.
...
Such an adversarial approach to the status quo could produce gains- but how confident are we that Bloomberg will be on our side? Recall Bloomberg's consistent defense of Con Ed during the nine-day electrical blackout in Queens last year, his indifference to rent hikes, or his recent comment about subway overcrowding - "So you stand next to people. Get real. This is New York. What's wrong with that?"

In 2005, running for reelection, hearing a complaint in Brooklyn about the enormous headaches the Atlantic Yards Project will create for local residents, he told a voter that if he lived there he'd probably be unhappy too but that the project should go forward.

Bloomberg doesn't earn high marks for empathy.

article

>

Posted by lumi at 8:30 AM

Atlantic Yards House of Cards To Collapse?

Mythsmasher quotes from last weekend's NY Times article and explains that no one should really be surprised that "that rosy predictions underly this attempt to gain wealth through government rather than the market."

If you substitute government planning for the market, then you distort economic decisionmaking. It is not enough to stop legalized theft such as Atlantic Yards. Let us abandon the failed notions of government planning and subsidy of economic development.

article

NoLandGrab: As the government continues to support taxpayer money and government intervention in the marketplace to the benefit of one developer, Atlantic Yards continues to be an rallying cry in support of Libertarian principles.

Posted by lumi at 8:28 AM

Veto Vito! Group Protests Assemblyman

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Jeffrey Harmatz

Several unhappy Brooklynites have taken to the streets to protest what they feel are corrupt political moves made by New York State Assemblyman Vito Lopez. A rally was held outside of a Kings County Democratic fundraising dinner to protest Lopez’ involvement in the creation of the 421-a housing loophole for Forest City Ratner regarding the Atlantic Yards Development and his support for Surrogate’s Court judge candidate Shawndya Simpson. Demonstrators also took issue with Lopez holding the position of State Assemblyman while simultaneously serving as Chairman of the Kings County Democratic Committee, which they claimed to be a conflict of interest.

“We feel that County Democratic leader Vito Lopez is going against the best interests of Brooklyn is using his powers the wrong way,” said rally organizer Chris Owens, who is the president of the New Brooklyn Leadership and the son of former Congressman Major Owens. “He is creating a $100 million windfall for Bruce Ratner and promoting the election of an inexperienced judicial candidate. We want Lopez to resign as either party leader of assemblyman, Simpson to end her campaign, and Governor Spitzer to veto the 421-a legislation.”

article

Posted by lumi at 8:01 AM

July 2, 2007

Brennan: risky rentals point to need for smaller project, guarantees

Atlantic Yards Report notes that one key point from State Assemblyman Jim Brennan's press release didn't make it into this Sunday's NY Times article:

A press release from Assemblyman Jim Brennan fills in some of the blanks left out of yesterday's murky New York Times article. For one thing, Brennan thinks the project's questionable financials point to a downsizing, as well as a requirement that the affordable housing be guaranteed.

article

Posted by lumi at 1:26 PM

It came from the Blogosphere...

Here's what independent voices are saying on the Net about the Atlantic Yards financials, the special Ratner-only exception in the 421-a reform bill, and more...

Daily Gotham, Crony Capitalism Comes to Brooklyn
For your summertime reading enjoyment, "Mole333" republishes an item about "crony capitalism" and suggests you add Marty and Vito to the mix.

Brownstoner, New Docs Suggest AY Project Riskier Than Thought
Brooklyn's real estate blog's take on the release of the project financials:

Bottom line: Ratner's counting on a continued rising market to bail him out. Regardless of the optimism built into the model, the biggest thing that comes out of the article is that any forecasts for a project this large that occurs over this long a time period have to be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Queens Crap, Lawsuit exposes AY plan on eggshells

Looks like someone's been 'gilding the lily' just a bit.

Not another f*cking blog, Brooklyn Matters

Brooklyn Matters (http://www.brooklynmatters.com) is a great documentary that lays out the reasons why the proposed Atlantic Yards development is bad for Brooklyn.
...
I don't know why it's taken me so long to post about it on this blog, but i guess better late than never.

if you can, buy the DVD and support the cause.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, RESPONSE TO TIMES' ATLANTIC YARD ARTICLE

No Land Grab, the essential Internet portal to all Atlantic Yards information, articles, and press has an assortment of responses to Sunday's New York Times piece. Thanks to Amy over there for putting it all together.

NLG: Confusion over who's posting what has finally prompted us to take the time to figure out how to add the authors' IDs to the homepage entries (hey, we're bloggers, not tech geeks!). Previously, authors were only identified at the stand-alone pages (linked through "permalink"), "categories" and "archives."

BTW: This entry was posted by "lumi."

Posted by lumi at 10:49 AM

July 1, 2007

Fight Among Brooklyn Democrats Intensifies

NY Times - City Room Blog

The testy fight over a Brooklyn judgeship has become a family affair. Major R. Owens, who served in Congress for 24 years until January, has teamed with his son, Chris, in calling for the resignation of Brooklyn’s Democratic Party leader, Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez.

The Owenses object to Mr. Lopez’s support for a candidate for a Surrogate’s Court judgeship, Civil Court Judge ShawnDya L. Simpson. They say Ms. Simpson is far less qualified than their choice, Diana Johnson, a State Supreme Court justice.
...
Chris Owens called for Judge Simpson to end her candidacy for Surrogate’s Court — but that seems unlikely. They are also pushing for legislation that would bar elected officials like Mr. Lopez from holding important party positions.

The assemblyman, they said, “has built a taxpayer-supported empire through housing and senior citizen programs.” They also blasted Mr. Lopez, chairman of the Assembly’s Housing Committee, for orchestrating a “last-minute passage of a modified version of an affordable housing bill that included a windfall provision for developer Forest City Ratner’s controversial Atlantic Yards project.”

link

Posted by amy at 11:09 AM

June 29, 2007

PRESS RELEASE:
Former Congressman Calls For Resignation of Brooklyn Democratic Party Leader

"The unholy alliance of money and political power can no longer be supported."

Brooklyn, NY – Former Congressman Major R. Owens today called for New York State Assemblymember Vito Lopez to resign as Chairman of the Kings County Democratic Committee, Brooklyn's Democratic Party organization, or resign from the Assembly – where Lopez has seniority and a significant chairmanship.

Owens, in conjunction with his, son, Chris Owens, President of New Brooklyn Leadership, issued a statement, entitled "Veto Vito," attacking recent actions by Lopez regarding state housing legislation and a judicial campaign in Brooklyn. The younger Owens joined with approximately 30 people in a demonstration outside of the Kings County Democratic Party's annual dinner on Thursday, June 28 to call attention to Assemblymember Lopez's actions and their implications.

In addition to demanding Lopez' resignation, the Owens statement specifically calls upon Governor Spitzer to veto the housing legislation, for Civil Court Judge Shawndya Simpson to voluntarily terminate her candidacy for the Surrogate Court position, and for legislation that bars public elected officials from holding significant party positions.

Last week, Lopez, who chairs the State Assembly's Housing Committee, orchestrated last-minute passage of a modified version of an affordable housing bill that included a windfall provision for developer Forest City Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.

Lopez is also suddenly supporting a candidate for Surrogate Court judge who has little experience on the bench and has little support from local leaders, but has a large campaign warchest. Judge Simpson is now challenging Judge Diana Johnson, who has eight times as much experience as Simpson – but less money -- for the Surrogate Court seat left vacant by the resignation of the ethically-challenged Frank Seddio earlier this year.

Judge Johnson, who narrowly lost a Surrogate Court primary election in 2005, has the support of Major Owens, Chris Owens, approximately 90 percent of Brooklyn's Black elected officials, and the "reform" Democratic organizations -- Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID), the Independent Neighborhood Democrats (IND), and the Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn (LID), amongst others. In addition, endorsements of Johnson have been received from many other Brooklyn political organizations.

The Owens statement links Lopez's actions as "cynical," "oppressive" and examples of the "unholy alliance of money and political power" that can no longer be supported. "If we change the institutional dynamics, we can change the politics of our county and City – and it needs to happen."

The full Owens statement is available at http://campaignwindow.com/stopvitohttp://campaignwindow.com/stopvito.

Posted by lumi at 2:17 PM

June 28, 2007

Historically Speaking: June 28, Marty, Ambassador extraordinaire

Brooklyn Eagle
By John Manbeck

Marty, our fearless borough president, took a risk but one that I think he should have taken long ago.

'Nuff said — in a glowing article about Marty's adventure on the high seas as a celebrity guest lecturer, our peerless borough president declares that Brooklyn's extraordinary diversity will be surpassed by Atlantic Yards (really).

I asked what he told his audience was Brooklyn’s glory. He said, “its diversity.”

And what will it be when you leave office? “Atlantic Yards."

article

NoLandGrab: As long as we're "historically speaking," Atlantic Yards won't be ready in 2009 when Marty leaves office.

Posted by lumi at 7:39 AM

June 26, 2007

Dear Governor Spitzer

Jo Anne Simon, 52nd Assembly District leader, penned a letter to Governor Eliot Spitzer, explaining why a reform-minded leader would hesitate to support Atlantic Yards, especially in light of the amendment to the 421-a reform bill.

From her letter (full text after the jump):

The last minute amendment to this bill (A. 9293) providing yet more sweetener for Atlantic Yards is totally beyond reason. You may recall meeting with me and my co-leader Alan Fleishman following a campaign appearance with former Governor Carey last summer. You were very gracious and listened closely to our concerns about the Atlantic Yards, many of which were rooted in what we viewed as bad public policy and the desperate need for public authority reform. Even ACORN, one of the biggest supporters of the Atlantic Yards project, has called this recent amendment bad public policy.

What’s wrong with the above amendment? It:

• reduces the affordable housing by raising the percentage of the poverty line amount to be used in considering low income beyond that provided for in any other development in New York City;

• all but ensures, as the developer has indicated, that as much as 10% of the affordable housing would be built off-site, further reducing the promised affordable housing benefits;

• provides hundreds of millions of tax dollars for luxury housing beyond the $205 million that New York City Council recently approved ($100 million of which the developer testified would go to unspecified land acquisition costs, in addition to its anticipated costs if it successfully utilizes eminent domain to acquire other properties), and the hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers;

• will use $1.4 billion of low interest tax free bonds–sapping the market and foreclosing other, arguably more worthy, projects to create a density twice that of Battery Park City; and

• it is the only project to which ESDC did not require changes when your administration took office.

Enough is enough. The legacy of Atlantic Yards will be one of fiscal and social irresponsibility.

Governor Spitzer can be reached by:
PHONE: 518-474-8390
EMAIL: http://161.11.121.121/govemail
SNAIL MAIL: Governor Eliot Spitzer, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224

June 25, 2007

Governor Eliot Spitzer
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224

Dear Governor Spitzer:

I support the expansion of the 421- a exclusionary zone beyond that agreed to by the New York City Council earlier this legislative year. Indeed, I testified to that effect at a hearing held by Assemblyman Vito Lopez in March of this year. I enclose a copy of my written statement for your review.

Nevertheless, the last minute amendment to this bill (A. 9293) providing yet more sweetener for Atlantic Yards is totally beyond reason. You may recall meeting with me and my co-leader Alan Fleishman following a campaign appearance with former Governor Carey last summer. You were very gracious and listened closely to our concerns about the Atlantic Yards, many of which were rooted in what we viewed as bad public policy and the desperate need for public authority reform. Even ACORN, one of the biggest supporters of the Atlantic Yards project, has called this recent amendment bad public policy.

What’s wrong with the above amendment? It:

• reduces the affordable housing by raising the percentage of the poverty line amount to be used in considering low income beyond that provided for in any other development in New York City;

• all but ensures, as the developer has indicated, that as much as 10% of the affordable housing would be built off-site, further reducing the promised affordable housing benefits;

• provides hundreds of millions of tax dollars for luxury housing beyond the $205 million that New York City Council recently approved ($100 million of which the developer testified would go to unspecified land acquisition costs, in addition to its anticipated costs if it successfully utilizes eminent domain to acquire other properties), and the hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers;

• will use $1.4 billion of low interest tax free bonds–sapping the market and foreclosing other, arguably more worthy, projects to create a density twice that of Battery Park City; and

• it is the only project to which ESDC did not require changes when your administration took office.

Enough is enough. The legacy of Atlantic Yards will be one of fiscal and social irresponsibility. The current public financing picture is so extreme that the State and City could pay for an arena, give it to the developer, and still save untold millions of dollars.

I strongly urge you to veto this bill. When the legislature returns, it can and should pass it the expansion of the 421-a program’s exclusionary zone without this boondoggle. The time for change in Albany is now. We need transparency and accountability, not back door deals at the public’s expense.

Very truly yours,

Jo Anne Simon

Posted by lumi at 9:28 AM

Gentile Accused of ‘Politics’ In Board 10 Removals

Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Phoebe Neidl

Has Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's removal of Atlantic Yards critics from Community Board 6 set a precedent for other politicians to purge their boards of dissenters?

In the wake of recent wrangling over Borough President Marty Markowitz’s removal of Community Board 6 members for their voiced opposition to Atlantic Yards, the question on everybody’s mind in Bay Ridge is if five members of Community Board 10 were removed as part of a political vendetta by city Councilmember Vincent Gentile.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:20 AM

June 25, 2007

Albany Post Mortems

The Wonkster

As the state legislature goes home, at least for a few weeks, Newsday looks at the last six months in the state capital and deems it “disappointing.” And the paper blames Governor Eliot Spitzer, saying his administration “proven to be more self-righteous than effective and too arrogant by half.”

And the News aims its ire at a bill passed in the closing hours of the session that puts limits on the tax abatement for developers who build housing in the city. While most coverage of this has focused on the gift the bill bestows on Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards developments (see our earlier posting), it’s the rest of the measure that the News doesn’t like.

link

NoLandGrab: Spitzer is trying to pin the blame on the legislature and vice-versa.

Spitzer will have the chance to reëstablish his reformer credentials by vetoing this bill. The question remains, will he?

Posted by lumi at 11:04 AM

MIKE VS. RUDY IN 'BEST BOSS' BOUT

CITY HALL AIDES SPLIT OVER 'ELITIST' OR 'EGOTIST'

NY Post
By GINGER ADAMS OTIS and CARL CAMPANILE

In the battle of the autocratic vs. the despotic, it's so hard to choose who should lead our country. However, Bloomie has the spectre of Atlantic Yards following him around:

Bloomberg's close ties to the private sector raised the hackles of a few municipal agency heads, however.

"He takes care of his business-world friends, that's certainly clear," one sneered, referring to Bloomberg's relationship with Bruce Ratner, who received millions of dollars in city tax breaks for his Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.

article

NoLandGrab: Favoritism for Ratner is unlikely to be an issue on Middle-America's radar.

However, since nearly 90% of Americans feel that EMINENT DOMAIN should not be used for private development, any candidate willing to make protection from eminent domain abuse an issue will have an instant populist advantage over the corporate candidate, Bloomberg, who is currently supporting the use of eminent domain in at least five neighborhoods in NYC.

Posted by lumi at 10:50 AM

Dem Boss swallows tongue

According to NY1, Brooklyn Democratic party boss Vito Lopez agreed to speak on camera about his addition of a special tax exemption for the already subsidy-laden Atlantic Yards plan in the State Assembly's 421-a reform bill. By the end of the day, Lopez had taken a vow of omerta when it comes to Bruce Ratner and his controversial development plan.

NoLandGrab: If the bill is so "great," then why so shy?

If you are outraged by the extraordinary giveaway to Ratner and Lopez's refusal to face the music, take a moment to call or email Governor Spitzer's office to let him know that a reform-minded leader would veto this bill:

PHONE: 518-474-8390
EMAIL: http://161.11.121.121/govemail

Posted by lumi at 8:54 AM

June 22, 2007

New York's mayor buys his way to popularity.

The Michael Bloomberg Method

The New Republic
By Fred Siegel

Apparently, everyone knows that Atlantic Yards is the worst initiative of NYC Mayor Bloomberg's administration and that it undermines his sincerity on traffic and transportation issues:

Bloomberg is so skilled at using his wealth to market himself that his plan to reduce traffic and pollution by charging congestion fees to come into central Manhattan has been hailed by Time, which put him on its cover, as if words were deeds. But congestion pricing is unlikely to be implemented, and, even if implemented, it's not clear that it would reduce congestion. Time was so impressed with Bloomberg's verbal accomplishments that it failed to note that one of the major causes of downtown congestion are the thousands of parking permits generously given out by Bloomberg's own City Hall. Bloomberg, after considerable effort, has succeeded in getting developer Bruce Ratner's massive Atlantic Yards project approved. At a time when Brooklyn is booming with new, unsubsidized housing construction, the wealthy Ratner, a friend of Bloomberg's, will receive half a billion dollars in subsidies guaranteed to sharply increase both congestion and pollution along already overburdened Flatbush Avenue, the borough's main artery. Recently, when Bloomberg went to a press conference on green initiatives, he ostentatiously arrived by subway, only to be met for the trip back to City Hall by a large gas-guzzling SUV.

article (subscription only)

Posted by lumi at 6:00 AM

Marty would be great as a Bush appointee

The Brooklyn Paper
Letter to the Editor

One Brooklyn Paper reader makes the comparison between the US Attorney General and Brooklyn's Borough President, Marty ("the Hatchet") Markowitz:

Has Alberto Gonzales become a role model for our borough president (“Pols to Yards foes: Yer out!” May 26)? Consider Borough President Markowitz’s decision to not reappoint members of Community Board 6 who voted to reject Atlantic Yards.

He says that he wants to consider the need for fresh perspectives when making appointments to the board. Is a willingness to serve as his rubber stamp a “fresh perspective”? Those of us who live in the area served by CB6 don’t want its members to blindly approve the proposals of real-estate developers. What we desire is a board that will represent the interests of our community.

If Marty Markowitz cares about the future of Brooklyn, he should be doing all that can to reduce the size of Atlantic Yards and to ensure that CB6 has a membership that will do the same. If he is unwilling to do this, he should abandon the idea of running for mayor and, after switching political parties, seek a position in the Bush Administration.

His decision to not reappoint members of CB6 because they disagree with him indicates that he would fit right in.

John Casson, Park Slope

link

Posted by lumi at 5:59 AM

June 20, 2007

Bloomberg Severs G.O.P. Ties, Fueling Talk of ’08 Bid

The NY Times
By DIANE CARDWELL and JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced Tuesday that he was dropping his Republican affiliation, a step that could clear the way for him to make an independent bid for the presidency. ...
“I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead my city,” Mr. Bloomberg’s statement read.

article

NoLandGrab: Given that government's increasingly expansive right to seize private property has been high on the Mayor's list of priorities, maybe affiliation with the "What's Yours is Mine" party might have made more sense.

Since polling data shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe that eminent domain abuse should be reined in, Mayor Bloomberg is clearly out of step with public opinion on this issue.

Posted by lumi at 10:04 AM

June 16, 2007

Oy Vey!

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn

City Hall newspaper has a Q&A with Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz. In the specific Q&A below, Mr. Markowitz first doesn't answer what he thinks of the process around "Atlantic Yards" but rather what he thinks of those who oppose the project or are critical of it. Nobody in officialdom is willing to say that they liked the "Atlantic Yards" process, thus the evasion.

Now Mr. Markowitz, in his answer below, claims that he "tried his best" to bring people together on the project. That, we respectfully say, is a fallacy. Mr. Markowitz never meaningfully responded to opponents and critics. Sure he met with them, and then ignored them. And then last month Mr. Markowitz fired Community Board 6 members who deigned to take a position different than his own on the project. That's bringing people together?

We have bountiful anecdotal evidence that it has been very difficult for Mr. Markowitz to appear publicly anywhere in the Borough without getting an earful about his stance on "Atlantic Yards." Just last night at the opening of the 29th season of Celebrate Brooklyn in the Prospect Park Bandshell, Mr. Markowitz was roundly booed when he welcomed the audience prior to a fantastic Neville Brothers concert.

That should be no surprise for such a highly controversial project, especially when its chief political cheerleader, Mr. Markowitz, is a former tenant activist now supporting the abuse of eminent domain, secondary displacement that could reach nearly 3,000 units of at risk populations according to the state's own study, and 4,180 luxury units of instant gentrification. This is Mr. Brooklyn, trading on Brooklyn nostalgia, to promote a project that is the antithesis of everything Brooklyn stands for.

link

Posted by amy at 10:36 AM

Hypocrisy in Brooklyn: Bill and Marty

The Daily Gotham

Bill [de Blasio] is one of Ratner's biggest cheerleaders. He fully supports Ratner's project that will abuse eminent domain to uproot an entire chunk of Brooklyn that was once called "up and coming" to replace it with a giant monstrosity which will suck a huge amount of taxpayer's money from the state and local levels and won't really deliver affordable housing...or at least not housing that is considered affordable even by the definition used in Manhattan.

Fine. Bill supports something I don't. We agree to disagree on much of it.

Now Bill turns around and suddenly plays community activist against an evil developer. As reported in the Park Slope Courier, Ratner's biggest cheerleader on the City Council is playing his own NIMBY game with a different developer.
...
Ummm...I got news for you Bill. Ratner is worse. Ratner's plan is far larger, goes BEYOND being inappropriate for the community and simply uproots a community, and has proven that the only interest Ratner has in the community is to squeeze it for $100 million to buy the land for a project he is far too lazy, or devious, to provide a business plan for.

link

Posted by amy at 10:29 AM

June 15, 2007

On/Off the Record with Marty Markowitz

City Hall

City Hall: When it comes to Atlantic Yards, have you been surprised by the process?
Marty Markowitz: Well I have to tell you, this is my first experience at it. You understand, when I was a state senator for 23 years, out of 62 state senators, you’re pretty much hit by the group. Then you become borough president or mayor and you’re one out of one. And it really came as a significant surprise that for the first time in my professional life, I was not able to bring people together. I have to tell you, I tried my best. I really did. I have to tell you I tried my best, my support of Atlantic Yards and my enthusiasm for Atlantic Yards is based on my true, sincere, full belief that it’s for the best of this and future generations of Brooklynites, there’s no question about it. And yet in the first time of my life, I’ve run into a number of people, significant number of people, feel that anyone who’s for Atlantic Yards is a sellout, is being schtupped, is being bribed, is being corrupt, and those are nice words. And never in my life have I met a group of people that if you’re not with them, you’re the enemy. I’ve never had that. I’ve had many disagreements when I first started Albany. Gay rights, abortion rights, those were contentious issues, believe me. But never with the hostility and hate that I’ve experienced during this process.

CH: The design has changed a lot. Do you like where it is now?
MM: Listen, from day one I always and continued to maintain that, the promised numbers of affordable housing units, which is approximately 2,250 units of affordable housing, must be guaranteed. And indeed, Forest City Ratner has not wavered one bit from that commitment. Now, in terms of the other part of the project, the market rate housing, obviously a lot of that is going to support the subsidized housing. And some of it is rightfully going for a fair return for the men and women that are investing in this, which they have every right to do.

article

NoLandGrab: On the record and for the record, the "design" hasn't changed that much since the beginning. What has changed is the square footages of commercial vs. housing. Even now, there are two options that were studied in the Environmental Impact Statement, giving the developer, Forest City Ratner, quite a bit of wiggle room down the line.

Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM

Community Board reform! - Appointment process is too political and must be changed, some say

Courier-Life Publications
By Joe Maniscalco

Though the following excerpts contain references to Atlantic Yards and Borough President Marty Markowitz's purge of Communtiy Board 6, the article is worth reading for additional examples of community voices stymied by Borough Hall and an interesting reform proposal from Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer that should be taken more seriously, due to recent events:

The purging of nine members from Community Board 6 opposed to the Atlantic Yards project has only solidified that view and sparked new calls for changes in the way people make it onto their local community board.
...
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer complained that the community board process had become “overly politicized and unsystematic” when he introduced his community board reform package last year.
...
“These folks have been serving their community by opposing the disastrous Atlantic Yards project,” said Colby Hamilton, Green Party of Brooklyn chair. “Now we see how community-supported opposition is handled – it’s a political massacre.”
...
Park Slope resident and Green Party member James Lane lives within Community Board 6 and he says he was proud of the “thoughtful and transparent” way in which the members of his community board reviewed the complexities of the Atlantic Yards project.

“The decision to expel these public servants is just another sign that the proponents of the Atlantic Yards debacle are willing to stoop to anything to shove this project down the community’s throat,” he said.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:28 AM

June 13, 2007

Boot comes as a shock to this member - CB6’s Al Cabbad says he was never told about getting the axe

Courier-Life Publications
By Gary Buiso

Octogenarian Al Cabbad was the last to know.

Cabbad, a longtime member of Community Board 6, and successful 5th Avenue merchant, had no idea he was booted from Community Board 6—until this newspaper came calling.
...
“I wish CB 6 the best of luck,” he said. “I know where I stand. I know how good I am.”

“I stand very tall,” he said.

In September, Cabbad, like the majority of the board, voted in favor of several resolutions that expressed reservations with developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project.
...
Member Celia Cacace praised Cabbad’s long service to Brooklyn. She called his removal “shameful.”

“What they did is terribly wrong,” Cacace said. “Is this becoming a dictatorship?”

A spokesperson for City Councilmember David Yassky is attempting to make sure the blame for the unpopular purge remains on the steps of Borough Hall:

City Councilmembers recommend members to the board but don’t actually appoint them, noted Sam Rockwell, a spokesperson for Yassky. “David and the borough president have a wonderful working relationship, but in the end, the decision to reappoint or not reappoint is the decision of the borough president,” he said.

One Community Boardmember, Joe Porcelli, announced that he will resign in protest:

“The board, in my mind, has become a farce,” he continued. “There is a compact here, based on the illusion that community boards are based on participatory democracy. I always thought this illusion was reality.”

article

Posted by lumi at 9:21 AM

Silver Challenges Health Benefits Promised in Manhattan Toll Plan

The NY Times

Though State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver skipped last week's hearings on congestion pricing to attend a fundraiser, he still has concerns and questions:

But Mr. Silver’s remarks underscored that he may once again serve as the mayor’s foil in Albany. His opposition doomed the mayor’s plan to build a West Side football stadium for the New York Jets. Asked about parallels to that battle, Mr. Silver harked back to the mayor’s contention then that a Manhattan stadium would not cause undue congestion.

The stadium, Mr. Silver pointed out, would have been “right in the middle of this congested zone.”

“At that time, a year ago, there obviously was no congestion,” he added, facetiously. “We can even put this stadium to attract 100,000 people to come in right in the middle of the zone and there was no problem.”

article

NoLandGrab: Thanks to Silver's approval of Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan, Brooklynites will be getting the parking lots AND a stadium.

Posted by lumi at 8:51 AM

June 12, 2007

Joe Porcelli: My Local Hero

Pardon me for asking

To my local Brooklyn readers, you know about the punitive dismissal of some Community Board 6 members because they opposed the Atlantic Yards Mega Project. The three politicians who appoint members to the board, Marty Markowitz, Bill DeBlasio and David Yassky replaced nine members with people probably more inclined to embrace Bruce Ratner's monstro" city."

Of course the lesson to learn for our board members is that they better not cross the politicos who appoint them. And that they have just become useless to the community. They have just become yes-men. Under those conditions, can they even represent their community?

Now one brave board member, Joe Porcelli, is resigning in protest. And he would like other board members to follow suit. That is probably not going to happen, but in the meantime, Porcelli is the sole member who has any guts and conviction. Good for him.

link

NoLandGrab: Most of the purged Community Board members have been appointed to serve on CB6 committees as non-boardmembers. Some feel that sent a stronger message back to the Borough President and the community than resigning en masse.

Posted by lumi at 7:04 AM

June 11, 2007

No Way to Treat Volunteers

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Opinion
"Hills and Gardens"
By Trudy Witman

Commentary on the sacking of Community Board Six members who voted to criticize Atlantic Yards makes the point that Borough President Marty Markowitz made much ado about nothing:

What the released board members had in common was signing their names to a strongly worded condemnation of the Atlantic Yards development plan, the borough president’s pet project. After the CB6 document was released, Markowitz made no secret of his displeasure.

The irony here is that community boards are mandated as advisory entities only, and although their recommendations may be taken seriously by city agencies, the Atlantic Yards project is managed exclusively by the state through the Empire State Development Corporation. As far as having teeth, the CB 6 resolution denouncing the Atlantic Yards plan was all gums — lots of bark but no bite.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:18 AM

June 10, 2007

Mixed Agendas at Anti-Scarano Rally on Smith Street

Brownstoner

We'd guesstimate that about 60 people spent their lunch hour yesterday listening to Councilman Bill de Blasio rail against the proposed design by Robert Scarano for the plaza and adjoining lot at Smith and 2nd Place in Carroll Gardens and call for the revocation of Mr. Scarano's license to practice architecture. In his prepared remarks, de Blasio likened having Scarano do a project in the neighborhood to letting "the fox in the chicken coop." "Scarano's not welcome in our community," he said more than once. Of course, the irony of de Blasio shaking his fist over an eight-story building being built in Carroll Gardens when he has not had any problem with a number of much taller buildings being built in nearby Fort Greene and Prospect Heights was not lost on some of the anti-Atlantic Yards protesters who showed up. In a piece of comedic theatre, two sign-holders from the de Blasio camp were kept on their toes trying to make sure that their anti-Scarano posters blocked the those of the Atlantic Yards protesters from the view of cameras.

link

Posted by amy at 10:54 AM

June 6, 2007

Last Week in the News: From President Bush to Markowitz

Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Editorial
By Dennis Holt

Even though Borough President Marty Markowitz is telling anyone who will listen that last month's purge of Community Board 6 wasn't about "Atlantic Yards," the Eagle's Dennis Holt confirms it was and blames the victims:

Here in Brooklyn, there was much angst, screaming headlines and mutters of freedom of speech about Marty Markowitz exercising one of the few powers a borough president has.

If it has to be known, not one of the people Markowitz didn’t reappoint ever bothered to call him to tell why they were taking the position on Atlantic Yards — not one. No one else bothered to use abstaining as a way to say no.

No one is demanding homage or lock-stepping. A little common courtesy to the guy who opened the door for you is not too much to ask.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:26 AM

June 5, 2007

On "Illegal Construction"

From Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn:

Councilmember Bill de Blasio has been promoting the protest below for the past week. While we congratulate Mr. de Blasio for standing with his constituents in Carroll Gardens and standing up against "illegal construction," we call on the Councilmember to stand up to all illegal construction (not just in his district) and revisit his unconditional support of the "Atlantic Yards" project bordering his district. (Illegal-demolition, allegedly illegal-environmental review, allegedly illegal-eminent domain, unsafe-parapet collapse and the whole thing is a state override of the City Charter and local zoning codes and regulations.)

What follows is the Councilmember's protest announcement that landed in our in box:

Join Councilmember Bill de Blasio and Stand up Against Illegal Construction!
Wednesday June 6, 2007 at 12:30PM
In front of Robert Scarano's latest project
360 Smith Street, Brooklyn
(Smith Street at 2nd Place)

more

Posted by lumi at 1:33 PM

June 3, 2007

Term Limits Force an Early Start to ’09 Campaign

New York Times
By JONATHAN P. HICKS

The Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, said he, too, was raising money and was leaning toward running for mayor.

“I’m weighing it,” he said, adding that he would prefer to remain borough president if he were not bound by term limits. “By raising money now, it affords me the opportunity to be a contender.”

Mr. Markowitz had raised $332,000 as of January and had spent nearly $200,000 toward a 2009 campaign.

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NoLandGrab: Judging by the lukewarm reception Marty received at last night's fireworks in Prospect Park, he'd better hope that the developers vote early and vote often.

Posted by amy at 11:22 AM

June 1, 2007

The Beep Flexes Muscle

The Brooklyn Eagle, Editorial
By Henrik Krogius

Finally, an editorial supporting Borough President Marty Markowitz's purge of Community Board 6 of members who voiced criticism of Atlantic Yards.

Using words like, "vituperative," "negative mindset," "holdouts" and "provacateurs" to describe Atlantic Yards critics and their position, Kroguis swallows the myth of Marty and Ratnerville and slams the competition for facing facts:

Markowitz saw as his gift to Brooklyn the idea of buying the Nets and bringing back a major sports franchise after the decades of mourning the departed Dodgers; it was he who persuaded Bruce Ratner to buy the team and create the arena around which Ratner then developed the Atlantic Yard project, in a dismal area on a major intersection that was crying for a major undertaking that no one before had had either the resources or imagination to develop. To Markowitz, as to many others, the virtue of the concept was self-evident. However, he didn’t reckon with the depth of opposition to change that can be found among quite a few in Brooklyn. The vituperative nature of the opponents’ campaign was apparently more than he expected, for all his years in politics, and he is said to have felt unfairly stung.

It is not as if the opponents, including so much of Board 6, ever dispassionately considered this arena-cum-offices-and-housing concept in terms of benefits vs. drawbacks, or looked at how it might be improved. A purely negative mindset invoked a host of reasons, some absurd, for why the whole idea should be thrown out. Instead of an arena at a hub of public transportation, there were suggestions that it should be put — if indeed anywhere at all — in some non-transit-served place like the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The absence of a school in the original plan was given as a reason to reject it. Traffic was looked at not in terms of mitigating its effects but as a reason for denying the project; even the fact that the site has unrivaled access to public transit — in itself a traffic-mitigating factor — has been used to argue that the project should be rejected because it will overburden the subway system. While most of those living in the project’s footprint accepted generous buyouts, 13 holdouts are fighting an eminent domain court battle in hopes of blocking the whole thing. Politically, there is a fear that the arrival of a more affluent population may shift voting patterns to the disadvantage of current office holders. Following its “crusading” practice of converting every negative scrap into a screaming headline, the Brooklyn Paper has tried to make a case out of a sponsoring British bank once having had ties to slavery, and it recently even bannered that a bagel shop changed its name rather than endure more hostility from the anti-Yards provocateurs.

link

NoLandGrab: Suffice it to say, thanks for trying to stay awake, but Henrik, you missed the part about:

• the Community Board hearings held last summer,
• the Coney Island option,
• erroneous and/or old data used for the study of public school capacity,
• Ratner's absurd traffic mitigations,
• the question of transportation capacity for what would be the densest residential community in the nation (like, it has never been tried, ever),
• the "holdouts" suing to uphold their constitutional right to own private property,
• the fact that the Brooklyn Machine Politik stands squarely behind the project because Ratner "owns the whole area" and is "the biggest guy around", and
• The Brooklyn Paper being recognized for covering the events that most papers can't/won't.

Posted by lumi at 12:45 PM

5th Ave facility moves forward

The Brooklyn Paper
By Michael McLaughlin

A controversial supportive housing facility proposed for Fifth Avenue moved forward last week when the City Planning Commission gave its approval for the five-story, 49-unit building at what is currently a municipal parking lot on 16th Street.

“It’s very reassuring they saw the merits of the project,” Fifth Avenue Committee Executive Director Michelle de la Uz said after the May 23 vote.

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NoLandGrab: Word on the street and the political grapevine is that this facility ran into turbulent political waters when Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilmember Bill deBlasio were poised to block the project as payback to Fifth Avenue Committee (FAC) for expressing criticisms against Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project.

The community rallied around FAC, and Markowitz and deBlasio had to backtrack.

Posted by lumi at 10:17 AM

CB6 member to resign in protest: Says Marty’s purge makes boards “meaningless”

The Brooklyn Paper
By Ariella Cohen

A veteran member of Community Board 6 will resign this week to protest the politically motivated axing of nine board colleagues who voted against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development — and he’s urging his fellow panelists to do the same.

Cobble Hill lawyer Joseph Porcelli told The Brooklyn Paper that he would step down on June 4 after six years on the board as a response to Borough President Markowitz and Councilmember Bill DeBlasio’s dismissal last week of board members who disagreed with them on the controversial development.

“We are supposed to be appointed to represent independent opinion. As soon as we did, people were whacked,” Porcelli said, referring to the strong position CB6 took against Atlantic Yards, which Markowitz strongly supports.

Another board member decided the best thing to do was to stay put:

“I thought about it,” said longtime member Peter Fleming. “But then I thought that the best way to honor those who were not reappointed would be to stick around and do the work that they can no longer do.”

In a subtle rebuke to Markowitz and DeBlasio, CB6 Chairman Richard Bashner agreed to allow several ousted members to retain their seats on board committees, albeit in a non-voting manner.

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Posted by lumi at 10:06 AM

Packing them in

The Brooklyn Paper
By Ariella Cohen

Last month’s purge of nine anti-Atlantic Yards members of Community Board 6 is raising new questions that Borough President Markowitz has turned the panel into a crony clubhouse.

Two of the new members of the board — Mark Shames and Maria Reca — are also members of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, a powerful Brownstone Brooklyn political club. IND’s former president, Greg Atkins, is now Marko­witz’s chief of staff, and a club executive committee member, John Heyer, is Markowitz’s staff liaison to the community board.

With the new appointments, there are now five members of the IND club on the 50-member CB6 — fueling renewed complaints that Markowitz is packing the board with his allies.

“I always thought the community board was a place for independent thinking, not political games. Now I have seen differently,” said board member Celia Cacace, whose seat is not up for reappointment until next year.
...
IND Executive Board Chairman Kenn Lowy agreed that “political connections help” people get on local boards.

“It’s pretty traditional that if you are a member of the IND, you will make it onto the board,” he said, though he claimed that community board issues are not discussed back at the clubhouse.

Perhaps, but the club was involved in its own Atlantic Yards controversy last year when anti-Yards residents packed the board’s membership rolls before a scheduled vote on candidates that the club should endorse. To prevent the new members from having too much control over IND’s endorsement vote, the club leaders altered the rules to prevent the new members from voting.

The article goes on to identify the new members and get some of their views about Atlantic Yards:

“I watch the news. I know people are losing their apartments [to make room for Atlantic Yards],” said new board member, Boerum Hill resident Rajia Thomas.

“That’s not good. But it’s for a good cause. I think an arena and more stuff to do is a good thing. We need more places to go and more jobs.”

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NoLandGrab: "More stuff to do" isn't always a good thing, but whatever.

Posted by lumi at 9:45 AM

May 31, 2007

Markowitz Makes It a May to Remember for C.B. 6

The NY Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

While on its face the move seemed fairly routine, Mr. Markowitz and his allies, including City Councilman Bill de Blasio, purged the board members apparently because of their steadfast opposition to the Atlantic Yards project in central Brooklyn.

The Purge was not as deep as expected, however.

One elected official told The Observer prior to the announcement that as many as half of the 50 board members were in jeopardy of not being reappointed. That means he left many Atlantic Yards opponents on the board, albeit with the eerie feeling that they might be next.
...
The Observer tried to reach Mr. Markowitz before the list of unseated community-board members was made public. His press secretary, however, wouldn’t reveal his whereabouts—perhaps for good reason. On Friday, the New York Post reported that Mr. Markowitz was returning from a six-day cruise aboard the Queen Mary 2.

He received the expenses-paid voyage on the luxury cruise liner—which, not incidentally, docks in Red Hook—in exchange for delivering a trio of speeches about Brooklyn to the ship’s passengers. (Lucky them.)

article

Posted by lumi at 8:48 AM

Markowitz’s ‘Purge’ of Atlantic Yards Opponents – Not His Finest Hour

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Raanan Geberer

What is the role of the city’s community boards? They are surely part of the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP), and public projects are voted on by the community boards before they go to the Borough President’s Office, the City Planning Commission, the City Council and ultimately the Mayor’s Office. However, the community boards are merely advisory bodies: they can’t stop a project from proceeding.

That’s why Borough President Marty Markowitz’ decision not to reappoint nine members of Community Board 6, some of whom have been on the board for 20 years, is puzzling. As a matter of fact, it’s not just puzzling – it’s very disturbing.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:25 AM

Marty Blogowitz: Binge Buffet, Purge Brooklyn

The Gowanus Lounge, Markowitz to CB6 Purge Victims: You Never Call, You Never Write
GL posts yesterday's Daily News story on Marty's explanation:

"I was not given the courtesy by the members of this board to contact me -- as the person who appoints them -- and say, 'Marty, we want to vote against Atlantic Yards,'" Markowitz said.

... and adds, "Well, that clears things up."

NoLandGrab: Seriously folks, all of the politicians who appoint members of the Community Board send representatives to every general board meeting. If Marty was blindsided, it means he wasn't listening.

Media Nation, Correction of the Day
Marty's "the-ship-ate-my-homework" excuse gets top honors as the "Correction of the Day."

Posted by lumi at 7:45 AM

Out There: The borough standings

Time Out New York

This week, Brooklyn slipped one spot to third place in the borough standings. The reason, "Marty's purge."

3. BROOKLYN

Last week: 2

The reason: Obviously, disagreeing with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is not a wise move if you want to hang on to your job. He booted nine members of Community Board 6 who had voted against the Atlantic Yards plan he favored.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:39 AM

Eggs with Marty Markowitz

The Brooklyn BP on balancing cheesecakes with diets, affordable housing and why he doesn’t want to be public advocate

City Hall News
By Charlotte Eichna

A sit-down at Junior's with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz provides a glimspe of the cuddly BP we all know and love.

Q: Switching gears—you’ve been a vocal proponent of affordable housing. What are some of the ways you’d like to tackle this problem in Brooklyn?
A: People I speak to that have left Brooklyn tell me, “Marty, we’d love to stay in Brooklyn. We can’t afford it here.” In Brooklyn, the problem is you want to build and we have no land, so you can only build vertically. And of course there is this romanticized version by some that all of Brooklyn lives in a brownstone. And that’s not true. We do have some wonderful, beautiful brownstone communities and I live in Park Slope and believe me, I love the area. But Brooklyn is home to all sorts of housing—high rise buildings, low rise buildings, tudors, colonials, limestones and brownstones and two families and four families—so we have a mix of all sorts of housing in the borough. But the truth of the matter is, as land becomes more scarce, you have to look for locations in the borough that lend themselves to building high rise buildings in order to meet the demand of those seeking a place to live, of all incomes. We don’t have land so we have to have smart development where we build housing and also respect the surrounding communities—we have to find that balance.

Q: So this is one of the reasons you’ve been a force behind the Atlantic Yards development, right?
A: Absolutely, without a question. And also because Brooklyn is deserving of being a city that has national sports. Religion, music, family and sports are what bring people together. And the arena will be a big center of family life in this borough. We’ll have a national team to cheer for again, after over 50 years of our beloved Brooklyn Dodgers leaving. The kids in Brooklyn today deserve to have a national team just like I was lucky to have it in my era. And the jobs it will create, the housing, the beautiful architecture—it’s the right location, it’s the right space, it’s the right time. And it’s going to happen. And the people that are the naysayers, they won’t even be a footnote in history—and neither will I. Because once it opens, people will say, “Wow, it’s always been here. How did we live without this?”

NoLandGrab: How did we live without Marty Markowitz?

Q: When do you hope to see construction start?
A: I hope it will be yesterday. But hopefully maybe by the end of the year, at least, the process with the shovel, whatever, can happen, I hope.

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Posted by lumi at 7:32 AM

May 30, 2007

Speaking of Community Boards...

From Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn:

In light of the recent purging of Brooklyn Community Board 6 by Borough President Markowitz the following should be of even more interest than it otherwise would have been. This morning (Wednesday) on WNYC radio's Brian Lehrer Show:

What are Community Boards for?
Tom Angotti, director of the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and development, explains what purpose community boards serve and how independent they are from borough politicians.

The show airs on 820 AM or 93.9 FM starting at 10 am. This segment appears to be the second of three segments. Listeners can make a live, on air call to the show at: 212-433-9692

link

Posted by lumi at 10:19 AM

Exclusive: Bloomy is uninformed about Atlantic Yards

The Brooklyn Paper

Back in February we cited NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg for "ignoranting" about Atlantic Yards at a press conference. Bloomie explained to reporters that Bruce Ratner's arena would be built on land, "which was going to be a new Ebbets Field" and called the eminent domain plaintiffs, "one little person, one person that owns one little piece of property" (for the record, there are over a dozen plaintiffs on the Federal eminent domain lawsuit).

This week, Bloomie was at it again. This time, he was busted by Brooklyn Papers (complete with audio soundbite):

During a press conference on Tuesday, The Brooklyn Paper asked Mayor Bloomberg why the city’s plan for redeveloping the state-owned Hudson Rail Yards on the far west side of Manhattan is going through a distinctly different process than Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development at and near the state-owned Vanderbilt Rail Yards in Prospect Heights.

The mayor’s answer was filled with inaccuracies.

The sound bite begins with Editor Gersh Kuntzman asking Hizzoner about the “different process” that the Hudson Yards redevelopment will undergo.

The mayor first says that “the Atlantic Yards was done by a private group and this [Hudson Yards] is a public entity, a public piece of land.” That’s not true. In both cases, the Metropolitan Transportation Administration — a public agency — owns the rail yards. That makes it “public land.”

In the case of Atlantic Yards, Bruce Ratner was awarded the development rights, but the state, not the city, oversaw the public review process. The Hudson Yards project is slated to go through the more-rigorous city land-use review process. Bloomberg described them “different pieces of land” as having “different owners — one is state, one is city.” That is not true.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:57 AM

Marty defends CB 6 sackings

NY Daily News
By Jotham Sederstrom

A week later, the spin is in:

You can cross Marty Markowitz if you want, but give him a courtesy call first.

Following a week of public scrutiny for his decision not to reappoint nine Community Board 6 members, the borough president vehemently denied his actions were in retaliation for their opposition to aspects of the Atlantic Yards project.

"I was not given the courtesy by the members of this board to contact me - as the person who appoints them - and say, 'Marty, we want to vote against Atlantic Yards,' " Markowitz said.

In his first public comments since fallout from the community board debacle and revelations that he accepted a free cruise on the Queen Mary 2, Markowitz insisted that in both cases he was just doing his job.

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Movie cliché: Markowitz is cast as the paternalistic Don, "But you don't vote with respect. You don't offer friendship. You don't even think to call me Godfather."

Posted by lumi at 9:20 AM

May 29, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

Yonkers Tribune, Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards to Blame, in Part For Looming Con Edison Record Rate Hike
A cat fight breaks out in the comments section of a posting of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's press release about Atlantic Yards and rising electricity rates.

The subjects on some peoples' minds in Yonkers: their OWN political vortex around Bruce Ratner's controversial Ridge Hill plan, Payments in Lieu of Taxes (only don't call it a "PILOT"), and the City's deal to help cover a looming budget shortfall by selling Ratner the leases for Ridge Hill way below their estimated value.

West Bronx Blog, Sound Familiar?
Brooklyn is not alone:

Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, is being accused of pushing out several long-serving community board members because of their oppostion to the borough's Atlantic Yards development - a project Markowitz, says the New York Times, "has spent three years and much of his political capital extolling."

Last summer, you may recall, Adolfo Carrión, Markowitz's Bronx counterpart, was accused of the very same thing, namely removing Bronx Community Board 4 members who opposed the new Yankee Stadium.

Posted by lumi at 6:22 AM

May 28, 2007

Monday Comix

Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

May 27, 2007

Forest City, Marty try to tweak the record, but it doesn't work

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn President Marty Markowitz, for nearly five years--the entirety of his first term, beginning in 2002, and through the beginning of his second term--suggested on the BP web site that he had no intention of pursuing higher office.

His web site (courtesy of the Internet Archive) stated:
While some people want to grow up to be mayor, governor, or President of the United States, my dream in life has always been to lead Brooklyn as borough president. To me, this is the ultimate job.

Then came news last July that the term-limited BP was raising money for a yet-unspecified 2009 campaign. In response to speculation about Markowitz's ambition to be mayor--a position he seemed to have excluded--No Land Grab last July posted Markowitz's statement that "borough president... is the ultimate job."

At some moment, those sentiments were excised from Markowitz's web site. But they live on.

link
NoLandGrab: Borough President is certainly looking like the "Ultimate Job" this week...

Posted by amy at 8:27 AM

To Sell Brooklyn, Borough Leader Took Free Trip on Cruise Ship

New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN

On Thursday, Mr. Markowitz’s own ship came in. He arrived in Brooklyn on the Queen Mary 2 after a free six-day cruise from Southampton, England. Mr. Markowitz was quick to point out that he sailed not just as a passenger, but also as the borough’s official ambassador. Between breakfasts of petit filet mignon and dinners of lobster flambé with cognac and truffles, harp recitals and black-tie soirees, the mostly European passengers were treated to an hourlong talk from Mr. Markowitz on the wonders of Brooklyn. More than 450 people attended it, he said.
...
Mr. Markowitz might have picked a more opportune time to leave town for a week. While he was away, one of the bigger controversies of his administration arose, concerning his decision to remove nine members from a community board that criticized the $4 billion Atlantic Yards development project, which Mr. Markowitz has championed. A reporter seeking comment on the move on Tuesday was told only that Mr. Markowitz was “on a ship.”

article

Posted by amy at 8:23 AM

On the Town

Daily Intelligencer

Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz booted nine community-board members who’d voted against the Atlantic Yards megaproject he championed. A waitress at Jay- Z’s 40/40 Club said the rap mogul’s crew grabbed from the tip jar.

link
NoLandGrab: Did the Intelligencer realize that these two folks have a related interest - or was this placement mere coincidence?

Posted by amy at 8:18 AM

May 26, 2007

Shake-Up of Board Is Defended

New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN

When the board appointments were made public on Tuesday, Mr. Markowitz was accused of punishing members of Community Board 6, which includes parts of Park Slope, Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens, for opposing him on Atlantic Yards. He removed a greater percentage of members who sought reappointment in Community Board 6 than in any of the other 17 boards in the borough. The borough president reappoints or replaces 25 of a community board’s 50 volunteer members each year.

Mr. Markowitz said that he was “not happy” with the nonbinding resolutions that Community Board 6 passed denouncing Atlantic Yards last year, while the project awaited eventual state approval. (The project’s developer, Forest City Ratner, is the development partner in a new Midtown headquarters for The New York Times Company.)

As the appointing authority, Mr. Markowitz added, he should have been kept abreast of community board members’ concerns. “We had no clue here that they were going to have this resolution for vote at the board,” he said.

article

Posted by amy at 11:45 AM

The value of local voices

The Brooklyn Paper

Atlantic Yards provides the perfect case-in-point for why these hardworking volunteers should be allowed to do their job without having to worry about hewing to some party line. In the rush to get the project approved before Gov. Pataki left office, many not-so-minor details were blown off:

Like traffic. Like transit. Like the project’s massive environmental impact. Like the use of state condemnation power to seize privately owned homes and turn them over to Ratner for private profit. Like the massive taxpayer-backed subsidies that virtually eliminate any risk and guarantee a handsome profit to Ratner.

On all these issues (and others) independent-minded community board members bucked the elected officials who lined up like ducks behind Ratner and pointed out genuine flaws in the project.

The fact that SOME of these flaws were later remedied speaks volumes about the importance of independent thinking.

article

Posted by amy at 11:41 AM

Pols to Yards foes: Yer Out!

The Brooklyn Paper
By Ariella Cohen

Last year, CB6 took a strong position against Atlantic Yards — and Markowitz made it clear to several board members that they would pay for their vote against the project.

“He got it off his chest pretty loudly, and more than once,” said one Markowitz appointee who was reappointed, but only after several peace-making meetings.

Another appointee said Markowiz told her last year that he would get rid of all the board members who had voted against Ratner’s project.

“He pointed at my ‘Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’ button and shouted at me that all the people who voted down the project would be gone,” said Celia Cacace, whose seat on CB6 is not up for reappointment until next year.

article

Posted by amy at 11:37 AM

At CB 6, new appointee claims AY ignorance; another has been an AY critic

Atlantic Yards Report

From this week's Courier-Life chain, an article (not yet online), headlined AXE FALLS ON YARDS FOES, advances the story about the Community Board 6 purge by including some tough quotes from departing members and showing one new appointee to be profoundly ignorant about Atlantic Yards.
...
Maybe Markowitz was looking for fresh perspectives, but with one new appointee, he's getting something of a blank slate. Let's quote the passage in full:
New Markowitz appointee Vanessa Twyford said she is thrilled to begin serving on the board. "I don't know anything about Atlantic Yards, but I am pro-development," she said. Twyford, a third generation Brooklynite, is the granddaughter of Connie Gibbons, the first president of the First Place Tri Block Association, a Carroll Gardens civic group. "I'm definitely intersted in the community being more built up," said Twyford, who owns a real estate company on Court Street. "Development is good for everyone," she said.

The Twyford Real Estate web site includes this biographical information:
Vanessa keeps up with critical issues by regularly attending meetings for neighborhood organizations like Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association, Gowanas Canal Community Development Corporation, Brooklyn Task Force and Community Board 6.

If Twyford has regularly attended meetings of CB 6, how could she have missed the Atlantic Yards discussion?

article

Posted by amy at 11:33 AM

May 25, 2007

Marty "kicks back" while failing to spin CB6 purge

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has been unusually quiet about the purge of nine Community Board 6 (CB6) members, all of whom voted in support of CB6's criticism of many aspects of Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan.

The lack of damage control from the Beep's office betrayed incompetence and/or arrogance and helped suck City Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and David Yassky into the political vortex with him.

On Wednesday, Norman Oder pointed out that, "The typically voluble Markowitz wouldn't comment to the Times about his action; that speaks volumes."

We've been wondering if his crew, by letting recent news float without a life raft, had the intelligence to navigate these murky political waters. Really, what could be more important than putting a positive spin on a disgraceful maneuver?

Here's what:

NY Post, BROOKLYN'S BEEP FULL OF $HIP: CRITICS

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has raised eyebrows for accepting a free trans-Atlantic cruise on the mammoth Queen Mary 2 - after lobbying hard to get the ship to dock in Red Hook.
...
The comped cruise raised some eyebrows, despite the fact that Markowitz - who is considering a run for mayor in 2009 - went to the city's Conflict of Interest Board before the trip and got a green light from the panel.

Queen's Crap, Sailor Boy Marty
"Crappy" wonders aloud, "Quid pro quo for Markowitz?"

Daily Gotham, Cruisin' Clown: Marty's Aquatic Kickback

Last night at the CBID meeting the topic of Borough Clown Marty Markowitz came up quite naturally. No one had a good word for him and a connection with Marty was debated as a big negative for an otherwise good judicial candidate.

During one conversation I was told that Marty Markowitz has been away on a cruise during the whole CB6 circus that has been making news recently. We laughed at this, realizing Marty may have missed a great deal of the anger and may, perhaps, even be taking it easy, waiting for it all to blow over. Well, even clowns need vacations.

Turns out Marty's little ocean cruise is more than just a vacation: it looks an awful lot like a kickback...or at least an eyebrow raising freebie.
...
Some time back, Marty Markowitz lobbied hard to get Red Hook to be the home port of the Queen Mary 2, which will dock in Buttermilk Channel between Governors Island and Brooklyn.

NoLandGrab: What are the chances that this will "sink" his Mayoral bid?

The fact that he got a green light from the Conflict of Interest Board makes one wonder if he was entirely forthcoming as to the nature of his work on behalf of the company — "Ahab-scam" anyone?

(Photo, The Brooklyn Paper)

Posted by lumi at 9:50 PM

May 24, 2007

Brooklyn Green Party Calls To Establish Community Control Of Local Boards

HotIndieNews.com

In the wake of City Councilmembers de Blasio and Yassky and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s purge of nine CB 6 members who voiced their opposition to the Atlantic Yards project, the Green Party of Brooklyn denounced the politically motivated purge and has called for more democracy in community board appointments.

"These folks have been serving their community by opposing the disastrous Atlantic Yards project," said Green Party of Brooklyn Chair Colby Hamilton. "Now we see how community-supported opposition is handled - it’s a political massacre."

link

Posted by lumi at 8:46 PM

Marty Blogowitz: Binge and Purge

The Wonkster, Community Board 6 Overhaul
Gotham Gazette's political blog posted a short round-up of news of Marty's purge with links to the Times, Gowanus Lounge, Atlantic Yards Report and Brownstoner.

Gumby Fresh, What?
"Grumpy Fresh" refreshes his list of Atlantic Yards observations, including this one about Brooklyn's Cheerleader in Chief:

So Marty Markowitz is not really a very nice man after all. Well, I knew that, you knew that, and presumably now only the truly high watching NY1 in the morning will now not know that.

Gothamist, Beware the Wrath of Marty Markowitz

So this is how borough presidents wield power: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz has flexed his BEEP muscles by dismissing five members of Brooklyn's Community Board 6 - and their common quality was that they were vocal opponents of the Atlantic Yards project. And City Council members David Yassky and Bill DeBlasio also didn't reappoint four other members who opposed the massive $4 billion project that has been the source of community tension. Gowanus Lounge calls it "The Atlantic Yards Saturday Night Massacre."

She's leaving home, The purge

I've avoided commenting on the controversy over this massive development project because it hits so literally close to home, and because I wouldn't want to assert that I understood all of the minute details. In addition, I lean towards the side critical of the project, but am hesitant to claim that my guesses as to its future effects on the neighborhood are any more accurate than another's.

This political maneuver makes me uncomfortable, though, and enough so to mention it.

Joshing Politics, Markowitz Gets Tough On Atlantic Yards Opponents

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is usually known as a comedic and affable guy that parades around Kings County. However the stunt he pulled yesterday against the leaders of Community Board 6 was far from funny. The Board was one of Atlantic Yards' most vocal critics, citing the massive building project would over tax streets, sewers and schools. Their condemnation of the development didn't have any teeth because it was a state operation, but Markowitz did not care for their opinions. So he let them go from their positions on the board.

Daily Intelligencer, Marty's Purge: It's About Gowanus, Not Yards, Says a Survivor

We called CB6 member Jeff Strabone, another Yards critic whose own term isn't up until next year — and here the plot thickened. Per Strabone, Atlantic Yards was not the real cause of Marty's house-cleaning. Nope, Markowitz is looking a step ahead.

"The next big land-use item on the agenda is the Gowanus rezoning," Strabone explained, "and the Borough Hall's eyes are there."

NoLandGrab: Yeah right, Marty's purge had nothing to do with Atlantic Yards; his inexplicable attack on Fifth Avenue Committee's latest project in South Slope (link), despite wide community support, probably doesn't either; and everytime the cuddly Beep is seen going berserk in public probably means he's just off his meds or something.

Posted by lumi at 7:30 AM

May 23, 2007

Sharp Knives: Markowitz, Yassky and de Blasio Purge Community Board 6

The Gowanus Lounge follows up on yesterday evening's post with some thoughtful commentary:

What is interesting about the CB6 purge isn't that it happened--that's hardball politics in the big city--but that it again shines a spotlight on the awful Atlantic Yards process.

We have long felt that the process was both deeply flawed and largely undemocratic--so much so that few public officials even cared about creating an appearance of bona fide public participation. The CB6 dismissals strengthen the belief that Mr. Markowitz and other supporters were unwilling to tolerate basic legitimate questions about the project's impact on the community or an honest assessment of its public costs. CB6 did its job by raising questions and representing the community.

We understand that politics is politics. When Richard Nixon didn't like the way the Watergate investigation was going, he exercised his Presidential power and fired the investigators. The current Attorney General is in hot water for putting the screws to U.S. Attorneys. At the end of the day, one of the perks of position and power is the ability to fire those whose performance displeases you.

Yet, the CB6 Purge gets to the reasons that Atlantic Yards has had such a sadly divisive and deeply corrosive impact on Brooklyn politics and on civic discourse. One clear culprit has been the absence of real participatory democracy in a project that will impact the quality of life in surrounding communities for generations to come. Had the planning process not been handled as a top-down exercise, the outcome might still have been the same, but some of the bitterness and civic poison might have been diluted. (We remember the huge discussion session held at the Javits Center to get public input about rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. It didn't make a difference in the convoluted planning and development process, but it gave thousands of people a sense that their opinions were being heard.) A real public process would have allowed for an airing of strong feelings and led to real modifications of the proposal that reflected legitimate community concerns. It would have tempered some resentment. It might even--gasp--have led to broader support.

CB6 was one of the institutions that tried to represent community concerns. To have members that raised them symbolically taken out and shot for speaking their minds, is fair political game, we suppose. But it's indicative of the political sickness that surrounds Atlantic Yards. And it will have implications for other important work, like the Gowanus rezoning, in which CB6 is involved.

We remain convinced that a generation from now, someone will be teaching an urban planning course that uses Atlantic Yards as the case study of how not to plan a major public project. In that context, the CB6 Atlantic Yards Massacre will be an interesting footnote.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:54 AM

Marty Axes CB6 Members Who Opposed AY Project

Brownstoner

In a move likely to cloud his legacy as the Brooklyn's biggest professional cheerleader, Borough President Marty Markowitz purged Community Board 6 yesterday of nine members, apparently as retribution for having voted against the proposed plan for the Atlantic Yards project back in September 2006... What an embarrassment.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:51 AM

THE PURGE: Revenge of the Clown

Daily Gotham

"Mole333" got the story out in public when Brooklyn's Clown Prince Marty Markowitz was making behind-the-scenes threats and public displays of aberration.

Well, you heard it here first... now even the NY Times is reporting on it. Brooklyn Borough Clown Marty Markowitz has flexed his muscles and ousted members of Community Board 6 who voted against him on Atlantic Yards.
...

One thing that others are not really reporting on, which I did in my first article, is the fact that this muscle flexing, in itself not so unusual, has been accompanied by several loud and spittle spouting tirades by Marty in public where he threatened to do this. It is based on such public rampages that I was able to say so far in advance that Marty was purging. Community Board purges aren't really news. But when Marty, someone who has sounded out running for mayor or Public Advocate, is seen publicly berating people for standing up, in their minds, for the community interests on a Community Board, you gotta wonder about whether Marty has lost it. And people HAVE been wondering just that. I also feel increasingly uncomfortable with politicians who only want to be surrounded by yes-men. With Bush and his yes-men American has not been doing so well.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:19 AM

The ironies of the CB 6 purge: Jerry Armer, flamethrower?

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder provides some analysis of Borough President Marty Markowitz's purge of Brooklyn Community Board 6 of those who asked questions and delivered their informed opinions about Atlantic Yards:

One of those Markowitz removed was Jerry Armer, the board's chairman when it developed its Atlantic Yards response and a veteran of more than 20 years. Armer told the New York Observer that he was disappointed: “What we were doing was giving the community a voice and reflecting the community.” (CB 6 covers Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Gowanus, Carroll Gardens, and Red Hook.)

And Armer, who works for the MetroTech BID influenced by Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner, is hardly a flamethrower. He participated in numerous meetings of the Brooklyn Borough Board Atlantic Yards Committee, cordially raising some worthy questions. He presided over relevant CB 6 meetings. He spoke courteously, even ponderously, in testimony to the Empire State Development Corporation.

As with most of the CB members, he kept his distance from the organized opposition to the project, hence the irony of the New York Post headline today, ARENA FOES SLAM DUNKED, and the Post's decision to quote only one person by name: Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman Daniel Goldstein.
...
The typically voluble Markowitz wouldn't comment to the Times about his action; that speaks volumes.

And what will Markowitz do about CB 6 member Louise Finney, a friend and former campaign treasurer? (Her term expires next year; here's the list of members.) Co-chair of the CB 6 Transportation Committee, Finney said last year: "The area they chose to analyze is way too small... You don't have to be a genius to know you should look at the BQE."

"This is difficult for me. It's a big step," said Finney, when voting last October for a Park Slope Civic Council resolution opposing Atlantic Yards as currently planned.. "Marty is a friend. But we represent Park Slope."

The payback in the Borough President's decision may be more symbolic than effective. Markowitz likely would prefer to see Goldstein gone from his residence in the AY footprint. But he had to settle for Armer.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:15 AM

Marty's Brooklyn CB6 Purge & Real Community Board Reform

Room 8

Barry Popik wonders:

Why can't the entire community board consist of "public members"? And by the way, did you ever try to go to a community board website and search on how you can join as a public member? Hard to find that stuff, huh?

We revisit these questions in the wake of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's purge of at least five longtime members of Community Board 6. These are people who had the temerity to vote against the Atlantic Yards project.

Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion did a similar purge of Bronx Community Board 4, involving members who had rejected the new Yankee Stadium proposal.

Again, these are unpaid positions. We're talking about getting people involved in the community, giving them a voice, and requiring them to sit through hours of some deathly dull stuff. This is how the grassroots democracy is supposed to work?

It's time for a change.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:03 AM

Brooklyn's Community Board 6 Gets Punished

We thought that you'd might like to hear Pardon me for asking blogger Katia Kelly's thoughts on the Markowtiz CB6 purge:

Community Board 6 is my community board and the members listened to the people they represent and voted against supporting Ratner's mega development. Now they have been punished for doing so by Marty Markowitz, David Yassky and Bill DeBlasio by simply not beeing reappointed. I can only imagine what yes-men have been put in their place.

Shame on those three politicains. I knew from the beginning that Bill DeBlasio was an unsavory character. He was supposedly watching out for our children's education while on District 15th school board. Meanwhile it became clear that he was way too busy running Hillary Clinton's first senate campaign and refused to see the signs that our School Superintendant was squandering education dollars. (Does the name Frank deStefano ring a bell?)

As for Markowitz, he has developed such an ego that it stands in the way of him making good decisions for our borough.

And Yassky, all I can say is, shame on you. I thought you were better than those two egomaniacs.

link

Posted by lumi at 8:57 AM

Breaking: Community Board 6 Atlantic Yards Purge Claims Nine

We're not sure, but we think that The Gowanus Lounge got the news up first [When does he sleep?]:

GL has received a list of members that have non been reappointed as part of what could be called The Atlantic Yards Saturday Night Massacre. Mr. Markowitz removed five CB 6 members. Council Member Yassky removed three CB6 members and Council Member de Blasio removed one.These are the members that have been purged (BP means they were appointed and removed by Mr. Markowitz, 39 means CM de Blasio and 33 means CM Yassky): Jerry Armer (BP), Angela Beni (BP), Pauline Blake (33), Bill Blum (BP), Al Cabbad (33), Barbara Longobardi (BP), Madelaine Murphy (39), Marilyn Oliva (BP), Theresa Ricks (33).

link

Posted by lumi at 8:55 AM

The Brownstone 9: Markowitz Purges Community Board 6

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

REO carried a quote from former Community Board 6 Chairperson Jerry Armer, who has proved himself to be a real class act during the past three years:

“I’m rather disappointed. I think that it could have been handled better and I think that I will continue to work for my community and the greater good of the community through the Community Board,” said one of the deposed members, Jerry Armer, who had served on the board for more than 20 years and was chairman at the time the votes were taken. “What we were doing was giving the community a voice and reflecting the community.”

Behind the scenes Markowitz has been threatening to do this for a while, so you'd think that his office would have its story straight in time for a timely press release:

A spokeswoman for Mr. Markowitz would not explain the appointments, or lack thereof, so it was a little hard to ascertain just what was the motivation, or even if all the displaced members had voted against Atlantic Yards. She said that a statement would be coming out shortly.

De Blasio has said all along that he wouldn't jeopardize the affordable-housing component of the project, despite what his constituents thought:

But last week, Councilman Bill de Blasio defended his right not to recommend members who voted against Atlantic Yards, saying that it was a vote against affordable housing, which is one of his core beliefs.

link

NoLandGrab: A little history, back in November 2004, Atlantic Yards critics were concerned about professional connections between developer Forest City Ratner and CB6 Chairperson Jerry Armer:

"A group of anti-Atlantic Yards community activists have filed a complaint with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board charging that Community Board 6 chairman Jerry Armer’s job with the Metrotech Business Improvement District conflicts with his role as leader of the board in discussing [Ratner's proposal]."

The fact that Armer emerged as a dedicated advocate for the community probably came as no surprise to those who have known him for many years. But back in the day, when people were struggling to understand Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project and its impacts on the community, most people hardly knew what to think.

The Borough President and FCR also seemed fairly confident that they could bypass the Community Boards' role, but use them for publicity purposes.

Clearly, both sides misunderestimated Mr. Armer.

Posted by lumi at 8:22 AM

Markowitz Boots Board Members

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn sums up the history of the Community Board's participation in the Atlantic Yards debate and the thanks they get for caring:

First the Community Boards (2,6 and 8) were marginalized and bypassed by the state's override of the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP). With ULURP those three boards would have had recommendation votes on "Atlantic Yards." But the Boards were left on the sidelines like pretty much every political entity outside of the Public Authorities Control Board.

So last August the Community Boards, unlike the Borough President, held hearings outside of any formal review process, to allow their districts to express their views on the project. Then they set out to formulate a position based on the the community's sentiment. Community Board 6 passed a very well reasoned resolution against the project. (All the Boards also submitted abundant comments on the state's Draft Environmental Impact Statement.) What did some of the Community Board 6 members get for their volunteer efforts to represent their community? As expected after weeks of rumor, some of them got the boot.

link

NoLandGrab: Missing from this account is the invitation by Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner (FCR) to the Chairpersons of Boards 2, 6 & 8 to participate in talks for the Community Benefits Agreement. This role was very limited and ended before working sessions began. Later FCR touted the Boards' participation in brochures mailed to area residents. The Communtiy Boards sent FCR a cease-and-desist letter, but the damage had been done.

Marty and FCR went around the Community Boards' official function and then un-officially used them. When the Community Boards tried to stand up for the community, Marty began the purge.

Posted by lumi at 8:12 AM

ARENA FOES SLAM DUNKED

NY Post
By Rich Calder

The Post ran a short item with one off-the-record source and a quote from Atlantic Yards opponent Daniel Goldstein:

They're calling it Marty's revenge.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz yesterday kicked nine members off Community Board 6 - all of whom voted last September to condemn the Atlantic Yards plan. Many of the people losing their seats were longtime board members, and one source called it "sad" that about 150 combined years of community service was lost strictly over politics.

"If community boards are going to mean anything, they can't be puppets of the borough president," said Daniel Goldstein, spokesman for the Atlantic Yards opposition group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:10 AM

Project’s Foes Shown Door in Brooklyn

The NY Times
By Andy Newman

Mr. Markowitz on Monday replaced at least five longtime members who had sought reappointment to Community Board 6, which covers the brownstone neighborhoods of Boerum Hill, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens.

The five members had one thing in common: they voted yes last year on a resolution denouncing Atlantic Yards, the $4 billion development project that Mr. Markowitz has spent three years and much of his political capital extolling.

Mr. Markowitz refused to comment on the reasons for his move, but there certainly seemed to be something about Community Board 6 that displeased him.

While he did renew the appointments of some Board 6 members who voted against Atlantic Yards, he replaced a greater percentage of Board 6 than of any other community board in the borough.

“It’s a shame to punish people for having independent judgment,” said Jeff Strabone, a board member whose term is not up until next year. “On the one hand, in order to have fresh blood on the board there has to be change, but losing this much leadership at once is a bloodletting.”

How does this board differ from the other Community Boards which compose the 22-acre Atlantic Yards footprint?

The other two community boards in the Atlantic Yards project area have also made critical comments about the project, but did not pass formal resolutions condemning it. Officials of those community boards said yesterday that all the members who had been appointed directly by Mr. Markowitz had been reappointed.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:00 AM

May 22, 2007

Mayor's Fund Attracting Big Money From Business

The NY Sun
By Jill Gardiner

Wanna know how to get on Bloomberg's good side? And it's legal to boot!

Companies with business before the city are among those contributing to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, which has been raising millions of dollars to support some of Mayor Bloomberg’s highest priority initiatives, including anti-poverty programs, public art restoration, housing, and parks.

The list of nearly 100 organizations that donated to the city’s charitable arm between October 2006 and March 2007 shows support for Mr. Bloomberg’s projects from a cross section of industries, including television and film, banking, and telecommunications.
...
New York-based corporations and philanthropists are paying more attention to the fund than ever. And while Mr. Bloomberg often says he is not beholden to special interests because he does need campaign contributions, the fund is one way for those with business before government to attempt to get on the mayor’s good side. JPMorgan Chase, for example, is seeking tax breaks for a new headquarters. The Starr Foundation is controlled by Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, who, along with the foundation, was the target of a probe by Eliot Spitzer when Mr. Spitzer was attorney general.

Donors who have interests in the city are not hard to find. Filings going back to October 2004 show that... Forest City Ratner, the developer on the Atlantic Yards project, gave between $250,000 and $499,999.
...
An associate director at Common Cause, Megan Quattlebaum, said that while the fund cannot be equated to a political campaign, its roster of donors should still be watched to see if anyone is getting special treatment.

“There are all sorts of ways that money creeps into politics,” she said. “I’m skeptical of the idea that anyone is completely above influence. The old saying goes, money is like water. It always finds an outlet.” “It’s vital to know who is giving to the fund,” Ms. Quattlebaum added. “Even though Bloomberg doesn’t take campaign contributions, there are issues near to his heart.” The president of Citizens Union, Dick Dadey, also noted the distinction between giving to a candidate and to the fund, saying the projects the mayor is raising money for are advancing the public good — not one person’s political goals.

“I’m sure that these firms’ support for the fund does not go unnoticed, but it is done with the benefit to the public,” he said.

article

NoLandGrab: Back in March, we billed Matthew Schuerman's article in The NY Observer, covering Forest City Ratner contributions to the fund, as a must-read, (see, "Forest City Ratner Gives to Coney Island Carousel, Other Bloombergian Public Projects").

Posted by lumi at 10:20 AM

Marty, Don't Destroy

The Albany Project, Marty Markowitz Jumps Shark, Will Purge Brooklyn CB6

[Markowitz's] full court press for Ratnerville has certainly strained my inclination to give him the benefit of the doubt, but a recent story in the New York Observer may prove to be the straw that broke the camel's back in that regard. It appears that Marty is going to purge Community Board 6 of all who have opposed the Ratnerville development later this week. Marty is apparently fed up with those members who have the temerity to think that a huge, eminent domain driven displacement of scores of local residents and businesses in CB6 might not be in the best interest of those the members are supposed to represent. It's a heavy handed, undemocratic move and one that is beneath the dignity of the Marty I used to know.

OnNYTurf, Markowitz to Purge Community Board 6 over Atlantic Yards Votes

This is another example of how some Community Boards have no legitimacy beyond the officials that appoints them. I feel for the about to be removed Board Members of Brooklyn CB6 who spoke their mind and spoke on behalf of the community and are now facing removal by a vindictive Marty Markowitz. Shame!

Author Phil DePaolo uses the Bronx as an example of how a Borough President broke a Community Board:

We have already seen this ugly scenario unfold in The Bronx where Adolfo Carrion refused to reappoint Community Board members whose terms were expiring last June when Bronx CB4 rejected the Yankee Stadium Proposal. Out of the 19 members whose terms were up, only five were allowed to stay. Since then, Bronx Community Board 4 has had a hard time conducting any business. The board hasn't been able to get enough members together to even hold a vote. There are people who haven't returned since they voted to change the board in June. The people who attended regularly.

Posted by lumi at 8:26 AM

May 21, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

The Gowanus Lounge, PM Update: Markowitz Planning Community Board 6 Purge

It has long been rumored that a purge of Community Board 6 was in the works because many of the board members opposed the Atlantic Yards project. Just last night, in fact, at a CB6 Transportation Committee hearing we heard people joking that the board didn't have long to live because Borough President Marty Markowitz would not reapppoint members that spoke out against the controversial project. Several people, ironically, wondered aloud when the trigger might be pulled.

iloveBrooklyn.com, Bagel Shop Becomes Newest Victim of Atlantic Yards Dissent

Arena Bagels and Bialys has officially changed its name to… well, something else.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, NO DECISION ON EMINENT DOMAIN AND MUCH MISINFORMATION
OTBKB explains that "the report of DDDB's death was an exaggeration."

The Slope via The Lake, 5th Ave Street Fair
Not everyone loves the Nets, but free stuff is cool:

I did stop by the Nets booth and entered a drawing for an autographed Jason Kidd basketball even though I am against Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development and can't imagine living blocks away from an arena.

Posted by lumi at 6:32 AM

May 19, 2007

Markowitz to Purge Community Board 6

The Real Estate
by Matthew Schuerman

A number of community board members in Brooklyn’s Brownstone Belt who voted against Atlantic Yards will not be reappointed next week, according to officials involved with the process.

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, an early and ardent supporter of the housing-and-arena complex at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues, is expected to replace several Community Board 6 members when he makes appointments next week. Community Board 6 includes Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Red Hook and last year issued a strongly worded rejection of the project proposed by private developer Forest City Ratner.

“We would like to remain optimistic that we can contribute to changes in the current plan which would accomplish the laudable goals of the project concepts. But in its current form we cannot support this project,” wrote then-board Chairman Jerry Armer in a Sept. 29, 2006, letter (PDF) to the Empire State Development Corporation, the government sponsor of the project. “We cannot possibly support the current project with the knowledge that we would be causing irreparable harm to our own communities.”

article

Posted by amy at 9:12 AM

May 17, 2007

A Barron Ruling Brooklyn?

B.P. to B.P.: Former Black Panther Eyes Borough President Job

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Shane Miller

City Councilmember and Atlantic Yards opponent Charles Barron is gearing up to run for Borough President, instead of making another attempt to unseat Representative Edolphus Towns:

"We looked at Congress," said Barron outside City Hall last Wednesday. "But I would have to spend a lot of time in D.C., and that would take me out of New York City."

The former Black Panther said that his political style - brash and outspoken - likely wouldn't endear him to Washington insiders.

"The way I talk, they would stick me in a basement office near the toilet, and I would get an important committee appointments," said Barron. "I didn't just want to be a media spectacle."

Rather, Barron said that he could have more of an impact as borough president, addressing such issues as eminent domain in the Atlantic Yards proposal and police brutality.

"I'm all for economic development, but let's develop where it's needed," he said, adding he would also take on law enforcement. "And the police are out of control on our streets."

article

Posted by lumi at 7:31 AM

May 16, 2007

Citing Waste, Albany Seeks to Rein in Public Authorities

The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore

If you want to know how Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan even sees the light of day, consider this quote from NY Assemblyman Richard Brodsky in an article about possible reform of NY State's bloated quasi-governmental public authorities.

“Many authorities have become Soviet-style bureaucracies, cash cows and patronage mills for the political class and completely removed from control of democratic institutions,” said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat who has been a voluble critic of public authorities.

Why bother with public authorities and why do the politically connected class love them?

Armed with the power to issue tax-free debt, the authorities were designed to perform some of the duties of public agencies with the nimbleness of private corporations. But that strength, critics say, has also been a weakness: Public authorities face neither the accountability of elected officials nor the market pressures of truly private enterprises.

Here's an observation that relates to a recent article on Atlantic Yards Report that charted the history of the Urban Development Corporation, rechristened under the Pataki administration in 1995 as the Empire State Development Corporation and now the state sponsor of the Atlantic Yards Project:

The authorities also have a tendency to evolve well beyond their original mission, albeit usually at the behest of governors and lawmakers.

“You have not so much mission creep as mission gallop,” said Edmund J. McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, a conservative group.

article

NoLandGrab: The lingering question is whether any of Spitzer's "reforms" can really make a difference, or do they just change public perception of these quasi-governmental public-private institutions?

Posted by lumi at 9:34 AM

May 14, 2007

At three discussions, the Atlantic Yards burr in Bloomberg's boomtown

Atlantic Yards Report

These days, it seems like if you're having a conversation about what's wrong with anything in NYC, Atlantic Yards is bound to come up...

If you’re having a discussion about Brooklyn and development issues, Atlantic Yards, it seems, inevitably comes to the fore.

At a panel discussion last Thursday at the Brooklyn Public Library on equitable use of eminent domain, Atlantic Yards was presented as an example of what not to do. At a 5/5/07 seminar on the Municipal Art Society’s Livable Neighborhoods Program, Atlantic Yards was suggested as exemplifying how developers “leapfrog” communities. (I’ll write about both events shortly.)

And Atlantic Yards came up several times on Saturday, Neighborhood Day, a day of panel discussions keyed to the Roots of Modern Brooklyn exhibit at Borough Hall, which focuses on the borough’s struggle to revive in the 1970s and 1980s.

Near the end of a discussion Saturday that was presented live on BCAT, Park Slope activist and former Assemblyman Joe Ferris offered a contrast between the 1970s and today: “The thing that troubles me now is the recentralization of power. We showed people that, at the block level, you could make a difference.” Ferris observed how neighborhood activists once could influence their community boards, their borough president, City Council, and even—when it existed—the Board of Estimate. “Now I see, with Atlantic Yards, that has been circumvented," he said. "ULURP [the city’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure] is being obliterated by an unelected group of people.”

The moderator, author Pete Hamill, noted that time for the 90-minute program had nearly expired, observing wryly, “I heard the fatal words ‘Atlantic Yards’ and knew we could have another two hours” to continue.

article

Also, Brooklyn Heights Blog posted an account of the conclusion of the event:

After the speeches, there was a lively discussion that touched on education, the need to preserve the mixed income character of the Borough, and, of course, Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 6:57 AM

Progressive Democrat Issue 121: NYC FOCUS

Mole's Progressive Democrat

I want to keep pushing this because it is heating up. There was an article recently that suggested the $205 million taxpayer money the city wants to give Ratner is a done deal. I talked to someone in Councilman Yassky's office and they say it is NOT a done deal and the final vote will not come down until sometime in June. So we really need to push on this.

Mole333 gives two big reasons why $205 million for Bruce Ratner is "very, very unpalatable;" gives props to City Councilman Yassky for speaking out and State Assemblymember Jim Brennan for trying to get the real financial information for the project; and explains what you can do — click here.

Posted by lumi at 6:18 AM

May 11, 2007

Clarke marks her first 100 days in United States Congress

Courier-Life Publications

First-term congresswoman Yvette Clarke held a community press briefing at SUNY Downstate Medical Center recently to address her first 100 days representing the 11th Congressional District of New York.
...
On a local note, Rep. Clarke commented on the need for enhanced math and science initiatives for children in Brooklyn schools and for preventive health care. She also discussed the ongoing Atlantic Yards Project.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:55 AM

Yassky to city: Hold Ratner accountable

The Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen

A City Councilman slammed city economic development officials for allocating $205 million to the Atlantic Yards mega-development without getting a guarantee that developer Bruce Ratner will make good on all of his promises to Brooklyn.

The $205-million budget item was formally approved this week by the Council, despite a call by David Yassky (D–Brooklyn Heights) for the city to make sure that Ratner actually provides the job training and education programs he promised in a “Community Benefit Agreement” that helped the developer gain critical black support for the controversial project.

“Taxpayers are putting millions of dollars into this project, [so] there must be a way to guarantee all of the benefits that [Ratner] promised hundreds of times,” Yassky said after the Tuesday hearing.

link

NoLandGrab: For the record, City Councilmembers Letitia James and Charles Barron have been making this point for the past three years.

It's interesting that just last June, Yassky submitted a $3 million budget request "asking city taxpayers to underwrite a promise that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner made to a handful of community organizations... after BUILD President James Caldwell and other CBA signatories endorsed his bid to succeed retiring Rep. Major Owens (D-Crown Heights) in the mostly black 11th congressional district in central Brooklyn," (see, The Brooklyn Papers, Yassky bill would push $3M to Ratner crony).

Posted by lumi at 6:43 AM

May 9, 2007

The Mystery of Michael Bloomberg

Why does a popular but mediocre mayor think he should run for president?

The Weekly Standard
by Fred Siegel & Michael Goodwin

There is a stunning disconnect between Michael Bloomberg's modest accomplishments as mayor of New York and his elevation to a figure worthy of presidential consideration--albeit as an independent candidate.

In an accounting of the Mayor's actual accomplishments, Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan is getting recognition for just about everything wrong in public policy and urban development:

It's safe to say Bloomberg will never be confused with Fiorello LaGuardia. When it comes to holding people accountable, Bloomberg seems to have taken lessons from George W. Bush.

At a time when Brooklyn is experiencing a private sector housing boom, the same businessman mayor who tried to give away valuable Manhattan property for a song has supported a half-billion dollars in direct and indirect subsidies for the Atlantic Yards apartment, office, and arena complex in Brooklyn being built by fellow fat cat and subsidy king Bruce Ratner.

article

Here's reaction from someone that has been paying attention:
The Albany Project, Sharpton on Bloomberg: "Ross Perot with a resume'."

I don't mean to say that the man has never done anything worthy of praise - I'm actually a big fan of his PlaNYC - but, I think that the claim that Bloomberg is a "progressive" is laughable. I've got too many friends who found that the Bill of Rights had been suspended for a week in the summer of '04 to believe such nonsense. I also fail to see the "progressive" dimension of steamrolling my Community Board's plan for our neighborhood to allow his developer friends to drive my neighbors from their homes. I've lost the progressive virtues of shutting two firehouses in my neighborhood while throwing public money at a new Yankee stadium. I fail to see the "progressive" nature of the west side stadium or the the eminent domain driven madness of Ratnerville. But, then again, what do I know?

Posted by lumi at 10:05 AM

It came from the Blogosphere...

Queen's Crap, Revenge of the Clown
One comment before quoting "mole 333's" article on Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's threats to clean house at Community Board 6:

Don't like Atlantic Yards? Well then, you're off the community board!

Kinetic Carnival, Ratner & Gehry Eyeing Coney Again?

Recently, the NY Post’s Page Six reported that Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry were spotted eating hot dogs at Nathan’s in Coney Island. Speculation began to resurface as to the possibility of them scoping out Coney for the Nets stadium. ...
Some time ago, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (who made the case for the Nets arena in Coney) submitted a locational analysis of the arena in Coney Island as comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Despite it probably being an obstruction for the nearby property proposed for residential buildings by Taconic Investments - amusement preservationists would also find it an obstruction that does not fit in with what they wish for in the area. It seems nobody wants the arena. Let’s hope if the Nets are being considered for Coney again – that this does not become a battle between North and South Brooklynytes.

Objectiva 3, A very important post!

No commentary, just a link directly to Norman Oder's "very important" article, "What the Village Voice was to the Washington Square battle, the blogs are to Atlantic Yards."

Brownstoner, House of the Day: 129 South Oxford Street

Two negatives for a house listed for $2.2 million:

First, the backyard basically looks out on Fulton Street and therefore ain't the most private retreat; second, while we think the refrain of "Atlantic Yards Effect" is overused and won't have any real impact on the part of Fort Greene that's north of Fulton, this place is pretty darn close to ground zero.

Posted by lumi at 8:19 AM

May 7, 2007

Progressive Democrat Issue 120: NYC FOCUS: Your Tax Money is Going to Support a Rich Developer

Mole's Progressive Democrat

Because the Mayor's budget is coming up for a vote soon (and maybe because we missed it the first time around), "Mole 333" repeated the deep concern over "worst expenditures:"

In particular let's consider $205 million budgeted to support Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. This is money that each and every New York City Taxpayer, including those in Manhattan, Staten Island, Bronx and Queens, is being asked to spend so that a private developer can make gobs and gobs of money. Now SOME of that money will go to infrastructure inprovement, which I will address in a moment. That particular expenditure has problems but is not so bad in principle. But $100 million of it is nothing but a gift to a wealthy developer to get him off the hook of actually PAYING for the land he wants to develop. There are two reasons why the $205 million is problematic and should be rejected.

Here's the summary [click here for the details from the original article]:

Reason 1: Ratner was forced to bid $100 million for the Vanderbilt Railyards, which is coincidentally the amount that the City has added for land acquisition.

Reason 2: Ratner never submitted a business plan, though the MTA bid required him to do so and despite the fact that the Public Authorities Control Board was supposed to scrutinize the financial plan for Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 9:39 AM

May 3, 2007

When Clowns Go Bad: Marty Markowitz Goes on a Rampage

Daily Gotham

"Mole333" reports on Good Marty...

I liked his seeming combination of liberal politics and jovial, well, clownishness.

...and Bad Marty:

Only slowly did I begin to realize that behind that jovial exterior lurked a vindictive little shit that began emerging over the past couple of years. Markowitz is now showing that nasty, vindictive side as he fires members of Community Board 6 who failed to blindly support Markowitz's master, Bruce Ratner.

I have now heard this from three sources, so I can report on it. Not one source has yet agreed to be public. But collectively they tell me that Marty Markowitz has become a raging nut case, yelling at people in public and threatening people right and left. One person has, in all seriousness, called Marty's sanity into question. Markowitz seems to have snapped.

article

NoLandGrab: Ditto on the conclusion.

Marty Markowitz's emotional, spit-spewing (really felt sorry for those in the first row), red-in-the-face defense of Bruce Ratner and his belly-aching about project critics is really something that every Brooklynite should witness.

Markowitz has come a long way from "people of good will can disagree" and "my mother always taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all" (link).

It's now payback time for the Fifth Avenue Committee, as Marty has been threatening to block a project in South Slope which has wide community support.

Don't forget the infamous Brooklyn Papers interview, in which Marty used the F-word (more than once) and complained that project opponents care more about Atlantic Yards than Osama bin Laden, overlooking repeated requests by neighborhood groups for a comprehensive terrorism and security review.

If Brooklyn's Clown Prince IS descending into madness, the outstanding question for local historians will be, does the political psychodrama betray a guilty conscience?

Posted by lumi at 7:10 AM

April 27, 2007

ESDC/Forest City suspend all demolitions; more oversight coming

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder posted the ESDC statement and, since he's a real journalist, called the ESDC for further comment.

I asked ESDC spokesman Errol Cockfield whether there was more oversight coming, as requested by numerous community groups. His response indicated a yes, though the ESDC is not ready to announce specifics.

"We have an interim environmental monitor in AKRF and we are on the verge of selecting an environmental monitor," he said. Beyond that, he added, "There have been exhaustive plans under way for some time to provide increased oversight for the Atlantic Yards project."

link

NoLandGrab: It has been 81 days since the ESDC announced the request for proposal for an environmental compliance monitor.

Norman Oder reported on February 28:

Responses were due February 26, with selection expected in two weeks.

For the record, the ESDC gave the public 66 days to comment on the 4,000-page Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Posted by lumi at 12:19 PM

AYR roundup on density and planning issues

One Atlantic Yards Report item about a Nathan Glazer lecture got left in the rubble after news of yesterday's collapse at the Ward Bakery building. Today Norman Oder follows up Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's excuses for Atlantic Yards.

At Glazer talk on modernism, AY is poster child for too much density

Nathan Glazer, the eminent Harvard sociologist and social critic, came to New York on April 17 to speak about his new collection of essays, From a Cause to a Style: Modernist Architecture’s Encounter with the American City--and Atlantic Yards came in for some criticism..

Protest, he said at one point, “is one form of discovering when density is too much,” and that certainly points to Brooklyn. (He spoke at the Yale Club, sponsored by the Manhattan Institute.)

Doctoroff (sort of) says city didn't "reach out" regarding Atlantic Yards

Deputy Mayor Dan Docotroff on lessons learned:

“The first thing we’ve learned is that it’s absolutely critical to get the communities involved right up front. I will be honest—to the extent that we’ve made mistakes in the past, it’s because we haven’t reached out early enough or aggressively enough to communities.

NoLandGrab: Is it even worth the trouble to say, "We told you so."

Posted by lumi at 9:21 AM

The Brooklyn Paper Roundup

Good Bloomy, bad Bloomy (Editorial)

The two faces of Mayor Bloomberg are again on display. One day, the mayor is one of the nation’s leading advocates of environmentally sound, community-sensitive, sensible development. The next day, he’s a backroom crony greasing the wheels for a developer who ignored the community.
...
Good Bloomy’s speech on Sunday suggested that the process that created Atlantic Yards is exactly what he doesn’t want to happen again.

“As our search for land becomes more pressing in the coming decades, we must be prepared to work with communities to explore the potential of these sites,” the mayor’s PlaNYC proposal says.

Ratner’s wrecking ball hits, protested
The Brooklyn Paper roundup of the week's events garnered the usual response from Ratner:

A Ratner spokesman, Loren Riegelhaupt, responded to an e-mail request for comment from The Brooklyn Paper. His response? “We have no comment on the lawsuit or the demolition,” Riegelhaupt wrote.

Kiss their glass! Library still in trouble

Brooklyn Public Library officials reportedly said this week that their efforts to raise money for an iconic, $135-million glass-walled performing arts branch have failed — and that the project can’t go forward at this point.
...
Last year, The Brooklyn Paper reported that library trustees approached developer Bruce Ratner, a longtime BAM trustee, about funding the facility, which would be located just a few blocks from his $4-billion Atlantic Yards mega-project.

But those talks apparently went nowhere.

Posted by lumi at 8:23 AM

April 24, 2007

Doctoroff's discomfort: Atlantic Yards is an "extreme case"

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder analyzes Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff's interview on The Brian Lehrer Show, as "Lisa in Brooklyn" references Atlantic Yards in a call about congestion pricing and Lehrer revisits the issue when talking about appropriate density:

Doctoroff was generally unruffled, layering a slightly folky, almost professorial air over his investment banker's confidence, as he discussed Mayor Mike Bloomberg's sustainability plan. However, when pressed on Atlantic Yards, he quickly moved on to less controversial issues.

And, just as Atlantic Yards serves as an example counter to those practices cited in PlaNYC2030, so yesterday did Doctoroff's examples contrast with the story of Atlantic Yards.

Either developer Forest City Ratner is thankful that Atlantic Yards moved forward before the city promoted more transparent development procedures, or the city's new push will help the plaintiffs in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case argue that the Brooklyn project was a sweetheart deal.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:12 AM

April 20, 2007

Groups sit down with pols over Atlantic Yards

MetroNY
By Amy Zimmer

The Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement signatories (some of whom represent groups formed for the express purpose of the CBA and supporting the project, and are financed by Forest City Ratner) have a hot-line to developer Bruce Ratner. That didn't stop them from throwing a fit when politicians showed up at last weekend's rally to express concerns about the demolition of buildings like the Ward Bakery to make way for giant parking lots:

When eight groups signed onto Forest City Ratner’s Community Benefits Agreement two years ago, they were designated the gatekeepers of the $4 billion project’s affordable housing and employment initiatives.

They were to serve as a bridge between the neighborhood and developer, but as local elected officials continue to raise concerns over the project – and are calling on the Spitzer administration to make changes -- the CBA organizations are feeling shoved aside.

Eight local politicians sent a letter requesting a sit-down with the Empire State Development Corporation the state agency overseeing the project, to discuss community concerns. Yesterday, CBA members held a closed-door meeting with some of those pols.

“We said, you’ve dismissed the collective body – which is the CBA,” said Delia Hunley-Adossa, chair of the Community Benefits Agreement Executive Committee, “We let them know they didn’t reach out to use so we reached out to them.”

Hunley-Adossa understood the concerns that protesters raised at a rally earlier this week, opposing the demolition of two city blocks’ worth of buildings for a parking lot. “I worked on that during the environmental review,” she said.” A lot of people were worried they would lose their on-site parking [during the construction] and were concerned about traffic flow.” The lot was a way to accommodate the community.

“We told them, ‘Our concern is you never came to us. You jumped and went straight to the ESDC, to the new guy,” she said after the meeting. “Had you come to us, you would have known we are addressing these issues.”

State Rep. Hakeem Jeffries called the CBA meeting “productive,” saying it was designed “to promote a dialogue between the CBA [signers] and elected officials and hopefully allow us to help the CBA coalition to deliver the benefits that have conceptually been promised.”

But ultimately he said “This project still can’t go forward without government blessing. If we could involve the Spitzer administration, the government could be more of a partner. The Pataki administration was missing in action.”

ESDC spokesman Errol Cockfield said the state plans to “increase oversight and monitoring so that community concerns are heard,” adding, “Out agency will be a vocal ambassador to ensure the developer and various government agencies work toward a positive result.”

Posted by lumi at 9:37 AM

April 18, 2007

Lifting the Markowitz fig leaf from the Atlantic Yards creation myth

Atlantic Yards Report

Lift Marty's fig leaf? Ugh, Atlantic Yards Report has reached new lows with that image.

Seriously, was Marty the brains behind Atlantic Yards?

According to at least two accounts, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner didn't start thinking about an arena near the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues until the summer or fall of 2002. And, according to Borough President Marty Markowitz, Ratner needed prompting from him to consider the opportunity.

That's highly unlikely--and it seems to contradict some recent statements by Forest City Ratner lawyers. They have claimed, in oral argument and legal papers in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case, that the developer did not, as charged, initiate the project.

I had written that the claim seemed true only if it were narrowly interpreted as reflecting Markowitz's idea for an arena, since surely Markowitz didn't initiate the idea for a 22-acre development. Now it's questionable that Markowitz even initiated the idea for the arena near Downtown Brooklyn.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:24 AM

April 13, 2007

Battle over Fifth Ave housing

The Brooklyn Paper

Supporters of a plan to build low-income studio apartments in the South Slope fought back against Borough President Markowitz’s surprise rejection of the proposal, storming a hearing this week to urge the city to move forward with the plan.

Markowitz had rejected the Fifth Avenue Committee proposal for a 49-unit building to house mentally ill and formerly homeless adults, plus low-income seniors, on the grounds that families should also be part of the plan.

Fifth Avenue Committee Executive Director Michelle de la Uz agreed that there is a need for affordable housing for families in Park Slope, but told the City Planning Commission on Wednesday that “unfortunately, this is not the right site for that.”
...
De la Uz said her existing facility at 551 Warren St. in Boerum Hill is an example of what the South Slope can expect. That facility is now home to 94-year-old Dominick Diomede — the Carroll Gardens resident whose eviction became international news last year before he landed his Fifth Avenue Commitee apartment.

But there are countless of Dominick Diomedes losing their apartments every day thanks to gentrifrication and soaring real-estate prices, experts said.

article

NoLandGrab: South Slope residents could allay their concerns by checking out the Warren St. facility.

OK, but what does this have to do with Atlantic Yards?

In light of the Fifth Avenue Committee's (FAC) stellar track record of effectively serving the community, could Markowitz's inexplicable rejection of FAC's proposal have more to do with realiation against Michelle de la Uz's stance against Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards and her public role in the Brooklyn Speaks coalition?

Posted by lumi at 10:27 AM

April 8, 2007

Thousands of more cars to deal with - Pols push for solutions to Atlantic Yds. glut

Courier-Life Publications

David Yassky dusted off his list of transportation fixes for Atlantic Yards and is shopping it around to anyone who will listen.

The Atlantic Yards project is giving traffic study engineers a buffet of food for thought.

The latest suggestions include a tunnel below Fifth or Sixth Avenues running from Flatbush Avenue to north of Atlantic Avenue.

If that isn’t in the offing, perhaps a traffic circle at the Flatbush/Atlantic/Fourth Avenue intersection similar to Grand Army Plaza.

Both were among the suggestions from Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries and City Councilmember David Yassky in a letter recently sent to Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff and Empire State Development Corporation Downstate Chair Patrick Foye.
...
FCRC spokesperson Loren Reigelhaupt responded that much of what Yassky and Jeffries are now proposing as ‘new ideas’ have already been analyzed or included in the FCRC traffic plan which the state approved in the fall of 2006.
...
Finally, they suggested the creation of a community advisory task force to oversee and have input on every stage of the Atlantic Yards project.

If implemented, this task force would join several others task forces created – both for and against – since the project was announced in 2003.

Jeffries and Yassky contended in their letter that FCRC “should fund a significant portion of, if not the entire expense of the traffic mitigation caused by the Atlantic Yards project…”

The letter also suggested that a substantial amount of the public funds — $100 million from the state budget and $205 from the city budget – be reserved for traffic and transportation improvements minus the cost of what FCRC is assuming.

article

NoLandGrab: It looks like Yassky and Jeffries are looking to slip in some realisitic measures, which have already been proposed by Ratner, behind some fantastic and financially prohibitive proposals that are non-starters, in order to claim a win-win for the neighborhood.

There might be some sense behind their proposal to require Ratner to pay for traffic and transportation improvements, but it is being downplayed in the press by some of the irrational items on the laundry list.

Posted by lumi at 8:28 PM

April 7, 2007

AY supporter Herbert announces for Senate against Montgomery

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder examines Tony Herbert's announcement that he is running against State Senator Velmanette Montgomery for her position in 2008.

Herbert uncorks a 2004 time capsule to come up with this defense of Atlantic Yards that tries to both characterize opponents as a small group of elitists and implies that over-development must be accepted if there's to be economic benefit:

Look, with regards to the Atlantic Yards Arena, which my opponent was against and tried to shut down and was unsuccessful. She was against the development because some of the better off constituents felt the sun would be blocking the neighborhood due to the height of the buildings. I don’t give a heck about how high they build a building, because the way I look at it, the sun was gone a long time ago when all these people started losing their jobs. There are a lot of minority contracts coming through that Atlantic Yards project. Forest City Ratner can build up to the 50th floor. That’s fine. All that means to me is there are 50 floors that a minority contractor from my community can get business from and put people to work.

Oder counters, in part, with a quote from August Wilson's play Radio Golf:

I don't care if somebody else makes some money 'cause of a tax break. I get mine and they get theirs. I pull this off and next time I'm on the other side of the deal, sitting at the head of the table.

NoLandGrab: Synchronicity alert! The Hill District, referenced in today's Pittsburgh Penguins story, is where August Wilson's plays are set.

article

Posted by steve at 8:46 AM

Barclays linked to slavery — again

The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubinstein

Further charges surface about Barclays Bank's participation in the slave trade. The bank holds the naming rights for the proposed Nets arena.

The release was tied to the 200th anniversary of Britain’s abolition of the slave trade. The Restitution Study Group, headed by Deadria Farmer-Paellmann, a former Brooklynite, alleges that Heywoods Bank — which is believed to have merged with Martins Bank in the 1800s, which, in turn merged with Barclays Bank in 1969 — took part in 125 slave-trading voyages, enslaving more than 38,000 Africans, more than 6,000 of whom died en route to the Americas. The group cites Emory University Professor David Eltis’s “Transatlantic Slave Trade Database” as the source of the information.

Politicians have objected previously to the naming deal with Barclays, and this latest information serves to back up their position.

Local black leaders, including Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D–Fort Greene) and Rep. Yvette Clarke (D–Flatbush), have called on Ratner to reject the deal. Clarke, who has spoken in support of Ratner’s project, has threatened to seek Congressional hearings if Barclays does not increase its financial commitment to the Brooklyn community. So far, the bank has said it will donate $2.5 million toward rebuilding basketball courts in the borough.

Jeffries told The Brooklyn Paper that this newly surfaced research only bolsters his and other community leaders’ case.

“This further strengthens the position that Barclays Bank was involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade in a significant way,” he said. “We expect to meet with Barclays Bank [in late April or early May] to discuss the need for significant investment in the future and well-being of the Brooklyn communities.”

article

Posted by steve at 7:50 AM

April 5, 2007

Council Member James Applauds Community Lawsuit to Protect Our Environment

Twenty Six Plaintiffs Sue to Halt Atlantic Yards Project;
Major Flaws in Environmental Study are Cited

(Brooklyn, NY) — Council Member James stood today with dozens of community groups to announce the filing of an historic lawsuit aimed at stopping the monstrous Atlantic Yards project proposed at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. Council Member James represents almost the entire footprint of the proposed mega-project.

She stated, "For over three years, I have been raising questions about the true environmental impacts of the Atlantic Yards proposal. My concerns, and those of my constituents, have fallen on deaf ears. Fundamental questions remain regarding traffic, ground contaminants, air pollution, noise pollution, infrastructure strain, and safety and security risks. Yet Forest City Ratner is currently attempting to demolish up to 18 buildings in my district."

"The preliminary injunction to postpone demolition that this lawsuit seeks will cause little harm to the developer. Once the buildings are torn down, however, they cannot be put back, and the injury to the community - a landscape of empty lots and "interim surface" parking lots, plus the loss of the familiar buildings that comprise their neighborhood - is irreparable."

"I want to see the rail yards developed. But I want to see responsible and safe development. I would like to see a mechanism in place that holds the government accountable to the citizens of these neighborhoods before any further demolition occurs. I thank the Develop Don't Destroy Legal Team for their excellent work in putting together this strong and important case. I am proud to be part of the fight to protect our community. This is why I have signed an affidavit in support of the preliminary injunction sought in today's lawsuit."

                                                        ###

Posted by lumi at 11:01 AM

ESDC's new strain neglects campaign refrain

In the run-up to the beginning of Governor Spitzer's administration, New Yorkers heard this familiar refrain:

"Everything changes, on Day One."

Today's NY Times ran Spitzer's new tune, sung by tenor Errol Cockfield, ESDC spokesperson:

"The project was approved by the previous administration, not this administration. The horse has left the barn."

Atlantic Yards critics are being told by all kinds of officials that the Spitzer administration is taking a "hard look" at Atlantic Yards.

It's hard to believe that any rancher or farmer would take a "hard look" and stand by as a horse walked out the barn door.

Posted by lumi at 10:32 AM

April 1, 2007

Overheard on Brooklyn Speaks

In the comments section of an item titled "Coming soon to Prospect Heights: a large suburban parking lot?" someone who claims to be in the know asesses Borough President Marty Markowitz's stance on Atlantic Yards.

"Marty Markowitz won't listen..."

Posted by steve at 9:57 AM

March 31, 2007

Marty: Still Looking for Balance

Courier-Life Publications

About 19 paragraphs deep into a Courier-Life article titled "Beep touts coming of Trader Joe’s - Anticipating chic supermarket’s arrival, Markowitz hails changes" by Helen Klein, the Borough Prez gets around to Atlantic Yards.

“We’re going to make it work for the community in the area as well. There has to be a balance. That balance we will find.”

NLG: We've being hearing this kind of talk from Marty for a long time. The only balance found so far seems to be in giving everything to Ratner while the rest of us pay for it in subsidies, congestion, and overcrowding.

article

Posted by steve at 8:56 AM

March 30, 2007

Words fail me

The Daily Gotham

In reference to news that NY State approved Atlantic Yards without reviewing financial projections, "Bouldin" makes "two really simple and basic points:"

One, Since FCR wants your money to build its monstrosity, the least, the absolute least they can do is tell you how they intend to spend it.

And two, this is the kind of crap that happens when you don't have a real legislature. Neither the State Assembly nor the State Senate have ever held hearings on a $4 billion development subsidized with public money and, as we're now finding out, for which the developer

Has.

Not.

Submitted.

A business plan.

If anyone can imagine a better example of a complete failure of oversight, please, I'd like to hear it.

link

Posted by lumi at 6:55 AM

March 29, 2007

Buying a Billionaire?

The Wonkster
Compiled by Gail Robinson

Yesterday NY Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman revealed that Bruce Ratner donated beaucoup bucks to a foundation that is near and dear to the Mayor's heart, as his Atlantic Yards project was being considered for large direct taxpayer contributions on top of a bevy of subsidies.

The Wonkster notes that this is just the latest notch in City Hall's shakedown of the private sector in what is starting to look like a pay-to-play scheme.

The conventional wisdom has long been that Mayor Michael Bloomberg remains immune to the blandishments of special interests, since he is too rich to be bought. And certainly the mayor has not needed a penny of campaign contributions to finance his $70 million plus election campaigns.

But does that mean money is not one way to this man’s heart?

Forest City Ratner, developer of Atlantic Yards, gave between $450,000 and $1 million to a “nonprofit closely associated” with Bloomberg, just as the debate over the controversial megaproject was heating up, Matthew Schuerman reports in today’s Observer. The firm’s Bruce Ratner is a registered lobbyist, and according to Schuerman, “The donation came six months after a meeting with Mr. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris that… Ratner reported was a lobbying contact—although the parties now dispute that it should have been characterized as such.”
...
This is not the first time the issue of contributions has arisen. When Bloomberg and his Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff were still fantasizing about New York as the site of the 2012 Olympics, businesses gave millions to NYC 2012. Although WNYC could not find a “quid pro quo,” its Andrea Bernstein reported at the time, “Some donors… told us they felt they HAD to give, but they didn’t want their names used for fear of souring city business deals. One businessman said Doctoroff told him – after a city hall meeting on a non-Olympics-related matter, that he’d hear from Jay Kriegal, executive director of NYC2012. He did, and he gave a six figure contribution.”

article

Posted by lumi at 8:26 AM

Atlantic Yards: "It's been a done deal from the beginning without anybody really looking at it."

The Albany Project pricked their ears at yesterday's news that the State never received financial projections from Forest City Ratner.

This is too rich. For quite some time now, many opponents of the Atlantic Yards Ratnerville project in Brooklyn, including Assemblyman James Brennan, have been trying to get a hold of the business plan one would assume the developers had submitted to the Empire State Development Corporation before the the ESDC would agree to dole out hundreds of millions in public money and other goodies to the controversial development. Brennan eventually sued ESDC last month to get his hands on the plan. There was one problem, however. The developers never submitted one and the ESDC therefore has no plan to produce. Really.

More indications that Atlantic Yards is the posterchild for Public Authorities Reform (emphasis added):

This project has smelled pretty bad from the beginning and this is just the latest instance of big boy power politics in a litany of them. Ratnerville really is just the latest example of pretty much everything that is wrong with how government works in New York. Whatever your personal peeve with state government is, you can find it somewhere in the Ratnerville mess.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:12 AM

March 28, 2007

Forest City Ratner Gives to Coney Island Carousel, Other Bloombergian Public Projects

The donation was for ‘causes close to Mayor’s heart,’ says watchdog

The New York Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

This is a must-read article if you've been wondering how Bruce Ratner does it. How does The Brucester get every top politician on his side, though he's been telling everyone for years that he no longer contributes to political campaigns*?

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.

The donation came six months after a meeting with Mr. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner reported was a lobbying contact—although the parties now dispute that it should have been characterized as such.

What makes the contribution stand out is how unusual it is: Mr. Ratner, Forest City’s chief executive, tends to shun any of the civic glitz that other developers put on in order to “give back” to the communities in which they build. Mr. Ratner, a former city consumer-affairs commissioner, eschews campaign contributions and doesn’t even serve on the Real Estate Board of New York, preferring to allow his senior employees and paid lobbyists to exert influence on his behalf instead.

The best one-liner in the article comes from Ratner PR flack "Joey from Cobble Hill" DePlasco:

“Bruce and Forest City Ratner have indeed supported the rehabilitation of that amusement, and they are guilty of thinking it will be much loved again by kids and their families,” Mr. DePlasco said.

So why isn't this a conflict of interest?

But part of Mr. Bloomberg’s obligation, in order to raise money for these good causes, has been to abide by one stipulation handed down by the city’s Conflict of Interest Board in a May 2003 ruling: officials soliciting on behalf of city-affiliated nonprofits must refrain from asking “a prospective donor who the official knows or should know has a specific matter either currently pending or about to be pending before the City official or his or her agency, where it is within the legal authority or the duties of the soliciting official to make, affect or direct the outcome of the matter.”

By the time that June 2005 meeting happened between Mr. Ratner and the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Bloomberg had already pledged his support and $100 million of city funds for Atlantic Yards, a 22-acre complex that’s supposed to consist of 6,430 apartments and an arena to house the Nets basketball team.

article

NoLandGrab: So, AFTER the City pledged $100 million towards Atlantic Yards and AFTER the June, 2005 meeting, the City pledged an additional $105 million for "land acquisition." Why this wouldn't be a matter for the Conflict of Interest Board is unclear. Maybe the Public Advocate can look into it.

* Ratner's funding for political campaigns goes through family members, as reported by Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report in 2006, on: * September 5 * September 8 * September 13 * November 29

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

March 26, 2007

Top lobbyists all have strong ties to state Assembly majority

AP, via NY Newsday
By Marc Humbert

One of last week's big stories (in every paper but The NY Times*) was the record-breaking year for lobbyists in NY State. Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner topped the chart for the largest single contract and came in a respectable third overall, just behind telecommunications giant Verizon.

But what does $2.1 million buy you in Albany and City Hall and how does it work?

NY Newsday explains:

The three top lobbying firms working the halls of New York's state Capitol have something in common other than making tons of money _ their chief operatives each have strong ties to the state Assembly's Democratic majority.

article

* Nothing seems to start the week off right like a dig at The New York Times. It's almost too easy.

Posted by lumi at 8:41 AM

March 23, 2007

Mayor holds firm on budget cuts

amNY
By Emi Endo

Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday brushed off complaints about his recent call for city agencies to tighten their belts.

Two months after announcing that a whopping $3.9 billion in unexpected revenues would end this fiscal year on a high note June 30, his budget director has asked this week that each agency head to propose 1.5 percent cuts until then and 4 percent cuts for the next fiscal year. ...
The Department of Education was the only department not asked to recommend cuts.

article

NoLandGrab: Don't forget Bloomberg's 105% budget increase for the Deparment of Bruce Ratner (link) — and that's just for starters.

Posted by lumi at 6:58 AM

Thies to leave Yassky for PR firm

From The Brooklyn Paper, "Kitchen Sink":

Evan Thies, right hand man to Councilman David Yassky, is leaving for a job at the good-guy PR firm that represents Bruce Ratner’s affordable-housing partner ACORN.

Posted by lumi at 6:39 AM

March 21, 2007

Marty's "letter" on Atlantic Yards: it depends on the meaning of "soon" (and more)

Atlantic Yards Report reads between the lines of and explains some of the exagerations in Marty's latest statement on Atlantic Yards.

Marty sez:

We will soon be reaping these and other benefits, such as world-class architecture, an on-site school, street-level shopping, and accessible open space, which will enhance Downtown Brooklyn, knitting together neighborhoods to create a vibrant new center of city life.

Norman Oder explains that it depends on what you mean by "soon" and "benefits" and "world-class" and "knitting-together" and "accessible."

article

Posted by lumi at 9:22 AM

March 20, 2007

Report: Ratner among state lobby leaders

MetroNY
By Amy Zimmer

Forest City Ratner spent roughly $2.11 million on lobbying efforts last year for its $4 billion Atlantic Yards development plan, making it the state’s third highest spender, trailing a health care lobbyist group and Verizon. The state’s recently released figures prompted outcry yesterday from project foe Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

The group criticized Forest City Ratner for its spending on lobbyists in light of recent news that rather than having the developer dip into its own pockets to pay the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the rights to build over the rail yards, the city may cough up an additional $100 million in taxpayer money for the 8.5-acre parcel of the 22-acre site.

The largest single lobbying contract in 2006 was the $656,520 Forest City Ratner paid the Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson firm. The report also shows that Forest City Ratner employed eight different lobby firms last year.

Also, another development threatening the use of eminent domain coughed up beaucoup bucks to get their point across to state officials:

Columbia University, which is eyeing expansion in West Harlem, paid the second-largest contract — $527,875 — to Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel.

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Posted by lumi at 7:21 AM

March 19, 2007

PRESS RELEASE: In Buying Albany’s Approval and the City’s Acquiescence

Bruce Ratner Was Number 3 Lobbying Spender During 2006
“Atlantic Yards” Developer Spent $2.11 Million on Lobbying Without Spending a Cent on Acquiring Vanderbilt Rail Yards

BROOKLYN, NY—It was reported today that Bruce Ratner’s firm Forest City Ratner was the number three lobbying spender in NY State during 2006, spending $2.11 million to push forward his $4 billion “Atlantic Yards” proposal. The development firm trailed only the healthcare industry and Verizon. Forest City Ratner paid the largest single lobbying contract in 2006, $656,520, to Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson.

Meanwhile it was recently revealed that New York City taxpayers will contribute $100 million in cash for Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” related “land acquisition.” Since, in 2005, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) agreed to sell Ratner the rights to the 8.5-acre Vanderbilt Railyards for $100 million it has become clear that the City’s taxpayers are paying for the railyards so Ratner can get the yards for free.

“Forest City Ratner had $2.11 million to lobby Albany on ‘Atlantic Yards’ but will not spend a single penny to purchase the rail yards which comprise over one-third of the development site Bruce Ratner desires. Instead NYC taxpayers will pay to buy the yards for Ratner. It's an exquisite shell game,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. “Ratner has also left NYC taxpayers holding the entire bag when it comes to the so-called ‘extraordinary infrastructure costs’–or blank check–necessitated by his development experiment in extreme density founded upon eminent domain abuse. The taxpayers are being forced to pay Ratner’s bills without any say in the matter.”

Forest City Ratner employed eight different lobbying firms in an Albany climate that is sure to change under Governor Spitzer’s reforms.

The NY State Lobbying report is available here: http://nylobby.state.ny.us/ann_rept06/index.html

Posted by lumi at 10:52 PM

March 16, 2007

City buys Ratner land: Councilmembers ask why

The Brooklyn Paper

Why is Mayor Bloomberg buying land for developer Bruce Ratner?

The City Council was left asking that question when officials from the city’s Economic Development Corporation disclosed that almost half of the city’s previously announced $205-million contribution to Atlantic Yards would pay for acquiring land within the mega-development’s 22-acre footprint.

And no one knows why.

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Q: Why?

A: Why not?

The city's explanation is pretty amazing:

A spokesperson for the EDC said the land would eventually be owned by the state, which would then give the developer a long-term lease so he could build the arena, public open space and residential buildings on it.

So the City is buying land for the State to give to the developer who would put "public open space" on it? Did they just add "public open space" to the plan, because it wasn't there yesterday?

Posted by lumi at 11:30 AM

March 14, 2007

People Who Can Help Get a Project Built — Or Help Stop One

City Hall

New York’s reputation as a place resistant to many new buildings has done nothing to discourage more people from trying every year, every day. Among the most important decisions which go into translating a project from concept to blueprint to concrete foundation are those made by people charged with mediating between government and private developers. Of the many who do, here are 10 (in no particular order) who City Hall thinks help bridge public demands and private interests when it comes to getting shovels in the ground in New York.

Familiar names to those who are living in the shadow of Atlantic Yards: Sheldon Silver , Eliot Spitzer, Dan Doctoroff, Amanda Burden, Joseph Bruno, and more recently Patrick Foye.

And here's proof that if you repeat a myth it stays as fresh as a Twinkie™ (emphasis added):

[Amanda] Burden has also played an important role... in reducing the scale of the controversial Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn.

[For myth-busting, check out Atlantic Yards Report, where Norman Oder revealed that a document "obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request from the Department of City Planning shows that most of the proposed cuts had been on the table since January, 2006, in an option (20B) presented by the developer and architect Frank Gehry."]

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Posted by lumi at 6:58 AM

March 13, 2007

"Abdicating its role": Atlantic Yards and the City

BrooklynSpeaks

Did the City really “abdicate its role” during the Atlantic Yards approval process, as Speaker Quinn stated last week?

Yes.

Because of legislation passed in the 1960’s, the state has the power to override the city’s zoning laws and land-use approval process (known as ULURP), which is far more rigorous than the state’s own process, requiring votes by the local community boards, the borough president and ultimately the City Council.

But in practice, the state can only do so when the city permits it.

BrooklynSpeaks politely explains the one action taken by NYC Planning, the "scaleback", calling it an "awkward episode" as opposed to a carefully choreographed tactic.

And for those of you who have been wondering what BrooklynSpeaks Plan C is (Plan A was to convince politicians to delay the vote, Plan B is to work on Eliot Spitzer to tweak the project), here it is in a nutshell:

So there’s still time for the City – and Speaker Quinn - to insist that the project is redesigned with input from local elected officials and other stakeholders, and still time for the City to spearhead the development of a comprehensive transportation plan, instead of the piece-meal, anti-pedestrian approach they have pursued so far.

Most importantly, there’s also still time for the City and the State to improve the governance for the project. For example, they could establish an ESDC subsidiary to oversee the project that includes board members appointed by the city and local elected officials - as numerous other state projects including Queens West and Hudson River Park have.

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Posted by lumi at 9:00 AM

March 9, 2007

Twice is nice: Is Yassky getting tougher on Atlantic Yards?

It is conventional wisdom that David Yassky lost his bid for Congress because of his tepid stance on Atlantic Yards.

Which makes it all the more interesting that this week the NYC Councilmember was quoted twice in the press talking tough(er) on Atlantic Yards.

From NY1, on Department of Transportation plans to convert 6th & 7th Aves to one-way throughways:

"You know what this really is? This is Atlantic Yards coming home to roost in the neighborhood."

In today's Daily News, on taxpayer money being used to acquire land for Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan:

"There's no justification to spend public money like this," said Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights). "Government money should be spent on transportation infrastructure, schools and traffic calming - not subsidies for a private company."

It seem like Yassky is ratcheting up the rhetoric on Atlantic Yards. Could it just be rhetoric, or does he really mean it?

Whatever the answer, he has probably been getting an earful from his constituents on Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 10:02 AM

Marty goes on the record on Barclays

The Brooklyn Paper

Marty has Brooklynites over a Cracker Barrel, in this response to a constituent, regarding Bruce Ratner's controversial naming-rights deal with Barclays Bank. :

However, when we look from a historical perspective, it is a fact of life that many institutions with long histories, from banks to auto manufacturers to multi-national conglomerates, have had dealings at some point in their histories that run counter to the values of all who hold human rights dear.

Therefore, and I think you’ll concur, when the public and private sector partner for the benefit of city residents, we must be vigilant in determining a company’s record and most importantly [sic], its intentions. In this case, I must tell you, I am confident that a partnership with Barclays will be good for Brooklyn...

Click here for more.

Posted by lumi at 7:26 AM

March 7, 2007

ESDC's Foye gets up to speed on Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report posted a quickie on the education of Patrick Foye, the Downstate Chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC):

First, he heard last week from the Fifth Avenue Committee's Michelle de la Uz, representing BrooklynSpeaks, about "urgent concerns" regarding oversight of project construction.

On March 22, as the New York Observer reported, Foye will visit the Atlantic Yards site, at the request of City Council Member Letitia James.

And Foye has already seen a copy of Isabel Hill's documentary Brooklyn Matters, sent to him by three former City Planning Commissioners: Ron Shiffman (on the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn advisory board), Stuart Pertz (an advisor to BrooklynSpeaks), and Marilyn Gelber. The trio urged the ESDC to take a second look at the project, warning that the project "leaves us with a legacy of lawsuits which can damage future opportunities for growth."

In his response, Foye thanked the three, responding that the ESDC was analyzing the project approved by the Public Authorities Control Board, and that a thorough examination of the project's environmental, financial, and fiscal impacts was proceeding before funds are released.

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Posted by lumi at 7:42 AM

March 2, 2007

Embattled Gargano speaks

Former development chief denies allegations that may tarnish legacy

TheRealDeal
By Jen Benepe

Now that Charles Gargano (we can't bring ourselves to call him "Ambassador," despite his preference) is no longer the head of the Empire State Development Corporation, shady dealings under his term are finally seeing the light of day. However, Gargano (by "Gargano" we mean the "Ambassador") denies everything.

Depending on the findings of the audit by the new New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, which were slated for release around the end of February, the unelected former economic czar could become part of a criminal investigation.
...
If the audit goes against the agency or Gargano, it could trigger an aggressive look by new Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into past ESDC workings.

Here's the latest revelation:

Allegations that the Economic State Development Corp. paid the rent of the headquarters of agency chief Gargano's nephew, Frank Gargano -- who unsuccessfully ran for local office in Suffolk County on Long Island -- further cloud the legacy of the Albany insider's 12 years in power. The agency was ordered to repay the state more than $100,000, the cost of 18 months' rent at the offices of the Suffolk County Chamber of Commerce, where Frank Gargano had his campaign headquarters.

Here's last month's revelation:

Gargano faces further press scrutiny after a report last month in the Village Voice alleged the economic heavyweight sought a $300,000 payment and a job for his nephew Frank Gargano as a lobbyist for Sal Catucci, head of American Stevedoring, which was looking to extend its Port Authority subsidies at the Red Hook piers in 2003.

Gargano defends his record:

In his interview with The Real Deal, Gargano said the agency was responsible for developing more projects than under any other governor in state history, although both the redevelopment of Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and the conversion of the James A. Farley Post Office on 34th Street to Moynihan Station, which would be used for commuter and long-distance train service, remain very much unfinished. Both have generated considerable controversy and sparked fierce community or interagency disputes.

The article continues by looking forward to conditions under the new administration:

One item on new Governor Eliot Spitzer's reform agenda is the overhaul of the beleaguered Economic State Development Corporation, part of an attempt to put an end to the alleged cronyism that has been stymieing economic development projects statewide.
...
Among the projects stopped in their tracks since Spitzer's victory are the creation of Moynihan Station from the James A. Farley Post Office building on 34th Street, the Hudson Yards development on the West Side, portions of the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan, and possibly the Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn. That project's status remains unclear while federal lawsuits challenging the development are pending.

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NoLandGrab: The crystal ball on Spitzer's role in Atlantic Yards is totally murky. He had his chance to put a hold on the project in December, by asking Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a fellow Democrat, to withhold his vote to approve the project. If reporters and Albany insiders know that Spitzer is sincerely concerned about the project, they know something we don't.

Regarding Gargano, now that he's out, people have started talking without fear of retaliation. It makes you wonder how many other allegations will wash up on the shore in coming months.

Posted by lumi at 10:51 AM

Chocolate Thunder Meets Vito Lightning

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

Another feel-good moment brought to you by the letters F, C, and R:

Forest City Ratner Companies – the Brooklyn-based owners of the New Jersey Nets - continued its youth basketball clinic tour of the borough last week, as former Nets player and current Nets employee Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins shot hoops and signed autographs at the Ridgewood Bushwick Youth Center on Gates Avenue in between Knickerbocker and Irving.

"We did this before when the Knicks came," recalled Devon Richards, the star of the All City Leadership Academy team, a small, cadet-style high school located inside the youth center. "This is better, though. They’re doing more with the little kids." Indeed, the clinic went on all day at the full-size, brand-new indoor court, and there were pick-up games and drills for kids of any age. The youth center and the gym were funded largely through the efforts of Bushwick state assemblyman – and now the Kings County Democratic boss – Vito Lopez.

"This ain’t work, man," said Dawkins to Lopez. "This is fun. I love hanging out with these kids."
...
"The Nets and Ratner," commented the 7-foot tall Dawkins, "are doing a lot of good in this community, and I’m happy to be a part of it."

There are details about how Vito Lopez is now concerned about the "affordable" housing component of Atlantic Yards:

"Some of the ‘affordable’ rents in that project will be as high as $1,500. That’s not affordable, especially if you’re getting tax breaks to build it."

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NoLandGrab: Lopez's concerns are touching, since everyone knows that time to address these concerns was BEFORE he tacitly threw his support behind Atlantic Yards and the the project was approved. Lopez's act is ridiculous, remember he's the Democratic Party boss and "The Machine" supported Ratner's plan.

At this point it's just lip service. Affordable housing is on everyone's minds, and he's just saying what his constituents want to hear.

Also, Lopez is seriously lowballing the upper strata of "Atlantic Yards Affordable Housing." As Norman Oder pointed out two weeks ago, "For the two higher-income bands, involving 900 units, two-person households would pay $1701 or $2127 per month for an apartment." The numbers are even higher for households with more than two members. Download the "Atlantic Yards Affordable Housing" chart to see for yourself.

Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM

March 1, 2007

Critics Deem Atlantic Yards Documents Insufficient

The NY Sun
By Eliot Brown

The Sun boldly goes where no paper of record has gone before and, come to think of it, so does NY Assemblymember Jim Brennan.

This article is a must-read for anyone who is trying to understand what Forest City Ratner was and wasn't revealing in the whopping three pages of documents released yesterday.

A state agency has failed to appease its critics by releasing financial details of the Atlantic Yards project.

The Empire State Development Corporation yesterday released three pages of documents from the project developer concerning financial aspects of the project, a move that was dubbed highly inadequate by lawmakers and community groups.

"We will deal with our attorneys, and not silly superfluous dribs and drabs that come through fax machines after press inquiries," Assemblyman James Brennan, who filed a lawsuit Monday seeking the full disclosure of development company Forest City Ratner's financial plan, said.

Mr. Brennan vowed to push ahead with a lawsuit to force the disclosure, and said that given the large level of subsidy involved, he believes the ESDC should have a complete business plan in its possession to allow the public to properly evaluate the Brooklyn development.

The three pages that were released with no explanation appear to offer details on the amount the developer stands to gain on the $4.2 billion project, though there does not seem to be enough information to make an accurate estimate of Forest City Ratner's return.

Oh, and this from the end of the article:

Forest City Ratner did not offer specific comment on the numbers in the documents.

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Posted by lumi at 9:07 AM

February 28, 2007

Lawmakers Push for the Release of Atlantic Yards Financial Documents

The NY Sun
By Eliot Brown

A lawsuit filed by two Brooklyn legislators is forcing the public release of long-awaited documents regarding finances surrounding the Atlantic Yards project.

An ESDC spokeswoman told The New York Sun it now intends to release the documents to Mr. Brennan, likely this week, which include development company Forest City Ratner's business plan for the $4.2 billion project in Brooklyn. Assemblyman James Brennan, joined by state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Empire State Development Corporation alleging that the agency was improperly withholding documents detailing the project's finances.

Critics of the project for at least two years have been attempting to determine the amount developer Bruce Ratner stands to profit, and they say the hundreds of millions in city and state subsidies should justify its status as public information.
...
"Ratner's basic premise for having to build this so large and so dense was that it has to be to make this financially feasible," a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Candace Carponter, said. Without knowing Mr. Ratner's potential profit, the public has been unable to properly evaluate his claims, Ms. Carponter said.
...
A spokeswoman for Forest City Ratner said the company had no comment regarding the lawsuit, and has complied with government agencies in the public approval process.

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Posted by lumi at 7:59 AM

After Brennan's lawsuit, ESDC poised to release Ratner’s profit projections

Atlantic Yards Report

Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan, joined by State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, has gone to court in an attempt to force the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to answer his Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request to see the projected costs, revenues, and profits for Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan--a prelude to arguing for a reduction in the project’s size.

While Brennan's effort had been rejected by the ESDC under the administration of Gov. George Pataki, the New York Sun reports today that new Gov. Eliot Spitzer's administration has indicated that it's willing to comply--and the documents should be released shortly.
...
[Brennan] said last October, “So that is a critical public question: how much money do they think they’re going to make on their market-rate housing, and how much money do they think the arena is going to make? How much money does the affordable housing need and where are they going to get it? Without that information, the public is shortchanged.”

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NoLandGrab: Brennan makes good points on two fronts:

1. It is important to know how much taxpayer money will be committed to Atlantic Yards and what the taxpayers will get in return. For example, the public has a right to know if Atlantic Yards affordable housing might end up costing more than other affordable housing solutions.

2. It is important to understand how much Bruce Ratner stands to make. Ratner is not only asking for the public to sacrifice taxpayer money for Atlantic Yards, but also to put up with the densest residential housing community in the nation. If the density issue is driven by the need for the developer to make a profit, then the public has a right to know what Ratner will earn in exchange for the public's acquiescence to an urban planning experiment of historical proportions.

Posted by lumi at 7:51 AM

THE EDUCATION OF YVETTE CLARKE PART 22: IS YVETTE THINKING LOGICALLY?

Hardbeat News commentator Arthur Piccolo has been spearheading a campaign to name a new Nets arena after Jackie Robinson. This week he's recapping the Brooklyn Papers coverage of Yvette Clarke's outrage over the naming-rights deal with Barclays Bank and is cautioning the freshman congressional representative from taking a position that might seriously undermine her credibility:

CongressWoman (sic) you cannot hold out the possibility of damaging Congressional Hearings that will explore possible wrong doing by a major worldwide corporation but choose not to do so if they will “donate” more money to Brooklyn whether or not you decide who gets the money.
...
Here is a good simple accurate definition of Extortion from Encyclopedia, “extortion is more widely defined to include the obtaining of money or property of another by inducing his consent through wrongful use of fear, force, or authority of office.” And from the Encyclopedia Britannica this definition, “ Unlawful exaction of money or property through intimidation or undue exercise of authority. It may include threats of physical harm, criminal prosecution, or public exposure.” And from Wikipedia “The simple four words "pay up or else" are sufficient to constitute the crime of extortion. These are third party definitions not the law itself but should give Yvette reason to pause before considering being involved in a “deal” with Barclay’s that includes Barclay’s altering its current naming rights offer.

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Posted by lumi at 6:15 AM

February 26, 2007

Putting Limits On Pay To Play

Gotham Gazette
By Mike Muller and Joshua Brustein

Whether it's "outright bribery" or "subtle persuasion," "New York's public officials have long accepted money from those with whom their agencies do business, and such donations are often perfectly legal. But quid pro quos... are getting increased attention from public officials."

Caring Bruce is very creative; he turned over the job of payouts to the Brooklyn machine pols to his older brother, Michael:

"When you do business with the city, you get solicited by everyone from U.S. senators down to members of the City Council," said Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner in former Public Advocate Mark Green's 2004 book on campaign finance, Selling Out. Reflecting on his past contributions and fund-raising efforts, Ratner added, "I didn't want to be a person on the outs, nor could my business afford to be a person on the outs given how much business we do with government."

Despite his qualms, Ratner still plays the game. As the Atlantic Yards Report, a blog opposed to his plan for downtown Brooklyn, writes, Ratner no longer makes campaign contributions – directly. But his brother and sister-in-law both contribute large amounts to public officials who may have sway over development projects he hopes to pursue.

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NoLandGrab: Norman Oder will tell you until he's blue in the face, or you cry uncle, that just because he's a critic of many aspects of Bruce Ratner's plan and the lack of media coverage, that doesn't mean he's opposed to it.

Posted by lumi at 8:08 AM

February 23, 2007

Goodbye Dolly

The Brooklyn Paper
By Ariella Cohen

Brooklyn’s only appointee to the City Planning Commission will be barred from voting on an expected rezoning around the Gowanus Canal because she stands to benefit from it, the city said this week.

Dolly Williams, who was appointed by Borough President Markowitz in 2003, owns land within the boundaries of the neighborhood redesign — a rezoning that will deliver huge windfalls to property owners like Williams.

Questions about a possible conflict of interest emerged after the planning commissioner told acquaintances that she “absolutely” supports the residential redevelopment of the Canal zone. Insiders were quick to point out that Williams’s company, A. Williams Construction, is based on Third Avenue near Sackett Street — an area that will be prime real-estate someday.

“She was working the room,” said one person who attended the Community Board 6 meeting where Williams “was telling everyone that the area would have to be rezoned. She let everyone believe that was speaking as a commissioner, not a property owner who would make millions of dollars if she could build condos on her land.”

After The Brooklyn Paper started asking about Williams’s apparent conflict of interest, the Department of City Planning told Williams that she must recuse herself.

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NoLandGrab readers may recall that Dolly Williams is also a minority owner in the NJ Nets and was forced to recuse herself from any official role in Atlantic Yards.

From the Brooklyn Papers article (03/19/05):

A City Planning Commission spokeswoman told The Papers this week that while the commission would have a minor role in review of the Ratner plan, primarily ratifying the state’s right to supercede local zoning and other development regulations, Williams will not be allowed to take part in those discussions because of her Nets holdings.

What's the point of Dolly Williams serving as Marty Markowitz's representative to the City Planning Commission, if she has to recuse herself every other time a major Brooklyn land-use issue is on the table?

Posted by lumi at 9:56 AM

February 21, 2007

ESDC being audited, but not over Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report

Charles Gargano, the former head of the Empire State Development Corporation, could be in some hot water for running the pubic authority like a "family business."

Norman Oder offers this analysis of the State Comptroller's ongoing audit of Gargano's reign and what might have been:

An inquiry in this case certainly seems legitimate. Then again, an inquiry into the ESDC's questionable Atlantic Yards fiscal impact analysis issued last December also would have been legitimate.

However, that's when Comptroller Alan Hevesi was negotiating his exit under a cloud of allegations and essentially crippled in his job. This audit was already ongoing.

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Posted by lumi at 10:41 PM

February 19, 2007

Atlantic Yards correction

Courier-Life Publications published an article last week by Stephen Witt, which stated in the headline, "Congresswoman pulls support of Atlantic Yds. citing Barclay’s shadowy past."

Since the Congresswoman would probably never pull her support for the project (God forbid!), the Courier-Life ran a carefully worded and slightly redundant correction in this week's edition:

Last week’s story regarding U.S. Rep. Yvette Clark pulling her support of the Atlantic Yards project was incorrect.

In fact, the Congresswoman never stated nor implied in any way that she was withdrawing her support for the project.

She merely voiced concerns about the naming rights deal between Barclays Bank and Forest City Ratner Companies, the developer of the Atlantic Yards project.

She never made any comment changing her support of the project itself.

We regret the error.

link

NoLandGrab: This makes the local weekly's track record for running corrections much speedier than the New York Times.

Posted by lumi at 7:18 AM

February 16, 2007

Hot seat: Nine vie for council post - Candidates court voters at P.S. 217

Courier-Life Publications

Here's the latest on what candidates for the City Council's 40th District (Yvette Clarke's old seat) are saying about Atlantic Yards:

McNally was one of two candidates present to say she was against the Atlantic Yards development in downtown Brooklyn, as an “unconscionable abuse of eminent domain.” (The other was Gordon.) With respect to the affordable housing component, McNally asked, “What’s affordable, and to whom?” adding, “The benefits being reaped by the developer are way out of scale.”

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Posted by lumi at 1:27 PM

THE EDUCATION OF YVETTE CLARKE PART 20: TOP SECRET FOR YVETTE ONLY

Arthur Piccolo of HardBeatNews.com posts an interesting "top secret" for-Yvette-Clarke's-eyes-only document with the directive:

Stand at the Atlantic Yards site before a large media contingent and simply say the following: “I STAND HERE BORN AND RAISED IN BROOKLYN MY HOME AND NOW HONORED TO SERVE BROOKLYN IN CONGRESS FOR WHAT I CONSIDER THE PROUDEST MOMENT OF MY ENTIRE CAREER. I STAND HERE TODAY WITH OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS AND OTHER PROUD BROOKLNITES TO ANNOUNCE OUR COMMITMENT OUR DETERMINATION THAT BROOKLYN’S NEW SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT ARENA TO BE BUILT ON THIS VERY SITE THAT THERE IS ONLY ONE NAME THAT IT SHOULD, THAT IT MUST BEAR AND THAT IS THE NAME OF OUR GREATEST SON THE ATHLETE WHO HAS FOREVER DEFINED OUR BOROUGH AS GREAT. THAT WE FINALLY DO WHAT WE HAVE NOT DONE BEFORE NOT BEFORE OR AFTER HIS DEATH IN 1976. WE ARE HERE TODAY TO PLEDGE OUR UNWAVERING DETERMINATION THAT THIS ARENAS BE FORMALLY AND OFFICIALLY NAMED AND BE FOREVER KNOWN AS ‘THE JACKIE ROBINSON ARENA’.”

link

NoLandGrab: Sure, Jackie Robinson would have been proud to have his name on an arena complex built on the homes and businesses of other proud and courageous Americans like Akhtar, Cambell, Goldstein, Gonzales, Muflah-Odeh, O'Finn, Pastore, Sheets, Weinstein and Williams.

Posted by lumi at 10:47 AM

Clarke to Ratner: Fear the Wrath of Congress

The Brooklyn Paper

Rep. Yvette Clarke will call for congressional hearings on the Atlantic Yards development unless developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays amend their $400-million naming-rights agreement to her satisfaction, she told The Brooklyn Paper this week.

“One way of bringing transparency to a mega-project of this magnitude, is to bring hearings that put all of the elements on the table,” threatened Clarke (D-Park Slope).

NoLandGrab: "All of the elements on the table?" Could Clarke be talking about the use of eminent domain to expand a private real estate monopoly?

Black leaders, including Clarke, took part in a historic sit-down with Ratner last week after she expressed outrage that the impending Nets arena would be named for Barclays, a bank that profited from the slave trade, froze the accounts of Holocaust victims, and operated for decades in apartheid South Africa. Rico

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Fort Greene) and Rev. Clinton Milller, of Fort Greene’s Brown Memorial Baptist Church, were also at the meeting.
...
Clarke stopped short of calling for the termination of the agreement.

“I’m not quite there, but I did want [them] to know that we’re not the type of constituency you can take for granted,” said Clarke. “I will not stand for the community being blindsided.”

While the Barclays naming-rights deal may remain on the table — and leaders may try to wrangle more money from Barclays — at least one issue is no longer up for discussion.

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Posted by lumi at 10:42 AM

Barclays burden bumps benefit: Fallout continues over Barclays arena

Amsterdam News columnist Tanangachi Mfuni recaps the local controversy brewing over Bruce Ratner's deal with Barclays Bank to sell the naming rights to a new Nets arena for nearly $400 million and reports the latest salvos:

In a letter to The Amsterdam News responding to the January 25 front page article entitled “Barclays’ apartheid past threatens Atlantic Yards,” Barclays spokesman Peter Truell wrote: “Slavery was a heinous period in the history of both the United States and the United Kingdom. We condemn it and are firm in our belief that the partnership bank on which we were founded did not profit from the slave trade or slavery.”

Congresswoman Clarke was not entirely convinced when the AmNews reiterated the bank’s statement to her.

“I can only deal with the reality of my beliefs…and that of the community who feel that Barclays has benefited from the slave trade,” said Clarke speaking to the AmNews by phone Tuesday afternoon.

The congresswoman, who met with representatives of Forest City Ratner last Friday, said she wanted to meet with Barclays next to find out what exactly their intentions are in the community.

“It’s important that nobody in this process be able to take anybody for granted,” said Clarke, who took particular issue with the clandestine nature of the Nets naming deal that many in the downtown Brooklyn community were unaware of until it was announced to the media last month.

Reached for comment this Wednesday, Barclays refused to comment further, referring to their letter, which appears on page 13 in this week’s Amsterdam News.

article

Related Links:
Barclays responds (letter from Barclays to Amsterdam News)
Barclays’ apartheid past further taints Atlantic Yards project (original article, published 01/25/07)

Posted by lumi at 10:05 AM

February 11, 2007

City Council Candidate Questionnaire

DFNYC asked the candidates for the February 20th election in the 40th district in Central Brooklyn about their positions on Atlantic Yards. Moe Razvi, Harry Schiffman and Leithland "Rickie" Tulloch counted themselves "in favor." Here are the responses from the remaining three candidates:

Karlene Gordon: Now that the Atlantic Yard Project has been approved, my concern was affordable housing and affordable to whom. According to ACORN, 50% of the housing will be set aside for low and moderate income families. How much of that 50% will be designated for victims of domestic violence? Holding the developers accountable will be something I will pay particular attention to.

Jennifer James: Traffic and environmental issues are already of great concern, not only for those who reside in the immediate area, but for those wishing to travel in and out of Manhattan, throughout Central Brooklyn and beyond. With the arrival of the stadium, these problems will only be compounded. We must hold the developers accountable to high environmental standards to ensure that this project does not cause a decrease in the quality of life for our residents. The only people who benefit from taxpayer subsidies to real estate developers are the real estate developers, themselves, unless we hold the developers accountable to the residents of the community in terms of the amount of affordable housing that they provide. It is the job of the City Council representatives to work closely with other elected officials to ensure that the Community Benefit Agreement is upheld and that people have the right to afford to live and do business in the areas in which they have for so long been stakeholders. The Atlantic Yards project has the potential to affect the area and all of its neighbors. We must be sure to address all of these issues aggressively.

Zenobia McNally: I am gravely concerned about several of the issues raised by the project, including the lack of transparency of the project.
• Eminent domain was misused to promote private development, not for the public good.
• There is an apparent lack of concern about the environmental impact on Downtown Brooklyn, specifically, and Brooklyn, generally, especially as it relates to air quality and asthma rates.
• Traffic in the area surrounding Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues ranges from heavy during the day to snarled during the morning and evening rush hours; yet, the community has been told that the project will not negatively impact driving and parking in the area.
• Given how “hot” the New York City real estate market is right now, taxpayer subsidies to real estate developers is corporate welfare.
• Job growth and commercial office space are among the “carrots” dangled before the community by the developer. Subsidy payments to the developer should be delayed until after the promised job growth/commercial office space rentals are maintained for at least ten years. I want to emphasize that I am not against development, only irresponsible development.

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Posted by amy at 3:01 PM

February 10, 2007

The Art the Brooklyn Public Library Doesn't Want You to See

The Gowanus Lounge

Censorship, particularly crass and brainless politically-motivated censorship, is one of our hot button issues. We could even vaguely understand if they were keeping something awful and offensive from their walls, but they're not exactly trying to spare the people of Brooklyn a depiction of the Virgin Mary surrounded by little vaginas and dung. No, this is self-interest and stupidity of the highest order. The Library, in its statement to The Real Estate, even vaguely tries to blame local gallery owners and artists for participating in the decision as part of a "selection committee."

In deciding to ban these works, the Brooklyn Public Library is behaving like a little village library in 1980s Transylvania refusing to show a portrait of Nicolae Ceausescu wearing one of those funny noses with eyeglasses and mustache. Actually, we're overstating the case--the backwoods Transylvanian Communist censors would have had a better excuse, either because they were true believers or because they were afraid of being dragged out into the forest by the Secret Police and shot for mocking Ceausescu. The people at the Brooklyn Public Library, on the other hand, are said to not want to offend Bruce Ratner as they are trying to suck up to him do some fundingraising development work so that he'll bankroll their floundering BAM Cultural District project. (Perhaps as a follow-up they can block internet access to DDDB and other websites that are deeply critical of Atlantic Yards. It could be worth an extra four or five hundred G's, minimum.)

Guess this means the "Free Speech Zone" installation the library hosted in 2004 was only an abstract idea? Well, yes, actually. The BPL has had some censorship issues with actual books in the past. For instance, this case, which made waves in September.

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Posted by amy at 2:07 PM

February 9, 2007

Yvette Clarke to Ratner: Reject Barclays

The Brooklyn Paper
By Dana Rubenstein

Rep. Yvette Clarke, a powerful supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, denounced developer Bruce Ratner’s $400-million deal with Barclays that would brand the Nets arena — the centerpiece of Ratner’s 16-skyscraper project — with the name of an institution that profited from the slavery and other horrors of human history during its “troubling past.”

“Barclays is a 400-year-old, $2-trillion, multinational financial empire that has been linked to Nazi Germany, Apartheid in South Africa and the transatlantic slave trade,” said Clarke.

The naming-rights deal comes “under very questionable circumstances,” added Clarke, who largely sat on the sidelines of the Atlantic Yards debate during her tenure in the City Council, but now raised the possibility of “congressional hearings on the impact of the Atlantic Yards development on my constituents.”

By issuing her condemnation, Clarke joined a growing group of black leaders — many of them Ratner supporters — demanding that the developer reconsider the agreement.
...
A spokesman for Forest City Ratner did not return calls for comment. Barclays denies a link to slavery.

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Posted by lumi at 12:09 PM

Marty's State of the Borough Ratnerville Address

Marty promoted Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan and the Barclays Bank naming-rights deal as part of Brooklyn's renaissance in his State of the Borough address.

Here's the local coverage:

The Brooklyn Paper, Marty for Mayor? This cookie didn’t crumble
By Lilo H. Stainton

Like a broken record, Marty is still promising to be "responsive" to make the project palatable to everyone who is not "He-Whose-Name-Must-Not-Be-Spoken:"

Markowitz also mentioned his beloved Atlantic Yards project — but did not utter the name that often draws catcalls: Bruce Ratner.

Markowitz raved about the housing, shopping, and jobs the project will allegedly generate, claiming the 16-tower arena, hotel and office space development “will help create the new center of city life that our borough of 2.6 million residents deserves.”

But he also promised to “be responsive to the concerns of those in the area surrounding Atlantic Yards, and to make this project one that all Brooklynites are proud of for generations to come.”

But he didn’t explain how he would do that, given his overwhelming support for the project and the fact that it has already been approved by the state.

Courier-Life Publications, Markowtiz touts Bklyn ‘renaissance’
By Stephen Witt

Courier-Life continues to cheer on the controversial Atlantic Yards project (maybe they'll ask questions later):

Markowitz also continued to cheer on the controversial Atlantic Yards project which includes 16 skyscrapers and an arena to house the Nets NBA basketball team as well as other events.

“Last month, we learned that Barclays, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, will kick off its expansion in America by investing $400 million to name the Atlantic Yards arena the Barclays Center,” said Markowitz.

“The naming of the Barclays Center is a major step toward making one of my own dreams for Brooklyn a reality,” he added.

Markowitz pointed out that the project will not only include thousands of apartments for Brooklynites of all incomes, but new jobs for residents of every skill level with many being solid union jobs.

The project will also feature eight acres of open space, a new school, shopping, a boutique hotel, and world-class architect Frank Gehry designing it — all above one of the largest public-transportation hubs in the metropolitan region.

“Atlantic Yards will help create the new center of city life that our borough of 2.6 million residents deserves,” he said.

NoLandGrab: We don't understand why Marty is still touting Ratner's deal with Barclays, since it received the same cold shoulder from the African-American community as the Beep's overtures to Cracker Barrel.

Posted by lumi at 8:12 AM

February 8, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

NY Magazine, Daily Intelligencer, Urban Planners Agree: New York in 2030 Will Suck

The Mayor's NYC2030 brainstorming session backfired when urban planners came to warn about problems on the horizon.

Planning to stick around town for the next 23 years? You might want to reconsider. Apparently the New York of 2030 — the major American city at the second-greatest risk of catastrophic hurricane damage after Miami, by the way — will be facing a homelessness epidemic, more Miss Brooklyn–esque way-out-of-scale enormous buildings over rail yards, a major shortage of engineers qualified to construct such things, and a war between the union and nonunion laborers who build them.

Room Eight, NY Politics, Two To See
The local politics blog excerpts the NY Sun article covering Thursday's hearing.

A little-noticed, jaw-dropping exchange about the appropriate use of eminent domain between a federal judge and a lawyer representing Brooklyn's massive Atlantic Yards projects:

"What I'm hearing is that so long as a defendant can articulate a public use," Judge Levy asked, eminent domain is "per se constitutional?"

"Your honor, I would say yes," Mr. Braun said, adding that "the role of the court really disappears" beyond conducting that initial review.

This answer did not seem to satisfy Judge Levy. Soon thereafter, he put forward a hypothetical: What if developers wanted to seize 22 acres of private property and build luxury housing on 21 acres of it and place a school on the remaining acre?

Hardbeatnews.com, THE EDUCATION OF YVETTE CLARKE PART 19: SO HOW IS SHE DOING SO FAR?
Disappointments over the Bruce Ratner-Barclays Bank naming-rights deal is getting play in the Caribbean-American community and Yvette Clarke's core constituency.

Disappointment #5. Ratner selling the name of the new Brooklyn arena.

Lots of Brooklynites and numerous elected officials have criticized Bruce Ratner for selling the name of Brooklyn’s first ever major indoor facility the state of the art sports, entertainment and convention center that will open in 2009 – selling that name to a very suspect British bank Barclay’s with Ratner pocketing $400 Million in the process. What is Yvette’s position? She could make a big difference. As a strong supporter of the project Yvette is in a position of strength on this issue if she will speak out forcefully.

Note: Just this week, Yvette Clarke issued a statement to the press expressing her concerns.

Field of Schemes, Nets arena court battle begins, Knicks arena next?
Neil DeMause sends readers to Norman Oder's "extensive report" on the hearing for the defendants' motion to dismiss the Atlantic Yards eminent domain lawsuit. Also, there are rumblings across the river over a plan for a new Madison Square Garden where, in what will come as no surprise to the NoLandGrab reader, the public will probably have to pony up some bucks.

Queen's Crap, The King's Decree
The blog tracking real estate controversies and the related political fallout in Queens takes issue with Mayor Bloomberg's recent statement about eminent domain. Bloomberg probably didn't mean to describe a property owner who isn't willing to sell to Bruce Ratner as "one little person," but he did.

This represents the general contempt that King Michael has for any of his subjects who dare stand in the way of his buddies' development proposals.

not another f*cking blog!, my next photography exhibit
A local photographer will be exhibiting photographs "of buildings in and around the 'footprint' of the proposed Atlantic Yards development" at the Oliver Wolcott Library in Litchfield, CT in April.

NoLandGrab: Wonder if the Litchfield library censors their exhibits for politically controversial material.

nyu realty llc, Are these Celebrities looking to Buy Real Estate in Brooklyn?

Why would celebrities like Gisele (Runway SuperModel Star), Tiger Woods (World's Greatest Golf Star) and Joakim Noah (Son of Tennis Great Yanik Noah and maybe The Next New York Knick) buy Real Estate in Brooklyn. Maybe because Bruce Ratner And JayZ are going to Bring the New Net's Stadium to Brooklyn. What do You Think?

Don't Worry It's Just Reality, Brooklyn Edition, The Brooklyn "Public" Library..another instution in the tentacles of Forest City

Are we to believe Forest City had nothing to do with [censorship of the Footprints Exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library]? Given Ratner's track record, of lying, deceit, underhanded influence, its' to be expected. I would seriously consider asking BAM and other Brooklyn institutions to divest from Forest City - if they continue to accept his money, its clear the arts will not serve Brooklynites, but Bruce Ratner.

Posted by lumi at 8:54 PM

February 3, 2007

Marty's State of the Borough: Atlantic Yards, (certain) concerned citizens hailed

Atlantic Yards Report

From Borough President Marty Markowitz's wide-ranging State of the Borough address Thursday night:
The word is out about Brooklyn, no doubt about it. Last month, we learned that Barclays, one of the largest financial institutions in the world, will kick-off its expansion in America by investing $400 million dollars to name the Atlantic Yards arena — the Barclays Center. More proof that nowhere possesses the economic vitality or captures the popular imagination with more power than Brooklyn.
When you dream big these days, you dream Brooklyn!
The naming of the Barclays Center is a major step toward making one of my own dreams for Brooklyn a reality.
With thousands of apartments for Brooklynites of all incomes, new jobs for residents of every skill level — solid, union jobs — an arena for major concerts and events, 8 acres of open space, a new school — plus shopping, a boutique hotel, and world-class architect Frank Gehry designing it — all above one of the largest public-transportation hubs in the metropolitan region — Atlantic Yards will help create the new center of city life that our borough of 2.6 million residents deserves.
And I made a promise that I will continue to keep — to be responsive to the concerns of those in the area surrounding Atlantic Yards, and to make this project one that all Brooklynites are proud of for generations to come.
And I know that before long we’ll all be cheering together when the Brooklyn Nets leave the Manhattan Knicks in the Atlantic Division dust — and bring an NBA championship home to Brooklyn!
...Atlantic Yards is part of an even grander vision for Brooklyn. In 2004, I worked closely with Mayor Bloomberg and others to lay out a comprehensive plan for building a new downtown for Brooklyn. With renewed energy, we’re turning that plan into action.

(Note that Atlantic Yards was not part of the Downtown Brooklyn rezoning or the planning process for it.)

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Posted by amy at 9:38 AM

February 1, 2007

Markowitz Set To Unveil More New Projects In State Of The Borough

NY1
By Jeanine Ramirez

Brooklyn's Beep goes "bling":

"Now what I want to do is to have the Parachute Jump reflect more of the Coney Island ambiance, which means 'in your face'. And that's a good thing – bling, bling, bling," said Markowitz.

After taking credit for the idea of pro basketball in Brooklyn...

Markowitz says he's looking forward to the day the Brooklyn Nets take on the Manhattan Knicks. While there may still be obstacles in the way, like an eminent domain lawsuit to stop the project, he's hopeful there will be a groundbreaking for the new arena this year.

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Posted by lumi at 6:49 PM

BP MARKOWITZ TO DELIVER ANNUAL STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS AT STEINER STUDIOS

7:00 P.M.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2007
STEINER STUDIOS — STAGE 5
15 WASHINGTON AVENUE, AT FLUSHING AVENUE
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD

In 2006, Brooklyn saw a major increase in tourism, a hotel construction boom, the opening of the new Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, the approval of the Atlantic Yards project, progress on Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the first phase of the revitalization of Coney Island. Borough President Markowitz will discuss these projects, as well as the renewed effort to transform Downtown Brooklyn, including plans for the BAM Cultural District, new parks, and housing.

more

Posted by lumi at 8:30 AM

January 31, 2007

Help Us, Governor Spitzer!

This crusading reformer has his work cut out for him.

City Journal

On "Day 31," Nicole Gelinas's litany of issues crying out for gubernatorial reform cites Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards as the poster project for public authorities run amok:

A recently approved ESDC-backed project, the Atlantic Yards basketball and housing project in Brooklyn, sponsored by politically connected development firm Forest City Ratner, is a perfect example of this wasteful superfluity. To build its stadium and 6,000 or so apartments in central Brooklyn, FC Ratner needs about $500 million in state and local subsidies, and it depends, too, on the state’s eminent-domain power to condemn properties in the project’s footprint. But much of the state’s involvement here is unnecessary. The central Brooklyn area where FC Ratner plans to build was an up-and-coming neighborhood, winning new private residential and commercial investment, long before the state-supported development firm announced its plans three years ago.

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Posted by lumi at 7:42 AM

January 30, 2007

Brooklyn Mystery: Why Won't Albany Pay the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods???

The Gowanus Lounge

Way back when, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods was promised $100,000 to report on the Environmental Impact Statement for Atlantic Yards. The group did a good job of coordinating the "community expert review" of a terribly complex document and was vigilant in monitoring what some would say was a deeply flawed process. It turns out they were never paid.
...
Now, the group has started a campaign among each of its members to contact elected officials in Albany to find and turn over the money that has "disappeared" or that was made to vanish by political opponents such as former Assem. and Atlantic Yards supporter Roger Green.
...
Hopefully, a public airing of what would seem to be a hardball political payback will help resolve the situation so that everyone that did good faith and top-notch work analyzing the Atlantic Yards document will be paid.

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Posted by lumi at 8:41 AM

January 26, 2007

Black leaders to Bruce: Pay us back!

The Brooklyn Papers

Bruce Ratner's deal with Barclays Bank has somewhat cracked the foundation of his supporters which are largely African-American:

Two black supporters of Atlantic Yards have joined a growing chorus saying that developer Bruce Ratner betrayed his black allies when he sold the naming rights to his proposed Nets arena to Barclays, a global banking firm that was founded by slave traders and did business with South Africa’s apartheid government.

Both Roger Green — a former state Assemblyman — and his successor Hakeem Jeffries came out this week against the Barclays deal.

Jeffries is looking for a way for all parties to save face and is suggesting two options, a termination of the deal and/or reparations by way of financial contribution:

Jeffries demanded a meeting with the developer to discuss the issue. He hasn’t gotten a call back yet.

“All options should be on the table, including payment for past wrongs and termination of the agreement,” Jeffries said.

While Jeffries predecessor, Green, is calling for Barclays to increase their financial support to the community support, again, to serve as reparations:

Green, a strong supporter of Atlantic Yards, moved last week to distance himself from the naming-rights deal. He called on Barclays to pay reparations to American blacks for its role in slavery.

“Barclays must step up and respond to our community the way they responded to Nelson Mandela” over the issue of apartheid in South Africa, he said.

As part of the $400-million naming-rights deal, Barclays has said it will pay $2.5 million to repair public basketball courts through the borough, but Green called that amount, “not enough.”

article

Posted by lumi at 10:06 AM

January 18, 2007

In Mayor's State of the City, AY praise and two FCR associations

Atlantic Yards Report listens in on Mayor Bloomberg's State of the City address:

From Mayor Mike Bloomberg's State of the City Address, given today at the New York City College of Technology in Brooklyn:

Marty Markowitz, and a marching band, as they say in Brooklyn, Fuhgeddaboutit! How about those Brooklyn Steppers!*

(Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner is also developing a tower at the New York City College of Technology, and some of the Brooklyn Steppers also step for the Nets. Needless to say, Borough President Markowitz is the leading booster of AY.)

We'll work with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership that's doing so much to promote business and the arts in this great borough. And we'll help launch construction of the most exciting private development Brooklyn has ever seen: the Atlantic Yards project!

article

Posted by lumi at 9:16 AM

January 13, 2007

Brooklyn's Ratner: More Socialism For The Rich

HazZzMat

This kind of "redevelopment" is standard issue socialism for the rich. A developer who could not possibly afford to hold billions of dollars in financing for decades while he pursued deals with local business and residential tenants has gone to the state, not to make life better for an existing neighborhood, but to destroy one so that he and his friends among bankers, contractors, and real estate developers can make a fast buck at the expense of existing owners and the taxpayers. Redefining working class neighborhoods as "blighted" is the standard trick, given the imprimatur of the Supreme Court in one of its most bizarre decisions in recent memory. What's meant by "blighted" of course is that real estate developers feel that it would be too expensive to make deals with existing building, store and apartment owners. By getting legislatures and the courts, allegedly representatives of the people, to redefine a livable area as blighted, real estate developers can ride the state's exercise of eminent domain to profitability. Both parties play this game; there are no innocent office holders, elected or appointed, Republican or Democrat, in this issue. Using extortionate methods, including threats and deliberate undercutting of property values, representatives of the people in legislatures and on the bench arm thieves with a decree backed up by the state's police power. Why?

Well, let's not mince words. The people don't pay the bill for the government's elected and appointed officials to get into office. Bankers, real estate developers, and construction contractors are among those who do. Who pays is represented. Everyone else can file suit and pray.

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Posted by amy at 1:39 PM

January 9, 2007

Spitzer aides plan to review big projects

Spitzer aides plan to review big projects
ESDC's new chiefs promise to overhaul agency; star-studded panel to court execs

Crain's NY Business
By Erik Engquist

Gov. Eliot Spitzer's new economic development team is embarking on an overhaul of the Empire State Development Corp., beginning this week with a hard look at every pending and recently approved project.

The agency's new leaders will review the subsidies involved and hold the developers accountable for any promises to create jobs. Their study will last for three to six months and will cover Moynihan Station, Atlantic Yards and the World Trade Center, as well as smaller projects. Older deals will be examined to determine what has worked and what hasn't. The agency is under pressure to maximize its financial impact, since it is running a deficit and faces tight fiscal constraints imposed by Mr. Spitzer.

In addition, ESDC is exploring whether it can undo a controversial deal that would move the agency downtown. Patrick Foye, the agency's new downstate chairman, is looking to see if the state can get out of a contract under which it sold its office at 633 Third Ave. and bought an office condo at 125 Maiden Lane.

Mr. Foye and Avi Schick, ESDC's new president and chief operating officer, say their success will ultimately be judged on how much private investment in New York they can generate. To that end, they are assembling a star-studded task force to pitch New York to prospective investors. It will consist of Mr. Spitzer, Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

"Our goal is to be quick and nimble and smart, just as corporate America is," says Mr. Foye. "What we expect in return is that businesses and investors live up to the spirit and letter of the deals they make."

Mr. Schick suggests that the combination of celebrity and political muscle will make a compelling case to businesses, though he admits that scheduling all five task force members for meetings could be tricky.

The governor, at least, is on board. In an interview last week, Mr. Foye whipped out his PDA and found an e-mail he sent the governor at 6:33 that morning asking him to meet with a manufacturing business contemplating a venture upstate. Mr. Spitzer agreed in a return e-mail at 6:47 a.m.

"The governor has an incredible energy level, as we all know," says Mr. Schick.

The officials intend to use the governor's cachet and his plan to reform state government to attract stars from the private sector to fill 10 or 20 senior positions. "If you're smart, you're aggressive and you're hungry, and you want to make deals for the state of New York, we're looking for you," says Mr. Schick. With a smile, he acknowledges one downside: "You'll make less money for a few years."

Indeed, with the governor vowing to rein in spending and not raise taxes, it's going to be a tight budget year for the agency, which will run a $20 million deficit for the fiscal year ending March 31 and projects $30 million in red ink for next year. "It's imperative," says Mr. Schick, "to be smart and brutal on costs."

Another aim is to improve the agency's promotion of minority- and women-owned businesses, which has been criticized. The five-person staff devoted to that cause will be expanded, Mr. Foye says. He would not say by how many people but revealed that it would be a large percentage increase.

Another change will be in the way ESDC deals with the media and the public. Its reputation for secrecy — keeping meeting agendas under wraps until the last moment — does not fit in with Mr. Spitzer's pledges of transparency. "We're aware of the unhappiness with the openness here," says Mr. Foye. "The current approach has been less than optimal."

Despite his push for change, Mr. Foye declines to criticize Charles Gargano, his predecessor. The new chairman says that Mr. Gargano was helpful during the transition last month, and praised ESDC's work on Times Square, new stadiums for the Yankees and Mets, Moynihan Station and Harlem projects.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a longtime ESDC watchdog who met with Messrs. Foye and Schick last week, says they will give the agency a much-needed transformation. "I can't convey what a relief it is to talk to people whose intelligence and integrity just shine forth," the Democrat says.

Mr. Brodsky has held hearings and uncovered documents that he says show the agency did not follow the law when it sold 181,000 square feet at 633 Third Ave. to Time Equities for $100 million and nearly simultaneously paid $62.5 million to the same company for 165,000 square feet on Maiden Lane. ESDC signed a short-term lease to remain at 633 Third Ave. while it makes $25 million in improvements to the Maiden Lane space.

Time Equities CEO Francis Greenburger says he is willing to continue leasing space on Third Avenue to ESDC, but that 125 Maiden Lane now belongs to the state.

Posted by lumi at 8:34 AM

January 7, 2007

On the Ratner payroll?

Letter to the Editor, Courier-Life

We think the Atlantic Yards is great – for Fourth Avenue and 86th Street, or for Sheepshead Bay Road. The project is too big for its site and too detrimental to our neighborhoods.

Your editorial and that of Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz looks remarkably similar and looks as if they were written by the same Ratner PR firm.

Since Ratner has managed to “buy” so many of our elected officials, we wonder just how much you and Assemblymember Cymbrowitz have “benefited” from your endorsements.

Robert W. Ohlerking

Park Slope

article

Posted by amy at 11:52 AM

January 5, 2007

On The Yards And Volubility

Gumby Fresh hopes Marty Markowitz's "curse-laden interview" has dampened the BP's prospects for higher office:

It highlights how much the Atlantic Yards project has dented the cheerful persona with which Marty has wafted up through the ranks of the city's elected offices... But in the interview we get a snarling, defensive Marty, a man so consumed with worry over what the project does to his image that he barely remembers to unleash his trademark mindless boosterism to the interviewer.

link

Posted by lumi at 8:05 AM

January 4, 2007

Spitzer disses public authorites, but too late for AY review

Atlantic Yards Report

It was just two weeks too late for Atlantic Yards critics, but in his State of the State speech yesterday, on Day 3, Governor Eliot Spitzer called for public authorities reform...

Presumably, Spitzer included the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in his assessment, though there are many more obscure authorities that operate with even less scrutiny and transparency.

But that raises a question: if the ESDC's operations weren't up to snuff, why didn't Spitzer say anything publicly about delaying approval of the Atlantic Yards project until his administration, as many advocates recommended? Or does Spitzer have some sort of secret plan to change the project and/or ameliorate its effects?

article

Posted by lumi at 7:09 AM

January 3, 2007

Brooklyn Beep Bleeps!

Borough President Marty Markowitz appears to suffer from Tourette's syndrome anytime he faces opposition to Atlantic Yards. Now his year-end interview with Gersh Kuntzman is getting airplay in the blogosphere.

The Politicker declares Marty's interview with the Brooklyn Papers, "remarkably pungent" (link).

One of Politicker's highlights is about as classy as Nixon's secret White House tapes. Here's Marty's assesment of the motivation of Atlantic Yards critics:

"The truth of the matter is, it comes down to this: when you're against something, f_ck it, you'll do anything you can to stop it."

The Brooklyn Record digs up another instance in which Marty was feeling blue (link):

When asked if he thought that any newspaper in the city has analyzed the Atlantic Yards project "credibly and with integrity," Marty mentioned the Times.

"They have seriously written things that were definitely pro, middle and anti," Marty continues. "Whatever issues that the antis have raised, they have definitely not ignored it. Your paper says, 'We're against it, so f— it.'"

Egads! He should have listened to his mother.

Posted by lumi at 10:33 AM

January 2, 2007

It came from the Blogosphere...

Random, Insane Rants, What's Under the Tree?

Many gifts were exchanged throughout the country as millions of people celebrated this holiday season... Politicians and other important figures are no exception. Sorry, some of the gifts are non-returnable!
...
Residents Surrounding the Atlantic Yards: Not quite what a lot of you wanted.

The plan to build office towers, the arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, et cetera, cleared Shelly Silver's possible objection and can proceed.

Mole's Progressive Democrat, Progressive Democrat Issue 102: NYC FOCUS

The state has approved Ratner's plan to develop the Atlantic Yards and surrounding areas of Brooklyn despite the fact that not one single concern of the community has been addressed. Sewage, traffic, schools, fire houses, jobs and affordable housing are all unanswered questions. But we are told to shut up, get out of the way, and let Ratner use tax money to make a giant profit.

Albany is broken and it is affecting Brooklyn. Albany is broken, and the approval of Ratner's get richer with government help scheme is a giant indication of how bad Albany has become.

Curbed, The Curbed Awards 2006
DDDB earns the "Takes A Licking But Keeps on Ticking Award"

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. The Atlantic Yards juggernaut ran over this Fighting the Man Award winner at every turn, closing out the year with a final approval from the Gang of Three in Albany, but DDDB is still fighting with lawyers. Someone get these guys courtside Nets tickets already.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT ATLANTIC YARDS

On the subway a few months back, I met Isabel Hill, the filmmaker who created this documentary. We talked a bit and she told me about this film that she was working on about the Atlantic Yards. I am amazed that it is already completed. It sounds very interesting and I will definitely try to catch this screening.

On Thursday, January 4th, at 6:00 p.m., the Center for Architecture – home to the New York City chapter of the American Institute of Architects – will screen “Brooklyn Matters,” a documentary by Brooklyn filmmaker, urban planner and historian Isabel Hill. The timely and urgent film exposes how powerful interests are circumventing community participation and skirting legal protections to push the “Atlantic Yards” project forward at any cost.

The Unemployment Cafe, THE FRIDAY RANT: The 2007 Wish List
One Brooklynite wishes for:

The New York Times to stop shilling for Bruce Ratner and his Atlantic Yards development. I have a feeling that Atlantic Yards affordable housing will be on par on the vast affordable housing that was promised when Battery Park City was developed.

Gawker, We're Taking Your Apartment, So Smile

We've always wanted a Big Brother named Bruce, or, better yet, a Big Brother named Ratner, but not so much when we're lurching toward Flatbush Avenue looking for a train after watching Amos Lee perform at Freddy's Backroom.
...
If you live in the footprint of Atlantic Yards, Bruce Ratner wants to watch you worry.

Posted by lumi at 7:03 AM

December 30, 2006

The Marty outtakes: AY & terrorism, density, and traffic

Atlantic Yards Report looks into the unedited audio version of the Marty interview:

Probably the most memorable passage that didn’t make it to print was this bizarre Markowitz slam at Atlantic Yards critics:
I’ve been the recipient, more than anyone else on this project, I think maybe even more than Bruce Ratner, but certainly as far as any elected official going, a reciptient of more [inaudible] and hate, from those that feel that Atlantic Yards is more important than the issue of Osama Bin Laden and terrorism. 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.

Does he really believe that politically engaged people can’t keep local and national issues straight? Atlantic Yards is a local issue—probably the biggest local issue in Brooklyn—and Markowitz was elected to be Borough President. That’s why his office filed an extensive response to the AY Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Markowitz has no role in fighting terrorism and searching for Osama Bin Laden (unless he’s conducting reconnaissance missions in Junior’s). Still, it turns out, terrorism is an Atlantic Yards issue. Despite calls from community groups for the state review of Atlantic Yards to include post-9/11 security considerations, the state took a pass—and Markowitz said nothing.

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Posted by amy at 11:55 AM

Atlantic Yards Fun

The Politicker on Marty's Brooklyn Papers interview:

Here's a remarkably pungent year-end interview with Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, an Atlantic Yards Project supporter, by media outlet er he feels doesn't give the project a fair shake: Brooklyn Papers.

Here is how the interview started, according to a politely edited transcript.

Q: Did you see our banner headline on the front page this week? "APPROVED."

A: Look, The Paper, in my humble opinion -- and I have a right to criticize -- is overwhelmingly anti-[Atlantic Yards]. Not just the editorials, which you have every right to do, but the stories are tilted every freaking time. That's my humble opinion. I'm sorry, it is NOT a balanced newspaper. It's not. Editorially, you can blast away 'til Kingdom Come. But it is so overwhelmingly against Atlantic Yards. Everyone knows that if there is any way to attack the project, The Brooklyn Papers will be there to do so.

Later, according to an audio clip of the interview posted on Brooklyn Papers' website, Markowitz goes on to say:

"The truth of the matter is, it comes down to this: when you're against something, fuck it, you'll do anything you can to stop it."

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Posted by amy at 11:50 AM

December 29, 2006

Marty’s humble opinion

Brooklyn Papers
Marty Markowitz takes crazy ranting to a new level in this interview - asking the interviewer to define "fact" while praising the Times' balanced coverage. Or should we just say bop bop bop bop bop bop....

Q: Do you think any paper in the city has analyzed this project credibly and with integrity?

A: I think the Times has. They have seriously written things that were definitely pro, middle and anti. Whatever issues that the antis have raised, they have definitely not ignored it. Your paper says, “We’re against it, so f— it.”

Q: Has there been a story in The Papers that had a factual inaccuracy?

A: What is fact? If you’re going to put in your paper that Ratner put up [surveillance] cameras on his building —

Q: We never wrote a word about that!

A: He has a right to put up cameras and protect the area. One of those nut jobs — you don’t know who can come by [and cause a] fire — and then put the blame on him!

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Posted by amy at 9:13 AM

December 27, 2006

PRESS RELEASE
Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods Asks: “Hey, NYS Assembly: SHOW US THE MONEY!”

• Infrastructure improvements money: $100,000,000
• Community EIS Review money: $0
• Dysfunction and cronyism in Albany: Priceless!

Some folks just don’t pay their bills or honor their commitments.

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods in early 2006 was told by the New York State Assembly that they would provide CBN with $100,000 to be used for the community expert review of the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement. Based on these assurances CBN contracted a large team of environmental consultants and produced a highly praised independent analysis that is being used by officials in evaluating the Atlantic Yards proposal. One problem…the Assembly money has “disappeared.”

What happened?

Outgoing Assemblyman and early Atlantic Yards supporter Roger Green twice blocked the money, and twice after meeting with CBN members who addressed his concerns he agreed to remove his freeze. CBN would really like an accounting of where that money has gone and why.

“Public money was promised three times for a community review of this EIS. The community deserves to know what happened to that money. We hope the media and all government officials will insure these questions are answered. We aren’t going to let this drop without an accounting,” said James Vogel, spokesman for CBN.

It’s just so easy to skip paying bills during the holidays, especially if you’re the government!

The COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS (www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com) is a coalition of recognized diverse community groups active in Community Boards 2, 3, 6, and 8. CBN is comprised of 40 community organizations that have joined together to ensure meaningful community participation in the environmental review of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
718-408-3219 Office

cbrooklynneighborhoods@hotmail.com www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com

Posted by lumi at 7:19 PM

December 25, 2006

FREAKISH 'CONTROL'

STATE BOARD'S POLITICAL PLOYS & FISCAL FOULS

NY Post
By Charles Sahm

ASSEMBLY Speaker Sheldon Silver last week opted not to use his vote on the Public Authorities Control Board to shelve the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. But the fact remains that he could have - after all, he shelved two major Manhattan development projects in the last 18 months. It's time to rethink the PACB - an obscure, but incredibly powerful, state board.

The PACB has three voting members - one each appointed by the governor, the Assembly speaker and the Senate majority leader. It's supposed to vet projects funded by state authorities to make sure they're financially sound. (Authorities are quasi-governmental agencies that have the power to levy user fees; most have the ability to borrow funds by issuing debt.) Instead, it's just another forum for political horse-trading.

The law chartering the PACB clearly states: "The board may approve applications only upon its determination that, with relation to any proposed project, there are commitments of funds sufficient to finance the acquisition and construction of such project."

In other words, the PACB is, by law, only supposed to consider the financing of projects. Instead, though, politicians - with Silver only the most notorious - use it to hold big projects hostage to their own parochial concerns.

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Posted by lumi at 8:11 AM

December 24, 2006

Silver Votes 'Yes' On Atlantic Yards

Statement from NY Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver

I have been supportive of the Atlantic Yards project and put the first funding for the plan in this year's state budget. I have voted for it today because I am satisfied it meets all the necessary criteria under the PACB statute.

Furthermore, I am pleased the developer is committed to addressing numerous community concerns through several specific actions that will result in significant neighborhood improvements.
...
I have not supported numerous projects that were brought forward for consideration that simply were not ready for discussion. And while an MTA appraisal was made with respect to Atlantic Yards, that requirement was not honored with respect to evaluating assets in the Moynihan Station project.

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Posted by lumi at 7:46 AM

STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR GEORGE E. PATAKI

"I want to thank ESDC Chairman Charlie Gargano for his leadership on this effort as well as on the Javits expansion, the creation of Brooklyn Bridge Park, the 125th Street and Harlem revitalization, the Yankees and Mets stadiums, and the Times Square renewal."

"I look forward to seeing Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry’s grand vision turned into reality and to eating a hot dog as I watch the Brooklyn Nets play in Brooklyn’s new arena in the 2009-2010 season.”

link

Posted by lumi at 7:41 AM

December 23, 2006

Pataki, Ratner, Silver and Bruno: Crony Capitalism at its Worst

The Daily Gotham

Albany is broken and it is affecting Brooklyn. Albany is broken, and the approval of Ratner's get richer with government help scheme is a giant indication of how bad Albany has become.

Shelly Silver, the only Democrat (until Eliot Spitzer takes over) in Albany’s infamous “room” where three men purportedly meet, has sided with Republican Joe Bruno (under investigation by the FBI) and Republican George Pataki to basically violate the basic principles of private property by evicting private property owners from their private property to benefit Pataki’s law school buddy, Bruce Ratner.

Let me rephrase and reiterate that: the NY State government is seizing private property to benefit a crony of the Governor’s. This is not good old-fashioned American free-market capitalism. This is not good government. This is not even good economics. This the odd hybrid economy of state-sponsored crony capitalism that Bush has championed since he moved from Texas to DC. Pataki, Bruno and Silver are helping to undermine one of the basic principles of the American economy: private property. They are wallowing in a culture of corruption that we have seen permeate the Republican party and, with Shelly Silver, seems to affect NY State Democrats as well.

The main beneficiary of this use of the government’s power of eviction is not the community, but an individual, Bruce Ratner. In exchange for the muscle of government and taxpayer (our) money behind him, Ratner has promised jobs, affordable housing, and tax revenues for the city. Problem is none of this is legally binding and we are asked to take on faith that Ratner will be good for Brooklyn the same way we have been asked to take on faith that what was good for Enron or Halliburton is good for America. But since when did office space and an arena generate good, long-term, union jobs and why is Ratner, whose record of job creation is non-existent, being trusted with this project? Most of the promised affordable housing doesn’t even match what is considered affordable in Manhattan and there is no guarantee that that housing will remain affordable. And, once again, why is Ratner, who has no record at all of creating affordable housing, being trusted with this project? And the tax revenue promises have already been scaled back considerably (by $500 million) before the first spade of earth is turned.

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Posted by amy at 12:05 PM

STATEMENT FROM BP MARKOWITZ ON PACB APPROVAL OF BROOKLYN’S ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT

“Brooklyn’s bright future is indeed here today. I am thrilled with the PACB approval of the Atlantic Yards plan. This means our borough will soon be benefiting from thousands of union jobs, affordable housing, an enhanced and vibrant downtown, and our much-anticipated return to sports' major leagues. I am very encouraged as well that the PACB acted on our suggestion that the project’s “Miss Brooklyn” building not be taller than Brooklyn’s Williamsburg Savings Bank building. Add to all of this the project’s world-class architecture, on-site school, street-level shopping, and accessible public open space, and you can see why Atlantic Yards is the right project, in the right place, at the right time for Brooklyn.”

—— Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON PACB APPROVAL OF ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT

“Today’s approval of Atlantic Yards is the final step towards starting work on this enormously important project, which is vital to the resurgence of downtown Brooklyn. I thank Speaker Silver for providing the leadership in moving this forward and I applaud the Governor and Senate Majority Leader Bruno for their steadfast commitment to this project. Unique in scope and ambition, the Atlantic Yards project is the biggest private sector investment in Brooklyn’s history and the ultimate example of mixed-use development. It will create jobs, provide affordable housing and offer new retail and entertainment options, including a return of major league sports to Brooklyn. Atlantic Yards also demonstrates that when City and State government work together with the private sector, we can still achieve projects on a grand scale and ensure that New York remains a city where big things happen.”

Posted by amy at 11:17 AM

December 20, 2006

The Albany Sewer

The Daily Gotham

If you can't get enough of money, power and Albany, Bouldin is sharing his perspecitve:

With Joe Bruno under investigation by the FBI, Shelly Silver flexing his muscles over Atlantic Yards, and a new governor coming in, Albany is getting some much-needed attention. And let's face it, that's a good thing, because Albany is broken.

Today's Bruno and Silver headlines illustrate two different aspects of what is wrong with our dysfunctional, crippled and embarrassing state government.

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Posted by lumi at 7:01 AM

December 19, 2006

Has Silver Already Decided on the Yards?

The Empire Zone

Your humble reporter has been hearing similar chatter yesterday and this morning — but he has also been hearing the opposite, and many things in between. A delay seems not at all out of the question. But Skip Carrier, a spokesman for Mr. Silver, repeats what he told New York 1, and everyone else: The speaker has not yet decided.

“We had some fairly specific questions that were not getting answered. We made that known,” said Mr. Carrier. “They are providing us with additional material right now. We are making a good faith effort on what as you know is a very complicated project.”

The New York Observer’s Real Estate blog thinks Mr. Silver is laying the groundwork for a delay even if he hasn’t decided. We also hear, from sources who wish no ill to the controversial project, that Mr. Silver might merely be going through the motions.

But Mr. Carrier said that is not so. In fact, he said, just in the last hour or so, the Empire State Development Corporation, the state agency overseeing the project, dumped a large load of financial documents on Mr. Silver’s proverbial desk, and the speaker’s staff is sorting through it to discern whether it will provide the answers he has been seeking.

“We have received a significant amount of information and we are being briefed on it right now,” said Mr. Carrier. “He is still seriously trying to get his arms around a project that is big and complicated.”

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Posted by lumi at 9:50 PM

Shelly Going All 'West Side Stadium' On Ratnerville?

The Albany Project

A blog that stalks the "three men in a room" and all of the pork they consume responds to news that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver might hold off on the vote to approve Ratnerville:

I've been pretty hard on Shelly lately, but this seems to be a wise move, IMHO. Personally, I'd like to see the whole idea scrapped as I don't think that the project benefits the public much, though it will cost them a fortune. Not to mention all those individuals and businesses that would be evicted through eminent domain to make way for this thing.

One commenter agrees, but there's a call out to Nets fans to chime in.

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Posted by lumi at 8:25 PM

Whither the Yards?

Gothamist

While the Assembly speaker generally has supported the project, he has questioned the project’s financing. As the Times points out, Albany can be tricky for pols like Silver, with their obscure motivations. First, he has sparred publicly with Empire State Development Corporation head Charles Gargano, who has boosted the project from the get-go (Gargano hinted that Silver was crooked and Silver called Gargano’s tenure “a dismal failure.”). Second, Silver may want to deny Pataki a legacy project. Third, Silver has to deal with special interests.

We think most of the above theories are a stretch. Silver would lose face if he killed a project for petty reasons – he needs numbers to back up a no vote. So we wonder whether last week’s Atlantic Yards Report revelation that the project’s projected sales and income tax revenues have dropped by almost one-third (from $1.4 billion to $944 million) will influence his vote.

Also featured in the Gothamist article is coverage on the gigantic animated signage and the eminent domain fight.

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Posted by lumi at 10:49 AM

Senator-elect Adams calls for look at AY terrorism threat

Atlantic Yards Report

Less than two days before an expected vote on the Atlantic Yards plan by the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), Eric Adams, the State Senator-elect for the 20th District and a retired New York Police Department captain, said the project isn’t ready for public approval.

“I’m very concerned about the terrorism aspect,” Adams, co-Founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, said last night. “I’d hate for us to rush right through it.” (Indeed, NY1 reported later that the project has been stalled.)

While the adjacent transit hub was targeted for a terrorist attack in 1997, the Empire State Development Corporation says a terrorism/security review isn't required under the state environmental review, though the city police department has examined the project.

Adams has previously expressed several concerns about Atlantic Yards, but also has said he wanted to evaluate the environmental impact.

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Posted by lumi at 8:08 AM

December 18, 2006

Eminent Danger

The NY Sun, Editorial

We are under no illusions that a vote by Mr. Silver this week against Atlantic Yards would represent principled opposition to the idea of private property being seized by the government to be handed over to another private owner for economic development purposes. It would likely just be an example of Mr. Silver’s legendary negotiating acumen — he takes a deal to the wire and extracts every possible concession, even if he favors the project in question. But the unusual situation only underscores the perils of the way this project has evolved.

The Sun oulines the evolution of the Atlantic Yards project:

We start out from a position of favoring private-sector building and investment in New York City.We have no objection to the density of the $4.2 billion plan by developer Forest City Ratner to build a Nets basketball arena and housing designed by Frank Gehry near the Atlantic Avenue subway stop in Brooklyn. Initial indications were that the project would be primarily privately funded and that, because most of the land for the project was either owned by the Long Island Rail Road or had been privately acquired, the use of the government’s power to condemn property through eminent domain would not be needed.It is good news that Forest City Ratner is interested in investing this much money in Brooklyn.

The project, however, has evolved considerably since it was first announced. First, as Mayor Bloomberg kissed Bertha Lewis, the New York executive director of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, developer Bruce Ratner agreed to devote half of the rental units on the site — 2,250 of 4,500 apartments — to “affordable” housing. That opened the door for Forest City Ratner to seek subsidies for those units in the form of tax-exempt financing. The project started to look less like free-market investment and more like a classic market-distorting income-redistribution scheme in which the hardworking taxpayers of New York pay the price for those few lucky enough to score an “affordable” apartment.

Now comes the news that Mr. Pataki’s Empire State Development Corporation is moving to evict what the New York Post reports are 60 households and 13 businesses using eminent domain power. With the notable exception of the Brooklyn Papers, a chain of weeklies in Kings County, the press has been cheering on this trampling of property rights.

The conservative editorial board completes the argument against Atlantic Yards and the use of eminent domain by explaining that "property rights is bedrock. It’s Locke. It is one of the ideas upon which this nation was founded."

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Posted by lumi at 9:12 AM

December 16, 2006

Progressive Democrat Issue 100: BROOKLYN FOCUS: Atlantic Yards Development

Mole's Progressive Democrat comments on the statement from DDDB's Jeff Baker regarding problems with the FEIS:

As usual, I would add sewage issues to the list, something else that has been largely ignored but will affect a huge area of Brooklyn as well as the already over-polluted Gowanus canal.

I want to emphasize something that often gets forgotten: NO ONE is against development of this area. What people are against is the corrupt and sloppy process by which Ratner, a law school buddy of Pataki's, got handed almost anything he wanted without a proper bidding or review process. I also should point out that DDDB has been joined by a broad coalition of community groups and politicians, including Assembly members Millman, Brennan and Robinson. And now with Pataki on his way out, soon we may see a considerable reworking of Ratner's plan if not a complete fresh beginning to the process.

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Posted by amy at 10:14 AM

December 14, 2006

Guest Op-Ed: Atlantic Yards Is a Net Gain For Everyone In Brooklyn

Courier-Life Publications

The Atlantic Yards project is sounding better every day.

According to this Op-Ed piece by NY State Assemblymember Steven Cymbrowitz (45th AD), Atlantic Yards will now provide:

• "eight acres of brand new public space" (that's better than privately owned publicly accessible open space as stipulated in the project documents),
• "a state of the art health care facility providing high-tech health services currently unavailable locally" (Methodist is such a dump?),
• "15,000 union construction jobs" (we thought that was 1,500 jobs over 10 years, but we could be wrong),
• "between 1,500 and 6,400 new office, arena and retail jobs" (give or take 5,000), and
• "the developers have agreed to provide new school" (that means Ratner's paying, right?).

There's more, but you have to read it to believe it because if it's in the Courier-Life publications, it must be true.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:24 PM

Brodsky Badgers Gargano--One Last Time

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

One of Assemblyman Richard Brodsky's favorite targets for cross-examination (maybe the favorite), is Charles Gargano, whom he is hauling before an Assembly hearing on Monday afternoon, less than two weeks before the Empire State Development Corporation chairman is supposed to step down.

The topic: the sale of the New York State office condominium at 633 Third Avenue, which Brodsky calls in a press release "at best puzzling and at worst illegal insofar as our understanding of the fact that the required appraisal of the property was not conducted."
...
Nothing mentioned in the announcement about Monday's hearing regarding Atlantic Yards, folks, but Javits, Moynihan and the Empire Zone program are on the table.

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NoLandGrab: Atlantic Yards is shaping up to be one of the biggest boondoggles in recent history. With each incredible conclusion in the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement and the wrap-up of the lightning-fast public comment period, the ESDC is crying out, "REFORM ME!"

Can a politician focused on reform of NY State's public authorities be serious if they overlook Atlantic Yards?

Posted by lumi at 7:02 AM

December 13, 2006

NYS moves to seize arena land

Field of Schemes updates readers on the latest Atlantic Yards news:

New York's state Empire State Development Corporation has issued condemnation letters to property owners on the site of Bruce Ratner's proposed Brooklyn Nets arena, the first step in seizing the buildings by eminent domain. (Lame duck ESDC chair Charles Gargano said last week that no eminent domain proceedings were imminent - whoopsie!) The dispute will now head to court - well, actually, it already is in court.

The big question on everyone's minds, meanwhile, is: Will state assembly leader Sheldon Silver ride to the rescue and delay next week's vote of the Public Authorities Control Board on Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan, thus stalling things until new governor Eliot Spitzer, who has generally backed the plan but expressed qualms about the undemocratic process, takes office next month?

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Posted by lumi at 8:19 AM

Pataki Agrees to Let Spitzer Fill Some Vacant Posts

The NY Times By Danny Hakim and Michael Cooper

Gov. George E. Pataki has agreed not to fill some key vacancies at the state’s public authorities, to address Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer’s concerns that his hands would be tied for years by the outgoing governor’s appointments, officials said yesterday.

The deal came as lawmakers returned to Albany for a special legislative session today and a last round of Pataki-era deal making. The governor spoke to the Senate and Assembly leaders in separate telephone conversations yesterday, but the sides continue to negotiate over several issues, including a legislative pay raise, Mr. Pataki’s proposal to establish procedures for civil confinement of sex offenders after their prison terms end, and the proposed Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.

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Posted by lumi at 8:14 AM

December 12, 2006

EXTRA 'ICING' FOR MSG VIP SHELDON

HOCKEY PERKS ABOUND FOR SPEAKER

NY Post
By Tom Topousis

Some think that State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is quite cozy with the Dolan family, who own Madison Square Garden, the NY Knicks and NY Rangers. Will Silver's being a fan of the Blueshirts, and his receiving the VIP treatment, give the Dolans special consideration with the Public Authorities Control Board?

An avid Rangers fan, Silver is a regular at home games, often sitting just seven rows behind the visiting team's bench, where he has been spotted frequently over the last several weeks by Post reporters and photographers.

Garden officials insist that Silver pays for his tickets. Even so, sources familiar with the inner workings of the Garden have said that in the last four years, Silver has been granted a VIP status that goes beyond what's afforded to most other special visitors.

The red carpet was rolled out for the powerful Manhattan Democrat as he used his vote on an obscure Albany panel last year to block construction of a competing West Side stadium opposed by the Garden's parent company, Cablevision, owned by Charles and James Dolan.

More recently, Silver cast his ballot on the Public Authority Control Board to derail a plan to build the Moynihan train station on a site being eyed by the Garden's owners for a new arena.

On Dec. 20, a Silver delegate is expected to vote on a new Brooklyn arena that would host the NBA Nets and be a potential competitor of the Garden.

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Posted by lumi at 8:13 PM

POLS MUST DEAL TO WIN A PAY HIKE

NY Post
By Fredric U. Dicker

ALBANY - Gov. Pataki will back a pay hike for state lawmakers if they approve a six-item wish list that includes civil confinement for sexual predators, more charter schools, the massive Moynihan Station and Atlantic Yards projects, budget reforms, and the closing of 10 failing hospitals, The Post has learned.

A source close to Pataki said yesterday that approving the six items is "the only way the Legislature could get" the much-wanted pay hike.

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NoLandGrab: This indicates fear that Atlantic Yards cannot be approved on its "merits" and therefore must be used as quid pro quo for a payraise. Would there be any other reason to tie the legislators' pay increase to a massive payoff for Bruce Ratner?

Posted by lumi at 9:12 AM

December 11, 2006

Hakeem the Dream

From the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn E-Newsletter:

Former NBA great Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame when he becomes eligible in 2008, but 57th District Assemblymember-elect Hakeem Jeffries is not extending the same automatic welcome to Bruce Ratner's dream of an NBA arena in Brooklyn.

Jeffries, who is on record as opposing the use of eminent domain to build the proposed arena, sent a letter to the Public Authorities Control Board on Friday, urging the PACB to postpone taking any action on the proposed "Atlantic Yards" project until several outstanding issues were addressed. His concerns include an insufficient number of affordable rental units in Phase I of the project, the absence of affordable home ownership, the need to scale back the project significantly, and most noteworthy, the importance of allowing the courts to rule on the Federal eminent domain lawsuit before voting on the proposal.

We applaud Mr. Jeffries for standing with the community and demanding accountability from the developer and the ESDC. If his actions as Assemblymember-elect are any indication, he‚s going to be a strong advocate for his constituents when he takes office in January.

NoLandGrab: DDDB notices something we missed last week, that Jeffries went one step further in his letter to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, than his soon-to-be colleagues.

State Assemblymembers Jim Brennan, Joan Millman and Annette Robinson call on the Speaker to withhold his vote until certain issues are addressed, Jeffries asks the Speaker to allow the courts to decide the issue of eminent domain before voting on the project.

Posted by lumi at 10:29 AM

December 8, 2006

PRESS RELEASE: JEFFRIES CALLS ON PUBLIC AUTHORITIES CONTROL BOARD TO DELAY CONSIDERATION OF ATLANTIC YARDS PROJECT

Brooklyn, NY — December 8, 2006

Assemblymember-Elect Hakeem Jeffries, who will represent the 57th District, which includes most of the proposed Atlantic Yards project, today sent a letter to the Public Authorities Control Board calling for a delay in consideration of the project. The letter is attached (PDF).

###

Posted by lumi at 6:00 PM

Inside the orbit of Shelly Silver

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

Now that the Empire State Development Corporation is expected to vote to approve the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement, all eyes turn to State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

All three [men in a room] have said they support the project — but Silver has used his board vote to block several key Pataki initiatives, including the West Side stadium and the Moynihan station project.

That, plus the fact that he recently slammed ESDC Chairman Charles Gargano as corrupt, makes many believe that he will stick it to Pataki again. No wonder so many people are in the Speaker’s orbit right now.

Click here to read the breakdown of the players.

Posted by lumi at 9:10 AM

Spitzer Said to Pick Next ESDC Chair

You gotta love the blogosphere.

We are posting that Matthew Schuerman from The Real Estate Observer posted that:

Newsday's Errol Cockfield and the Daily News' Ben Smith are reporting that Patrick Foye, the president and chief executive of the United Way of Long Island, will be Eliot Spitzer's pick to chair the Empire State Development Corporation--the first time in 20 years that the post would not be held by a fundraiser for whomever is Governor.

Posted by lumi at 7:01 AM

December 6, 2006

DDDB asks PACB to say "whoa;" Lupica puts Silver on notice

Atlantic Yards Report

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) yesterday delivered 3600 letters to the controlling members of the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), asking them to wait to vote on the Atlantic Yards project until the eminent domain case is resolved.

The PACB, whose controlling members are Governor George Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, could get to vote on the project as early as December 15, assuming the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) approves the project at its meeting on Friday. (Note: the meeting time has been changed to 3:30 pm from 10 am.)

On Sunday, Daily News sports columnist Mike Lupica urged Silver, the only Democrat among the trio, to put the project on hold:

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Posted by lumi at 6:27 AM

December 1, 2006

The Darman Group (AY minority contracting coordinator) and the Malcom Smith connection

Atlantic Yards Report

Daily News columnist Ben Smith, in a 11/19/06 column headlined Revealed: How top state Dem built his power base, connects some dots between State Senator Malcom Smith, the new Senate minority leader, and the Darman Group, the company that's been coordinating minority contracting for the Atlantic Yards project.

The Senate is currently dominated by the Republicans, but, as Ben Smith points out, Malcolm Smith, a Democrat from Southeast Queens, could become one of "three men in a room"--who have overwhelming weight in state politics--if the Democrats take the Senate after redistricting or a new political wind. The Senator is a real estate developer by profession.

Read about the Darman Group's shady past and how it relates to Atlantic Yards in more ways than one.

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If you're a minority contractor, you can prequalify on the Darman Group's web site.

Posted by lumi at 7:41 AM

November 30, 2006

DDDB PRESS RELEASE: Comptroller Hevesi’s Statement Means Projects Like “Atlantic Yards” Need Proper Amount of Time for PACB Analysis

Argument Made for Spitzer to Review Projects

NEW YORK, NY— Last week, New York State Comptroller Hevesi issued a press statement warning that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) is moving much too fast on development project approvals. The PACB is the body that will have to consider the $4.2 billion “Atlantic Yards” proposal. On Monday the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) took another step towards rushing PACB consideration before the Pataki Administration ends, and before the PACB has a reasonable amount of time to fully scrutinize the largest development proposed by a single developer in the history of New York City.

"Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) agrees with Comptroller Hevesi one hundred percent. Bruce Ratner’s 'Atlantic Yards' proposal in Brooklyn could misuse and waste at least $2 billion in public money, and is a prime example of the Comptroller's concerns," said DDDB spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. "For this reason, and many other concerns about the project, we believe that the PACB should take ample time to review the Ratner plan as it is nowhere near ready for prime time with its numerous financial unknowns, deficient environmental review, and because it is based on a use of eminent domain whose constitutionality is currently under review by the courts."

Comptroller Hevesi’s warning, about numerous projects around the State, speaks directly to the lack of financial information on the Ratner development plan and the clear attempt by the ESDC to fast track the proposal through PACB approval. From the Comptroller’s release:

"The State should take the proper amount of time to make certain that it is entering into sound fiscal commitments that have been thoroughly vetted and analyzed with the PACB as the last step in the process of reviewing a final and complete plan. Also, the Spitzer administration should be given the opportunity to include these projects in a comprehensive plan."

"I’m not suggesting that any of these projects are not worthy or should be blocked. But when they are rushed through in a long list, it is impossible to know if they are as good as they can be." (Emphasis added)

“We can clearly see that, like Mr. Hevesi is saying, the ESDC is trying to force a fast-tracked PACB review of ‘Atlantic Yards.’ They are doing this in an attempt to assure approval in the waning days of the Pataki administration to avoid serious scrutiny,” said Goldstein. “Incoming Governor Spitzer, under whose watch the ‘Atlantic Yards’ controversy will play itself out, deserves ample time to review the project in his role as one of three PACB vote holders. Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Silver shouldn’t be eager to rush ahead with a project whose approval would be under the watch of ESDC Chairman Gargano, who http://dddb.net/php/latestnews_Linked.php?id=332Speaker Silver called ‘the most corrupt member of the Pataki Administration’ just two weeks ago.”

Amongst other financial arrangements, the PACB would have to approve triple tax-free bonding for the Ratner plan, including the bond on the arena portion of the project, of at least $647 million plus the debt service.

Mr. Hevesi also said, “New York State is already suffering under huge amounts of debt, and now in the last days of the current administration, there is a rush to push through billions of dollars of projects that will load the State with billions more in debt, in many cases without getting a proper review. It is wrong to limit the freedom of the new administration through rushed last minute decisions.” (Emphasis added)

Posted by lumi at 12:59 PM

On Gargano, Pataki, Silver, Spitzer, and Hevesi

Picketing Henry Ford

Stuart Schrader can't seem to find a fancy French intellectual catchall phrase for "follow the money" and "politics makes strange bedfellows." What he does turn up is a political soap opera in which everyone ultimately has a price.

So what is really going on with the approval of this project? Why so rushed? Simple: Governor Pataki, perhaps the most deluded politician alive (Rumsfeldian might be an apt description), has ambitions to be president... The bonus for Pataki is that Ratner has incredibly deep pockets, which all national candidates require.
...
Hevesi’s fate ultimately sits in Spitzer’s hands. The lame-duck governor screwed Hevesi by not allowing his clearly stupid but ultimately forgivable financial impropriety to be swept under the rug. So Hevesi wants to screw Pataki back. A perfect way to do so is to delay the decision about the Atlantic Yards until after Pataki is out of office... If delayed, the vote gives Spitzer an opportunity to assert himself and set the character of his new administration. Hevesi surely hopes that by giving Spitzer this opportunity.... The problem in Brooklyn, however, is that Spitzer might not vote the way we want him to.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:47 AM

A Ratner-related contribution to Roger Green

Atlantic Yards Report

While Norman Oder was stalking political contributors who are likely representing the interests of Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project (Bruce Ratner claims to have stopped contributing to campaigns after the 1997 election), he came across a new name:

[Roger] Green was deeply involved in the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement and has spoken enthusiastically for the project. So maybe it's not surprising that campaign disclosure forms show additional ties to developer Forest City Ratner. Green got $2000 on 7/27/06 from FCR executive Gary Lieberman, who also owns a piece of the Nets.

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Posted by lumi at 10:40 AM

November 29, 2006

Jeffries Watch

Three current State Assemblymembers just went on record withholding their support for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, pending more review and reductions in size.

But what about Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming State Assemblymember, whose district would balloon in size if the project were to be built as proposed?

The Real Estate Observer, Jeffries To Silver: Atlantic Yards' Density Worries Me
Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman caught up with 57th District Assemblymember-elect Hakeem Jeffries during a telephone interview yesterday:

Jeffries told The Real Estate on Tuesday that he had a conversation about a week to 10 days ago to express many of the same concerns as Assembly members Jim Brennan, Joan Millman and Annette Robinson did. In the order Jeffries mentioned them, his concerns are: building more affordable housing early on as part of the project, the lack of transparency regarding the project's financing, the lack of public involvement, and, upon prompting, its density. Jeffries said that he would speak with Silver again soon.

Jeffries is known to be hard to read (some would say slippery) on Atlantic Yards, and he refused to compare his position with that of Brennan's camp.

"I have always felt that eminent domain is one of government's most exceptional powers. I don't believe that a private developer should be able to use it to build a basketball arena." But he also said that the courts should be allowed to decide the issue.

Assemblymember-elect Hakeem Jeffries on AY
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn emphasized Jeffries comments on eminent domain and added:

We agree with that entirely. The PACB should not vote on the proposed project until after the courts are allowed to rule on the federal eminent domain lawsuit filed on October 26th. An approval before that case is resolved can lead to a BIG MESS where Forest City Ratner levels some of the neighborhood but then cannot build any of "Atlantic Yards" because the plaintiffs win their lawsuit.

Posted by lumi at 9:44 AM

MIKE BID TO WIPE OUT 'BLOCK'HEADS

NY Post
"Inside City Hall", by David Seifman

Here's a column we missed about Mayor Mike's disaffection with the Public Authorities Control Board (you know, the group that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner hopes will rubberstamp his Brooklyn mega-project).

MAYOR Bloomberg was so livid after a little-known stateboard blocked two major city projects that he ordered the city's top lawyer to review its legality.

Sources said Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo came back with a surprising finding: The irksome Public Authorities Control Board may be unconstitutional, but there's not much the city can do about it.

"He reported back that there is a case to be made, but the city can't be the one making it," said one source.

The problem seems to be that the city is a creation of the state, which is why the state's highest court has ruled it can't sue the state.

But someone else could.

article

NoLandGrab: From a legal perspective, the point about how the City can't sue the State is moot in the case of Atlantic Yards because the Mayor has supported the project from day one. But it does inform the public as to why the State can simply override City zoning with the vote of a board of non-elected officials.

From a political and PR point of view, it's amusing that the Mayor has now come to the same conclusion about the Public Authorities Control Board as Atlantic Yards critics.

Posted by lumi at 7:04 AM

Opposed, Gently

The Politicker noticed that Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn posted the letter from State Assemblymembers Jim Brennan, Joan Millman and Annette Robinson to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver asking for a delay in approval of the project unless significant modifications to the project are made:

The letter was emailed out today by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and posted on the group's website, although the moderate tone seems to be at odds with DDDB's more absolutist opposition.

Is this a sign that the Atlantic Yards opposition is beginning to coalesce around an eventual compromise position? Or am I just reading too much into this?

link

NoLandGrab: Our reading of DDDB's posting was that the coalition of local groups would like people to know that a few politicians have finally gone on record to argue many of the same points that the coalition has tried to get across for a couple of years now.

Points highlighted by DDDB: * The project's "extreme density." * The override of land use laws, which permits the "extreme density" * The lack of full disclosure of the project's public cost * The lack of an effective and comprehensive transportation plan * The absence of housing for individuals earning less than $21,000 * The low percentage of "affordable" housing in Phase One

Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM

November 28, 2006

Brennan, Millman, Robinson ask Silver to delay, modify AY project

Atlantic Yards Report

While Empire State Development Corporation Chairman Charles Gargano has been busy getting roasted for bobbling the Environmental Impact Statement, important news has been brewing in the State Assembly.

Three Assemblymembers representing districts near the proposed Atlantic Yards project have asked Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for “substantial modifications to the Project and a delay in approval until those modifications are achieved." Silver is one of three controlling votes on the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB), which should get the project later this month, after approval by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC).

Assemblyman Jim Brennan and Assemblymembers Joan Millman and Annette Robinson sent the three-page letter on November 22 to [Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver, a fellow Democrat. The speaker, who has expressed support for Atlantic Yards, has said he would consider the opinions of representatives in Brooklyn.
...
The Assemblymembers' concerns include the project’s “extreme density,” the override of land use laws, the opacity of project finances, and the lack of an effective transportation plan. Also, echoing criticism raised by some housing groups and the BrooklynSpeaks coalition, they call for broadening the affordable housing to those earning less than $21,000 a year. They suggested a revival of an Assembly bill that would trade additional subsidy for a project downsizing.

Also covered in Norman Oder's new analysis of the letter to Sheldon Silver is Assemblymember-elect Hakeem Jeffries' conspicuous absence, and a brief run down of the concerns expressed by the trio of legislators.

article

NoLandGrab: It's not clear what leverage the group will have at this time, but it is a consolation to know that there are a handful of elected representatives who actually listen to their constituents.

Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM

November 26, 2006

Gargano's Bad Week Finally Ends

The Real Estate

Charles Gargano must be thankful that this week is finally ending: The Atlantic Yards blunder, Shelly Silver's barbs, and, now, from the other end of the state, The Syracuse Post-Standard uncovering a scheme whereby poor upstate towns sold tax breaks to developers for a fee.

State Senator Liz Krueger says Gargano and other appointees to the Empire State Development Corporation, which is in charge of the Empire Zone tax break program, "either lack the most basic understanding of the very laws they are charged with implementing, or worse, they simply do not care."

Over the past several weeks, The Post-Standard has painted a bleak picture of the Empire Zone program: "None of the 10 businesses that claimed the biggest property tax refunds for 2003 created more than 20 jobs," the paper reports. The whole investigative series can be found here.

link

Posted by amy at 7:25 PM

Marty (in Brooklyn!!) continues AY dance of avoidance

Atlantic Yards Report

In April, I pointed out how Atlantic Yards was conspicuously absent from issues of Borough President Marty Markowitz's Brooklyn!! (subtitled "Where New York City Begins"), the tabloid promotional vehicle for Brooklyn and all things Marty.

The Fall/Winter issue arrived yesterday, and there was hardly a word about Atlantic Yards, even after perhaps the year's most tumultuous public event regarding Brooklyn, the August 23 public hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Yes, we know that Brooklyn!! is mostly about feel-good stuff like Brooklyn's holiday lights, the inaugural Brooklyn Book Festival, and readers' Favorite Waitpersons.

But if Brooklyn!! is going to tell us about the new Aviator Sports and Recreation Center at Floyd Bennett Field, or new hotels around Downtown Brooklyn, or new designs for the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, well, why not a word about the borough's biggest development project?

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Posted by amy at 12:22 PM

November 23, 2006

Shelly gets one right

The Brooklyn Papers, Editorial

We’ve certainly had our disagreements with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, but the Manhattan Democrat earned our Hero of the Week award for his righteous broadside against state development czar Charles Gargano on Sunday.

Appearing on WNBC’s “News Forum,” Silver said what virtually no one has had the guts to say, namely that Gargano, who came to power after serving as George Pataki and Al D’Amato’s bagman, is the “most corrupt” of Pataki’s rubberstampers.

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Posted by lumi at 7:36 AM

November 21, 2006

Incoming Assemblyman Jeffries supports AY delay, compromise

Atlantic Yards Report

Hakeem Jeffries, the newly-elected Assemblyman in the 57th Assembly District, which includes the site for the proposed Atlantic Yards project, has long spoken carefully about the project, offering support for affordable housing, concern about eminent domain (at least for a basketball arena), and a belief that the project would be too big.

Last night, speaking before a meeting of the Fort Greene Association, Jeffries maintained such a cautiously supportive stance. He called for the project to be delayed until the administration of incoming Governor Eliot Spitzer, and said he supported several changes in the project. Such changes, including the idea of a government subsidiary dedicated to overseeing the project, sound much like those proposed by BrooklynSpeaks, the coalition of critics that have staked out a relatively moderate stance that separates them from the Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) coalition.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:00 AM

Lawmakers Are Banking on a Change of Heart by Pataki on Pay Raises

The NY Sun
By Jacob Gershman

An article about the possibility of lawmakers finally getting a pay raise from the outgoing governor cites the politicial football du jour, Atlantic Yards, as possible leverage against Pataki.

Legislators have some leverage over the lame-duck governor. The Senate can jam up Mr. Pataki's last remaining judicial appointments and Mr. Silver and Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno can use their power as members of the Public Authorities Control Board to derail the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards development project, which could be up for final approval next month.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM

November 20, 2006

Silver watch

This weekend several blogs, including NoLandGrab, stared at the bottom of the tea cup Sheldon Silver left behind, trying to divine the meaning of recent public comments and the very nasty dissing contest between the Assembly Speaker and a staffer of outgoing Governor Pataki.

Atlantic Yards Report tried to put it all in context and reminded readers of an earlier article on AYR, which found $6,000 of campaign contributions from Bruce Ratner's family members for Sheldon Silver's re-election campaign, though the Lower Manhattan Assemblyman ran un-opposed.

Brooklyn Speaks, a coalition of groups who are seeking to improve the project from an urban-planning perspective, highlighted one of the most nebulous comments in their headline, "Silver on Atlantic Yards: The merits of the project still to be examined." The comment comes from a WNBC interview with Jay DeDapper, which aired this weekend. Is Silver really saying that the project has its merits, but these merits need to be examined? If that doesn't quite make sense to you, then what does he mean?

In the same interview, Silver's harshest words were saved for the Chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation, Charles Gargano: the legislator called the Governor's appointed chairman "the most corrupt, most corrupt member of this administration." This unleashed a public "war or words," which Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn tried to keep up with in yesterday's post, Touché says Gargano.

Even The Gowanus Lounge got serious in a Sunday post, "Sheldon Speaks on Atlantic Yards," by running quotes from the interview along with this summary of the public's speculation over what is causing this food fight:

On Atlantic Yards, there is rampant talk that Silver is being lobbied to put off a vote on the project until after Eliot Spitzer takes office (Spitzer is very pro, but might tinker with the model) or even until the eminent domain suit is resolved. There is also some thought he will broker some sort of compromise to genuinely reduce the scale of the project (those smaller models that Mr. Ratner and Mr. Gehry are said to have ready) and further mitigate traffic and other impacts.

The ironic thing is that despite the millions of dollars spent by Ratner to sell Atlantic Yards, and thousands of hours invested by project critics in opposition to the project, the issue still becomes a political football in a clash of Albany All-Stars.

Posted by lumi at 7:43 AM

November 19, 2006

GOV STRIKES MOTHER LODE IN SILVER BLAST

New York Post
And in other news you thought would end after the elections - public name-calling competitions!

A top aide to Gov. Pataki unleashed an unprecedented personal attack on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday, after the Democrat called Pataki's top economic development adviser "corrupt" and more interested in his own purported "gambling interests" than in New York's well-being.

"For Shelly 'Vegas' Silver to lecture anyone about ethics is like a bad standup routine, especially since he's Alan Hevesi's biggest apologist, has employed a known sex offender, has covered up internal investigations and has presided over a body that had no less than seven of its members indicted, convicted, or resign under a cloud of disgrace," said David Catalfamo, Pataki's communications director.

BLAM! KAPOW!

Silver (D-Manhattan), who was taping WNBC's "News Forum" for a show that airs tomorrow, ripped Gargano as "corrupt" and said he was more interested in raising campaign cash than he was in New York's economy.

"Let's talk about Charlie Gargano, the most corrupt, most corrupt member of this administration," said Silver.

article

DDDB asks, what are they fighting over???

Charles Gargano, chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) which is the lead agency attempting to ram "Atlantic Yards"–a project not ready for prime time–down our throats.

"Atlantic Yards" requires a unanimous vote from the PACB. Gargano's agency will soon pass "Atlantic Yards" on for the PACB's consideration. The fight is over Silver's scathing attack on Gargano and Pataki's aide's attack on Silver for his attack on Gargano. Looks like the three men in a room may need to take it outside.

Posted by amy at 1:15 PM

Can Eliot Spitzer Stay Progressive?

Mother Jones

Spitzer has said that he considers a plan to build a new high-voltage line through the state’s historic Adirondacks “dead,” but he hasn’t spoken against other major construction projects that give environmentalists pause, such as controversial proposals to build a 6,860-unit housing and commercial development in western Brooklyn and a NASCAR track on Staten Island. “Those are issues that we’re going to have to be out there fighting. We can’t expect that Spitzer as governor is going to be fighting on these issues, or even making the right decisions,” says Stouffer.
...
Spitzer’s overall philosophy isn’t always clear, according to Bertha Lewis, who works mostly on poverty and social justice issues as director of ACORN, the community-organizing group, and as a cochair of the state’s Working Families Party.

“He’s conservative on some issues and liberal on others…sometimes I can’t pin him down,” says Lewis. “People say he’s going to govern to the right, because, you know, he’s not a flaming liberal. Because we’ve seen those situations before.”

Hmmm...can't think of anyone else who might be hard to pin down...

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Posted by amy at 12:56 PM

The Race to Replace...Yvette

The Daily Gotham
What - you didn't think you'd have a break from elections, did you? mole333 comes with an analysis of the upcoming contest for Yvette Clarke's city council seat, which will be vacant January 1. Here's how mole333 sees the candidates stacked up on Atlantic Yards:

Jesse Hamilton:

When asked about "Atlantic Yards" he gave a somewhat vague answer, but I should note that questions about "Atlantic Yards" encompass development of the area in general and really the questions should be regarding Ratner's corrupt and overblown plan. Hamilton's answers regarding Atlantic Yards emphasized the need for affordable housing and jobs, but indicated that the scale of the project was ludicrous and that the way it has been forced down the throats of the community was despicable. He particularly emphasized that circumventing the existing community boards in favor of other neighborhood groups who were receiving money from Ratner was distasteful.

Zenobia McNally:

Zenobia did seem too wary of directly criticizing Ratner's plan. She did say that as it was first proposed it was too big. She then indicated that it has already been scaled down, then added, somewhat mumbling, that it could be scaled back more. She did not emphasize the distasteful (corrupt?) way the Ratner plan has been pushed foward the way Jesse Hamilton did. All of that added to the red flag about her regarding Atlantic Yards.

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Posted by amy at 12:45 PM

November 15, 2006

No photos please!

For those of you who couldn't make the Empire State Development Corporation hearing today, we sent a photographer to capture the live action.

Unfortunately, the ESDC's commitment to transparency stops at the hearing door, so our photographer came back with only this single image from the lobby, entitled "Three Objects in a Room."

What about this photo reminds us of a wake?

Posted by lumi at 5:12 PM

November 12, 2006

Perspectives on the Atlantic Yards Development Through the Prism of Race

New York Times
NICHOLAS CONFESSORE

Last year, James E. Caldwell, the president of Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development, a job-training group known as Build, said it would be a “conspiracy against blacks” if Forest City did not win its bid for rights to build over the railyards on the site. Bertha Lewis, the New York executive director of Acorn, a national advocacy group for low-income people, attributed concern over the project to “white liberals.”

Interviewed recently, both Mr. Caldwell and Ms. Lewis backed away from those remarks. “Everybody said crazy things on both sides,” Ms. Lewis said. “I’ve apologized to folks, and folks have apologized to me.”

Both Build and Acorn — as well as a group Mr. Daughtry heads — receive funds from Forest City under the community benefits agreement. And both have been instrumental in turning out black participants who boost the project at community meetings, rallies and hearings. That, opponents say, has helped fuel perceptions that black support for the project is high.

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Posted by amy at 11:15 AM

November 10, 2006

Change at the Top in Albany Won’t Change Brooklyn Projects

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Editorial
By Dennis Holt

The Eagle's Dennis Holt doesn't think that a change of pace in Albany will have any effect on the two most controversial development projects in Brooklyn.

Spitzer has publicly and privately confirmed his strong support for Brooklyn Bridge Park and, if anything, may well encourage the planners, designers and builders to speed things up.

The same kind of support for the Atlantic Yards plan can also be expected from Spitzer and through him to the new people at ESDC. He has already expressed his concern about attempts to limit the state’s ability to employ eminent domain when necessary. ...
So yesterday’s election may signal a sea change politically in New York, but it looks very much like business as usual here in Brooklyn.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:06 AM

November 8, 2006

After Spitzer's election: Day One, everything changes?

Atlantic Yards Report wonders what can be accomplished on day one (or day two, for that matter) of a Spitzer administration.

Eliot Spitzer, whose campaign slogan is "Day One: Everything Changes." He's pledged a program of reforms, and some of them are promising.

Will he get there? Former state Senator Seymour Lachman, speaking last week on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, was both encouraging and cautious: “I know this man. He is a reformer. And I also feel it’s going to be very difficult. Eliot Spitzer cannot accomplish this in six months, or a year... or eight years.”

Then again, Lachman, in his book Three Men in a Room, suggests that only a constitutional convention can truly reform our dysfunctional state government.
...
Spitzer's campaign told The Real Deal that the Spitzer seeks more transparency for the Atlantic Yards project, which is proceeding under the auspices of the ESDC. What that would mean exactly is unclear.

Note that Spitzer recently declared that the most recent eight percent cut in the Atlantic Yards project was "appropriate" and sufficient. It seemed clear he had little idea that the project would be as large as initially proposed.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:07 AM

The head-to-head matchup to watch

NY Daily News
Columnist, Errol Louis

Will governor-elect Eliot Spitzer be a white-knight reformer? Not so fast, says Errol Louis, who points out that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver hasn't spent the past 30 years in Albany amassing political clout for nothing.

Silver - as Spitzer's staff is about to learn - holds nearly as much political power as the governor, and often uses it to grind Albany's gears to a halt.

It's not just that the Assembly speaker is one of the "three men in a room" who control all legislation and the $105 billion state budget in what has justly been dubbed the most dysfunctional state Legislature in America. Silver also bears a heavy share of responsibility for the shameful fact that the Assembly rarely holds meaningful hearings or debates on even the most important bills.

On top of that, Silver directs all committee assignments in the Assembly, which come with up to $41,000 in bonuses on top of a legislator's base salary, meaning Silver controls his members' paychecks to the penny - along with the amount of staff they get and the discretionary money they have to spend on projects in their districts.

And while Silver has been curiously mute on the subject of Atlantic Yards, Louis assures his readers that the man who holds one of the votes on the board that will vote to approve the Atlantic Yards project knows his stuff:

Talk to Silver about different development projects around the city, and it gradually dawns on you that he has a deep, detailed knowledge about all the numbers, projections and issues related to Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards, the Queens waterfront, the proposed new train station and subway extension on the West Side of Manhattan, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and nearly every other major issue being kicked around.

And more than knowledge, Silver has a point of view about how all the pieces should fit together, along with the clout to kill projects he doesn't like.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

Despite Accusations, Hevesi Is Re-elected New York’s Comptroller

The NY Times
By Diane Cardwell

The Times's coverage of yesterday's win by the disgraced State Comptroller Alan Hevesi included this odd bit:

Mr. Hevesi has been displaying growing defiance of his party’s wishes in recent days that he amplified in his victory speech. In a commercial that began running late last week, he made a direct appeal to voters to forgive him for his “stupid mistake” of using the state employee, and he accused “some politicians” of wanting “to stampede me out of office.”

Mr. Hevesi concluded by telling voters that if they kept him in office, he would, “owe you everything, and those politicians nothing.”

article

NoLandGrab: Though the guy is toast, it is notable that it takes an ethics scandal for a politician to owe the voters "everthing, and those politicians nothing."

Posted by lumi at 7:46 AM

November 7, 2006

VOTE TODAY: Elections November 7!

The following candidates have shown strong opposition to the use of eminent domain for private development and/or opposed the Atlantic Yards proposal:

---

18th Senate District

Velmanette Montgomery (D) Incumbent
From NoLandGrab's Pol Precinct:

"Voice of the people and co-sponsor of the Atlantic Yards Development Workshop with Letitia James. Montgomery is unwavering in her support for and promotion of real community-based development for the Railyards."

---

11th Congressional District (Major Owens's district)

Ollie McClean, Independent Candidate, a founding member of the United African Movement, walked in support of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn in the Walkathon

Dr. Steve Finger, Libertarian Candidate, strongly against eminent domain abuse

---

10th Congressional District, (Ed Towns's district)

Charles Barron is running a write-in campaign (write-in box-slot 18.) From NoLandGrab's Pol Precinct:

"Charles Barron has fought tirelessly against the racial divisiveness of the pro-arena campaign and to give everyone a voice in the community. He has also called for building the arena in his district, which satisfies many of the transportation requirements, is in need of more jobs and is primed for urban renewal."

---

25th State Senate

Ken Diamondstone, WFP line. Ken has been a long-time supporter of DDDB.

---

Green Party: The Green Party must receive 50,000 votes in the Governor's race to regain automatic ballot status. The Green Party walked in support of Develop Don't Destroy in the walkathon.

Howie Hawkins for US Senate
Malachy McCourt for Governor
Rachel Treichler for Attorney General
Julia Willebrand for Comptroller
Alison Duncan for Lt Governor

---

We also received this note from the Libertarian Party:

Your election roundup fails to mention that all of the Libertarian Party's candidates are opposed to eminent domain abuse. We were opposed to eminent domain abuse before it was cool. We were opposed to eminent domain abuse long before Atlantic Yards and will be forever.

Our statewide candidates are:

US Senate: Jeffrey Russell
Governor: John Clifton
Lieutenant Governor: Donald Silberger
Comptroller: John Cain
Attorney-General: Christopher Garvey

Posted by amy at 7:57 AM

November 1, 2006

Marty's on a mission to sell Brits on Brooklyn

Fuhgeddaboud Buckingham Palace - try the Boardwalk, mate.

NY Daily News
By Ellen Tumposky in London and Jotham Sederstrom in New York

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is bringing the land of Spike Lee movies, Jay-Z videos and Coney Island to foggy London town in an effort to draw the U.K. to BK.

article

NoLandGrab: While he sells out Brooklyn on the homefront, Marty enjoys a paid vacation.

Posted by lumi at 6:25 AM

October 31, 2006

'PUBLIC' BOARD SHAPES CITY

Big development decisions have local pols and citizens sitting up and taking notice of a powerful yet obscure state board.

City Limits Weekly
By Rachel Nielsen

The Public Authorities Control Board is a little-known government body that's been giving its yes or no to the financing behind giant public projects across the state for years. But just recently it’s gotten a lot more attention in New York City because it's the PACB – widely considered lacking in transparency and accountability – that will in essence make the final decision about the controversial Atlantic Yards development that could transform downtown Brooklyn. [Note: Um... the Atlantic Yards project was still in Prospect Heights when we checked this morning.]

Mayor Bloomberg is making a big stink that the Public Authorities Control Board (proxies of the proverbial "Three Men in a Room") get the final say on large city development projects. This is a big change of pace for the Mayor, since he welcomed the usurpation of local authority over the Atlantic Yards plan by the Empire State Development Corporation. However, during the past two years, the Public Authorities Control Board has doled out defeats to two of the Mayor's coveted projects, the Westside Stadium and Moynihan Station.

Who are these proxies of the Three Men in a Room [and who are these three men, for that matter]? How does the Public Authorities Control Board get to vote on projects sponsored by the Empire State Development Corporation? How do they come to a decision? What happens when they don't? Who knows? Who cares?

Answers to these burning questions and more in this article at CityLimits.org.

Posted by lumi at 6:58 AM

Empire of the son

The Daily News
By Douglas Feiden

Though gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer talks tough on reforming quasi-governmental corporations like the Emipire State Develop Corporation — the state "agency" that is sponsoring the Atlantic Yards project — don't hold your breath on him taking a hard look at the Atlantic Yards project itself.

According to the Daily News, Spitzer's fortune comes from the NYC real estate empire built by his father, and the candidate has already expressed support for the project, calling the 8% scaleback to the original size a "reasonable compromise."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:28 AM

October 30, 2006

Three Men in a Room: our dysfunctional state government--and how to change it

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder recently read former State Senator Seymour Lachman's book, "Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse." This in-depth analysis and exposé of the political workings of NY State has given the Atlantic Yards analyst much food for thought.

The phrase “three men in a room” describes much more than the PACB, as former State Senator Seymour Lachman describes in his timely book of analysis and advocacy, Three Men in a Room: The Inside Story of Power and Betrayal in an American Statehouse. Indeed, the entire legislative and governmental process is distorted by an absence of democracy. (Lachman, who calls Albany “one of the country’s most secretive and misruled statehouses,” will be a guest on WNYC radio's Brian Lehrer Show today at 10 a.m.)

Few of our elected representatives come off well. Is it no surprise that several of the officials who back the Atlantic Yards plan are among those who benefit from and support the systematic dysfunction? Or that Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan, who has tried unsuccessfully to foster transparency in the state’s budget process (and found himself on the outs with legislative leaders), has been out in front in seeking more financial details about Atlantic Yards?

The push for reform has come less from politicians than from a handful of good-government groups and the press. Given that the New York Times has editorially chastised the Legislature for a lack of transparency and for a perpetually late budget, it becomes all the more glaring that the Times has failed to fill a vacuum and editorially scrutinize the Atlantic Yards project.

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Posted by lumi at 8:34 AM

October 26, 2006

Bloomy attacks state board set to approve Yards

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

When Mayor Bloomberg spoke out against the undemocratic nature of the Public Authorities Control Board, he didn't know that he was auditioning to be the new spokesperson for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.

Without mentioning Atlantic Yards by name, Mayor Bloomberg signaled last week that he’ll side with opponents of Bruce Ratner’s mega-development in a coming legal battle against the “undemocratic” process that is pushing the project to its likely approval later this year.

In his weekly radio show last Friday, Bloomberg questioned why the three members of the state’s Public Authorities Control Board — Gov. Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) — “have a veto over everything.”

“Why is there [such] a structure at the state level?” the mayor asked. “I’m not sure why that’s constitutional. Maybe somebody wants to take a look at that. I don’t happen to think it’s good democracy to give the governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the majority leader of the Senate [such power].”

The mayor’s comments came days after Silver held up a vote on the conversion of the Main Post Office in Manhattan into a grand new train station named after Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan — and the mayor was incensed last year when Silver used his vote to block the West Side stadium project.

PACB votes must be unanimous.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:51 PM

October 25, 2006

Tish James, DDDB welcome Bloomberg's PACB comments

Here's one we missed from Atlantic Yards Report, covering Mayor Bloomberg's disgust with the Public Authorities Control Board (the three unknown representatives of the proverbial and perennial "three men in a room"). Just last week, Sheldon Silver's representative to the PACB killed the Moynihan Station project, and did the same last year with the West Side Stadium proposal.

Yesterday City Council Member Letitia James, who represents Prospect Heights and environs, including the area slated for the Atlantic Yards project, issued a statement: I agree fully that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) is not a good example of representative democracy. "Three men in a room" should not have control over development in our city- not at Moynihan Station and not at Atlantic Yards.

The mayor suggested someone might want to "look at" the constitutionality of the PACB. There are many in this community, including myself, who have been doing just that. Of the numerous lawsuits that will be filed in relation to Atlantic Yards, one may very well deal with this undemocratic process, and the near total lack of citizen input.

DDDB issues a press release as well (full text after the jump) arguing:

“Mayor Bloomberg is absolutely correct: three-men-in-a-room control over Ratner’s ‘Atlantic Yards,’ and other enormous development projects in New York City, is clearly undemocratic and, as he suggests, may be unconstitutional. We’ve been saying that for the past three years,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman Daniel Goldstein. “We sure hope that the Mayor is not suggesting that he accepts and abets this undemocratic process when it suits his goals, and rejects it when it doesn’t. That would be Machiavellian. Indeed we will be ‘looking at that,’ as the Mayor urges, over the coming months.”

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Mayor Bloomberg Says Three Men in a Room Develop Don’t Destroy Says That's Right

BROOKLYN, NY—Once Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” proposal receives inevitable approval from the board of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the project would have to then receive an unanimous vote from the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB). The PACB is currently controlled by Governor George Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

Last Friday, on his weekly WABC radio show, Mayor Michael Bloomberg strongly criticized the very same PACB that killed the Jets Stadium, and just last week put up a major roadblock to the Moynihan Station project in Manhattan. Commenting on Assembly Speaker Silver’s squashing of Moynihan Station, the Mayor said of the PACB:

"Why is there a structure at the state level where three individuals basically have a veto over everything? This PC, PSA, whatever the board is that approves it. And I'm not sure why that's constitutional. Maybe somebody wants to look at that. I don’t happen to think that it’s good democracy to give the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader in the senate—no matter who they are, whether they agree with me or not—that’s not representative democracy, that’s not letting everybody have a say, because in fact, it isn’t everybody…

You can argue the governor is elected by the whole state, but then the majority leader and the speaker are representing really only their own districts, and that’s not what I think we should have."

“Mayor Bloomberg is absolutely correct: three-men-in-a-room control over Ratner’s ‘Atlantic Yards,’ and other enormous development projects in New York City, is clearly undemocratic and, as he suggests, may be unconstitutional. We’ve been saying that for the past three years,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman Daniel Goldstein. “We sure hope that the Mayor is not suggesting that he accepts and abets this undemocratic process when it suits his goals, and rejects it when it doesn’t. That would be Machiavellian. Indeed we will be ‘looking at that,’ as the Mayor urges, over the coming months.”

In 2005 Mayor Bloomberg signed over the city’s chartered right to oversight and review of Forest City Ratner’s 8.8 million square foot “Atlantic Yards” development proposal. This decision by the Mayor gave complete control of the largest mixed-use development proposal in the history of New York City to the unaccountable and unelected ESDC and the “undemocratic” (his words) PACB. The agreed to state override took control of the project out of the hands of three community boards, the Brooklyn Borough President, City Planning Commission and the entire City Council. None of those bodies have any official role in the project, and the override of the City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) bypasses the City Council’s vote on such projects. Instead, the ESDC and the PACB are the only entities that have any official role in determining the fate of the “Atlantic Yards” proposal.

“We’re with the Mayor on this one. ULURP is democratic, the state override with PACB control is an undemocratic abuse of power,” Goldstein concluded.

Posted by lumi at 9:54 AM

Clarke's opponents hang tough

NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays

City Council[member] Yvette Clarke has taken it easy since winning a bruising Democratic congressional primary last month - but that doesn't mean the race is over.

Clarke (D-Flatbush) still faces three opponents in the 11th Congressional District in next month's general election, even if it's assumed that in heavily Democratic Brooklyn, the Democratic primary winner is a shoo-in.

Steve Finger, a doctor from Sheepshead Bay, is running as a Republican and Libertarian, while activist Ollie McClean is running as an Independent.
...
McClean, the daughter of immigrants from Barbados and a founding member of the United African Movement, said she had planned to stay in the race if City Councilman David Yassky, who is white, won the nomination for the traditionally black seat.

But after Clarke beat Yassky in the primary with 31% of the vote to his 26%, McClean said she was asked by supporters to stay in.

"Now, it's not just to have a black face in a high place, we have to have accountability too," said McClean, who opposes the Atlantic Yards arena/commercial/residential project, which Clarke supports.

Finger, who regularly appears on a Libertarian cable access talk show, also opposes Atlantic Yards, "on eminent domain grounds."

article

Posted by lumi at 7:42 AM

October 24, 2006

THOUGHTS ON THE SEPTEMBER 12, 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION

Room8
By Paul Robeson, Jr.

Just when you thought that Brooklynites were done dissecting the primary election...

The September 12, 2006 Democratic Primary was a masquerade carried out by the Democratic Party machine in collusion with the mass media. The nominating and electoral processes were rigged so that no independent candidates who represented the people's interests could have a fair chance of getting elected. The issues of paramount interest to minority communities were deliberately submerged (the Atlantic Yards development proposal, the war in Iraq, minimum wage, single-payer universal health care, repeal of the Bush tax cuts, the export of jobs, immigration, the impeachment of President Bush),and the machine candidates were careful not to call attention to them.

There was only one truly independent and progressive Black candidate running in the primaries who a had a chance to win -- Chris Owens in Brooklyn's 11th Congressional District. He had three opponents, two Black and one white, who were backed by different factions of the corrupt Democratic Party machine.

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Posted by lumi at 8:13 AM

October 23, 2006

Walkathon coverage

Kids Corner at the Walkathon featured this mural designed by Eduardo Alexander Rabel. Photographed by Jonathan Barkey (click images to enlarge).

Daily Gotham, DDDB Walkathon: community, fun, "other" parties and money
Mole333 deflates some myths, stumbles over Greens and Republicans in search of Democrats, and has fun!

In the end, the DDDB event is like so many DDDB events...fun. That is what most people who only hear their policy statemets don't realize. DDDB is a community rooted group that has a real sense of fun and pride in the community. And that comes out in their Walkathons.

Gowanus Lounge, Walk Don't Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon Video

RATNER FLICKR FLACK:

rsguskind photoset

Holy cow, the Nets mascot has defected to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn??? Meet Miss Brooklyn, City Councilmember Tony Avella, and Steve Buscemi.

deborahgoldstein's photos, DDDB Walkathon2
Walkathon2 T's, Kids Corner, student protesters and more...

Posted by lumi at 9:26 AM

Mayor blasts “three men in a room” as undemocratic; does that apply to AY?

Atlantic Yards Report stumbled upon one item where Atlantic Yards critics and Mayor Mike Bloomberg can agree.

In response to State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver killing the Moynihan Station project:

[Bloomberg] said Friday on his weekly WABC-AM radio appearance:
Why is there a structure at the state level where three individuals basically have a veto over everything? This PC, PSA, whatever the board is that approves it. And I'm not sure why that's constitutional. Maybe somebody wants to look at that. I don’t happen to think that it’s good democracy to give the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader in the senate—no matter who they are, whether they agree with me or not—that’s not representative democracy, that’s not letting everybody have a say, because in fact, it isn’t everybody.

Host John Gambling suggested that a two out of three vote might be an improvement. Bloomberg responded:
I suppose that would be better… You can argue the governor is elected by the whole state, but then the majority leader and the speaker are representing really only their own districts, and that’s not what I think we should have.

But if the PACB passes the Atlantic Yards plan, would Bloomberg appreciate it if project critics question the process? And if he's so concerned about process, how can he countenance any project that is supervised by a state authority and bypasses the City Council, which means local elected officials don’t get a voice?

Maybe someone will ask Bloomberg when he reappears on Gambling’s show next Friday.

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Posted by lumi at 9:13 AM

October 19, 2006

Spitzer backs Atlantic Yards, calls 8% cutback "appropriate"

Atlantic Yards Report

Gubernatorial frontrunner Eliot Spitzer yesterday said that he considers the promised 8% reduction in the Atlantic Yards project a "reasonable compromise," thus suggesting he has no idea that the cutback would bring the project back to the square footage originally proposed.

Then again, if he relies on the New York Times, he doesn't know better. The newspaper last month published a front-page scoop--the lead story of the day--about the planned cutback without pointing out that the move would essentially return Atlantic Yards to square one. (That square footage would be over one additional acre.) Follow-up clarifications were buried.

Spitzer made his comments during an interview on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show.

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Posted by lumi at 7:37 AM

Silver Rejects Moynihan

The Real Estate Observer

Holding out for his compromise proposal extended this morning, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (or, rather, his appointee) voted against the Moynihan Station project at today's Public Authorities Control Board meeting. "We thought our alternative provided the critical advantages that we needed and we thought it would be better for a full, safe modern transporation facility," Silver's spokesman Skip Carrier said. ...
Sort of a West Side Stadium, Part II, except this time Pataki, not Bloomberg, is the loser.

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NoLandGrab: Silver has demonstrated that he can ask the hard questions and stand firm when it comes to billion-dollar megaprojects. It remains to be seen if he has the guts to do the same with Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. Or does Bruce Ratner's political influence reign supreme?

Posted by lumi at 7:29 AM

October 16, 2006

Belated Boyland filings show she outraised Montgomery, used same firm as Ratner

Atlantic Yards Report

So much for the "$100 mystery campaign." Overdue campaign finance filings from 18th Senatorial District candidate Tracy Boyland, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent (and Atlantic Yards opponent) Velmanette Montgomery, show that the former City Council member, despite a candidacy launched two months before the September primary, indeed raised more than the $100 she reported at election time.
...
Was Boyland, in fact, the "Ratner candidate," as some charged? Not exactly, but there were some signficant intersections. As predicted by a source in the Crain's Insider, Boyland indeed used the same consulting firm--Knickerbocker SKD--that FCR uses for its deceptive Atlantic Yards mailers. (As noted, Boyland told the Brooklyn Papers that she's friends with FCR's Bruce Bender, a former top City Council aide.)

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Posted by lumi at 8:32 AM

Stated Meeting – Helping Low-Income Homeowners – 10/11/2006

Gotham Gazette
by Gail Robinson

From an article covering the City Council's "Stated Meeting," members of the Brooklyn delegation to the City Council withheld their vote on a Hudson Yards package last week:

In other action, the council approved a package relating to the Hudson Yards project on Manhattan’s West Side. The measures extended the project’s boundary westward, and would allow the area – including the proposed site of the rejected Jets football stadium – to be part of the planning process. “This moves us ever closer to having the rail yards come before us in the land use process,” Quinn said. Council must approve land use changes and, during the fight over the stadium, Bloomberg had sought to keep the project out of the land use process.

The measure, resolution 547, which Quinn defined as consisting of “technical actions,” elicited little debate or controversy, indicating how things had changed since the furor over the stadium ended with its being rejected by a state panel. “What a difference 18 months makes,” said Councilmember David Weprin, chair of the Finance Committee.

The resolution passed by a vote of 43 to zero, with Councilmembers Charles Barron, Lew Fidler, Letitia James and Darlene Mealy, all of Brooklyn, abstaining. James, an outspoken opponent of the huge Atlantic Yards project in her district, said she was withholding her vote. Alluding to the fact that that basketball arena and housing development will not come before council, James said, “any yards in Manhattan and Brooklyn should be treated the same….In the borough of Brooklyn, we are treated differently.”

Posted by lumi at 8:29 AM

October 13, 2006

Faso Hits BK Campaign Trail

Courier Life Publications
By Stephen Witt

Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso made an appearance in Bay Ridge this week, talking tough on taxes, education spending and funding the MTA. Then he jettisoned his conservative credentials by supporting the use of eminent domain for Bruce Ratner's Nets arena and 16 highrise complex.

“I’m glad to see they scaled it back to some degree. I am concerned about some of the aggressive utilization of eminent domain in different parts of the country, but I do think the Atlantic Yards proposal as I saw it is a reasonable one,” said Faso.

“I just hope the developers can assure that all the interests, to the greatest extent possible, are satisfied with it. It would be a dynamic development in Downtown Brooklyn. No doubt about it,” he added.

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NoLandGrab: Wanna bet that Faso knows as much about Atlantic Yards as Bruce Ratner knows about basketball?

Posted by lumi at 10:24 PM

Lawmaker: Give us Atlantic Yards info!

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman and Ariella Cohen

Assemblyman Jim Brennan (D-Park Slope) said that his office had been forced to file a formal “Freedom of Information Law” request this week to force the Empire State Development Corporation to release “all financial information related to the Atlantic Yards project.”

Brennan said he had to take on the state agency because elected officials — who earlier this year rubber-stamped $100 million for the project with little debate — have not been given “complete information.”

Such information is vital, Brennan said, so the public and elected officials can determine whether the project needs to comprise eight million square feet to allow developer Bruce Ratner to build 2,250 units of affordable housing, and refurbish the LIRR rail yards over which the project will sit, while still making a reasonable profit.

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NoLandGrab: It remains to be seen if Brennan gets further than Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report or Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's lawyer Jeff Baker.

Posted by lumi at 8:29 AM

October 11, 2006

What Happened in the 11th?

The Daily Politics

CUNY's John Mollenkopf, the political scientist, Park Slope resident, and computer whiz, has put together a hugely useful set of electoral-district by electoral-district maps of the outcome of the race to replace Major Owens in Brooklyn's 11th congressional district.

His concise conclusion: "Basically, Owens cut into Yassky in the northern part of Park Slope and Prospect Heights, my guess is over Atlantic Yards, while the Hassidic vote split, a major portion going to Andrews, and meanwhile Clarke kept her base together."

link

Posted by lumi at 7:20 AM

October 6, 2006

Brennan asks ESDC for AY financial plans

Atlantic Yards Report

So it's not just journalists who've begun asking the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to reveal more financial details about the Atlantic Yards project.

Yesterday, Assemblyman Jim Brennan, who represents Park Slope and adjacent neighborhoods and has previously called for significant reductions in the scale of the project, said his office submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for "the complete financial and business plans" for the project.

"The decision-time is here," Brennan said at a meeting of the Park Slope Civic Council. "Within the next month to six weeks the ESDC will be approving it, with our without modifications." Getting information about finances on the table is important, he said, "so issues related to density, affordability, and subsidy can be discussed."

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Posted by lumi at 7:45 AM

Hot Brooklyn primaries yield mixed results

People's Weekly World
By Daniel Rubin

A major battle over economic and political direction was fought in last month’s Democratic primaries in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Nearly 2 million people live in central and downtown Brooklyn. Seventy percent are African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Latinos, Asians and Arabs, overwhelmingly working-class and many poverty-stricken. Looming large in the primaries were these questions: Will Wall Street, the big developers, Gov. Pataki, Mayor Bloomberg and city planners push the poorest, including both nationally oppressed and whites, out of this area to the city’s outskirts and beyond, through huge multi-use developments, like the Atlantic Yards project, that drive up rents and property taxes? Will they replace small manufacturing, retail and commercial uses with luxury-oriented development and big box retailers? Will such “urban removal” cause a political shift rightward, replacing progressive African Americans and their allies with representatives of the growing upper middle income and wealthy, predominantly white, population? Or will an economic development policy be put in place that fosters demographics and politics that strengthen democratic and progressive trends?

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Posted by lumi at 6:27 AM

October 1, 2006

Fake voter registrations prompt identity theft alert

Philly.com reports some ACORN election hanky panky in Philadelphia:

Nearly 100 fraudulent voter registration applications have been filed in Delaware County over the last few weeks, prompting the District Attorney's Office to issue an identity theft alert.

All of the questionable applications were filled out by four people acting on behalf of the advocacy group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), according to the District Attorney's Office.

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Posted by amy at 11:34 AM

New Wrinkle In Atlantic Yards Wrangle

Courier-Life
Stephen Witt on BrooklynSpeaks.net

According to the website, these principles include respect and integrate with surrounding neighborhoods, a transportation plan that works, affordable housing that meets the community’s needs and involving the public in a meaningful way.

The website indicates the acceptance of an arena on the site and does not list abuse of eminent domain as one of the clear principals the project must address.

This is a clear conflict to DDDB’s principals, whose spokesperson Daniel Goldstein lives in the footprint of the project and who has vowed a lengthy court fight on the eminent domain issue.

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Posted by amy at 11:11 AM

September 29, 2006

CB6 motions

It has been reported in the local weekly press that on September 13, 2006 Community Board 6 adopted four motions which take a strong, vocal stand against Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

The final draft of these motions has been released in a letter to the ESDC, just in time for the close of today's public comment period.

Click here to download the entire letter, which explains in detail the following excerpts:

Our first resolution, adopted by a vote of 35 in support, 4 against, with no abstentions, disapproves of the project as proposed in the July 18, 2006 GPP and DEIS because it will cause irreparable damage to the quality of life in the borough of Brooklyn.

Our second resolution, adopted by a vote of 37 in support, 2 against, with no abstentions, was to include the following procedural objections as part of our disapproval of the project as currently proposed:
a) Failure to involve the Community Board and the community in a meaningful way; misleading and overstating the involvement of the public in the process.
b) Failure to provide adequate or sufficient time for the public to review the GPP and DEIS.
c) Failure to provide resources to the Community Board to assist in their review of the project.
d) Failure to subject any aspect of the project review to the City’s uniform land use review procedures (ULURP).

Our third resolution, adopted by a vote of 37 in support, 2 against, with no abstentions, was to include the following general proposal-related objections as part of our disapproval of the project as currently proposed:
a) The project is out-of-scale with the surrounding community.
b) Several material project impacts have been identified as being unmitigable.
c) Portions of the data in the DEIS are insufficient, inadequate or questionable.
d) The scope of the DEIS is insufficient.
e) There has been insufficient modeling.

Our final resolution, adopted by a vote of 23 in support, 4 against, with no abstentions, was to include the following specific points that must be addressed as part of our disapproval of the project as currently. (see full letter for the complete list)

The letter to the ESDC is accompanied by a timeline of all actions taken by CB6 on Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 1:00 PM

September 27, 2006

Hakeem Jeffries And The Train That Left The Station

Room 8
By Maurice Gumbs

The newly elected Hakeem Jeffries, developer madness (Ratner and Co.) and the prehistoric Brooklyn Democratic Machine — the dynamic between them will shape Brooklyn for decades to come. What effect Jeffries will have is anyone's guess, but Maurice Gumbs is optimistic that the soon-to-be-elected State Assemblyman isn't anyone's patsy.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:11 AM

September 21, 2006

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Making sense of last week’s political crapshoots

NY Press
By John DeSio

First up under the "Losers" column:

Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, along with other activist groups that are vehemently opposed to Bruce Ratner’s basketball-and-skyscrapers Atlantic Yards development proposal, saw themselves on the short end of the stick last week. The two most notable candidates with the loudest anti-Atlantic Yards platforms, Chris Owens in the 11th Congressional District and Bill Batson in the 57th Assembly District, were both beaten handily with Owens finishing fourth behind Clarke, City Councilman David Yassky and State Senator Carl Andrews. Anti-development forces could take heart in one result: State Senator Velmanette Montgomery easily dispatched City Councilwoman Tracy Boyland in her race to retain her own seat.

link

NoLandGrab: Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has taken a PR hit by coming up short on the elections.

Unfortunately, Ratner's showing in the election still leaves Brooklynites facing the same problems with the project as before: abuse of eminent domain, historic density, even more traffic congestion, massive taxpayer subsidies, rising asthma rates, crowded schools, the largest private project in NYC history going to one developer who owns all the recently developed commercial property adjacent to the plan (oh, don't get us started...).

Posted by lumi at 7:43 AM

September 17, 2006

Progressive Democrat Issue 87: THOUGHTS

Mole's Progressive Democrat

Ratner's project permeated this year's elections, with some candidates being funded by Ratner specifically to eliminate veteran politicians who oppose him. Mostly he failed, but my Congressional race pitted a single candidate (Chris Owens) who opposed awarding the contract to Ratner, favoring the more community-based development plans for the region, against three candidates who supported giving the contract to Ratner. Ratner's biggest supporter in the race won. She won because unions have accepted Ratners promise of jobs almost without question. In effect, labor in NYC has become almost virulently hostile towards local progressives and community activists to the benefit of an extremely wealthy and corrupt developer all over some vague promises of jobs and affordable housing. The winner of the Congressional race, Yvette Clarke, won because of this union support. In truth, Chris Owens was by far the most pro-labor candidate in the traditional sense. But because a wealthy developer makes a few promises, unions abandon traditional pro-labor supporters in favor of someone who supports a corrupt and unfair process to award Ratner his dream project.

I should note that Ratner's previous projects have largely been failures, never filling up office space, creating few union jobs and providing not a single unit of affordable housing.

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Posted by amy at 10:55 AM

Reflections on the Brooklyn Congressional Races

Our Time Press
Danielle Douglas

While everybody was up in arms about one of the three Black candidates dropping out of the 11th CD race, not enough stink was made about Green dropping out of the 10th, and there should have been. From the start, Barron always had more foot soldiers and more of a presence throughout the race than Green.

I'm almost positive that Green voters were Atlantic Yards supporters, who may not have backed the anti-ATY Barron if given a chance. But it's still probable that at least 8% of those folks may have seen the bigger picture and realize that having Towns remain in Congress is to the community's detriment. Oh well.,next time Barron,.next time.

As the New York Daily News/ Our Time Press columnist Errol Louis stated in his recent piece, the Atlantic Yards Project was really the biggest winner. Except for Velmanette Montgomery, none of the adamantly opposed ATY candidates won their races. Unlike Louis, I don't believe this necessarily suggests that most people want this project. The results reflect the acceptance that the project will go forward and the best thing to do at this point is select a candidate that will fight for as many concessions as possible. What everyone needs to focus on right now is ensuring that Forest City Ratner agrees to make the Community Benefits Agreement a legally binding document.

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Posted by amy at 10:41 AM

September 16, 2006

Jeffries Heading to Albany

Courier-Life
Stephen Witt

In specific regard to the Atlantic Yards project, Jeffries said his election was a triumph for a thoughtful approach to the development.

“An approach not designed to polarize the community, but to bring the community together, and beginning tomorrow we’re going to work to that end,” said Jeffries.

“I think it was important because of the decisiveness of the victory that thoughtfulness prevailed as it relates to this project as opposed to a divisive approach,” he added.

Jeffries also echoed Borough President Marty Makowitz’s position that no building in the project be higher than the Williamsburg Savings Bank.

article

Posted by amy at 3:34 PM

"Atlantic Yards win by a mile"? The evidence isn't there

Atlantic Yards Report responds to the Daily News editorial:

Yes Jeffries earned a much higher percentage of the votes, but he had a much longer history among voters, had at least three times as much money as Batson, had union and ACORN support, and his total of 5770 was only 2359 more votes than he earned in 2002. He earned votes from 9.6% of the Democrats in the 57th district.

Jeffries says he didn't change his position. Perhaps, but he certainly changed his promotion of his position, from a cautious text ad in the spring to one, as the election approached, with dramatic graphics and language. (Note that ad at right is augmented with box at the bottom.)

It's a victory, but it's hardly a definitive sign of Atlantic Yards support. After all, Freddie Hamilton, an unabashed supporter of the project, won only 1008 votes. A "win by a mile" would have carried Hamilton to the top. Rather, undecided voters might have voted for Jeffries based on his advertised call to scale down the project, fight eminent domain, and delay the deliberations.

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Posted by amy at 11:39 AM

September 14, 2006

Big win sends Hakeem to Assembly

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

The race for an Assembly seat in Prospect Heights — the epicenter of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development — was won in a landslide by a supporter of the project.

Hakeem Jeffries took the three-way contest with a stunning 64 percent of the vote on Tuesday. Community Board 8 member Bill Batson, a Yards foe, got 24 percent, and Freddie Hamilton got 11 percent.

“Atlantic Yards is important, but it is not the only issue in this district,” said Jeffries.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:16 PM

Jeffries, Unmoved

The Daily Politics

This bit about whether or not Jeffries had softened his pro-Atlantic Yards stance was edited out of today's Ben Smith column, but was posted on his blog:

Since Hakeem Jeffries's victory in a key Assembly race that focused on the Atlantic Yards project, opponents have been claiming that Jeffries -- whom they campaigned against as pro-development -- had actually "moved" on the issue, and into their camp, as Tish James put it to me yesterday.

Jeffries wasn't really buying that.

“I don’t think so,” responded Jeffries. “It’s not an unexpected spin from someone who was on the other side of this campaign. But the position that the other side taken is that I was a supporter [of the project]. If on September 12 I was a supporter, it’s interesting that she thinks I’ve moved on September 13.”

link

Posted by lumi at 11:11 PM

Montgomery beats phantom opponent

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

A former City Councilwoman, Boyland ran a stealth campaign — she had no office, didn’t file campaign finance reports, had volunteers who disseminated inaccurate information, and didn’t return calls from reporters.
...
Last week, Boyland told The Brooklyn Papers that she had received “help” from the developer, but would not say if the help was financial.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:03 PM

Clarke Wins Race To Succeed Owens

Backing from unions, feminists aid candidate in racially loaded Brooklyn House contest.

More 11th Congressional District post-mortem, this time from Adam Dickter at Jewish Week:

As he left P.S. 9 in Prospect Heights, Jay Klotz, a physics teacher at Ramaz School in Manhattan, said his vote was decided on the issues. “I based it on the candidate most against the Atlantic Yards, so I voted for Owens,” said Klotz. He was referring to the massive development proposed by Bruce Ratner, which includes a basketball stadium, office towers and housing, and has generated substantial community opposition.

Owens opposes the project outright while Yassky wants it downsized and Clarke and Andrews support it.

Clarke’s victory may be a significant boost for the project if politicians now see no risk in supporting it.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:40 PM

Clarke Claims Victory In 4-Way Congressional Race

In an article by Stephen Witt, Courier-Life is reporting that:

According to unofficial tabulations, Clarke received 1,946 votes or 31 percent of the electorate.

The real unofficial tally was 14,946.

The article also notes that:

Of all the candidates, Clarke was the staunchest supporter of the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:22 PM

In the end, who was Roger Green running against?

Room Eight, Yvette Clarke & Charles Barron, New Brooklyn Stars

Maurice Gumbs's analysis of the two local Congressional races had this interesting tidbit about Atlantic Yards supporter Roger Green's last minute surge of campaigning:

One of the peculiar things was a sudden spurt of activity from Roger Green during the last few days of the election. Roger, who certainly knew that he was not in the running, had people putting up his posters in the areas where Barron was strongest. The act seemed determined to take away votes from Charles. Charles still would not have won, but he might have narrowed his loss to much less. Roger had no money to spend. So it would be interesting to find out who paid Roger to take away votes from Charles Barron

Atlantic Yards Report, So why did Green target Barron more than Towns?
Norman Oder considers some of Roger Green's campaign contributors:

Among Green's contributions were some from people connected to the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement:
--$500 from Hallene Condon of the Darman Group, which has conducted forums for minority and women business owners
--$680 from Keith Lewis of Youth America, which is part of the Downtown Brooklyn Educational Consortium
--$1500 from Richard Hill of Quantum Partners, a Virginia firm that is apparently the minority-owned business hired by Forest City Ratner to provide financial services.

The most recent financial disclosure reports are due by October 15, at which point voters will have a clearer picture of who paid for the last minute rush to target Charles Barron, one of the most outspoken critics of the Atlantic Yards plan.

Posted by lumi at 9:46 PM

Election results no anti-AY referendum, but not an endorsement either

Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder's early analysis of Tuesday's election results considers the location of the Atlantic Yards project relative to the districts lines:

Also, let's remember that the lines for the election districts are not exactly coterminous with the areas where the greatest concern with Atlantic Yards might be found. In the 11th CD map and the 57th AD map, the Atlantic Yards project would be in the far west and center west fractions of the districts, leaving large populations to the east and south. In the 18th SD, there are large areas south and east of the footprint--no wonder incumbent Montgomery, in campaign literature I was sent, didn't mention that she opposed Atlantic Yards. (Boyland didn't mention her support, though many believe FCR helped in her campaign.)

Still, when Public Advocate Norman Siegel, a project opponent, won the 57th last year, that was seen by DDDB as a sign that an opponent could win the Assembly seat. But clearly there were more factors than Atlantic Yards at play in his success.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:20 AM

Call it political grave Yards

Daily News

Columnist Ben Smith tallies up the win and loss columns for Atlantic Yards opponents:

For Brooklyn politicians, it doesn's pay to oppose Atlantic Yards.

On primary night, candidates in favor of the mega-project won several key contested elections in Brooklyn: Yvette Clarke won an open congressional seat, and Rep. Ed Towns and State Sen. Martin Connor held off challengers.

In the closest thing to a public referendum on the plan to build thousands of apartments and a basketball arena, Hakeem Jeffries crushed Bill Batson, an outspoken foe of the project, in a state Assembly race in Prospect Heights.

For those who are looking to see if Jeffries will reach out to work with neighborhood activists who oppose the plan, the quote speaks for itself:

"To the extent the hard-line critics [of Atlantic Yards] attempted to make this a referendum on their position, the results speak for themselves," Jeffries said.

article

Smith goes into more detail on his Daily News blog, Daily Politics.

Posted by lumi at 8:02 AM

Winners and Losers in the 11th

The Wonkster (Political blog of The Gotham Gazette) rounds up commentary from the blogosphere on the 11th District Congressional primary race, including Gowanus Lounge's bit on Atlantic Yards.

And the losers? Gowanus Lodge says opponents of Atlantic Yards cannot be cheered by the results in the 11th (and in other races as well) “although it would be a mistake to read too much into the results.” In the 11th, the blog points out, Chris Owens, a fervent opponent of the megaproject came in fourth out of four candidate.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:49 AM

Primary Postmortem

The NY Sun Editorial

Though the NY Sun acknowledges that Yassky's stance on Atlantic Yards probably lost him the nomination for the 11th District Congressional seat, their analysis is based on the assumption that Brownstone Brooklyn is most concerned with preserving the free-market status quo:

Third, the rise in homeownership and property values is changing the shape of politics in the city. Close watchers of Brooklyn politics say that Mr. Yassky lost the primary in Brooklyn because of his ardent support of the Atlantic Yards project to bring a basketball arena and skyscrapers full of "affordable housing" to Brooklyn in a plan that the developer, Bruce Ratner, has stated in writing is aimed at stemming the harmful effects of "gentrification." The Park Slope and Boerum Hill Brooklyn gentry Mr. Yassky had been counting on to vote for him responded by voting instead for an anti-Atlantic Yards candidate, Chris Owens, in large enough numbers to put a third candidate, Yvette Clark, over the top. The gentry, it seems, want housing provided at market rates. What was Mr. Yassky thinking?

article

NoLandGrab: On the street, the brownstoned gentry seem rather unaware of Bruce Ratner's pr ploy of claiming to stem the tide of gentrification. In fact, the project is widely seen as insta-gentrification, and nearby residents have been occupied with dealing with the environmental effects of the project: traffic, pollution, extreme density, subway crowding, noise, shadows, wind tunnels and reduced open space.

Posted by lumi at 7:22 AM

September 13, 2006

Atlantic Yards Game Plan

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

Atlantic Yards opponents are trying to forget all the bad things they said about Hakeem Jeffries, the winner in the 57th Assembly race, like that he was a duplicitous panderer who wanted to have it both ways on the 22-acre arena-and-housing complex. It is time to make nice, after all.
...
Goldstein says he personally hasn't said anything bad about Jeffries, but fellow-travelling blogs certainly have. Unless you want to interpret Jeffries' last-minute flip-flop as a long-awaited conversion, which is how Goldstein prefers to see it.

article

Phew! For a moment we were worried that WE had said something bad about Jeffries. For the record, we said Jeffries was "very GQ" — and then we criticized his position.

Posted by lumi at 10:59 PM

Chris Owens Statement On 11th Congressional District Primary Results

Chris Owens congratulates and endorses Yvette Clarke, the winner of yesterday's Democratic primary election for the 11th congressional district seat, in a statement released today, and calls on the democratic nominee to do the right thing on Atlanic Yards:

It is also necessary to state that I hope Councilmember Clarke will use her new political leverage to hold developer Bruce Ratner accountable for significant modifications in the Atlantic Yards project, and also hold the Empire State Development Corporation and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority more accountable for their decisions regarding this project. We need an advocate for the people -- not simply corporate interests. Needless to say, all of us will be monitoring this situation very closely.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:02 PM

The Atlantic Yards Vote

The Empire Zone (2006 campaign blog for The NY Times)

Opponents of Brooklyn’s proposed Atlantic Yards project were hoping to send a message to local pro-Yards pols today — by retiring a few of them.

Check out Brooklyn beat reporter Nick Confessore's analysis of the returns from an Atlantic Yards perspective. Some folks in the comments section "slice and dice" the returns differently.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:35 AM

GL Primary Conclusions: Good Day for Atlantic Yards

Gowanus Lounge's take on yesterday's primary:

Primary day was not a terribly good one for opponents of the Atlantic Yards mega-development, although it would be a mistake to read too much into the results.
...
What messages does the primary send? It's hard to draw any conclusions from the Congressional races, which were dominated by their own issues. In terms of Mr. Batson's defeat, one can argue that poorly-funded grassroots candidates rarely fare well against candidates with more money and mainstream support. Yet, it would seem that, at least in terms of the Primary, large numbers of people did not turn out to vote based on their opposition to Atlantic Yards.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:22 AM

Ratner beats grassroots amateurs on his home court. Next stop, a more "civil court."

Atlantic Yards critics took their best shot and were beaten by Bruce Ratner at his own game. Where Ratner flexed his political muscle, the results were dramatic.

In the State Senate's 18th District race betwen Velmanette Montgomery and Tracy Boyland, Ratner Exec VP Bruce Bender led the fundraising effort for a campaign that stuffed voters' mailboxes with campaign litter that ironically proclaimed the need for reform in Albany. Meanwhile, Boyland's eight-week-old campaign never filed mandatory financial reports. Boyland's campaign even got off on the wrong foot by employing dirty tricks, when campaign workers claimed that Montgomery was an "old white woman."

Boyland received 35% of the vote. The campaign and result is probably meant to be a serious shot across the bow, intended to send a chill down the spines (or spinelessness) of other more sensible politicians who might share their constituents' concerns about Bruce Ratner's project, and who may be thinking of taking a stronger stance.

On the other hand, Montgomery won a 30-point victory while hardly lifting a finger.

In the 57th Assembly District, Ratner Community Benefits Agreement signatory ACORN got out the vote and rolled over Bill Batson in a stunning defeat, in which 64% of the votes went to Hakeem Jeffries.

On the bright side, vocal opposition to Atlantic Yards forced Jeffries to address a couple of the main criticisms of the project in his most recent campaign lit: "no eminent domain abuse," "no skyscraper city," and "no backroom deals." On the other hand, the NY Daily News endorsed Jeffries because of his pro-Atlantic Yards stance. What the real Jeffries will do remains to be seen.

That same vocal opposition was frustrated by 11th District US Congressional candidate David Yassky's wonkish centrist position, in which the candidate constantly tried to articulate that he wasn't exactly for Atlantic Yards since certain concerns have not yet been addressed. This probably cost him the election, as Chris Owens was able to pick up votes in the brownstone base of Yassky's City Council district. Yassky was edged out by Yvette Clarke by a mere 2,376 votes.

So where does that leave Atlantic Yards critics and residents near Bruce Ratner's proposed 16-high-rise-and-arena traffic-congesting asthma-producing tax-payer-financed boondoggle for a Cleveland real-estate dynasty?

There's still the litigation over the faulty Environmental Impact Statement and specious eminent domain claim, which means, as everyone has been saying all along, that this will be decided by the courts — that's civil court, not a basketball court.

Posted by lumi at 8:50 AM

Election coverage

Here are the returns, reported by NY1, from local races we've been tracking:

Congressional Primaries

House District 11
Yvette D. Clarke [Dem]	14946	31.20%
David S. Yassky [Dem]	12570	26.24%
Carl Andrews [Dem]	10983	22.93%
Chris Owens [Dem]	9403	19.63%
Reporting: 523 of 523 precincts - 100.00 percent

State Assembly Primaries

Assembly District 57
Hakeem Jeffries [Dem]	5770	64.08%
William R. Batson [Dem]	2226	24.72%
Freddie Hamilton [Dem]	1008	11.20%
Reporting: 110 of 110 precincts - 100.00 percent

State Senate Primaries

State Senate District 18
Velmanette Montgomery [Dem]	12142	64.67%
Tracy L. Boyland [Dem]	6634	35.33%
Reporting: 298 of 298 precincts - 100.00 percent

Here's the local news coverage:
NY Daily News, Clarke wins nasty race in Brooklyn

NY Post, CLARKE TAKES HOT RACE FOR B'KLYN SEAT

Clarke also had the backing of two unions - Service Employees International Union SEIU/locals 1199 and 32BJ - with strong get-out-the-vote operations.

AP, via 1010WINS, Clarke Wins Brooklyn Congressional Primary

AP, via NY Newsday, Black councilwoman wins B'klyn seat

In early balloting, Clarke, also a member of the city council, trailed Yassky, but as the night wore on her support from unions and the Caribbean community gave her the edge.

The NY Sun, Clarke Edges Out Yassky in Close Brooklyn Race

Much of the coverage of the 11th District race mentioned Atlantic Yards, which probably managed to elevate the profile of the issue:
NY1, Brooklyn Voters Hit Polls To Choose Candidate For 11th District Seat

As for the Atlantic Yards project, which brought out so many voters, Chris Owens has fiercely opposed it, while Carl Andrews and Yvette Clark support it. David Yassky said it's okay if the buildings are smaller.

The NY Times, Councilwoman Wins Primary for House Seat

All four candidates tried to outdo one another with their opposition to the war in Iraq. But they split when it came to the hottest local issue: the proposal to build housing, office towers and an arena for the Nets near Downtown Brooklyn. Mr. Owens was outspoken in his opposition to the plan; Ms. Clarke supported it.

Posted by lumi at 7:52 AM

September 12, 2006

Fat Cat Ratner says, "Vote Early and Often"

Since there's not much Atlantic Yards action on primary election day, we offer you this Dr. Seuss remix.

Posted by lumi at 7:59 AM

Jeffries endorsements cite Atlantic Yards, blogger says I told you so

Daily News endorsement of Hakeem Jeffries:

Lawyer HAKEEM JEFFRIES has been a cautious supporter of the Atlantic Yards project...

Courier-Life endorsement:

One candidate, Bill Batson, is an ardent opponent of the project, while another, Freddie Hamilton, is an ardent supporter.

This is why Courier-Life Publications wholeheartedly endorses Hakeem Jeffries, the only candidate willing to look at the issue from all sides, and who seeks to be a coalition builder.

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide on the News endorsement:

Well, we had missed this one somehow. It sure contradicts Hakeem's Liar Flyer.

Posted by lumi at 6:32 AM

September 11, 2006

Photoblogging at Daily Politics

One photo from the 11th Congressional District gallery at Daily Politics has an Atlantic Yards editorial twist.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:15 PM

The Anti-Yards (or pro-neighborhood) Slate

The Empire Zone, campaign blog for The NY Times, on Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's participation in the electoral process over the "public process":

In the past, the group has tended in the past to demand more, rather than fewer, opportunities for public input into the project. In today’s news release, the group cites the bad timing and poor organization of an earlier hearing — at which, some neighborhood groups have alleged, project boosters were let in earlier and allowed to skip the line — as reasons to boycott tommorow’s installment. Instead of going to the hearing, DDDB urges, the public should “engage in the primary day electoral process.”

link

Posted by lumi at 10:08 PM

Press Release: ESDC Atlantic Yards Public Hearing on Election Day is Unacceptable

Develop Don't Destroy Urges the Public to Forego Hearing but to Participate in the Electoral Process

Wow, with all of the pre-election news, we forgot that the ESDC is holding their first "community forum" on the Atlantic Yards project tomorrow at 4:30PM at Klitgord Auditorium. If you are forced to chose between voting/volunteering and testifying, DDDB recommends skipping the dog-n-pony "fiasco":

BROOKLYN, NY—Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) calls on the public to engage in the primary day electoral process and skip an Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) hearing on Forest City Ratner’s "Atlantic Yards" scheduled for the same September 12th date.

First the ESDC gave only 66 days for public response to the 4,000-page "Atlantic Yards"Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS). Then the ESDC "ran" a public hearing on August 23rd that was a fiasco from any vantage point. That hearing was so poorly run that after eight hours only 100 people out of 500 wishing to speak were able to do so. With about 400 speakers left to speak the ESDC continues to schedule only four hours for its hearings.

"We urge and encourage the public not to go to the September 12th ESDC ‘Atlantic Yards’ hearing but rather engage in the political process as voters, campaign and poll workers," said DDDB spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. "The ESDC’s scheduling of a public hearing on primary day is just the latest in a series of insults to the public by the public agency that views itself as Forest City Ratner’s partner. It is unacceptable for the State of New York to schedule an important public hearing on the largest single-source development proposal in the history of New York City coinciding with primary day. It is especially unacceptable and unconscionable considering that the last hearing required an eight hour commitment just to have a chance to testify. We've asked the ESDC to change the problematic hearing date but they have not budged."

The 66 day timeframe for public response to the "Atlantic Yards" DEIS is about half of the time given to the much smaller Yankee Stadium plan.

"Rather than giving up the electoral process for a fiasco of a hearing, we do strongly encourage and urge the public to attend the ESDC hearing scheduled for September 18th. And of course the public should submit written comment up to the current September 29th deadline," Goldstein concluded.

Posted by lumi at 9:38 PM

The unwritten story: Forest City Ratner and Brooklyn politics

Atlantic Yards Report

Ratner --> Money --> Politics --> Power!

Any questions? Check out Norman Oder's article about the story that the mainstream media is missing.

The outline has emerged, perhaps for the first time, of Forest City Ratner's extensive reach into Brooklyn politics. Of course the borough's leading real estate developer--in terms of major projects--would play a significant role, but little analysis has appeared in the press.

It's well-known that FCR spends a lot of money on lobbying, but not that Bruce Ratner and his lieutenants eschew local campaign contributions.

Still, that Watergate-era adage remains operative: follow the money.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:18 AM

Hakeem Mailer Says Albany is Broken, Batson Aims to Fix It

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide

Three politicians (none from Albany, none from Brooklyn and one from Jersey) tell us why they think Hakeem is right for Albany.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:26 AM

A Little More on the Atlantic Yards

A Perigrination says "this Tuesday vote for candidates that support the project and lets (sic) keep Brooklyn growing."

His reason?

I happen to be eating in a new local restaurant this weekend and met Marty Markowitz. The man is of course a Brooklyn cheerleader but there is no doubt in the man’s mind that the Atlantic Yards will happen.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:02 AM

Congressional Candidates in Dead-Heat Race Look for a Last-Minute Edge in Brooklyn

The NY Sun
By Russell Berman

With the high-profile race to replace Rep. Major Owens in Brooklyn's 11th congressional district shaping up as too close to call, the four candidates were scrambling to energize their supporters and to raise last-minute funds in the final full day of campaigning.
...
Mr. Owens has been the most aggressive candidate in criticizing his opponents, and he stuck to that strategy in an interview yesterday. He said he was telling voters that he was the only candidate who was completely opposed to the Atlantic Yards project, and that he was the "only one who could beat David Yassky." Of Ms. Clarke, he said: "Yvette doesn't have the organization. Yvette is damaged goods, politically."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:26 AM

September 10, 2006

Left Behinds Primary Endorsements: A Slate of Losers

Left Behinds steps up with their endorsements including Bill Batson, Chris Owens, and Charles Barron as well as a lack of confidence in the 'winningness' of the good guys. Remember, the only way to win this is to help out, not to sit around and pout. If you're not signed up yet to volunteer on primary day, contact your favorite campaign office or contact us to help out with NoLandGrab's efforts.

18th SD: Velmanette Montgomery
I almost didn't endorse here just because I'm pretty sure Montgomery will win, and that breaks the perfect streak of the post. But Tracy Boyland is Bruce Ratner's candidate. I'm sure 90% of our readership who gives a shit already knew that, but for the 10% who don't I'm screwing up my aesthetics, and if you know me, you know that means something.

link

Posted by amy at 10:52 AM

Boyland's $100 mystery campaign and the state's weak campaign finance laws

Atlantic Yards Report:

Just yesterday, I received three different Boyland mailings--one with the not-so-subtle message of "Progress for us," accompanied by three photo-ops at housing projects.

However, according to Boyland's filing with the New York State Board of Elections (BOE), Boyland has only $100 to spend--from herself.

That was from her required 32-day pre-primary report, due in early August. Her 11 day pre-primary report was due September 1. She hasn't filed yet. And if she doesn't tell the public who's funding her before the primary election in September 12, well, she'll get away with a slap on the wrist: a fine of $500.

Ratner's role?

Is Forest City Ratner backing Boyland, who supports Atlantic Yards (though doesn't say so in her mailings)? The Crain's Insider last month quoted sources saying Boyland was using the same consulting firm--Knickerbocker SKD--that FCR uses for its deceptive Atlantic Yards mailers. Boyland told the Brooklyn Papers that she's friends with FCR's Bruce Bender.

article

Posted by amy at 10:43 AM

September 9, 2006

Choose Montgomery, Not a Phantom

Courier-Life endorses Velmanette Montgomery:

On the one hand you have Montgomery: a hard-working, well-liked incumbent who regularly attends community meetings and isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo (she is one of the few local legislators who is adamantly opposed to Atlantic Yards) and then you have Tracy Boyland, a former Bedford-Stuyvesant City Councilmember (whose career in City Hall was lackluster at best) who apparently has no platform, no campaign office, and, although she has circulated some literature, hasn’t been seen in the downtown Brooklyn side of the district, which stretches from Sunset Park all the way to central Brooklyn.
...
That leaves us with just speculation and rumors that [Boyland] is the “Ratner candidate” and that her entire campaign is being paid by Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC wouldn’t comment.)

article

Posted by amy at 10:10 AM

September 8, 2006

It came from the Blogosphere...

The GL political roundups cover more ground and have a lot more links than we can provide, so check them out.

Gowanus Louge, Thursday Political Round Up
Thursday's round up features Councilmember Letitia James's endorsement of Bill Batson, Ratner's campaign financing cabal from AY Report, a local blogger's beef with David Yassky, and the Daily News endorsement of Yvette Clarke.

Gowanus Lounge, Friday Political Roundup: Endorsements and a Dead Heat
Friday's local political news covers The Brooklyn Papers' endorsements and an exclusive report on how Sunday's donut missile was aimed at Yassky (not Bloomberg), NoLandGrab's (hey, that's us!) endorsements based on candidates' positions on the Yards, the latest scientific and un-scientific polling news in the 11th CD race and the deployment of supporters in the Orthodox Jewish community for David Yassky and Edolphus Towns.

Daily Gotham, Hakeem Jefferies Flip Flop Flips on Atlantic Yards
Mole333 posts a report from a reader on a conversation with 57th AD Candidate Hakeem Jeffries:

Though I do not know Mr. Jeffries personally and have not had extended conversations with him on this issue, I feel I should relay to you what he told me around 6:45 P.M. on August 23, 2006. As I was waiting to get into the public hearing regarding the Atlantic Yards Project DEIS, Mr. Jeffries came down the line shaking hands. As he shook my hand, I asked Mr. Jeffries if he had a solid position on the project as it now stands. Mr. Jeffries looked me in the eye and said that he was "fully in favor of the project" and that he thought "it will be great for Brooklyn."

Clearly Hakeem wants both sides to vote for him so he tells people whatever they want to hear or equivocates. Why can't Hakeem make up his mind? Why can't he be honest with voters?

Nets Fan in NY, The Nets Arena Conspiracy Theory

I’m tired of hearing how supporters of the Atlantic Yards project are weak-minded individuals who are being paid off by the government. So, what be of me and the other 18,000 Nets fans anxiously awaiting a home away from home in Brooklyn? Clearly, we are the men and women behind it all (insert evil laugh… muahhaha).
...
For those against the arena, I ask that you take a step back and realize that it is not just some tasteless monstrosity, but the heart and soul of a project for many like myself.

Curbed.com, Storefronting: East River Plaza Shocker
File this under the lookie-who-just-caught-on category. At the risk of proving that NoLandGrabbers are really the amateur hacks that we claim to be, we had no clue that Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner was one of the partners behind the East River Plaza big box-store bonanza. As Curbed.com reports "the bulldozers have started dozing."

The Empire Zone, Another Slugfest on the Way?
NY Times reporter Nicholas Confessore posted news of a possible boycott of the "community forum" scheduled for election day and the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhood's formal complaint about the conduct of the August 23rd hearing. In response to the CBN complaint, the ESDC told the Times:

At the public hearing on Aug. 24 (sic), ESDC followed the practices and policies regarding hearings. We intend to conduct the forums similarly. We hope that the attendees at the upcoming forums will respect all the speakers so that we can conduct the forums efficiently and maximize the number of speakers in the time available.

NoLandGrab: The Times may regret starting a blog which allows "the Mad O" to post commentary, but don't forget to scroll down and read Norman Oder's audition for the position of NY Times Public Editor.

Posted by lumi at 9:56 AM

More Ratner-related contributions: $10,800 to State Sen. Connor

Atlantic Yards Report

25th Assembly District candidate Ken Diamondstone has been a vocal critic of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, even almost getting the boot from Community Board 2 for his views.

But where does incumbent Marty Connor stand on Atlantic Yards? We know the answer, but in case you don't, here's a clue:

Incumbent State Senator Martin Connor, who's in a tough primary race against Atlantic Yards opponent Ken Diamondstone, just reported $5400 each from Michael Ratner and his wife Karen Ranucci (or, as it says, "Ranvcei"), along with contributions from developers David and Jed Walentas, and the District Council of Carpenters.

link

NoLandGrab: The District Council of Carpenters were the "orange shirts" at the August 23rd public hearing.

Posted by lumi at 9:31 AM

18th Senate District

Velmanette Montgomery vs. Tracy Boyland

The Brooklyn Papers gave free "air time" to candidates to state their case, only Tracy Boyland was too busy stuffing our mailboxes with four-color campaign litter to take the call.

Velmanette Montgomery gets the mic to herself:

What [sic] should voters choose you?
I am a full-time legislator who spends 100 percent of my time, attention and work on constituent services and representation in Albany. My years of experience as a teacher, community organizer, child-care advocate, parent and elected official gives [sic] me a breadth and depth of understanding and knowledge about important issues.

Why is your opponent unqualified?
She has no proven record of representation consistent with the standards expected by voters. And she has not disclosed the source of her campaign contributions as required by law. Voters have no way of knowing who is financing the Tracy Boyland candidacy.

SPECIFIC ISSUE ROUND
Atlantic Yards?
I oppose the Ratner plan. I support the Extell plan, which is based on a set of development principals that respect the existing neighborhoods and does not require eminent domain. It does not close off streets or create a walled-in community or 20- to 60-story towers that will destroy our neighborhoods.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:14 AM

57th Assembly District

Bill Batson vs. Freddie Hamilton vs. Hakeem Jeffries

From The Brooklyn Papers, the candidates speak for themselves:

SPECIFIC ISSUE ROUND
Atlantic Yards?

Batson
I am absolutely opposed to the project as it stands. Not enough affordable housing for families making below $70K; no guarantee on the number of living wage jobs, increased traffic; lack of foresight on public transportation; air pollution from 10+ years of construction, which may lead to spike in rates of asthma; shadows; design insensitive and inconsistent with surrounding neighborhood.

Hamilton
I support Atlantic Yards because I believe that it will bring jobs, business opportunities, some affordable housing and support of services to the community through the Community Benefits Agreement.

Jeffries
The scale and density of the project should be reduced considerably and I am opposed to the use of eminent domain by a private developer to build a basketball arena.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:07 AM

In other races…

The Brooklyn Papers

The Papers makes these endorsements:

• State Senate, 25th District (Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill): No endorsement.

• State Senate, 18th District (Park Slope, Fort Greene, Prospect Heights): We endorse incumbent Velmanette Montgomery.

• State Senate, 20th District (Park Slope, Prospect Heights): We endorse former police officer Eric Adams.

• State Assembly, 57th District (Prospect Heights, Fort Greene): In a close battle, we endorse Community Board 8 member Bill Batson.

Click here to read details of BP's endorsement.

NoLandGrab: Batson, yup; Montgomery, check; Adams, check; we got 'em and more in our candidates endorsement.

Posted by lumi at 8:48 AM

Down to the Wire in Brooklyn

Gay City
By Duncan Osborne

In one of the final debates among the Democratic contenders for Brooklyn’s 11th Congressional District, the candidates offered voters a choice among four supporters of gay marriage and other goals sought by the lesbian and gay community.
...
The sole major disagreement among the four is the Atlantic Yards, a major and controversial development project that is slated for downtown Brooklyn near the terminus of the Long Island Railroad at Flatbush Avenue. Only Owens opposes the project, which has pitted those fearing the enormous scope of the development against Brooklynites eager for the jobs the project will generate and the building of a stadium for the Nets, a pro basketball team currently in New Jersey.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM

September 7, 2006

Reform, Community Ties Dominate Race

Gay City
By Paul Schndler

The Democratic Primary race in the 25th State Senate District that covers portions of Manhattan and Brooklyn has been a wild seesaw of charges and countercharges over how close each of the two candidates is to the communities that make up the district and who best can advocate for reform in Albany. ...
Diamondstone talked about his work to ensure 170 new units of senior housing as a member of a Brooklyn community board, his leadership on the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board, and his opposition to the Atlantic Yards development near the Long Island Railroad terminus at Flatbush Avenue, and concluded, “In all of this and so much more work, I’ve come to know the elected officials, I’ve come to work with them closely, and there was one big empty space and that was the state senator. He was never there. Marty was never there.”

article

Posted by lumi at 10:50 PM

The CQPolitics Interview: Chris Owens (N.Y. 11)

The Congressional Quarterly web site has an interview with 11th District Congressional candidate Chris Owens, who cites Atlantic Yards as one of the main issues that distinguishes the candidates from one another (the other two are having kids who attend public school and experience holding down a real job).

Well, there are a couple of ways in which we distinguish ourselves.

One is that on some local issues we have a different position from a number of my opponents. There’s a development project known as the Atlantic Yards, and I’m the only candidate who’s opposed to the project. The other ones support it. So that allows me to distinguish myself. And that’s a very hot issue right now in a chunk of the district, particularly a chunk that overlaps with Mr. Yassky’s council district, and so he’s lost a lot of support he might otherwise have had because he took his position on that issue.

link

Posted by lumi at 11:13 AM

Foes taking elex to streets

Unions and Haitian voters eyed as 11th Dist. contest heats up
By Jonathan Sederstrom & Elizabeth Hays

The NY Daily News tallies up the support for the four 11th Congressional District candidates with Atlantic Yards activists squarely in Chris Owens's camp:

Chris Owens, who has gained backing among Atlantic Yards opponents but is considered the race's long shot, is focusing on the Haitian vote.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:04 AM

NLG Endorsements: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Strangely, many of the candidates vying for the highly coveted NoLandGrab endorsement didn't get around to replying to our repeated requests for position statements on Atlantic Yards. That didn't stop us from doing the research, keeping an ear to the ground, showing up at candidates' forums and debates and taking a stand.

"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" has nothing to do with the cadidates' looks (though Hakeem Jeffries is so "GQ"). Instead, it reflects the emotional intensity of these hotly contested races (along with the occasional smear tactic), and NoLandGrab's singular focus on the Atlantic Yards proposal.

The Good
These are simply candidates who are concerned about using eminent domain for Bruce Ratner's basketball arena and 16 highrise towers, and who've spoken out against many of the complex issues surrounding the project, such as: massive taxpayer contributions, lack of local review, a troubling review procedure and schedule, backroom deals, the absence of sound urban planning, "misunderestimation" of traffic concerns, etc.

The Bad
We understand that politics often demands compromise, but we think that it's bad, very bad, when you can barely figure out candidates' positions they won't stop talking out of both sides of their mouths.

One can take positions on different aspects of a complex project, but trying to finesse both sides of individual issues betrays a lack of leadership. We figure if a bunch of amateur bloggers can navigate and articulate the complex issues surrounding this project, our politicians should be able to do so, too.

The Ugly
This gang contains candidates who have all publicly declared their support for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. Most have received financial support from the Ratner campaign-financing machine and have deep ties to the discredited Brooklyn Democratic Party Machine, which has been stumping for Ratner from the start.

Click here for NoLandGrab's endorsements.

There are some uncontested local races and third-party candidates running in the general election — those races were not included in this list for purposes of brevity and clarity.

We also invite any candidates who feel we have unfairly characterized their positions to contact us with a clarification (email).

Posted by lumi at 10:21 AM

Jeffries: NO EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE?

57th Assembly District candidate Hakeem Jeffries's latest mailer has caught the attention of "Atlantic Yards" Voters Guide and Atlantic Yards Report. Both blogs try to parse the mexed missages.

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide, Jeffries-Come-Lately's Liar Flier
AY Voters Guide calls the mailer a "liar flier" and explains why. One of the strangest citations on the flier is Jeffries quote from his own ad in the Brooklyn Downtown Star.

Atlantic Yards Report, Where does Hakeem Jeffries stand on AY? The obfuscation mounts

So what does Hakeem Jeffries, the fundraising frontrunner for the open 57th Assembly District seat, really think about Atlantic Yards? His web site is silent. An ad he placed in the Downtown Brooklyn Star in May (right) was muddled, critical in many ways, but unclear on whether he was ultimately pro or con. And since then he has only made his bottom line more confusing.

Norman Oder hits the nail on the head when he points out that Jeffries repeatedly claims to be against "eminent domain ABUSE." But what about its USE?

Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

Yvette Clarke for Congress

The Daily News editorial board gives support for Atlantic Yards as one of the reasons they endorse Yvette Clarke for the 11th Congressional District race.

Clarke has chaired the Council's Fire and Police Committee, authored legislation requiring landlords to install energy-efficient appliances, and advocated for van drivers, nurses and other working people in her district. She supports the Atlantic Yards project.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:51 AM

It came from the Blogosphere...

The Brooklyn Record, Atlantic Yards Update

All the Atlantic Yards controversy can be hard to keep up with, so for all you Brooklynites who aren't tuned into the various blogs devoted to it (or devoted to putting the kibosh on it), here's the news in a nutshell.

Community Commentary: Andy Bachman, What He Says, What He Does
An account of last night's 11th District Congressional candidates debate casts Chris Owens and David Yassky as the heavies. The Rabbi contrasts the two candidates' styles as principled rhetoric vs. the effective compromise and gives the following as one example:

One, as distinct from the red-meat line about not standing up to Bush if you can’t stand up to Ratner, Yassky calmly explained how he fought developers as a city councilman and wrought huge concessions on the Brooklyn Waterfront Development as well as introducing hybrid taxis to the city’s fleet (I know, I’m a nerd).

Neighborhood Retail Alliance, Kudos to the NY Daily News
Ratner consultant Richard Lipsky high fives the Daily News for yesterday's editorial supporting the Atlantic Yards project.

There is no compromise with the these folks and any further concessions, as the News points out, will only serve to hurt the project's recognized benefits. Let's just move forward and forget the human shields.

NoLandGrab: Sounds like the "newly minted volunteers" are ready to bulldoze those human shields!

Power Plays (political blog of The Village Voice, Mark Green's Three Questions
In the highlights from Tuesday's Attorney General debate, Maloney took a strong stand against eminent domain in a question about environmental issues:

Green said that getting GE to clean up the Hudson is the biggest environmental issue out there. Maloney said it was the use of eminent domain, which requires "a system that is open, transparent, and fair"—unlike the Atlantic Yards deal. Cuomo believes mercury emissions take the cake.

Posted by lumi at 7:58 AM

The Mayor's Legacy: Educational Improvements and Poverty Reduction, Or Bold Budgeting and Economic Development?

Gotham Gazette

The Gazette examines Mayor Bloomberg's legacy as it begins to take shape. On the economic development front, he may be remembered for "his giving of huge subsidies to sports owners and real estate developers, the impacts of which will not be known for decades."

Much of the Bloomberg administration's economic development plans have focused on subsidizing stadiums for sports teams - the Jets football team, the Yankees and Mets baseball teams, the Nets basketball team. The stadium for the Jets is a broken dream. The ones for the Yankees and the Mets are being fulfilled, though critics grumble. (It's an interesting sidelight to the story that a report by the city comptroller found the Yankees more than a quarter of a million dollars in arrears in payment to the city for its use of the current city-owned stadium.) The arena for the Nets is a dream not yet realized that critics are broadcasting as a nightmare.

The Forest City Ratner basketball arena and commercial development plan in Brooklyn - controlled by the state's Empire State Development Corporation -- was challenged at a raucous hearing by neighborhood advocates who attacked the size and location of the project. Shortly afterward, the developer reportedly planned to reduce the size of the project; this apparently won over few critics.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:51 AM

September 6, 2006

A Brooklyn Ticket

Daily Politics posted campaign lit from the "Anti-Atlantic Yards Ticket" and noted:

on the other side of the piece: One of Batson's opponents is apparently named "Hakeen Andrews."

link

NoLandGrab: Hakeen Andrews? Is he funded by Brooce Bloomberg?

At least everyone agrees that the "toops" should come home.

Posted by lumi at 11:40 PM

Assembly Candidate Bill Batson to be Endorsed by City Council Member Letitia James at September 6th Press Conference

Media Release from BatsonForBrooklyn.com

Brooklyn, NY – On Wednesday, September 6th Council Member Letitia James will endorse 57th Assembly District candidate Bill Batson at an 11am press conference, in front of the recently closed Associated Supermarket at 176 Myrtle Avenue.

link

Bill Batson is the former Director of Community Relations for New York State Senate Democratic Leader David A. Paterson. He has a 20-year record of community-based, city and statewide activism. Batson has been an advocate for the homeless, renters, small business, and homeowners. He has also worked on behalf of labor, arts and culture groups, responsible policing, innovative youth programs, expansion and protection of voting rights, community-centered development, education, and multicultural cooperation and tolerance.

For the past two years, Batson has served as a member of Community Planning Board 8, Co-chairing the Fire Safety sub-committee and the special sub-committee on the Environmental Impact of Brooklyn Atlantic Yards Development.

Batson has already received endorsements from Norman Siegel, Congressional Candidate Chris Owens, Major Owens, City Councilman/Congressional Candidate Charles Barron, and City Councilman Bill DeBlasio. WHO: Assembly Candidate Bill Batson, Council Member Letitia James and supporters WHAT: Endorsement Press Conference WHERE: 176 Myrtle Avenue between Ashland and Prince Streets WHEN: 11am

#

Support Bill Batson For NY State Assembly 57th District Vote September 12, 2006

For more information email: Abeni Crooms batson@batsonforbrooklyn.com or call: 917 627 6528

Posted by lumi at 9:30 AM

Polling Atlantic Yards Report

Four out of five posts on Atlantic Yards Report recommend facts and analysis for reporters who chew on Ratner PR.

Crain's poll questions were stunning generalities--and described the CBA as a negotiation

So Crain's New York Business has posted the full results of the poll it commissioned regarding Atlantic Yards.

The conclusion: when asked about the project in stunning generalities, especially deceptive ones about the Community Benefits Agreement, people approve of it. (Yes, polls are by nature general, but we should have gone beyond "jobs, housing, and hoops" by now.)

That's about it, until someone conducts a more specific poll that actually addresses issues of density, public responsibility, facts and promises about affordable housing, and the use of eminent domain.

AYR posted poll details (link to Crain's poll) with some running commentary.

Another set of Pacific Crest Research calls

I'm told that Pacific Crest Research has also been calling Brooklynites about the 57th District Assembly race, involving Atlantic Yards opponent Bill Batson, AY proponent Freddie Hamilton, and Hakeem Jeffries, who has offered a range of criticisms but has said he would choose to support the project. And, as in the brief call I received, callers are asking about Atlantic Yards.

Note that Forest City Ratner has neither confirmed nor denied a relationship with Pacific Crest.

Posted by lumi at 8:10 AM

September 4, 2006

It came from the Blogosphere...

Gothamist, Grains of Salt and Atlantic Yards Support

It'd be interesting if a poll did ask people if they felt informed about the issues - and then if the pollster gave people some of the pros and cons and asked questions about support all over again.

Don't Worry It's Just Reality: Brooklyn Edition, Some Questions I'd like Crain's Pollsters to Ask....

We don't have a copy of Crain's poll questions, but "Dreadnaught" has a few questions of his own.

Daily Gotham, Bill Batson's Statement on the ESDC's Analysis of Ratner's Plan

Mole333 posted 57th Assembly District candidate Bill Batson's official position on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan.

The Real Estate Observer, Monday: Everybody Loves Ratner (and Harlem)

Today's Crain's reports that 60% of Brooklynites support the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards development. A high number, no? Plus, nearly 9 out of 10 New Yorkers think the project will "be an important benefit to the community," on account of the affordable housing and new jobs. 10 out of 10 Bruce Ratners agree.

Neighborhood Retail Alliance, Arena Foes Poll-Axed
Here's a big surprise, Ratner's consultant Richard Lipsky is declaring that:

In spite of all the publicity generated and policy expertise demonstrated by the DDD folks the group doesn't have the kind of traction needed to stop the project.

Posted by lumi at 7:46 PM

Hakeem's Insincerity on Eminent Domain

Hakeem Jeffries's latest campaign lit has "Atlantic Yards" Voters Guide as puzzled as the rest of us.

"Private abuse of eminent domain?" Huh? What we have with Atlantic Yards is a public and private abuse of eminent domain. How can Jeffries hold this position while at the same time talking about a "principled compromise" at Atlantic Yards. Either you are for or against the use of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:14 PM

Pacific Crest Research is back, asking about the Congressional race

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder has to be some kind of telephone-poll magnet because Pacific Crest Research "reached out" again. This time the poll was pretty straightforward, primarily looking at the heated 11th Congressional District race with some Atlantic Yards stuff sprinkled in for good measure.

Oder took notes and then wondered:

So what’s the goal?

Is Forest City Ratner trying to figure out how to influence the Congressional race? Or is the developer trying to gauge the attitude of the supporters of various candidates so as to respond after the election? Or could it be some other patron altogether?

I asked a supervisor who’d commissioned the poll. He said staffers aren’t told, and that only the president of the Pacific Crest Research knows. His name is Matt Hewitt.

link

Posted by lumi at 6:57 PM

Tracy Boyland: Albany isn't looking out for [Ratner] anymore

Daily Gotham

Mole333 explains why Tracy Boyland is campaigning to fight for Ratner's interests in Albany:

Tracy Boyland's campaign motto, from her campaign literature, is "I just don't think the politicians in Albany are looking out for US anymore..."

If the allegations that she is the "Ratner pawn" then by "us" she must mean herself and Ratner.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:01 AM

September 3, 2006

Atlantic Yards Report Roundup

While we were caught sleeping on the job, Norman Oder wasn't — we forgot to post yesterday's links to Atlantic Yards Report so here's the weekend roundup from the "mad overblogger":

AY displacement? Rev. Daughtry is incredulous (and uninformed)

Residential displacement around Atlantic Yards will be countered by the affordable housing component of Bruce Ratner's plan, according to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, ACORN head Bertha Lewis, Ratner spokesperson Lupe Todd, and Rev. Herbert R. Daughtry. Can we take their claims at face value?

Norman Oder provides some additional analysis.

New community forum coming; backlash against hearing "circus" continues

The Courier-Life article on the August 23 "Public Hearing" and the additional "Community Forum" needs some explaining. Norman Oder also highlights the coverage on some criticism of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The innocence of our Borough President

Atlantic Yards Report straightens out Marty Markowitz on differences between Bruce Ratner's affordable housing plan and inclusionary zoning initiatives.

The more things change...
Oder offers a couple paragraphs about public hearings from Jane Jacobs. It's deja vu all over again:

A public hearing in a big city is apt to be a curious affair, simultaneously discouraging and heartening.

Posted by lumi at 9:21 AM

September 2, 2006

The Final Line Drawn Over the Ratnerena in the 57th?

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide is reporting:

the leading Atlantic Yards political opponent, Letitia James, on September 6th, will be endorsing Bill Batson in the 57th Assembly District.... Batson is the only Atlantic Yards opponent in that race.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:08 AM

My Wife Responds to the NY Times

Daily Gotham

Mole333 publishes his wife's Letter to the Editor that did not get published in The NY Times, regarding the papers endorsement of David Yassky for the 11th Congressional District [emphasis added]:

Although I fully expected it, I am disheartened to see that the Times has endorsed David Yassky's bid for Congress in the 11th District.

I live in Mr. Yassky's council district, and I disagree that his record in the Council has been as great as you say. "Job creation" and "affordable housing" are just buzzwords meaning "I support Atlantic Yards and take money from Ratner." Mr. Yassky has fallen flat on other issues that are important to the district, such as voting machine technology. Despite the fact that the question of which machines New York City will choose is directly before the Council, at a CD 11 candidate's form earlier this year, Mr. Yassky said "I don't care" when asked his position on the issue.

link

Posted by lumi at 8:51 AM

Atlantic Yards $ Pit?

Courier-Life
By Stephen Witt

The city is putting in an additional $29 million toward infrastructure costs surrounding the proposed Atlantic Yards project, according to documents unearthed by project opponents.

The $29 million comes from a section of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget titled, “FY 2007 Changes Pursuant to Section 254- Mayoral.”

The money, stretched out over three years, includes $5 million in 2007 toward relocated water mains on Pacific Street, Vanderbilt to Flatbush avenues, to Atlantic Avenue, $10 million for these same water mains in 2008, $10 million for these same water mains in 2009, and $4 million in 2008 to reconstruct a pedestrian underpass at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.

City Councilmember Letitia James calls attention to the skyrocketing costs of the project; 57th Assembly District Candidate Bill Batson mentions that the pedestrian underpass has just been rennovated; Forest City Ratner Companies had no comment and the Mayor's office hadn't returned the call before press time.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:41 AM

August 31, 2006

Ratner-backer runs for office

Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen

A "Ratner-backer" backed by Ratner is running to unseat controversial project foe:

So why does former City Councilwoman Tracy Boyland think she has a chance in the September 12 primary against 22-year state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Park Slope)?

The answer is Atlantic Yards.

According to Boyland, Sen. Montgomery's opposition to the Atlantic Yards project has hurt her in many parts of her district.

And this week, the candidate — the daughter of a prominent [former] state Assemblyman, William Boyland Sr., — admitted that the Atlantic Yards developer was "helping" her campaign.

"I love [Forest City Ratner executive vice president] Bruce Bender," the Yards supporter said. "We have a friendship. We worked together on the Council."

Click image to read the entire article.

Posted by lumi at 11:09 PM

For the Fightin’ Eleventh, David Yassky

The Brooklyn Papers has given its editorial board endorsement for the 11th Congressional District to David Yassky.

Some aspects of their endorsement are more tepid than others, such as Yassky's weakness for developer money, but the Yassky back-and-forth-and-back-again position on Atlantic Yards doesn't bother the Brooklyn Papers as much as it does major project critics.

We’re not pleased by the strong support he receives from developers who fill his campaign war chest. Or with the fact that he moved to New York City from Washington, D.C. after the imposition of term-limits created open seats on the Council — or that he again moved so that he would reside within the 11th District before running for the seat.

But while Yassky has been supportive of development, he has also listened to the critics of the Atlantic Yards project. Yes, he supports Bruce Ratner building at that site, but at last week’s state public hearing he reiterated his position that the development must be halted if it is not scaled back.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:52 PM

Yassky Campaign Cancels Fund-Raiser at the Last Minute

The NY Sun
By Russell Berman

Three candidates in the race for Congress in Brooklyn's 11th district attacked David Yassky yesterday after the lawmaker abruptly canceled a fund-raiser with a controversial architect.

On Tuesday Brownstoner broke the news that Brooklyn's other developer with a bad rep, Robert Scarano, Jr.*, was holding a fundraiser for Yassky. Politicker picked it up and when reporters started to sniff around, the event was abruptly cancelled.

11th CD candidate and Atlantic Yards critic Chris Owens likens the reversal to Yassky's flippity-floppity position on Atlantic Yards:

"Mr. Yassky is a political chicken," a rival candidate in the race, Chris Owens, charged yesterday. "He has done this time and time again." Citing Mr. Yassky's recent criticism of the Atlantic Yards project, Mr. Owens said the City Council member frequently takes politically unpopular positions, only to change his mind. "He gets caught, and then he flip-flops."

article

* Scarano has recently been racking up column inches on blogs and the mainstream media for exploiting his self-certification priviledges (he was secretly constructing buildings larger than what was allowed under the city zoning code) and for dangerous conditions on a site that led to the death of one worker in March.

Posted by lumi at 10:29 AM

August 30, 2006

NYTimes Endorses Ratner for CD-11

OnNYTurf smells a "rat," after the NY Times endorsement of David Yassky for the 11th Congressional District.

Today the NYTime's (Arthur Sulzberger) published an endorsement of David Yassky for the CD-11 congressional district in Brooklyn. Yassky is the NYTime's Atlantic Yards candidate.

If one wanted to be generous about David Yassky's position on Atlantic Yards, we could call him wishy washy or a flip flopper. That would be being nice.

Here is Yassky's typical position on Atlantic Yards [transcript from Atlantic Yards Reoprt]:

"...the current project is way too big. There’s no place for 60-story towers in Brooklyn. I believe the project will create traffic nightmares unless it’s inaudible back. I want to see a way to make this project go forward so we can realize the benefits that it does promise--good jobs, affordable housing..."
...
Not only is Yassky in lock step with developers in general, Yassky has asked city council for $3 million to fund the so-called jobs training organization BUILD. BUILD is a sham organization that has no experience in job training and was set up specifically to back Ratner's plan, and received funding from Ratner. The money Yassky asked for was to make up for additional funding Ratner seemed to pull back on after the embarrassing relationship between BUILD and Ratner was learned.

article

Posted by lumi at 2:00 PM

Candidates Get Their Endorsements Crossed

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

Coverage of the Batson/Barron cross endorsement:

"You just keep being you," City Councilman Charles Barron told State Assembly candidate Bill Batson on the steps of City Hall this past rainy Sunday afternoon. "If you do," continued Barron, who is running for a political promotion himself this fall - to federal Congress, "then you'll have nothing to worry about. Don't sell us out, but I know you won't."

The two candidates have known each other a long time, having protested together in the wake of the Amodou Diallo shooting over seven years ago. Since then, Barron, a former Black Panther, has taken his street militancy inside the halls of municipal power. He has represented east Brooklyn in the City Council since 2001.

"Charles knows," admired Batson, "that we have to fight on the streets and in Albany and Washington. A lot of politicians go off to the corridors of power and disappear. I want to be like Charles. I want my constituents to hear me and see me."

article

Posted by lumi at 10:25 AM

August 29, 2006

Yassky calls (almost) for a 50% AY scaleback

Atlantic Yards Report

11th District Congressional candidate and NY City Councilmember David Yassky has been privately telling constituents that the project should be scaled down by about 50%. AYR reporter Norman Oder tries to get an answer for the record:

Q: You said to the Brooklynite something about 33 percent, one-third.
DY: I think it should be brought down more than that.

Q: So how much more? I’ve heard from four or five people that you’ve said 50 percent.
DY: I think 50 percent would be acceptable.
...
We were walking, so I wanted to make sure Yassky really meant it.

Q: It should be cut 50 percent, is that what you’re saying?
DY: It has to come down substantially. I don’t know if there’s a magic number.
...
Would a 50 percent cut--to about 4.35 million square feet--make the project palatable to community members who oppose the project? Perhaps, for those whose main concern is scale, rather than those who object to the use of eminent domain and the no-bid, no-planning process.

Right now, the project, in terms of population, would be twice as dense as the densest census tract in the country, as the New York Observer has reported. Halving the size of the project would bring it to the level, perhaps, from where the discussion should have started.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:14 AM

Freddie Hamilton's campaign web site is back

The campaign web site of 57th Assembly District candidate Freddie Hamilton is back. Though she refused to answer any questions regarding Atlantic Yards at a recent candidates forum, her web site has this statement (in case you were confused as to where she stands on the issue):

The development of Downtown Brooklyn

The Development of Downtown Brooklyn which includes the Atlantic Yards project, The BAM Cultural District and the Development of the old Williamsburg Savings Bank Building.

While change is constant, it's still hard when the change happens to you. I am a signer of the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement on behalf of six community based service organizations in the 57th Assembly District. They are Brooklyn Perinatal Network, Youth America Inc., REBUILD, Jackie Robinson Center for Physical Culture, Grandmothers as Mothers Again, Brooklyn Plaza Medical Center and Child Development Support Corporation.

Although I am a supporter of the Atlantic Yards development, I hope to keep open and honest dialogue with those who oppose the project. This is an evolving process and I believe that continued negotiations will ultimately provide the best outcomes for the community and for the district.

link

NoLandGrab: The pioneering Community Benefits Agreement for the Staples Center in LA outlined a process whereby the developer negotiates with the community. Since CBA-signer Hamilton has a "seat at the table," she is the one who should be having an "open dialogue" with the developer. To call for an open dialogue with the "community" is a waste of resources and precious time.

When the signers of the CBA accepted money from Bruce Ratner in return for their support, the onus for negotiating for a better project fell on the shoulders of project opponents — the ones who do not have a seat at the table.

Posted by lumi at 7:33 AM

DDDB Press Release:

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Calls for Apology from NYC District Council Carpenters Political Director Stephen McInnis Should Apologize for Insensitive Remarks

BROOKLYN, NY—Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) calls for an apology to the communities of Central Brooklyn for a statement made today by a union leader.

In an article in today’s New York Observer (“Chris Quinn: Secret Establishment Favorite”), the political director of the New York City District Council Carpenters, Stephen McInnis, is quoted as saying that he sees officials as advocates of one of three worldviews: “build everything, platform over the Hudson River and build 60-story high-rises”; “let’s burn it all down, Atlantic Yards is the worst thing ever, and I’m going to get my name in the paper by saying it’s the worst thing ever”; and, finally, “the middle ground.”

Mr. McInnis’ statement that opponents of developer Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” proposal want to “…burn it all down…” is both insensitive and confusing. The statement is insensitive as the communities surrounding Ratner’s proposed project, along the Pacific Street corridor, have recently seen a rash of suspected arsons which have not only burned buildings down but have killed five individuals.

Mr. McInnis’ remarks are confusing because the communities fighting against the Ratner project are opposed to the abuse of eminent domain which would see the state of New York seize and demolish approximately 70 buildings. Presumably Mr. McInnis supports those demolitions. Those same opponents of “Atlantic Yards” favor a different http://dddb.net/php/community/extell.phpdevelopment plan for the rail yards–a plan http://www.nydailynews.com/boroughs/story/326092p-278717c.htmlsolicited by them–which would not tear down any buildings. That plan would construct eleven buildings up to 28 stories using union labor, offers the same percentage of affordable housing as “Atlantic Yards” does, and offered substantially more money to the MTA than the Ratner bid.

“We fully support the use of union labor for any development that might occur on the Brooklyn rail yard site and development anywhere in the city. We respect union labor–all we ask is that union leadership respect the communities they wish to come into and build,” said DDDB spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. “We hope that Mr. McInnis can show us that respect and apologize for his insensitive remarks in today’s Observer article.”

-30-

Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM

Press Release: Batson and Barron

Congressional Candidate Charles Barron and NY State Assembly Candidate Bill Batson Cross-Endorse

New York, August 27, 2006 – Today on the steps of City Hall, Council Member Charles Barron, running for the seat in the 10th Congressional District endorsed Bill Batson’s run for the open seat in the 57th NY State Assembly District.

“Mr. Batson is the only independent, real, progressive voice in this race for the Assembly; everyone else is part of the Brooklyn Democratic Machine,” Councilmember Baron said. “We need new leadership in this community,” Barron continued, “and that is why I enthusiastically endorse Bill Batson.”

Both Barron and Batson are running grassroots Brooklyn campaigns fueled by small donors. They are both independent thinkers with long histories of organizing and activism in Brooklyn.

“Charles Barron has been a long-time activist in this city; a man with great integrity who fights every day for his community,” Batson stated. “There is no one I see who is more qualified, more capable of serving the 10th Congressional District than Charles Barron, and I am proud to endorse him for the seat.”

Posted by lumi at 12:12 AM

August 28, 2006

It came from the Blogosphere...

Brooklyn Heights Blog, Nabe Photog Reveals Gargantuan Nature of Yards Project
BHB posts on the photos Brooklyn Heights resident Jonathan Barkey released last week.

He tells Brooklyn Papers, “I was bothered by the fact that Ratner’s renderings make the impact look less because the photos were from so far away…But when you show his plans in the proper context, you see how colossal it is.”

As you can see from Barkey's rendering (above) of the Dean Street Playground, buildings appear to be attacking kids enjoying an afternoon of play.

The Politicker, More Atlantic Yards Meetings
The Empire State Development Corporation sent the announcement of an additional "community forum," very official-like, by email:

The Empire State Development Corporation just announced (as in, I just got the email about) two additional meetings they will hold for purpose of "soliciting more comments on the Atlantic Yards Project."

The Long and Continuous Emergency, Scaling Down Atlantic Yards?
Jason at The Long and Continuous Emergency ponders the talk about a scale down of Atlantic Yards and thinks out loud:

This is probably what they intended since the beginning.

Gowanus Longue, Second Atlantic Yards "Community Forum" Added

It would appear that even the ESDC is anxious to avoid a process that looks more like Moscow circa 1986 than New York City circa 2006. In the end, though, unless the fundamental dynamics of the process are altered to allow genuine community input and a deliberate process that allows for full and honest analysis of the benefits and negative impacts of Atlantic Yards, then the ESDC's review and "vote" will still have a distinctly Soviet smell about it with a touch of Robert Moses mixed in.

Daily Politics, Remainders
Ben Smith is reporting that Gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer is getting his way with the addition of another "community forum" date. It's hard to see why that would be the case, since Spitzer called for a longer period for review of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, not another forum. The second "community forum" was shoehorned into the schedule, but the close of the public comment period remains September 22.

Posted by lumi at 11:15 PM

August 26, 2006

Chris Quinn: Secret Establishment Favorite

New York Observer traces City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's trajectory from bare-breasted gay activist to "redder-haired, better-dressed" advocate for overdevelopment. Included is a puzzling quote from someone confusing community activists with arsonists.

Some of the projects Ms. Quinn has supported include the expansion of the Javits Center, a rezoning of the West Side and a citywide garbage plan that includes putting a recycle plant in her own Chelsea district.

The political director of the New York City District Council Carpenters, Stephen McInnis, says he sees officials as advocates of one of three worldviews: “build everything, platform over the Hudson River and build 60-story high-rises”; “let’s burn it all down, Atlantic Yards is the worst thing ever, and I’m going to get my name in the paper by saying it’s the worst thing ever”; and, finally, “the middle ground.”

Ms. Quinn, he said, is the latter category, skewing toward “build everything.”

article

Posted by amy at 11:13 PM

August 25, 2006

Follow the Leader on AY hearing

NY Press political blog Follow the Leader calls the Atlantic Yards hearing in favor of the Ratner supporters even going as far as saying:

Unions, apparently, are better at getting their people to show up on time.

Incivility ruled on both sides, but was particularly noticeable from the opposition, who were pretty personal towards elected officials when the room was quiet. To Marty Markowitz: "you sold out your borough, scumbag," to Roger Green: "you're a criminal," "you're a crook," to Karim Camara: "go hang out with Clarence." One elderly woman even had to be removed for her outburst during Martin Golden's pro-development statement.

Also, John D. notices that David Yassky's "nice-looking signs were displayed everywhere" and "Charles Barron's congressional campaign were (sic) handing out one of the most unprofessional looking pieces of literature I've ever seen."

Today's post on the hearing featured this photo of the de-spectacled Bruce Ratner leading the ACORN demonstration beside Executive Director Bertha Lewis, with the jubilant Bruce Bender in his wake.

link

NoLandGrab: Follow the Leader may not realize that union members are typically paid for time spent at demonstrations supported by the union leadership.

Also, Yassky's campaign war chest of more than a million dollars buys the "nice-looking signs" that Barron's grass-roots campaign can't afford.

More Follow the Leader coverage of the hearing:
Critical Endorsements, Athlete Edition

Taking a page out of the New York Jets' book, in which you have stars of the past and future come out in support of your stadium project, Atlantic Yards picked up the endorsements of the New Jersey Nets' Vince Carter and Jason Kidd today.

[This post also repeats the erroneous report on NY1 that Heath Ledger and Rosie Perez were at the hearing.]

Gentrify Me

During last night's hearing, Assemblyman Roger Green made it crystal clear what he thinks of those who would oppose the Atlantic Yards project: they should go back where they came from, or at least try to navigate the 'hood.

Posted by lumi at 11:31 AM

Candidates' statements

Two candidates who are running for, but do not currently hold, office — and thus could not cut the line to speak before the "public" at the "public" hearing — have posted their statements and comments on the Atlantic Yards hearing on their web sites.

Bill Batson, Statement on the "Atlantic Yards" Draft Environmental Impact Statement to the Empire State Development Corporation

After hundreds of hours of close examination of this project, with my neighbors and peers, I must condemn virtually every aspect of the Forest City Ratner (FCR) proposal for the following reasons: * The use of eminent domain for a private developer is wrong and is a precedent that should never be set. I remind the audience that the same consultants used by Ratner and the ESDC (AKRF) are also attempting to use eminent domain to take a known Underground Railroad location on Duffield Street. * Every promise made by this developer is worthless unless contained in a legally binding agreement with a local legislative body. In the past, FCR has promised street widening, an off ramp from the BQE, free parking and employment for local kids. Each promise was reneged on. * Substantial public subsidies should involve substantial public review. There has been NO LEGITIMATE PUBLIC REVIEW OF THIS PROJECT. I propose that any public subsidy to a single developer of over one billion dollars should be put up to a referendum * And finally, if built, this monstrosity will destroy the most storied county in American history. The shadows cast across Fort Greene would scar America’s first middle class black community. In 1820, African-Americans started Weeksville at the corner of Lincoln and Underhill and grew to Buffalo and Bergen. In Fort Greene Park, Richard Wright wrote Native Son and John Coltrane perfected his chops. Under the soil of the park, built by Walt Whitman, lie the bones of the 11,500 prison ship martyrs. This history, absent from this ESDC document should form the centerpiece of any development in Brooklyn, not an afterthought, or even worse, a victim.

Alison Duncan (Green Party candidate, Lt. Gov), Develop Brooklyn on a Human Scale

One of the four pillars of the Green Party is grassroots democracy. The Atlantic Yards project is fundamentally undemocratic. It is exempt from our local Urban Land Use Review Procedure and therefore not held accountable to the community boards, the City Planning Commission and the City Council. Because the project is not accountable to local government:

• the housing and jobs proposed are not guaranteed
• there are numerous adverse impacts to the community including traffic and public transit congestion, increased sewage overflow, overcrowded schools, increased asthma and other health risks and strains on firehouses, law enforcement, public safety and hospitals leaving the community dangerously under served.

"Atlantic Yards" Voter's Guide looked on Hakeem Jeffries web site and in his latest campaign mailer and couldn't find one statement on the most controversial issue in the candidate's district.

Posted by lumi at 10:24 AM

Brooklyn Papers: Candidates' positions on AY

Fightin’ Eleventh candidates weigh in on Yards

BP breaks down the 11th District candidates' positions as two for the project and two against. However, among those "against," it might be more clear to say that Owens opposes the project, while Yassky would like to see the project go forward if done right:

Carl Andrews: I support the project. There’s no such thing as a perfect plan [but] the [affordable] housing component is something I’m very excited about.

Yvette Clarke: I support the project [because] the benefits outweigh the burdens. As it is today, my observation is that the process has been completely legal.

Chris Owens: I oppose the project primarily because democracy has been stripped out of this — and that creates a foundation that you can’t go back from. In terms of benefits outweighing the costs: there is not that much housing.

David Yassky: I do not support the project. It’s way too big, it needs to be brought down significantly. I’d like to see a project go forward, but it must be done right.

Towns, Barron speak on Yards
Ed Towns makes an appearance at the offices of the Brooklyn Papers and even goes on record on Atlantic Yards (hint, he's for it because it worked in Cleveland — Ratner's hometown — DC and Baltimore).

Charles Barron says that "It’s environmentally disastrous for us, meaning the pollution, the congestion. The affordable housing is nonsense."

Posted by lumi at 8:23 AM

11th District Congressional Candidates Forum

AP, via WNBC.com, Candidates Clash In Brooklyn Congressional Debate

All four candidates pledged to bring affordable housing and better jobs to the district. They clashed over the Atlantic Yards, a $4.2 billion redevelopment project planned for downtown Brooklyn. Clarke said she supported the project, while Yassky and Andrews offered guarded criticisms.

Owens said he opposed it, noting it did not guarantee jobs for Brooklyn residents or for minorities.

Courier-Life, Candidates On the Firing Line At Courier Political Forum

This lengthy article on the candidates forum contains one of the more surreal bits of the current campaign season. Courier-Life is reporting that long-time project critic Chris Owens is "supportive" of the Atlantic Yards proposal.

When asked about the Atlantic Yards project, Owens was supportive, after noting that he is a resident of nearby Prospect Heights. “It should be developed sensibly,” he said, calling for affordable and market rate housing there, and an examination of the infrastructure to serve the area.

57th AD candidate Bill Batson also offered his views on Atlantic Yards:

“Brooklyn is the most storied county in the country. We must become a brilliant destination for the nation,” said Batson. And the Atlantic Yards proposal should not be a part of that, he said, voicing his opposition to the huge Ratner project.

NY Sun, Racial Tensions On Display At 11th District Debate

The Sun is reporting that three of the four candidates have misgivings about Atlantic Yards.

Of the four candidates, only Ms. Clarke endorsed the controversial Atlantic Yards project as it currently...

Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM

August 24, 2006

As Spitzer Flexes, Bloomberg Team Feels the Strain

The NY Times
By Diane Cardwell and Charles V. Bagli

Fresh off a decisive victory, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg started his second term this year with huge ambitions for economic development in the city. He wanted to restart the troubled rebuilding effort at ground zero, reshape the Far West Side of Manhattan, and push the huge Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.

In recent weeks, however, the administration has been finding its efforts stymied, at least in part because of a man who has little if any official say in these matters.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:30 PM

Pol parade — windbags and wonks

Yesterday's parade of politicians provided an opportunity to learn more about how some of their positions have evolved, though most used their (loosely regulated) three minutes to pontificate on the greatness of the Borough of Kings.

Big Ratner supporter - and City Councilmember - Lew Fidler shared his thoughts about his old Buick, while State Senator Carl Kruger served up a boilerplate special that could have easily addressed local Lions Club boosters.

The most interesting comments were made by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Assemblymember Joan Millman and City Councilmember David Yassky - all of whom presented nuanced views of the DEIS - and City Councilmember Letitia James, who warned the room about the already high rates of asthma in the neighborhood (btw: the DEIS says that there will be no significant adverse impact to air quality from the project).

[Blockquotes from Atlantic Yards Report.]

The BP continued his cheerleading for the project, but added a few new twists, seemingly intended to pressure Bruce Ratner into downsizing the project and dealing with traffic:

[Markowitz] praised the project for providing affordable housing and union jobs. But he offered his own concerns, asserting that the iconic Williamsburgh Savings Bank, at 512 feet, should remain Brooklyn’s tallest building, not to be overshadowed by Frank Gehry’s 620-foot “Miss Brooklyn.” He declared that the building planned for the railyards opposite the Newswalk condos on Pacific/Dean streets—and home to numerous project opponents—“must be reduced.” And two other buildings bordering lower-rise Prospect Heights, he said, must be reduced.

“Next, build a school,” he declared, an acknowledgment that the project would bring many schoolchildren but be forced to disperse them. Make sure the open space is inviting and accessible, he added, echoing criticism from the Municipal Art Society and others that the projected seven-plus acres of open space would be too easily defined as backyards for the enormous residential buildings.

And, he added, “Get real about traffic and parking,” saying that to find “an urban transit solution, we need to engage the best minds.” It was a backhanded slap at Forest City Ratner transportation consultant “Gridlock Sam” Schwartz, who surely is one of the better minds, but whose solutions have been met with much criticism....

...

Assemblywoman Joan Millman, who represents Park Slope and other areas near the site, began by expressing her “disappointment with ESDC and the developer for the failure to make this project work for Brooklyn.”

She said she agreed that the project should be reduced, then offered some prescriptions that surely conflict with the developer’s economic plan. Build affordable housing and the arena first, she said—even though the luxury housing, as several commenters pointed out later, is what fuels the project.

Millman cited traffic concerns and said she did not support redirecting Fourth Avenue traffic via narrow (and part-residential) Pacific Street to Flatbush Avenue.

Millman also cited the need for traffic officers to handle traffic on nights of arena games or events, a new school, and sufficient police and fire services. “I object to eminent domain,” she concluded, “not here, not now.” (That would put her advocacy for the arena in question, given that Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein, whose condo lies near the projected center court, has vowed to be an eminent domain plaintiff.)

Councilmember David Yassky warned the ESDC that its failure to address serious issues put the project in jeopardy, due to growing opposition to the project:

Yassky, a candidate for the 11th Congressional District, offered his “mend it don’t end it” prescription, calling for changes to help realize the benefits and avoid having the project killed.

The project, he said, must be reduced in height and bulk, though he offered no specific numbers. “The impact on traffic will be destructive without serious measures,” he said, adding that he’d submitted a “comprehensive traffic plan”—previously announced but not made available—to the record.

He also added a comment on the CBA that some other elected officials echoed. The promises must be enshrined in the Atlantic Yards approval document, not a side agreement, for them to be binding.

City Councilmember Letitia James has been consistent in her criticism of the project, but her testimony focused on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement:

“ESDC is not and could not be an honest broker,” James declared, citing the schedule for public hearings, questionable claims about revenue, and dubious statistics about such issues as noise. “Growth is good,” she said, “but growth has its limits.”

The DEIS, she said, is flawed, and findings were made without sufficient technical support. “There’s no meaningful discussion of alternatives,” she said. Scoffing at claims about the project’s location near a transit hub, she called it “not a transit-oriented development but a traffic-oriented development.” She declared that the project would trigger asthma attacks and said it would displace poor residents.

Posted by lumi at 9:22 AM

August 22, 2006

Yes, we do requests

Thank goodness the Left Behinds are around to spell things out for the political neophytes at NoLandGrab. We couldn't understand why the Times awarded their highly coveted endorsement to Jeffries based on "star power," so we called on the more well seasoned snarks.

1) Bruce Ratner is building the Times's new headquarters on Eighth Avenue.
2) The Times editorial board endorsed the Ratner project.
3) Hakeem Jeffries basically supports the Atlantic Yards project, with some waffling.
4) A good portion of the 57th AD is pretty solidly anti-Yards. If the Times announces it supports Jeffries because he supports the Yards project, it undoes all his careful waffling and sinks him with much of the Times's mid-Brooklyn readership. Another reason must be found, and in the absence of anything substantive to say there's always the option of saying nothing.

Even without all that, Jeffries is the closest thing to an incumbent in the race, with the most money and the fanciest website.

link

NoLandGrab: We went to the LeftBehinds for wit and wisdom (and "snarkasm"), and all we got was "garden-variety backscratching and establishment politics?" Welcome to Ratnerville.

Posted by lumi at 9:42 PM

Brooklyn's Captain Marvel

The 57th AD race just got real interesting.

The Politicker is reporting that 57th AD candidate Billy Batson is in fact Captain Marvel.

So it's the NY Times endorsement versus a super hero. Now that's a race.

link

Posted by lumi at 11:18 AM

Jim Dean is coming to NYC and going to bat for Chris Owens

Daily Gotham blogger "mole333" is stumping for Chris Owens for the 11th District Congressional Race.

Chris Owens is the only candidate in the CD 11 race to take a stand against big developer money and Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards Project. Chris is a strong supporter of verified voting and has been actively involved in the movement against the Iraq War since Day 1. Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California) recently endorsed Chris, stating: "Chris Owens has been the strong voice for an immediate end to U.S. involvement with Iraq and will join the Out of Iraq Caucus here in the House of Representatives," said Waters. "I want fighters beside me here in Washington. I support Chris Owens for Congress because he is a fighter and we need his powerful and progressive voice."

Oh, and Jimmy Dean is coming to town... link.

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

Curiel's Picks

Daily Politics

The most powerful person in New York politics, and certainly Manhattan politics, [Carolyn Curiel] spoke on Sunday in the Times City Section, and various campaigns are now hard at work clipping and mailing her editorials. ...
The Times also gave Diamondstone a boost, and did Hakeem Jeffries the tremendous favor of not simply endorsing him, but of doing so without making clear where anybody stands on Atlantic Yards.

link

NoLandGrab: The only reason the Times gave for its endorsement is that Jeffries "has the makings of a political star?" So, basically, the Times gave away its endorsement based on star power?

Posted by lumi at 7:28 AM

August 21, 2006

NY Times Endorses Diamondstone. Also Endorses Jeffries–But Why?

Atlantic Yards Voter's Guide comments on this weekend's NY Times endorsements:

The Times has endorsed Ken Diamondstone in the 25th Senate District and Hakeem Jeffries in the 57th Assembly District. The paper feels comfortable bucking the establishment with the none-too-loved Marty Connor, and, to nobody's surprise, endorses the candidate in the 57th–Hakeem Jeffries–who supports The Times' business partner Forest City Ratner in their effort to construct 16 towers and an arena, aka "Atlantic Yards."

link

Posted by lumi at 10:01 AM

In Brooklyn, a Fierce Contest to Be Assembly Successor

The NY Times
By Jonathan Hicks

Today's Times article about the 57th Assembly District race observes:

While the three candidates concur on the need to develop low- and middle-income housing, there have been some sharp areas of disagreement, notably on the proposed Atlantic Yards project near downtown Brooklyn.

article

Missing Railyards
Ironically, this is probably the first article that is so careful to describe the complex mix of existing structures and uses within the footprint of the 22-acre Atlantic Yards proposal, that it forgot to mention the 8-acre Vanderbilt railyard.

The project’s developer, Forest City Ratner Companies, wants to place a sports arena and more than a dozen buildings, some as tall as 62 stories, on 22 acres where a mix of vacant lots, low-rise apartments, abandoned buildings and condominiums now sit.

[So that makes something like hundreds of articles that mention only the railyards, to one that doesn't.]

Ratner Money Accepted by Community Benefits Agreement Signatory Hamilton
There's one BIG omission in the following description of Hamilton:

Ms. Hamilton is a staunch supporter of the project, saying that it will bring jobs, economic opportunity and affordable housing to residents of the area.

“It’s the kind of project that I feel strongly will do some good in this community,” she said.

The article mentions that Hamilton "founded a nonprofit organization to provide programs for youth," but fails to mention that the organization has received $350,000 from Forest City Ratner. In light of this important fact, Hamilton's quote sounds rather self-serving.

Oder Alert: No Disclosure?
To save Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report the trouble, we'll attempt to "Oderize" the Times by pointing out that reporter Jonathan Hicks makes three distinctions between the candidates, (1) their views on Atlantic Yards, (2) the amount of money raised by each candidate and (3) endorsements.

In light of the difference and importance of the candidates' positions on Forest City's Atlantic Yards project, and despite the reporter's attempt to be even-handed, the Times should have printed a disclosure of the business relationship between the NY Times Company and Forest City Ratner in the development and ownership of the Times Tower.

Jeffries's Carefully Crafted Position
Just what is Hakeem Jeffries's position? Atlantic Yards Voter's Guide quotes the candidate as saying he'd, “be more inclined to support it than not," and concludes, "when push comes to shove, Hakeem stands in support of the project."

article

Posted by lumi at 8:37 AM

August 20, 2006

Brooklyn referendum Big names support Yards; foes eye Sept. 12 primary

Crain's

All the most important names in New York politics support the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards housing and sports arena project proposed by Forest City Ratner: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. George Pataki, Comptroller William Thompson, Borough President Marty Markowitz, even gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer. But opponents are working desperately to turn the Sept. 12 Democratic primary into a referendum on the development. They are hoping that strong showings for half a dozen candidates who are against it will make community opposition too obvious for government power brokers to ignore.

Their top priority is helping Bill Batson succeed Assemblyman Roger Green, a supporter who is leaving the Legislature to run for Congress. "It is the key race when it comes to Atlantic Yards," says opposition leader Daniel Goldstein. "The entire district is very politically charged and active right now because of that project." Several dozen Atlantic Yards opponents collected signatures to put Mr. Batson on the ballot. They are raising money for his campaign and will be distributing his literature throughout primary day. Without the controversy to drive his campaign, Mr. Batson would have an uphill battle against Hakeem Jeffries, who ran strong--though unsuccessful--races for the seat in 2000 and 2002 and has more campaign money and institutional support. Mr. Jeffries does not believe the issue will decide the election, but he was wary enough to advertise in local newspapers his objections to the project's size and proposed use of eminent domain. At the same time, he calls Atlantic Yards "a step in the right direction" toward more affordable housing.

article

Owens sells issue in phone calls

Project opponents are also pushing hard to elect Chris Owens to replace his father, Rep. Major Owens, who is retiring. And the candidate--himself an early detractor--is adeptly feeding off their anger. His phone-bank callers begin by asking, "Did you know that Chris Owens is the only candidate in the race opposed to Atlantic Yards?" The pitch, directed first to households closest to the Prospect Heights project site, has paid dividends. "The whole thing is based on Atlantic Yards," Mr. Owens explains. "We've had people give us money on the spot." Several other races pit supporters against opponents in the Democratic primary; winning the nomination is tantamount to election in heavily Democratic Brooklyn. Former City Councilwoman Tracy Boyland, who is taking on state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, is said to be using the same consultant who promoted Atlantic Yards for Forest City. Ms. Montgomery believes she is being challenged as punishment for opposing the project. Opponents also want to demonstrate the level of community dissatisfaction with Atlantic Yards by boosting the vote totals of gubernatorial longshot Tom Suozzi, state Senate candidate Ken Diamondstone and congressional hopeful Charles Barron. With Mr. Spitzer supporting Atlantic Yards, opponents recruited Mr. Suozzi to their cause and helped him win the endorsement of a Brooklyn Democratic club. But with the candidate 60 points behind in the polls, the effect has been negligible.

Looking to Speaker Silver

Mr. Diamondstone, going up against state Sen. Martin Connor, has received contributions and other support from dozens of project opponents. Mr. Barron, who along with Mr. Green is challenging Rep. Edolphus Towns in a district bordering the site, appears regularly at anti-Yards rallies. "In my race, I'm the only one against Atlantic Yards," Mr. Barron says. The election results could be crucial to the project, which calls for a basketball arena and 16 towers, 11 of them at least 300 feet high. Supporters tout its affordable housing and its proximity to mass transit. They say it would create jobs and give Brooklyn its first major sports team, the New Jersey Nets, since 1957. Critics contend that it would snarl traffic, displace homeowners and businesses, and overwhelm brownstone neighborhoods. Opponents believe the election results could compel Albany power brokers to alter or reject the plans for Atlantic Yards, which needs to win unanimous approval from the Public Authorities Control Board this winter. The board is controlled by the openly enthusiastic governor and tacit supporters Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. Opponents believe Mr. Silver could become an ally if the primary goes their way.

Posted by amy at 8:23 PM

Eleventh Congressional District

Brooklyn Papers posts an audio debate online with State Senator Carl Andrews, Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, Councilman David Yassky, and Chris Owens.

link

Posted by amy at 10:09 AM

Endorsements and Complaints

New York Times endorses Ken Diamondstone and Hakeem Jeffries. They do give a shout out to Bill Batson, but do not mention which side of the Atlantic Yards proposal any of the candidates are on. Voters will have to turn to more professional sources for that information.

Assembly District 57 (Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn): Hakeem Jeffries, a bright and eloquent young lawyer, did such a good job of challenging outgoing Assemblyman Roger Green a few years ago that Mr. Green’s colleagues in Albany rearranged this district to carve out the Jeffries’ home. Now Mr. Green has moved on and Mr. Jeffries has moved into the district so that he could try again.

He is not the only good candidate in the running. Freddie Hamilton, who started Parents United to Rally for Gun Elimination, has had a real impact in this area. And Bill Batson, a former aide to State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, has raised the level of debate about the Atlantic Yards development. But Mr. Jeffries has the makings of a political star in a place that needs his intelligence and his energy. We endorse Hakeem Jeffries.

article

Posted by amy at 10:02 AM

August 19, 2006

TODAY: Freddy's Brooklyn Roundhouse

This Saturday, August 19th a special Freddy's Brooklyn Roundhouse, Develop Don't Destroy Rally episode will air with more Bill Batson, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, City Councilmember Letitia James, interviews with Dan Zanes, Charles Barron and music by beatbox entertainment. The special airs at 5:00 pm, Saturday, on TWC channel 35 / Cablevision 68 or streaming live from the BCAT website (scroll to the middle of the page and click watch BCAT live – Channel 3).

The candidates and incumbents for elected office featured in these episodes are the only ones with their integrity intact to oppose the Brooklyn land grabs. They have demonstrated that they represent and listen to our community voice over special interests, with no other interests than making $.

Posted by amy at 12:28 PM

More hints of Ratner support for Boyland's run against Montgomery

Atlantic Yards Report:

"Some white woman"?

Mongomery reported evidence of some underhanded campaign tactics.“One of my constituents in Bed-Stuy told me some people came to her home and asked her to support Tracy Boyland," Montgomery recounted. "She asked who Boyland is running against and was told, ‘some white woman named Montgomery.’”

At Montgomery's campaign kickoff Wednesday at Habana Outpost in Fort Greene, she got support from several veteran politicians, including City Council Member Al Vann and Assembly Member Annette Robinson.

City Council Member Letitia James, whose district overlaps with Montgomery's and is the most vocal political opponent of the Atlantic Yards project, declared Boyland “nothing more than a pawn… of wealthy developers.”

article

Posted by amy at 11:23 AM

August 18, 2006

Boyland-Ratner Link?

From The Crain's Insider - Friday 8/18/06:

Suspicion is growing that Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner is behind former City Councilwoman Tracy Boyland's bid to oust state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery . Boyland supports the $4.2 billion project, and Montgomery opposes it. Insiders say that Boyland is using the same consulting firm—Knickerbocker SKD—that Forest City used to produce its Atlantic Yards literature. An insider says that Forest City executive Bruce Bender is also helping Boyland raise money. Knickerbocker SKD's Micah Lasher and a Forest City spokesman both declined to comment, but project opponents will connect the dots when Boyland files a campaign finance report revealing vendors she worked with. She has missed two deadlines to do so, but requested filing software from the Board of Elections this week.

NoLandGrab: We told you a month ago that Boyland was the "Ratner Candidate" (we have our sources).

Retaining Knickerbocker SKD isn't exactly a smoking gun (Councilmember Letitia James has used the pr firm in the past), but having Ratner political guru Bruce Bender spend his valuable time fundraising for Boyland is a sure sign that the candidate got the nod from Ratner himself.

Posted by lumi at 10:26 PM

August 17, 2006

More groups call for extension of AY review; large crowd at community meeting

Atlantic Yards Report has a couple highlights from yesterday's press conference, at which a couple more elected representatives and public-interest groups joined the chorus calling for more time for the community to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The second part of the article covers the "community meeting on the DEIS sponsored by the Fort Greene Association and the Society for Clinton Hill," which "drew several hundred people to the Church of All Saints."

article

Posted by lumi at 8:58 AM

August 16, 2006

Yassky's Fridge

Apparently David Yassky isn't participating in the Brooklyn Brewery boycott.

A very revealing piece in the new Brooklyn foodie mag, Edible Brooklyn, takes a sneak peek into the Yassky family fridge.

Complete with a running narrative, the City Councilmember and 11th District Congressional candidate had this plug for Brooklyn Brewery:

Brooklyn Brewery Beer
They are the model of a community-friendly business. And they have a great product.

Link to Yassky's fridge (PDF).

NoLandGrab: The Brooklyn Brewery boycott hasn't been easy for local beer lovers, who decry brewery owner Steve Hindy's public statements in favor of Atlantic Yards, and his support for Brooklyn Bridge Park (the "park" that must be self-sustaining while Ratner's Atlantic Yards receives a billion-plus dollars in subsidies).

Brooklyn Brewery wears the "community-friendly" label a bit more uncomfortably of late; just ask those who are being displaced by eminent domain, like Freddy's Bar & Backroom, and neighborhood activists who are fighting to save Brooklyn Bridge Park from luxury condos.

Posted by lumi at 11:42 AM

Owens needles Yassky as 11th CD candidates take on AY

Atlantic Yards Report transcribed the sections of last week's 11th District candidates debate that addressed Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

Here are some clips:

Carl Andrews:
	I support Forest City Ratner’s project. I believe that there are some very good things in the project.

Yvette Clarke:
	I believe we have an opportunity to help shape it in a way in which the benefits will outweigh the burdens.

Chris Owens:
	I’m opposed to the project. I’ve been opposed to the project. I don’t believe you jump on board a development that drops 18,000 people in an area—you jump on board and say, ‘Yes, it’s wonderful’--without asking the tough questions.

David Yassky:
	I want to see a way to make this project go forward so we can realize the benefits that it does promise--good jobs, affordable housing—but without destroying the neighborhoods around Atlantic Yards. I’m the only candidate here who’s put out a specific traffic plan for how to deal with the traffic that will be created by that project.*

* Note: Yassky's office has not made the "specific traffic plan" available to the public, despite a request from Norman Oder.

UPDATE: One item in Yassky's "traffic plan" that no one can seem to find, is the billion-dollar brainstrorm he shared with community groups to move Atlantic and Flatbush underground, only possible if some subway lines are moved. Let's call it "Brooklyn's BIG DIG."

Read the rest at http://www.atlanticyardsreport.com.

Posted by lumi at 9:37 AM

Please join Norman Siegel in supporting Bill Batson

This fundraising message was sent from Norman Siegel to local voters this past week:

The race for the 57th Assembly District is incredibly important and my friend Bill Batson is running for this seat.

We should all support him.

For those of you who don't know Bill, you should get to know him. He's the ideal candidate for the 57th Assembly District.

The Forest City Ratner plan will radically change this area. Bill's opponent, at best, double talks about the issue, doesn't respond to questions and, at worst, supports the plan.

Bill doesn't.

That alone is sufficient grounds for everyone in the area to vote for Bill. But there are many more reasons to support Bill.

I've known Bill for over a quarter of a century. I've seen Bill, while he was working for me at the Civil Liberties Union and traveling across the state, listening to different people, talking with them. And that's what politicians should be about. Serving all the people, not just the rich, not just the elite, but everyone.

We all know about the battle here in Brooklyn. Bill is consistent in regard to the Forest City Ratner plan. From the very beginning, when I got involved in this issue, Bill was there. If he gets elected he won't change his position. That's not in his character. He tells it like it is. And he does it with passion, understanding and vigor.

Many of our current political leaders are unfortunately, in my opinion, mediocre. They are not very principled. What they focus on is getting elected, and once they are elected, they focus on getting reelected; moving up the political ladder. Bill is not like that.

Bill can win. It can happen with people like you who are willing to write checks to Bill's campaign.

Please support Bill. Make calls to your friends in the district. Send emails. Get others to contribute and volunteer. But right now, please contribute to this important campaign and to my friend, Bill Batson.

My experience in the electoral arena has been an eye opener. Money really does count. If you don't have the money to send out the fliers, to hire the people to walk the streets in the district, even if you should win, you might not. We can't let that happen to Bill. I wrote my check to Bill already, it was the largest check I've given to a candidate for office in my life. I encourage you to do the same.

You can contribute through the website or by making a check out to Batson for Brooklyn and mailing to:
767 Washington Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11238.

Bill will raise important questions once in office. And we need that in politics. We need role models like Bill, not only will he shake things up in Albany, but he will fight for us back here in Brooklyn.

• Norman Siegel, DFNYC/CBID fundraiser

email: siegelforbatson@gmail.com
web: http://www.batsonforbrooklyn.com

Posted by lumi at 8:03 AM

August 15, 2006

Shrill Of The Week: Weeds

Last week Dope on the Slope fully embraced his inner-shrill. This week he rhapsodizes about "weeds" and wildflowers and wonders what Marty has been smokin'.

link

Posted by lumi at 11:11 AM

Succeeding Green in Fort Greene – and Beyond

Gotham Gazette
By Alexander Perkins

The Gazette report from the 57th AD candidates forum covers the 800-lb. gorilla (Atlantic Yards) and other topics, in a race that is largely considered to be a referendum on Ratner's project and the political support behind it.

At a recent forum, Freddie Hamilton, a candidate for State Assembly in central Brooklyn, told the audience packed into an unventilated church basement, that she would not be answering any questions about the Atlantic Yards proposal. The disappointed crowd responded with boos.

The exchange illustrated how devisive the Atlantic Yards issue has become in the race for the Assembly seat being vacated by Roger Green, who is running for Congress.

We thought we were dreaming when we read, the following sentence in the Gazette article:

William Batson, former aide to State Senator David Patterson, is an outspoken opponent of the 6.5-acre real estate development.

Alas, a 70% reduction of the footprint has not been announced and the sentence should read:

William Batson, former aide to State Senator David Patterson, is an outspoken opponent of the 22-acre real estate development.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:13 AM

August 14, 2006

State Senate's 20th District

The two candidates for the NY State Senate's 20th District, Eric Adams and Anthony Alexis, are both fence-sitting in the Hakeem Jeffries and David Yassky mold.

Adams has been outspoken in the past against the project, but now that he's the front runner, appears to be tempering his stance, claiming he has not yet taken a position.

Anthony Alexis is "doing a Jeffries" (who incidentally is "doing a Gotbaum") by claiming he's for the project, but not the use of eminent domain, which as the Draft Environmental Impact Statment explains, will likely be used to force tenants out and property owners to sell.

Here's the online coverage:
Gotham Gazette Debating Health, Education, Reform and, Yes, Atlantic Yards, in Central Brooklyn

Anthony Alexis, who served as legislative director for former New York City Councilmember Tracy Boyland, supports the Atlantic Rail Yards project because, he said, it will “support job creation for our community.” But while he supports the plan for high rises and a basketball arena, Alexis is opposed to one of its central aspects: the use of eminent domain. “I don’t support taking people’s homes or property,” Alexis insisted, “There are ways of sitting at the table with the developer and ensuring that the project happens without taking the homes of people.”

Eric Adams, the co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, has not taken a position on the Atlantic Yards plan. He says he wants to look at the issues of environment, affordable housing and labor before reaching a decision.

"Atlantic Yards" Voters Guide, The Lesser of Two Weasels
AY Voters Guide is much more blunt and editorial (dare we say "virtiolic"?) in its conclusions.

Weasel words from Alexis and confounding prevarication from Adams.
...
Anti-"Atlantic Yards" voters in the 20th, we are sorry, but when it comes to the Ratner plan we guess we have to leave you to choose between the lesser of two weasels.

Posted by lumi at 9:56 AM

August 13, 2006

Thanks for Something

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide

So the Times has endorsed Senator Montgomery despite her staunch and 3-year-old opposition to "Atlantic Yards." While it is surely welcome news to the Senator to receive the Times endorsement (and we congratulate the Times for not letting that issue get in their way and in the way of rejecting the last-minute, Ratner-fueled entrance of the Boyland family into the race for the 18th District) it seems the height of Manhattan-centric arrogance that the Times thinks it knows better than the district's 22-year incumbent Senator–who they say is a "far better voice for her district"–when it comes to the Ratner proposal. When it comes to "Atlantic Yards" we suppose the Times is a "far better voice"–is that their point?

(Remember, the Times also thought there were WMD in Iraq).

Further illustration of the Times' editorial distance from the district–after last week's under-informed and arrogant endorsement of the project (and inconsistent too)–is that they startlingly negate the neighborhoods in Senator Montgomery's district that would encompass and abut the proposed "Atlantic Yards": Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, a part of Park Slope and the part of Prospect Heights where Ratner's proposed footprint is located. (Not terribly surprising as the Times also has had frequent trouble locating the proposed development site.)

article

Posted by amy at 11:11 PM

A Disappointing Primary

New York Times

State Senate District 18 (northwest Brooklyn: Sunset Park, Red Hook, Downtown, Bedford Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill)State Senator Velmanette Montgomery is facing a challenge from former City Councilwoman Tracy L. Boyland, a member of the Boyland political family. Ms. Montgomery is a far better voice for her district, even though we don’t agree with her that the Atlantic Yards project should be scrapped. The senator is perhaps best known in Albany for speaking out for the disenfranchised, most recently arguing against the use of shackles for female prisoners giving birth. We endorse Velmanette Montgomery.

article

NoLandGrab: Would they still like her if they realized she also represents Fort Greene, Prospect Heights, and part of Park Slope? And why would the Times be so supportive of the Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards proposal? No idea.

Posted by amy at 10:59 PM

Hillary: Dems Can’t Afford to Lose Any Ground

Courier-Life's Stephen Witt covers Hillary Clinton's press conference in Sunset Park. Bonus points if you can guess which question is his...

Q:Developer Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards project in Downtown Brooklyn is one of the current controversies in the borough. Have you taken a stance on the project?

A:No, I have left that to the local community because I don’t have any direct role as a senator, but my only concern is that people be listened to. That the voices of the people that are going to be directly affected by the development be heard, and I agree with what Eliot Spitzer said the other day to let the comment period go on for another 30 days, because I just want whatever decision is eventually made [to be] based on the best environmental assessments, the best opportunity for people to be heard and that’s what I’ve been advocating for.

Q:What about this issue of eminent domain?

A:Well I think eminent domain can be misused and I thought that many of the concerns people raised after the Supreme Court decision were totally legitimate.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court basically threw the door open, so that’s the law of the land. Now we’ve got to figure out how to use the political process so that people are not taken advantage of .

Q:What about the high unemployment of among African-Americans and the need for affordable housing as opposed to the more moneyed people who are against it? Do you think they need a voice too?

A:Absolutely. I think from what I have learned following the public debate, this is not a one-sided debate by any means. People are on all sides of it. Maybe there are more than two sides.

There’s legitimate concerns with respect to employment and affordable housing just as there is in maintaining the character of the neighborhood, and the misuse of eminent domain.

That’s what the political process has to do at the local level, is try to sort this out in a fair, above-board, transparent way and that’s what I think. Therefore its important that the point of view of everybody be taken into account.

article

NoLandGrab: You forgot to ask her if the shrill bloodsucking leeches who oppose the project should have any say in the ESDC's benevolent, well-planned, offer of hope to the downtrodden?

Posted by amy at 10:48 PM

A New Dynamic: Atlantic Yards Challenges Brooklyn Progressive Politics

The Next American City offers an overview of the Atlantic Yards proposal, with such subheads as 'A Pact With the Community or a P.R. Whitewash?' and '“It’s Race And Class”… Or Is It?'

Because of the wide scope and high profile of Atlantic Yards, the project is sure to be a defining moment in New York City development politics. If successful, Forest City Ratner will have generated a road map for future developers: get a group of powerful elected officials on your side, choose a group of disempowered, but vocal, supporters in the community, and make an unenforceable promise to provide a few goods that the public sector has failed to deliver, such as community facilities or affordable housing. Because the public review process for Atlantic Yards is so limited and vague, a handful of organizations have negotiated on behalf of the community as a whole. Yet the entire community must bear the impacts on public services and infrastructure of such a large-scale project.

article

Atlantic Yards Report concludes that "While there's not much new for Atlantic Yards-watchers, and some information is dated or inaccurate (the project now would be 6860 apartments, not 7300, and Atlantic Avenue divides Prospect Heights and Fort Greene rather than serves as a Prospect Heights thoroughfare), the article does point out to a national audience how the project has fractured some typical community alliances, notably among progressives. The article cites criticism of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) but not the important template established in Los Angeles, where CBA signatories, unlike in Brooklyn, agree not to accept money from a developer."

Posted by amy at 12:05 PM

Which Side Are You On?

The Empire Zone
Nicholas Confessore

A new blog tracks the positions held by Brooklyn politicians on the proposed Atlantic Yards project, so you don’t have to.

You can tell off the bat that they tend both toward an anti-Yards perspective and a hard line on what it means to support or oppose the project. By their measure, you’re either for it or against it; you can’t take a little from Column A and a little from Column B. So a guy like Councilman David Yassky, who likes the project generally but says he won’t support it at the current 8.7 million square foot size, is put down as a supporter.

article

Posted by amy at 12:01 PM

August 12, 2006

Gubernatorial frontrunner Spitzer likes AY, but needs a primer

Atlantic Yards Report has a play by play recap of Spizer's comments from yesterday's interview with Courier-Life:

An excerpt from the newspaper's interview, headlined "Exclusive Courier Interview With Eliot Spitzer":

Q. You recently wrote a letter to the Empire State Development Corporation in favor of extending the public hearing date for the Atlantic Yards DEIS. Do you still basically agree with the plan and how would you work with more developers to ensure more affordable housing gets built in the Downtown Brooklyn area?

A. A couple of quick observations. I have not been involved in the approval process. I conceptually am in favor of development of that site. I think building the arena is good for Brooklyn. It’s good for the city. We want to maximize the amount of affordable housing we get. We want to make sure the developments are scaled appropriately for the community and I’ve been generally supportive of the project, leaving it to those who have been involved to determine whether the size is increased or decreased or shifted one way or another based upon the zoning and based upon the capacity of the community to absorb additional people. So lest anybody think I’m changing my position, I am not. I’ve always been in favor of development there. I think the plan that is on the table is basically a good one, but should be reviewed methodically and carefully, which is why I favor giving it the extra 30 days so the review can be done properly. I don’t like to rush those decisions, but let’s make some decisions, get agreement and then get it moving because it’s better to have the housing and the arena than a hole in the ground.
(Emphases added)

A closer look

Maximize the amount of affordable housing? If the city and state wanted to maximize the amount of affordable housing, wouldn't they have issued an RFP (request for proposals) for such a project? And would they have encouraged the building of the most expensive arena ever?

Scaled appropriately? Does Spitzer know that, at the current scale, Atlantic Yards would be the densest residential development, by a factor of two, in the country?

Those who have been involved? The only people involved who can decide are the unelected ESDC, with an assist from the Mayor's office, and then the Public Authorities Control Board, which is controlled by Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and the governor. The City Council and local community boards are bypassed.

Remember, New York magazine called it an "absolute absence of democracy."

Based upon the zoning? The ESDC plans to override local zoning.

A hole in the ground? Lest we forget, the railyards would be about 8.3 acres of a 22-acre project. The city never talked to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) about putting out an RFP to build over the railyards.

article

Posted by amy at 2:05 PM

Diamondstone Reinstated

The Politicker reports on another candidate critical of the Atlantic Yards proposal, Ken Diamondstone:

Ken Diamondstone was reinstated to the ballot today in the race for Brooklyn's 25th senate district after a week's worth of court appearances. He will face Marty Connor in the primary September 12.

link

Diamondstone Press Release:

Ken Diamondstone Successfully Fends Off Opponent's Attempt to Limit His Access To Ballot

State Supreme Court Rules to Reinstate Diamondstone on Ballot; Finds Residency Challenge from Senator Connor to be Specious and Unfounded

AUGUST 11, 2006, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - The New York State Supreme Court ruled today that Ken Diamondstone, candidate for the 25th state senate district, is legally eligible to appear on the ballot as a candidate in the primary and general elections. Diamondstone had been challenged by his opponent Martin Connor, not on the issues and needs of the constituents, but rather by trying to limit Diamondstone's access to the ballot through legal action.

"My opponent's attempt to block my access to the ballot was an act of desperation," said Diamondstone. "The court decision proves that this type of action is not only unethical and undemocratic, but that, ultimately, the Board of Elections overstepped their bounds in removing me from the ballot. This entire process was a tremendous waste of time, money and resources and a perfect example of why we need immediate reform in Albany."

This action was business as usual for Martin Connor and is another installment in a long line of unethical and undemocratic actions that prove he is part of the problem in Albany. From misusing campaign funds to buy a car, to making a living on a legal practice devoted to knocking candidates off the ballot, Connor represents the worst of what is wrong in Albany.

Diamondstone proved in court that he moved into the district before the legal deadline of November 7, 2003 through testimony and evidence such as a lease signed for November 1, 2003 and a receipt from Ken's landlord showing payment for the apartment for the same date.

Diamondstone continued, "The 25th district deserves a state senator who is committed to reform in Albany--no one should have to go through what I did simply to gain access to the ballot. This election is a clear indication of the dire need for campaign and election reform to ensure that campaigns are about new ideas to improve our community. These reforms should include independent commissions for redistricting, campaign finance reform, and a fair process for access to the ballot."

"I expect Senator Connor to honor the ruling and join me in a race that engages the community. This election should be judged in the court of public opinion. I plan to refocus all my energies to a campaign based on the issues."

Posted by amy at 1:50 PM

August 11, 2006

The Atlantic Yards Vote

The Politicker

A new blog has surfaced that tries to keep track of the pro- and anti-Atlantic Yards positions of candidates running for office this year. It's authored anonymously by what appears to be an opponent of the project.

link

NLG readers pretty much know who has taken a principled stand against Ratner (in alphabetical order): Charles Barron, Bill Batson, Sean Patrick Maloney, Velmanette Montgomery, Chris Owens, and Tom Suozzi.

Posted by lumi at 10:53 PM

HIL BACKS CRITICS OF PARKLAND LUXURY CONDO PLAN

NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays

Buried in the coverage of Senator Clinton's visit to Brooklyn, and strong words against the Brooklyn Bridge Park plan, were these minor points on Atlantic Yards:

Clinton was less outspoken about the Atlantic Yards Nets arena complex developer Bruce Ratner is pushing for Prospect Heights.

She has left that debate "to the local community," she said - though she joined a growing chorus calling for giving the public 30 more days to comment on the project's environmental impact. She also acknowledged that "eminent domain can be misused."

[The full article after the jump.]

Also, The Brooklyn Papers, Hillary rips ‘park’ condos

BP covered the same press conference, at which Clinton laid out one half of NoLandGrab's objection to Brooklyn Bridge Park's having to be self-sustaining while Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards is rich with public subsidies:

“If parks had to be self-sustaining, would anyone have ever built a park?” Clinton asked.

She also added that, “Public land should be public land."

Clinton's summer reading list included a relevant title:

The senator’s summer reading may have prompted her to speak out on the thorny issue. She’s just finished the still-unreleased autobiography of Nobel Prize recipient Wangari Maathai, a long-time green crusader in Kenya.

“One of her great accomplishments was stopping luxury housing in Uhuru Park in Nairobi,” said Clinton, who recommended the book.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON yesterday threw her weight behind community critics suing to block 1,200 luxury condos from being built in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Clinton said at a Brooklyn campaign stop she had "concerns" about setting a national precedent by having private homes in a public park, and called it "disingenuous" for state planners to argue the condos are necessary to pay for its upkeep.

"Public land should be public land," said Clinton to reporters at the United Senior Citizens Center of Sunset Park.

"I think it's a little disingenuous to say, 'Oh, we're going to make this self-sustaining by essentially taking parkland which was given to the city for a specific purpose and turning it into yet another luxury condominium project.' "

"I think we can do better than that," added Clinton. "If parks had to be self-sustaining, would anybody have ever started a park?"

Clinton's words come as local groups are battling the ambitious project overseen by Gov. Pataki's Empire State Development Corp.

When completed in 2012, the park will stretch along the downtown waterfront from the Manhattan Bridge to Atlantic Ave.

Critics say that concessions and other money-making venues were always envisioned for the park. But they argue the condos added by state planners are illegal because they would privatize public land.

The issue is before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Knipel.

Park planners declined to comment on Clinton's remarks because of the ongoing suit, though they have argued the land under the condos won't be parkland, so it isn't illegal.

Clinton said that as a federal official, she has "no authority" to join the suit, but she added, "I've just spoken out about it; maybe that will help. I think it'll matter greatly who the next governor is."

Clinton was less outspoken about the Atlantic Yards Nets arena complex developer Bruce Ratner is pushing for Prospect Heights.

She has left that debate "to the local community," she said - though she joined a growing chorus calling for giving the public 30 more days to comment on the project's environmental impact. She also acknowledged that "eminent domain can be misused."

Posted by lumi at 8:25 AM

August 10, 2006

Ratner geopolitics in the blogosphere

"Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide, Welcome. Guidance Offered. Geez, just before we were going to get around to updating Pol Precinct, someone beat us to the punch. Stated simply, "Atlantic Yards" Voter Guide lists the politicos on the campaign trail who are into spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money, and abusing eminent domain, to build the densest residential community in the nation and the largest single-source private project in NYC history, between two low-rise residential neighborhoods, at one of the busiest intersections in Brooklyn, in the name of a few jobs, affordable high-rise housing, and basketball; and those who stand with the community.

My Direct Democracy, Lieberman's Last Minute Donations
My DD lists last minute campaign contributions to Joe Lieberman. It looks like nearly the entire Ratner clan maxed out (including several "student" Ratners). Cousin Brucie is not on the list — he has pledged not to contribute to campaigns so as to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

NoLandGrab: How does a "college student" make the maximum-allowed-by-law campaign contribution and still have enough change left over for beer and pizza?

UPDATE: An NLG reader pointed out that there was a grand total of ELEVEN Ratners on the list. Even though Bruce Ratner has vowed not to donate to campaigns, remember, Bruce's subsidiary is about to be wholly owned by the Ratner real-estate dynasty, Forest City Enterprises. A comparison of the family owners (see SEC filing 14A) and family donors indicates that more than one Ratner-owner is concerned by the appearance of conflict of interest.

Posted by lumi at 6:40 PM

August 8, 2006

What Project?

The Politicker
By Nicole Brydson

Bill de Blasio has endorsed Bill Batson for the 57th Assembly District, despite the fact that they differ in their views on the Atlantic Yards project. De Blasio's district does not overlap with the 57th, but is just north and east of Flatbush Avenue from his Park Slope district.

link

Posted by lumi at 5:29 PM

August 4, 2006

Batson's Crowd

The Politicker
By Nicole Brydson

Bill Batson, apparently, was late to his own fundraiser last night as his official business at Community Board 8 kept him listening to testimony on the Atlantic Yards project. (Which, as you probably know, he strongly opposes.)

link

Posted by lumi at 11:19 PM

Speaker speaks out for more time

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is the latest prominent politician that has called for an extension to the public comment period for Atlantic Yards.

Given the unprecedented size and scope of the proposed development, the fact that concerned community boards are in recess in August, and the coinciding release of the DEIS and the scheduling of public hearings with many families' vacations, I am specifically asking you to postpone the public hearing that is current scheduled for August 23 for 30 days, allowing the community enough time for public comment. This would in effect provide a much more reasonable 90 day review period.

Given the critical importance of this environmental review, I respectfully submit that an extension is required to truly accomodate serious public input.

Coverage in the blogosphere:
Atlantic Yards Report, Council Speaker Quinn calls for ESDC to extend DEIS schedule

Like Eliot Spitzer (as gubernatorial candidate rather than Attorney General) last week, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has asked the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to extend the time for review of the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
...
After Spitzer's comments, I asked for a response from the ESDC and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, for an article I was writing for the Downtown Brooklyn Star. Their answers weren't too encouraging to those who seek an extension.

Gowanus Lounge, City Council Speaker Quinn to Gargano: More Time Please

Quinn's letter to Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano also notes that the City Council has funded an analysis of the DEIS and that more time is needed to complete the study.

Posted by lumi at 10:32 PM

More Bad Timing?

The Empire Zone (The NY Times 2006 campaign blog)
By Nick Confessore

In response to the 60-day public comment period for the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement:

Opponents of the project, led by Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a local umbrella group, believe the ESDC is trying to limit public awareness of the study and responsee to it.

Now the opponents are even more suspicious. They have noticed that the only public hearing on the impact statement is scheduled for Sept. 12 — the same day as the Democratic primary, which features several races where candidates are dueling over the project.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:25 PM

Spitzer: Let’s weigh Yards pros, cons

Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

Gubernatorial front-runner Eliot Spitzer — who said last year that Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development should be built “immediately” — is now calling for a delay to allow the public to more fully weigh the project’s significant environmental impacts.

In a letter sent last week to Empire State Development Corporation Chairman Charles Gargano, candidate Eliot Spitzer — as opposed to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer — asked ESDC to postpone its Aug. 23 public hearing for at least one month to allow vacationing Brooklynites and their in-recess Community Boards to have enough time to digest the state’s just-issued draft environmental impact statement.

The DEIS “deserves the careful review that is essential for a project of this magnitude,” Spitzer wrote in the letter, which was sent on his campaign’s letterhead.

“An extension of time for public review … is indispensable.”

article

Posted by lumi at 1:31 AM

August 3, 2006

Spitzer Reaches For Pataki's Shovel?

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Norman Oder

A queue of politicians formed this last week to decry the timing of the release of the DEIS and the relatively short comment period, except for Bruce Ratner's Cheerleader-in-Chief, Marty Markowitz:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, a strong supporter of the Atlantic Yards plan, defended the ESDC's timetable: "Extending the public-comment period to 66 days - more than double the required 30 for a DEIS - and holding two open public sessions, including one in September, instead of the required one," he reasoned, "represents a fair attempt by ESDC to address the concerns of some in the community regarding a summer hearing."

article

NoLandGrab: Marty appears to have lost all connection with - and all sympathy for - the residents of the exisiting neighborhoods.

Also, the first "open public session" is a "hearing." It still isn't clear that the second "open public session" would be entered in "the record," which would pretty much make it an unofficial vent-fest — Ratner Rantapalooza???

Posted by lumi at 8:34 AM

Connor Seeks to Knock Primary Challenger from Ballot

Claims Ken Diamondstone missed residency requirement by one day

City Hall News
By Edward Isaac Dovere

State Sen. Martin Connor (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn), who was knocked out of his post as State Senate minority leader in 2002, is looking to do a little deposing of his own. He has filed a complaint with the board of elections looking to remove his Democratic primary challenger, Ken Diamondstone, from the ballot. Diamondstone was served Wednesday morning, with a Board of Elections hearing expected Thursday and a court case expected sometime during the week of Aug. 7. ...
“Whatever it is, we’re not particularly concerned with what’s in there, but what he’s doing again what he always does,” Diamondstone said, calling Connor a man who will use his expertise in election law as an alternative recourse to campaigning.

“We’ve always thought that he would try and use his skills. He’s not campaigning, he’s not raising money. The only thing he has left is using his skills as an election lawyer,” Diamondstone said. “This is his stock and trade, trying to knock people off the ballot.”
...
But Diamondstone is not concerned.

“We can prove everything,” he said. “These are not issues that will be in dispute.”

article

NoLandGrab: The Party Machine is turning over every rock, looking for a way to kick insurgent candidate and Atlantic Yards-critic Ken Diamondstone off the ballot.

NLG readers may be familiar with the byline — in what was probably not the high point in his journalistic career, Edward Isaac Dovere was listed as the Executive Editor of Bruce Ratner's phony newspaper, The Brooklyn Standard.

Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM

August 1, 2006

11th Hour

WNYC, Brian Lehrer Show

Brian Lehrer interviews all four 11th District Congressional candidates, with a focus on some of the hot-button issues in the district, race and Atlantic Yards.

The first three candidates were all asked about Atlantic Yards — Owens is against, Clarke and Andrews are for — but Yassky got lucky when time ran out and Lehrer didn't pop the question.

link

Posted by lumi at 2:59 PM

July 31, 2006

Push poll (likely from FCR) boosts Boyland against Montgomery in Senate race

Atlantic Yards Report

Central Brooklynites are getting push polled over Atlantic Yards (time and time again).

This time Norman Oder's number was up. Let's see if Oder took the bait or took notes...

Sometimes the news just falls into your lap. When I got a call yesterday from a pollster from Pacific Crest Research, the name rang a bell. The same company conducted a push poll last year to gauge and change attitudes regarding Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards (AY) project, almost certainly on behalf of the developer.

I was asked numerous questions, some quite general, but most focused on the race between last-minute challenger Tracy Boyland and longstanding State Senator Velmanette Montgomery for the 18th Senatorial District.

The point of the push poll apparently was to see if the information provided--including leading statements, with incorrect information--would nudge listeners into supporting Boyland, who backs the AY project, against the incumbent, who opposes the AY project.

...Finally, after about ten minutes on the phone with C.J., came the money shot: “Boyland says Montgomery is siding with people who have million-dollar brownstones and want to preserve their exclusive neighborhood instead of looking out for her own constituents.”

article

NoLandGrab: "Stupid gits!" We recommend that future call lists be scrubbed of the following names "Dan Goldstein," "Patti Hagan," and "Norman 'the Mad Overkiller' Oder," unless they're fixin' "to have an argument".

Posted by lumi at 8:02 AM

July 30, 2006

Thompson backs Brooklyn project

Crain's
By Erik Engquist & Anne Michaud

City Comptroller William Thompson offered "strong support" for the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn last week after a published report said he was rethinking his position. Mr. Thompson does not have an approval role over the project--the city has already budgeted its $100 million share--but he carries weight as a Brooklynite, fiscal watchdog and potential mayoral contender. Atlantic Yards has become a political bellwether, playing a major role in congressional and state Senate races in Brooklyn. Sources had told The Crain's Insider electronic newsletter that the comptroller was having second thoughts because the scope of the project had grown.

article (subscription required)

Posted by amy at 11:30 AM

July 29, 2006

It doesn't get any better than Brooklyn, except maybe...

Today NoLandGrab would like to share with you some inspiring words from Marty Markowitz:

While some people want to grow up to be mayor, governor, or President of the United States, my dream in life has always been to lead Brooklyn as borough president. To me, this is the ultimate job. There is no higher honor that anyone can achieve in life than that which a community bestows on one of its own.

Awww, that's sweet. Or it would be if it were true. The Brooklyn Papers suggests that Marty's filing with the Campaign Finance Board shows mayoral aspirations. I guess that's why he's trying to practice by creating a second Manhattan.

“I’m sure he wants to be mayor,” said one Democratic insider who likes Markowitz. “He thinks he’d be a good one and he has great fundraising ability because of his support of the [Bruce] Ratner [Atlantic Yards] project and other developers.”

article

Posted by amy at 12:00 PM

Looming Primary Turns Up Heat On 57th District State Assembly Race

Courier-Life's Stephen Witt covers the race in the 57th State AD. In the running:

Bill Batson talks about Atlantic Yards:

“The Atlantic Yards project is in the heart of Brooklyn and 16 skyscrapers would drive a stake through the heart of Brooklyn,” said Batson at the forum.

Hakeem Jeffries talks about Batson talking about Atlantic Yards:

“I think Batson has articulated a position that under no circumstances should anything be built, which fails to acknowledge the threat presented to our community of housing costs that have spiraled out of control,” he said.

Freddie Hamilton talks about the race and class of the people she imagines are fighting Atlantic Yards:

Hamilton said unfortunately, race and class are playing a role in the Atlantic Yards issue, in that those who oppose are generally white people of means.

To repeat ourselves ad nauseam, being against the Atlantic Yards Project does not mean you are against development, just BAD development. And not to undermine Freddie's credibility, but she signed the CBA for a group that received $350K from Ratner. And if you really want to see who is fighting the Atlantic Yards project, look at some pictures.

Posted by amy at 11:00 AM

July 28, 2006

Green must drop out

Brooklyn Papers, Editorial

It's bad enough that Bruce Ratner's biggest booster in the State Assembly pleaded guilty to ripping the taxpayers off and has direct ties to convicted party boss Clarence Norman, but with only $4,800 cash in hand for his bid to unseat Edolphus Towns, he won't fade away.

Brooklyn Paper's has three words for the languishing candidate:

Drop out now.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:02 AM

July 27, 2006

Jeffries, Batson, Hamilton, Atlantic Yards

The Politicker ran a wrap-up of fundraising in the 57th Assembly District race.

Hakeem Jeffries has blown away his rivals financially in the three-way race for the 57th, bringing in $77,610 over the past six months in individual and corporate contributions, according to his July fundraising report filed with the state.

While rival Bill Batson successfully hit up Atlantic Yards opponents to net $32,841, Jeffries, a lawyer for CBS who has leaned in favor of the Forest City Ratner development, netted contributions from prominent professionals like Carver Bank CEO Deborah C. Wright ($500) and p.r. scion Steven G. Rubenstein ($2,000).

link

NoLandGrab: Wright's contribution to Jeffries will be seen by some area residents as quid pro quo for the time when Bruce Ratner was generously "sent by God" to deposit $1 million in Carver Bank, which is located in Ratner's Atlantic Terminal Mall.

Posted by lumi at 7:20 PM

NYC Comptroller to endorse Atlantic Yards?

The word through the grapevine is that NYC Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. is going to come out in support of the Atlantic Yards project today.

His justification will likely be on the grounds that Forest City Ratner has "demonstrated" that the project will have a net fiscal benefit to New York City, no matter how miniscule.

UPDATE: No release or announcement today.

Then again, we were pretty sure that Thompson had already expressed support for the plan, even though he has taken tough stands against Payments In Lieu of Taxes (as proposed in the Atlantic Yards financing plan) and favoritism in MTA land deals.

Posted by lumi at 9:11 AM

July 26, 2006

For a Veteran State Senator, a Rare Primary Challenge

The NY Times
By Jonathan Hicks

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery is having to fend off a last-minute challenge from former City Councilmember Tracy Boyland.

Boyland's main point of attack on Montgomery is Atlantic Yards:

She also said that Ms. Montgomery had been outspoken on only one issue: her opposition to the Atlantic Yards project.

article

NoLandGrab: What the article doesn't mention is that Boyland's challenge is a retaliatory move by the Brooklyn Democratic Machine, which, though ailing, is not dead yet, and has pulled out all the stops to support pro-Ratner candidates.

Posted by lumi at 10:01 AM

July 24, 2006

David Yassky: Trojan horse for big developers?

NY Amsterdam News
By Saeed Shabazz

A lot of attention is being paid citywide to David Yassky's candidacy for the 11th Congressional district because of his ethnicity and race. Atlantic Yards opponents are a little wary of Yassky because of his split position on Bruce Ratner's proposal (YES to the arena, NO to the size).

All around, many folks are nervous about Yassky's deep pockets and the amount of money he has raised from real estate developers.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:05 AM

Atlantic Yards Report: PHNDC candidates forum

Atlantic Yards Report covered the candidates' views on the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Eminent Domain at the Prospect Heights Development Council's candidate forum last week.

Batson, Jeffries say AY review deserves more time

They have different positions on the Atlantic Yards project, but Bill Batson and Hakeem Jeffries, candidates for the 57th Assembly District seat being vacated by Roger Green, at least agree that August 23 is too soon to hold a hearing on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project.

No eminent domain for arena, says Jeffries, but for AY?

Hakeem Jeffries, a candidate for the open 57th Assembly District seat, is against the use of eminent domain to build a basketball arena, as he said in an advertisement in May and at a forum last Thursday.

But what exactly does that mean? I caught up with Jeffries after the forum to ask him to amplify his statement. That produced some musings, but no definitive statement.

Posted by lumi at 8:54 AM

July 23, 2006

Is Atlantic Yards right for Brooklyn? Yes

Marty Markowitz
Daily News

I am confident that in the coming months the public - especially those residing in the area surrounding the Atlantic Yards site - will contribute innovative, worthy ideas that will make this project even better. We all recognize the challenges of a project like this, and I know that by working together we can make Atlantic Yards a symbol of our Brooklyn Renaissance for generations to come.

article
Funny, Markowitz hasn't seemed to care for the community's ideas thus far.

Posted by amy at 11:57 AM

July 20, 2006

Numbers for Jeffries

The Empire Zone, campaign 2006 political blog for The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore

[57th Assembly District candidate Hakeem] Jeffries has already picked up endorsements from the Working Families Parties and several key unions. He’s raised $130,000, about half of it from individuals, and has $90,000 in cash on hand.

That’s about twice what his opponent, Bill Batson, has raised: $62,000, with $20,000 cash on hand. A big chunk of that was a loan Batson made to himself.

Those numbers tell you a little bit about the importance of institutional players in these local races. Mr. Jeffries, who once ran as an insurgent against Mr. Green, is the candidate of the political establishment this time around. Now Batson is the insurgent. Opponents consider Mr. Jeffries a supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, a big issue in that district. And they consider Mr. Batson their champion against it.

article

And don't forget to check out the comments, where the discourse is a step above (at least at this momemt) what usually goes on in political blogs where RatnerPolitik seems to make the political buffs' heads spin.

Posted by lumi at 8:05 PM

July 19, 2006

Brooklyn Downtown Star goes to town on AY coverage

There are four articles in this week's Brooklyn Downtown Star concerning Atlantic Yards, so we're going to collect them into one super post.

It's a Date: ESDC Sets 8/23 as 1st Yards DEIS Hearing
This week Norman Oder guest stars as a stringer for the BD Star, covering the release of the DEIS.

1 Big Borough, 1 Big Project, 2 Big Rallies

Grassroots leaders on both sides of Brooklyn's big controversy convened a crowd of thousands last week - in both cases a mixture of committed diehards, curious onlookers, and a few spies from the opposition sprinkled in. Amidst all the hype and rhetoric, there was at least one thing they all agreed on: the fight is not over yet.

Public Won't Give An Inch, Or Take The "Yards"

A politician whose plan calls for a one-third reduction of the Atlantic Yards development was chastised for not doing enough. Assemblyman Jim Brennan received sharp criticism from audience members during last Tuesday's general meeting of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN). Brennan had been on-hand to spread word about a bill introduced by his office. However, judging from the public's reaction to the proposed legislation, which was unveiled roughly two months ago, he probably made few converts.

Brennan said that his bill would subtract 3 million square feet from Forest City Ratner's (FCR) mammoth Brooklyn project. In addition, it would require that the state subsidize the affordable housing, and that any business and residential property seizures be compensated at 50 percent above full-market value, or the value determined during eminent domain proceedings.

'Atlantic Yards For Dummies' Could Be Smart Idea

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN)... unveiled a team of experts bearing a $130,000 price tag at its general meeting last week. These leaders in the fields of engineering and urban planning have been hired to help interpret Forest City Ratner's (FCR) upcoming environmental impact statement.

The group's co-chairperson, Candace Carpenter, introduced the team at the Belarusian Church on Atlantic Avenue. During her opening remarks, she said that the $130,000 used to pay for the consultants was allocated by the Brooklyn delegation of the City Council in this fiscal year's budget. Councilwoman Letitia James also confirmed that the State Assembly will appropriate an additional $100,000 for the experts.

The article goes on to cover the material presented by Professor Tom Angotti and John Shapiro in their presentation on how to examine the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) critically.

Posted by lumi at 9:30 PM

July 15, 2006

Enter the Ratner candidate

There's been much ado about anti-Atlantic Yards candidates emerging from the "warp" in Brooklyn's political landscape caused by the Atlantic Yards project proposal — now, enter the "Ratner candidate."

Word is that term-limited-out former NY City Councilmember (41st District), and scion to one of Brooklyn's most entrenched political dynasties, Tracy Boyland, is getting into the race against State Senator Velmanette Montgomery. A source tells us that, with the help of some 20 paid signature gatherers, Boyland has submitted petitions to run against the incumbent, who was, until recently, assured an uncontested waltz to another term in office.

Back in 2004, NoLandGrab identified Tracy Boyland as a pro-Atlantic Yards pol. We sent out letters requesting position statements from politicians and candidates whose districts contained, or were in close proximity to, the Atlantic Yards footprint; Boyland's office never responded. Two years ago, Boyland ran against Congressman Major Owens and was perceived at the time as the anti-anti-Bruce Ratner candidate. Her half-hearted campaign was largely developer-funded, and therefore we concluded that her no-response could only mean that she was for the project. Since that time, according to this "article" in Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner's phony newspaper The Brooklyn Standard, Boyland attended the May 19, 2005 Ratner-Bloomberg-ACORN press conference announcing the Atlantic Yards affordable housing deal.

The underbelly of corruption in the Brooklyn MachinePolitik has been exposed with: the "but-everyone-does-it" guilty plea to a misdemeanor by State Assemblymember and current 10th District congressional candidate Roger Green in 2004; party boss Clarence Norman's conviction in 2005; and, most recently, State Assemblymember Diane Gordon's bribery scandal. However, it's still business as usual for the Brooklyn Machine, which has been throwing support behind Atlantic Yards, from Cheerleader-in-Chief BP Marty Markowitz to a full plate of Ratner supporters, brought on board by Ratner's political man behind the curtain, Forest City Ratner Executive VP Bruce Bender.

One of the ongoing mysteries of the current campaign season is why 57th-AD candidate Hakeem Jeffries and 11th-District Congressional candidate David Yassky continue charting a middle-of-the road course with their positions on Atlantic Yards, while making public appearances with staunch Ratner supporters, many of whom owe their jobs to Ratner. Might they be "Ratner candidates" lying in wait? The Machine has stepped up to the plate to support Jeffries, but has stepped back from the crowded field vying for the open seat in the 11th District.

With the exception of a trio of politicians whose districts contain Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal footprint - City Councilmember Letitia James, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and Congressman Major Owens - and a couple politicians from the last progressive political-reform era, Assemblymembers Jim Brennan and Joan Millman, everyone else appears to have fallen in line behind Ratner.

In the two-and-a-half years since Bruce Ratner first announced his plans, the opposition has been working to build a political base. Strong showings in key state-assembly districts by Green Party candidate Gloria Mattera and Democratic candidate for Public Advocate Norman Siegel in 2005 (even for write-in Green Party candidate Susan Metz in 2004) indicate to those who understand the political calculus of election-day vote tallying that one or more of the anti-Atlantic Yards candidates stand a fair chance of getting elected, with the support of the grassroots.

NoLandGrab will be keeping an eye on whether the we're-not-dead-yet Brooklyn Political Machine will pull out all the stops against Montgomery, or whether this is another symbolic candidacy, a favor to the ghost in the machine, who will repay the debt to the Boyland dynasty's heir apparent further down the road.

Posted by lumi at 6:45 AM

Brooklyn Battles

Crain's Insider

Assembly candidate Bill Batson expected to file more than 3,000 signatures last night to qualify for the Democratic primary against Hakeem Jeffries and Freddie Hamilton in Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, Brooklyn. In eight weeks, Batson has raised $60,000 and spent $25,000, opened a campaign headquarters and assembled a five-member staff. His backers are opponents of Forest City Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards development.

Posted by amy at 5:38 AM

July 14, 2006

Going to Bat for Batson

Empire Zone [The NY Times campaign season blog]

Reporter Nick Confessore picks up where The Politicker left off in examining the donor list for the anti-Atlantic Yards candidate Bill Batson. Additional donors who were "outed":

There’s housing advocate Ken Diamondstone, a perennial political candidate in these parts, who is running for a state Senate seat this year and who also has harsh words for the Atlantic Yards. There’s Kate Suisman, a top aide to City Councilwoman Letitia James, who is a key ally of Develop Don’t Destroy. There’s the novelist Jennifer Egan, who is now on the group’s advisory board. There’s Eric McClure, who is active with the local group Park Slope Neighbors and heads its Atlantic Yards committee. There’s Norman Siegel, the civil liberties lawyer who ran for public advocate last year; he lost, but it is interesting to note that he did well in the neighborhoods surrounding the project. There’s Chris Owens, another project opponent and a candidate this year for his father’s congressional seat.

article

NoLandGrab: If you are someone who's opposed to the Ratner project and have made a contribution to Bill Batson, but have not been ID'd by the Times, feel free to submit a comment.

If you are dead-set against the project, but haven't made your donation yet, visit Batson's web site.

Why is this race important? Bill Batson is running against Hakeem Jeffries (whose official position on Atlantic Yards is full of contradictions) for the open State Assembly seat in the district which contains the Atlantic Yards footprint. The position of the Assembly Member from this district could, theoretically, influence Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's decision to support or oppose the project.

Posted by lumi at 10:24 PM

Chris Owens grassroots campaign

Brooklyn's roots are showing, and they're green.

The Chris Owens campaign managed to submit petitions with 13,500 signatures the old-fashioned way - through a grassroots volunteer effort.

Here's some of today's commentary from the blogosphere:

Daily Gotham, The Brooklyn Grassroots Show Themselves in the CD-11 Race
The Politicker, Major + Brooklyn Yards = Campaign

Posted by lumi at 10:09 PM

July 12, 2006

The Candidate from Develop Don't Destroy

The Politicker ran a brief item on 57th Assembly District candidate Bill Batson's support from Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn board members and associates.

link

NoLandGrab: The headline is curious, since legally DDDB is prohibited from endorsing candidates.

NoLandGrab, on the other hand, has no restrictions and will soon be updating Pol Precinct with the Atlantic Yards position of the current crop of candidates.

Posted by lumi at 11:41 PM

Kings County Democratic Party, Developers and Corruption

Daily Gotham

Mole333 compares the Atlantic Yards backroom dealmaking to the bribery charges filed against NY State Assemblymember Diane Gordon:

But notice that behind the deal was a deal to smooth the path for a developer to get some property outside of normal channels. Here Gordon is doing nothing different than the same old backroom deals that Pataki, Markowitz and Bloomberg do all the time with developers. I don't think Pataki, et. al. are doing it for bribes the way Gordon is, but the cronyism behind Pataki law school pal Ratner getting special consideration on all levels of his development plans isn't really any less disgusting than Gordon's blatant corruption.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:34 AM

The News Interview: Eliot Spitzer

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Democratic candidate for governor, spoke with the Daily News Editorial Board on his priorities.

Q: Do you support the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn, which includes a new basketball stadium for the Nets?

A: I'm for it. I'm not crazy about government subsidies, obviously, but this is a project where there's a hole in the ground. I see an enormous upside in terms of the stadium, the housing, the jobs.

link

NoLandGrab: Add 12 acres of Prospect Heights to that "hole in the ground."

Spitzer is using promises of "housing and jobs" as political cover for a position that runs contrary to his whining over transparency and fiscal responsibility for Public Authorities like the MTA and Empire State Development Corporation.

Posted by lumi at 6:48 AM

July 11, 2006

PRESS RELEASE: Democratic Candidates Forum, 11th Congressional & 57th Assembly Districts

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TUESDAY JULY 10, 2006

WHAT: Democratic Candidates Forum
11th Congressional & 57th Assembly Districts

WHEN:
Thursday July 20
7:00-9:00 pm Doors open at 6:45 pm

WHERE:
Duryea Presbyterian Church
Sterling Place & Underhill Avenue, Brooklyn

WHO: Hosted by Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council

Candidates for Congress: Carl Andrews, Yvette Clarke, Chris Owens, David Yassky

Candidates for Assembly:
Bill Batson, Freddie Hamilton, Hakeem Jeffries

Prospect Heights Candidates Forum

Prospect Heights is the home of two of the most important and hotly contested races for the Democratic Party primary on September 12. The Congressional race has attracted national attention , but this will be the only opportunity for the residents of Prospect Heights to address all the candidates up close and to question them about the issues important to their community.

All three Assembly candidates and all four Congressional candidates are scheduled to participate.

The member organizations of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC) include: The Carlton Avenue Association, The Prospect Heights Association, The Park Place/Underhill Avenue Block Association, The Prospect Place Block Association, The Prospect Heights Parents Association, The Eastern Parkway Cultural Row Neighborhood Association, The Dean Street Block Association, The Vanderbilt Avenue Merchants District.

For more information, please contact: Raul Rothblatt
PHNDC Treasurer
718-857-3150

Posted by lumi at 3:34 PM

Batson for Brooklyn

Today (Tuesday, July 11) at midnight is the filing deadline for candidates. Included in the filing is the amount of money raised for a campaign. Mainstream media spends a lot of time comparing candidates by the amount of money they have raised. Raising large amounts of money should make someone look like a putz since it generally means they are beholden to whomever gave them the dough (like developers?) But raising a lot of cash through small donations (aka from the community) holds its own prestige.

Bill Batson is the best chance in the Brooklyn political fray to get the Atlantic Yards proposal stopped. Read why you should show Bill some love here.

Posted by amy at 12:14 AM

July 10, 2006

Independent Oversight of Atlantic Yds. Project

Courier-Life publications covers the $260K provided by local politicians for the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods' review of the Ratner Environmental Impact Statement:

A coalition of community groups will receive $260,000 in government subsidies to hire independent engineers to look at the Forest City Ratner Companies’ (FCRC) plan for the Atlantic Yards.

Half of the money will come from an allocation through City Councilmember Letitia James’ office and the other half will come from state allocations through Assemblymembers Jim Brennan and Joan Millman’s offices, according to James.

“We are very happy and grateful that the City Council and the State Legislature have stepped up,” said Council Of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) spokesperson Jim Vogel. “If the community is not involved, you don’t have an environmental review.” article

NoLandGrab: Math-reality check - let's just move that decimal a couple places to the left. The Courier-Life writes "the money committed... toward the project represents a little more than 10 percent of the $200 million the city and state gave to FCRC for infrastructure costs." NoLandGrab's calculator places that percentage at 0.13%, to be exact.

Posted by lumi at 10:10 AM

Pols earmark $260K for community analysis of Ratner Environmental Impact Statement

From Mole333 at Daily Gotham:

According to the July 10th Park Slope Courier, three Brooklyn Politicians have secured $260,000 to hire independent engineers to assess Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project. Those three politicians, Councilwoman Letitia James and Assemblymembers Joan Millman and Jim Brennan, have helped secure the money for a coalition of community groups which include Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Atlantic Avenue Betterment Assn, Fort Greene Association and several others.

Community Average Folk 101 stumbles into all sorts of contradictions in a boneheaded attempt to "follow the money:"

The 35th Council District has money for CBN. Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods gets $130,000.00 and more to come from other local politicians. No money for community programs, but over a hundred thousand dollars for CBN groups. Follow the money from the budget and get the bigger picture. Money for the special groups ONLY in the 35th. Hiding behind CBN and including all of those others (check and see what groups are included). Who is buying who?

NoLandGrab: Yo dude! The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) is staffed with unpaid VOLUNTEERS from the COMMUNITY, which is more than we can say for these groups stumping for Ratner: BUILD, ACORN, Downtown Brooklyn Educational Consortium, and Sharpton's National Action Network.

The money for CBN will be used to hire an expert to analyze Ratner's Environmental Impact Statement on behalf of the COMMUNITY. Believe it or not, $260K will still leave the group well short of the funds needed to do a comprehensive study of the EIS.

And, to even mention the $260,000 going to experts to advise the community gives leave to cite the $200,000,000 (three more zeros than 260K) of direct cash subsidy already approved by NY City and NY State and the $3,000,000 (one more zeros than 260K) that City Councilmember David Yassky tried to secure for BUILD. The City-State $200-million could go a long way toward under-funded schools, housing, jobs programs, public transportation, etc.

NoLandGrab is committed to presenting all visible points of view, but if Community Average Folk 101 continues to stop making sense, we'll have no choice but to give up on the blog to focus on more rational pro-Ratner voices.

Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM

July 9, 2006

Carl Andrews, Yvette Clark, Chris Owens, David Yassky

JAY DeDAPPER interviews the candidates for the 11th congressional district on WNYC. Here is what they had to say about local development:

Mr. YASSKY: OK. The--I think the real question is you can't take development in isolation.

Ms. CLARK: That's right.

Mr. OWENS: You can't say, `This is a project,' boom, you plop it down and you say, `This is magic, and we do X number of units of affordable housing.' You have to look at what's happening as the result of what you do. So, for example, there are many people who live in the Williamsburg/Greenpoint area who--for whom David takes a lot of credit, and they are not happy with what's happening because there are ripple effects, and those ripple effects are not necessarily positive. In fact, the local congresswoman was not happy with that project, as well as Norman Siegel and others.

transcript

Posted by amy at 1:13 PM

July 7, 2006

Yassky thinks Miss Brooklyn should be halved (but his web site stays quiet)

Atlantic Yards Report

Did you know that City Council Member (and Congressional candidate) David Yassky wants the taller buildings proposed for the Atlantic Yards project halved in size? That means the planned 620-foot Miss Brooklyn tower could shrink by hundreds of feet, and its bulk would be reduced even more significantly.

That disclosure came when Yassky was queried by The Brooklynite magazine, but Yassky, a chameleon on the Atlantic Yards issue, sure hasn't pressed the issue on his web site.

After the New York Times on Monday described how the Atlantic Yards project is influencing politics in Brooklyn, I decided to take another look at whether the candidates for the open seat in the 11th Congressional District, notably David Yassky, portray the Atlantic Yards issue on their web sites.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:58 AM

July 6, 2006

The Tangled Politics Of Identity

The Jewish Week
By Adam Dickter

From an interview with 11th District Congressional candidate Chris Owens:

Owens’ message is overtly populist. “People must come first,” is the motto on his Web site. In his campaign literature he claims to be “the true progressive” in the race, a slap at Yassky that comes in handy in Park Slope, a key district battleground. Owens is against the massive Ratner development at the Atlantic Rail Yards, whereas Yassky has a nuanced position.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM

July 4, 2006

Adventures in Petitioning

Daily Gotham

When Mole333 carried a petition for Chris Owens and Bill Batson in Ratnerville, things got interesting (emphasis added):

We petitioned in front of Pathmark. Response was okay but not great. The most interesting response, though, was from Ratner's employees. We were infomed (politely) that we couldn't petition there. Maybe they didn't like my DDDB T-shirt. When I told them that city law allows me to petition in a public place I was informed that Ratner owned the whole area (this was on the sidewalk along Atlantic Ave) and that he was the "biggest guy around." When I said he wasn't above the law, the employee wanted to argue, though reluctantly admitted that the law might apply to Ratner. Finally I told him that I didn't want a problem so I would check with the police. He backed off and called his supervisor...who said I was within my rights to petition along Atlantic Avenue. The Ratner employee was very polite and apologized, but it was very typical that there seemed doubt that the law applied to Ratner. Let's face it, Bloomberg and Pataki have exempted him from so many State and Local laws that it is no wonder Ratner and his people might view him as being above the law.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:10 PM

Eminent Domination Without Representation

Eleven score and ten years ago today (230 yrs.), 57 property/business owners declared that they were fed up with King George III of England and his failure to act in the best interests of his citizen-subjects.

At the risk of being labeled "screamers" and "kooks," these 57 men volunteered to represent their communities and publicly executed a radical and politically risky move. They pledged their lives and fortunes to fight against what was essentially a "done deal:" the arbitrary rule of law and the manipulation of legislatures to serve the purposes of a despotic power.

On this anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we offer you a transcript of the document (after the jump), so that you may ponder the contemporary significance of the usurpations of a despot who refused to allow local citizens to determine issues that directly affected their lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

As you consider the "Declaration of the thirteen united States of America," your thoughts may drift towards more recent events concerning a major land-use headache in Central Brooklyn (where, coincidentally, the first major battle of the War for Independence was fought): * NY State's takeover, with Mayor Bloomberg's consent, of local zoning, land use and environmental review (in other words, putting an arena and 16 towers at an already congested intersection — economic, health and quality-of-life concerns be damned), * Eminent domain seizures without legislative oversight (no legislators get to vote if the project is under NY State jurisdiction), * Manipulations of the rule of law to serve the purpose of the politically connected (i.e. "emergency" demolitions, the inevitable finding of "blight" to justify private property condemnation), * Approval of the largest single-source development project in the history of NYC placed in the hands of un-elected representatives of the three most powerful men in Albany, * The spending of our tax dollars on Bruce Ratner's private development, with taxes generated by the project earmarked to the servicing of Bruce Ratner's mortgage on the property, * Government officials ignoring the petitions of redress by their subjects/citizens.

The Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

The 56 signatures on the Declaration appear in the positions indicated:

Column 1
Georgia:
Button Gwinnett
Lyman Hall
George Walton

Column 2
North Carolina:
William Hooper
Joseph Hewes
John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge
Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Arthur Middleton

Column 3
Massachusetts:
John Hancock

Maryland:
Samuel Chase
William Paca
Thomas Stone
Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe
Richard Henry Lee
Thomas Jefferson
Benjamin Harrison
Thomas Nelson, Jr.
Francis Lightfoot Lee
Carter Braxton

Column 4
Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Franklin
John Morton
George Clymer
James Smith
George Taylor
James Wilson
George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney
George Read
Thomas McKean

Column 5 New York:
William Floyd
Philip Livingston
Francis Lewis
Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton
John Witherspoon
Francis Hopkinson
John Hart
Abraham Clark

Column 6
New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett
William Whipple

Massachusetts:
Samuel Adams
John Adams
Robert Treat Paine
Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins
William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman
Samuel Huntington
William Williams
Oliver Wolcott

New Hampshire:
Matthew Thornton

Source: http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/declaration_transcript.html

Posted by lumi at 8:01 AM

July 3, 2006

Atlantic Yards, Still but a Plan, Shapes Politics in Brooklyn

The NY Times
By Nick Confessore

An interesting article summarizing how the neighborhood opposition to Atlantic Yards is affecting local politics:

It will be months, if not years, before a single brick of the Atlantic Yards project is laid near Downtown Brooklyn. But as the fall election season draws near, the unbuilt, unapproved, multibillion-dollar development is shaping up as a major political issue in this corner of the borough.

"This is a litmus test for brownstone Brooklyn," said City Councilwoman Letitia James, whose district includes most of the Atlantic Yards site and who is perhaps the elected official most outspokenly opposed to the project. "But the issue is nonetheless important for all Brooklynites, whether or not you're a brownstoner, someone who lives in public housing, or you live in a condo."

Over the last two and a half years, the project's gravity has warped the political space nearby, as if a black hole had settled at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. It has bolstered some candidacies and bedeviled others here, where mostly white, affluent neighborhoods like Park Slope shade into the more diverse yet rapidly gentrifying confines of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights.

article

Norman Oder analyzes the article at Atlantic Yards Report, noting that the story fails to mention what appears to be a quid pro quo between Yassky and his supporters at BUILD.

Oder also raps The Times for yet again referring to the Vanderbilt rail yards as "Atlantic Yards."

Posted by lumi at 10:26 AM

June 30, 2006

Democratic Party Machine embraces Jeffries

The Democratic Party Machine, which has consistently supported Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, is still alive and kickin' despite recent scandals.

The latest pol to receive support from 'dem Dems is Hakeem Jeffries. Though the candidate for the 57th State Assembly District has charted a cautious position on Atlantic Yards, the appearance of Ratner spokesperson (and Jeffries' friend) Lupe Todd at recent events and the inclusion of a couple cogs in the machine on Jeffries' "committee to fill vacancies," has led Atlantic Yards critics, some political watchers and constituents to wonder, "who is the man behind the curtain?"

Fifty First State, County's Condition
Daily Politics, Vacant

Posted by lumi at 7:59 AM

June 27, 2006

VOTE FOR ME because I am against the Bruce Ratner's Community ...

Community Average Folk 101 questions why Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal has become a flashpoint for local politics.

VOTE FOR ME because I am against the Bruce Ratner's Community Benefits Agreement: Atlantic Yards Project. How contemptible is this?

link

The average community seems to be upset about any number of the following: * EMINENT DOMAIN for a private developer who already owns most of the recently developed commercial property adjacent to the site, * PUBLIC FUNDING of stadiums and arenas, * A questionable COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT signed with groups receiving money from the developer, * A project the size of THREE EMPIRE STATE BUILDINGS nested amidst four residential neighborhoods (including public housing), * The DENSEST PROJECT in NYC history (as far as anyone can tell), * MORE TRAFFIC for one of the busiest intersections in Brooklyn, adjacent to neighborhoods with some of the worst asthma rates in the nation, * Billions of dollars of SUBSIDIES with no financial transparency, * Heavy-handed developer and his PATRONIZING STARCHITECT, * Discredited SUPERBLOCKS planning, (Why are we letting Bruce Ratner own and close our streets?), * MTA land being awarded to the LOWEST BIDDER (again), * An AFFORDABLE HOUSING program being exploited by a developer who has a terrible track record for keeping promises (there are better ways to build affordable housing), * The proliferation of BOX and CHAIN stores in Ratner malls, * SECURITY NIGHTMARE (A glass and steel structure over a transit hub at a busy intersection -- where's the NYPD viability study?), * State takeover SUPERCEDES LOCAL ZONING, * NO LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT of a major urban development, * TAX BREAKS for luxury housing, * PORK BARREL spending for a FAVORED DEVELOPER where two-thirds of the profits will flow back to the publicly traded parent company in Cleveland...

What's not to love about the project? Email us if your serious concern about the Ratner scheme isn't on the list of why Atlantic Yards has become a dominant issue in the races for the 57th Assembly and 11th Congressional Districts.

...AND FURTHERMORE (add these to the list and keep 'em coming):

• Destruction of a thriving community,
• Blightification of buildings purchased and owned by Bruce Ratner,
• Criminal harassment tactics against remaining residential tenants,
• Unsafe demolitions,
• Failure to register its own residential building and tenants with city and state agencies...

Posted by lumi at 6:55 AM

June 25, 2006

In Shirley Chisholm's Brooklyn, Rancor Over White Candidacy

New York Times
Diane Cardwell

But as Mr. Yassky works to spread his message about the need to promote a more aggressive Democratic agenda in Washington, race is clearly weighing on the minds of some voters. As he campaigned that same Saturday in Ditmas Park, a part of Flatbush where home values have been rapidly rising, some nonblack voters expressed qualms about his candidacy. One white couple told Mr. Yassky that they planned to vote for Chris Owens. And at a greenmarket, Joe Wong, 29, an Asian-American, said that he, too, was leaning toward Mr. Owens because he opposed the Atlantic Yards development and because he had reservations about voting for a nonblack candidate.

article

It is also of interest to note that the Yassky supporter listed in the article, Charlene Nimmons, is a CBA signatory.

Posted by amy at 9:10 PM

June 22, 2006

A Champion to Stop Bruce Ratner: Bill Batson

OnNYTurf

NYC's progressive weblog explains why Bill Batson matters:

Not just because Batson opposes the Ratner deal. He also has a track record of community preservation.

...and how you can help:

Batson's campaign has gathered thousands of petitions, but they need to gather some more, especially to stave off a legal challenge from opponent Hakeem Jeffries.... All Volunteer help is really critical. Petitions must be turned in to the state by July 9, so there are only a couple weeks left to get enough petitions to get on the primary ballot.

Click here for more info on how you can pitch in on Bill Batson's petition drive.

Posted by lumi at 9:23 AM

June 21, 2006

New Albany Administration May Be Hope Of Opponents of Atlantic Yards Plan

NY Sun
By Russell Berman

Opponents of Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards project have added celebrity clout to their cause in recent weeks, but their best hopes for scuttling plans to transform 22 acres of Brooklyn may hinge on a new administration in Albany.

The proposal is in the midst of the state land use review process, and a preliminary environmental impact statement is due next month. The Empire State Development Corporation says the timeline allows for construction to begin by the end of the year, but any delay could push the project into the hands of a new governor.

Neither the Democratic front-runner, Eliot Spitzer, nor his Republican opponent, John Faso, have stated a position on the current Atlantic Yards proposal, and neither campaign provided one yesterday.

Whether the coalition Develop – Don’t Destroy Brooklyn can succeed in forcing a rescaling of the Atlantic Yards development is an open question, but some urban planning scholars say they have a chance. An urban planning professor at Harvard University,Susan Fainstein,said the support of the next governor would be key,but she predicted that the project would be altered. “The huge number of residential and commercial buildings are likely to be shrunk,” she said.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:13 AM

June 19, 2006

Bronx Board Is Shuffled After Rejecting New Stadium

The NY Times
By Timothy Williams

When a Bronx community board rejected the plan to build a new Yankee Stadium on land occupied by two neighborhood parks last year, the result was a surprising setback for Adolfo Carrión Jr., the Bronx borough president, who had been one of the new stadium's most ardent public supporters.

As Bronx borough president, Adolfo Carrión appoints members of community boards. This month, seven months after that vote, Mr. Carrión has replaced or demoted several of the board members. Some say Mr. Carrión's motives are to get rid of board members who voted against the stadium.

article

NoLandGrab: Last year Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz tried to pull a similar move against Atlantic Yards critic and Community Board 2 member Ken Diamondstone (as reported in, Brooklyn Papers) . With the support of many colleagues, Diamondstone fought back and was re-instated.

Posted by lumi at 3:05 PM

June 18, 2006

Hakeem Jeffries: Principled Compromise

Democracy Forum: Americana offers the following advice for Hakeem regarding the "Atlantic Yards thingie": 1.Really work on schmoozing and 2.Right does not always win.

Looks like this election hinges on one thing: this Atlantic Yards thingie. This was an issue also in Bloomberg's reelection effort. It is some kind of a project I don't know much about. Bill Batson is against it. Hamilton is for it. Hakeem Jeffries wants a "principled compromise."

I plead ignorance. I don't know a whole lot. I am not too familiar with the local contours of what Hakeem is dealing with. But if I were to offer advice, it would be as follows.

article

Posted by amy at 10:13 AM

June 16, 2006

Brooklyn Borough President Lowers Boom on Marty Slams Owens

Carib News
By Tony Best

Marty Markowitz has declined to endorse any candidate for the 11th District US Congressional race, but that hasn't stopped the Beep from slamming Chris Owens over the candidate's stance on Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal and for endorsing Marty's opponent during the last election.

article

NoLandGrab: Can we assume that Marty no longer takes his mother's advice?

Posted by lumi at 4:03 PM

David Yassky on the Issues

An experienced Councilman with a record of progressive legislation

From PlanetPLG.com:

1) Do you support or oppose Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development project?

I support a professional sports team in Brooklyn, and the addition of affordable housing, new commercial space and an arena to Downtown. I do not support, however, the scale of Mr. Ratner's project, nor do I feel that the City and State governments have done nearly enough to prepare for the thousands of new commuters and residents that any new significant development would bring. Before I can endorse the Ratner plan to develop the Atlantic Yards area, the number and size of buildings in the development must be reduced significantly. Also, a realistic, comprehensive infrastructure and traffic plan must be developed and implemented. Even though so much investment in Downtown would provide jobs, tax revenue and cheaper housing for Brooklynites, this both potentially beneficial and detrimental project is not yet ready to be executed.

2) In general, what is your position on governmental use of eminent domain in support of private development projects?

I believe in the use of eminent domain for the public good, but only as an absolute last resort by government. If eminent domain becomes necessary, landowners must be compensated accordingly, including payments that exceed the market value of their property, and added expenses for relocation.

link

NoLandGrab: Let's be clear, Yassky supports the expanded definition of eminent domain for "the public good" as opposed to merely "public use," as the US Constitution allows. The Councilmember should also explain when isn't eminent domain used as a "last resort."

Brooklyn to Yassky: Even The NY Times knows that Bruce Ratner's proposal isn't in Downtown Brooklyn.

Also, in "Ratner Finally Bags Himself a Yassky" on Daily Gotham, mole333 tries real hard to give Yassky the benefit of the doubt until the Councilmember runs into the three-strike rule.

Posted by lumi at 12:30 PM

Yassky bill would push $3M to Ratner crony

Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen

City Councilman David Yassky is under fire for asking city taxpayers to underwrite a promise that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner made to a handful of community organizations.

Under the provisions of a “community benefits agreement” negotiated by Ratner and the groups, the developer and his supporters pledged to create a job-training program.

Thus far, Ratner has given $285,000 towards that worker-training program, which is being administered by Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD).

Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) now proposes a city contribution of $3 million — more than 10 times what Ratner’s given.

Critics were quick to point out that Yassky submitted the budget request after BUILD President James Caldwell and other CBA signatories endorsed his bid to succeed retiring Rep. Major Owens (D-Crown Heights) in the mostly black 11th congressional district in central Brooklyn.

Yassky declined to respond to critics who accused him of bailing out Ratner, but said through a spokesman that the money would be well spent.
...
Critics say the bid for public funding is another example of the developer relying on taxpayers to make good on his promises.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:21 AM

June 15, 2006

Marty on the "take out"

Has Marty broken his pledge to "lighten up Brooklyn?" Regretfully, we share the photographic evidence that the Borough President may be on the "take out."

Posted by lumi at 6:45 AM

June 14, 2006

Yassky on the Yards

Left Behinds give hot props to Yassky's aide Evan Thies before posting the insta-response to an inquiry seeking Councilmember and Congressional candidate David Yassky's position on Atlantic Yards:

Mr. Grundy:

Thank you for your note. In fact, Council Member Yassky does not support the current Ratner plan, and has not supported any other plan for development at Atlantic Yards as erroneously reported yesterday in the New York Times. David has said that he would welcome a professional sports team to Brooklyn, as well as development at the MTA site. But there are many problems with the latest proposal. Chief among them is the scale of the project. David does not believe that Downtown and Brownstone Brooklyn's infrastructure can handle such out-of-scale development, nor does he think that the current plan has considered surrounding communities such as yours.

David would like to see the housing, jobs and investment for Brooklyn that an arena and new development at Atlantic Yards would bring. But, until significant changes are made, he will not support the project.

Thank you again for your note,
Evan Thies

link

NoLandGrab: It's not clear, but the article to which Thies referrs could be from last October's hearing.

What's confusing the press and Brooklynites alike is the fact that Yassky has stated in the past that he has not endorsed Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, but is currently seeking $3 million of city money to fund Bruce Ratner's Community Benefits Agreement signed with BUILD.

Posted by lumi at 8:30 AM

June 13, 2006

DDDB Press Release: THE CONEY ISLAND ARENA SOLUTION

An Arena at Coney Island Could Bring Potential End to Pitched Battle Over Ratner's "Atlantic Yards" Skyscraper and Arena Proposal
Built for Crowds–With Ample Space–Brooklyn's One-time Entertainment Destination Could Rise Again

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- Three blogs in the past three days have made extensive arguments as to why Coney Island is a viable and excellent location for a professional basketball arena in Brooklyn. Former Salt Lake City Deputy Mayor and transportation consultant Brian Hatch, on his New York Games blog ("Ratner Originally Wanted a Coney Island Arena"), sports columnist Michael O'Keeffe on the Daily News' I-Team blog ("The Coney Island Nets") and critic Norman Oder on his Atlantic Yards Report ("Coney Island the place for an arena? Marty used to think so") each have laid out the arguments and history that explain why Coney Island must re-enter the discussion as a suitable and even better location for a Brooklyn sports arena than the one proposed by Forest City Ratner at the busiest traffic intersection in the borough.

Until just before the unveiling of Ratner's "Atlantic Yards" skyscraper and arena proposal, Borough President and project booster, Marty Markowitz, argued (scroll down) for a professional basketball arena at Coney Island.

"Coney Island is a viable location for an arena in Brooklyn that requires a serious and hard look. It was built for crowds and can use the 'off season' shot in the arm that a professional basketball arena could bring. The only question that needs to be answered is if the good people in the Coney Island area desire and would accept an arena. And there is a history of political leaders in Coney Island welcoming an arena development," said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman Daniel Goldstein. "Ignoring the strong arguments for, and a discussion about, an arena in Coney Island would emphasize the intransigence of Forest City Ratner when it comes to discussing what is best for all of Brooklyn. There has been no valid argument made as to why the arena needs to be coupled with the housing development Forest City Ratner has proposed."

On his blog, Mr. Hatch retraces a history that shows Marty Markowitz and Coney Island's City Council Member Dominic Recchia both wanted and welcomed a professional arena in Coney Island:

As the Daily News reported: "'Brooklyn deserves a sports team on a national stage,' Markowitz said, noting Coney Island's huge success with minor league baseball."

Coney Island's Council Member wholeheartedly supported the arena:

Coney Island City Councilman Domenic Recchia thinks it's a great idea, too. "I think there's room to build an arena complex in Coney Island," Recchia said. "I would welcome Bruce Ratner into my neighborhood with open arms. I would welcome the Nets to Brooklyn and Coney Island any day.

This stands in stark contrast to the pitched battle in Prospect Heights.

But that was then. Seeking better real estate opportunities in Prospect Heights, the tune has changed on Coney Island for Ratner and Markowitz. And to keep Coney Island officials in line, funding for a rec center there appears to have been held hostage until the Prospect Heights arena is approved…

"History and Brian Hatch make a very strong case for an arena in Coney Island. There is city owned land to build it (thus eliminating the use of eminent domain), a $250 million rebuilt Stillwell subway terminus built for crowds, a highway and the Coney Island area could use this kind of development to spur its economy in a way that the Prospect Heights area does not need," said DDDB president Eric Reschke. "The pitched battle of the past 30 months over Ratner's 'Atlantic Yards' could potentially be resolved if the developer and political officials see the benefits of an arena in Coney Island, providing more space for affordable housing in Prospect Heights. Then the developer's stated goals of 'Jobs, Housing, and Hoops,' could be achieved while building at a respectful and reasonable density and scale over the rail yards and on the properties the developer has purchased."

Forest City Ratner's proposal to build the most expensive arena ever built, with the added costs of building over an active rail yard, in a large part is driving the extreme density (three times as dense as Battery Park City) and out-of-character scale of the proposed project.

Hatch writes on his New York Games blog:

Coney Island the superior site
Coney Island is much more appropriate than Prospect Heights for the arena:

Land use:
Coney Island has been built for crowds from its inception. Glitzy new plans continue the tradition. Prospect Heights is a brownstone neighborhood. Ratner points out that many subway lines go through the Atlantic Avenue station. Seven lines go through the West Fourth station. Does that mean the Village should have 60 story towers?

Transportation:
Prospect Heights has no highway and is gridlocked by several roads converging at this location. Coney Island has transit and a highway, and is even accessible by ferry. The Coney Island subway station is the largest in the system. Being a terminal, up to eight trains can wait at a time. As soon as a train departs, the adjacent Coney Island yard can replace it. Road access is superior at Coney Island. Corporate types arriving by car to go to their suites are what makes a professional team work these days. The Belt Parkway can get congested, but the gridlock at Atlantic and Flatbush is much worse and would be a continuing threat to the team's viability.

Density:
Without an arena, the density of housing in "Atlantic Yards" can actually increase while decreasing the height of the towers to a level the community can accept. This is because the arena takes up so many acres of land that it pushes the towers up to Manhattan heights.

Community:
Coney Island has supported an arena for years. Prospect Heights has been fighting one for years. Even if the Prospect Heights arena is approved, the developer faces a "bleeder" where the surrounding neighborhood will fight it as long as it exists. The two main objections to the "Atlantic Yards" are the arena, with its traffic and need for eminent domain, and the thicket of towers, and their density and height. Both can be fixed by bringing back the Coney Island Sportsplex.

It was all-or-nothing for a West Side stadium. The Jets and NYC2012 got the latter. The Nets are on the same fateful path.

Posted by lumi at 3:37 PM

New York’s Most Loathsome, reprisals reprised

Habeas Corruptus

Brooklyn journalist Christopher Ketcham adds his byline to some of last year's NY Press "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers" blurbs. Our great leader tops the list:

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Tax-Dollar Waste, Non-Entity

Picture Ron Jeremy without the dick, Buddy Hackett without the laughs, and you have Brooklyn B.P. Marty Markowitz. Why this porcine oaf with the eerie resemblance to your insane grinning uncle continues to occupy Borough Hall is beyond reason. Once upon a time, when the Board of Estimate ruled graft and contracts in New York, the five borough presidents had power. But today it’s a no-show job. The bad news with Markowitz is that he shows up, and so do his 116 employees, his $4.7 million budget, and his four SUVs equipped with police sirens. Not content with doing nothing, Markowitz finds time to advocate for the downtrodden, such as Ikea, Home Depot and developer Bruce Ratner in their noble quest to cannibalize mom-and-pop neighborhoods. Markowitz is also known for racing around the city in HOV lanes with police lights flashing, en route to handing out a plaque. Markowitz was up for re-election last year and, true to form, voters put him back at the grindstone. Instead, he should have saved the citizens the trouble and us taxpayers millions of dollars and fired himself, fired his employees and turned Borough Hall into a methadone clinic. At least then we’d have reputable people hanging around the place.

link

Click here for this year's Most Loathsome New Yorkers (Marty is #31) where Bruce Ratner is the headliner.

Posted by lumi at 6:37 AM

June 10, 2006

Atlantic Yards Foe Ruffles Reverend Al’s Feathers

Courier-Life Stephen Witt

Since this article is just a rehashing of a mudslinging contest, let's leave this on the high note of Tish James' comments:

James, who has invoked the names of civil rights icons at rallies opposing the project, said just as she has denounced remarks of some of the project supporters, she denounces the remarks of opponents of the project.

“There no place in this discussion for racial rhetoric, but this is a distraction from the real issues that the project is too massive and the process has been corrupted, and we really need to discuss the issues surrounding responsible development in our community,” said James.

article

Posted by amy at 9:23 AM

June 9, 2006

Yassky sponsors $3M funding proposal for BUILD

At last night's Community Board 8 (CB8) meeting, Boardmember and Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development Chief Operating Officer Marie Louis spoke about a proposal BUILD submitted to the New York City Council for funding for activities planned under the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) BUILD signed with Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC).

Louis indicated that under the terms of the CBA, BUILD and FCRC share responsibility for funding job training and small business development programs. Therefore, they have submitted a 'priorities request' to the City Council in the amount of three million dollars to fund a pre-apprenticeship program, a first source hiring program, an MBA intern initiative, and a technical assistance service for small businesses. The request is being sponsored by City Councilmember David Yassky.

Louis circulated copies of the request (2.1MB PDF), and asked the audience members to call City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's office to ask for her support of this appropriation.

An audience member asked Louis if FCRC was contributing any money toward these initiatives. Louis said that FCRC had contributed funds, but declined to specify the amount. She did not explain why the benefits programs specified in the CBA required public subsidies.

Posted by lumi at 5:51 PM

June 8, 2006

Debate a Contrast of Styles

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

When it comes to contentious political issues in central Brooklyn, everybody knows about the Atlantic Yards project. After Monday night's candidates' forum inside a Fort Greene church, add to that short list the generation gap.

Just minutes after Freddie Hamilton, Hakeem Jeffries, and Bill Batson very civilly and very substantively discussed the ins-and-outs of the Atlantic Yards proposal and other pressing local issues, City Councilman Charles Barron and Kevin Powell went at it very substantively - but also very personally.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:21 AM

June 7, 2006

Wrap-Up: June 5th Candidates Night Forum at Brown Memorial

Question presented: Would you change the CBA, and how?

Running for State Assembly, 57th AD

Freddie Hamilton

No, I'm not in favor of reopening the Community Benefits Agreement. I am a signer on this agreement. I think that it's important that we stay at the table.

Hakeem Jeffries

"Mend it don't end it." Conceptually I think the CBA is a good idea. -Also mentioned that the jobs portion of the CBA is largely unenforceable as there is no punitive response and that additional stakeholders should be brought in.

Bill Batson

I would like to see the CBA reopened – I would like to see more stakeholders put on the CBA. It is largely unenforceable language. This developer and other developers have made promises in the past and some of those promises have not been kept.

Unions have come out strong for this for great reasons. We need to be building, we need to be building in Brooklyn, we need to be building big, but promises have to be real.

I can never support this project because of its use of eminent domain. I have never heard Mayor Bloomberg so excited. What do you give a billionaire who has everything? The power of eminent domain.

Running for US Congress, 10th District

Kevin Powell

I do not support eminent domain – it is removing and displacing people. On the issue of Atlantic Yards – either you are for, or against it. I cannot support any initiative that is displacing people. I did not move to Brooklyn to live in Manhattan. Eminent domain should be for the public good – not for the riches of a handful of people.

Charles Barron

The divisive person is Ratner. You think you will get jobs, you think you will get affordable housing? Wait till he's finished building. 60 story towers, and they don't care about your babies, getting air pollution, more stuff in their lungs, because they didn't even respect the EIS process – before we even DID that people supported it. Our babies are suffering in our communities, but we didn't care about that because we got jobs, we got affordable housing. Everything you build is going to get you jobs – you don't have to have THAT. What we need to have is an open, competitive bidding process. We did not have that.

Remember Metrotech? They promised us jobs. We didn't get no jobs. When I asked the people what are the 6,000 permanent jobs, Ratner's own person, Stuckey, sitting at a City Hall meeting said "we're not controlling the permanent jobs." The people that rent in the office building, they are bringing their own people. If you're looking for a job with the Nets – they only play 81 games. That's 81 working days. You've got to go beyond jobs, you've got to go beyond affordable housing.

Posted by lumi at 12:11 PM

Racial Flap Continues in the Yards

The Neighborhood Retail Alliance, run by Forest City Ratner paid consultant Richard Lipsky, considers the "community" in Community Benefits Agreement:

There will always be disputes about who does or doesn't really represent the community. In Brooklyn, with Daughtry, Sharpton, Lewis, Coach Screen, Renan Ebeid from Lincoln High and Jocko Jackson from Brownsville all on the side of the Yards the grass roots support is both wide and deep. To paraphrase Justice Stewart's comment on pornography, "We may not be able to define what the community is, but we know it is when we see it."

link

Posted by lumi at 12:01 PM

For the 57th: perception, personality, and policy

Atlantic Yards Report

Norman Oder reports on the 57th Assembly District from the Brown Memorial Baptist Church Candidates' Forum.

[The candidates] diverge most substantially on the Atlantic Yards issue. Hamilton (right), a signatory to the controversial Community Benefits Agreement with Forest City Ratner, was firm that it should not be reopened nor extended beyond the eight signatories. Jeffries quoted Bill Clinton on affirmative action, saying “mend it, don’t end it.” He said the housing component was “on solid ground,” but the promise of jobs to minorities was largely unenforceable; he encouraged “bringing in some additional stakeholders.”

They diverge most substantially on the Atlantic Yards issue. Hamilton (right), a signatory to the controversial Community Benefits Agreement with Forest City Ratner, was firm that it should not be reopened nor extended beyond the eight signatories. Jeffries quoted Bill Clinton on affirmative action, saying “mend it, don’t end it.” He said the housing component was “on solid ground,” but the promise of jobs to minorities was largely unenforceable; he encouraged “bringing in some additional stakeholders.”

Batson (right), who pointed out that the CBA for the Los Angeles Airport had 29 signatories, agreed that there should be more stakeholders and that the document is unenforceable. He pointed out that FCR and other developers had made promises that hadn't been met. He went on to say, “I can never support this project because of its use of eminent domain.” At a later point, he told a questioner, “We need to get that CBA reopened.”

link

Posted by lumi at 10:58 AM

Sharpton blasts Atlantic Yards foe

Daily News columnist Ben Smith continues to stoke the flames around the story he broke on Monday, as Reverend Al Sharpton, whose organization receives funding from Forest City Ratner, continues to call for something:

But the controversy continued yesterday, as the Rev. Al Sharpton blasted Goldstein and other disparate targets.

"The arrogance of Goldstein to think he can speak for black people is beyond insulting," the Rev. Al Sharpton told The News. "From this to the [Nicholas] Minucci case to [City Councilman David] Yassky thinking he's going to run for that [congressional] seat - do they think we're just going to sit this out?" he asked.

Sharpton was referring to an alleged hate crime in Howard Beach and to the bid by Yassky, who is white, to represent a historically black central Brooklyn district in Congress.

The irony is that City Councilman David Yassky found himself at once pigeon-holed by Rev. Sharpton and standing in line to take another pot shot at Goldstein:

Meanwhile Yassky, who is running to replace the retiring Rep. Major Owens, seemed puzzled to be drawn into the controversy over Goldstein's comments.

"Speaking as someone whom Mr. Goldstein has attacked regularly, I thought his quote was offensive in the extreme," he said.

article

NoLandGrab: It's not clear what history Yassky is referring to, since according to our recollection Dan Goldstein has never attacked the City Councilmember.

There's more on Ben Smith's blog, Sharpton Invokes Fat Nick.

Posted by lumi at 8:44 AM

June 6, 2006

Whose "White Masters"?

The Daily Politics

The issue of race, stirred up in yesterday's Daily News column by Ben Smith, reached a new low in a late post on Smith's blog Daily Politics, featuring Rev. Al Sharpton and Bertha Lewis's press release and, in the comments section, Dan Goldstein's apology.

Too bad for Atlantic Yards critics that debate and discourse has deviated from the merits and criticisms of the project and fallen into the gutter.

So, what have we learned from this episode?

That DDDB spokesperson and footprint homeowner Dan Goldstein is a rank amateur when it comes to working the press, gets hot headed and stressed out living under threat of eminent domain and makes an unbelievably, incredibly stupid blunder.

That Daily News columnist Ben Smith doesn't appreciate being barked at in email by a "beginner" like Dan Goldstein. Now part of the story ("tools" was Smith's verbage), the columnist slaps Dan with his own race card and then posts Rev. Al's press release.

That Reverend Al Sharpton and Bertha Lewis are "shocked, shocked" by the racially divisive remarks.

Here's more coverage of the fallout:
Metro NY, Race flap over Nets arena foe’s comments
The Real Estate Observer, "Wealthy White Masters"
The Real Estate Observer, Daniel Goldstein Apologizes ...
The Real Deal, Fresh fuel for Atlantic Yards controversy

Atlantic Yards Report, "Divisiveness: Is it about Goldstein—or Ratner?," includes reaction at last night's candidate forum.

Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM

June 5, 2006

What are your priroities, [sic] Mr. Spitzer?

Despite his not having said anything of substance on the campaign trail, the conventional wisdom is that Eliot Spitzer looks "unbeatable," which is probably why our favorite City Councilmember, Letitia James, is about to jump on his band wagon, but not before Spitzer, the biggest bully in Albany, gets in a few pot shots at Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, via Ben Smith at the Daily News.

And Brooklyn City Councilwoman Tish James is likely to endorse the attorney general - overlooking a shouting match they had in his office last year. James was there with members of a Brooklyn group that opposes the Atlantic Yards project, which includes an arena for the Nets basketball team. She wouldn't discuss the meeting in detail, but an ally who was there, lawyer Candace Carponter, said, "We were yelled at for half an hour, and every single issue we wanted to discuss, he said, 'I don't care.'"

The group is known for its own sometimes over-the-top rhetoric. Its main spokesman, Dan Goldstein, e-mailed me not long ago, describing his African-American opponents as tools of "their wealthy white masters." Not surprisingly, Spitzer aide Rich Baum, who was at the meeting, had a very different version.

"They sat there and yelled at him for half an hour," Baum said. "He clearly found their argumentation style so off-the-wall that it upset them."

In any event, on leaving the meeting, another member of the Brooklyn group, Carponter said, tried to start something of a Spitzer-victim support group.

article

NoLandGrab: Yeah, we are so sure that DDDB walked into a private meeting with the New York State Attorney General and yelled at the guy.

It's funny how the people who are engineering the over-the-top development with subsidies that are out of this world are always saying DDDB is extreme in its rhetoric, and the press seems to buy it. If these guys are so crazy, how come they are the only ones who aren't lying?

Posted by lumi at 7:10 AM

June 4, 2006

Candidates’ Night - June 5

Fort Greene Association

The Fort Greene Association will co-host a candidates' forum on June 5. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet the candidates for both the 57th State Assembly District and the 10th US Congressional District.

Candidates for the 57th State Assembly District are Bill Batson, Hakeem Jeffries, and Freddie Hamilton.

Candidates for the 10th US Congressional District are Ed Towns, Charles Barron, Roger Green, and Kevin Powell.

Date and Time: June 5 at 6:30pm.

Location: Brown Memorial Baptist Church at Washington and Gates Avenues.

Posted by amy at 8:42 PM

Suozzi v. Atlantic Yards

The Real Estate:

The mole inside Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats says Suozzi came out against Atlantic Yards last night and got the club's nod in part because of the new anti-AY members that joined the club but never got to vote for Chris Owens.

Sean Patrick Maloney, despite bashing the Ratner arena project earlier in the day, failed to win the endorsement for AG, which went to Denise O'Donnell instead.

article

Update from the Daily Politics: Denise Drops Out

Posted by amy at 3:28 PM

June 2, 2006

Remainders: Mayor Rasiej, IND for Suozzi

The Daily Politics:

More evidence of how central Atlantic Yards is to some parts of Brooklyn politics: Tom Suozzi picks up the endorsement of a major Brooklyn political club, IND, despite being to Spitzer's right on key issues.

article

Posted by amy at 11:34 PM

IND goes indy

Those of you who are following how the Atlantic Yards debate has rejuvenated Brooklyn's independent political clubs will want to read mole333's account of last night's endorsement meeting.

link

Posted by lumi at 1:15 PM

Indy Media Release: Defend Brooklyn. Get Batson on the Ballot.

Bill Batson has already proven he will tirelessly fight to protect our District.

An outbreak of highly suspicious arson fires has torn through Brooklyn, with over 18 occurring in the last fourteen months. As co-Chair of the Fire Safety Committee, Bill is working with community leaders to organize arson patrols and vigils, which have not only provided financial and community support for the displaced families, but also forced our press and politicians to pay attention to the havoc these fires are wreaking in our neighborhoods.

Bill fought to prevent the city from using Eminent Domain to raze historic Underground Railroad sites on Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn. The City wanted to use these sites to create an underground parking lot. As a result of our work, the City has stopped the clock on the Duffield Street condemnations.

Development can bring us jobs, affordable housing, and strengthen our local economy, or it can destroy historical sites, fuel suspicious and deadly fires, and displace families and business that have been a part of our community for decades. Any decisions regarding development should be made in our community and with our community's input. Bill has been defending our neighborhood's ideals for the past 20 years. He will use the State Assembly seat to continue to defend our homes and our heritage.

Now it's time to get Bill on the ballot.

We need to have enough of our neighbors sign our petition in support of Bill's candidacy to qualify him for the September 12th primary. Petitioning starts Tuesday, June 6th. We want to sign up the majority of our neighbors during the first week. Our kickoff meeting will be on Monday, June 5th at 6:30 pm at Ripple (769 Washington Ave between St. Johns and Sterling). We will be holding additional meetings throughout the week to brief new volunteers.

Please contact us at: 917-627-6528 or batson4brooklyn@gmail.com

See you there!

Batson For Brooklyn

Posted by lumi at 6:33 AM

Press Release: Maloney Gets Tough on Atlantic Yards

AG Candidate Asks Hard Questions of Process Project Should be “Stopped Cold” Until Community Gets Answers

June 1, Brooklyn, NY: Today Sean Patrick Maloney, former senior Clinton White House official and investigative attorney running for the Democratic nomination for New York Attorney General stood with the Brooklyn community against the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards development project. Maloney is the first and only candidate in the race for Attorney General to speak out against the Atlantic Yards project.

Maloney said, “I believe that the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards development must be stopped cold until some tough questions get asked and answered. Why do the powerful interests and political establishment treat the public interest like a burden? This isn’t about a business plan, it’s about a neighborhood.”

The Brooklyn Atlantic Yards proposal by Forest City Ratner was awarded selective bid contract by the MTA under the cloud of a secretive, less than democratic process that neglected the prerogatives of the citizens in the community. The development of the MTA rail yards (3.3 million square feet of Vanderbilt Yards) and the adjacent 4.5 million square feet will likely drastically change the neighborhood dynamic and social fabric.

Maloney announced three principles that must be addressed before the project moves forward:

I. Put People First

• Adopt the Principles for Responsible Development
• Maximize community involvement through ULURP process
• Prioritize affordable housing
• Prioritize local and minority job creation
• Address the density, neighborhood character & congestion issues

II. Let the Sunshine In

• Require full financial disclosure
• Open and limit the eminent domain process
• End conflicts of interest
• Require independent analyses for public decision-making

III. No Foregone Conclusions

• Keep the burden of proof on the developer
• Maximize and encourage competition
• Level the playing field in terms of public subsidies

Maloney told the community, “Together we can make a difference in people’s lives. New York state government continues to be strangled by political gridlock, corruption and mismanagement. As it is today, this project is the face of what’s wrong with a corrupt culture that mixes business and politics, profits and tax dollars. It is time to stand up and give power back to the working people who need it most.”

For more information visit http://www.seanmaloney.com/www.seanmaloney.com

#

Posted by lumi at 6:19 AM

May 31, 2006

The Real Estate Observer: Two-for Wednesday

Mind Bender

Congrats to The Real Estate Observer for two mysteries solved in one swell foop!

1) Why are South Brooklyn politicos Kruger, Golden, Fidler and Nelson big on Atlantic Yards? Like, what's in it for them?

2) Why is Bruce Bender a key part of the Forest City Ratner team? It definitely isn't to coin more Benderisms.

We had been wondering why so many politicos from the deep south of Brooklyn had endorsed Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. State Senators Carl Kruger and Martin Golden and City Council Members Lew Fidler and Mike Nelson all wrote letters of support last summer to the M.T.A.

We wondered, are these guys all for it because their constituents are going to get some of the jobs targeted to "the community" that the arena complex is supposed to help? Or do they just happen to have a lot of Nets fans living there?

Then we hit upon a map for the 59th Assembly district, which is governed by the Thomas Jefferson Club, the Democratic clubhouse whence Bruce Bender sprang.

link

The Riches of Fleet Street

The Real Estate Observer is pretty damned impressed with the deep pockets at The NY Times, after Atlantic Yards Report carried news from Editor & Publisher that the NY Times Corporation has agreed to spot Ratner 119.5-million clams towards the new Times Tower if the real-estate barron of Brooklyn can't come up with it himself.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:02 PM

MEDIA ADVISORY: Maloney to Speak Out Against Brooklyn Atlantic Yards Development Project

Sean Patrick Maloney, former senior Clinton White House official and investigative attorney running for the Democratic nomination for New York Attorney General, will hold a press conference to stand with the Brooklyn community against the current process and plans for the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards development project.

June 1, 2006 at 11:00 am in front of the Williamsburgh Bank Building, 1 Hanson Place, Brooklyn, NY

Posted by lumi at 7:14 PM

Speaker Quinn Still Mum On Atlantic Yards Arena

NY Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

It would seem like a no-brainer for the City Council Speaker to take a position against Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, given her instrumental role in the defeat of the West Side Stadium project that was planned for her district. But Christine Quinn has remained silent.

Who are the players behind the political forces on both sides of the issue trying to get Quinn to take a position on Atlantic Yards? And, will the Speaker go against the Mayor, now that she is in a leadership position?

article

Posted by lumi at 8:48 AM

May 30, 2006

DFNYC Opposes the Atlantic Yards

Here's one we missed from Democracy for New York City, Sunday, May 21:

Based on your feedback, DFNYC opposes the Ratner Atlantic Yards Project as it currently stands and cannot condone the use of eminent domain on private property for the gain of a private developer. We believe that the project backed by glossy propaganda has not taken the community's concerns into consideration and we urge those in office and those seeking office to stand with the community, not against it.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:23 AM

May 29, 2006

Hakeem Jeffries, open letter on Atlantic Yards

Hakeem Jeffries took out a half-page ad in the Brooklyn Downtown Star in an attempt to clarify his stand on the biggest controversy in his district, Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

I take this issue very seriously, as I reside along with my wife and two children, just a few blocks from the proposed footprint. This development, planned for the very heart of this district, presents a combination of both opportunity and deep concern.

The candidate for the 57th State Assembly District, an open seat currently held by Atlantic Yards supporter Roger Green, has charted a very careful position, one that even Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report is having a little difficulty parsing, since each statement seems to lead to more questions than answers.

Posted by lumi at 8:23 AM

May 27, 2006

Newsky: StopYassky Out-y!

It's not as big time as the unmasking of Deep Throat, but speculation over the identity of the blogger behind StopYassky.com has become fodder for local political online forums as the race for the 11th US Congressional District has heated up. Some commentators have bristled at the tone of the web site, while others have felt that it raises valid points.

Several people have claimed ownership and others have been outed.

Suspicion fell on Gary Tilzer of Yvette Clarke's campaign, then it definitely wasn't "Gatemouth," who fingered someone he ID'd as "fat ugly smelly toothless bastard." Others speculated that David Yassky's camp was running a reverse, putting up something inflammatory so they could pin it on the Chris Owens or Clarke campaigns.

Yesterday, Daily News columnist Errol Louis (via Ben Smith's blog, Daily Politics) outed Lucy Koteen of Fort Greene, citing her Blogspot handle, "stopyassky." Some outing — NY Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman points out that Blogspot members can remain anonymous if they want. It's not clear how Louis uncovered this, but it was most likely from a comment posted on Norman Oder's blog, Atlantic Yards Report.

The question for serial-letter-writer Koteen would be which organization she was seeking to give a boost: Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, The Sierra Club of New York, The Fort Greene Association or La Leche League (a local breast-feeding advocacy group)?

Some things we don't get:

If the threat to longtime project critic Chris Owens comes from splitting the black vote with Atlantic Yards supporters Carl Andrews and Yvette Clarke, why would a neighborhood activist go after Yassky? (Point also made by "Gatemouth.") Where're StopAndrews.com and StopClarke.com?

What was Errol Louis doing hanging out in Blogspot? Is he setting up his own anonymous blog? Trying to unmask "Norman Oder?" Or, boning up on facts about Ratner's Atlantic Yards scheme?

Posted by lumi at 7:31 AM

May 26, 2006

Senator Schumer Hates You

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn responds to Senator Schumer's attack on critics of the Atlantic Yards and Brooklyn Bridge Towers in Your Park proposals.

From the Brooklyn Downtown Star:

"Marty is taking it on the chin," sympathized Schumer, "from what I call the culture of inertia, this small group of self-appointed people. If we do not grow, we will die."

link

Posted by lumi at 9:27 AM

Can You Say 'Hooray for Ratner'? You're Hired!

Power Plays (the political blog of The Village Voice)

Marty Markowitz is looking to hire a "communications associate," someone who can brush up the Brooklyn Beep's bearish image. Though Markowitz is the biggest booster of all things Brooklyn, his image has taken a hit over the Atlantic Yards proposal:

Requirements:

The full-time post requires a college degree, city residency, and "the ability to work quickly and accurately in a fast-paced environment." Given the beep's unwavering support for the Atlantic Yards plan, spelling developer Bruce's last name correctly (it's "R-A-T-N-E-R" not "R-A-N-T-E-R") is also probably a plus.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:01 AM

Brooklyn elections and the developers

People's Weekly World

A socialist economic and political overview of demographic changes coming to Brooklyn, brought to you by the Bloomberg-Doctoroff big developer doctrine:

The housing, construction and development boom of recent years, which only recently has shown signs of slowing, is changing the class and nationality composition of whole cities, and with it reducing the Democratic majority.

High-rise luxury apartments, condos and offices; waterfronts privatized with luxury dwellings, hotels, recreational facilities and restricted parks; cruise liner ports; big-box stores; sports facilities featuring luxury boxes; glitzy casinos — all these are reshaping our cities. They are being financed by a host of federal, state and city public subsidies ranging from 30-60 percent of total costs, while finance capital — the big banks, developers, real estate and construction corporations — divide up 100 percent of the profit.

In Brooklyn, the fate of progressive politics is being played out over support for and opposition to the Atlantic Yards proposal:

The outcome of the Sept. 12 primary election will determine whether a progressive continues in Congress to fight the Bush administration. But it will also impact the citywide fight over whether the billionaire developers should have their way.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:46 AM

May 25, 2006

Red Hook Lures Bites

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

Last week's opening of the Red Hook Fairway brought out a bevy of pols stumping for the Bloomberg-Doctoroff Doctrine:

Schumer, Bloomberg, and Markowitz were clearly eager to use the stage of the exceedingly popular Fairway opening to argue for other projects throughout Brooklyn which have much more significant opposition, like Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Atlantic Yards proposal in Prospect Heights. "Marty is taking it on the chin," sympathized Schumer, "from what I call the culture of inertia, this small group of self-appointed people. If we do not grow, we will die."

Later on, when the Senator was asked by a reporter about the possible ill effects of gentrification, especially displacement, he reasoned, "Economic forces are strong forces, no doubt about it. We can't stop them, but we can certainly direct them. We can bring in more people with means and use them to help preserve the people who don't have means."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:29 AM

May 24, 2006

Nick Perry is outta here

The last few weeks have been quite interesting for NY State Assemblymember Nick Perry, a candidate for the 11th District US Congressional seat.

Perry scraped the bottom of the barrel to smear his opponents in a push poll, failed to get traction with the local political clubs, flip-flopped on the Brennan Atlantic Yards bill after ACORN arm twisting, then dropped out.

Translation:
He spent too much money to figure out that people outside of his district have no clue who he is, except for those Atlantic Yards critics who were going to paint him as a Ratner stooge. In a crowded field of African-American candidates, there really wasn't any point to continue the campaign.

Here's the coverage of Perry's withdrawl:
Room Eight, Is Nick Perry finally pulling out?
The Politicker, Perry Drops Out
The Real Estate Observer, Nick, We Hardly Knew Ye
The NY Times, House Candidate Withdraws, Afraid of Splitting Black Vote

NoLandGrab's amateur assessment: That leaves Atlantic Yards critic Chris Owens running against a troika of Bruce Ratner supporters: Carl Andrews, Yvette Clarke, and, we hate to say it, even David Yassky.

David Yassky has carefully sketched out a vague position on the project, though he has voiced serious concerns. A recent development might indicate how Yassky's position has evolved — three out of the four African-Americans who have publicly voiced support for Yassky are signatories to Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement. Coincidence? We think not.

Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM

May 20, 2006

TODAY: Families United for Racial & Economic Equality’ Presents (FUREE) Annual Convention - 2006

Every year, FUREE brings our community together to address the issues we face. This year is an election year & we have invited Candidates from District 10 & 11 Congressional Race 2006 to come & hear us about our issues.

INVITED CANDIDATES INCLUDE:

District 10: Councilmember Charles Barron, Congressman Ed Towns

District 11: Chris Owens, Councilmember Yvette Clark, Assemblyman Nick Perry, State Senator Carl Andrews, Councilmember David Yassky

ISSUES WILL INCLUDE: DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PAY EQUITY FOR CHILD

Lunch will be provided from 1pm to 2pm

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please call (718) 852-2960 (ask for Tamar at ext. 307 or Rusia at ext 300) Visit FUREE at 81 Willoughby Street, Suite 602 (corner of Lawrence Street) Email Us at info@furee.org, rusia@furee.org, tamar@furee.org Check Out FUREE's Website at www.furee.org

Saturday, May 20

1pm to 4pm

p.s. 261 (Pacific on the corner of hoyt)

Posted by amy at 11:47 AM

District Leader Says She’ll Challenge For Green’s Seat

Courier-Life:

Among the issues that separate the three candidates thus far is the proposed Atlantic Yards project.

While Batson is firmly against the project and Jeffries rides the middle ground, Hamilton supports the project.

Freddie then goes on to say “I will also look at development in the district to make sure that there is an equitable blend of old and new that meet the needs of all of our residents.”

What part of knocking down an entire community and building 16 skyscrapers is an 'equitable blend'?

article

Posted by amy at 10:12 AM

May 18, 2006

Brennan Halves Brooklyn's Baby

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

As the old saying goes, a compromise ain't good unless both sides think it's bad. Judging by that criterion, State Assemblyman Jim Brennan has recently had a stroke of genius regarding the constantly controversial Atlantic Yards proposal for Prospect Heights. He has managed to get Jim Stuckey and Dan Goldstein to finally agree on something. They both don't like his bill.

"The whole premise of the bill is wrong," argued Goldstein, the spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), in a phone interview with the Star over the weekend.

"In many ways," dismissed Stuckey, president of the Atlantic Yards Corporation, during a WNYC radio interview this past Monday morning, "all proposals that purport to have you do less density on that site are a ruse."

article

Posted by lumi at 8:06 AM

May 16, 2006

Smaller Size Proposed for Atlantic Yards

The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore

From Metro Briefs:

Assemblyman James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday that would require the developer Forest City Ratner to reduce the size of its proposed Atlantic Yards real estate development by about three million square feet, or roughly a third. In exchange, the bill would offer up to $15.4 million a year in state money to subsidize below-market-priced housing in the project, a 22-acre residential, commercial and arena development near Downtown Brooklyn. The bill would also relieve Forest City Ratner of about $310 million in costs associated with renovating and buying building rights over the railyards on the site of the project. Five other Brooklyn members of the Assembly are also sponsoring the legislation.

link

NoLandGrab: It will be interesting to see how Ratner responds to this proposal.

Where did Brennan come up with these numbers? One troubling aspect of the proposal is that it requires additional massive public subsidy, a reward for Ratner to not overdevelop on the site. Taxpayers should be privy to the profit projections for the project to know if this is a good deal or not, especially if these figures were released to the politicians acting on our behalf.

It also does not address the issue of eminent domain and would therefore not satisfy many of those who do not believe that eminent domain for a private development is Constitutional.

Posted by lumi at 11:22 PM

StopYassky.com

Cris de coeur or call to arms?

A new blog has been launched with one mission, Stop Yassky.

Reasons given that Yassky needs help stopping himself: * Yassky's run in a voting-rights district, * Yassky's African-American roster ripped from Ratner's, go figure, * Yassky's cash, lots of it, * Yassky's funding sources (BIG real estate money, OUTSIDE the district),
* Yassky's flip flops (Yassky-Nossky), * Yassky's non-existent Atlantic Yards position, * Yassky's goofy matzoh mailing, * Yassky's push polling on Atlantic Yards, * Yassky's stonewalling of landmarking, etc.

Yassky Linky

Posted by lumi at 7:05 PM

May 13, 2006

Pols try cutting Ratner's Yard by third

Daily News:

A group of Brooklyn legislators is trying to force developer Bruce Ratner to scale back his massive Atlantic Yards arena project by about a third.

Assemblyman James Brennan (D-Brooklyn) and five Brooklyn colleagues - including vocal arena-supporter Assemblyman Roger Green - are introducing a bill that would cut the size of the project to 6 million square feet from nearly 9 million square feet.

In exchange, the bill would slash the amount Ratner has to pay to the MTA to buy and prepare the site to $140 million, down from $450 million.

The state would also pick up the tab for subsidizing the roughly 2,000 affordable apartments proposed for the site, so Ratner wouldn't have to build so big to reap a profit, Brennan said.

article

Atlantic Yards Report posts Pols would shrink AY by a third--with some big carrots for Ratner, calling the new plan "A Rube Goldberg affordable housing strategy."

Posted by amy at 2:23 PM

Report from Democracy for NYC's Brooklyn Candidate Forum

While the unveiling was the media event of the week, Brooklyn political candidates were talking up a storm at Thursday's Democracy for NYC's Brooklyn Candidate Forum at Brown Memorial Church. Here is how they answered questions from the public about the Atlantic Yards Proposal:

State Assembly in District 57:

Bill Batson On fighting AYP: It's impossible to have an argument with a shadow. We don't know who is doing what, we don't know what they're doing. I'm on Community Board 8 – all we got from FCR was a sheet of paper – not the showy stuff, a Xerox paper that said CBA, which I'm thinking is either Consultants Benefit Agreement or Corporate Benefit Agreement.

I want to reopen CBA and make it binding. There's no veto that we have as a community, we don't have a secret veto that if they engage in a real debate we can suddenly pull it out and say 'gotcha.' You know, like a "Don't Build" card. So why can't they talk to us, civilized, like over a table, with real issues and take our input? It's always staged, it's always very manufactured, consultant driven, and very offensive. Why is our fate being decided in Albany?

We don't get anything in Brooklyn for centuries, and then they want to build everything – 400 years of stuff all at once, without planning. And they don't want to have to debate about it. Well they're going to have to debate about it.

Hakeem Jeffries Supports a 'principled compromise' on AYP with three caveats: real affordable housing, no eminent domain for an arena, and that the "CBA promises to deliver what it intends to deliver." Also said he was concerned about the scale of the project. Also declared that the people on Ratner's side are being unfairly demonized. Also explained that his definition of affordable housing is about purchasing, not just renting, and that the income limit for a family of four to qualify for affordable housing should be raised to $195,000.

U.S. Congress in District 11: (The current representative Major Owens is retiring so this is an "open seat.")

Carl Andrews This project needs to be very very very very very closely scrutinized. (environmental impact, jobs, affordable housing, effect on community) It's a good project even though there might be some concerns as to the way it is being implemented and the manner they are gathering community input.

Yvette Clarke Said she did not know what role the federal government would have in being able to prevent developments that could be terrorist targets.

Chris Owens I'm one of the folks that advocates for Brooklyn jobs, not simply saying we're going to promise construction jobs and promise jobs in arenas and developments that may not exist. There ought to be industry here in Brooklyn that is supporting alternative energy. Where were these colleagues in Dec. 2003 who could say, you know what? If the local elected officials have a problem with [AYP] so should we. They didn't say a word. They waited to see the benefits they would get from the developer.

Nick Perry You don't do things without community input and you always make sure it is substantial, that it counts, you listen to the people. And so my instinct is to listen to the people who live around the area of the proposal and get a sense of what they want. Mind you I am generally supportive of development, as I'm sure most of you are, but we can't move along with a project when so many of the people who live in the precincts of the project raise serious questions and concerns. I have been working with my colleagues who represent the immediate vicinity around the project, [Brennan, Millman, Montgomery and James] and I have been very cautious in taking a position on this project. [Supports Brennan bill] Would not support the use of eminent domain in this project.

David Yassky Was for waterfront rezoning, de-landmarking of the Austin-Nichols Warehouse and removed people from their homes. Said that $50,000 donations from two developers (one of which is of Greenpoint Terminal fire fame, and their families, per the Daily News) to his campaign is not a large amount of money and does not influence his politics. Insists that most of his money is from environmentalists because he personally sued Exxon-Mobil.

State Senate in District 20:

Eric Adams First of all I am not in support of subsidizing developers to build luxury houses. There's no such thing in New York as non-prime real estate, so why are we paying developers to develop it….To deal with the AYP directly – I cannot support that project as it stands. [reasons: terrorism, asthma, sewer, traffic, evacuation] I would never be supportive of any project that deals with eminent domain. Until we answer all of those questions, it's difficult to move ahead with any project of that magnitude.

Anthony Alexis Started by saying the AYP is in Downtown Brooklyn. Against eminent domain and subsidizing private development, but supports projects where people say in good faith that the intention is to create jobs in our community, which he says is the case with the AYP. "We need to continue the dialog with the developer, but unless people come to the table with a real plan about how to help the community create jobs and other issues then clearly to me it's just playing politics. When I say I support the project, it doesn't mean the project is perfect, it simply means that I think that might be an opportunity to help our community in terms of creating jobs."

Elizabeth King I want to tell you from working on a construction site that it is a myth that jobs will be provided to the community. It's not gonna happen. It is a myth that there's gonna be affordable housing, it's simply not gonna happen. I work at a construction site in the community at Medgar Evers College, the community comes in every day in great numbers, they're all looking for jobs, where are the jobs? There are no jobs. If I get elected I will put your voices ahead of anything that comes from the construction industry. I know that many people are concerned about what Ratner is able to do, and developers are able to do, but there will be no jobs, I can attest to it. I have to tell people every day, there are no jobs.

Posted by amy at 2:12 PM

May 12, 2006

Community boards to Ratner: Stop your fibbin’

Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

Rejected!

Three central Brooklyn community boards are demanding that Bruce Ratner stop claiming the boards participated in a “community benefits agreement” between the developer and eight local groups.

In a mass mailing to several hundred thousand homes last weekend, Ratner claimed that Community Boards 2, 6, and 8 “served as advisors in crafting the CBA.” Says him.

“This statement overstates our participation,” the chairs of the three boards — Shirley McRae, Jerry Armer and Robert Matthews — wrote to Ratner last week.

“We were invited to play a limited role that ended months before … we were barred from attending the working sessions [for the CBA],” the letter continued

article

Posted by lumi at 6:06 AM

May 11, 2006

Marty snubs Ratner foes

The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman

A petty snub by the borough president or a show of respect for his mother — you decide.

In the program at the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats' annual fundraising dinner, Marty Markowitz congratulated all award recipients, except for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.

Of course, it was no oversight.

“I am a proud CBID member ... but on rare occasions, I may not agree that one of their honorees is worthy,” he told The Brooklyn Papers in a statement. “Besides, my mother always taught me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

article

Posted by lumi at 8:44 PM

May 10, 2006

CB6 analysis of Draft and Final Scope

Comparison of Brooklyn CB6 Comments on the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project’s Draft Scope of Analysis (issued 9/16/05) with the Actual Final Scope of Analysis (issued 3/31/06)

This document is not an exhaustive comparison of the differences between the Draft Scope of Analysis (9/16/05) with the Final Scope of Analysis (3/31/06). There are many differences between these two documents beginning with the description of the proposed project itself.
...
This document is simply an analysis of the changes between the Draft Scope and the Final Scope as compared to the October 28, 2005 comments submitted by Brooklyn Community Board 6 on the Draft Scope, which are preserved throughout the document.

Interest parties are encouraged to review the Final Scope of Analysis document for themselveswhich is available online at: http://www.nylovesbiz.com/popup/features.asp?id=41

Click here to download the CB6 analysis.

Posted by lumi at 7:55 AM

May 8, 2006

Marty snubs DDDb at CBID

Was it a printer error or sour grapes when Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's ad in the program for last night's Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats Annual Dinner congratulated all award recipients except for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDb)?

Markowitz was spotted outside the Montauk Club, but in a move uncharacteristic for Mr. "Hello Brooklyn," he never joined the cadre of local pols who made an appearance or attended the dinner.

The awardees, Concerned Citizens of Greenwood Heights, South Park Slope Community Group, Park Slope Neighbors and DDDb, were all commended for their local battles to promote smart development in Brooklyn and to preserve the integrity of our neighborhoods.

Markowitz is fond of reminding Brooklynites that people of goodwill can disagree, so we'll chalk this one up to a simple oversight.

Posted by lumi at 11:40 AM

Yassky strategy

Kicks off 11th C.D. run with rainbow of support

NY Daily News
By Jotham Sederstrom

When City Councilman David Yassky formally announces his run to represent the 11th Congressional District today, he'll roll out a rainbow coalition of supporters to deflect "colonizer" accusations.

Black, white, Jewish and Pakistani leaders plan to bless Yassky's controversial campaign at the Wyckoff Houses today, the Daily News has learned.

article

NoLandGrab: Sederstrom's article does not cover the fact that three out of the four African-American Yassky supporters listed in the article are signatories to Bruce Ratner's Community Benenfits Agreement: James Caldwell, Charlene Nimmons and Freddie Hamilton.

Councilmember Yassky has staked out a careful position on Atlantic Yards by straddling the issue — he supports the project, but is concerned about traffic and scale. Today's announcement will add another question to the depth of Yassky's concern for the environmental impacts of the project.

It's an interesting political calculation. Today's announcement has the potential of turning away voters in Yassky's current City Council district who are concerned with his alignment with Bruce Ratner supporters.

Will Ratner's community crew pull in enough votes in the African-American community for Yassky to offset votes from constituents who may now pull the lever for Atlantic Yards opponent Chris Owens?

Posted by lumi at 8:41 AM

May 7, 2006

Spitzer Praises Robert Moses, Cross Harbor

In the wake of Jane Jacob's death, some politicians quoted her or paid tribute to her ideas. Spitzer chooses to celebrate Robert Moses instead. New York Sun:

Spitzer praised Robert Moses and said another biography of the master planner could be titled "At least he got it built." [updated]

Spitzer supports the Cross Harbor Tunnel, which is opposed by Mike Bloomberg and activists in Brooklyn and Queens.

article

Posted by amy at 9:46 AM

Winners; Yassky and None of the Above

New York Sun:

Last night, Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats endorsed David Yassky for congress in the 11th congressional district, and decided not to endorse incumbent Ed Towns or any of his challengers in the 10th (even though there was this passionate plea from the head of Develop Don't Destroy, Dan Goldstein: "I'm Jewish, I'm white and I love Charles Barron.").

and the rebuttal in the comments section:

What Azi seems to have left out of his first paragraph is that Mr. Goldstein was responding to a outburst by a member who screamed of his outrage claiming that Charles Barron was a racist and anti semite among other things. Mr. Goldstein was responding, he was not simply stating his religion for the fun of it.

The rest of the IND endorsement votes were like a kindergarten playground at best. They endorsed a status quo schlub who came with a canned speech and a smirk, telling folks to vote from their heart and refused to acknowledge the passion and actual speaking from the heart that someone like Chris Owens can bring to a room. Yassky will be eaten alive by Washington. This is not a progressive group by any stretch. Fresh ideas, and real passion are lost on this bunch. It's business as usual at the ole IND.

article

Posted by amy at 9:40 AM

May 6, 2006

Blacks blast Bruce

Brooklyn Papers covers last week's Atlantic Yards forum at First Unitarian Church in Brooklyn Heights:

The Rev. Dennis Dillon of the Brooklyn Christian Center in Fort Greene joined Law in his opposition to Atlantic Yards — but Dillon focused on the type of permanent jobs Ratner says will be created at the arena.

And he was more circumspect in his rhetoric.

“The black community is not all about some low-paying jobs that will force us to live elsewhere anyway,” said Dillon, who evoked the civil rights movement as a model for black opposition to Atlantic Yards.

“We believe, like Martin Luther King did, that justice must roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream,” he said.

article

Posted by amy at 1:04 PM

Ratner hires rival’s chief

Brooklyn Papers:

The chief of staff to one of the highest-profile opponents to the Atlantic Yards project has quit her job to work for her former boss’s biggest foe — Bruce Ratner.

It is unclear what Janella Meeks, former chief of staff to City Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Prospect Heights) will be doing for Ratner, but the still-unpublicized revolving-door move certainly had insiders buzzing.

article

NoLandGrab is ever so disappointed to have not yet received a financial offer from FCR. Is the going rate for buying off bloggers too high for Bruce to handle, or does he realize that like plucking a white hair, two more bloggers would appear in our place?

Posted by amy at 12:49 PM

May 4, 2006

Community Boards to Ratner, "discontinue all mention of our participation"

From a Community Board insider, in reference to Forest City Ratner's claim on AtlanticYards.com and the new promotional flyer that, "Three local Community Boards [2, 6, & 8] and other elected officials also served as advisors in crafing the CBA (Community Benefits Agreement)":

"We are disturbed by FCRC's overstatement of our role in the CBA process especially in consideration of the rude treatment we received by being forcibly barred from the process months before it was brought to conclusion. CB6 at their last meeting passed a resolution to bring this matter to their attention in concert with our sister boards. Attached is the letter that was sent." [Click image to read the letter.]

Here's the online coverage:
Atlantic Yards Report, CBs say Ratner "overstates our participation" in Community Benefits Agreement

The three Community Boards around the proposed Atlantic Yards site footprint are not happy with Forest City Ratner, which has been claiming that the CBs participated in crafting the "historic" Community Benefits Agreement.

The Real Estate Observer, CB's: We Did Nothing

The developer, Forest City Ratner, had advertised the community boards' involvement in brochures and e-mails as a way to enhance the agreement's legitimacy by claiming that the community boards were advisors. [Emphasis added.]

Posted by lumi at 11:50 PM

May 3, 2006

Ratner’s big coup

Hires away opponent Tish James’s chief of staff

The Brooklyn Papers
By Ariella Cohen

The chief of staff to one of the highest-profile opponents to the Atlantic Yards project has quit her job to work for her former boss’s biggest foe — Bruce Ratner.

Sources say that James and Meeks —sister of pro-Atlantic Yards Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) — disagreed on Ratner’s plan to build a basketball arena and 17 skyscrapers within James’s district. Before going to work for James, Meeks was an aide to arena cheerleader Assemblyman Roger Green (D-Prospect Heights).

article

More coverage:
The NY Post, B'KLYN ARENA FOE'S AIDE DEFECTS TO TEAM RATNER
The Politicker, Ratner Hires Meeks

NoLandGrab: Meeks's move makes great headlines, but if she has been a supporter of Atlantic Yards from the beginning, it's surprising that Ratner didn't hire her before.

Though the Post article quotes an arena supporter claiming that Meeks hiring was "'a blow' to [the arena opponents]," no arena opponents were asked if they were blown away by the move.

Posted by lumi at 6:51 AM

April 29, 2006

Parsing Hakeem Jeffries' views on Atlantic Yards

AtlanticYardsReport:

Attorney Hakeem Jeffries (right), who had previously challenged incumbent Roger Green for the 57th District State Assembly seat, has announced his candidacy for the seat he is vacating, setting up a race against Bill Batson.

Batson unequivocally opposes the Atlantic Yards project. Jeffries, according to a report Thursday in the Brooklyn Downtown Star headlined Jeffries Concerned About, But Not Opposed To, Yards, has more nuanced view. And a closer look at his statements suggests that his fence-sitting could easily migrate to support.

article

Posted by amy at 10:39 AM

Independent Neighborhood Democrats Executive Board Members and Officers to be Expelled from Club!

If you've been following the perils of the Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats, you'll be interested in Daily Gotham's report of a letter received that does not appear to adhere to club rules:

May 4th is the endorsement vote for the NY-11 Congressional primary. Yesterday I received a letter signed by the following individuals asking IND members to join them in support of David Yassky in this race:

Debra Scotto, identified as being on the Executive Board
Joe Ringston, identified as Treasurer
Marisa Ringston, identified as Member
Tom McMahon, identified as Member
Eleanor Cunningham, identified as Recording Secretary
Bob Zuckerman, identified as being on the Executive board
Ira Cure, identified as past President
and Stephen DiBrienza, with no noted identification with the club

The letter is addressed to "Dear Fellow IND meber." According to the Constitution of IND, these individuals, by using their affiliation with IND in written material connected with a campaign that has not received the endorsement of the general membership, are violating IND bylaws.

article

Posted by amy at 10:22 AM

Car Fight

Aaron Naparstek covers the smack down at the Staten Island NASCAR track proposal meeting. Perhaps Staten Island is jockeying for a WWF venue instead?

Last night's public hearing on the proposed NASCAR track on Staten Island turned into a melee. Union members, many of whom were apparently shipped in by the developer, shouted down and physically intimidated community people who had come out to voice concerns about the project. New York 1 showed video last night of one particularly huge union guy throwing Staten Island Councilmember Andrew Lanza into a headlock and wrestling the microphone out of his hands. The scene looked more like a drunken bar fight than a community meeting. NY1 hasn't put the video on its web site, but ABC 7 caught some of the action and put it online. The NYPD rolled in and shut down the meeting after just a half an hour.

For anyone who has attended official public hearings on Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards project, the scene looked familiar: Real estate developer buses in project supporters. Supporters shout down and intimidate community members. The democratic process and opportunity for thoughtful community input is undermined.

article

Posted by amy at 10:07 AM

April 28, 2006

Jeffries Concerned About, But Not Opposed To, Yards

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac

Hakeem Jeffries declares that his isn't a "Johny-One note candidacy" and it's about more than Atlantic Yards, but that's clearly where he is feeling the heat from opponent Bill Batson.

Batson has made his opposition to the Yards project clear, while Jeffries is still hedging his bets. He said he would not have supported the $100 million allocation for the project within this year's state budget, only because, "I haven't seen anything comprehensive yet. Bringing in 15,000 people into a community [Prospect Heights] that has only 19,000 already...I need to know how that's going to affect police, fire, sanitation, schools, all kinds of services. I have strong questions."

Jeffries on eminent domain:

He would oppose eminent domain "unless there was a clearly defined public benefit."

...on the Community Benefits Agreement signed by Bruce Ratner:

"mend it don't end it."

article

Posted by lumi at 8:06 AM

April 27, 2006

Atlantic Yards and the 57th District

Politicker

Ratner PR diva Lupe Todd was spotted amongst the supporters of Hakeem Jeffries at this Sunday's City Hall press conference announcing his third run for the State Assembly's 57th district.

When reached at her office, Ms. Todd had no comment. Mr. Jeffries could not be reached.

Activists opposed to the Atlantic Yards project are dismayed at the connection between Ms. Todd and Mr. Jeffries. Daniel Goldstein, activist resident of the 57th district and supporter of Jeffries' opponent, Bill Batson, emails over: "The community and district need advocates it can trust. Mr. Jeffries' campaign's association with Ms. Todd, one of Bruce Ratner's 'Atlantic Yards' PR reps and lobbyists, is troubling. It raises serious questions about the infusion of private, billionaire interests into Mr. Jeffries' assembly race."

link

NoLandGrab: Brooklynites still want to know what his position on Atlantic Yards is, though Lupe Todd's public support of his campaign is an ominous sign that the candidate is tight-lipped for a reason.

Posted by lumi at 7:30 AM

Charles Barron, Taxpayer Watchdog

The Daily Politics
By Ben Smith

One City Councilmember didn't vote to force taxpayers to pay for ballparks they aren't even sure they even want, for multimillionaire team owners.

New Yankee and Mets stadium deals passed the City Council today by votes of 46-3 and 48-1 respectively, with the only member to vote against both the black radical from Brooklyn, Charles Barron.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:09 AM

April 26, 2006

IND Members Uphold Disenfranchisement, Endorse Conner

OnNYTurf

One more eye-witness account of Brooklyn's Independent Neighborhood Democrats political brouhaha summed up well the move that disenfranchised supporters of anti-Ratner candidates:

Many asked for an explanation as to why the date was changed. President Johnson told them, that the date was not changed, it was moved.

link

NoLandGrab: Ratner's real estate dealings have become a political flashpoint, one result of which is greater-than-ever scrutiny of local politics — never mind that anyone with a blog has become another set of eyes for the public.

Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM

April 25, 2006

Community is fooled again by jobs promises

Atlantic Yards Report has been going hoarse trying to get press and pols to realize that Bruce Ratner has a poor track record of fulfilling jobs promised to the community.

Apparently that's business as usual with the Economic Development Corportation and Captain Marty.

Brought to our attention by The Real Estate Observer:

Those 300 jobs promised by the Economic Development Corporation for the new cruise ship terminal in Red Hook? They are part-time jobs--like 38 days out of 365, the Daily News reports.

Posted by lumi at 9:37 PM

Yassky’s Burden

Can a white candidate win in a congressional district created to empower blacks?

Jewish Week
By Adam Dickter

In an article about City Councilmember David Yassky's run for US Congress, 11th District, the two-ton elephant is brought up by Representative Major Owens.

Where does Yassky's stand on Ratner's Atlantic Yards development proposal?

Yassky favors the development but wants it scaled down, with traffic concerns addressed.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM

April 24, 2006

The IND train

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

The interplay of real estate and politics covered on the pages of The Real Estate Observer:

So far, the brouhaha caused by the decision by the [Independent Neighborhood Democrats] political club to keep out Atlantic Yards opponents has escaped notice on The Real Estate, though sister site The Politicker had it first. It's a great real estate-and-politics story: About 100 apparent Atlantic Yards opponents paid their dues just in time to qualify for the May 18 vote to endorse Congressional candidate and Atlantic Yards opponent Chris Owens (as opposed to David Yassky, the club favorite and Atlantic Yards fencesitter). Then the club decides to move up the registration deadline to May 4 to disqualify those newbies. (A state Senate race is also at issue.)

link

Schuerman's post cites a Daily Gotham eyewitness account, that acknowledges the disenfranchisement of supporters of anti-Ratner candidates, but ascribes the real motive to be the preservation of the endorsement of Brooklyn's other Marty, State Senator Marty Connor.

Posted by lumi at 3:56 PM

BROOKLYN: ASSEMBLY CANDIDACY

The NY Times, Metro Briefing

Hakeem Jeffries, a lawyer who has been active in Brooklyn civic activities, announced yesterday that he was running for the Assembly seat being vacated by Roger L. Green. Mr. Green is challenging the incumbent, Edolphus Towns, in a Democratic primary for the House of Representatives. This will be Mr. Jeffries's third campaign for the seat in the 57th Assembly District, which includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights. He twice ran against Mr. Green. This year he will face Bill Batson, a former aide to State Senator David A. Paterson of Manhattan. Both candidates are Democrats. Mr. Jeffries had considered running against the assemblyman two years ago, but his block was carved out of the district. Since then, Mr. Jeffries has moved to within the district's new boundaries. He said his campaign would focus on housing. JONATHAN P. HICKS (NYT)

Posted by lumi at 10:39 AM

April 23, 2006

Arena Spillover

The Daily Politics:

One of the interesting things about the fight over the Nets arena complex in Brooklyn is the extent to which it is spilling over to dominate the rest of the borough's politics, partly by adding a cadre of activists to the generally passive political environment around there.

A meeting last night of one of the borough's political clubs, the Independent Neighborhood Democrats, got fairly heated along those lines last night, according to a couple of people who were there. The club's leadership, defending pro-arena incumbents, moved procedurally to keep new, anti-arena members out of its endorsement votes.

Daily Gotham has a long, distressed account of the situation.

Another attendee, however, notes that the new group did score a partial victory, however, moving a State Senate endorsement away from the regulars and over to Eric Adams of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement. Just a sign of which way the wind is blowing in local politics, and on a real estate development that looks, to close observers, increasingly imperiled.

article

Posted by amy at 10:32 AM

April 21, 2006

Two races to watch

Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal is the proverbial elephant in the room in a few races in Brooklyn. Here's the latest:

State Assembly, 57th District
hakeemjeffries.com
Evidence that Hakeem Jeffries is running:
"The future website for HakeemJeffries.com" is "Coming Soon!"

NLG: Inquiring minds want to know, where does Jeffries stand on Atlantic Yards?

US Congress, 10th District
Brooklyn Downtown Star, Two Pols Seek To Become the New Towns in Town

In the 10th district, a state pol and a city pol are both challenging Ed Towns, who is hoping to win his 13th consecutive federal election.

Councilman Charles Barron, who's current city district is entirely within the larger federal district, announced his campaign to unseat Towns two months ago. Last Friday morning, 24-year incumbent Assemblyman Roger Green, whose state district overlaps with the horseshoe-shaped federal district's northwestern section, officially announced his own oft-rumored candidacy to do the same.

NoLandGrab: Green is on record supporting Atlantic Yards and Bruce Ratner claims Towns is too. Barron was an early critic of the project.

The NY Sun, Green to Voters: Don’t Focus on Ethics Violation

The Brooklyn assemblyman who briefly lost his seat over an ethics violation said voters should not hold that against him as he runs for Congress.

Posted by lumi at 8:52 AM

April 15, 2006

Assemblyman Formally Opens Campaign for U.S. House Seat

Despite some political baggage, Ratner-supporting State Assemblymember Roger Green announced his candidacy for US Congress against Ratner-supporting incumbent Ed Towns:

Roger L. Green, the Brooklyn assemblyman who pleaded guilty in 2004 to petty larceny, formally kicked off his campaign for Congress yesterday, announcing that he is challenging United States Representative Edolphus Towns in what is certain to be a high-spirited Democratic primary.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:29 AM

April 14, 2006

Podcast: The Weekly Politics

Ben Smith of The Daily Politics (and formerly commentator of The Politicker) has added a weekly podcast to his new political blog, hosted by The Daily News.

This week, Smith interviews NY State 57th District Assembly candidate and Atlantic Yards critic Bill Batson.

link/mpeg

Posted by lumi at 10:29 AM

April 13, 2006

DDDb Press Release: State Legislators and Governor Grant $100 Million

"Atlantic Yards" Developer Receives Subsidy While Project Remains a Financial, Planning and Environmental Mystery

ALBANY, NY - State legislators in the Senate and Assembly, and Governor Pataki have proposed to grant $100 million for Forest City Ratner's "Atlantic Yards" development proposal in Brooklyn.

Developer Forest City Ratner (FCR) requested $100 million for its 17 tower and arena proposal. Last week the Assembly appropriated $33 million, and reports today say that the Senate has appropriated $33 million and that the Governor will add $34 million.

Develop Don't Destroy spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "It appears that Albany has put a mystery development proposal and potential white elephant in the state budget. This giveaway has been made without any knowledge of the proposed development’s: cost-benefit analysis, scale, density, design, environmental impact, cost of mitigation, financial viability, and security measures — to name just a few of the unknowns about the development plan.

Goldstein continued, "Granting a single cent to Ratner at this point is grossly premature. We'd like to know what other backroom politics were at play 150 miles from the people of Brooklyn who would have a front row seat to Ratner's destructive, publicly-subsidized, sweetheart, backroom deal."

Brooklyn assembly members, such as Roger Green who represents the district where the development is proposed and is an avid Ratner booster, lost their one chance at using the Ratner request for $100 million as legislative leverage to gain any meaningful concessions or mitigations from the developer. In November, Mr. Green said, “"I didn't sign the C.B.A. and that was intentional, because my position was that my ultimate endorsement on behalf of this project would be the state legislation, the legislation that would authorize the resources that they would need to complete this project."

The lone Senate vote against the $33 million appropriation came from Senator Velmanette Montgomery who represents the district where the development plan has been proposed.

"We want an explanation about this thoughtless and reckless giveaway from Assemblyman Green, his colleagues in both houses, Mr. Silver, as well as Mr. Bruno and Governor Pataki," Goldstein added.

The Daily News report on the budget item has this comment from Brooklyn state Senator Martin Golden (R-Bay Ridge): "I support it because of economic development," said. In a DDDB meeting with Senator Golden last year the Senator stated that he supported "Atlantic Yards" but would never want to see it in his district or neighborhood.

DDDB sent a letter earlier this week to Governor Pataki, Speaker Silver, and Majority Leader Bruno explaining to them why their appropriation for Forest City Ratner's proposal is premature and irresponsible and at this early stage relinquishes any leverage the state legislature would have over the proposed development plan. That letter can be found here: www.dddb.net//budget/patakiletter.pdf.

The state has granted this giveaway despite the fact that Forest City Ratner has only provided this indecipherable, meaningless 20-year profit/loss financial projection to Albany and the MTA (a real 20-year projection was required in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Request For Proposals for Vanderbilt rail yards.).

Posted by lumi at 8:55 AM

Shocked, shocked

The Daily Politics is "shocked, shocked" that Brooklyn's local political clubs are packing the membership! What's new here is that political lines are being drawn between Atlantic Yards proponents and opponents.

link

In other news in Brooklyn politics, Ratner supporter Roger Green is to announce his run for Congress against Ed Towns today.

Posted by lumi at 7:17 AM

April 12, 2006

Blogo coverage reveals bizzaro world of Brooklyn IND

After yesterday's article on OnNYTurf, describing events surrounding the Brooklyn IND club's endorsement meeting meant to break apart support for candidates who oppose the mammoth Atlantic Yards project: * The Politicker points out that "it was made clear prior to the membership deadline that new members could sign up and vote at the endorsement meeting," and * a Daily Gotham contributor posted a personal account.

Posted by lumi at 8:01 AM

April 11, 2006

A Most Unlikely Vote Fixer in Brooklyn

OnNYTurf scoops the local media.

The fight over Atlantic Yards is spilling into one of the most "unlikely" places as organized political forces in Brooklyn try to prop up anti-arena candidates by changing the practice of "packing" the membership mid-stream in an "independent" political club:

The Independent Neighborhood Democrats executive board has moved to fix the club's endorsement for State Senate Incumbant Candidate Marty Connor and make life very difficult for Anti-Atlantic Yards candidate Chris Owens, before it's members cast a single ballot. Last Thursday, the board voted to disenfranchise 100 new club members, so as to assure that Mr.Conner receives an endorsement, and Chris Owens does not. This development is an ironic and dark twist for the Brooklyn based political club that prides itself on fighting Machine politics and helping marginalized candidates.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:32 AM

April 10, 2006

Local Activist Seeks to Bring Creativity to the State Assembly

Brooklyn Rail
By Brian Carreira

Out of necessity, [Bill] Batson thinks “Brooklynites have to start taking care of ourselves because nobody is going to take care of us. Elected officials aren’t, corporations aren’t, so what do we have left but each other. Neighbor to neighbor.”

The most important issue that the 57th district currently faces is the Atlantic Yards proposal pushed by Forest City Ratner. Like many in the community, Batson has strong reservations about this massive complex of skyscrapers and wants to ensure that a dissenting voice will be heard in the State Assembly race. The proposal, he says, “has got everything that’s wrong about overdevelopment in it. It has eminent domain, it has a bogus parallel structure called a Community Benefits Agreement. It’s a three-card monte proposal that changes every time you look down.”

article

Posted by lumi at 8:47 AM

Atlantic Yards position AWOL on Yassky's campaign web site

Atlantic Yards Report

City Councilmember and US Congressional candidate David Yassky has taken a position on censure of President Bush, but where does he stand on Atlantic Yards?

Yassky does have a record of mixing enthusiasm and concern. At the 5/26/05 City Council hearing, according to a 6/2/05 Brooklyn Downtown Star article headlined Hearing Turns Into Back-'Yards' Brawl, ACORN's Bertha Lewis declared, "It's time for some affirmative support...I want the councilmembers to roll up their sleeves and help us on this," and Yassky responded by taking off his jacket and began rolling up his sleeves.

Later, however Yassky expressed concerns about traffic, project scale, and the project's impact on city and social services. "I don't think it's adequate to leave it to the ESDC and wait and see," he told FCR VP Jim Stuckey. "There are concrete things that we can do ahead of time."

Stuckey responded that the responses would be in the project's environmental impact statement (EIS). "It doesn't make sense to speculate right now," Stuckey insisted.

But Yassky's instinct to address problems sooner rather than later seems sound. The Draft EIS won't arrive until late May or early June, and Forest City Ratner president Bruce Ratner expects government approval (meaning Final EIS, plus other signoffs) by mid-fall. That's not a lot of time.

link

Posted by lumi at 8:34 AM

April 9, 2006

Marty's dance of avoidance on Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards Report discusses the information missing from Marty's Brooklyn!! newspaper, namely the Atlantic Yards project, and speculates that this is due to the controversy surrounding the project including the following:

But a 1/16/05 New York Daily News article headlined Apple polishers fatten Mike fund explained that the Bloomberg administration has raised $36 million in private money over last three years for the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City.

Ratner, a member of the fund's 49-member board, "donated more than $60,000 from his company and his foundation for, among other things, a long-stalled statue of Brooklyn Dodgers greats Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese," the Daily News reported.

Why keep quiet about such a public-spirited effort (sports, Brooklyn, racial harmony), especially since Ratner has more prominently promoted other local donations? Maybe, as the Daily News reported, because "some donors have business links to the city - raising eyebrows among good-government groups, since the mayor has called for strict curbs on donations from city contractors to candidates in the campaign-finance program."

article

Posted by amy at 8:56 AM

April 2, 2006

Checkin' in with Bill Batson

The Brooklyn Papers interviews Assembly candidate Bill Batson. Click on the photo for full article.

Posted by amy at 3:14 PM

March 31, 2006

Walk Softly But Carry a Big Batson

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Rachel Monahan

An opponent of the Atlantic Yards project has announced his candidacy for public office. Bill Batson said Sunday at City Hall that he'd stepped down last week as director of community relations for state Senate minority leader David Paterson to run for the Assembly seat now occupied by Roger Green.

"I oppose the project," he said simply in his prepared remarks, saying it was but one example of the overdevelopment of the borough. That four-worder was the biggest applause line of the afternoon, causing an outpouring of cheers from the fifty or so supporters who braved the drizzly weather to flank his announcement.

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Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM

March 29, 2006

Ratner falls short of $100 million

Though it is far short of the $100 million that Ratner was seeking as a direct subsidy for his Atlantic Yards plan, the NY State Legislature's draft version of the new budget includes $33 million for "Atlantic Yards Railway -- Nets Project" (click image to view copy of budget draft).

This giveaway was added to the capital budget as part of the Dept of Education budget, despite the fact that there was: * NO comprehensive, independent cost-benefit analysis, * NO General Project Plan (GPP), * NO Environmental Impact Statement, * NO known cost for “extraordinary infrastructure,” and * NO 20-year pro forma financial projection from the developer (as required by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Request For Proposal).

In other words, millions of dollars were added to the Dept. of Education's capital budget for a project whose actual size, costs, enviromental impacts, and financial benefits are unknown.

LIFE LESSON: It takes a big stick to fund education, but there's always money for professional sports.

Posted by lumi at 11:39 PM

Roger Green's Version

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

Back in November Roger Green told Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman:

"I didn't sign the C.B.A. and that was intentional, because my position was that my ultimate endorsement on behalf of this project would be the state legislation, the legislation that would authorize the resources that they would need to complete this project."

Back in January, Green claimed he was working on comprehensive legislation that would address density, traffic and "vegetative rooftops."

Today, at the eleventh hour before the State budget is approved, Green is about to "lose a very powerful means of leveraging any change" to the Atlantic Yards project.

But don't worry, he still plans to "introduce the green roofs and traffic bills."

link

Posted by lumi at 11:23 PM

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn: Letter and Documents Sent to Legislature

The NY State Legislature is making a mad dash to adopt an on-time budget for the second year in a row. March Madness includes Forest City Ratner's lobbying effort for a $100-million direct subsidy for Atlantic Yards.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is fighting back by sending a packet of information to legislators, explaining that it is premature to earmark money for a project that hasn't been approved and whose justification is based on a growing pile of mistruths and overestimations.

Link to LETTER & INFORMATION PACKET sent to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

$6 BILLION, PR TACTICS & HALF-TRUTHS
Yesterday, Atlantic Yards Report revealed that the $6-BILLION figure, used in the form letter Forest City Ratner provided for legislators to send to Silver in support of the project, was based on a discredited report, commissioned and paid for by Ratner.

FORM LETTER WITH ANNOTATIONS
DDDb sent the same form letter complete with annotations that reveal the extent that Forest City Ratner has resorted to PR tactics and half-truths to promote the proposal for the largest private real estate deal in Brooklyn in history.

NoLandGrab readers love a good joke so we saved the funny part for last.

20-YEAR PRO FORMA CASH-FLOW PROJECTIONS FOR ATLANTIC YARDS
Good government advocates argue, if BILLIONS of dollars of taxpayer money is going into the project, then the public has a right to know how much Forest City Ratner expects to make on the deal.

For months local groups have requested that Forest City Ratner's profit projections submitted in their formal MTA bid be released (rival bidder Extel's projections were released at the time that the bids were unveiled).

Finally, brought to you by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn through a Freedom of Information request, these projections are seeing the light of day.

The joke is that the 20-year cash-flow analysis turns out to be one page of meaningless figures.

CONCLUSION. Either: * the MTA is continuing to hide the rest of the figures, or * Forest City Ratner really did give them one sheet of paper with some numbers, knowing in advance that they had the "winning" bid (despite bidding $100 million less than Extel).

Hey, we just said it was "a good joke," not that it was on us.

Posted by lumi at 8:53 PM

March 28, 2006

Ratner's Capital

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

While Ratner is trying to raise $60 million for his money hemmoraging basketball team, he's trying to insure that $100 million will be earmarked in the State budget for his Atlantic Yards high-rise/arena proposal.

NY Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman is keeping an eye on Albany and whether or not the $100-million direct State subsidy is in.

Governor Pataki has always been portrayed as a big booster for Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards, but his rival in the state Assembly is apparently even more of one. Skip Carrier, Sheldon Silver's spokesman, told us that the Assembly Speaker's proposed budget includes $200 million for "economic development"--an unspecified portion of which would go to the Brooklyn arena and housing complex. Carrier said Pataki's budget included no money for any sort of economic development projects. We're waiting for confirmation from the Governor's media people on that.

link

Posted by lumi at 8:03 PM

March 27, 2006

Bill Batson announces run for State Assembly

Bill Batson has thrown his hat in the ring as the 57th Assembly District's candidate taking a stand against Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

The NY Times, Metro Briefs, "BROOKLYN: SENATE AIDE SEEKS ASSEMBLY SEAT"

Atlantic Yards Report, Brooklyn’s Barack? Batson declares for Assembly, could block AY project
The candidate speaks and AYR outlines a scenario in which a Batson win, in one of the assembly districts carried by Norman Siegel in last year's run for Public Advocate against Ratner supporter Betsy Gotbaum, could make a difference in the approval process.

Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

March 26, 2006

Batson For Brooklyn!

Politicker:

Hey look at this: A local political race that's actually about something.

Bill Batson, a David Paterson aide and Brooklyn activist (and accomplished artist), has his Web site up with the note that he'll be announcing his challenge to Roger Green this Sunday.

The issue: The Atlantic Yards project, which Batson has opposed and Green backs.

Bill Batson is announcing his candidacy for the 57th Assembly District this Sunday 3/26 at 2pm, on the steps of City Hall. All are invited.

Posted by amy at 11:00 PM

March 24, 2006

Weld Backs Use Of Eminent Domain For Atlantic Yards

NY Sun

Slick Willy does a flip-flop:

Republican gubernatorial candidate William Weld, who has called the use of eminent domain to seize private property a policy better suited for Communist China than for America, yesterday cited two examples of when he would support such a move.

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Ben Smith spells it out in The Politcker:

[Weld] framed his opposition to the Kelo decision as broad, and not limited to its endorsement of the role of a private developer:

"The fundamental problem with Kelo is that it represents statist central planning. The government decided that it wanted new real estate projects, and then let a private entity effectuate a transfer of wealth."

But asked about the details by Crain's Greg David, he said he supported the Atlantic Yards project becuase it's "imbued with public interest."

Posted by lumi at 6:53 AM

March 15, 2006

Marty's Atlantic Yards Committee: not quite oversight, but not unimportant, either

Atlantic Yards Report

Just what has been going on at the Borough Board's Atlantic Yards meetings? Who has been participating (or not)? And, can these meetings be considered to be part of a public process, when they are merely a "vehicle for research, information and advocacy?"

Whatever your take is on these meetings, Norman Oder has been there and has reported on what new information has (or hasn't) been discussed.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:24 AM

March 11, 2006

Hindy: I’m all in

Brooklyn Papers:

Let the boycott really begin!

Opponents of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project renewed their call for a boycott of Brooklyn Brewery beer after owner Steve Hindy officially declared himself in favor of the $3.5-billion mega-development this week.

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Posted by amy at 10:01 AM

March 5, 2006

NY-11 Congressional Race: The Wonk and the Preacher

Daily Gotham covers the Park Slope Democracy for NYC meeting:

In general I greatly admire wonks and steer clear of preachers. Yet in the race to determine who will succeed my Congressman, Major Owens, I am finding myself avidly supporting the preacher (poltically speaking, not literally), Chris Owens, over the wonk, David Yassky. Last night at the Park Slope Democracy for NYC meeting, David Yassky was our guest and I got to reaffirm what I liked about him and yet also reaffirmed why I am supporting his rival, Chris Owens.
...
One audience member challenged [Yassky] on the money issue, accusing him of being largely supported by development interests. He successfully countered some of her more specific accusations, but failed to address the underlying question of just who his supporters are. This is a critical question when you are portraying yourself as the reforming, progressive underdog. When you raise huge amounts of cash in these days of Abramoff and Halliburton corruption nationally, and Ratner corruption locally, people want to know where you are getting the money. I don't know if Yassky was ducking the underlying question or if he was merely distracted by the more specific accusations, which he did address.

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Posted by amy at 11:49 AM

March 2, 2006

A help for public or unchecked political machine?

Opaque Empire State Development Corporation backs many projects, but a judge's stop to Brooklyn project raises oversight questions

The Real Deal
By Jeremy Smerd

Beyond the immediate ramifications for the Atlantic Yards project, the [recent conflict of interest] ruling, which may yet be overturned, was also a blow to the image of the Empire State Development Corporation and emblematic of the kind of setbacks the authority's reputation has faced in the past two years. The ESDC has come under broad attack for being an opaque institution with little oversight; one that is generally more sympathetic to the needs of the developer than the local communities whose economies they are mandated to help reinvigorate. Advocates say that without the ESDC's authority and its power, major projects in New York simply wouldn't get done.

With a $700+ million annual budget, $6.6 billion of outstanding debt and presence in 12 offices throughout the State as well as eight foreign countries, the Empire State Development Corporation and its Chairman Charles Gargano are the biggest players in New York.

Read about the history of the Empire State Development Corporation, the controversy surrounding it and what recent developments could mean.

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Posted by lumi at 3:47 PM

February 26, 2006

Hakeem Jeffries not on Atlantic Yards

The Real Estate:

Over at the Politicker, Nicole Brydson talks to Hakeem Jeffries, who (again) is toying with the idea of running for Roger Green’s Assembly seat, but won’t take a position one way or the other on Atlantic Yards.

Actually, the more we think about it, the more reasonable this sounds. Why tick off a constituency when the issue will be resolved by the primary? (Or will it?)

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Posted by amy at 2:12 PM

February 25, 2006

A Pay Cut for Public Office?

New York Observer Politicker discusses Hakeem Jeffries possible run for Roger Green's seat:

On the stadium proposal, Jeffries told the Politicker, "It’s going to be incumbent upon the people who really care about the community as I do, to figure out how we can find a principled resolution, a principled compromise that recognizes that there are legitimate arguments being made on both sides of the equation."

Jeffries confirmed that he will work with people on both sides of this issue, and admires the recent actions of Letitia James on behalf of activists.

"There is a problem with the scale and size of the development that’s being proposed and the strain that it is going to create on social service delivery in the community," he continued. "There are issues with eminent domain that I think are not just being discussed locally but there's a national debate as to how eminent domain should be used when it's questionable how much public benefit will inure. When a private developer is behind the use of eminent domain there are concerns there that I have. I think there are also concerns that I have in terms of the strength of the community benefits agreement."

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NoLandGrab: Just to snarkily clarify, the Observer means "Atlantic Yards Proposal," which does not include a stadium, when they say "stadium proposal."

Posted by amy at 1:11 PM

UNION RATS

Brooklyn Papers:

Pugliese estimates that his union will get 10,000 jobs at Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards megadevelopment — which won Ratner union support.

“The construction industry has sway over elected officials and its support [of the project] has a major impact,” said Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Prospect Heights), who opposes the Atlantic Yards project.

NoLandGrab: Interesting that the Brooklyn Papers is reporting 10,000 construction jobs when they (and Pugliese) pointed out in their June 26, 2004 issue that "the project will really only create 1,500 construction jobs, which will continue each year for 10 years."

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Posted by amy at 11:32 AM

February 23, 2006

Hevesi calls for boost in powers

Comptroller wants more oversight of public authorities, which he claims abuse rules

Albany Times Union
By Rick Karlin

Alan Hevesi is the latest NY State politician trying to reign in the power of the quasi-governmental public/private authorities, like the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). These public authorities function as agents of the government, sometimes even issuing debt, but operate with the autonomy and independence of a private corporation.

While oversight of public authorities was strengthened earlier this year, Hevesi said there are still gaps, as contracts by these authorities don't have to undergo the same review required of state agencies.

"We have completed dozens of audits that show that too often public authorities are not following the rules when awarding contracts and are wasting public dollars," said Hevesi.

The state's 255 public authorities and subsidiaries, which maintain bridges, foster scientific research, run convention centers and finance construction, have also been criticized as a "shadow government," with unelected leadership. All told, they employ more than 100,000 people and have amassed an estimated $125 billion in debt.

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Posted by lumi at 8:04 AM

February 19, 2006

Show Your Support for Chris Owens

Daily Gotham:

For Brooklyn's progressive Democrats, there is no political race this year more important than in the 11th District to succeed Congressman Major Owens.

We have an opportunity to elect someone who is courageous, bright, compassionate, articulate, a good listener, and a very good friend to us all – Chris Owens. Chris is right on the issues that we care about, and he is the ONLY one of the five declared candidates who has shown the foresight and the guts to oppose Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development scheme. Anybody who saw him debate his four opponents at the Lambda Independent Democrats meeting last month can tell you that no candidate is more outstanding than Chris Owens.

But Chris cannot get to Congress without our help. That’s why I’m inviting you to join Chris and his staff for a short get-together at Magnetic Field on Tuesday, February 21, at 7:00 pm. Chris will give a short speech and then answer any questions you may have for him. Please come out to see what you can do to help elect Chris, and please bring your checkbooks.

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Posted by amy at 12:44 PM

The Battle of the beer

Daily News:

"It's been known for quite some time that Hindy is desperate to be part of Ratner's hoped-for Brooklyn: bland high-rises, national-chain box stores and a paucity of small Brooklyn businesses…" Turner writes. "Hindy's support of Ratner's Atlantic Yards project is so misguided, opportunistic, cruel and pathetic. Every Ratnerville ever built in America ignores small businesses, local flavor and the cool eccentricities of regional traditions."

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And just in case your heartstrings are pulled by Hindy's business "being priced out of Williamsburg," you might be interested to know that he publicly supported the Williamsburg/Greenpoint rezoning that helped skyrocket the real estate prices in the area.

Some residents have fought new industrial plants and new residential towers. But Steve Hindy, owner of the Brooklyn Brewery on North 11th Street and a member of Community Board 1, said allowing towers was necessary. "There's a pretty large number of people in the community that are opposed to anything above five or six stories," he said. "But 30 years of saying no to housing proposals on the waterfront is what brought us the proposal for a garbage transfer station, which we were very lucky to defeat, and it's what brought us the proposal for the power plant, which we hope to defeat. So I hope people realize that they've got to say yes to something here."

Posted by amy at 11:44 AM

February 17, 2006

Beer war brewing

Brooklyn Papers:

This week, several opponents of Bruce Ratner’s arena, residential and commercial mega-project, called for the boycott, citing brewery owner Steve Hindy’s increasingly public support for the developer.

It started last week, when Hindy invited arena booster Borough President Markowitz, Ratner vice president Jim Stuckey, former NBA star Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins and four Nets cheerleaders to the brewery to watch the Nets-Cavaliers game on TV and open a few brewskies.

Days after the party, the blogosphere slammed Hindy, calling him a toady and suggesting that his Brooklyn Brown Ale should be called “Brown-Nose Ale” for the manner in which he was supposedly sucking up to Ratner, who already sells Hindy’s products at Nets home games in New Jersey.

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Posted by amy at 7:48 PM

February 15, 2006

Marty's "Evolving" View on Atlantic Yards

The Real Estate Observer
By Matthew Schuerman

Brooklyn Beep Marty Markowitz, running for re-election last fall, criticized the bulk of the proposed Atlantic Yards housing complex. We knew he was only joking, but thought the joke might last a bit longer

Click here for the punch line.

Posted by lumi at 7:04 PM

February 9, 2006

Following suit: Pols join filing against Atlantic Yards razing

NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays

Three Brooklyn elected officials yesterday joined a high-profile lawsuit to bar Bruce Ratner from demolishing six buildings in the proposed Atlantic Yards site.

"My colleagues and I stand 100% with the plaintiffs," said Councilwoman Letitia James (WFP-Prospect Heights), who filed the supporting brief with Rep. Major Owens (D-Crown Heights) and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene).

James, who is a lawyer and an outspoken critic of Ratner's proposal, also plans to argue the brief personally when the two sides next appear in court Feb. 14.

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Posted by lumi at 8:09 AM

February 8, 2006

Beep Beep: Gloria Gives Marty a Nudge

The Brooklyn Downtown Star
by Nik Kovac

"I guess I'm the borough president of Brooklyn High School of the Arts," former Green Party candidate Gloria Mattera told a crowd of several hundred inside a Park Slope church last month.
...
One of Mattera's campaign workers, Mike McCullough, took the time to sort through the Board of Election's 660-page breakdown of the borough's election results. He reworked the data into a map of each polling site in the borough. On his map, the more votes Mattera received at a particular site, the darker green that region appears.

The geographic breakdown is stunningly clear. The closer you get to the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, where the proposed NBA arena and 17 high-rise buildings are slated to go, the darker the green.

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Posted by lumi at 10:46 PM

February 5, 2006

Political Relevance: Grassroots politicians need to prove their worth

Daily Gotham coverage of the Democracy for NYC meeting in Park Slope:

Who are the best grassroots candidates? They are the ones who are KNOWN by the community because of community involvement. People like Marty Markowitz and David Yasskey become well known because they show their faces everywhere. That is fine, but I don't know that either of them is connecting solidly with any communities through actual activism that directly helps their community. They are kind of semi-grassroots candidates who get the need for a community connection but don’t really deliver when push comes to shove. Both have been willing to go against their community’s best interests in the name of collecting political backing from people with money or influence. People like Chris Owens do connect through activism. Chris Owens, at least, is active in trying to preserve our neighborhoods and small businesses from developers with grandiose plans that require the destruction of entire neighborhoods. I have seen him out with neighborhood organizers fighting Ratner's scandal-ridden Atlantic Yards project.

But, there are indeed so many issues of considerable importance to communities that need addressing and people like Bloomberg are, far from helping, actually hurting communities by closing firehouses and by making secret, back-room deals with developers and threatening eminent domain when neighborhoods don’t welcome those developers. I think a politician that takes a solid leadership role in these community issues will be a stronger candidate. And I don't mean lip service, but actual involvement.

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Posted by amy at 4:34 PM

February 4, 2006

5 Candidates Vying for Major-ity of ex-Major Votes

Brooklyn Downtown Star covers a debate held by the Lambda Independent Democrats to hear from the candidates for Major Owens' congressional seat. Chris Owens addressed the Atlantic Yards issue:

"We've been made promises," he said of the Forest City Ratner (FCRC) PR machine, which has been trying for years to paint the Atlantic Yards debate in the colors of race, "in order to pit one part of the community against the other."

"You have to be there at the beginning saying no," said the black candidate, taking the supposedly white position on the controversial Atlantic Yards development proposal. "I still oppose it as it stands. That is my position."

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Posted by amy at 11:07 AM

February 3, 2006

On a "backwards" design process, "blocking the clock," and a zoning bypass

TimesRatnerReport's latest dispatch from the Borough Board Meetings — this week's meeting focused on Urban Design, Visual Resources & Neighborhood Character — highlights the "backward" nature of the urban planning process.

Community Board 6 Chairperson Jerry Armer stated it best: "We're doing an [Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)], with design guidelines to follow. It seems to me it's backwards. The design guidelines should be established so the EIS could evaluate what's really going to be there."

Have you been wondering how city officials can keep a straight face as Atlantic Yards completely bypasses local zoning? Winston Von Engel from the City Planning Department explained, "We are an agency that listens to the mayor, and supports the mayor, who has expressed his support for the project."

But negative impacts of the project be damned, it's all going to be worth it, since whatever Ratner wants to build in Prospect Heights will look better than the view from the Sixth Avenue bridge:

Greg Atkins, chief of staff for Borough President Marty Markowitz, asked whether the EIS would analyze the effect of "negative views," like the view of the railyard from the Sixth Avenue bridge. "Are views not as beautiful analyzed in the EIS?"

[Architect Mark] Ginsburg said yes, that the state guidelines say that creating new visual resources "can be a mitigation" of a project's effects.

Check out the rest of Norman Oder's report for more on how de-mapping streets isn't so bad after all if you put up a few plaques, "blocking the clock," and light pollution vs. illumination enhancement.

Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM

January 27, 2006

Marty's State of the Borough: Atlantic Yards gets less push than last year

TimesRatnerReport made it to the Borough President's, in-coronation. Though confessing to resorting to "reading the tea leaves," Norman Oder was left with the impression that Atlantic Yards was downplayed relative to previous state-of-the-borough addresses.

The star-studded occasion was also attended by true Brooklyn power brokers, with Bruce Ratner and his right-hand man, Jim Stuckey, sitting in the VIP section.

And, what public appearance by Marty would be complete without the improv performances of the Hagan sisters, who added their two cents about eminent domain?

link

Posted by lumi at 8:05 AM

January 16, 2006

Governor Pataki Signs New Oversight Law

NY1

Important news on the role of NY State government in large development projects:

Governor George Pataki has signed a new oversight law to ensure public authorities follow state guidelines.

Pataki has allotted $1.5 million in his executive budget for the creation of the Public Authority Budget Office.

The office will oversee the spending, compliance and the general ethics of agencies such as the MTA.

link

More coverage:
AP, via NY Newsday, Pataki tightens reins

[The measure] establishes codes of ethical conduct for authority directors, officers and employees.

Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Pataki supports measure to rein in, reform state authorities

The new law mandates new regulations for disposing of property owned by the authorities.

The new measure is an important step forward but is weakened by the fact that the governor will appoint the inspector general, said one good-government lobbyist.

The NY Post, GOV OKS AUTHORITIES WATCHDOG

Pataki has been criticized for stonewalling a bill passed in June. Some say he wanted to wait as long as possible to minimize the impact on his administration in his final year in office. Aides argue he just wanted six months to prepare for the changes.

NoLandGrab: Support for this law spread after several backroom real-estate giveaways, benefiting politically connected developers, caught the public's attention.

Until now, development corporations have been formed to act on behalf of the state or local government, but, since they are private entities, they have not had to adhere to the laws governing "spending, compliance and the general ethics."

These quasi-governmental corporations with access to the deep pockets and political muscle of the state, coupled with the freedom to act as private companies, will hopefully become a thing of the past.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT BROOKLYN?
Ratner's deal with the MTA for the Vanderbilt Railyards does not close until the proposal goes through the state's environmental review process.

So, we are left wondering, will the Public Authorities Reform Act require the MTA to re-open or re-structure their land deal with Ratner?

Posted by lumi at 7:56 AM

January 5, 2006

A NEW YEAR IN NEW YORK: BOROUGH PRESIDENTS HAVE BIG PLANS FOR 2006

CityLimits.org asked NYC's Borough Presidents about their "top priorities" for 2006.

At the forefront of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's "top priorities" is... you guessed it:

"My first order of business will be Atlantic Yards and making sure it will be the model of how urban development can benefit diverse neighborhoods."

NoLandGrab: Hey, what gives? Didn't Marty just rip that line from Develop Don't Destroy's platform?

A quick check of Marty's BIG PLANS (Atlantic Yards, attracting jobs, Newtown Creek, and Coney Island) indicates that Marty has been boning up on his Brooklyn since this NY Daily Sun profile from August, 2004.

Marty on the record:

"Brooklyn’s gravest problem now? “I don’t know, I really don’t know.” Looooong pause. “I think Sheepshead Bay could be and should be a great place for tourists to go to, and I think we have to do something to increase the fishing village atmosphere. So that’s a challenge.”

He fishes around for a more thoughtful answer, and then — eureka! — he remembers, “I think the biggest problem in Brooklyn is the lack of affordable housing.”

(sigh)

Posted by lumi at 7:23 AM

Quinn's Trail

Fifth Estate
NYPress.com

An astute Brooklynite passed this item along from Fifth Estate, NY Press's political blog, citing 2005 political contributions to NYC's new City Council Speaker Christine Quinn from:

$6,000—WFP
$5,000—Acorn
$3,400—Friends of Vito Lopez

link

NoLandGrab: That makes Ratner supporters - Acorn and WFP head Bertha Lewis and the Democratic machine - visible supporters of Quinn. Does this have implications for Ratner support in the Council chambers?

Posted by lumi at 7:11 AM

January 3, 2006

QUINN IS IN!

That sound you heard this morning was the collective sigh of relief of Brooklyn's neighborhood activists, upon hearing the news that big Ratner booster Bill deBlasio has thrown in the towel and announced his support for Councilmember Christine Quinn (Manhattan) in the race for City Council Speaker.

Chirstine Quinn led the opposition to the West Side Stadium deal and, to date, has publicily stated concerns about the other Big Bloomberg Boondoggle, Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards.

Brooklynites' frustration with City government stems from Bloomberg's and Ratner's City Council supporters' willingness to cede local planning and oversight of Ratner's proposal to NY State, where the environmental review process is less stringent. Under State review, local representatives have no authority to try to improve the project.

Brooklynites are looking forward to bold leadership in the Council that represents the interests of the entire city, not just those making backroom deals with Bloomberg.

Here's today's coverage:
NY Daily News, History in the Council

[Kings County Democratic Chairman Vito] Lopez said he wanted to make sure Brooklyn participated in the final decision.

"Although my objective was to get a Brooklyn speaker, I didn't want history to repeat itself," said Lopez, noting that Brooklyn members were shut out of important committee posts because they didn't support Miller.

Sources said de Blasio is pushing for a leadership position in the Council.

The NY Times, Council Ready to Fill the Job of Speaker

The speaker wields enormous influence over the city's $50.2 billion budget, and most land use and zoning issues.

Ms. Quinn, a close ally of Mr. Miller's, is perhaps best known for rallying opponents against the Bloomberg administration's plan to build a football stadium in her West Side district.

The NY Sun, Quinn Appears Set To Accede As the Speaker

The job is one of the most powerful in the city because the council has important land-use authorities and control over part of the budget. It also serves as a counterweight to the mayor’s authority.

In exchange for its support, Queens is likely to hold onto the chairmanships of the council’s two most powerful committees, land use and finance. It was unclear yesterday what Brooklyn and the Bronx would get for their support, but the chairmanships of several committees, including education, health, and government operations, are now up for grabs.

The NY Post, QUINN IS IN AS HISTORIC NEW SPEAKER OF COUNCIL

NY Newsday, Quinn close to top job

Posted by lumi at 8:16 AM

December 31, 2005

Calling the Question of ACORN

Mark Winston Griffith brings up interesting points on the DMI Blog about the role of ACORN in big-city politics:

An issue that also deserves public debate is the role that ACORN continues to play in New York City politics and community development. From Bertha's famed spit swapping with Mike Bloomberg, to ACORN's penchant for striking shady, self-profiting, deals with huge corporate interests, ACORN has muddied the idea of community organizing as a process of developing grassroots leadership and building community power.

link

Giffith's comments have spurred additional commentary worth considering and debating:

"When community organizations play the real estate development game, the people who made up the game- real estate developers- will always win." — thfs

"Kudos to you Mark for daring to say what so many of us have only considered in hushed tones in fear of making the wrong people angry." — hushed

"What's the point of 50% "affordable" housing when a) they're evicting people who own homes already and b) no one will want to live in a congested nightmare that is going to become, as if it were even imaginable before, an even more congested nightmare?" — Brian F

Also included in the commentary is a comparison between ACORN and Sharpton's protests against Ratner in 2000 and their partnership in 2005 and political analysis by US Congressional Candidate Chris Owens.

Posted by lumi at 6:22 AM

December 28, 2005

Read your own clip file: the Courier-Life chain lets Roger Green explain it away

TimesRatnerReport

In an article published in several editions of Brooklyn's Courier-Life chain this week, state Assembly Member Roger Green discusses his potential run for Congress against Rep. Edolphus Towns.

TimesRatnerReporter, a veritable research machine, revved up his engines as he dug up details on the redemption of Roger Green, one of Bruce Ratner's key political supporters on the Atlantic Yards project.

While Green is busy polishing his image in the local Brooklyn press, the Albany press hasn't held back the criticism.

In a 12/22/05 editorial headlined "Enough, Mr. Green," the Times-Union decried Green's potential run for Congress: "So much for any sense of remorse... Next year, depending on what he runs for, [the people of Brooklyn] should vote against him for Congress or vote him out of the Assembly - anything to deny him of his shameless aspirations."

link

Posted by lumi at 8:20 AM

December 22, 2005

Atlantic Yards and the Obligations of Leadership

Our Time Press
by Errol Louis

Commentator and local activist Errol Louis outlines his case for supporting Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal and criticizes local African-American politicians for not standing with Assemblymember Roger Green to negotiate the Community Benefits Agreement.

Atlantic Yards, unlike any of the other listed development projects, already has a publicly stated, legally binding community benefits agreement that promises hefty percentages of the project’s dollars and jobs will go to minority- and women-owned businesses and local residents. At this stage of the game the question should be how and when the dollars will begin flowing into central Brooklyn.

Politicians will continue allowing such once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to pass by until and unless the public begins demanding action, answers and accountability from leaders who need a reminder about keeping their eyes on the main prize – prosperity.

article

TimesRatnerReport analyzes Errol Louis's commentary and concludes that Louis fudges the issue since many of the contracts slated to go to minority-owned firms that are not locally owned or operated and therefore would not be the catalyst for growing the African-American middle class in Brooklyn.

NoLandGrab: Ratner has already established a pretty fair track record for contracting with women- and minority-owned firms. However, despite that record, criticism remains that Forest City Ratner projects have NEVER delivered on promises of local economic prosperity. Many Brooklynites "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," but wonder why Errol Louis does.

Posted by lumi at 7:12 AM

December 8, 2005

Marty to BKLYN magazine: "I don't have to give you 'why'"

TimesRatnerReport

The ubiquitous Marty Markowitz usually has an answer for everything, but when he's stumped, the Bard of Brooklyn is at a loss for words.

When BLKYN magazine wanted to know "why it was prudent to wait" before publicly discussing problems of scale:

Marty replied, "I don't have to give you 'why.'" Not words you want to hear from a public servant, especially one who has always marketed himself as the quintessential man of the people.

The complete item in BKLYN is posted in TimesRatnerReport, along with the scene reported in The New Yorker where Bruce gets on the bat phone to Marty.

Posted by lumi at 6:48 AM

November 27, 2005

Forest City Ratner day in the NY Times regional editorial sections

The NY Times

Two Ratner projects were covered in the corresponding regional editorial sections of the Sunday Times.

Atlantic Yards
The City
A Matter of Scale in Brooklyn
The NY Times editorial board still holds that the project should go forward, but not before laying out many of the problems: traffic congestion, expansion of the project, fewer jobs, less affordable housing, modest returns, and public subsidies.

Ridge Hill
Westchester
The Shame of Palookaville

You could have cast a half-dozen Frank Capra movies from the roomful of regular folks - moms and pops, tweedy types, old ladies in wool coats, a lawyer or two - who stepped up to deplore an impending vote to rewrite city zoning law to help a rich developer. Their words were hot but their demeanors cool. They spoke civilly and played by the rules, something the Council majority assuredly did not do on that chilly, depressing, inspiring night.

The Times's Westchester editorial lauds the Yonkers citizens who showed up at a meeting of their City Council, intent on saving democracy. Brooklynites, however, can note that the same paper's Atlantic Yards editorial left out one key point from its litany of concerns with the project: the subversion of the local city planning process.

The NY Times loves democracy; maybe it can look into getting some more of it in Brooklyn.

Posted by lumi at 5:55 PM

November 22, 2005

Schedule of the Borough Board EIS Task Force Meetings

Marty Markowitz's Borough Board EIS Task Force meetings are open to the public. All meetings are held on Tuesdays at 4PM.

Click here for the schedule.

The same section of Borough Hall's web site also contains Markowitz's EIS Draft Scoping comments (PDF), submitted to the ESDC.

Posted by lumi at 6:34 AM

November 19, 2005

Political Action Group Tied to BUILD Folds

Courier-Life
by Steve Witt

The political action group that paid workers to hand out campaign literature for Eric Blackwell’s unsuccessful run against City Council member Letitia James in the September Democratic primary will fold, according to sources.

The group, Community Leadership for Accountable Politics (CLAP), allegedly paid the workers from the Brooklyn United for Innovative Development (BUILD) office at 640 Pacific Street.

Both BUILD, which as a non-profit organization is barred from engaging in political campaigns, and CLAP shared some of the same officers.

article

Posted by amy at 11:50 AM

November 16, 2005

11th Heating Up

The Politicker (via NY Observer)

The Politicker, Ben Smith reports that Atlantic Yards supporter, State Senator Carl Andrews, is jockeying to run for the 11th District US Congressional seat, long held by Atlantic Yards detractor, Major Owens. Andrews has apparently received the blessing of his former boss, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

In the same blog item, the one local politician who has been criticized for carefully trying to support and oppose the project at the same time, City Councilmember David Yassky, has officially announced his intention to run for the same seat.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:03 AM

November 15, 2005

The rich get all the breaks with Mike

NY Daily News
Juan Gonzalez

An alert reader brought this recent column on one of the myriad of ancillary topics in the Fight for the Heart of Brooklyn, Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS). Mayor Bloomberg and Gifford Miller quietly landed a deal at the end of last month to award property tax breaks to developers who build in the Hudson Yards.

But those new tax breaks are "unwarranted and fiscally irresponsible," according to a report last week by the nonprofit Fiscal Policy Institute.

Tax breaks to major businesses have exploded under Bloomberg and are bound to get worse with the Hudson Yards project, said economist James Parrot.

article

Why we care: * PILOTS are planned for Ratner's Atlantic Yards program. * Bloomberg's corporate giveaway program shifts the tax burden to middle- and lower-income property owners for decades to come.

The bottom line is well-connected developers and large corporations get big breaks for the privelege of not moving to NJ, and the rest of us are shouldered with the burden through increased property taxes and rents.

Posted by lumi at 6:19 AM

November 11, 2005

Victory over Marty Markowitz at key Brooklyn polling site reflects strong opposition to Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards Project

Mattera beat Ratner supporter Markowitz in several electoral districts close to the developer's Atlantic Yards proposal footprint, resulting in the largest percentage of votes for a Green Party candidate in a borough-wide race.

"Our totals in the 52nd and 57th Assembly Districts clearly show that there is a lot of community opposition to the Forest City Ratner Corporation," said Mattera. "People who have never voted Green before did so in big numbers. They see us working side by side with the community in its fight against tax-subsidized private development and eminent domain."

Pointing to the fact that she beat Markowitz in several electoral districts close the Atlantic Yards, Mattera said "This should serve as a wake-up call for elected officials-that they can no longer take voters for granted and will be held accountable for actions that undermine our communities."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:33 PM

Freddy’s Fumble: Ferrer mishandled Atlantic Yards, but the press made it worse

TimesRatnerReport

He coulda been a contender. Maybe Freddy Ferrer wouldn’t have won the election, but if he’d raised the Atlantic Yards issue early enough, and forcefully enough, he could’ve had Mayor Bloomberg on the defensive. At the least, he would’ve sparked some real debate about the mega-development in Brooklyn, a $3.5 billion project to build a Nets basketball arena and 16 high-rise buildings, nearly all of them housing--and mostly luxury housing at that.

Then again, maybe he never had a chance. Ferrer also faced a press corps that too often has failed to explain the controversy or to challenge project supporters like Bloomberg and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

link

Posted by lumi at 6:07 AM

November 10, 2005

DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM BLOOMBERG. Term Limit

The New Republic Online
by Fred Siegel

Bloomberg's victory is yesterday's news. Now local analysts are doing the political calculus over the problems the City is facing in Bloomberg's second term, including shifts in the political balance of power between the City and Albany that could affect large development projects:

Bloomberg is likely to clash with Sheldon Silver, the powerful speaker of the state assembly, over office construction at Ground Zero. Bloomberg is against it, but he's in favor of subsidizing 1.9 million feet of new office space being proposed by developer Bruce Ratner in Brooklyn. That's sure to leave Silver, who represents lower Manhattan, angry, complicating Bloomberg's chances of getting additional money out of Albany.

article (FREE registration required)

Posted by lumi at 7:08 AM

November 8, 2005

Election Day info

NoLandGrab isn't going to tell you who to vote for. Wait, yes we are...

No, really, we want you to make up your own minds, but here are the candidates who have publicly stated that they are against Ratner's proposal to destroy Brooklyn:

Mayor of NYC: Fernando Ferrer, Democratic Party

Brooklyn Borough President: Gloria Mattera, Green Party

City Council, 35th District: Letitia James

If you're really hardcore and know how to write in a candidate, our anti-Ratner recommendations are as follows:

Write-in for Public Advocate: Norman Siegal

Write-in for City Council, 33rd District: Joy Chatell

For detailed information about what your electeds have been up to on the Atlantic Yards project, visit NoLandGrab's Pol Precinct.

Posted by lumi at 8:48 AM

Green Party press release: Green Candidates to Watch in the November 08 Elections

Gloria Mattera

Gloria Mattera's http://www.electgloria.org Green campaign for Brooklyn Borough President qualified for 4 to 1 matching funds from New York City's Campaign Finance program.

"I am proud to be the first Green Party candidate eligible for matching funds for this office," said Ms. Mattera. "This demonstrates tremendous support for our campaign from city residents who are tired of watching [incumbent] Marty Markowitz act as a doormat for Bruce Ratner and other developers who want to take over our city. The Campaign Finance Program levels the playing field for candidates such as myself who do not accept corporate campaign contributions, and is a wonderful tool in support of grass roots democracy."

link

Posted by lumi at 5:26 AM

November 7, 2005

Big Brooklyn project must shrink to fly

Forest City Ratner faces public outcry; compromise likely before crucial vote

Crain's NY Business
by Erik Engquist
Published on November 07, 2005

Update of where the project stands with an emphasis on positions of key politicians.

Faced with mounting opposition from Brooklyn residents and elected officials, Forest City Ratner Cos. is under increasing pressure to downsize its $3.5 billion Atlantic Yards project.

Resistance to Atlantic Yards began to swell in the summer, when its renowned architect, Frank Gehry, released renderings to the press. The sheer scale of the buildings shocked many Brooklynites and fanned what had been limited opposition into a grassroots revolt.

To save the plan, even its biggest cheerleader, Borough President Marty Markowitz, is calling for significant revisions.

"I will be pitching aggressively to convince Forest City Ratner to downscale the project," says Mr. Markowitz. "There is merit to lowering the height of the buildings."

Once seen as a slam dunk, the planned 9.1-million-square-foot project, which includes 16 residential, commercial and office buildings and a basketball arena for the Nets, now looks like anything but.

To break ground, Forest City must win unanimous approval from the three-member Public Authorities Control Board, the same body that in June derailed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ambitious plans for West Side development. In addition, a legal battle looms over the project's likely reliance on eminent domain to condemn private property.

At this point, the developer's top priority is winning over the PACB, whose members are individual appointees of Gov. Pataki, state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. While Messrs. Pataki and Bruno are expected to vote in favor, Mr. Silver's vote is uncertain.

Key player

The speaker will make a decision in consultation with the local Assembly members, says his spokesman, Skip Carrier. Insiders say Mr. Silver will give most weight to Assemblyman Roger Green, since the project sits largely in Mr. Green's district.

While Mr. Green has been a consistent supporter of Atlantic Yards, he suggested at a raucous hearing last month that the project's density could be reduced. His comments won applause from a crowd of 700, which had booed as he approached the microphone. Mr. Green is up for re-election next year, and project opponents have shown a penchant for political organizing against supporters of the development.

Two other area Assembly members are even more vocal in their opposition. At the same hearing, Assemblywoman Joan Millman spoke against the plan's colossal size and talked of "the potentially harmful effects this project will have on the surrounding neighborhoods."

Population density

Meanwhile Assemblyman James Brennan, whose district includes many Park Slope constituents opposed to the scheme, calls the project simply "too big." He blasts the plans for "7,000 housing units in 22 acres, which runs to about 18,000 people."

For its part, the developer says it always expected the public would question Atlantic Yards' density and its impact on traffic, air quality and noise levels. The developer also indicates that it is open to discussion.

"We intend to engage with those communities," says Forest City Executive Vice President James Stuckey, the project manager.

Observers read such comments as a sign that the company is willing to trim the project. Forest City might have no choice. The developer has received no promises from Mr. Silver or even Mr. Bruno, yet it has already spent about $100 million on land acquisition, architectural fees and other expenses--too big an investment to abandon.

Another peril concerns state condemnation of property by eminent domain, which the developer is counting on if it cannot buy the remaining private lots. Forest City has yet to secure the final 10% of the acreage it needs. Condemnation would require state approval and would be challenged in court, opponents vow.

.Comments? EEngquist@crain.com

Posted by lumi at 11:14 PM

November 5, 2005

Think Green: Vote Mattera for Brooklyn Borough President

The Brooklyn Downtown Star endorses Gloria Mattera for Borough President:

We were impressed with Mattera’s desire to use the power of the borough president’s office to challenge the Department of City Planning when their proposals are out of step with the community’s wishes, citing the recent rezoning of the Greenpoint/Williamsburg waterfront as a prime example of where she would have pressured the agency.

article

Check out the list of endorsements for Gloria on her website and don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Posted by amy at 11:04 AM

Freddie quibbles over Ratner

From the Brooklyn Papers:

“When I am mayor, I’ll halt this project,” said Ferrer, nearly shouting to be heard over the jeers of union construction workers who support Ratner’s plans for skyscrapers and a basketball arena.

A small group came out to hear the mayoral candidate speak for 10-minutes. Ferrer complained about mayoral policies that he said favor developers and landowners over ordinary New Yorkers.

“The only thing we know for sure is that this deal helps Mike Bloomberg and his wealthy developer friends,” said Ferrer, speaking with his back to the Forest City Ratner-constructed Atlantic Terminal Mall.

article

Posted by amy at 10:00 AM

November 4, 2005

Brooklyn Faces Growing Pains

The News Hour
by Ray Suarez

RAY SUAREZ: Forest City Ratner says it wants to break ground so that the Brooklyn Nets can tip off their 2008 season in the new arena. Critics say it will never happen, all they can agree on is this is one valuable piece of real estate; they just can't agree on what 21st century Brooklyn will look like.

transcript and video

Posted by lumi at 8:39 AM

November 2, 2005

Elect Marty Mayor of Ratnerville...

...and vote Mattera for Borough President.

Posted by lumi at 7:08 AM

November 1, 2005

CHRIS OWENS ENDORSES GLORIA MATTERA, GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT

Owens says Markowitz “has betrayed Brooklyn” in supporting Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election

BROOKLYN, NY – Chris Owens, Democratic candidate for membership in the U.S. House of Representatives from Brooklyn’s 11th Congressional District, today crossed party lines and endorsed Green Party candidate Gloria Mattera for Brooklyn Borough President over Democrat Marty Markowitz. Markowitz is seeking re-election to a second term of office.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s re-election bid should be opposed by all Democrats,” stated Owens. “As a Democratic County Committee member in one of America’s most Democratic counties, I am outraged that our Party’s nominee for Brooklyn Borough President would support Mayor Bloomberg who, in turn, supports a Republican Party that works against the interests of Brooklynites. Other Democrats may stay silent, but I will not.”

Borrowing a phrase from the Markowitz endorsement of Bloomberg, Owens expressed his support for Gloria Mattera. “Some people believe that transcending party politics is a wise and statesmanlike thing to do,” said Owens. “Gloria Mattera is a grass-roots community activist and an educator who is committed to helping all people in all communities and who is fighting for sensible economic development, a safe environment, and the safe return of our troops from abroad. Gloria Mattera has been fighting against the developers and the abuse of eminent domain, fighting to keep firehouses open, and fighting to stop military recruiters from deceiving our children. In these difficult times, electing Gloria Mattera to the Borough Presidency is a wise choice that Brooklyn’s Democratic voters can make on Tuesday, November 8th.”

“It is no secret that the Republican Party is waging war against poor people, people of African descent, organized labor, immigrants and civil rights. The evidence and the lies confront us every day. Across the nation there are Democrats, Greens, Working Families Party members, independents, civic organizations, non-profits, unions and others fighting against this onslaught. Yet, unlike the late, courageous John Lindsay, Bloomberg has not divorced himself from the Republican Party.”

“On the contrary, Mayor Bloomberg gave his wealth to these Republicans, brought the national nominating convention of that Party to our city, unjustly and unlawfully arrested and detained patriotic and peaceful dissenters who protested during the convention. Bloomberg then stood proudly with men who have lied to us, deported us, sent our children to die in an unjust, unnecessary and incompetently managed war, and who have decimated our education, housing and health care resources.”

“Yet Marty Markowitz ignores these realities because billionaire Bloomberg is supportive of Marty’s taxpayer drainin’, Ratner enrichin’, eminent domain abusin’, terrorist temptin’, traffic multiplyin’, air pollutin’, community bustin’, view destroyin’, and questionable job generatin’ Atlantic Yards project. Simply put, Markowitz has betrayed Brooklyn and the Democrats who re-nominated him; he should not be re-elected. Have your voice heard by electing Fernando Ferrer our next Mayor on the Democratic line, and by electing Gloria Mattera our next Borough President on the Green Party line. This is a truly democratic ticket.”

###

Posted by lumi at 11:55 AM

October 31, 2005

DDDb Press Release: In Debate, Mayor Bloomberg Distorts and Misleads on Ratner's Atlantic Yards

Ferrer's Opposition to Atlantic Yards Distinguishes Him From Bloomberg
News Organizations Should Look Skeptically at Mayor's Claim

There are lies, damn lies and made up stuff that Bloomberg rattles off when he hasn't got a clue what he's talking about.

Bloomberg got his facts on Atlantic Yards so unbelievably wrong during yesterday morning's debate that DDDb sent out a press release to set the record straight.

NEW YORK, NY--Over the past week, Bruce Ratner's 9.1 million square foot "Atlantic Yards" development proposal for Prospect Heights, Brooklyn has become a hot potato issue in the mayoral campaign. On Friday, Democratic candidate Freddy Ferrer forcefully announced his opposition to the Ratner plan as it is currently proposed. In the first mayoral debate on Sunday, Mr. Ferrer reemphasized his opposition to Ratner's plan and Mayor Bloomberg reemphasized his support.

Unfortunately, the mayor's supporting comments were incorrect and misleading. In response to Mr. Ferrer's opposition, Mayor Bloomberg said, "Well, I couldn't disagree more. And I think Al Sharpton who supported my opponent said it very well: this is about jobs for people in that community, this is about housing for people in that community. This is a project that has had as much scrutiny as anything: community boards, and scrutiny from the newspapers, and scrutiny from every single state agency thatís involved. This is the right kind of project for the city, builds houses, creates jobs, helps the spirit of Brooklyn, and takes a place that's been vacant for decades--50 years or more--and does something with it that will help this city."

Mr. Bloomberg distorted the record in the following ways:

1. Jobs:
When announced, Ratner's project promised 10,000 office jobs. As it stands today the project would only create space for about 2,336 jobs and, using the New York Economic Development Corporation's calculations, only about 700 of those jobs would be new jobs--and there is no guarantee that even one of those jobs would go to anybody in the community. It also would produce about 1,200 temporary construction jobs , according to the mayor's calculations, with a stated goal of 35% of those jobs for minorities. Rev. Sharpton had said the project would bring "thousands of jobs" to "communities of color." That's clearly a gross exaggeration. Anyone claiming this would bring jobs must also acknowledge the $1 billion-plus public cost of the project--a very expensive and inefficient way to create jobs.

2. Housing:
Mayor Bloomberg and ACORN Director Bertha Lewis announced a 50% "affordable" housing agreement in May, regarding 4,500 rental units. Since then, Ratner added 2,800 luxury condos to the project. If public financing is forthcoming, the project would include 2,250 so-called "affordable" housing units, or 31% of 7,300 total units. This means that there will be 5,050 luxury units. Of the 7,300 total units, only 12% would be affordable to people earning Brooklyn's median income or less. So, contrary to the Mayor's statement, the project would provide barely any housing for the people in the community.

3. Oversight and Scrutiny:
The Mayor's most out of touch comments concerned oversight, transparency and scrutiny surrounding the Ratner plan. The Ratner plan bypasses all city oversight because the Mayor signed away the City's right to oversight to the state. The community boards have no official role in the project and have provided no meaningful scrutiny; the City Council has no official role, no oversight and no vote when it comes to the Ratner project; there is only one state agency involved in the project (not agencies) -- the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) -- and their oversight and analysis is paid for by Forest City Ratner; the ESDC first appeared in front of the public two years after the project was announced. The ESDC rents space from Bruce Ratner at Ratner's Atlantic Center mall in Brooklyn just across the street from the proposed development--talk about a cozy arrangement.

4. Newspaper Scrutiny: Compare the daily drumbeat of "newspaper scrutiny" of the West Side Stadium to the "newspaper scrutiny" of Atlantic Yards and the Mayor's comment doesn't pass the laugh test.

5. Site Location:
Here the Mayor simply lied. The project does not take "...a place that's been vacant for decades..." The proposed project site would require the use of state condemnation and demolition of about 60 properties through the use of eminent domain. The entire project footprint is 22 acres: 8.5 acres are currently functioning MTA/LIRR rail yards, the other 13.5 acres are comprised of city streets, which Ratner would get at a sweetheart price, along with private homes and businesses.
The MTA's Vanderbilt Yard is little more than one-third of the proposed 22-acre Atlantic Yards project site. And, given that this is a crucial place for development, why did the MTA negotiate exclusively with Ratner and accept a bid for less than half the appraised value?
For two years now the Mayor and Mr. Ratner have been portraying the proposed development site as a desolate wasteland. The reality is the project would level an existing mixed-use and multi-ethnic neighborhood.

Develop Don't Destroy spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "We are pleased to see that both candidates have made their positions clear on Atlantic Yards. But we are dismayed that the Mayor bases his support on incorrect information and a fantasyland idea of what is going on with the Ratner plan. In the end the project is about luxury housing, the most expensive basketball arena ever built, a paltry fraction of the jobs initially promised, and Mr. Ratner's profits--all requiring an enormous public investment. It is not about the community and it is not for the community.

We support sustainable development and union job creation over the rail yards. But we do not, and cannot, support a secret, taxpayer-subsidized, sweetheart, backroom deal that destroys our communities and displaces our neighbors–all paid for with enormous public subsidies.

We expect that in the second debate on Tuesday night the Mayor and Mr. Ferrer won't get a free ride again when discussing Atlantic Yards."

Posted by lumi at 9:34 PM

October 30, 2005

Mike Lupica: Shooting from the Lip

Lupica fires back at the editorial board of his own paper in his weekly sports wrap-up:

I love it when people praise Ratner's project because it's using eight acres of railyards over there near Atlantic Ave., and completely ignore the fact that the size of this project is more than twice that.

Forget about steroids in baseball.

It's Ratner's land grab that's always been on the juice here.

And the only one with a real voice telling the truth about all this right now is Freddy Ferrer.

article

Posted by lumi at 5:20 PM

Ferrer and the Two Rats

The Village Voice's 2005 campaign blog, Power Plays, muses on the two Giant Rats at Ferrer's Friday press conference.

The Post asked: What about the rat? "I see some of the Bloomberg people here," Ferrer replied. Then he raised his finger to emphasize: "And I have two rats."

article

NoLandGrab: Ha! The irony of a Giant Rat infestation (enlarge image) in Prospect Heights was not lost on Brooklynites at the press conference.

Posted by lumi at 5:14 PM

Ratner execs huddle with heads of CB2

Another Community Board/Ratner scandal is brewing:

Two days after skipping the first public hearing on the environmental impact of the proposed Atlantic Yards mega-development, the executive committee [of Community Board 2] met privately with Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President James Stuckey and other top company brass.

Though some Board Members felt the meeting was "innapropriate":

Jon Quint, a member of the CB2 transportation committee and a former chair of the committee, said he didn’t see anything sinister about the private meeting.

“Most of the real work gets done in the committee meetings whether it’s the executive committee or the traffic committee,” he said. “That’s where the nitty-gritty gets done and if they had a meeting with Forest City Ratner, I am sure they got more done then we ever would at a public meeting.”

article

NoLandGrab: The testimony of members of CB6 and 8 made the absence of CB2 at the ESDC hearing all the more conspicuous.

Posted by lumi at 4:54 PM

October 29, 2005

Ferrer Is Chided Over Atlantic Yards

So the New York Times sort of covered Ferrer's press conference at the Atlantic Yards yesterday, where he publicly called for a halt to the project.

"Recently it's come to light that this proposal is not what we all thought it would be," Mr. Ferrer said. "Along with my concerns about infrastructure and total lack of community participation it's clear that this project just cannot go forward as it's currently structured."

Read the Times article here if you wish, but run don't walk over to TimesRatnerReport's uncoverage of the coverage.

Ferrer, Sharpton, and the Journalism of Verification

So Democratic Mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer held a press conference yesterday in which he made his most forceful statement in opposition to the Atlantic Yards project, offering specific criticisms about the amount of affordable housing, the lack of community review, and the prospect of "nearly a billion dollars" (actually, more, according to the developer--see Chapter 3 of my report) in subsidies. But the lead in all the coverage is that the Rev. Al Sharpton disagrees with him, with no effort to factcheck Sharpton.

The Daily News also jumped in on the action, with a weird summary of yesterday's campaign events: Freddy gets slap from his pal Rev. Al

Posted by amy at 10:23 AM

Mattera Qualifies for Matching Funds in Run for Brooklyn Borough President

Green Party Press Release:

"I am proud to be the first Green Party candidate eligible for matching funds for this office," said Mattera. "This demonstrates tremendous support for our campaign from city residents who are tired of watching Marty Markowitz act as a doormat for Bruce Ratner and other developers who want to take over our city. The Campaign Finance Program levels the playing field for candidates such as myself who do not accept corporate campaign contributions, and is a wonderful tool in support of grass roots democracy."

article

Posted by amy at 10:12 AM

October 28, 2005

Ferrer expresses concerns in showndown with GIANT RAT!

In an ironic bit of street theater, Ratner sent union guys, who showed up with a giant Rat, to shout down mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer during his press conference in Brooklyn highlighting his deep concerns about Ratner's Atlantic Yards Plan.

Posted by lumi at 7:54 PM

Ferrer, Then Marty, Speak Out Against Yards' Scale

Brownstoner reports that after Ferrer took a stand against Ratner's plan in his discussion with the Daily News editorial board, Marty followed. This isn't exactly acurate, Marty has been saying for months that "bulk is in play, " and his first public cries for a reduction in size came as early as late September.

Check out the post for a lively discussion in the comments section.

Posted by lumi at 7:22 PM

Beep's downsize call

NY Daily News
by Hugh Son

Markowitz told the Daily News that benefits from the $3.5 billion project such as jobs, affordable housing and park space should be preserved while building heights are reduced.

"The urban design challenge is how do we [preserve] the benefits and downscale the heights of the buildings proposed," Markowitz said.
...
"I'm confident that there will be modification in the original proposal," Markowitz said yesterday. "There has to be - there will be."

article

The TimesRatnerReport makes an interesting point.
* The project has been ENLARGED since it was originally announced in Dec., 2003. * Downsizing of the current plan by 10% would NOT even get the project back to its original size.

NoLandGrab: There's no mention of downscaling the use of eminent domain and no specific proposal.

Does anyone think that this is just a publicity stunt, engineered by Ratner's PR team, to give cover to politicians like Marty and Yassky who can claim a "win-win" for the community without hardly lifting a finger?

Posted by lumi at 8:30 AM

October 27, 2005

Freddy fires Net salvo

He'd downsize 'mother of all real estate deals'

The Daily News
by Michael Saul

Ferrer told the [Daily News] Editorial Board that he supported the project's affordable housing and other benefits it would bring to the community, but he lambasted the overall "secrecy and lack of transparency" surrounding the development.

He also rebuked what he called "apparent abuses of eminent domain," citing a secret memo that recently emerged about two businesses that could be evicted if a site were not made available by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

article

TimesRatnerReport analyses the article, wondering about the "secret memo" and how can Ferrer justify eminent domain for "underperforming" businesses.

Posted by lumi at 9:47 AM

October 25, 2005

Times correction (Print Edition only)

Correction from The NY Times regarding Councilmember David Yassky's position:

"An article on Thursday about opposition to the Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn referred incompletely to the position of Councilman David Yassky. While the project's developer, Bruce C. Ratner, indeed solicited his support early on, Mr. Yassky said he was withholding it until his concerns were addressed."

Compare the correction to what was reported:

On Wednesday, "The crowd was impatient with those who seemed to have not yet made up their minds. Councilman David Yassky of Brooklyn, who has expressed cautious support for the project, said, 'If done right, the benefits will outweigh the costs.' But he added that it was 'out of scale' and would 'change irretrievably and irreversibly the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.'

"That prompted one audience member to yell out, 'Are you for the project or against it?'

"Mr. Yassky repeated that he was for the project if it was 'done right.'"

On Thursday, "In some respects, Mr. Ratner beat his opponents to the punch, taking care in the project's early days to line up support from community leaders and elected officials beyond the footprint. They include Councilmen David Yassky and Bill de Blasio, who represent most of the neighborhoods to the west of Flatbush Avenue, as well Marty Markowitz, the borough president."

NoLandGrab: We still maintain that Yassky is FOR the project, but not before he is AGAINST it.

We predict that Gehry has been working on a downscaled version of the project (why else would the model that was unveiled this summer be so incomplete?) that will be rolled out in the next couple of months, containing a few bollards and traffic calming initiatives. "Qualified" supporters will then declare "VICTORY" for the community, while taking credit for themselves.

Meanwhile, eminent domain, street closings and taxpayer funding will still be on the table and the traffic congestion band-aid and downsized-but-still-hugemongous project will remain a scourge on Brooklyn.

Posted by lumi at 12:01 PM

October 22, 2005

Yassky flops at public hearing, attempts to set the record straight

After claiming that he is for the project, but not before he is against the project, City Councilmember David Yassky attempts to set the record straight on his position on Atlantic Yards in a press release:

Office of Council Member David Yassky

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Evan Thies, 917 715 9265

NY Times Gets it Wrong --
Yassky Does Not Support Ratner Plan Without Major Changes

October 21, 2005 -- The New York Times erroneously reported yesterday that Council Member David Yassky supports the current plan by developer Bruce Ratner to redevelop Atlantic Yards. In a statement, Yassky rebuked the Times, saying that he is for housing, jobs and investment for Brooklyn at the site, but will not support the project until significant changes are made.

"I believe that a professional sports team has the potential to benefit Brooklynites, both as an amenity and by creating hundreds of job," Yassky said. "In addition to the arena, development at Atlantic Yards could also create much-needed housing and space for commercial development. However, there are many problems with the latest proposal. Chief among them is the scale of the project. I do not believe that Downtown and Brownstone Brooklyn can handle such out-of-scale development, nor do I believe that the current plan has adequately considered the impact on surrounding communities."

For more on Yassky's position, read his testimony from Tuesday's public hearing: http://www.davidyassky.com/show_issue.php?id=21&x=22&y=4

NoLandGrab: To be clear, the above link points to the written tesimony Councilmember Yassky submitted at Tuesday's hearing, not his oral comments. The distinction between the two seems to be that the Times reported that he was for the project provided it was done right, but really he is against the project, UNLESS it is done right.

Councilmember Yassky appears to be attempting to walk a fine line, neither too "for" nor too "against" the project as he susses out his chances for a congressional run in 2006.

Yassky, however, may be underestimating Brooklyn's voters. Given his constituents' deep-seated anger about the Atlantic Yards project, and the recent unraveling of Brooklyn's Democratic machine, it's likely that voters are ready for a candidate who is not afraid to take strong positions and act as an elected representative, rather than a politician.

Posted by lumi at 12:54 PM

October 18, 2005

Millman headlines hearing with firm stand against Yards

Assembly Member Joan Millman led off the proceedings, hitting the ball out of the park to a mostly cheering crowd, when she announced that she will ask NYS House Speaker Sheldon Silver to NOT support Ratner's project.

Millman was the first speaker to be heard by the Empire State Development Corporation at this evening's hearing. The lead-off spot went to Millman after it was clear that tardy Marty hadn't yet arrived.

The Assembly Member protested the overscale, was deeply concerned about the effect of run-off in the Gowanus Canal, traffic congestion and the enlargement of the project to "Site V" in Park Slope. She came out firmly against the use of eminent domain in this case and called upon the ESDC to use the funding from Forest City Ratner to pay for a community-based review of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Posted by lumi at 11:28 PM

Begging to Differ in Brooklyn

The NY Times
by Jim Rutenberg

NIMBY says Bloomie:

When a woman approached to wag her finger at Mr. Bloomberg over plans for a new Nets arena in Downtown Brooklyn, Mr. Bloomberg sympathized by saying "if I lived here maybe I wouldn't like it, either." But he does not, and the project will be good for the city, he said.

article (scroll down the page)

Posted by lumi at 7:40 AM

October 17, 2005

Bloomberg Quote of the Day

From the "Retire Mike Bloomberg" blog (www.mikebloombergsrecord.com), Quote of the Day:

“You have Bruce Ratner’s word. That should be enough for you and for everybody else in this community … Pragmatists get things done… You cannot do anything if the test is everyone is going to be happy.”

June 27, 2005

Posted by lumi at 3:00 PM

October 15, 2005

The Straight Story on ‘Scaling Down’

Gloria Mattera, Green Party Candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, takes Marty to task for his dubious claim of wanting the Atlantic Yards Project scaled down. Letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Papers:

In the September 24 article entitled “Make It Smaller “, Jess Wisloski reports on the Brooklyn Borough President candidates’ forum held on September 19 at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church.

The piece focused on Mr. Markowitz’s comment that the Atlantic Yards Projected needs to be ‘scaled down.’ Has Mr. Markowitz had some kind of revelation as to the tragedy of this proposal? Or was his comment made to blunt my criticism and the growing opposition to his relentless cheerleading of the biggest swindle in Brooklyn history?

I say it is the latter.

Fort Greene Association chairperson, Phillip Kellog, clearly expressed the sentiments of many when he was quoted as saying, “I’m not sure how much credibility it has in this point of the process.” Mr. Markowitz’s reluctance to answer the reporter’s follow up questions with specific proposals or ideas further indicates his grandstanding on one of the most important issues facing our borough.

Sounding like the career politician he is, Mr. Markowitz seems to have become aware that the community opposition to the Atlantic Yards Project will be expressed on Election Day, November 8.

By saying the Atlantic Yards Project should be less than proposed is meaningless.

It is an outrage that Mr. Markowitz abandoned his responsibility under the NYC charter by allowing Mr. Ratner to set up an extra-legal process and sign private agreements with supportive community groups rather than opening the entire proposal, for all the effected communities to have a say. His shameless cheerleading has made it impossible for him to be fair and critical about the wisdom of the proposal.

We can only view his comments about working “cooperatively and collectively” to create a scaled down version as a sham and hypocritical. The residents of Prospect Heights and Fort Greene deserve more than empty rhetoric and should be treated with the same respect the residents in the “suburban” areas of Brooklyn who Mr. Markowitz protects with “down-zoned” development.

Mr. Markowitz’s comments about scaling down the project does not address the de-mapping of streets, the abuse of eminent domain or the heavily tax subsidized basketball arena, which he is quoted as saying will stay. What “scaled down’ version of the project will Bruce Ratner agree to? Thirty stories instead of forty? The original seventeen towers instead of the current nineteen?

The Borough President should be the defender of Brooklyn – not its nemesis. As Borough President, I promise to do the following:

• Immediately ask the MTA to rescind the below market hand out to Forrest City Ratner

• Submit the project through Uniform Land Use Review Process, so .

• Re-negotiate the Community Benefits Agreement with all the community groups affected - not solely with the ones who support the project.

• Include a mandatory percentage of affordable housing for yearly household incomes below $35,000

• Eliminate the threat or attempt to use eminent domain against current property owners.

• Call on the current Borough President and Bruce Ratner to issue an immediate public apology to the residents who were bullied into selling their homes and businesses, and were coerced into signing gag order, by Forrest City

Borough President Markowitz, prove me wrong! Give up your self- serving dream of bringing a professional sports team into our high- density neighborhood. Reject Bruce Ratner cronyism. Work with communities instead of developers to build our borough’s future. Take action to leave a positive legacy in Brooklyn

Do nothing and lose your job.

Gloria Mattera Green Party Candidate for Brooklyn Borough President

Posted by amy at 6:21 PM

October 13, 2005

New York’s Bloomberg acts like Bush

People's Weekly World Newspaper

Critics say Bloomberg’s job stimulation plan is the same as Reagan’s “trickle-down” economics: give handouts to billionaire developers, and claim this will create jobs.

Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a community organization working against a deal that would give big developer Forest City Ratner over $1.1 billion in city money for a private Brooklyn development, said Bloomberg lied about the number of jobs the development would create.

Instead of the promised 8,500 permanent jobs, a study found only a few hundred new jobs would be created. In addition, only 900 out of thousands of housing units would go to those earning less than the median income.

article

Posted by lumi at 11:45 PM

DDDB Press Release: Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum Against the Use of Eminent Domain for Private Projects But Supports Bruce Ratner

Develop Don't Destroy Calls on Advocate to Withdraw Support for Ratner Project Which Uses Eminent Domain for Private Development Plan

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--During two primary debates in August incumbent New York City Public Advocate, Betsy Gotbaum, displayed an astounding dishonesty or detachment about the use of eminent domain for Bruce Ratner's 18-skyscrapers and arena proposed in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn. Ms. Gotbaum stated that Mr. Ratner will not use eminent domain for his project, and that she knows because he told her so.

During Tuesday night's general election debate Ms. Gotbaum said she is against the use of eminent domain for private development projects. The first official document on the Ratner Atlantic Yards plan were released by the Empire State Development Corporation on September 16. This document, the draft scope of analysis of the project, clearly states that eminent domain will be used for the project. The threat of eminent domain has hovered over the Brooklyn neighborhood since December 2003 when the proposal was unveiled.

Develop Don't Destroy spokesman, and a homeowner faced with a State seizure of his home to pave the way for the Ratner project, Daniel Goldstein, said, "Ms. Gotbaum is now simply being dishonest. On one hand she says she opposes eminent domain abuses, on the other she says Bruce Ratner's plan is wonderful. The problem is for two years now Bruce Ratner's plan has been, and is, dependent on the abuse of eminent domain. As public advocate her muddled and contradictory position on this issue needs clarification."

Goldstein continued, "She knows that Ratner's plan requires the use of eminent domain, as I, and others, informed her office many months ago. We can only conclude that she is exhibiting favoritism or is disengaged from one of the key public debates boiling in New York City and around the country. We hope she can show us that our conclusions are wrong."

In August Ms. Gotbaum stated that she is against the use of eminent domain but supports the Ratner project as it's her understanding eminent domain won't be used. She did say that if she learns otherwise, she would not support the Ratner project. The development proposal Forest City Ratner submitted to the MTA in July included a glowing letter of support from Ms. Gotbaum.

"Its time for Ms. Gotbaum to engage the powers of her office and oppose the abusive use of eminent domain for private gain at Atlantic Yards and everywhere else in the City," Goldstein concluded. "If she still doesn't believe eminent domain will be used for the Ratner plan, she is invited to meet some of her constituents in Brooklyn who can tell her otherwise. We expect that she will realize that she was terribly incorrect and inconsistent with her debate comments and will withdraw her support for the Ratner project."

Posted by lumi at 9:52 PM

October 8, 2005

Will Caldwell Turn Tish Out on Her Ear? Find out Monday.

Daily Heights explores the unique relationship between BUILD and the 77th Precinct:

Random_person told Daily Heights: "We were walking down the Flatbush Street Festival on Sunday and ran into Tish James... she said James Caldwell 'banned' her from the Community Council meetings at the 77th Precinct, and said he would throw her out if she tried to show up."

[Oh yeah... in addition to being the CEO of BUILD, Caldwell also happens to be the President of the 77th Precinct's "Community Council," which is supposed to be some sort of interface between NYPD and "The Community."]

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This month's 77th Precinct Community Council Meeting is Monday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 PM. 127 Utica Avenue.

Posted by amy at 10:04 AM

October 7, 2005

Debate: 2 of 3 Ain't Bad

The Village Voice
by Jarrett Murphy

Ferrer and Ognibene crowed as Bloomberg ducked last night's Harlem debate.

Let's get to the lighting round: Both Ferrer and Ognibene like Bloomberg personally, have never been fired, oppose the use of eminent domain at Atlantic Yards, do not own an Ipod, feel the overall quality of life for most New Yorkers has not increased in the past four years...

article

Posted by lumi at 8:44 AM

October 6, 2005

DDDB Press Release: The Crain's Insider Says Ratner Opponents Wield Political Power

Leading Ratner Opponents, Letitia James and Norman Siegel Thump Ratner Supporters in Districts Impacted by the Developer's 18 Skyscraper and Arena Plan

BROOKLYN, NY-- Civil rights attorney Norman Siegel didn't win his primary against incumbent public advocate Betsy Gotbaum, but the candidate known as "the people's advocate" did win three Assembly districts in the citywide race. Mr. Siegel, vocal and high profile opponent of the Forest City Ratner plan to build 18 skyscrapers and an arena in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn, won the 57th and 52nd Assembly districts. The proposed Ratner development would be located in both of those districts. They were two of the three districts Mr. Siegel won. Some of these results were published in The Crain's Insider today (www.dddb.net/crains/crains.gif).

"Norman Siegel won in the districts and neighborhoods that would be most impacted by the Ratner project. It is clear that his strong opposition to the Ratner proposal garnered him the support to put him over the top in the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Downtown Brooklyn, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Boerum Hill," Develop Don't Destroy spokesman Daniel Goldstein said. "Large majorities in these communities are opposed to the Ratner plan, and they have shown that their opposition must be respected by any candidate seeking their vote for Citywide or district office."

A leading issue in the public advocate campaign was overdevelopment throughout the City and the abuse of eminent domain, particularly for Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. During two debates Mr. Siegel challenged Ms. Gotbaum's support of the Ratner plan and her false claims that the developer would not have the State use eminent domain. (More on Ms. Gotbaum's eminent domain flip flop can be found in the current issue of The Brooklyn Rail at: www.brooklynrail.org/LOCAL/hackworld.html)

Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents the 35th City Council district where the Ratner proposal is located, handily defeated her primary opponent and Ratner ally, Eric Blackwell, 85% - 15%. Mr. Blackwell is a supporter of the Ratner proposal and was a co-founder of Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD) which was exposed as an "astroturf" organization funded by Forest City Ratner just last week (see: 'Snake in the Grassroots' in the Daily News). Councilwoman James has been the leading political opponent of the Ratner proposal, standing staunchly against the project throughout her first term. The Ratner plan has been, by far, the big issue in her district for the past two years. The Councilwoman has claimed her victory as a referendum against the Ratner plan.

Goldstein concluded, "The organized and individual opposition to the Ratner proposal--which straddles neighborhoods, race and economic class--can claim political power when we look at these electoral results. The opposition claims victory on these political referenda on Ratner's plans. The two mayoral candidates seeking votes in Brooklyn would be wise to take note of this."

Posted by lumi at 6:15 PM

October 3, 2005

The day Brooklyn conquered the World (Series)

NY Daily News
by Marty Markowitz

Marty can't let the 50th Anniversary of the Dodgers World Series win pass without stumping for Ratner's Nets arena:

Now a big kid of 60 championing a boroughwide economic and cultural Renaissance, I know what unites us: religion, music, family and sports. We have plenty of the first three here in Brooklyn, and the time is right to bring back a national sports team. With the prospect of the Nets playing basketball at Atlantic Yards in just three short years, we have a chance to create a spectacle, and a spirit, that the 10-year-olds of today and tomorrow will remember and celebrate when they are 60.

link

NoLandGrab History: Ratner and Markowitz want to put a new Nets arena next to the same site that Walter O'Mally wanted to build a new ballpark for the Dodgers. O'Malley was turned down by city planning czar and master of unintended consequences, Robert Moses, who postulated that it would create "a China Wall of traffic."

UPDATE: We were amongst the many who fell prey to the myth that O'Malley proposed a new Dodgers ballpark on the SAME site as Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal. In fact the ballpark plan was located at a site northeast of the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic, where Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Center Mall currently stands.

Posted by lumi at 10:55 AM

Freddy a switch hitter?

amNY
Chuck Bennet

The Democratic mayoral nominee said yesterday that "not a single public dollar" should go towards the proposed Nets arena in Brooklyn or any other stadium.

"Not a single public dollar to pay for the construction of a stadium. Team owners can do that and team owners should do that," Ferrer said yesterday about the Nets arena.

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Posted by lumi at 8:57 AM

October 1, 2005

BUILDing Blocks

Matthew Schuerman of The Real Estate Observer gets his gumshoes on and does some real investigative journalism to get to the root of the astroturf...

BUILD and Forest City Ratner deny that any money has changed hands or pledges have been made. Erima told The Real Estate today that he included Forest City’s name and the $5 million figure because under the Los Angeles airport community benefits agreement, one of the few such agreements in existence, a single corporation—Los Angeles World Airports--is paying for the job training at the rate of $3 million a year.

During subsequent negotiations with Forest City Ratner on the Atlantic Yards CBA, Erima said, “We found out that they would not be willing to be the sole funder.”

Erima was admitted to the New York State bar in 1999. His registration, under his old name, Sharai Elegba, is currently delinquent, which means that he cannot legally practice law--although that does not mean he cannot fill out tax forms.

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Posted by amy at 9:50 PM

MTA Giveaway Cheered On By Markowitz, Says Mattera

Release from the Committee to Elect Gloria Mattera:

Brooklyn, NY -- September 20, 2005 -- "Marty Markowitz says he’s a cheerleader for Brooklyn but in fact he’s a cheerleader for private developers," said Gloria Mattera, Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President. Mattera spoke at the Fort Greene Association Candidates’ Debate last night against the Ratner Nets Arena and development plan. "Markowitz has given his seal of approval to the handover of state MTA property to private developer Bruce Ratner for a bargain-basement price. Along with other subsidies and tax write-offs, this sale gives Ratner the go-ahead for his vast development scheme which has bypassed the city’s public review process. Markowitz has unquestioningly followed the lead of Ratner every step of the way without ever comprehending the details of the plan."

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Word on the street is that Gloria is close to raising the amount of money her campaign needs to get matching funds from the city. If you'd like to help her on her quest to fight corrupt developers, click here.

Posted by amy at 5:25 PM

Who built BUILD?

From Field of Schemes:

Seemingly from the moment that developer Bruce Ratner announced his plans to move the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn, his main community ally has been Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development, or BUILD. (Okay, ACORN got all smoochy with him, but that was later.) The question most Brooklynites have had on their minds since then: Who the heck is BUILD, and where did they come from?

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Posted by amy at 4:11 PM

Charge Ratner bought arena plan’s support

From the Brooklyn Papers:

If you fund BUILD, they will come … and support your project.

That’s the refrain being cited by opponents of developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project, who this week uncovered tax filings that revealed $5 million contributed by Ratner’s company to a local non-profit group whose support of the arena, housing and office skyscraper project has been key to much of the development’s public and political support.

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Posted by amy at 9:17 AM

Arena Opponents Blast 'Community Group'

From 1010 WINS:

One of the most vocal community supporters of a $3.5 billion Nets arena project said in a tax filing that it expected to receive $5 million from the arena developer.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, an anti-arena group that released the filing at a press conference Thursday, said the document proved that Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development was a front for developer Bruce Ratner.

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Posted by amy at 9:15 AM

Brooklyn Arena Supporters Got Millions From Ratner

From WNYC:

REPORTER: Brandishing documents obtained under the freedom of information act, members of the group develop don't destroy said the group BUILD had a conflict of interest. BUILD wrote in an application for federal non profit status that Forest City had "contributed" $5 million to the group. The application was made at the same time BUILD was negotiating with Forest City ratner to secure agreements on community hiring and affordable housing. The Reverend Clinton Miller said that was unethical.

MILLER: How you can negotiate on behalf of the community when on paper you've already received 5 million dollars?

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Posted by amy at 8:57 AM

September 29, 2005

BUILD: Bribe Us in Large Denominations (NLG Commentary)

Ratner pays community group to stump for his plan and play race card in the name of Our Lord.

Shocked, shocked! There is bribery in Ratnerville!

BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development), has been exposed as “Astroturf,” a group that looks and acts like a grassroots organization, but in reality is primarily a shill for, and funded by, a large corporate entity.

Today, Juan Gonzalez's column in the New York Daily News, “Snake in the 'grassroots'” reveals that BUILD is funded by Forest City Ratner (FCR) to the tune of $5 million. We repeat, that's a tax-deductible contribution of $5 million! Moreover, BUILD executives James Caldwell and Marie Louis are making bank, raking in six-figure salaries ($125,000 and $100,000, respectively).

RUMORS
The rumors that BUILD was funded by Ratner have never been put to rest, since one of the founding members of BUILD, Darnell Canada, left the group, “claiming that fellow group members were seeking financial gain” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 3/26/04). Since then, FCR, BUILD and the powerful tenant-advocate group ACORN have been on the defensive, and have repeatedly denied any financial connection between the groups and Ratner.

During a public meeting sponsored by Community Boards 2,6 & 8, FCR Executive VP Jim Stuckey deflected a question about whether ACORN and BUILD were being paid by FCR by answering, “Why don’t you ask them yourself?” Stuckey later backtracked and clarified his statement to a Brooklyn Papers reporter, claiming that “he didn’t answer the question because, ‘It was insulting. Of course, BUILD and ACORN are not getting paid.’” (Brooklyn Papers, 12/25/04)

In April, 2005, BUILD’s Marie Louis called the claim “a malicious and outrageous lie.” (The NY Sun, April 29, 2005) Just last week, talk show host Brian Lehrer caught her off guard when he popped the question. When Lehrer asked Louis, “So to what extent, just by way of full disclosure, is your group funded by Forest City Ratner?," she replied, “Wow, I mean, we are not funded by Forest City Ratner.” (Brian Lehrer Live CUNY-TV, September 21, 2005)

CBA
The revelation that BUILD is lavishly funded by Ratner places the entire Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) under suspicion. BUILD is receiving direct funding and ACORN is to be awarded affordable-housing marketing and management contracts. That means that two of three groups that “negotiated” the CBA have a direct financial stake in the project. How can a group negotiate with a party from which it receives funding without undermining its authority to speak for the community which it purports to represent?

Politicians like Mayor Bloomberg and Borough President Markowitz can distance themselves from the CBA since they were not actual signatories. However, Reverend Herbert A. Daughtry (the third “community representative”), has a real PR problem. NoLandGrab is not suggesting that a man of the cloth could be bought off by Ratner, but Rev. Daughtry should probably disclose all contributions from Ratner or sever any relationship with the Ratner-funded BUILD.

Marie Louis has repeatedly cried sour grapes to the complaints by long-standing and upstart grassroots community organizations that were not handpicked by the developer to participate in the CBA. Louis contends that Ratner's door was open to any groups that wanted to negotiate: “I think when people raise all these arguments it's because they're bitter that they didn't think of taking advantage of the opportunities.” (The Brooklyn Papers, September 3, 2005)

THE RACE CARD
The way BUILD has played the race card is particularly distasteful and has churned the stomachs of progressive liberals throughout Brooklyn. The tactic of dividing the community along racial lines has been employed on multiple fronts: in the news media and in public meetings.

In an article in Forward, the Jewish weekly newspaper, BUILD’s James Caldwell attempted to arouse suspicions of racism: "I don't want to make this out to be a black versus white situation, but it seems like that's what it's turning out to be." (August 04, 2005)

On Brian Lehrer’s show, Marie Louis diverted the conversation about whether BUILD was Ratner-funded by pretending to be insulted and playing the race card: “many folks coming from communities of color, we wonder why is it that folks think that we cannot think for ourselves?” (Brian Lehrer Live CUNY-TV, September 21, 2005)

ACORN head Bertha Lewis was the headliner of racially divisive chorus when she unleashed the following diatribe: “It is because of race and class that whenever you have a small group of white liberals running and screaming about something, people think it’s important. They don't have to worry about affordable housing. They don't give a damn about people of color. All they care about is preserving their little Prospect Heights community.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 9, 2005)

IN RATNER WE TRUST
Invoking God and Ratner in the same breath has become a trademark of James Caldwell. In a speech that seemed a little over the top at the time, Caldwell seems to display the tact and compassion of Barbara Bush after Katrina, showing little regard for the people he claims to serve while raking in the big bucks from Ratner. Caldwell “thanked God and Ratner for the big check [to Carver Federal Savings Bank], which he said ‘gives the little people an opportunity…. This is bringing opportunity to our community,’ Caldwell said. ‘It is truly great to work with a person who was sent by God.’” (Brooklyn Downtown Star, March 24, 2005) Since then, nearly every time Caldwell has spoken in public, he has given praise to Ratner in sound bytes such as, “FCRC is truly like an angel in heaven.” (The Brooklyn Downtown Star, August 4, 2005)

OTHER COMMUNITY LEADERS
While we are strolling down memory lane, revising our opinion of the entire cast of characters handpicked by Ratner, let’s not forget NY Assembly Member Roger Green. 2004 was a big year for Green. In January, he joined with other “community activists” to form BUILD. In February, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for misreporting travel expenses, which led to his disgraced resignation in June. How did the corrupt sycophant who sold out his district to Ratner get re-elected? After recent revelations, one has to wonder if Ratner cash funded his re-election campaign.

BUILD claims that three of its executive board members are also members of Community Board 8 (CB8). According to thier non-profit IRS filing these CB8 members are officers in BUILD. Two of these CB8 members, Marie Louis and Shalawn Langhorne, are reportedly drawing $100,000 in salaries from BUILD and while the other Marlene Sanders is only listed as an offier. These members of CB8 should step down from BUILD or CB8 and explain what they know about the finances of this sordid affair. Involvement in BUILD undermines their work and standing on CB8.

SHAME!
Shame on BUILD, Bruce Ratner and their community partners for exploiting the plight and aspirations of poor Brooklynites, trading on people’s religious beliefs, lying to the public and press and being arrogant to boot.

Last November, James Caldwell claimed “We are grass roots, and we're not at the table for ourselves. We're at the table for the community.” (Brooklyn Downtown Star, November 24, 2004) Now we know that all along, BUILD’s leaders have been fattening themselves at Ratner’s table, and their green grassroots were really cash-rich Astroturf.

BUILD shall henceforth be referred to as Bribe Us In Large Denominations.

And all that nonsense about the project being built to serve the community can be put to rest, while the rest of us discuss the project’s real impacts on our Brooklyn.

Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM

September 27, 2005

DailyHeights Forum: Marty wants Ratner to downsize

There's a heated discussion going on in the DailyHeights forum about Marty's calls for Ratner to downsize the Atlantic Yards project.

As of this evening, three out of ten "authors" think Marty is "full of sh*t," while the others think that any "huckster in chief" who has "eaten that much of Junior's cheesecake" is "Ratner's puppet," whose "slimy political move" is just a "half-hearted attempt to be a 'voice of the people.'" One posting points out that the project has scaled up since first announced, so any calls to scale it down is meaningless.

What do you think?

Posted by lumi at 6:30 PM

September 24, 2005

Standing Up Against Marty

From the Brooklyn Downtown Star:

Mattera worked it into her opening statement, attacking Markowitz for his support of the proposal, which she called "the biggest sweetheart deal that has ever been done," and she continued to provoke him throughout the debate.

"I don't know if he was clueless about the scope of the plan or he just didn't care," Mattera said about Markowitz.

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Posted by amy at 11:43 AM

MAKE IT SMALLER

From the Brooklyn Papers:

Borough President Marty Markowitz has urged that developer Bruce Ratner downsize his Atlantic Yards mega-development, a project vigorously supported by Markowitz since 2003.

“We do have to scale down this project,” Markowtiz said during a debate Monday among Markowitz and three challengers seeking his job in the November election.

“There is no question, in terms of the project, in terms of the housing, and in terms of the buildings, it is time for all of us to join together to work cooperatively and downscale the project and to make it more reflective of the needs and aspirations of those of the environment it’s in.”

His comments came after two of Markowitz’s rivals voiced their opposition to the way in which Ratner’s bid to erect skyscrapers, high-rise housing and a sports arena was being handled.

article NoLandGrab: The proof is in the pudding that the jolly BP is feeling the heat from a well-spoken and popular Green party candidate.

Posted by amy at 11:31 AM

September 21, 2005

Letitia James takes on rat problem

DailyHeights.com

If you gotta Rat problem, who you gonna call? Ratbusters???

A Prospect Heights resident called 311 to report a rat infestation next door. Instead of relief he received a violation from the City for his trouble.

Once again it's Tish James to the rescue!

Read the account of another satisfied constituent.

Posted by lumi at 8:26 PM

September 20, 2005

DDDb Press Release: Mayor Bloomberg Misleads and Misinforms on Ratner's Atlantic Yards

Grossly Overstates Jobs Promised, Understates Number of Luxury Apartments

NEW YORK, NY—Mayor Michael Bloomberg is misleading and misinforming the public regarding Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development proposal in Brooklyn. The Mayor's statements last week about jobs and housing contrast drastically with the official proposal announced by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) two days later.

Bloomberg said on September 14 that the project would provide "4,500 apartments including much-needed affordable housing" and would "also create 8,500 permanent new jobs."

However, a project description issued on September 16 by the ESDC describes 7,300 residential units, which would include 2,800 market-rate condominiums along with the 4,500 rentals, half of which would be market-rate, half “affordable.” That means the total project would include only 31% "affordable housing"--not 50% as announced in May by ACORN, Forest City Ratner and Mayor Bloomberg, and still touted by the developer and supporters.

Also, the "affordable" housing would do little to help low-income Brooklynites. Of the 2,250 "affordable" rentals, 60% would go to middle-income tenants earning an average of $75,000. Only 900 units, or 12% of the total units, would go to people earning below $35,000, Brooklyn's median income.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "Given the $1.1 billion in public costs that this project would consume over 30 years, this is a thoroughly inefficient and costly way to provide affordable housing. By the way, that $1.1 billion figure comes from Ratner; the overall cost would likely be much higher."

Also, Bloomberg vastly overstated the number of permanent jobs the project could provide. The proposal would involve 628,000 square feet of commercial office space. The addition of so-called Site 5 would add 347,000 square feet of office space. The New York City Economic Development Corporation says the standard is 250 square feet of office space per job, so the two segments of the project would provide space for 2,512 jobs and 1,388 jobs, respectively. The total: space for 3,900 office jobs.

None of those jobs would be guaranteed to local residents, and many jobs would be recycled from elsewhere (“retained”) rather than new. There would be a few hundred more permanent jobs in retail, the arena, and at the proposed hotel. This is a huge drop from the 10,000 permanent office jobs originally promised, and a substantial decline from 8,500 jobs promised last week by the Mayor.

Goldstein said, "Forest City Ratner has traded office space, and promised jobs for luxury condominium space, so the company can gain additional profits at the expense of our communities. Why can't the Mayor and our other elected officials tell the public the truth about the Ratner proposal?"

Posted by lumi at 9:10 PM

September 19, 2005

DDDb Press Release: Councilmember Letitia James Wins Resounding Victory Over Ratner Supporter

Leading Political Opponent's Victory is a Clear Referendum Against Ratner's Arena/Skyscraper Development Plan

BROOKLYN, NY—For the last two years the leading and most controversial issue in the City's 35th council district has been Bruce Ratner's proposal for 17 skyscrapers and an arena in the Prospect Heights section of her Brooklyn district. The staunchest political opponent of the Forest City Ratner (FCR) project has been the district's councilwoman, Letitia James, who has had to contend with the issue since her first day in office. Last week, in what was widely seen as a referendum on the Ratner project, Councilwoman James won a resounding 84% to 16% primary day victory over a Ratner backed candidate, Eric Blackwell.

Mr. Blackwell is a leading supporter of Ratner's proposal and a co-founder of Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD), the group that was formed to support the Ratner plan.

"Letitia James has stood strongly against Mr. Ratner and his destructive development plan for her beloved district. She has been bolstered by the community that supports her and her opposition to the Ratner plan. Her re-election, by a gigantic margin, is a loud and clear sign to Mr. Ratner, Mayor Bloomberg and all of Mr. Ratner's political supporters, that our community is opposed to his Atlantic Yards development plan," said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein. "We don't have referendums on such issues in this City, but Councilmember. James' victory is clearly a referendum on Ratner's plans. The answer from the 35th district is: 'No, Mr. Ratner, we do not want your project."

Goldstein concluded, "Our elected officials should take note of Councilmember James' primary victory--there is a political price to pay if you support the Ratner plan."

Posted by lumi at 8:50 AM

September 11, 2005

Marty Markowitz Faces Muted Opposition in Upcoming Election

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle discusses Brooklyn's 'republican' borough president - Marty Markowitz - and the opposition challenging his seat in November...

But outspoken Brooklyn patriotism aside, some of Markowitz’s critics have alleged that, when it comes to concrete policy, the Borough President is just as pro-business, pro-borough development and pro-free market as his Republican counterparts.

Markowitz has never garnered support in Brooklyn through a strict adherence to the Party platform. And some have criticized the Borough President’s relationship with real-estate developer Bruce Ratner, and his uncompromising enthusiasm for that mogul’s plan to build the new Nets basketball stadium in Downtown Brooklyn, at the current site of the Atlantic Rail Yards. One of Markowitz’s would-be opponents, the Green Party’s Materra, described herself as “part of a coalition of community activists who are scandalized by Markowitz’s behavior around the Ratner development.”

“I think he hasn’t made good decisions,” she told the Eagle.

article

Posted by amy at 3:22 PM

September 10, 2005

the money trail

From The Citizen-Viewer blog on The NY Times's puzzling endorsement of Betsy "Do Nothing" Gotbaum:

I'm not saying that the NYTCo-Ratner connection is why the editorial board endorsed Gotbaum, and I hope not. Unfortunately, we mere citizen-viewers are not privy to its collective thoughts. But as the journalists like to say: Follow the money.

link

Posted by lumi at 9:19 AM

September 2, 2005

How do the Public Advocate candidates rate on Ratner?

This last month, the campaign for Public Advocate heated up with two broadcast debates. Candidates presented their ideas, but, generally, the incumbent, Betsy Gotbaum was on the defensive about her ineffectiveness during the past four years in office.

Our pet project, the Ratner proposal, was discussed on both occasions, highlighting the difference between Gotbaum and her opponents.

Due to the untenable position held by Gotbaum, NoLandGrab has added the Public Adovcate candidates to our Pol Precinct ratings. Here's what we found.

	Betsy Gotbaum	Gotbaum supports Ratner's plans, but insists that she stands against the use of eminent domain (???). Since Ratner told her that eminent domain would not be used, and she believes him, she sees no conflict in her position. This type of runaround is not what New Yorkers expect from their Public Advocate — maybe there's a position open for Gotbaum on the NYC Chamber of Commerce where she can do something that doesn't require thinking or working hard.
	Andrew Raseij	Rasiej opposes the Ratner proposal due to lack of transparency and lack of community input and he is on record stating his belief that eminent domain should never be used to enrich a private developer. He also has a plan for free wireless access in NYC, which would help NLGers post blog entries on the fly.
	Norman Siegel	Siegel has been on the forefront of the fight against eminent domain abuse. He filed a friend of the court brief in the case of Kelo v. New London on behalf of Develop Don't Destoy Brooklyn and groups fighting to keep their property in West Harlem and continues to advocate on their behalf. It has dawned on us here at NoLandGrab that Norman Siegel has effectively been acting as a Public Advocate while Gotbaum has been MIA during her four-year term. Through his private practice, Siegel has been working with families of 9-11, protecting property owners threatened by eminent domain, advocating for the non-violent protesters arrested during the RNC convention week, and representing an individual who unveiled corruption at the MTA. Maybe we should just give him the job.

Posted by lumi at 10:10 AM

‘NIMBY’ Bloomie films TV ad in Fort Greene

The Brooklyn Papers
by Jess Wislowski

Mira, mira! Mayor Bloomberg visited Ft. Greene to film a Spanish-language campaign spot in front of the local yuppie margarita hang. Never mind that the Hispanic neighborhoods are on the other side of Ratner's proposed project footprint, the production company just imported a few guys to play dominos -- Insta-barrio!

In a fit of honesty, the type that makes a spokesperson feel like they're living la vida loca, Bloomberg told residents of Ft. Greene who approached the Mayor with their concerns about the Ratner project and its proximity to local brownstone neighborhoods, "If I were in your position, I’d feel the same way."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:56 AM

August 30, 2005

EMINENTLY ODD

NY Post columnist Robert A. George covers Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's bizarre squirms during the two Public Advocate debates as she was questioned on her support of Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, despite the use of eminent domain.

Her official spokeswoman told [George], "The public advocate believes Ratner to be a very respected and very responsible developer [who] will negotiate with all the tenants. [She has been] consistent on this. The public advocate supports the project, but will not if eminent domain is used."

George's conclusion:

In short, whether the issue is eminent domain or just plain transparency — Gotbaum refuses to give this project the same critical assessment as similar ones in the city.

Simply because she trusts the developer.

article

Also: NY Daily News columnist Juan Gonzalez makes the case for supporting Norman Siegel over the incumbent Gotbaum ("Let's hire a true people's lawyer").

Posted by lumi at 7:17 PM

August 29, 2005

Bulldozing Small Businesses

NY Sun
by Nicole Gelinas

This is an adaption of the City Journal article by Gelinas published on the web last week.

Can democratic candidates claim to support small businesses while supporting Ratner's plan which will displace several established successful small businesses?

These [small business] owners pay their property taxes and income taxes, and they employ dozens of New Yorkers at good wages and in good working conditions. “For someone to come and tell us that we have to” sell out to Mr. Ratner, “that is wrong,” said Simon Liu, who moved here from China more than 30 years ago, and who employs two dozen immigrant workers at his artsupply factory.

article

Posted by lumi at 9:09 AM

August 27, 2005

Green Party Candidate Ready to Debate Markowitz

From Hot Indie News:

The Gloria Mattera for Brooklyn Borough President Campaign handed in almost 8,000 independent nominating petition signatures to the New York City Board of Elections at 10:30am Tuesday morning. 4000 signatures are required for the office.

"These signatures represent grass roots support for my campaign to bring open government to Brooklyn," said Mattera. "I look forward to a vigorous public debate with Marty Markowitz in the coming weeks on the issues most critical to the people of Brooklyn, including affordable housing, support for public schools, responsible development, and a healthy environment."

Dozens of volunteers gathered the signatures in Brooklyn over the past six weeks. Petitioners handed out leaflets and discussed community issues with residents.

"This is the easiest time I’ve ever had getting signatures," said Maryianne Jackson from Prospect Heights. As soon as I told people Gloria was fighting the Ratner development, they were ready to sign."

article

Posted by amy at 10:11 AM

August 26, 2005

Is Gotbaum Master of Her Domain?

Public Advocate candidates dispute what's eminent and imminent in the Atlantic Yards deal

The Village Voice
Power Plays, by Jarret Murphy

Public Advocate candidate Norman Seigel had the incumbent, Betsy Gotbaum, on the ropes when confronted by her support of Ratner's plan.

During this week's NY1 debate, Gotbaum displayed her surprising lack of knowledge of Ratner's deal when she commented:

"It is not my understanding that the developer at the Atlantic Yards is going to use eminent domain. I have been told in fact that that is not the case."

article

NoLandGrab: Guess who "told" Gotbaum that there would be no eminent domain?

Betsy! Earth to Betsy! Why do you think it's called "NoLandGrab.org" instead of: NoBoondogglesForBillionarieDevelopers.org,
NoSkyscrapersInProspectHeights.com,
NoULURPForPoliciallyWellConnectedBuilders.com, or
NoRatnerRealEstateMonopolyInBrooklyn.net?

Maybe we'll move this blog over to "NoIgorantPublicAdvocatesWhoSpentTheLastFourYearsDoingNothing.com."

Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

August 25, 2005

Bulldozing Small Businesses

City Journal
Nicole Gelinas

The Democratic mayoral candidates claim to be champions of small business, but where do they stand on Ratner's plan that will displace the small businesses in Prospect Heights? [Hint: Three out of four candidates prefer Ratner for developers who choose eminent domain.]

article

Posted by lumi at 9:22 AM

August 11, 2005

Mayoral Debate: The candidate's views on eminent domain and Ratner's plan

Gotham Gazette

What are the mayoral candidate's views on eminent domain and Ratner's plan? Jamal Watson of the Amsterdam News posed the question to five mayoral candidates (Anthony Weiner was in Washington and couldn't attend) in the debate sponsored by Community Service Society.

transcript

Find out more on our politicians' positions.

Posted by lumi at 7:24 AM

Dope on the Slope, Friday Quiz: Who's the Boss?

A transplanted hillbilly blogger knows a Boss when he sees one.

Dopey Slopey asks readers if they "can spot the differences between the 'bosses.'" Take your best swing — cheap shots permitted since some of you need to blow off steam to beat the heat.

link

Posted by lumi at 7:14 AM

SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM OFFICIALS BRIEFED ON RATNER’S ARENA PLAN

Here's an article we missed sent in by a reader who is obviously paying better attention that we are.

The NY Sun
Monday, August 8, 2005

Regional tourism officials from the North West province of South Africa, which is preparing to host the 2010 World Cup, were briefed last week on developer Bruce Ratner’s plan to build an arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team in downtown Brooklyn.

A pro-Ratner state assemblyman from the borough, Roger Green, said he saw “some similarities” between South Africa and parts of Brooklyn — noting that both face high rates of unemployment and HIV/AIDS — and added that the June agreement between community groups and Mr. Ratner’s firm, which pledged to channel 30% of construction dollars to female and minority contractors, could serve as a model for development in the North West province.

In response, a spokesman for the anti-Ratner group Develop Don’t Destroy, Daniel Goldstein, parroting Mr. Green’s words, said that there are “a lot of similarities” between the Ratner plan, which would seize Prospect Heights properties via eminent domain, and the apartheid regime’s forced removal of blacks in “slum clearance” projects. — Special to the Sun

article

Posted by lumi at 7:13 AM

August 3, 2005

SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

NY Press columnist Aaron Naparstek examines last week's MTA Board meeting.

The large show of Ratner supporters has become:

standard practice at big public meetings where the Railyards are being discussed. Ratner buses in his supporters. They ensure that anyone who raises questions, concerns or objections about the project are literally shouted down and painted as racists and enemies of working people. The irony, of course, is that these self-proclaimed proletarians have the backing of a multi-billion-dollar corporation. The supposedly "wealthy, white" opponents have to take time off work to show up at meetings. Needless to say, the Brown Shirt tactics have been incredibly effective.

Though the muckraking Naparstek compares the whole affair to the 19th Century's Boss Tweed and the 20th Century's Robert Moses, he does find something positive to say about the 21st Century MTA:

In a funny way you almost have to appreciate the MTA's brazenness. Once public comments were finished, Kalikow could have gone behind closed doors for a half hour to give the impression that the public's input had some bearing on the board's decision-making process. But this is New York City. There's no time to waste on a semblance of democracy when business needs to get done.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:37 PM

DDDb wants you to contact your politicians

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has compiled a list of politicians who represent Brooklynites and point out those whose districts surround the footprint of Ratner's proposal.

If you don't know who your representatives are, check out NYPIRG's "Who Represents Me?" lookup by street address.

The point is to contact your representatives to tell them how you feel about Ratner's plan, the MTA's decision to negotiate exclusively with Ratner despite his unbelievably low bid, and the use of eminent domain for private developers (especially for the eminent domain-addicted Bruce Ratner).

Posted by lumi at 9:08 PM

August 2, 2005

This Election Calls for Vote On Principle

The NY Sun columnist Alicia Colon cites the Billionaires for Bloomberg Development Plan as one of the reasons conservatives should votes their consciences and support Conservative Party candidate Thomas Ognibene.

Mr. Bloomberg has managed to grant Atlantic Yards to his friend Bruce Ratner, who is poised to make billions building expensive condominiums on the land surrounding the proposed Nets arena. Mr. Bloomberg tried to grab valuable land on the West Side for the Jets’ stadium and is eyeing Willets Point in Queens for a new Mets stadium. Olympics, football, baseball, my eye! It’s all about making billions. Meanwhile, developers who are not cozy with the mayor — the actor Danny Aiello and the principals of Stapleton Studios — had their Staten Island project quashed by the city’s Economic Development Corporation in spite of tremendous community support for it.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:31 AM

July 30, 2005

Tish bows out of NY1 show

From the Brooklyn Papers:

City Councilwoman Letitia James refused an invitation to appear on a special cablecast of news station New York 1’s “Road to City Hall” last week — live from St. Francis College and focused on Brooklyn issues — because of what she said was an unbalanced presentation by the show’s producers on the Atlantic Yards project.

article

Posted by amy at 10:19 PM

July 29, 2005

Ferrer picks up support from Brooklyn council member

The Amsterdam News
by Tanagachi Mfuni

City Councilmember Letitia James endorses Mayoral Candidate Fernando Ferrer, citing Ferrer's concerns about Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project and the candidate's eductation plan as reasons for supporting Ferrer without reservations.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:03 AM

July 27, 2005

Politicians who support Ratner's plan

A pile of letters of support for the Ratner bid, collected by Forest City Ratner and submitted to the MTA on July 6, turned up when the MTA released the competing bids last week.

The NY Observer is reporting that many of the public officials "even wrote identical letters."

Here's the A-List of Public Officials who sent letters to accompany the Ratner bid with links to contact their offices to express outrage or support:
• Mayor Micahel Bloomberg
• Governor George Pataki
• Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz
• US Senator Chuck Schumer
• New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum
• Congressman Edolphus Towns, House of Rep., 10th District
• State Senator Carl Andrews, District 20
• State Senator Martin Golden, District 22
• State Senator Carl Kruger, District 27
• State Senator Kevin Parker, District 21
• Council Member Erik Martin Dilan, District 37
• Council Member Lew Fidler, District 46
• Council Member Mike Nelson, District 48
• Council Member James Sanders, District 31
• Council Member Bill de Blasio
• Assembly Member Roger Green, District 57
• Assembly Member Joseph R. Lentol
• Comptroller William Thompson

Posted by lumi at 10:31 AM

July 26, 2005

More support for Ratner

From The Real Estate Observer blog by Matthew Grace:

New York City Mayoral candidate C. Virginia Fields just came out in favor of Forest City Ratner's bid on the Atlantic Yards. Perhaps she's hoping for a donation to her rapidly dwindling war chest?

In her press release, Fields cites the positive aspects of the plan, affodable housing, jobs and other amentities to the community without addressing the impacts.

link

For more info on politicians' positions on Ratner's plan check out NLG: Pol Precinct.

Posted by lumi at 11:00 PM

Sharpton Backs Ratner’s Plan for Altantic Yards

Park Slope Courier
by Stephen Witt

However, Sharpton said the support is not so much for developer Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) as it for the those community activists and groups who signed onto the recent Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with FCRC.

“Anybody who says I came here tonight to support Ratner is a liar. I came here tonight to support Rev. Daughtry, [Assemblymember] Roger Green, [ACORN President] Bertha Lewis and those who signed the Community Benefits Agreement,” he added.

Sharpton Backs Ratner’s Plan for Altantic Yards by Stephen Witt

Rev. Al Sharpton came back to his native borough last week to show support for the controversial proposed Atlantic Yards project that would see affordable housing, jobs and NBA basketball.

However, Sharpton said the support is not so much for developer Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) as it for the those community activists and groups who signed onto the recent Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with FCRC.

“I’ve never supported Rater before, but I always said there much be a community benefits agreement in place,” Sharpton told a packed audience in the sweltering Duryea Presbyterian Church, 362 Sterling Place.

“Anybody who says I came here tonight to support Ratner is a liar. I came here tonight to support Rev. Daughtry, [Assemblymember] Roger Green, [ACORN President] Bertha Lewis and those who signed the Community Benefits Agreement,” he added.

Sharpton noted that a CBA is just a start and all the parties who signed it must live up to it.

Sharpton also had strong words for those African-American groups and elected officials who oppose the plan.

“It’s one thing to agree to disagree, it’s another thing to slander and disrespect those that made it possible for you to open your mouth in the first place,” he said.

“Let’s be straight up about this. If you don’t like some of the players, say that “You got personality differences,” say that “You think you should have been at the table,” and “your ego is bruised,” say that, but don’t walk around the community where half our men are sitting on stoops and can’t get jobs, and you stand in the way of them getting jobs,” Sharpton added.

Sharpton said he did back FCRC over the Extell Development Company big for the Atlantic Avenue rail yards, because Extell has partner before with the Carlyle Group.

Sharpton noted the Carlyle Group’s connections to the Bush and Bin Laden families, and that they have always opposed the black leadership in the civil rights movement.

Sharpton did express concerns about the threat of eminent domain in the FCRC project, but said there has never been such a hue and cry when predominately black areas are threatened with eminent domain.

The MTA will accept one of two bids and that bid should be the Ratner bid,” said Sharpton.

Joining Sharpton at the church rally were, among others, New York City comptroller William Thompson, State Sen. Carl Andrews and National Urban League President Marc Morial.

Morial, who is also the former mayor of New Orleans, said the CBA marks the beginning of a new movement for economic rights.

“It [the CBA] says we will be for it if it is for us,” said Morial, adding he hopes other cities in the nation take note of what is happening in Brooklyn.

Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn Spokesperson Deniel Goldstein said via phone and email that Sharpton doesn’t believe in a competitive bidding process and believes that only Bruce Ratner and this project will create jobs for black men.

“These are outrageous things to say. Extell is not standing in the way of jobs. Their project would create the same jobs. And they are willing to negotiate a CBA just like Ratner has, though theirs would go through ULURP and therefore be a stronger document,” said Goldstein.

Goldstein added that race and class have nothing to do with the issue and there are plenty of people of color who don’t support the project.

Among those who oppose it are the five black ministers, who together with two white ministers, make up the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition [DBLC] said Goldstein.

Rev. Dennis Dillon, chair of the DBLC and pastor of the Brooklyn Christian Center, 1061 Atlantic Ave., said those who signed the CBA were co-opted into doing so and that Sharpton is betraying the community.

Jobs should be developed through indigenous development such as franchises and dealerships, Dillon said.

But Thompson, who many think will be a strong candidate for mayor in four years, said he studied the proposed project, and spoke with the people who worked on the CBA, before fully endorsing it.

“This [Sharpton rally] reinforced my opinion that this project is good for Brooklyn and New York City in so many ways,” said Thompson.

“I don’t know that this is about race and class. I think this is about opportunity. Opportunity for for jobs and real business development. Opportunity for training. Opportunity for housing for people who wouldn’t have housing. So this isn’t about race and class, this is about access to opportunity for people who haven’t had it before in many ways.”

Posted by lumi at 11:57 AM

Pass up Yards sale, boro pols urge MTA

NY Daily News
by Deborah Kolben

Assemblymember James Brennan (D-Park Slope) and City Councilmember David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) joined forces to send a letter to the MTA requesting that the public authority stop negotiations and hold off selling the Atlantic Railyards until a city-approved plan is in place.

Yassky:

"They've done this backwards. I think it's premature to agree on a sale price before there is an approved development plan."

Brennan, referring to both the Ratner and Extell plans:

"Each one of them is too big. They're stuffing between 15,000 and 18,000 people into less than 10 acres."

article

Posted by lumi at 7:46 AM

Reverend Al and The Man, and a warning to the MTA

Fans For Fair Play

The specter of the Jets West Side Stadium debacle makes an encore appearance in Rev. Sharpton's support and the MTA's possible rush to pick the lower bid.

Sharpton's support:

...must be, at best, a seriously mixed blessing for [Forest City Ratner]. Sure, they get another tenuous toehold in the Black community, but they also get a guy who anyone can approach on the street and ask "hey, Reverend, that Jets stadium thingie you endorsed, how's that coming along?"

The MTA can ill-afford another fiasco like the Jets stadium. The Brooklyn process is the same deal. After being forced by an angry public to create an open bidding process, the favored bidder -- a sports-team-owning pal of the governor and mayor -- submits the worst bid, fraught with add-ons nicked from Peter to pretend to pay Paul. The MTA board's vote appears, at this stage, to be a slap-dash rush-job. The principles of fairness and democracy lose again.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:04 AM

July 24, 2005

A Tale of Two Yards

The Downtown Brooklyn Star covers the recent Community Board 2 meeting where the Pacific Plan was presented.

article

Posted by amy at 11:12 AM

July 22, 2005

Easy Being Green for this Beep Candidate

The Brooklyn Downtown Star
Interview by Renee Collymore

The Star interviews the Green Party Candidate for Borough President, Gloria Mattera, and gets her views on the Green Party, "Party" Marty, education, affordable housing and community boards.

Gloria on Marty:

Markowitz is helping to rip the heart out of Brooklyn, and yet at the same time he views himself as the champion of the borough. He divides Brooklyn into urban and suburban, simply because he wants the poorer areas to become a construction site while at the same time preserving the charm of the more residential sections. I don’t have to tell you the racial implications of this. That’s why power plants and garbage dumps are built in neighborhoods where blacks and immigrants tend to live.

Click the link below to read the entire interview.

---

Brooklyn Star: As a candidate on the Green Party line, what issues best represents the mission of the Green Party?

Gloria Mattera: One of the main issues of the campaign is the overdevelopment in the borough and the part many local politicians play in catering to wealthy developers at the expense of communities. The four pillars of the Green Party are: Grassroots Democracy, Ecological Wisdom, Social & Economic Justice and Peace/Non-Violence. These four principles are embodied in the campaign message. Decisions on land use and its relation to affordable housing, public green space and a healthy environment need to be more inclusive and transparent. The billions of tax subsidy dollars handed to big real estate developers deprive local governments of the revenue needed to maintain the city infrastructure, reduce class sizes, shore-up the public health system and other essential services that improve the quality of life for most residents.

Although the Borough President has no authority in the area of national policy, I feel it is important to highlight the billions of dollars being spent on the current war in addition to building up the U.S. military while our cities and states are deprived of resources. I am very concerned about the aggressive presence of military recruiters in our high schools and campuses. I see the Borough President’s office acting as a resource for students and parents to learn more about the “opt-out” option by providing assistance and guidance to them.

BS: Have you picked up any major endorsements?

GM: Wherever we go, we have the ringing endorsement of the community. This, in my assessment, amounts to the most important endorsement of all. Major endorsers are mainly concerned about winning, and rarely confront incumbents. Institutional support for third party candidates out of the left is so very rare that it’s barely a consideration at this point. That said, I will seek endorsements, only I will do so selectively.

BS: How satisfied are you with the performance of current Borough President, Marty Markowitz?

GM: Not satisfied in the least. Markowitz is vain and pompous; his overtures to Ratner reveal his one-dimensional view of progress. If skyscrapers could produce a decent life for all, then why in New York City one of the most unequal cities in the U.S.? Markowitz has not spoken out against the abuse of eminent domain and he has supported the circumvention of the Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP).

Markowitz is helping to rip the heart out of Brooklyn, and yet at the same time he views himself as the champion of the borough. He divides Brooklyn into urban and suburban, simply because he wants the poorer areas to become a construction site while at the same time preserving the charm of the more residential sections. I don’t have to tell you the racial implications of this. That’s why power plants and garbage dumps are built in neighborhoods where blacks and immigrants tend to live.

BS: Understanding that you are a clear opponent of Bruce Ratner’s arena proposal, what are your plans for creating affordable housing, as well as thousands of employment opportunities for Brooklynites?

GM: Housing is expensive, and there are no easy solutions to the problem of housing shortages. However, if $1.5 billion can be given to Ratner in subsidies, then that money could some produce housing. I believe proposals made by groups like the Met Council need to be given more serious consideration, because rents are rising twice as fast as incomes in Brooklyn. The work of organizations like the Fifth Avenue Committee should be supported and championed as a model of what community groups can do to stop displacement of long time residents and create affordable housing.

Creative solutions are needed and all proposals considered, but the idea of expecting private developers to solve the housing crisis by linking development deals to the production of certain numbers of units is not going to work. Any developer of the Atlantic Yards will bring thousands of jobs and affordable housing to the area. Ratner should not have exclusive rights to the site for his basketball arena and primarily high end residential skyscrapers. There should be n open bidding process, with the MTA getting the best price possible for the sale of the yards.

BS: From the stand point of an educator, How effective has the public education system been in addressing the needs of the minority community?

GM: Public education has failed the minority community because the system is constantly under stress. Large class sizes, poorly paid and disrespected teachers—disrespected by the political establishment that is—and inadequate levels of school construction have contributed to this crisis. CUNY, too, is no longer friendly to low-income working class people, a disproportionate number of who are people of color and immigrants. Behind this neglect of education is the inherently racist notion that it’s not worth spending tax dollars on constituencies who will surely end up in low-skill, service economy jobs. This then becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. The standardized, high stakes testing and “one-size-fits-all” curriculum culturally insensitive. The rich, cultural diversity of our student population needs to be acknowledged and nurtured through a varied method of tracking and assessment each individual student’s progress.

BS: What, if any, policy recommendations would you suggest to improve the education system?

GM: Firstly, the governor needs to stop obstructing the State Supreme Court’s decision that ordered the state to meet its obligations to young learners. This will infuse the education system with billions of dollars and thus reduce class sizes. Secondly, teachers need not just a contract but a pay hike of 30 per cent or more to stop the flight of teachers to the suburbs where they can earn more. There needs to be a commitment to recruit potential educators from communities of color. The institution of scholarships and loan forgiveness for young people entering the teaching profession would help diversify and increase the dwindling pool of teachers due to increased retirement.

GM: Teachers and parents need more authority in school governance at the local level. Parent councils with decision-making power are needed. The current system that has replaced local school boards has not empowered parents or given them a real voice in their child’s education.

Also, I would restore CUNY by slashing tuition and fees, or even phasing it out altogether. And the admissions tests need to be reconsidered, especially for adult learners. These tests are educationally useless and serve to discourage potential students.

BS: Which political prominents are you courting for support of your campaign?

GM: Although several Democratic politicians have vocally opposed the Ratner plan, no one stepped forward in that party to challenge Markowitz. The local Green Party has been an active member of the Develop Don’t Destroy from the early days of the coalition. My campaign is built on the strength and support of a grassroots movement that has grown out of the community opposition to irresponsible, deceptive overdevelopment throughout Brooklyn. I am working closely with several community groups including the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Group.

BS: Upon election, will there be any plans to reconstruct the community boards?

GM: The City Charter has jurisdiction over the structure of Community Boards. The boards serve as an educational forum and provide a voice for residents. However, with the Borough President making all appointments, there is a danger that only a limited point of view will be represented. As Borough President, I would use the resources of my office to do a serious outreach campaign to recruit a diverse pool of residents from each community to serve on the boards. Meetings with community groups would be held to provide recommendations. Additional resources would be used to help provide child care and transportation assistance to facilitate board participation by working parents, the elderly or those who have difficulty traveling. Active participation in the community board is an important role for all members. Automatic re-appointment for many years deprives our local boards of new members who might be more representative of a changing community. Although there are no term limit provisions for community board members, the Borough President’s office should be cognizant of how many years members have served and make an effort to create a space for new ones.

The Green Party has advocated for elected community councils with increased decision-making authority. I would welcome a dialogue on this concept with other elected officials and communities.

BS: What is the statistical breakdown of Green Party members by ethnicity in Brooklyn?

GM: The Kings County Green Party does not have official statistics of membership by ethnicity at this time. People of color throughout Brooklyn are members of the party but more work needs to be done. Local activists have been committed to the goal of diversifying our party membership. In Brooklyn over the past few years, we have organized and attended meetings in several culturally diverse communities. In my campaign, I have reached out and recruited volunteers and supporters in East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and among the West African community citywide.

BS: What organizations have you contributed your services to, so that Brooklyn could be a better place?

GM: As an activist in my community, I have worked with local peace groups, Brooklyn Parents for Peace and the War Resisters League in the anti-war movement. As a coordinator in the Park Slope Greens, I have worked with other groups to promote environmental issues including Christmas tree recycling the year the Department of Sanitation cut that program. I have been a long time advocate in the single payer health care movement and a current board member of the NY Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. In that capacity, I organized several forums and rallies in Brooklyn as well as other parts of the city.

Posted by lumi at 7:10 PM

How to Defeat Ratner and the Nets

Banana Nutrament

Banana Nutrament blogger Miguel suggests running a protest candidate for Beep.

We need a portly, white-haired simulacrum to step forward and deliver us into the Promised Land. We need our savior to tout Junior's cheesecake with demented glee and wear polo shirts to cop funerals. A man who differs in only one respect from our current figurehead, that he is AGAINST the razing of Prospect Heights and the political backscratching that is Ratner's profiteering from a gross abuse of eminent domain.

Desperately seeking "MARKY MARTOWITZ!"

[Can you pick out the real Beep? Hint: He's usually within arm's length from a buffet.]

link

Posted by lumi at 6:42 PM

The left seeks the redemption of Al Sharpton

Yesterday, civil rights attorney Norman Seigel and Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President Gloria Mattera reached out to Rev. Al Sharpton, hoping to convince him to reverse his support for Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

Read the reports below.

Posted by lumi at 7:57 AM

Mattera Calls for Sharpton to Join Her In Opposing the Ratner Arena Proposal

HotIndieNews.com

"I urge Reverend Sharpton to reconsider his decision to support the heavily subsidized Ratner Nets Arena proposal," said Gloria Mattera, Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, upon hearing that the Reverend Al Sharpton had announced his support for the project. "Our Brooklyn residents deserve leaders who will stand up for them against multibillionaire developers."

"Reverend Sharpton has in the past been a persuasive voice against big-money influence on local politics. I hope he will reconsider his decision and stand up for the majority of Brooklyn residents who oppose the Ratner development project," added Mattera.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:55 AM

BROOKLYN DEVELOPMENT

The Crain’s Insider Fax Service

Civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel will try to convince the Rev. Al Sharpton to reverse his support for Forest City Ratner’s downtown Brooklyn development plan. The proposal will likely require the use of eminent domain. Siegel is fighting to change state law to limit the land takings. He says of Sharpton, “I’m not sure he understands that this is a civil rights issue.”

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

July 21, 2005

Ratner ‘Ratchets Up’ Campaign for Arena Plan

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Raanan Geberer

The Eagle covers the press conference where State Assemblymember Roger Green was "master of ceremonies" heralding the Ratner-Gehry project.

Meanwhile watchdog groups called for the MTA to release the competing bids for the railyards.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:13 AM

July 19, 2005

Sharpton & Thompson support Ratner-Gehry proposal

The Observer's Matthew Schuerman wasn't blowing smoke when he reported on their blog yesterday that Sharpton was about to pledge his allegance to Ratner's proposal.

This morning, the Daily News and NY Times are carrying the story with quotes from a written statement provided by Sharpton.

Though both papers carried the story, they played down the positive effect that a Sharpton endorsement would have, noting that he was also a staunch supporter of the Jets West Side Stadium.

The NY Daily News ("Sharpton jumps on Nets arena bandwagon") is carrying quotes from Brooklyn "God Squad" representative Rev. Clinton Miller:

"[Sharpton] should have called some of the preachers who were involved for the last two years," said the Rev. Clinton Miller of Brown Memorial Baptist Church. "It's misguiding, and it makes it seem that African-Americans should be behind this project."

The News also reports that City Comptroller Williiam Thompson is backing the proposal:

[Sharpton] is expected to join city Controller [sic] William Thompson and other supporters at a pro-arena rally at Brooklyn's Duryea Presbyterian Church on Sterling Place today.

NoLandGrab: The Thompson endorsement puts the Comptroller and Public Advocate (Gotbaum) squarely in Ratner's camp. These two officials were elected to advocate for the City's and Public's best interest. That leaves a handful of elected pols and a large coalition of neighborhood groups to speak out against Ratner and Gehry's unpopular plan.

The NY Times ("Sharpton Backs Developer's Plan for Brooklyn Arena and Towers") also has an update on the MTA railyard bids (emphasis added):

Tom Kelly, a transportation authority spokesman, said that a decision on the proposals could come next week at the earliest, but he cautioned that it could take months longer.

Also, NY1, Al Sharpton Backs Nets' Brooklyn Arena Plan

Posted by lumi at 6:40 AM

July 18, 2005

Sweet Al

The Real Estate Observer by Matthew Schuerman

What were the chances that Ratner and Gehry's Atlantic Yards controversy would roll along without Al Sharpton getting involved?

This is no joke. The Real Estate Observer is reporting that Al Sharpton is going to step up to the plate to bat for Ratner's Atlantic Yard proposal. As of now, Sharpton is batting 0 for 1 for taxpayer-subsidized development controversies, after throwing his support behind the ill-fated Jets stadium.

The pronouncement that Sharpton will make his annoucement was made today by State Assemblyman Roger Green who "plead guilty to to padding his travel expenses last year." Fortunately for Green's constituents, is was only a misdemeanor (not a felony) and he was able to run again.

link

Posted by lumi at 10:34 PM

Marty mayor bid? It's possible

NY Daily News

While there is no Marty for Mayor campaign yet, plenty of people are already talking about it.

"This could work for him," said political consultant Gerry O'Brien. "He has a real personality, which makes him stand out. ... When you see the usual kind of blow-dried, prepackaged candidate, people's eyes glaze over."

Since becoming borough president in 2001, Markowitz has become known as the borough's chief cheerleader.

But he also has taken on more serious projects, like being a consistent champion of developer Bruce Ratner's quest...

article

NoLandGrab: What the??? This is a good way to send feelers out through the press.

MESSAGE TO MARTY: More Brooklynites remember that if elected BP you promised not to seek higher office, than remember your promise to bring professional sports back to Brooklyn.

MESSAGE TO THE DAILY NEWS: Just because they send out a press release, doesn't mean you have to take it seriously.

Posted by lumi at 8:14 AM

July 13, 2005

MARTY: In his own words

digitalbrooklyn.com

Marty on the bids:

I expect the MTA to make the best possible comprehensive deal for the State, New York City, Brooklyn, and public transit. That deal should produce significant tax revenue, jobs, and housing, for this an future generations of Brooklynites. It should also include an arena.

More MARTY

Posted by lumi at 8:04 AM

July 6, 2005

House Votes on Eminent Domain

*Stripping Home Owners of Property Rights Will not be Federally Funded in Spite of Supreme Court Ruling *

By Family Research Council

[A] House [of Representatives] measure, which passed 231-189, denies federal money to any city or state project that used eminent domain to force people to sell their property to make way for more profitable private projects.

article

NoLandGrab: If the Senate could pass the same measure, Ratner would loose access to federal affordable housing construction subsidies, Liberty Bonds and perhaps a few as yet unnamed sources of subsidies.

Posted by lumi at 11:45 PM

June 30, 2005

With West Side Stadium Dead, Bloomberg Does About-Face on PILOT Funds

NY Sun

Mayor Bloomberg signs legislation requiring Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs) to be paid to the City's general fund, but reserves right for Mayor to request approval for special projects like sports stadiums.

 According to the council, the new bill is a modified version of one the mayor vetoed this month.It requires all money collected from PILOTs to go into the city’s general cash pool, but, unlike the previous bill,it allows the mayor to request approval to use some of that money for a specific project, such as a stadium.

article

Also: The NY Times, Mayor Agrees to Council's Review of Revenue Source He Uses

Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM

June 28, 2005

Bloomberg Stops Making Sense

"This is a guy, if you don't understand that, you don't know how great this guy has been for Brooklyn and for New York City." — Mayor Mike Bloomberg on Bruce Ratner

Report on NY1

Posted by lumi at 10:02 PM

June 25, 2005

Relax, Brooklyn

Ben Dover of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle asks Brooklyn to accept our pillaging more gracefully.

Almost all of us are at some time either pedestrians or drivers, and, depending on which one we are the moment, we adopt the attitude of that mode. The drivers within us are going to have to learn that we drive in the city only on sufferance, and that we’ll be paying more both in money and time is we enter downtown.

article

Posted by amy at 12:10 AM

June 24, 2005

Slope group rips Ratner plan

From the Brooklyn Papers:

A civic group in Park Slope that began by successfully pressuring Commerce Bank into modifying the look of a new branch to fit in with the neighborhood, is now taking aim at developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards basketball arena and skyscraper project.

Park Slope Neighbors, which formed last October to bring together block associations and residents who felt estranged by other area organizations, made a splash when they convinced the bank to reduce the area allocated to a suburban drive-through design for a more Brownstone Brooklyn facade.

article

Posted by amy at 11:56 PM

Civic leaders join to fight Ratner

From the Brooklyn Papers:

Claiming that their elected officials have not represented their concerns, a broad-based group of activist, neighborhood, block and civic associations have come together to represent their own concerns about the Atlantic Yards project.

Incorporating leaders of the Boerum Hill Association, Atlantic Avenue Betterment Association, Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corporation, Park Slope Neighbors, Fort Greene Association, Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and Develop-Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the newly formed Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) is in the early stages of identifying the concerns of the communities neighboring the project as it moves through procedures specified in the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).

article

Posted by amy at 11:53 PM

TISH RIPS GIFF

From the Brooklyn Papers:

Letitia James is no fan of Gifford Miller.

And, the councilwoman said this week, she wants to make that point perfectly clear in light of mailings to Democrats in her district — paid for by taxpayers — that imply an alliance between the City Council speaker, who is running for mayor, and the Fort Greene-Prospect Heights legislator.

It’s not so much that the mailings carry the air of impropriety — despite emanating from the City Council they amount to little more than campaign literature for the Upper East Side councilman — although that, too bothers James. No, in this case it is the implication that the councilwoman is an ally of someone who supports a project which she has risked her politcal career fighting — developer Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards.

“I have not endorsed Gifford Miller,” James told The Brooklyn Papers this week. “I want that stated unequivocally, and will not be endorsing Gifford Miller unless he changes his position on the Atlantic Yards.”

article

Posted by amy at 9:42 PM

June 22, 2005

COMMISH'S CRANE CAUSES COLLAPSE

Dolly Williams's construction company A. William's Constuction was slapped with two violations when a crane owned by the company was cited in a Brooklyn building collapse.

article

NoLandGrab: Williams is the City Planning Commissioner appointed by Borough President Marty Markowitz and Bruce Ratner's business partner in the NJ Nets. In response to accusations of conflict of interest, the City Planning Commission has already announced that the bleach-blonde bombshell must recuse herself from any discussion of the Atlantic Yards proposal by the City Planning Commission.

Posted by lumi at 9:47 PM

June 18, 2005

New Democratic Majority Meet and Greet w/ Mayoral Candidate, Anthony Weiner.

Saturday, June 18, 4pm.

Magnetic Field. 97 Atlantic Ave. (btwn Henry & Hicks), Brooklyn.

New Democratic Majority invites you to meet Congressman Anthony Weiner, candidate for Mayor last week. Congressman Weiner will be there to tell you more about himself, his record, and his vision for our city. Candidate Weiner support Ratner's proposal.

-You can read Weiner's statement on Atlantic Yards here

Posted by amy at 11:28 AM

Dumped by beep, member is back

From the Brooklyn Papers:

It’s a hard battle, fighting the man. Especially if that man has veto power, and many of your opinions are diametrically opposed to his.

That is a lesson Ken Diamondstone — a briefly former, and now reinstated, Community Board 2 member — learned this week.

Diamondstone, whose appointment was tenuously renewed for one year June 9, less than a week after Borough President Marty Markowitz discharged him from his 11-year tenure on the community board, held a press conference Monday to shed light on what he characterized as an epidemic of shutting out dissenters. Diamondstone said he was dismissed for disagreeing with Markowitz over developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan.

“I am a former vice chair and a current member of Community Board 2. Or, rather, I was a member of Community Board 2 until I made the mistake of disagreeing with Marty Markowitz about the Brooklyn Atlantic Yards project,” said Diamondstone.

article

Posted by amy at 10:33 AM

June 17, 2005

Central Brooklyn Independent Dems (CBID) get their mojo back

Dipping into their old mojo and reminding folks why they're "Independent Democrats", CBID passed a resolution last night in opposition to Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.

CBID Resolution:

Whereas the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) support the following development guidelines:

1. Eminent domain or the threat of eminent domain should be used sparingly if ever and should never be used on a private profit project.

2. Major development projects should go through stringent, inclusive community review process.

3. The dispensing of all public property should be done to maximize the financial health of the government agency.

4. RFPs should be issued at the beginning of a disposal process.

5. All projects in The City of New York should comply with both he letter and spirit of NYC’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and not destroy the character and scale of a neighborhood.

6. Due to the density of New York City, the environmental rules should be strictly adhered to and enforced.

Therefore, let it be understood that the position of CBID is that failure on any one of these grounds would be sufficient for this club to reject any project and, as the Forest City Ratner (FCR) proposal does not adequately address the above-referenced issues or fails said issues, CBID rejects and opposes the FCR Atlantic Yards proposal.

www.cbidems.org

Posted by lumi at 8:11 AM

June 11, 2005

Talk Radio Interviews with Working Family Party leaders Letitia James and Bertha Lewis

WNYC
The Brian Leher Show

Brian Lehrer talks to Letitia James about Ratner's plan, then Bertha Lewis attacks James and points out race and class divisions.

listen up

Check out DDDb.net for their response to Bertha Lewis's on-air comments.

Posted by lumi at 7:18 AM

June 10, 2005

Not everyone’s invited to Marty’s public meet

From the Brooklyn Papers:

Borough President Marty Markowitz demanded this week that the general public, other politicians and the press be barred from what was being described as a “public” meeting about the Atlantic Yards held by the Dean Street Block Association — or he wouldn’t attend.

article

Posted by amy at 10:09 PM

Markowitz Press Release: ACORN MOU Press Conference

Wonder why Marty is always SHOUTING? IT'S SCRIPTED!

From the May 19 press release:

BRUCE HAS PROVEN THAT NO DEVELOPER IN AMERICA HAS A GREATER SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS — AND NONE HAS DONE MORE TO ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE AMERICAN DREAM.

HELLO MARTY!

Posted by lumi at 7:01 AM

Gif Comes Out to Play in the Yards (Debate)

More on Giff's support of Atlantic Yards:

As the Brooklyn political machine, generally supportive of the Yards plan, and grateful to Miller over minor concessions made in the Williamsburg plan, has lined up behind the speaker in his race against the other Democratic mayoral candidates, Miller's pro-Yards stance was unsurprising. His choice did require some sacrifices, however: the governmental review process over the Yards will be carried out by the state, instead of the city, thus taking it largely out of Miller's control.

"It should, and I wish that it would," Miller responded, when asked whether the project would be subject to city review. "But the important thing is that the [city] money for the project will be going through the Council process."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:01 AM

June 8, 2005

Board That Nixed Jets Stadium Could Also Sink Atlantic Yards

NY Sun
by Julie Satow

The board that threw the knockout punch at the proposed Jets stadium could deliver a second blow if it rejects Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project in Downtown Brooklyn. Governor Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno control the Public Authorities Control Board, whose 3- 0 approval of $100 million in state subsidies is required for the Brooklyn project to proceed.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:33 AM

June 7, 2005

No-look pass

Stay Free! Daily

City Council Speaker Gifford Miller has been as helpful as he could be in trying to block the giveaway of the Hudson Yards to the Jets, but he has come out on the wrong side of the Atlantic Yards giveaway to the Nets.

article

Posted by lumi at 2:49 PM

June 6, 2005

A Little Giff and Take for Brooklyn Pols

Brooklyn Downtown Star
by Reed Jackson

As mayoral candidate Gifford Miller is picking up endorsements from Brooklyn Democratic clubs, he dances around the issue of his support of Atlantic Yards:

Regarding one issue central to the neighborhoods surrounding Downtown Brooklyn, Forest City Ratner's plans for the Atlantic Yards, Miller delivered a somewhat more ambiguous position. "We need development of the Atlantic Yards," he asserted, "and there needs to be infrastructure." Miller said that he would try to ensure an "open, creative process to decide what's best for this site," to make sure "that whatever happens there is in the best interest of this community."

article

Posted by lumi at 6:42 AM

It's a whole new ballgame

Foes of Jets stadium back arena

NY Daily News
by Deborah Kolben

Mayoral candidates who oppose the Bloomberg-backed Jets stadium on Manhattan's West Side are now falling in line to support developer Bruce Ratner's multibillion-dollar Nets arena project in downtown Brooklyn.

After City Council Speaker Gifford Miller announced his support this weekend of the massive housing and commercial development, Manhattan Borough President Virginia Fields also pledged her approval.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:37 AM

June 5, 2005

Gifford Miller Endorses Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Proposal Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) Says He Now Stands on the Side of Bloomberg and His Sweetheart Deals

DDDB Press Release:

BROOKLYN—Today Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), a community coalition fighting for the rights of communities to determine their futures, is denouncing Council Speaker and Mayoral candidate Gifford Miller’s announced endorsement and support for Forest City Ratner’s (FCR) $3.5 billion development proposal for a sports arena and 20 high-rises in Prospect Heights Brooklyn. This proposal will cost the taxpayers of New York City and State at least $1.6 billion.*

“Speaker Miller has made it clear that he stands firmly on the side of billionaire developers’ backroom deals and against the people and communities of Brooklyn,” said DDDB spokesman, Daniel Goldstein. “It is the height of hypocrisy and inconsistency that Mr. Miller, a staunch opponent of the West Side Stadium boondoggle and a rigged MTA bidding process, is now supporting the same kind of sweetheart Olympics arena deal and rigged MTA process in Brooklyn. While he attacks the Mayor’s budget cuts and misplaced priorities, Mr. Miller has decided that this City’s priorities are sports arenas, massive overdevelopment, and luxury housing.”

Speaker Miller has been making the rounds of various Brooklyn community groups and political clubs over the past months, and at each stop, including last week, he has said that he does not have “enough information, facts or figures” to take a position on the Ratner proposal.

“I don’t know what new information Mr. Miller has,” Goldstein continued, “because at last week’s Council hearing on the Atlantic Yards proposal the Speaker attended for five minutes and then left the room, missing all the testimony on both sides of the issue. One thing he missed was Ratner’s announcement that he would now build 7,300 housing units, 2,800 more than originally proposed, and none of those added units are affordable. He also missed FCR’s testimony that they cannot guarantee any permanent jobs. He also missed that there is absolutely no infrastructure, transportation, traffic, schools, fire and police plan to deal with the 15,000 new residents and 20,000 arena visitors. Apparently he supports massive public subsidies for an arena, luxury housing, the creation of temporary jobs, unsustainable development, as well as the abuse of eminent domain.

Candidate Miller has run a campaign declaring that the City needs leadership, both for the City and as the leading urban center of the country.

Goldstein concluded, “Mr. Miller is correct, New York needs leadership. But what kind of a leader allows the City’s oversight of a massive 7.8 million square foot project to be completely taken away by an unaccountable State agency (the Empire State Development Corporation), without so much as a whimper from the Speaker of the City Council? As Speaker, he took all power away from the body he leads, while giving $100 million directly to FCR for a private arena. That’s not leadership; it's abdication at the people's expense. ”

Posted by amy at 10:56 AM

Miller Backs $3.5 Billion Plan for Brooklyn Sports Complex

From the New York Times:

The announcement did, however, raise questions about Mr. Miller's opposition to the proposed West Side stadium supported by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others. Like that project, the Atlantic Yards project would include a sports complex - an 800,000-square-foot home for Mr. Ratner's basketball team, the New Jersey Nets - benefit from millions of dollars in subsidies and be built in part on land owned by the authority.

"It is the height of hypocrisy and inconsistency that Mr. Miller, a staunch opponent of the West Side Stadium boondoggle and a rigged M.T.A. bidding process, is now supporting the same kind of sweetheart Olympics arena deal and rigged M.T.A. process in Brooklyn," said Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, in a statement released yesterday.

article

Posted by amy at 10:05 AM

June 4, 2005

COUNCIL WON’T LISTEN

From the Brooklyn Papers:

The only public hearing before a committee of the City Council on the Atlantic Yards project was held in a room so small that dozens of people — including, for a time, Borough President Marty Markowitz — were barred by police from entering.

Even for those who did get into the May 26 hearing, there was little time for public input, although the committee allowed pro-development testimonials by elected officials and representatives of the developer, Forest City Ratner, to go on for more than two hours.

“The general public didn’t get to speak,” said Daniel Goldstein, a persistent critic of the plan to build high-rise housing and office buildings as well as an arena for the New Jersey Nets.

article

Posted by amy at 10:49 AM

May 31, 2005

Brooklyn Politics: FAN MAIL

Park Slope Courier
Brooklyn Politics by Erik Enquist

Enquist debates ardent reader Pyliss Wrynn (or is it "Wren?" What's in a name?) who is an impassioned critic of Ratner's proposal. The political columnist argues for building more density in cities with access to public transportation, but is against tax exemptions by local governments that tranfer the tax burden onto everyone else.

NoLandGrab: Though the exchange is mostly a debate of ideas, Enquist trips up by dismissing his reader's citation of transportation studies around arenas. He only need look at the arena over a transportation hub across the river to know that ONLY 52% of Knicks/Rangers fans arrive by public transportation — though better than the Meadowlands, Brooklynites will face a very serious, conceivably unmitigable impact .

To read the exchange on Engquist's site click here and scroll down to the middle or click the link below.

An impassioned opponent of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development plan, Phyllis Wrynn, has been trying to recruit us for the opposition. She believes the six-block project would destroy the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Wrynn also questioned the objectivity of this newspaper’s coverage of the controversial proposal.

Some excerpts from our e-mail exchange:

“Dear Erik,

“Is it true that your publisher is the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and refused to have an official function on the Ratner proposal open to the public and reporters, as was originally announced? I really need to know if we can trust your paper’s reporting of the development of the Atlantic Yards if that is true.”

“Dear Phyllis,

“Dan Holt, the co-publisher of my paper, is the current chairman of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. I just read a story in the Brooklyn Paper about Daniel Goldstein [of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn] and the Hagan sisters [Patti and Schellie of the Prospect Heights Action Coalition] being barred from some meeting the chamber held. Apparently there was a fear those three would be disruptive. Reporters were also not allowed, which I believe was the plan all along and not a change of plans. Was this Dan Holt’s decision? I doubt it. But if so, who cares? A private institution is not obligated to open its doors to reporters or anyone else. Our reporters didn’t attend either.

“Anyway, Dan Holt does not interfere with our reporting of the Ratner plan or anything else. Most newspapers have a wall between the business and editorial departments. I’m not sure if that’s the case at the Brooklyn Paper, where Ratner’s people believe publisher Ed Weintrob assigns and rewrites his reporters’ stories to give them an anti-Ratner slant.”

(We forgot to mention that Weintrob bought the URL forestcityratner.com and redirected all visitors there to his paper’s own Web site.)

Wren also wrote, “And, do you really believe that your life will not be affected one iota by a construction project which will take decades? Do you go from neighborhood to neighborhood? Do you breathe the air? Do you ever have appointments that might be affected by traffic delays? Do you have a sense of the difference in light and air quality between Brooklyn and Manhattan?

“I’m sorry. I’ve always had respect for your diligent coverage of the news. Your take on this just doesn’t make sense to me.”

We replied, “I suppose ‘one iota’ might have been an exaggeration. Perhaps I’ll have to bike around the construction zone to get to Fort Greene Park to play tennis. The traffic won’t affect me much because I don’t own a car and I rarely drive. On the air quality issue, the problem is not tall buildings so much as vehicles. Right now, nearly every fan at the Nets games drives there. With the new arena, most will be able to take the subway or bus.”

Wren: “I urge you to read studies done of transportation to sporting events country-wide. There is solid evidence that the people buying the huge numbers of luxury boxes and other seats they are projecting as needed to make this concept viable don’t and won’t take public transportation to such venues.”

Us: “The bulk of the seats at any basketball arena are not courtside or in luxury boxes. I’d guess about 80 percent of the ticket revenue comes from 20 percent of the seats. These are the folks who would be taking taxis to the games.

"You’re asking me to look at transportation data from other arenas. Do these arenas have 11 subway lines under them or two blocks away? Plus a commuter railroad and six bus routes in front of it? You can't compare apples and oranges, or Minneapolis and Brooklyn.

*"A major factor in my thinking is the philosophy to build up, not out. Building out is sprawl; building up is efficient. I suppose in a perfect world we could all live in four-story brownstones a few blocks from the subway, but...”   We tossed in a quote from Riverkeeper’s recent sprawl report:

"As sprawl degrades the environment, it also impairs the local economy. New infrastructure in sprawling areas, including new roads, water lines, and sewer lines, along with expenditures for new schools and increased police and fire protection cost taxpayers millions of dollars. Planning that keeps development in community centers leads to more efficient distribution of services, and therefore lower property taxes.”

Wren: “But Erik, we have close to a perfect world, so why would we want to corrupt that? The humanity of our neighborhoods is so evident! We are NOT talking about creating sprawl; we’re NOT talking about not developing the yards. We are talking about reasonable alternatives that enhance our neighborhoods and bridge them, not puncture the sky and cast historic cityscapes in shadow, lining developers’ pockets, giving them sweetheart deals as far into the future as they could possibly live.”

Us: “You’re missing my point. Building up is efficient; building out is not. If you build up in Brooklyn and create 4,500 units near public transportation, that’s 4,500 1/3-acre lots that won’t be developed in the wilderness of upstate New York and New Jersey with highway-widening and Wal-Marts and strip malls to follow. Sprawl is worse than some shadows from Ratner’s buildings.

"The world may be perfect for those of us lucky to already live in low-rise housing near mass transit. Not everyone is as lucky as we are.”

All of this got us exactly nowhere, as Wren wrote back, “Desecrating historic neighborhoods so that sprawl doesn’t happen elsewhere is the most specious argument I have ever heard.”             We realized that, like Winnie the Pooh, we were tracking the very footprints we’d left at the beginning of our journey. Still, we compulsively replied.             “Which historic neighborhoods would be desecrated? Park Slope? Fort Greene? Prospect Heights? HOW WOULD THEY BE DESECRATED? Explain to me how a typical day in the life of a resident of these neighborhoods would be desecrated.”*

We’ll stop now before we put the sleeping-pill companies out of business.

OK, one more thought. A decent studio apartment in a Prospect Heights co-op (34 Plaza Street) is being listed for $275,000—plus you need a six-figure salary to be approved by the co-op board. That’s insane.

Brownstone Brooklyn is wonderful for those who live there, but most people can’t afford it. More housing units, and more “affordable” housing units, such as those Ratner wants to build, would increase the supply/demand ratio and thus counterbalance the astronomical rise in property values of the last 10 years.

This is not to express support for the tax breaks Ratner would get. We’d like to see a federal law forbidding states or municipalities from granting tax privileges on an individual basis. That would help end sweetheart deals and competition between local governments that lowers taxes for some at the expense of everyone else.

Posted by lumi at 8:35 AM

May 29, 2005

Daniel Goldstein's Testimony at City Council Hearings

NewYorkGames.org

Read all about bond scams, $1.52 billion deal and snake oil.

The people of Brooklyn did not vote for Bruce Ratner to plan our futures. We did not elect him to make decisions about our futures, the landscape of our communities, and our money. We elected you, in the City Council and Mayor Bloomberg. So then why has the City signed off their oversight of this project, without a whimper?

article

Posted by amy at 11:04 PM

May 26, 2005

New York City Lobbyists Take in $33.6 Million
Not-for-Profits and Corporations Driving Industry to New Heights

The NY Sun

Records of lobbyists' activities in NYC from 2004 shows that both Bruce Ratner and the Jets have spread around cash to more than one PR firm to lobby local government:

The Jets were not, however, the only entity with business before the city spreading money around to firms with ties to government entities.

Forest City Ratner, which has development projects all over the city and is trying to win approval to build a basketball arena for the Nets in Brooklyn, also hired several firms. An initial review of the report shows that Ratner shelled out at least $196,000 to three different lobbyists.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:56 AM

Big Dogs in the Yard

Brooklyn Downtown Star
by Reed Jackson

The Brooklyn Downtown Star covers last week's Ratner-Bloomberg-ACORN press conference. Most papers went as far as covering Bertha Lewis and Bloomberg locking lips, but the Star goes futher to depict a lovefest where "hoops metaphors were the verbal currency of the day" and Markowitz "swept Lewis into a giddy two-step, an act characteristic of the hug, kiss, and backslap-laden press conference."

The article also mentions today's public hearings (see listing above).

article

Posted by lumi at 7:50 AM

May 24, 2005

Flying Solo With PILOTS

Eugene W. Harper Jr. on whether mayoral control of payments in lieu of taxes is a good thing

Harper's opinion piece in the NY Sun (May 18) is a comprehensive definition and history of PILOTS and Bloomberg's attempt to retain control over the fund to finance pet projects.

PILOTS are “payments in lieu of taxes” made by occupants of real estate not technically on the tax rolls to compensate for loss of ordinary city revenues — sometimes by taxexempt government units, like the Port Authority; more frequently, by taxpaying companies with deals under a program for “economic development.”Typically, the city takes title to property, removing it from the tax rolls, then “leases” back virtual ownership to the company, which agrees to make payments “in lieu of” taxes, usually less than taxes otherwise due. For example, the city may use PILOTS to permit a company to pay a slidingscale percentage of full taxes over several decades, and in doing so, retain (or attract) businesses otherwise threatening to leave town (or not come), owing to high city taxes.

article (aka, PILOTS 101)

Posted by lumi at 9:19 AM

ACORN'S JUDAS KISS

DIRELAND

Political reporter Doug Ireland's commentary on the image of Bertha bussing Mike.

Is the co-chair of the Working Families Party going to "put out" this fall when the mayoral race heats up, or is she just a tease?

article

Posted by lumi at 7:52 AM

May 23, 2005

Norman Siegel, Candidate for Public Advocate

Gothamist,com

Norman Siegel on eminent domain abuse:

"If I was the public advocate, I would holding hearings on the use of eminent domain. I’d be building a coalition of New Yorkers opposed to eminent domain, because there is something wrong when the government takes your private property and gives it to another private developer. Then it’s all about money and it can’t be all about money."

interview

Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM

May 19, 2005

Land Doesn't Pay

The city's $7 billion-a-year property tax gap -- no wonder we're broke
The Village Voice

Neil deMause demistifies property tax exemtions, who gets them and why the city is always broke. Find out why favored developers like Ratner, like New York City.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:19 AM

MARTY'S RAP SHEET

Park Slope Courier
Brooklyn Politics

Erik Enquist looks back at Marty Markowitz's guilty plea for misreporting campaign contributions.

Was the crime an "innocuous" oversight as represented in Rebeca Mead's recent New Yorker article? Or, was there some truth behind the multiple-count indictment for taking four-figure campaign contributions from a credit union and reporting them as if they’d come from elsewhere?

article

Posted by lumi at 7:45 AM

May 14, 2005

Kutuzov’s Horse—and the City’s Future

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

After the fiscal boom of the 1990s that encouraged thoughts of expansion we now have a very different mindset at City Hall. For the first time since the Lindsay years a city administration is involved in the physical planning of the city. Not that there haven’t been significant developments in the meantime – Battery Park City on Hudson River landfill and Metrotech in downtown Brooklyn, for instance – but the first grew out of a state initiative and the second resulted largely from the interaction of the then Borough President Howard Golden with Polytechnic University and developer Bruce Ratner. But now we again have the City Planning Department mapping out broad zoning changes and targeting districts, particularly along the city’s immense waterfront, for special development. The current work, as was also the case with the generally well-regarded 1961 zoning revision during Wagner’s time, has proceeded with little obvious hands-on involvement of the mayor (in contrast to the Lindsay style). Curiously, as Mayor Bloomberg has mostly stayed in the background on matters such as Brooklyn waterfront and downtown development, he has become so involved in the idea of a West Side football stadium that he is accused of being fixated on that at the expense of other programs.

article

Posted by amy at 10:29 AM

May 13, 2005

Weiner Blasts Freedom Tower Fiasco

Gay City News
by Duncan Osborn

Park Slope native and mayoral hopeful US Assemblyman Anthony Weiner attended a LAMBDA Independent Democrats meeting where he was asked about his position the Ratner's mega-development proposed for a site just across the street of his old neighborhood:

Taking questions from the audience, Weiner said he supported the Atlantic Yards project in downtown Brooklyn near the Brooklyn Academy of Music where developer Bruce Ratner wants to build an arena for the Nets basketball team surrounded by a complex of 17 high-rise buildings.

“It’s fundamentally a housing deal,” Weiner said. “The amount of housing that is going to be below market rate is substantial... Overall it’s the kind of economic activity that I would like to see.”

Weiner opposes building a football stadium on Manhattan’s West Side and has said it should be built in Willet’s Point in Queens.

article

NoLandGrab: The joke of the week goes to DDDb's Lucy Koteen who commented, "Weiner has a good sense of Schumer." Check out the positions of other pols on Ratner's superdevelopment.

Posted by lumi at 7:15 AM

May 12, 2005

Miller calling for transparency?

WNYC

Is Gifford Miller following Fernando Ferrer's lead in calling for more transparency for Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal?

Earlier this week, Brian Lehrer asked a listener's question about Miller's position on Atlantic Yards compared to the West Side Stadium.

Brian Lehrer:
I have a message from one of the Nets stadium in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The message reads, "If Miller supports hearings on the West Side Stadium, why not on this Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn?" Or do you?

Gifford Miller:
I do. We've had at least one already and I support having more and we will have more. And I think that the same principle ought to apply. Ultimately the reason that the West Side Stadium is such a bad deal for the City is that there was never a competitive process for choosing it. We auctioned off thirteen of the most valuable acres in the world and the only people we got to bid on it were a football team and a basketball team and there's no community opportunities. We ought to have the same principle, there ought to be serious competitiveness.

Is affordable housing a very important goal? Absolutely, and I understand that there is going to be some amount of affordable housing associated with the Atlantic Yards development. But I don't know how much yet because we haven't had that kind of open and competitive process. And what we have to do is have that same kind of application for the West Side as for Atlantic Yards, and if we have that competitiveness in the end taxpayers in New York will be better off.

Brian Lehrer Show Archives, Tues., May 10, 2005
Listen online to Miller interview (Nets Arena question at 17:00 min)

NoLandGrab: Miller's language is stronger than in the past, however, as City Council Speaker, he has been putting off hearings on the City-funded portion of the Ratner proposal.

Posted by lumi at 7:37 AM

May 10, 2005

Hey Marty! Develop, Don't Take Cheap Shots 

Curbed.com

The NY real estate blog reports that The New Yorker published Dan Goldstein's letter in response to Rebecca Mead's profile of BP Marty Markowitz.

In the article, Markowitz hangs himself by his own buffoonish Clown-Prince-of-Brooklyn act, even going as far as taking a call from "Bruce." What Goldstein disputes is the characterization of his neighborhood as lacking "historical significance." He sites "at least four architecturally and historically significant buildings [that] will be slated for demolition."

curbed.com

Posted by lumi at 7:38 AM

May 6, 2005

Borough pols boost Ferrer

NY Daily News
by Michael Saul

As he picked up endorsements from six Brooklyn officeholders yesterday, mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer said he has major reservations about the secrecy surrounding the planned Nets arena.

"To call that process not transparent is probably the understatement of the year."

"There is next to nothing being discussed in the public domain with respect to the Nets aren."

"The public has a right to know who will be displaced, how much will it cost, what is the math of this project. ... The community has a right to the answers to those and many other questions. The answers have not been forthcoming."

article

NoLandGrab: Will this cause City Council Speaker Gifford Miller to feel the heat and finally hold hearings on the $100 million that is budgeted for the Nets arena in next year's NYC budget?

Posted by lumi at 6:41 PM

May 5, 2005

Senator Schumer Cautions Against Eminent Domain At Ground Zero

Earlier this week, reports were circulating that the Mayor and Governor were considering the use of eminent domain to gain control over Ground Zero from real estate mogul Larry Silverstein, who still holds the lease on the property. Schumer publicly expressed concerns over this move.

"I'm sure eminent domain is sort of the nuclear option for the city. If we go to eminent domain, it will be in court forever, so I think it ought to be a very last resort." -- NY Senior Senator Charles Schumer

article

NoLandGrab: Brooklynites are getting used to living in a parallel universe of irony -- wanna guess what the Senator and Park Slope resident thinks about the Ratner plan and use of eminent domain?

Posted by lumi at 7:44 AM

May 2, 2005

Markowitz Letter

Marty is sending this form letter (see below) to constituents who are concerned or opposed to Ratner's arena and high-rise tower proposal. Read it with a grain of salt:

• The jobs figures are specious at best if much of the touted office space are to become residential as FCR is now claiming.

• Marty is right that the EIS will finally "provide information on many issues that are of vital interest to the community." However, contrary to his claims, there is no mechanism for "ongoing public disclosure" and "community participation" in the state process. He might be confusing this with the local review process called ULURP, which, according to New York State, doesn't apply here.

• The economic backbone of Brooklyn, since the decline of the manufacturing sector, has been small businesses. Many components of Ratner's plan are anti-small business (i.e. national chain and box store retailers and displacement of existing small businesses).

---

OFFICE OF THE BROOKLYN BOROUGH PRESIDENT
MARTY MARKOWITZ
President

April 21, 2005

Dear Neighbor:

As your Borough President, I have an absolute responsibility to share with you any information concerning the Atlantic Yards development and what it will mean to your communities. My goal is clear - this project should be a benefit and not a detriment to your community, and should work for all of Brooklyn. Atlantic Yards will bring a national sports franchise - the NBA Nets - to Brooklyn for the first time since the Dodgers left for Los Angeles in 1957. It includes a brand-new, state-of-the-art arena designed by one of the world's great architects, Frank Gehry, which will also be used for events such as concerts, circuses, ice shows, amateur sports, and community activities.

But the project represents much more. It includes thousands of units of new housing that will be guaranteed affordable to low- and moderate-income Brooklynites, including seniors. It includes new commercial and retail space that will create an estimated 10,000 permanent, full-time jobs. That's on top of about 15,000 construction-related jobs over the next ten years, all of which will be filled by unionized workers. Many of these contracts and construction jobs will go to minority- and/or women-owned businesses located in Brooklyn.

Atlantic Yards represents a huge economic and cultural boost that will propel us toward a better future for Brooklyn's families, and our children's families. Clearly, I support this project. But as someone who serves all of Brooklyn, I understand and share many of the concerns that those residing in the surrounding area have expressed.

All of us realize that there are legitimate concerns regarding this project. Now that the Memorandum of Understanding has been signed by the City, State, and the developer, the real work related to planning and oversight begins. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Atlantic Yards will provide information on many issues that are of vital interest to the community, such as traffic and parking, public transit, parks and open space, community facilities such as schools and libraries, noise, air quality, shadows, zoning, land use, infrastructure, solid waste, social and economic impact, and neighborhood character. I am committed to ensuring that there will be a transparent EIS process and ongoing public disclosure of plans, because the best planning process is one that includes community participation.

People of good will can differ. And constructive opposition is something I value and cherish because I honestly believe that it makes for a better plan. If you have constructive suggestions regarding any of these issues, I urge you to submit them to me at askmarty@brooklynbp.nyc.gov.

Better yet, decide now to become actively involved in the community review process, which will begin with a public hearing regarding the scope of the EIS. Please watch for announcements of the date, time, and location of this initial hearing and other public hearings on my website, www.brooklyn-usa.org, as well as in your local community newspapers and other relevant websites.

We are all equal stakeholders in Brooklyn's future, and I fully respect that you care as much about that future as I do. I am confident that by working together, we can ensure that Atlantic Yards will become not only a great source of new jobs and affordable homes, but that it will help give many Brooklynites the chance they deserve to break out of poverty. I have only one agenda in my entire professional life, and that is to make life better for all Brooklynites.

Sincerely, Marty Markowitz

Posted by lumi at 8:35 AM

April 29, 2005

RIFT DEVELOPS AT CITY COUNCIL OVER RATNER'S ARENA PROJECT

NY Daily Sun
By Julie Satow

Tension is brewing between City Council members who oppose Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project at Brooklyn and Council Speaker Gifford Miller, who they said has ignored repeated requests to schedule a hearing on the contentious project.

Holding a hearing on the Atlantic Yards project, which includes an 18,000-seat arena for the Nets basketball team, is one of the few options open to the council. Because the state is overseeing the development, it is not subject to the city's Uniform Land Use Review Process.

The council's economic development committee was to hold a hearing on the Atlantic Yards project last Wednesday, but the speaker's office never scheduled it, the chairman of the committee, Council Member James Sanders, a Democrat of Queens, said.

"Give me a date for the hearing - that is all I want - but the speaker has continued to put it off," Council Member Letitia James said. A Democrat, she represents the downtown Brooklyn area, where the development will be.

In addition to the basketball arena, the project, bordered by Dean Street and Atlantic, Flatbush, and Vanderbilt avenues, calls for 2 million square feet of office space, 4.5 million square feet of residential development, retail shops, and parking lots, according to the memorandum of understanding signed by Mr. Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner, and officials of the city and the state.

Mr. Miller, who is running for the Democratic nomination for mayor, has not taken a public position on the project. A Miller spokeswoman, Leticia Theodore, denied that the speaker is delaying a hearing, saying it would be held "sometime this month."

Ms. James contrasted the speaker's diffidence on the Brooklyn project with his outspoken opposition to Mayor Bloomberg's planned New York Sports and Convention Center at Manhattan, which will provide a new home for the New York Jets football team.

"It is inconsistent because the speaker is not supporting the stadium on the West Side, but this is so much worse than that project," Ms. James said. "At least in the Hudson Yards, they had a chance to rezone the area, but I can't even do that because the state has taken over the 24 acres."

Some of the land on which the development is to be built is owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which comes under the state's jurisdiction. According to the memorandum of understanding, the Empire State Development Corporation, a state entity, will create a local development corporation that will supervise the project.

A report published earlier this month by a group that opposes the Atlantic Yards development, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, concluded that public subsidies for the project exceed $1.5 billion. That sum includes a 30-year property-tax exemption, a mortgage-recording-tax exemption, and tax-exempt bonds. Also, Forest City Ratner will pay only $1 for a 99-year lease on the 6.5 acres of land under the proposed Nets arena.

Beyond that, the development is to receive $100 million from both the city and the state. The city has already set aside the money in the budget, Ms. James said.

"I would like to get the money taken out of the budget, or at least put some conditions on it," she said.

The conflict in the City Council belies a greater conflict in the community, which is sharply divided on the Atlantic Yards project.

The Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance, which supports the Ratner project, was founded by the Reverend Herbert Daughtry after he broke from his longtime organization of black ministers, which opposed the development.

Brooklyn United for Innovative Development, or BUILD, also supports the Atlantic Yards development - and has been the target of rumors that Mr. Ratner is its financial backer. The first vice president at BUILD, Marie Louis, called the claim "a malicious and outrageous lie."

The pro-Atlantic Yards groups, which also include the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, have been negotiating a community-benefits agreement with Forest City Ratner for more than a year. According to Ms. Louis, the deal is in its final stages and should be released in the coming weeks. It promises affordable housing, jobs for minorities and women, and job training.

Posted by lumi at 12:07 PM

April 26, 2005

Community Gazette: Neigborhood Activists' Toolkit

How does an issue, develop into a movement and where does a fledgling activist turn to information on how to get organized?

The Neighborhood Activists' Toolkit has useful links to information on how to get started running a local campaign. Topics covered are: * Contacting Public Officials * School-Related Issues * Producing Print Material (Posters, Flyers, Newsletters) * Forming Organizations * Media Relations * Online Media (Web Sites, Email, Discussion Groups)

Posted by lumi at 6:40 AM

April 25, 2005

Pastor of the People: David Dyson

in conversation with Norman Kelley
Brooklyn Rail

Pastor of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Fort Greene and long-time social activist David Dyson draws support and inspiration from the New Testament teachings on social justice ("to advocate for the least, the lost, and the lonely"). Though his church has no official position on Ratner's master plan, which, if built, will only be a couple blocks away from the historic Fort Greene church, Dyson shares his own opinion based upon moral and ethical principles.

There’s not a church position on this. Our position here as a mainline Protestant church is really not to take positions on specific political issues or to endorse specific political candidates. Certainly we feel the gospel informs our positions on moral and ethical issues, and I personally have become very involved with this, because I’ve been very upset by how this project has come about. I just wrote a letter to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in which I said that I was not anti-development but that I was anti-corruption, anti-sweetheart deal, anti-eminent domain, anti-environmental chaos, anti-lack of transparency—in short, anti many of the things that have been the hallmark of the Atlantic Yards Project. I had a private meeting with Borough President Marty Markowitz, where he asked me why I had a burr under my saddle. I said it’s because one guy—Ratner, who I actually know a little bit—has this sort of private pipeline to this project. There’s no open bidding, there’s no transparency, there’s no community forum. The only people who are being brought in on a community level are being brought in as business partners, not as advocates for the welfare of the community. I told Marty that the deal is being handed on a silver platter to Bruce Ratner because he’s an old college buddy of George Pataki. I said that it just rubs those of us in our community the wrong way. It’s not merely a question of jobs, as our city councilwoman, Tish James, has pointed out many times. Any development scheme or idea is going to bring jobs. The question is about this particular development idea, which is so fraught with corruption, cronyism, and favoritism that I object to it from a moral and ethical standpoint.

Dyson on the support of Ratner's plan by felllow clergyman and partner in many civil rights issues Herbert Daughtry:

Q: Would you say that Ratner is playing the race card?

Dyson: Yes, and it’s very depressing. This project has actually split lifelong partners in the progressive movement. We feel that Reverend Daughtry and ACORN have been brought in by Ratner not as advocates for the community but as private business partners in the deal. We’re trying to prevent the misuse of eminent domain, trying to increase the number of affordable housing units, trying to decrease the number of high-rise luxury office buildings. Those are the kinds of issues that a community group should have, but the Reverend Daughtry—who’s also an old friend—and our friends at ACORN are trying to cut a personal deal so that they can be brokers over whatever little piece or crumb of this pie falls from Ratner’s table. Ratner has been to Brooklyn what Karl Rove was to Ohio and Florida—brilliantly able to play on people’s worst instincts in order to get what he wants in a way that he wants it.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:57 AM

Norman Siegel and the Race for Public Advocate

Brooklyn Rail
By Theodore Hamm

The race for NYC Public Advocate has seized the attention of Brooklynites concerned about overdevelopment in Brooklyn and Ratner's proposal. While Norman Siegel has been at the forefront of the fight against eminent domain abuse, incumbent Betsy Gottbaum can be characterized as in support of the Ratner's plan or just trying to stay out of the crossfire, the later being conduct unbecoming of a Public Advocate.

article

Posted by lumi at 7:42 AM

April 23, 2005

Clownshoe Blues

From the Gumby Fresh blog, a review of this week's New Yorker profile on Marty:

The clown-with-an-agenda argument is based on the idea that it was Marty who first approached Bruce Ratner with the idea of buying the New Jersey Nets and moving them to Brooklyn. So, Marty is apparently blissfully unaware of anyone, outside of Forest City Ratner, with flipping great wodges of cash to lay down in support of his adolescent fantasies. Myopically wedded to the idea of a self-sufficient Borough, he turns to the man that ruined its downtown, and has had a pretty good stab at doing the same to the Atlantic Terminals area, and asks if he would like to finish the job.

read the blog

Posted by amy at 11:53 PM

Chamber bows to Ratner

More news on the open and democratic methods of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and FCR. The stories of damage Ratner has already inflicted on local businesses are heart breaking. From the Brooklyn Papers:

Kowtowing to demands by developer Bruce Ratner, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce this week barred the public from an official Chamber function, a luncheon where Ratner’s controversial Atlantic Yards project was discussed.

article

Posted by amy at 1:43 AM

Pols call for city review of Ratner’s arena

From the Brooklyn Papers:

Taking their first unified stance on developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan, a delegation of City Council members from Brooklyn gathered on the steps of City Hall to call for a city-level review of the basketball arena, housing and office skyscraper project.

Councilwoman Letitia James, who represents the Prospect Heights neighborhood in which the 21-acre project would be built, led the brief press conference.

The project depends upon the state’s condemnation of up to 10 acres of private property as well as the purchase of development rights to build over Metropolitan Transportation Authority rail yards.

article

Posted by amy at 1:30 AM

April 18, 2005

MR. BROOKLYN. Marty Markowitz—the man, the plan, the arena.

The New Yorker
By Rebecca Mead

Profile of the President of the Booster Club of Brooklyn. Rebecca Mead rides shotgun through many of Brooklyn's neighborhoods as Marty takes a call from "Bruce" and slams Prospect Heights.

Here are some tidbits from the article that Marty managed to leave on the buffet table:

But his self-appointment as Brooklyn’s chief nostalgist deflects attention from the surprising fact that, if the Atlantic Yards development gets built, he will have wielded far more influence over the shaping of Brooklyn’s future than anyone expected of him.

That bid for office resulted in Markowitz’ being charged with failing to disclose campaign contribution from a loca businessman: he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor, paid a nearly eight-thousand-dollar fine, and performed seventy-five hours of community service

The project, designed by Frank Gehry, is slated to include several towers, the tallest of which, at six hundred and twenty feet, will loom more than a hundred feet above the [Williamsburg Savings Bank's] golden cupola. Markowitz claims to be confident that the older building will not be overshadowed—“From what I understand, there are ways in architecture to design a building in a way that enhances the view of the Williamsburgh building,”

article

Posted by lumi at 8:46 AM

LOWDOWN by Lloyd Grove

NY Daily News

A BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP? Today's New Yorker gives Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz the star treatment, framing his enthusiastic support for billionaire Nets basketball team owner Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project as either "a thrilling instance of Brooklyn's economic and cultural resurgence or a shocking capitulation to the interests of Ratner's multibillion-dollar development company." The two are glued to their phones and joined at the ear, The New Yorker reports, recounting one call from Ratner to Markowitz about potential problems with the project. "Markowitz, whenever he could get a word in, tried to be both conciliatory and upbeat," writes Rebecca Mead. "Finally he told Ratner to call someone in his office - better yet, he would have that someone call Ratner."

link

Posted by lumi at 8:33 AM

April 11, 2005

RATNERITES ON TISH’S TURF

Brooklyn Politics, by Erik Engquist

Bruce Ratner and several Ratnerites invaded Councilwoman Tish James’s turf on the morning of March 30, choosing a Starbucks across from her district office to meet with Daily News columnist Errol Louis.

Louis supports Ratner’s Atlantic Yards development plan while James has helped lead the opposition. So it made for an awkward moment when James herself walked into the coffee shop to find Ratner, Louis, Ratner’s right-hand man Bruce Bender, and Ratner press aide Lupè Todd. Minutes later, the pro-Ratner gang grew when ACORN’s Bertha Lewis and Jon Kest arrived. ACORN backed James’s election in 2003 but supports Atlantic Yards.

Posted by lumi at 8:40 AM

April 2, 2005

What Does the Atlantic Yards Mean for Boerum Hill?

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

An educational presentation—What Does the Atlantic Yards Mean for Boerum Hill? will be made on Tuesday, April 5, at 7 p.m. at the Belarusian Church at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Bond Street. The event is sponsored by the Boerum Hill Association. A panel of experts will help neighbors understand the impact of the proposed Nets arena project on the community. Developer Bruce Ratner’s project would tap the talents of world-renowned architect Frank Gehry in designing a complex that incorporates housing, retail, and the basketball arena.

The speakers at the Boerum Hill forum will include Dr. Robert E. Paaswell, Director of CUNY’s Urban Transportation Research Center; George Sweeting, Deputy Director of the Independent Budget Office for Education, Health, Social Services, Economics & Tax Policy; and Alex Marshall, author of How Cities Work: Suburbs, Sprawl and the Roads Not taken.

Jo Anne Simon is a former Boerum Hill Association president and chair of the association’s Atlantic Yards Task Force. She urges “everyone to find out the facts about the Atlantic Yards proposal. As folks have seen with the West Side Stadium, nothing is written in stone. We know many in our community would like the Atlantic Yards proposal to go away. Regardless, Boerum Hill will engage in any and all processes available to the public to examine the proposal and assist in making whatever ultimately happens at Atlantic Yards address the area’s needs in a meaningful way.”

Posted by amy at 1:06 AM

April 1, 2005

Poling Precinct

Where does your elected representative stand on Ratner's plan?

It might not be Christmas, but NoLandGrab knows who's naughty or nice.

Find out if your representatives are behaving -- their heads are color-coded from red (naughty) to green (nice).

link

Then click on their names to tell them what you want to put in their stocking.

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

March 29, 2005

WNYC's Brian Lehrer interview with Councilmember Yassky

WNYC, The Brian Lehrer Show
On March 16 Brian Lehrer interviewed Councilmember David Yassky his New York 51 series.

Lehrer: Your district in Brooklyn is not exactly where the Nets stadium and that whole development would be. Do you think that people in your district have a predominant view on that proposed stadium or the West Side stadium?

Yassky: I think on the Nets arena, most folks in my district would like to see professional basketball come to Brooklyn. They think that would help with the continued resurgence of Brooklyn. They would not like to see, nor would I, 70-story office towers and apartment buildings go along with the arena.

L: That’s really what’s controversial?

Y: That’s the controversial part. On the West Side stadium, I think most folks share my view that that is not a good use of a billion taxpayer dollars. Although, you know, let me be clear about this, I think if we get the Olympics, then we should live up to our bid and we should build the stadium and I hope we do get the Olympics because it would infuse some $3 billion into New York City to refurbish our waterfront that we have just let go to waste. We want to do our very best to get the Olympics to come here. If not, let’s not waste money on a stadium.

interview [15:28]

NoLandGrab: 70 stories? Yassky is woefully ignorant of the plan that will directly impact his constituents. Earlier in the interview he cited "noise" as the #1 constituent complaint to his office. If the arena is built at that intersection, he can expect more of the same as traffic from Downtown Brooklyn spills into residential streets. It's promising that he doesn't think that the stadium is a good use of a billion taxpayer dollars, because that's what the Ratner proposal's final tab is likely to be.

Posted by lumi at 2:58 PM

March 21, 2005

Blast from the Past

Familiar issues and faces abound as Ratner's completes his crossing to the darkside. James Stuckey still works for the city and Donna Hennes is not yet being quoted about how "fairly" she was treated by FCR.

Dare we imagine a world where: * DDDb's Dan Goldstein accepts a HUGE buyout and becomes a corporate shill? * Marty smiles for the camera during his "perp walk?" * Community Consulting's Brian Ketcham heads the DOT, fighting off desperately needed change? * Fans For Play's Scott Turner is an executive in the Nets' front office? * PICCED's Brad Lander becomes the new Jim Stuckey? * Fort Greene Association's Lucy Koteen is elected Borough President in a landslide victory over her opponent, Bruce Bender?

article

Posted by lumi at 10:11 AM

March 18, 2005

REC-U-U-USE ME!

The Brooklyn Papers hears our borough's silent screams. Dolly is recused, which means she's still in the room for negotiations, but leaves Brooklyn with no representation for the largest development the county of Kings has ever witnessed. I sure wish I had enough money to participate in democracy.

Brooklyn’s sole appointee to the City Planning Commission, one of only two city agencies with an official role in the proposed Atlantic Yards arena, housing and office complex will have no voice, the city said this week.

Dolly Williams, Borough President Marty Markowitz’s sole appointee to the planning commission, will have to recuse herself from any review or other official discussion of the borough’s largest development proposal because, as first reported by The Brooklyn Papers last August, she owns a stake in the New Jersey Nets, a planning commission spokeswoman said this week.

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Posted by amy at 11:16 PM

CB6 has some ideas for Atlantic Yards review

The Brooklyn Papers covers the CB6 Environmental Review recommendations. Transparency my eye.

Borough President Marty Markowitz, one of the biggest cheerleaders of the project since it was announced in late 2003, said in an e-mailed statement to The Brooklyn Papers, “Now that the MOU has been signed, the real work begins. I am committed to ensuring that there will be a transparent EIS process and ongoing public disclosure of plans.”

But the wording in the agreement between the city, state and Ratner, known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU), provides for no such public disclosure, other than to the signing entity, the city’s Economic Development Corporation.

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CB6 draft EIS scoping questions

Posted by amy at 10:56 PM

March 16, 2005

CB6 Releases DRAFT Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Questions

In anticipation of the development of the [Environmental Impact Statement] EIS, Brooklyn Community Board 6 did sponsor through each of its standing committees a series of public meetings to solicit input from the public on the types of issues and questions they wanted addressed. Such an exercise, it was thought, would at a minimum allow for the Community Board to be in a better position to comment on the proposed scope of the EIS when released, at a maximum ensure that all of the issues raised by the public would be considered.

At this month's general meeting, CB6 released a draft, containing their work to date.

Submissions of questions for the scope of the EIS are still being accepted (contact CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman).

Posted by lumi at 7:46 AM

March 15, 2005

DAILYHEIGHTS Expands Global Reach; Will Solve Problems for Food

DailyHeights.com is now moderating the Community Gazette for District 35 (http://www.gothamgazette.com/community/35). Post images, articles and sound off on "Major Issues for the District:" * Neighborhood Residents Divided Over Shopping Mall, * Resistance to Proposed Arena, and * Childhood Lead Poisoning.

Posted by lumi at 7:27 PM

Lobbyists Making Big Money in Albany's Chronic Logjams

The NY Times: How do you get to the proverbial three men in a room? If you're Bruce Ratner, Cablevision or the Jets, you hire "a team of lobbyists, each carefully chosen to command the attention of the three men who run New York State."

Read about how access is bought in Albany.

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March 15, 2005

Lobbyists Making Big Money in Albany's Chronic Logjams
By MICHAEL COOPER

hen the owners of Madison Square Garden decided to lobby against the football stadium proposed for the West Side, they did not simply hire a lobbying firm to represent their interests in Albany, as big companies used to do.

Instead, they hired a team of lobbyists, each carefully chosen to command the attention of the three men who run New York State. One was former Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato, a confidant of Gov. George E. Pataki. One was Patricia Lynch, who until the end of 2000 was a top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who rules the Democratic-led Assembly. And finally, they hired a firm that employs Kenneth Bruno, the son of Joseph L. Bruno, the Republican majority leader of the State Senate.

Their archrivals, the Jets, did the same thing, assembling a team of former aides and allies to handle each member of New York State's trifurcated leadership. So did Magna Entertainment Corporation, which is trying to enter the troubled horse-racing industry in New York. And so did Forest City Ratner, which wants to build a basketball arena for the Nets in Brooklyn.

With Albany controlled to an unusual degree by just three men, and with those three men in a state of near-constant, often quite bitter political warfare, the state's lobbying industry has taken full advantage of the situation and blossomed.

Companies have found that they can make a more effective case when their lobbyist has close ties to the official being lobbied. It has become increasingly common for companies like Cablevision, owner of Madison Square Garden, to hire separate lobbying firms to help them win access to each player. Some call it "stool lobbying" - hiring a separate firm for each of the state's three legs.

Government gridlock has proved to be great for business. The need to hire several firms to do what one once did helps explain why the state's lobbying industry has grown to a $144 million business in 2004, up from $39 million 10 years earlier. During the same decade, the number of registered lobbyists has nearly doubled, to 3,842 from 1,930, and the number of clients has grown to 2,224 from 1,099. While the 2004 numbers are inflated because the state now adds lobbyists of local governments to the total, officials say most of the growth has been in state lobbying.

"These days people want a specialist in each house," said Lester M. Shulklapper, 70, one of the deans of the Albany lobbyists, who started lobbying the state more than 30 years ago as a commissioner in the administration of Mayor John V. Lindsay and went on to a long lobbying career in the private sector. "That was something we never did."

Other companies that used multiple lobbyists last year include Altria, the tobacco company formerly known as Philip Morris; the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, which has been fighting proposals to limit lawsuits; Verizon, the phone company, which is subject to state oversight and regulation; and Destiny USA, which wants to build the world's biggest mall in Syracuse with tax breaks and bond issues.

And to satisfy the growing demand for lobbyists who can promise some special entree to one of the three men who run the state government, many of their friends and former associates have become lobbyists, and are now parlaying their relationships into access, clients and money. If there has always been a revolving door between government and lobbying, several lobbyists said, it is now turning faster than ever.

In the increasingly partisan atmosphere in Washington and around the country, lawmakers in power have encouraged clients to hire lobbyists with ties to their party. In New York State, though, that often means hiring several firms: the Legislature has been divided for three decades, with the Assembly controlled by the Democrats and the Senate controlled by the Republicans. And on top of the partisan divisions, the state is riven by institutional divisions, so some clients choose to hire different Republican lobbyists for the Senate and the governor.

The state's roster of registered lobbyists often looks like an old state directory. It includes a former Republican attorney general, Dennis C. Vacco, and a former Democratic speaker of the Assembly, Mel Miller. A host of Governor Pataki's close associates have hung out their lobbying shingles, including Kieran Mahoney, one of his longtime campaign strategists; Michael McKeon, his former communications director; and Thomas Doherty and Patrick McCarthy, two of his former appointments directors, who helped hire other members of the administration.

William D. Powers, who led the state's Republican Party when Mr. Pataki first ran for governor, is now a lobbyist. The staff level is represented as well: among others, there are a former counsel to the State Senate, David Dudley, and a former counsel to three Assembly speakers, Kenneth L. Shapiro.

Norman Adler, who was an aide to Mr. Miller before becoming a lobbyist, said the trick for revolving-door lobbyists is to build a reputation that outlasts their connections. "There are Pataki people doing fairly well," he said, "but if the next governor is a Democrat, they'll wind up writing a column for The New York Sun."

Critics say the situation shows that special interest groups are really paying lobbyists to get access to people in power, not for their expertise.

"Having to hire a lobbyist for each branch reflects the increasing lack of communication and cooperation between the various leaders," said Rachel Leon, the executive director of Common Cause/New York, a nonprofit organization that tracks the influence of money in politics. "It increasingly polarizes the process, and creates more layers and walls that regular New Yorkers have to break through to get their voices heard."

There are many close ties between lobbyists and those in power. One of the state's biggest lobbying firms, Bolton-St. Johns, had 73 lobbying clients last year, at the same time that it served as a political consultant to help re-elect several prominent Republican state senators. Ken Sunshine was a paid communications adviser to the Senate Democrats last year; at the same time, he was registered as a lobbyist for the New York Jets. And Senator Michael F. Nozzolio, an upstate Republican, is a partner at Harris Beach, a large law firm with a lobbying affiliate in Albany.

State officials say they do not steer people seeking the help of government to their friends and former associates for lobbying. But the close connections between lobbyists and the officials who used to employ them have become an ever-more overt marketing tool.

One prominent firm, Powers & Company, which was founded by Mr. Powers, the former head of the state's Republican Party, states on its Web site, "Our understanding of the legislative and regulatory processes from an insider point-of-view - coupled with our personal relationships with leaders and staff in all branches of government - provides our clients with what they need, when they need it."

Another big firm, Mercury Public Affairs, has a section of its Web site detailing the experience of its team, highlighting the ties of its members to the Pataki administration. It notes that Mr. Mahoney, its founding partner, was a senior adviser to all of Pataki campaigns, and that another partner, Mr. McKeon, was the governor's communications director.

The use of lobbyists with close ties to Albany officials was highlighted during a recent investigation of how a politically connected developer, Richard A. Hutchens of Buffalo, won the exclusive rights to develop private land along the Erie Canal for just $30,000. The investigation found that a high-ranking official of the state's Thruway Authority, Donald Hutton, told the developer to hire a lobbyist with close ties to members of the Pataki administration.

The lobbyist, Kerry Marsh, was a friend and golfing partner of Robert King, a friend of Governor Pataki who was then the state budget director and is now the chancellor of the State University of New York. The report by the attorney general and the inspector general said Mr. Hutton, then director of planning for the Thruway Authority, favored Mr. Hutchens for the contract and recruited the lobbyist, hoping he would help the developer's case.

According to the report, "As Marsh remembered it, Hutton said: 'There is someone you need to talk to, Kerry. He has been trying to get a really good project for the better part of a year or two. He might be able to use some help.' " (Mr. Hutton did not return a call seeking his comment.)

The report quoted Mr. Marsh as saying he could think of no other instance where he was urged to take on a client by an employee of the agency he was to lobby.

The juxtaposition of insider access by lobbyists, large campaign contributions and hobbled oversight has troubled not only civic groups but some lawmakers as well.

"If you go back to the railroad age, they talk about the robber barons, and going up to buy off the Legislature," said Assemblyman William L. Parment, a Democrat from Chautauqua County. "I think now it's just a little more refined, and there's been a structure that's been enacted - you can't take $1,000 in $100 bills and put it into a brown bag and put it on a legislator's desk. But you can contribute to a campaign."

Some states, like Maryland, have moved to ban lobbyists from organizing political committees. "There was an awful lot of pressure put on lobbyists from elected state officials with regard to supporting their campaigns, asking them to buy tables at their events," said Suzanne S. Fox, the executive director of the Maryland State Ethics Commission. "The concern became that because lobbyists wanted to please elected officials, to be in their good graces, they went to their clients and said, 'I had to take a table.' "

There are no such qualms in Albany. Last year, lawmakers held nearly 200 fund-raisers in Albany, instead of in their home districts, largely because Albany lobbyists are always willing to write checks and show up.

"We have these phony little cocktail parties, and invite folks to come by to contribute $200, $300," Mr. Parment, the upstate assemblyman said. "I plead guilty."

If Albany lobbying is a booming business, it is also a little-regulated one. A state court struck down parts of the lobbying law last year, hobbling the state's Temporary Commission on Lobbying, which is supposed to enforce its provisions that lobbyists publicly register their activities, declare their expenses and refrain from giving lawmakers gifts worth more than $75.

The lobbying commission, which collected more than $650,000 in fines and penalties from lobbyists in 2003, levied only $1,000 in fines last year. On top of that, the lobbying commission has been essentially weakened by political infighting.

The Assembly and the Senate both passed bills last year that would have overhauled the lobbying laws, but the two houses never hammered out their differences.

But chances could be better this year. The Assembly has passed a lobbying bill, the Senate is considering a similar one and Governor Pataki, whom some have accused of scuttling tougher lobbying laws in the past, introduced two lobbying bills last week that would ban all gifts from lobbyists to state officials and sharply curtail the practice of lobbying for state contracts, a hugely lucrative field not covered by current law.

Posted by lumi at 6:18 AM

March 14, 2005

Larry Penner gets it right (again)

Gawker.com hails Larry Penner as "by far one of the most prolific practitioners of the lost art of the letter to the editor."

Gawker.com: Larry Penner, International Man of Mystery

We recognize Penner as one of the few well informed voices who consistently gets it right. While NoLandGrab is trying to get Park Slopers to get hip to Ratner101 and realize that behind the arena will be 17 high-rise towers and more traffic than Flatbush can handle, Larry Penner from Great Neck has graduated to "following the money."

Remember the closed-door private meetings hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz in fall of 2004? Everyone knows when government officials conduct a closed-door meeting, it usually means that they have something to hide.

Penner's Letter to the Editor, NY Press, March 9, 2005

Posted by lumi at 8:05 AM

March 13, 2005

Attorney General Weighs In On Nets Stadium

State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wants to be the next Governor of New York. He also declared that he wants Ratner's proposal built. Give him a call and let him know that these two things do NOT go hand in hand...212-416-8040. Or spank him publicly on Eliot's Virtual Town Hall.

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Also see Dope on the Slope's discussion of Spitzer's split personality.

Posted by amy at 10:23 AM

March 9, 2005

Arena foes: Where do Dem bigs stand?

NY Daily News
By Hugh Son

Where do the Democratic Mayoral candidates stand on Ratner's arena plans?

Despite the similarities between the West Side Stadium and Ratner's arena project (see DIRTY LAUNDRY LIST), Miller and Weiner have stated lukewarm support, while Ferrer and Fields have stated lukewarm opposition.

"They all need to get off the fence and take a firm position by looking deeply into the details of this project," said Daniel Goldstein of the anti-arena group Develop - Don't Destroy Brooklyn.

The group sent candidates letters this week demanding they oppose the Ratner project on the same grounds they oppose the West Side development.

article

Posted by lumi at 6:57 AM

DIRTY LAUNDRY LIST
West Side Stadium & Nets Arena Comparison

Now that the MOU has been released and more details about Ratner's plan have emerged the list of issues tied to the West Side Stadium controversy have become clearer. Here's NoLandGrab's Dirty Laundry List so that you can tell your friends why they should scrap Ratner's arena along with the West Side Stadium.

DIRTY LAUNDRY LIST

• MTA sale of public land must go to highest bidder
• Taxpayer financing ($300 million and $100 million for the Stadium and Arena, respectively, while slashing $1.3 BILLION from schools)
• No legislative oversight (no local review & no legislative approval of taxpayer financing)
• Bloomberg going to the mat for big business

Plus: Ratner wants to use eminent domain to displace residents and small businesses.

Posted by lumi at 6:06 AM

March 8, 2005

Marty Reads Script, Then Splits

Daily Heights: Review and comments on Marty's performance at last night's PICCED Impact Analysis presentation.

link

Posted by lumi at 11:45 PM

March 1, 2005

Letitia James Interview

WNYC, Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer and Councilperson Letitia James discuss culture, education, ethnic diversity, affordable housing, the arena controversy, food and more.

James on Ratner:

This developer is a stealth developer who has done nothing but engage in secret meetings, behind closed doors and wants this project approved by “three men in a room.”

James on the arena:

The dichotomy between this development and jobs is a false dichotomy. The reality is that we want development at that site. The question is, "what type of development?"

I don’t think anyone would disagree that I should be involved with this project in some way, shape or form -- not to be invited to the table to have secret negotiations. It should be out, in the public, and be subject to some oversight.

listen on line

Posted by lumi at 11:50 AM

February 13, 2005

City Issues RFP For Development of 65th Street Rail Yard in Sunset Park

From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

SUNSET PARK - The New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has issued a Request for Proposals (FP) for the northern portion of the 65th Street Rail Yard in Sunset Park.

The RFP offers 14.9 acres of the 33-acre rail yard for development for intermodal rail or waterborne uses. The rail yard is adjacent to the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT), a former military facility that is currently home to more than 70 companies and thousands of employees.

There will be an informational meeting and site visit for potential respondents at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 2, at 63rd Street and Second Avenue.

"This RFP is further evidence of Mayor Bloomberg's commitment to revitalizing the City's waterfronts for industrial and maritime uses and creating quality jobs for residents of all five boroughs," said Andrew Alper, EDC president, in a published statement. "By improving freight movement in the City, we have the potential to divert thousands of cars from the roads and improve the quality of life of all New Yorkers."

The RFP is for potential use and occupancy of only the northern, intermodal portion of the Yard. The RFP arena is about 1,665 feet long by 250 feet wide and has water frontage with unimproved shoreline. The shoreline could be converted into useable concrete bulkhead for landing barges. The EDC estimates that the cost of converting the 400-foot waterfront would be about $3.8 million.

Two railroad tracks run through this portion of the yard, and two other tracks run north from the Rail Yard's throat at Second Avenue into the Brooklyn Army Terminal and to a connection with the First Avenue Rail Yard. The southern portion of the Yard consists of 14 rail tracks that make up a classification yard connected to two electric gantry float bridges. A railroad operator will be responsible for the operation of the southern portion of the site.

The 65th Street Rail Yard is located between 64th and 66th Streets, west of Second Avenue. It forms the terminus of the Long Island Rail Road's Bay Ridge freight line along the Brooklyn waterfront. The City acquired the 65th Street Rail Yard in 1982 and, in conjunction with the State, has invested more than $20 million in improvements, including construction of the two new rail transfer bridges.

To maximize alternatives available for the site, a number of agreement structures are possible, depending on whether the yard is to be used for maritime endeavors or industrial rail. The RFP contains details of the various agreement structures. For a copy, please call 212-312-3565. Proposals are due by 4 p.m. on March 8.

For site visit reservations, please send an e-mail to 65rfp@nycedc.com or call (212) 312-3600.

Posted by amy at 10:40 AM

February 9, 2005

BARRON WILL BOW OUT OF MAYOR RACE

Last night, City Councilman Charles Barron announced that he would not be seeking the Democratic Party nomination for Mayor, citing lack of funds raised. Last year Barron sought to have the NJ Nets arena built in his district in East New York as opposed to Prospect Heights. He is considered by local activists to be an ally in the fight against overdevelopment justified by false promises of housing and jobs.

The NY Post: BARRON WILL BOW OUT OF MAYOR RACE

Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM

February 4, 2005

MARTY’S BROOKLYN

The Brooklyn Papers covers Marty's State of the Borough address:

The mention of the Ratner project drew loud boos from anti-arena activists Patti and Schellie Hagan, who sat among a pool of reporters in the back of the auditorium. When Markowitz promised that the project would create “about 10,000 permanent new jobs” and “15,000 construction-related jobs” the sisters shouted in unison, “Lies.” The shouting drew two community affairs police officers, who on two occasions threatened to throw out the critics.

Possibly predicting protests, Markowitz also acknowledged criticism of the plan in his address.

“I want to say right now that I fully understand — and share the concerns — of local area residents who have spoken out in opposition to this development,” said Markowitz. “People of goodwill can differ.

“And constructive opposition is something I value and cherish because I honestly believe that — in the end — it makes for a better plan.

“The Nets arena — and the Atlantic Yards project — will go forward, but it must work for both Brooklyn and for the community surrounding the arena,” he said. “Because people do not move out of Brooklyn today seeking a better life. They move out because they can’t afford the good life we have here.”

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Posted by amy at 10:46 PM

February 2, 2005

ZONED OUT: A cult of growth and the death of Brooklyn

NY Press: A must read for Brooklynites, by Brian Ketcham and son, Christoper Ketcham. The gridlock in Downtown Brooklyn, last Christmas Eve, is a prophecy of days to come, if comprehensive planning doesn't replace the development goldrush and stop-gap measures that are being doled out of the political feeding trough.

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Also, in case you missed it: Christopher Ketcham's Harpers Magazine article (Dec, 2004) that shook the Brooklyn political machine and has incurred veiled threats from the DA's office.

Posted by lumi at 9:14 AM

February 1, 2005

Build, and they will vote

The NY Daily News: Errol Louis once again, takes to the pen in support of billions of dollars flowing into Central Brooklyn for development and against Letitia James for her opposition of the Atlantic Yards Project, touting possible opponents for her re-election campaign.

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Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

January 30, 2005

Cb6 Member Quits, Citing Neighborhood Freeze Out

Park Slope Courier: Former Community Board 6 Member Edie Stone cites "private meetings with developers" and connections between Board Chairperson, Forest City Ratner, and IKEA's lobbying firm as reasons for her resignation from the board.

Former Community Board 6 member Edie Stone wasn’t surprised that her resignation registered barely a blip on the radar at an early January meeting of the board. Her voice, she claims, was silenced long ago.

I feel it is no longer worth my volunteer time to attempt to represent Red Hook on a community board that seems to regularly disregard the opinions of our residents and board representatives on issues of critical importance to our community,” she wrote in a Jan. 10 resignation letter to the board’s district manager and its chair, Jerry Armer.

Stone, a Red Hook resident, said she was frustrated by what she said is a stifling atmosphere on the board.

She said the board’s executive committee has failed to “heed the voices of the affected board members, preferring instead to hold private meetings with developers whose projects will change the landscape of Red Hook and other CB 6 neighborhoods forever.”

The breaking point, she said last week, was the board’s stance on Ikea, which is readying to build a superstore along the Red Hook waterfront.

“They come to the board and expect us to rubber stamp whatever they do,” she claimed. “No one asks for our opinion.”

The board last year supported – with a series of reservations – the land use requests made by the Swedish home furnishings giant, a position the City Council and City Planning Commission would later adopt.

Meetings between board officials and representatives of Forest City Ratner (FCR), the development company behind the controversial Atlantic Yards arena project, have also been irksome, Stone said.

Armer works for the MetroTech Business Improvement District – an FCR project – that has as its lobbying firm the same company, Yoswein New York, hired to represent Ikea.

“Joni Yoswein [the former assembly member turned consultant] can call Jerry on his cell phone 24 hours a day, I’m sure,” Stone said. “Community board members are supposed to represent the community,” Stone said.

Armer did not return calls for comment at press time. The board’s district manager, Craig Hammerman, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

Asked to respond, Yoswein New York Vice President Jamie Van Bremer said,” Ikea Red Hook earned the nearly unanimous support of the entire community board, the City Council and the City Planning Commission for one reason: it is a great project for Red Hook and Brooklyn.”

Stone said that until term limits are implemented at community boards, “I feel that Community Board 6 will continue to see that economic growth and diversification are only for the already wealthy,” she wrote in her resignation letter.

“Red Hook and Gowanus will be forever reserved for toxic industry, big box stores, and public housing, none of which would be tolerated in our ‘brownstone’ neighborhoods,” she continued.

Board member Lou Sones, himself an outspoken Red Hook activist, was reserved in his assessment of Stone’s resignation.

“Whatever my frustrations are with the community board, it’s better, I feel, to work in the process so that we have a board that better represents the community,” Sones said.

Posted by lumi at 9:24 PM

January 29, 2005

CB6 discusses Atlantic Yards

The Brooklyn Papers provides and in-depth report of Monday's CB6 Public Safety/Environmental Protection Committee Meeting.

For the past two weeks, CB6 committees discussed concerns they’d like addressed in the early stages of the project’s planning. The board will collect and prepare those ideas into a statement “once the scoping documents are prepared and released for comment,” wrote CB6 Chairman Jerry Armer in his January report to the board.

article

Posted by amy at 12:04 PM

January 28, 2005

Marty Markowitz's State of the Borough Address

BP Marty Markowitz delivered his State of the Borough Address Thursday evening. He outlined his reasons for supporting the Atlantic Yards project (there was no mention of Ratner) & affordable housing throughout the borough.

Markowitz also spoke eloquently about "fighting for our character, our neighborhoods, and our way of life" in the face of "unplanned development." He went on to call for "smart development," specifically for "Brooklyn's most suburban neighborhoods."

NoLandGrab: How come Brooklyn's "suburban neighborhood" deserve "smart development," but our brownstone neighborhoods get RATNER?

Excerpt below on topics mentioned above:

I expect Atlantic Yards to result in two things that are vital to Brooklynites — more jobs and more affordable housing. I want to say right now, that I fully understand — and I share the concerns — of local area residents who have spoken out in opposition to this development.

People of good will can differ. And constructive opposition is something I value and cherish — because I honestly believe that, in the end, it makes for a better plan.

The Nets arena — and the Atlantic Yards project — will go forward, but it must work for both Brooklyn and for the community surrounding the arena.

Because people do not move out of Brooklyn today seeking a better life. They move out because they can’t afford the good life we have here.

It is estimated that Atlantic Yards will create about 10,000 permanent new jobs. That is above and beyond the 15,000 construction-related jobs that it will create over the next decade. And we can all be proud that 100 percent of those workers will be union employees.

Under a proposed groundbreaking Community Benefits Agreement, as many as possible of those new jobs will be filled by Brooklyn residents, and I promise you, those jobs will go to those who need them most — particularly low income residents living in public housing nearby.

I believe this project will help give individuals and Brooklyn families the chance they need — and deserve — to break the cycle of poverty, with opportunities to work at jobs that will grow into careers.

I want every Brooklynite to be given the same chance I had.

As someone who grew up in poverty — and who grew up in public housing — I know what an opportunity can mean. And with this project designed by a world class architect, Brooklyn-born Frank Gehry, Atlantic Yards will be an unmistakable statement that the new center of this universe we call New York City has shifted to the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic!

Downtown isn’t the only place where we need more affordable housing.

Brooklyn is proud to be home to residents of every income level. If we lose that economic diversity, we will lose the very character that makes Brooklyn great. While there is no question that Brooklyn is undergoing a real estate boom — everywhere you look there’s construction. The benefits of that boom are not shared by all Brooklyn residents.

The fact is that most Brooklyn residents — more than 70 percent — rent their homes.

I know exactly what that means. I’ve been a rental tenant every day of my life. And almost 50 percent of my take home pay goes for rent — despite the fact that I make a decent living.

The reality is that fewer than 10 percent of those living in Brooklyn can afford to rent or buy the housing that is being built today in any Brooklyn neighborhood. Housing that is built in Brooklyn must, first and foremost, be good for Brooklyn — and that means all of Brooklyn.

So, whenever I have a role in the process, affordable housing will continue to be my number one priority. For any new construction where public review is required, I will continue to demand the inclusion of guaranteed affordable housing.

That means when a sale of City property is involved — or when zoning changes or special permits are required for development.

In fact, this just came up in my review of the proposed Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning. Two weeks ago I recommended that the City Planning Commission and the City Council reject the city’s Greenpoint-Williamsburg Plan, not because I’m against rezoning the area — I’m in favor of it, because it reconnects our communities with our magnificent waterfront — but because this plan is flawed.

I have asked the City to guarantee a minimum of 30 percent affordable housing in a revised plan. And I urge the City Council to adhere to my recommendations — do not accept anything less.

There was a time when our federal and state governments understood that housing is a right — and not a privilege. In the not too distant past, government took seriously its role in subsidizing this basic need, as it did with the Mitchell-Lama program. But with Republican administrations in Washington and Albany — the burden is now on us, on the local level, to fight for affordable housing in our neighborhoods.

Because whether you were born on the other side of the world or right here in Brooklyn — we’re all Brooklynites. And an essential part of anyone’s dream is to live in a home they can afford — and still have money left over to live a decent life.

Speaking of fighting for our character, our neighborhoods, and our way of life, we are also seeing how rapid, largely unplanned development throughout the borough is changing the character and scale of some of our communities.

Too often, we see the demolition of single family homes that fit in with the character of a community — only to be replaced by buildings of questionable appropriateness. This infringes on residents’ quality of life and — ironically — threatens to erode property values, rather than enhance them.

One of my goals for 2005 is to convene a community forum on this issue of neighborhood preservation in the face of unbounded, unplanned development. Make no mistake — I’m for development — smart development. But smart development is not destroying the lovely character of Brooklyn’s most suburban neighborhoods.

Southern Brooklyn has many neighborhoods that are primarily residential and dominated by single family detached homes.

I am committed to the down-zoning of these neighborhoods, because we must preserve the community pride that makes Brooklyn great.

Posted by lumi at 7:37 PM

January 21, 2005

Slicing up the pie

NY Daily News: Daily News columnist Errol Louis takes local politicians to task for not supporting initiatives created to help women- and minority-owned businesses get a larger slice of the pie in recent development boom. Louis singles out Brooklyn Councilwoman Letitia James and describes how her local office was recently picketed by union and ACORN members.

article

NoLandGrab: Like Letitia James, Errol Louis is an ardent champion of groups who have traditionally been shut out of economic opportunities. Their visions for lower income neighborhoods is not that different.

The fact that they are not allies in the Ratner-arena controversy, is a testament to Ratner's ability to divide and conquer. While Louis is satisfied to accept what concessions have been extracted from Ratner, James is pursuing an alternative vision that includes affordable housing and jobs, but avoids destroying existing housing, jobs and neighborhoods.

Also, has anyone noticed that Errol Louis and Letitia James both have first names for last names?

The ACORN/union rally is just a taste of the power of Ratner's new alliances and how he will use their voices to try to defeat Letitia James in her bid for reelection. Consider this rally a "shot across the bow." Just because Ratner's coalition pickets James's office doesn't mean that her position has failed.

Posted by lumi at 9:05 AM

January 18, 2005

Mayoral Candidates' Responses to Mayor Bloomberg's State of the City Address

Gotham Gazette: In response to Mayor Mike's State of the City Address, the candidates jockeying for attention in the Mayoral election overwhelmingly point out that the Mayor has misplaced his priorities away from education and jobs for all New Yorkers, towards building sports stadiums and arena for his rich friends.

Charles Baron: He has turned New York City into New York City Inc., a playground for rich developers - Nets, Jets, and the Olympics - that is not trickling down into neighborhoods like East New York, where there is double-digit unemployment.

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Posted by lumi at 9:46 AM

January 7, 2005

PROFILE: REVEREND HERBERT D. DAUGHTRY SR. Former Firebrand Refuses ‘To Go Out to Pasture’

New York Sun: A profile of the Reverend Herbert Daughtry, who has born the mantle of community representative in talks with Ratner for a Community Benefits Agreement.

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Posted by lumi at 6:47 AM

December 18, 2004

Three Community Boards Hold Off Commitment to Ratner Project

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle recaps the most recent letter from the Community Boards.

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Posted by amy at 11:10 AM

December 16, 2004

Summit Calls For Community Planning Reform

Gotham Gazette: Attendees at last month's Summit on Community-Based Planning examined the problems with NYC top-down urban planning model, the roles or the Community Board and what can be done to fix the system.

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Posted by lumi at 7:38 AM

December 11, 2004

ESDC Response Letter

At the last general meetings of Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 6 & 8 (on December 8 and 9 respectively) the response letter that was sent to the Empire State Development Corporation was distributed.

View the letter

Posted by amy at 6:37 PM

December 8, 2004

Board 6 Seeks Environmental Review of Ratner's Atlantic Yards

Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

Ernest Migliaccio, Land Use co-chair, began the discussion by saying an EIS is not enforceable enough, while Forest City has promised to sign a legally binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Hammerman said the EIS was more important because it was required, while a CBA isn’t.

Board member Howard Graubard pointed out that it’s significant for CB 6 to give its input on the EIS, CBA and any other Atlantic Yards-related issues.

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Posted by amy at 4:23 PM

December 4, 2004

Lots of shouting, little info, at CB2 Atlantic Yards meet

The Brooklyn Papers: Jess Wislowski's wrap up of the CB 2, 6, & 8 co-sponsored developer presentation includes groups in attendance (including those bussed in), DDDb's UNITY plan press conference, Darnell Canada's outburst, affordable housing details, and Stuckey's public financing admissions.

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Posted by lumi at 10:10 AM

Crowd to Ratner big: ‘Blight’ back at ya
Jeers rain down as Nets arena site is called a wasteland

The Brooklyn Papers: Jim Stuckey is laying the groundwork for NY State to condemn private property in the footprint of Ratner's Atlantic Yard proposal by calling the neighborhood "BLIGHTED" in public meetings.

As if opponents of Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” plan didn’t already have enough reasons to dislike him, a top official of the development company has taken to labeling as “blighted” the six square blocks of Prospect Heights that the project would subsume.

NLG Commentary: While eminent domain condemnations for private development are under national scrutiry, this is the latest by-hook-or-by-crook tactic to be deployed by the developer. Ratner has made generous deals with 48 of 52 LUXURY condo or coop owners, offering little or nothing for lower-income residents. Usually class warfare is waged by rallying the neediest to your cause, not the greediest.

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Posted by lumi at 9:43 AM

December 3, 2004

DECORATE DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN, Press Release:
Forest City Ratner Executive VP Jim Stuckey Speaks for Over Two Hours, Says Nothing

BROOKLYN—Monday night at a Community Board organized “informational meeting”, Forest City Ratner (FCR) Executive Vice President Jim Stuckey, poster boy of the government/corporate revolving-door system, and point man for the FCR proposed 17 skyscraper and arena complex in Prospect Heights, spun a one-way PR lecture. The “information meeting” provided no information for the hundreds of citizens, community board members and politicians hungry for facts and details about Mr. Ratner’s land grab and secret, taxpayer-subsidized backroom deal.

The deeply concerned community, having suffered through the corporate welfare queen’s year-long PR campaign to convince the public that a private developer’s gain is the public’s gain, and that the imposition of a destructive, senseless, and reckless development plan on a diverse neighborhood is merely “collateral damage,” grew increasingly frustrated. Mr. Stuckey used a lot of big words, some of them real big, but managed to say nothing. Members of his grassroots “backup band,” ACORN and BUILD, accompanied the Ratner front man, chanting slogans and cheering throughout.

When Mr. Stuckey evaded a question about whether or not the proposed development site in Prospect Heights is “blighted,” a frustrated citizen yelled out, “you’re blighted.”

The dapper, Community Board 6 District Manager, Craig Hammerman, lost control of the meeting within minutes of the Q&A session. His inability to maintain decorum or decoration at the meeting was directly related to the fact that his Board, as well as CB 2 an 8, had set up a “meeting” format that only allowed for written and moderated questions, with no opportunity for follow-up or rebuttal from a questioner, leaving Mr. Stuckey with the last unctuous, platitudinal word each time.

The reigning PR Diva, Mr. Stuckey hit all of his high notes. Below are a few Stuckey classics, and some new insta-hits: * An intergenerational facility will allow young people to interact with seniors in more positive ways than harassing or mugging them on the street (no joke folks). * We are going to raise the bar and set a new precedent for how development is done in this city. * From the very beginning we’ve worked very hard to involve the community, and our availability here tonight is proof. * There are going to be no taxpayer dollars spent on our development, only on the affordable housing and infrastructure, which is the job of the city anyway. * From the very beginning this project was about jobs, housing, and bringing basketball to Brooklyn, and did I mention jobs and housing. * We didn’t buy the team to get a real estate deal.

Nathaniel Goldmine, Decorate Don’t Destroy Brooklyn spokesperson, wondered aloud, “Where does this guy get the balls? We’re not as dumb as he sounds, or at least as he pretends to be.”

Elected officials were reduced to shouting out and heckling along with their constituents. The closest the community got to hearing from a governmental body was when Mr. Hammerman read a letter, written by the pseudo-governmental, and unaccountable Atlantic Center Mall tenant, Empire State Development Corporation. The MTA and the City’s Department of Planning sent heartfelt thank you notes for the invitation, but had to decline because “everyone in the office will be at home watching the end of Ken Jennings winning streak on Jeopardy!”

To view the Ratner Proposal, please visit: www.ratnerville.com

DECORATE DON’T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads a broad-based community coalition fighting for urban design that will unite our communities instead of blinding them with more tacky neon signage.

Posted by lumi at 7:40 PM

December 2, 2004

The Plucky Jim Show

Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Reed Jackson

A huge crowd and high emotion gave a public meting regarding Forest City Ratner’s (FCR) Atlantic Yards proposal the feel of a rock concert this week. Hundreds of Downtown Brooklyn residents showed up early for the meeting, which was organized by FCR and Community Boards 2, 6 & 8, forming a bustling line that stretched for blocks outside of the NYC Tech auditorium where it was held. Compounding the furor were partisans of both the pro and anti-Ratner forces, who fanned out across the edges of the mass, handing out pamphlets and often engaging in very vocal arguments with the people waiting to get inside.

This meeting was the latest and the largest in a series of events revolving around the Yards development, which would place massive residential and office skyscrapers, as well as a 19,000-seat arena for the New Jersey Nets, near the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.

Such an ambitious project would court controversy enough. But the Yards’ possible use of eminent domain, as well as a sizeable chunk of taxpayer monies, has made the development the hot button issue of the past few years, and this meeting provided its largest stage yet.

As the two players with the most information to divulge, the MTA and the Empire State Development Corporation, failed to show, the “informational meeting” as it was billed, ended up being a three-hour presentation by FCR main man “Plucky” Jim Stuckey.

The MTA owns the rail yard currently sitting in the middle of the site; FCR and the beleaguered transit agency are in negotiations over the site, but little is known about the specifics of the transaction. The project will most likely go forward under the aegis of the state, whose review process requires an environmental impact statement to be drawn up, and public comment solicited. But with details of the project as vague as they are now, no statement can be fashioned.

“It’s impossible for me to answer that question because the process has yet to begin,” Plucky Jim said towards the beginning of the night, in what was to become a trademark statement, along with the “The [Draft Environmental Impact Study] will be in charge of analyzing that.”

Left without any supporting cast in front of a large audience, Plucky Jim lived up to his name, standing for over three hours, answering questions, some of them hostile, written on note cards in advance, from the crowd, and pleading his case.

Stuckey divulged little truly new information, instead delivering a pitch well polished from repeated use at community board and civic association meetings during the past months. On many occasions, he could have submitted his answers in advance as well.

His main thrust centered on the pending agreements FCR has reached with various community groups; including providing a certain amount of affordable housing in the project, and firing a certain amount of minorities during the construction of the development, and after, in the offices and stores within the finished complex.

Some of these points will be drawn uop in a Community Benefits Agreement, a legally binding agreement currently being negotiated by a number of community groups and FCR.

Asked about the city government’s proposed participation in the project, he said, “We’re simply asking the city to do what the city does, build infrastructure, which will be necessary to support this project.”

When queried regarding the amount of taxpayer money that the project could use in subsidies, Stuckey allowed a little spin to be put into play. “We are not trying to divert funds that are in play today,” he said. “[Any funds] will be based on incremental revenues that will be brought in by the project.”

Of course, these “future funds” are completely nonexistent at this point, and the amount of actual money that will actually be brought in by the Yards has been debated in several studies. But of course, with exact specifics regarding financing still pending, all opinions on the topic are still highly theoretical.

Towards the latter half of the long evening, Stuckey veered a bit off message, saying things like, “A single project can’t cure all the housing ills,” which were greeted less than enthusiastically by the audience.

But though revelations were few and far between, a few fireworks did go off. About midway through the meeting, a group of about 30 people began yelling at moderator Craig Hammerman, and loudly stomped out of the auditorium.

Led by Darnell Canada, a one-time member of Ratner ally BUILD, the group expressed frustration at the slow pace of the proceedings, and its wish to spur the wheels of progress. “We’re for the project,” he intoned in an interview outside of the auditorium. “We want jobs. You’d better be glad that we want jobs, because if we don’t work, we gotta do something to survive.”

“Darnell is a good guy. His interests are that of the community,” said Bruce Bender, a vice president at FCR outside the meeting.

Canada promised that a “demonstration” in favor of the Yards project would soon be mounted by his group. “Nothing’s gonna stop us from getting it!” he exclaimed.

Judging by the regular outbursts that reupted throughout the night, the audience seemed more sympathetic to Canada’s point of view. This changed however, as the hours drgged on, and union members, some of which were seen filling out the forms verifying their participation in a picket-line-type activity, and MetroTech employees, who were asked by their supervisor to come, according to one, lost patience and headed home.

Before the meeting, the Ratner foes, Develop Don’t Destroy held a press conference, touting their alternative plan for the Atlantic Yards, dubbed the UNITY Plan, a product of architect Marshall Brown and the Atlantic Yards Development Workshop.

“This is a model project for community development and forward thinking,” Brown declared. The “competitive proposal” claim to offer less density, and more retail and open space than Ratner’s plan.

The UNITY plan will be presented to the land use committee Community Board 2 on December 15.

Posted by lumi at 9:20 AM

December 1, 2004

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle runs two articles on joint-CB Info Meeting

Brooklyn Daily Eagle commentator Dennis Holt and reporter Ben Silverbush both cover Jim Stuckey's presentation for Forest City Ratner at CB 2, 6, & 8 Info Meeting.

articles:
"Unusual Meeting Hears of Arena Plan’s Progress," by Dennis Holt
"Hundreds Pack Meeting on Ratner Proposal," by Ben Silverbush

Posted by lumi at 8:21 AM

November 30, 2004

Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 6 and 8 Host Pep Rally for Forest City Ratner
Community Members are Left Out in the Cold While FCR Supporters Get VIP Treatment

DDDb Press Release:

While community members who were hungry for information cooled their heels on the sidewalk last night—many were ultimately turned away from the “informational” meeting held by Community Boards 2, 6 and 8—groups that support Forest City Ratner’s proposal were ushered to a special entrance at the front of the block-long line.

“Clearly, there are two classes of citizens these days,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. “Those who support Bruce Ratner’s proposal, and the rest of us.”

Those community members who were able to get into NYC College of Technology’s Klitgord Auditorium were treated to a 45-minute presentation by Forest City Ratner (FCR) Executive Vice President Jim Stuckey. Stuckey, a former President of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, showed gleaming sketches of FCR’s proposed 17-skyscraper-and-arena complex, and spoke at length about the community benefits FCR says it will deliver. “How can they make these promises,” asked DDDB’s Goldstein, “when they won’t even reveal how this project is going to be funded? Stuckey’s presentation offered no new facts, just a lot of unsubstantiated claims.”

The audience—heavily packed with construction union members who were given vouchers for their participation— was surprisingly reserved in its expression of approval, cheering most loudly for FCR’s claims that 1500 construction jobs per year will be created. But one group of public housing residents in the audience disrupted the meeting around that point, shouting, “Who’s going to get these jobs?” and demanding that Darnell Canada be heard.  Canada’s relationship with FCR dates back to the building of MetroTech, another Ratner project, when Canada organized residents of Brooklyn’s Farragut, Ingersoll and Whitman Houses to apply for MetroTech construction jobs that FCR promised to the community, but did not deliver.

“Stuckey claims that Bruce Ratner has never broken a promise,” said Goldstein, “but he obviously doesn’t read the newspapers. Just this month, FCR reneged on its deal with Pace University—and that’s only the latest in a long line of promises that are worth the paper they’re not written on.”

Note to Editors:  Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn supports the community-driven UNITY plan for developing the MTA/LIRR site in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The plan, which features truly affordable housing and promotes local small businesses as well as union jobs, will be presented at a community meeting next week.

WHAT: UNITY plan for MTA/LIRR site

WHO: Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and the Atlantic Yards Development Workshop

WHEN: Monday, December 6th at 7:00pm

WHERE: Seventh Day Adventist Church, 88 Hanson Place, Brooklyn (enter on South Portland)

To view the Ratner Proposal, visit: www.bball.net

To view the community’s UNITY plan, visit: www.dddb.net/public/UNITY.pdf

DEVELOP DON’T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads a broad-based community coalition fighting for development that will unite our communities instead of dividing and destroying them.

Posted by lumi at 1:39 PM

ESDC Letter to Community Board 6

The Community Board 2, 6, & 8 Informational Meeting unfortunately was another "dog and pony" show put on by Forest City Ratner (FCR). Though some lay the blame on the doorstep of the CBs for continually giving face time to FCR Exec. VP Jim Stuckey, much of the blame for this meeting should also be pinned on City and State agencies who refuse to show up in public to outline their roles and responsibilities in Ratner's development proposal.

The MTA and NYC Department of City Planning were absent and the ESDC only sent a letter from their Senior Vice President -- Legal and General Council, Anita E. Laremont. CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman read the letter for the benefit of those who attended.

Read letter

Posted by lumi at 10:58 AM

November 28, 2004

Queens Residents Use Black Friday To Protest Development Plan

NY1: Yup, you read it right, NY1 reported on "Queens Residents" protesting on Black Friday in Brooklyn.

*DDDb and the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition worked hard on the boycott. Obviously it takes a lot to get your message across in the biggest media market in the world.8

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Posted by lumi at 11:03 AM

November 27, 2004

Charge CB6 chair Armer with Ratner conflict

"A group of anti-Atlantic Yards community activists have filed a complaint with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board charging that Community Board 6 chairman Jerry Armer’s job with the Metrotech Business Improvement District conflicts with his role as leader of the board in discussing [Ratner's proposal]."

As these complaints are investigated, the fact remains that Forest City Ratner VP Jim Stuckey has had unlimited oppportunities at CB committee and general board meetings to make the case for the Ratner plan. Whereas opponents have had no opportunity to present alternative development plans or principles at CB meetings, including the Monday, November 29, CB 2, 6 & 8 Co-Sponsored Public Informational Meeting.

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Posted by lumi at 8:30 AM

November 26, 2004

BOYCOTT TODAY!!!

In case you still shop at Ratner's Atlantic Terminal and Atlantic Center malls, don't forget that today is the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition's Black Friday boycott.

Pass the word along that Ratner owns both of these malls and now he wants to own another 24 acres of property next to his two malls. Ratner has never been about jobs and affordable housing for area residents, so why should we believe him now?

Posted by lumi at 8:55 AM

November 24, 2004

Zoning duo are part of city Olympic team

Conflict of Interest on the West Side:
"Two of the 10 city planning commissioners who voted for the city's West Side rezoning plan Monday sit on boards for NYC 2012, which needed passage of the plan to help its effort to secure the Olympics. "Irwin Cantor, a planning commissioner and founder of a prominent engineering firm, is a member of the NYC 2012 facilities committee, and Kenneth Knuckles, the vice chair of the commission, is on the overall board."

Conflict of interest in Brooklyn:
"In August, it was reported that Planning Commissioner Dolly Williams was an investor in developer Bruce Ratner's $2.5-billion Nets arena project in Downtown Brooklyn. She had sat in on Planning Commission meetings on the proposal."
[emphasis added]

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Posted by lumi at 7:37 AM

November 23, 2004

The Gulliver gambit

New York Daily News Columnist, Errol Lewis: Mr. Lewis criticizes the Downtown Leadership Coalition for their tactics against Ratner and predicts that the one-day boycott will flop.

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Posted by lumi at 9:00 AM

November 20, 2004

Members: Ratner owns CBs

The Brooklyn Papers:

"Members of the community boards that encompass developer Bruce Ratner’s planned Atlantic Yards complex condemned their respective chairpersons Wednesday. They charged that, wittingly or not, the board chairs have allowed the developer to co-opt the boards without having reviewed his plans."

CB8 Member Bill Baston sounded off:

“[Community boards] were designed for the very purpose of a big development like this,” Batson said, “but yet we’re being asked to take more time to consider changing a street name than we are to consider changing the skyline of our borough.”

He charged that CB8 has been “propagandized” by Ratner while dissenters have been shut out.

“There are a lot of people who have come to our boards to talk to us about the project, but there’s nobody who’s concerned about that project who’s been invited in,” Batson said.

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Posted by lumi at 9:44 AM

Brooklyn has stadium issues of its own to deal with

Metro: Coverage of the Councilwoman Letita James's press conference with Community Board Members who are frustrated with Forest City Ratner's (FCR) hurried attempts to drat a Community Benefits Agreement.

FCR vice-president Bruce Bender has raised the rhetoric by attacking James directly, calling her a "one-note gadfly."

Hmm... she must be doing something right. Unfortunately FCR's PR campaign comes straight from Karl Rove's playbook. During the past month FCR has worked hard to try to divide the community along several lines: new arrivals and old timers, rich and poor and whites and minorities. Now they have moved on to character attacks.

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Posted by lumi at 8:34 AM

November 19, 2004

NEW RAGE OVER NETS ARENA PLAN

The New York Post: "A controversial proposal for an NBA arena in Brooklyn incited a revolt by community board members against their leaders yesterday, amid claims the honchos are stifling opponents of developer Bruce Ratner's plan.

"Several community board members from the affected neighborhoods joined a protest at City Hall yesterday to criticize their chairpersons."

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Posted by lumi at 8:59 AM

DDDb Press Release: "Ratner 'Community Benefits Agreement' (CBA) is DOA And Brooklyn Community Board Chairs Helped Kill It"

DDDb, pols, Community Board Members and Good Jobs New York Project Director, Bettina Damiani, spoke out against the lack of community participation in Ratner's CBA and how the process of drafting an agreement before details of the plan have been released has short circuited the process.

DDDb spokesperson, Dan Goldstein also brought up conflict of interest claims against CB6 Chariperson Jerry Armer who is also a full-time paid staff member of the Metrotech BID, "to which Ratner is a contributor."

press release

Posted by lumi at 8:28 AM

November 15, 2004

BEEP 'BOOZE' BOMBSHELL

Party Marty?

---

By DAVID SEIFMAN
November 15, 2004 -- Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz is a heavy drinker who would often use his official vehicle for personal chores — lights, sirens and all, one of his former drivers charges.

Mario Nicholas, upset that Markowitz allegedly left him out in the cold after an on-the-job injury, is telling these eye-popping stories about his ex-boss:

• The BP never went to dinner without a bottle of wine. In fact, he kept a stash of bottles in his official vehicle.

• After Markowitz and his wife, Jamie, spent hours partying on a ship docked on the West Side, "they came off the boat sloshed." Jamie Markowitz proceeded to "grab my ass. I just said 'What are you doing?' She said nothing, but smiled."

• The BP always ran late so he constantly resorted to lights and sirens. To avoid being spotted in his SUV — bearing the distinctive plates "BKLYN BP" — he'd ride in a nondescript Mercury Marquis.

• Jamie Markowitz would visit her husband at lunch and then ask to be driven back to her job three blocks away.

• In the 18 months Nicholas has been sidelined with a knee injury, Marty Markowitz never once called to ask how he's doing. Tossed off the city payroll, the former driver and his wife — who is battling cancer — are spending $678 a month for health insurance. They're living on just $1,260 a month from worker's compensation.

Asked to comment, Markowitz's office issued a three-sentence response:

"Mario Nicholas is a disgruntled former employee. It is sad he would resort to the lowest kind of unfounded personal attacks. However, on a personal level, the borough president is sorry for his family misfortune and only wishes him well."

Nicholas concedes he's disgruntled — but for good reason. On June 16, 2003, Nicholas says he stepped into a pothole in the parking lot of the Brooklyn South Task Force on Coney Island Avenue, where the BP parked his cars.

His left knee twisted and "popped," he recalled, leading to surgery for torn ligaments and painful "tingling" whenever he sits for extended periods.

Nicholas' doctor, Richard Obedian, diagnosed him as "totally disabled."

A doctor retained by the city, Mark Pitman, said on July 22, 2004, that "he is unable to return to work as a driver at the present time."

Nicholas, 48, officially lost his $42,000 job on June 23, 2004, two months shy of his 20th year with the city.

He said a Markowitz aide told him, "If you can't come back as a driver for the borough president, we don't want you back."

Posted by lumi at 6:10 PM

November 14, 2004

Boycott Plan Will Hit Ratner’s Retail Jewel

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Coverage of the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition's (DBLC) annoucement of the boycott of Ratner's malls on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, also the busiest shopping day of the year.

Members of the DBLC cited a litany of concerns, including: * Ratners refusal to continue to meet with them, * doubts that the MTA will demand top dollar for the site (despite plans for fare hikes), * backroom dealmaking between the developer and NY State, * and favoritism towards upper-income residents in the Newswalk building.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM

November 13, 2004

Official Announcement of CB 2, 6 & 8 Public Meeting

The public notice of the "Informational Meeting" to hear a presentation of the proposed Atlantic Yards Development Project plans by the developer Forest City Ratner companies. State agencies have been invited to attend to explain the sale and use of air rights, use of eminent domain, development of an environmental impact statemnet and the City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

letter

Posted by lumi at 8:48 AM

Develop Don't Destroy Written Response to CB's Public Meeting Notice

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDb) has sent a written request for the community-based Atlantic Yards Development Workshop Proposal (AYDWS) to be presented at the CB's public Informational Meeting.

Other issues that DDDb would like to see addressed in the public meeting are: * primary and secondary displacement, * height and scale, * character of the community, * traffic and transportation, * other environmental issues, and * public subsidies

letter

Posted by lumi at 7:54 AM

'God Squad' calls for mall boycott

The Brooklyn Papers: "The Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition (DBLC), commonly referred to as the 'God Squad,' is planning a community boycott of the new shopping center on Friday, Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving. The day is commonly referred to in retail circles as 'Black Friday.'" article

Posted by lumi at 12:23 AM

Daughtry wants Nets chapel

The Brooklyn Papers: The Rev. Herbert Daughtry, former leader of the Downtown Leadership Coalition who is now negotiating with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, hopes to get a house of worship built into the arena complex. Though he thinks that the chapel should be non-denominational, there are questions as to whether or not public financing can be applied towards this purpose.

article

Posted by lumi at 12:19 AM

November 12, 2004

Boycotting the Bruce: DBLC hopes shoppers quit Ratner's malls cold turkey, at least for the busiest shopping day

The Brooklyn Downtown Star: The Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition, comprised of local clergy and politicians are calling for a boycott of Ratner's Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal Malls on the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:13 PM

November 11, 2004

Boycotting the Bruce: DBLC hopes shoppers quit Ratner's malls cold turkey, at least for the busiest shopping day

The Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition, comprised of local clergy and politicians are calling for a boycott of Ratner's Atlantic Center and Atlantic Terminal Malls on the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

article

Posted by lumi at 10:13 PM

City Council's Miller Wants to See Bloomberg Olympics Deal for 2012

"City Council Speaker Gifford Miller is charging that the cityís Olympic bid committee may be acting beyond its authority by potentially putting taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars should New York be awarded the 2012 Summer Games.

"The challenge comes in the wake of unsuccessful efforts by City Council member Letitia James of Brooklyn to obtain a copy of the agreement the city is making with the International Olympics Committee to enter the final round of bidding to host the Games in 2012."

article

Posted by lumi at 7:13 PM

Ratner Exec, Councilwoman Face Off on Arena ProjectAlso, Community Board Chair Slams 'Shameless Distortions'

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle's report of the contentious CB2 General Board meeting on Nov 10.

One point misreported in this story was that the CB meeting at the end of the month is billed as a "Informational Meeting" not a "public hearing."

article

Posted by lumi at 9:54 AM

November 10, 2004

Community Boards 2, 6 & 8 to Hold Public Meetings

The text of Chairperson's report for Community Boards 2, 6, & 8 calls for a public meeting on Atlantic Yard. This is in response to receiving "a lot more questions than comments" when the leadership of the Boards asked their members for input in a Community Benefits Agreement with Forest City Ratner.

The public meeting will be held on Monday, November 29 at the New York City College of Technology's Klitgord Auditorium at 300 Jay St. (btwn Tillary and Johnson St.)

Read report.

Posted by lumi at 6:28 PM

October 30, 2004

Speaker Silver Speaks at Chamber of Commerce Luncheon

Silver spoke to the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce at a luncheon at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He didn't mention the arena plan in the speech, but Brooklyn Papers tracked him down afterwards for a follow-up:

But after a speech before the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, Speaker Silver seemed disinterested in the plan.

“I haven’t seen the plan,” Silver said. “I don’t know the basis by which it would come before the state legislature. I’m not sure we have a role in it.”

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Speaker Silver Speaks at Chamber of Commerce Luncheon
Brooklyn Papers: City review seems unlikely for Atlantic Yards arena plan

Posted by lumi at 10:36 AM

March 16, 2004

RENT WARS SUES BCAT OVER MARKOWITZ CONTROL

RentWars.com

Amano likened Markowitz' television excesses to the Brooklyn Borough President's efforts to take private land via Eminent Domain for Bruce Ratner's Nets Arena. "He won't stop. Once he had thirty minutes over the alloted time. Now he has 8 hours over. He's trying to take people's homes and now he's trying to take control of the airwaves."

article

Posted by lumi at 8:16 AM

March 5, 2004

James aims to slam-dunk Ratner plan

NY Daily News

Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) will announce Sunday that she has her own blueprint for the Prospect Heights site where developer Bruce Ratner would build a basketball arena and a complex of residential and office towers.Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) will announce Sunday that she has her own blueprint for the Prospect Heights site where developer Bruce Ratner would build a basketball arena and a complex of residential and office towers.Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) will announce Sunday that she has her own blueprint for the Prospect Heights site where developer Bruce Ratner would build a basketball arena and a complex of residential and office towers.

article

Posted by lumi at 8:08 AM