July 24, 2010
Who's missing from Dave Zirin's new book "Bad Sports"? Bruce Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
It's a good bet that a book called Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining the Games We Love might contain a chapter on one Bruce Ratner, the owner who ran the Nets into the ground in pursuit of a real estate deal.
After all, ESPN, in its Ultimate Standings, recently ranked Nets ownership, led by Ratner, at 121, the second-worst in all of sports, behind only Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers, who paid $2.73 million last November to settle a housing discrimination lawsuit.
...
And it's a good bet that author Dave Zirin, who writes with left-wing, populist force about sports, knows about Ratner.
After all, Zirin's listed on the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Advisory Board, a group with a number of members who've done little more than lend their names.
...
But Zirin, as far as I can tell, never wrote about Ratner, neither in his Edge of Sports column nor the book. (This May he did write about new owner Mikhail Prokhorov.)
Donald Sterling gets a chapter in Bad Sports. So do George Steinbrenner of the Yankees and James Dolan of the Knicks.
Ratner deserves one too.
Count it as a missed opportunity.
Posted by steve at 7:29 AM
July 21, 2010
D-Lee's agent tells it like it is: "the hypocrisy of the whole world of sports"
Atlantic Yards Report
Recently departed Knicks forward David Lee, an ever-improving player who became a (last-minute) All-Star this past year, got some well-deserved ink from Times columnist Harvey Araton today, in Traded by Knicks, Lee Was Still a Team Player.
Araton noted that Lee was the only team member to attend funerals of two men connected with the team and that he was the only one to watch from courtside the halftime ceremony 40th anniversary of its 1970 championship team.
Araton wrote:
“People talk about how much they want good citizens, guys who are committed to an organization and a city,” said Mark Bartelstein, Lee’s agent.
“At the end of the day, it is what it is, the hypocrisy of the whole world of sports.
Flashback: hypocrisy
Remember how Bruce Ratner, in a 6/26/05 New York Times Magazine interview, went out of his way to puff the Nets:
The players are terrific. They are of good character. They are incredibly charitable. They are family-oriented. They have integrity.
As I wrote 2/15/08 upon Jason Kidd's departure for Dallas, we wouldn't see any more stories about his tempestuous divorce, his churchgoing, nor his image rehabilitation via Take a Net to School.
Then, as with the Nets' current slogan, It's All New.
Posted by eric at 11:57 AM
Ratner and Blumenfeld's $400 million East River Plaza opens
The Real Deal
by Amy Tennery
Bruce Ratner claims that shopping in his newest mall is "equivalent to getting a raise." Say what?
Bruce Ratner, chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner, said that while he's excited about the plaza opening, he's still cautious about development in general. "We're finishing all our projects, that's what's most important now," Ratner told The Real Deal following the ribbon cutting this morning. "In the development business... there's really not [much of a] difference between now and six months ago."
NoLandGrab: Yeah, finishing all their projects... in a few decades.
Posted by eric at 11:16 AM
July 20, 2010
Three Arrows, a Co-op That Loves Its Committees
The New York Times
by Susan Dominus
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner! You're now the poster child for undemocratic development projects!
Hi, Jen and David — it’s your Realtor, Sasha, calling. I don’t want to clog your voice mail, but I just found a summer property at Three Arrows that I absolutely think you should see. Actually, it’s not a property. Don’t call it a property. They hate the word “property.” They call it a site, and what you really buy is the house on it. The land itself is owned by Three Arrows. It’s a co-op, like in the city, only it’s in Putnam Valley, N.Y., up past Peekskill.
Anyway, it’s got great lake access just for members and their friends, but it’s not a club. Three Arrows is not really clubby — definitely not country-clubby, I mean. Think socialist, not socialite. A bunch of actual socialists started the place nearly 75 years ago: “Cooperative living at proletarian prices.” Those old lefties were pretty good branders, it turns out.
...A majority vote of the membership can overturn any decision — direct democracy in action, they like to say (try putting that in the brochure for Bruce Ratner’s newest development!).
Posted by eric at 9:27 AM
July 19, 2010
Consensus, trust and bad faith
Cap'n Transit Rides Again
Part of the problem is simply that so many of the actors are obviously acting in bad faith. Marty Golden sits by and watches as the MTA fails to get proper funding, votes for the budget that strips $143 million from the agency, and then attacks Janele Hyer-Spencer for voting for that same budget. The TWU leaders make a mockery of the overtime rules that earlier labor leaders worked so hard to establish. Real estate mogul Bruce Ratner milks the MTA for all it's worth, even as it's preparing to cut subway and bus service.
...Ultimately, the thing to do is to reform the system so that dishonest politicians like [John] Sampson and Richard Brodsky can't get the kind of power that they currently have, and so that greedy unelected business owners like Ratner have limited influence.
Posted by eric at 1:17 PM
July 16, 2010
The Hezitorial: Yonkersites Likes it ‘Nice and Rough’
Yonkers Tribune
by Hezi Aris
The editor of the Yonkers Tribune imagines a future in which reverse-Robin Hood Bruce Ratner cuts out the middleman.
In preparation for 2012, acid tongued bloggers have formulated a credible and new form of governance, created about a triumvirate of exceptional people who would share power in intervals of 4 months apiece over a two-year cycle, permitting only one re-election. The most proficient for Yonkers’s success are the “the three amigos”, better known to Yonkersites as Bruce Ratner, Louis Cappelli, and Peter Kelly. Each has been able to amass preeminent corporate structures, incorporating an OPM [Other People's Money] philosophy. OPM is the antithesis of Robin Hood’s conduct of robbing the rich to benefit the poor. Specifically for Yonkers, Robin Hood’s philosophy will revert to robbing the poor to benefit the well to do. It seems an appropriate concept. It may not be “nice", but it will be “rough". Each of “the three amigos” will exact a return for economic development projects that will dwarf all those planned until now. Future projects will exact sizable sums from every Yonkersite before permitting a corporation, small, medium, or large, to use the funds Yonkersites will give their corporations as payment for their coming to Yonkers. Yonkersites’ investment in them will give Yonkersites great pride in offering the corporations our funds. Our children will sing songs in their name. We will serve them without concern for ourselves, happy in knowing that our lot is to pay them homage for looking in our direction. Green is a powerful color.
Posted by eric at 10:00 AM
July 13, 2010
The Nets draw blanks, but that's OK for Prokhorov and Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
The Record's Al Iannazzone sums up, in an article headlined Nets look to solve puzzle, the team's positioning:
The Nets wanted Mike Krzyzewski or Jeff Van Gundy to be their coach. Tom Thibodeau was their third choice. The Nets hired Avery Johnson.
They hoped their 25-percent chance of winning the draft lottery would get them the top pick in the draft and John Wall. They took Derrick Favors third.
The Nets wanted team president Rod Thorn to continue to guide the basketball department. Thorn is resigning at the end of the week, with former Sixers’ president Billy King a candidate to replace him.
In free agency, they hoped – and wanted to believe – Mikhail Prokhorov’s money and global vision and Jay-Z’s appeal would result in LeBron James and other superstars coming to the Nets.
They wound up with Travis Outlaw, Johan Petro, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow...
Well, for team fans, that's not so hot, but Prokhorov has already reaped enormous good publicity from his purchase and media tour.
And former majority owner Bruce Ratner and his partners at Forest City Enterprises are no longer saddled with the team's losses.
So some bad luck likely doesn't hurt them as much.
NoLandGrab: As for Brooklyn residents unlucky enough to live anywhere near Ratner's Atlantic Yards site, their bad luck will cause them pain for many years to come.
Posted by eric at 11:41 AM
July 12, 2010
A partnership slows in Downtown B'klyn
Stalled merger exposes political divisions
Crain's NY Business
by Erik Engquist
Something is rotten in Downtown, and guess who's one of the players?
The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, a local development corporation formed by the Bloomberg administration in 2006 to reshape the city's third-largest business district, has run into financial and political difficulties that cloud its future.
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 partnership—which is down to nine employees after cutting several positions from its 19th-story MetroTech suite—has support for its restructuring plan from the large corporations that dominate its board. But Michael Weiss, executive director of the MetroTech BID, who would lose his job in the shakeup, has rounded up political support to stall it.
...Mr. 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.
...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.
NoLandGrab: Of course, Mr. Ratner collects rent from the Partnership, and Partnership personnel have turned up at public hearings to laud his Atlantic Yards project, a good chunk of it on the public dime.
Posted by eric at 9:36 AM
July 6, 2010
Ratner: Vandeweghe deserved better
ESPN The Magazine
by Ric Bucher
Bruce Ratner is shedding a few crocodile tears over the team's dismissal of Kiki Vandeweghe.
Bruce Ratner remains a minority partner in the New Jersey Nets, so he's not at liberty to question the decisions made by the team's new majority owner, Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. But if there's one consequence of the new regime's attempt to distance itself from last season's nearly historic -- as in historically bad --12-70 record that bothers him, it's how assistant general manager Kiki Vandeweghe was sent packing.
Enough so that Ratner's conscience apparently compelled him to speak out about it. Especially now that team president Rod Thorn is stepping aside as well and the team is in search of new leadership altogether.
"He didn't go out the way he should have," Ratner said now of Vandeweghe. "The team is in a really good position and he was instrumental in putting it there."
Ratner's conscience? We wonder if Bruce also feels that Daniel Goldstein "didn't go out the way he should have."
That said, Ratner doesn't see the Nets bringing Vandeweghe back. His gratitude for Vandeweghe's work and guilt over how he was dismissed stops short of going to bat for him.
"It's Mikhail's team now and he wants to put his stamp on it," Ratner says. "I can understand that."
NoLandGrab: You're a stand-up guy, Bruce. Maybe if you hadn't been desperate for Proky's cash to keep your crooked Atlantic Yards deal afloat, Kiki would still have a job. But that's not how it went down. So shut up already.
Posted by eric at 7:24 AM
July 5, 2010
ESPN's Ultimate Standings show Nets, in pre-Prokhorov season, declining to 118 (among 122 franchises), with Ratner still the second-worst owner
Atlantic Yards Report
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner! You're still the second-worst owner in pro sports, even though you don't even own most of your team anymore. And the only guy worse than you is "The Most Evil Man in Sports."
With no way to factor in a brighter future in Newark (and Brooklyn) and a deep-pocketed new owner, the New Jersey Nets actually declined from 111 to 118 in ESPN the Magazine's Ultimate Standings 2010, a ranking of how much the 122 franchises in four pro sports give back to the fans.
(The unimpressive New York Knicks nudged up to 119 from 121.)
The Nets ownership, led by Bruce Ratner, held steady at 121, the second-worst in all of sports, thanks to Donald Sterling of the Los Angeles Clippers, who paid $2.73 million last November to settle a housing discrimination lawsuit.
The best scores for the Nets were in the categories of Title Track (championships won or expected in the lifetime of current fans) and affordability. Look for the latter to decline, though perhaps not until the expected Brooklyn move, and the former to increase, at least if major free agents are signed.
Title Track: 99
Ownership: 121
Coaching: 121
Players: 114
Fan Relations: 113
Affordability: 82
Stadium Experience: 119
Bang for the Buck: 116The explanation, from ESPN's Insider (subscription only), comes with some digs at marketing man Brett Yormark:
Mikhail Prokhorov is a genius when it comes to buying low. And that's what he got with the Nets. "It was the single worst fan experience in ANY professional sport," says Net Income of Netsdaily.com. We feel you guys, we really do, because New Jersey hasn't been embarrassed this badly since Jersey Shore debuted. We're not even talking about the Vince Carter trade and the NBA-record 18-game losing streak to start the season. There were the reversible jersey promotions (one side: a New Jersey Nets player, flip it inside-out: Kobe Bryant!). And CEO Brett Yormark scolding a fan who donned a paper bag. Amazingly none of this even begins to address the IZOD Center, which housed this entire spectacle. Net Income, please do the honors: "It hadn't been updated in 30 years. It had virtually no amenities and was always crowded, perhaps even an unsafe concourse. Traffic and parking configurations were changed, sometimes game to game, to accommodate a massive and still-empty shopping mall, the construction of a new Giants/Jets stadium and then the destruction of the old one." Luckily for Nets supporters, the Ratner era ends with a temporary pit stop in Newark and an overhaul of the organization, Russian-billionaire style. "Nets fans on the whole are excited by the prospect of Prokhorov, if only because we know our owner is now committed to basketball rather than real estate," says NJ4Life of Netsdaily.com. Hey, that's not a bad place to start.
Posted by eric at 10:47 AM
June 23, 2010
Ratner's Latest Gobbledygook
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Literally every time Bruce Ratner is quoted in news article his odd use of the English language or illogical statements or foot-shooting statements lead one to wonder who lets this guy speak to the press? From today's Times puff piece:
"Slowly but absolutely surely you will have Brooklyn Knick fans, particularly the younger generation, become Nets fans, especially if they live in Brooklyn," said Ratner. "I also think it will be somewhat true for Staten Island, somewhat true for Queens and for Long Island certainly."
Posted by eric at 8:56 AM
June 22, 2010
Ratner, in Times Sports section portrait, admits, “when a developer speaks it’s not always believed”
Atlantic Yards Report
A one-source New York Times Sports section portrait of Bruce Ratner, headlined Ratner Content to Succeed in the Shadows, offers the message that Ratner still can make a bunch of money from Atlantic Yards:
As the owner of 55 percent of the planned arena, Ratner will have a sizable stake in what could become a fascinating battlefront — downtown Brooklyn against Midtown Manhattan, or the Barclays Center versus Madison Square Garden.
...
Norman Oder lists some reasons why, in Ratner's words, "when a developer speaks it’s not always believed.”
Maybe there's good reason for that. The chairpersons of three community boards criticized Forest City Ratner for "overstating" the CBs participation in "crafting" the Community Benefits Agreement.
Forest City Ratner told prospective renters that half the affordable units--rather than half the square footage--would be two-bedroom and three-bedroom units.
Or the $6 billion lie.
Or the no-towers brochure.
The list could go on.
Civic venture?
The article continues:
Ratner conceded that he would continue to be assailed as a franchise snatcher and team destroyer, all for the sole purpose of constructing a small city of residential towers, while insisting that bringing a major professional sports team back to Brooklyn was always his first priority. The residential component, he said, was necessary to finance an arena on a railyards site that was going to require extraordinary infrastructure costs the city would not incur.
NoLandGrab: "Bringing a major professional sports team back to Brooklyn was always his first priority?" That's funny, because his flunky in charge of Atlantic Yards told attendees at last week's Brooklyn Real Estate Summit that "Atlantic Yards is primarily a housing initiative with an arena attached." But like Bruce says, "when a developer speaks it’s not always believed."
Related coverage...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner: “when a developer speaks it’s not always believed."
Really? Bringing pro sports back to Brooklyn was always the first priority? Creating investor and shareholder value by gaining cheap ownership to prime real estate wasn't the first priority? Or, wasn't it affordable housing? It is difficult to know what to believe when this developer in particular opens his mouth.
Posted by eric at 10:25 AM
Ratner Content to Succeed in the Shadows
The New York Times
by Harvey Araton
It's Bruce Ratner vs. Norman Oder in today's New York Times. Ratner's up first, and gets to tell his own story without any counterpoint. He does say one honest thing, however:
“There’s a bittersweet feeling in having a majority owner in Brooklyn not be us,” he said, acknowledging his many critics will scoff because “when a developer speaks it’s not always believed.”
The other interesting bit in the story involves yet another major blunder by Knicks' owner James Dolan, Ratner's main competition as worst NBA team owner ever.
[Former Madison Square Garden President Dave] Checketts said it was possible that Dolan might have fought the wrong venture when he opposed the Jets’ attempt to build a stadium on Manhattan’s Far West Side. A Brooklyn arena that is roughly the same size as the Garden may pose a much bigger threat, he said.
NoLandGrab: It's safe to say that had Dolan invested a fraction of the $13 million it spent fighting the West Side Stadium in Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn — and had he similarly enlisted the help of his buddy, Shelly Silver — Atlantic Yards would now be one for the history books.
Posted by eric at 9:58 AM
Mermaid Parade: A Coney Island Tradition
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
by Samantha Sherman
Bruce Ratner can thank BP for taking the heat off.
The parade is not often thought of as a political hotbed (even though its very existence could be seen as a cultural and political statement), but this year many costumes carried with them notes of unrest and frustration at the aftermath of the BP oil spill.
Made to look like they were covered in crude oil, many mermaids and sea creatures covered themselves in black paint and carried fishing nets strewn with blackened creatures.
In the past, some groups of parade participants conveyed messages criticizing developer Bruce Ratner and his planned Atlantic Yards development.
Posted by eric at 9:36 AM
June 15, 2010
Brooklyn Museum’s Populism Hasn’t Lured Crowds
The New York Times
by Robin Pogrebin
When it opened a new glass entrance in 2004 meant to beckon the masses, the Brooklyn Museum said it hoped to triple attendance in 10 years by concentrating on a local audience. It had stopped worrying about competing with Manhattan museums or about its image — despite its world-class collections — as a poor man’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Instead, the museum invited the neighborhood to view its McKim, Mead & White Beaux-Arts building as a community resource and openly celebrated popular culture with shows like its recent photographic history of rock ’n’ roll.
But six years in, the effort to build an audience is not working. Attendance in 2009 dropped 23 percent from the year before, to about 340,000, though other New York cultural institutions remained stable.
...The attendance drop of 23 percent in 2009 came as attendance at 32 other cultural institutions monitored by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs lost an average of 1 percent, according to city statistics.
NoLandGrab: What The Times fails to realize, or at least acknowledge, is something that's obvious to folks who've followed the battle over Atlantic Yards. In April, 2008, the Museum chose to honor the immensely unpopular Bruce Ratner at its annual gala. Is it any wonder Brooklynites have stayed away since?
Posted by eric at 11:41 AM
June 14, 2010
Doblin: To build a tunnel, you need tunnel vision
Bergen Record
by Alfred P. Doblin
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner. You've replaced Robert Moses as the poster child for the ruthlessly efficient deployment of eminent domain.
This month, The New York Times reported that more than 3,000 occupants of buildings in the way of the ARC Tunnel and deep-station project will be displaced. Maybe Bruce Ratner, the developer of the long-delayed Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, can offer the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey some tips on moving that process along.
Posted by eric at 12:33 PM
June 12, 2010
Bruce Ratner Drops $5 Million On Hampton Bays Home
Huffington Post
Divisive Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner just closed on a Dune Road estate in Hampton Bays for $5 million.
Ratner sold his $10 million Montauk property in 2009.
The ocean front home has 5 bedrooms, a pool and a three car garage.
Worth it?
NoLandGrab: Click through to have a look at the slide show. It's a gorgeous setting — Forest City CEO Chuck Ratner might call it "a great piece of real estate" — but the place itself looks like a cheese factory akin to cousin Bruce's Atlantic Center mall. Sure, Ratner's decorator hasn't had at it yet, but finish-wise, it looks like it won't survive the next hurricane.
Posted by eric at 4:23 PM
June 9, 2010
Bruce Ratner Closes on $5M Hampton Bays Oceanfront Estate
Curbed
by Ian Ratner
Courtesy of a tip from our friends at PropertyShark, notorious real estate developer Bruce Ratner has closed on a $5 million Dune Road estate in Hampton Bays. The property spans two adjacent parcels, which together create a two acre oceanfront spread. At 4,200 SF, the home also boasts six bedrooms, an oceanfront pool, views of Shinnecock Bay, and a detached three car garage.
Ratner buys this estate after selling his $10 million Montauk estate in 2009. According to an older Post article, Ratner wanted to scale down a bit and move further west—all while staying on the ocean. After looking around in Quogue, he apparently settled on this place. Looks like his wildest dreams came true!
NoLandGrab: Did you catch that byline?
Related coverage...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Ratner's New Hampton Home is Blighted and Vulnerable to Eminent Domain Seizure
Because Bruce Ratner's new Hamptons beachfront getaway is exhibiting characteristics of blight (weeds, underutilized, presumably vacant most days, etc.) it is vulnerable to seizure by eminent domain. Under current New York State law, removing those blight characteristics would be a public use justifying eminent domain.
Posted by eric at 11:00 PM
June 2, 2010
Bloomberg’s Do-Gooder Charity
NY Observer
by Reid Pillifant
Since taking office, Mayor Bloomberg has made the Mayor's Fund a particular priority, transforming a little-used nonprofit into a robust public-private player that has helped stem deep budget cuts in city agencies, and advanced objectively good causes like tree planting, reducing domestic violence and increasing economic literacy.
In Mr. Bloomberg's eight years in office, the Mayor's Fund has raised more than $150 million--for everything from portrait conservation, to eye care for underprivileged kids, to Katrina and Haitian relief efforts. But it's tough to deny the fact that a substantial part of that money comes from people who do business, in one way or another, with the city. "It's a really great arrangement for people making the donations, because they get to please an influential elected official and they get a tax deduction," said Susan Lerner of Common Cause NY. "There is an increasing tendency-which is pushed very vigorously by this administration-to completely blur the lines between public and private, between profit and charity," Ms. Lerner said.
...The mayor, who has sole discretion to appoint the fund's directors, placed friends and supporters on the board to help fill the fund's coffers. Financier Steven Rattner--the mayor's personal money manager--was tasked with tapping the donor community; gossip columnist Liz Smith organized a lavish fund-raiser for the society set.
Around the same time, the Conflicts of Interest Board revised its guidelines for city nonprofits: City officials could pursue private donations for pet projects, as long as the donor didn't have a "specific matter either currently pending or about to be pending before the City official or his or her agency."
...Real estate interests, including the Rudin and Speyer families and the Association for a Better New York, are all consistent contributors. (Rob Speyer, the co-CEO of Tishman-Speyer and currently the chairman of the fund's board, declined an interview request.)
Bruce Ratner, one of the board members, gave liberally--a fact occasionally noted by the press, since his controversial Atlantic Yards project was, at the same time, winding its way through the city bureaucracy. In one December 2005 flurry, three Ratner-related entities-Forest City Beekman Associates LLC; Forest City East River Associates; and Forest City Ratner LLC-together gave between $450,000 and $1 million to restore a Coney Island carousel.
"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," a spokesman told The Observer in 2007.
NoLandGrab: Guess that whole conflict-of-interest thingy needs a little reworking.
Posted by eric at 10:28 AM
May 30, 2010
In friendly interview, Ratner claims team purchase was a "civic venture," dodges question about arena economics
Atlantic Yards Report
When an interviewer is not knowledgeable and the interviewee is Bruce Ratner, Truth is probably going to take a big hit. Fortunately for us, John Gambling's interview with the subsidy-sucking developer has been reviewed by Norman Oder, who adds the truthiness that is otherwise missing.
Gambling started off by asking if arena construction had begun.
BR: We've been in construction for about a month and, in two years, we will have a brand new arena.
JG: There's more to this than just an arena.
BR: There's the arena. There's housing, both affordable and market-rate housing. It's an architecturally beautiful project. And of course the arena brings the Nets and circuses and all kinds of concerts and entertainment.
Whether it's architecturally beautiful is an open question, given that the only renderings beyond the arena are "vaportecture." Keep in mind that Ratner famously told Crain's New York Business last November, "Why should people get to see plans? This isn't a public project."
...
JG: I wonder whether or not it will detract from New York... maybe suck some of the dollars out of New York into Brooklyn. Have you done any speculation along those lines?
Gambling, a notably uninformed (but authoritative-sounding) interviewer, might have pointed to the June 2009 New York Times article "arena glut" article, which suggests that five arenas--and maybe even four--are too many for the region.
The Barclays Center would compete with the main arena in New York City, Madison Square Garden, but it could compete more with the antiquated Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.
BR: No, I think really what it is is additive.., whether it's the rides that you're about to watch or a new arena anything really new like that is just additive to the experience of New York and it's always been that way, Whether it's a new team when the Mets came, some 30-40 years ago, or whether it's the Nets coming.... It's an additive to the experience, particularly for Brooklyn.., Brooklyn has not had a pro sports team for over 50 years, and now we have a professional sports team in our great borough.
Note that Ratner stresses "an additive to the experience," which is undeniable, rather than analyzing the revenue issue.
NoLandGrab: "Additive experience" apparently means the addition of city and state subsidies to Ratner's fortune while the rest of us wonder at the addition of a money-losing arena and acres of parking to Prospect Heights.
Posted by steve at 8:29 AM
May 14, 2010
In third list of NY Observer's "most powerful people in New York real estate," Ratner drops down and Prokhorov debuts
Atlantic Yards Report
The New York Observer has produced its third edition of the Power 100: The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate. Notably, Bruce Ratner continues to drop down the list, from #8 in 2008 to #23 in 2009 to #53 this year.
And Mikhail Prokhorov debuts ahead of Ratner, at #43.
Sure, Ratner could not have moved Atlantic Yards without the deal to sell 80% of the Nets and 45% of the arena--actually, the arena operating company--to Prokhorov, but Ratner has the connections and pays for the lobbying. He's still more powerful, in my book.
Also notable is the debut appearance of New York Times real estate/development reporter Charles Bagli, who should have made all three lists, though not for his coverage of AY.
It's hard to believe that, in 2008, I was on the list. Not anymore.
Related coverage...
NY Observer, Power 100: The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate
#43: Mikhail Prokhorov, Would-be owner of the Brooklyn Nets
Assuming the NBA gives him the thumbs-up, Mr. Prokhorov, a Russian billionaire, is slated to become owner of New York City’s newest professional sports team, as well as a co-owner of the Barclays Center now under construction in downtown Brooklyn after seven years of planning.
#53: Bruce Ratner (23), Chairman of Forest City Ratner
For the past seven years, Mr. Ratner’s focus has been on Atlantic Yards, the planned home to a Brooklyn Nets arena and, eventually, thousands of units of housing. This spring, he finally emerged the winner of the fight with defiant landowners. He was clearly wounded by delays and the economic crash, but he is still standing, and construction is under way.
#61: Charles Bagli, Staff writer for The New York Times
In a world of blogs, sometimes it takes the most influential news organization to call the end of an era. Mr. Bagli (an Observer alumnus!) did just that in October 2008, in a story titled “Failed Deals Replace Boom in New York Real Estate.” Since then, he’s documented every major development, successful or struggling, from Stuy Town to N.Y.U. to Atlantic Yards.
Posted by eric at 11:33 AM
May 13, 2010
New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark defends Bruce Ratner as new owner Mikhail Prokhorov moves in
NY Daily News
by Julian Garcia
Brett Yormark redefines "toady."
Of all the reasons Nets fans are so optimistic these days, the fact that their team now has one of the richest owners in sports is at the top of the list. Mikhail Prokhorov, who officially took control of the franchise yesterday, is worth an estimated $13.4 billion, so spending mere millions on top players every year should not be a problem.
But Nets CEO Brett Yormark thinks that the team's former majority owner deserves some credit, too. After all, Yormark said that if not for Bruce Ratner, the Nets would not be moving to Brooklyn, where they are hopeful of becoming one of the marquee teams in the league.
..."There was an incredible amount of uncertainty with Brooklyn, and through Bruce's incredible efforts, (it got done)," Yormark said. "And he deserves all the credit in the world. No one thought he was going to get it done."
NoLandGrab: What? The project had the backing of three governors, the mayor, the Assembly speaker, the local U.S. senator, and the borough president, among others.
Posted by eric at 10:34 AM
May 12, 2010
After NBA approval, Forest City's deal to sell Nets to Prokhorov finalized; Ratner talks about jobs and housing
Atlantic Yards Report
Even though the deal involves hoops--the Nets basketball team and the Atlantic Yards arena--note that Bruce Ratner is still talking about jobs and housing.
(Yes, there will be construction jobs but not the 10,000 office jobs initially promised. One tower might begin construction later this year.)
NoLandGrab: Why would Bruce Ratner let the truth start to get in the way of his bullshit now?
Additional coverage...
Curbed, Russki's Atlantic Yards Deal Sealed; Williamsburg Wreckage
Well-armed Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov closed on the Atlantic Yards deal with developer Bruce Ratner today. In a statement Prokhorov said, "This much-anticipated day has finally come and now the real fun begins of building a championship team with a state-of-the-art home in the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards." Such hope!
NJ.com, Done Deal: Mikhail Prokhorov Owns the New Jersey Nets
The new principal owner, who was overseas when the final papers were signed in Brooklyn, closed the deal at 12:30 Wednesday afternoon with Bruce Ratner’s group, according to a statement issued through his holding company, Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holding USA, Inc.
AP via USA Today, Sale of New Jersey Nets to Russian billionaire complete
The team was ruined by cost-cutting moves under Ratner, who signed off on the trades of Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson.
Bloomberg Businessweek, Developer Forest City closes sale of Nets stake
Shares of Forest City Enterprises rose 41 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $15.50 in afternoon trading.
Gothamist, New Nyets Owner Approved To Begin Giving Out False Hope
The Brooklyn Blog [NYPost.com], Russian billionaire closes deal to buy Nets and move club to Brooklyn
Cleveland Plain Dealer, Russian billionaire closes Nets deal with Forest City subsidiary
Posted by eric at 6:31 PM
May 11, 2010
Ratner's Arena Was on the Brink of Failure. Not a Good Sign for the Rest of the Atlantic Yards Project.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
As Mikhail Prokhorov is about to shove Ratner off of the NBA stage, The Wall Street Journal sat down with the developer for an exit interview. (Atlantic Yards Report notes, amongst other things, that Ratner admits Gehry was gone six months before Ratner actually announced it to the public.)
Ratner was on the brink with the Atlantic Yards arena. This is portentous for the future of Atlantic Yards, which, we should remember, is supposedly an affordable housing project.
Posted by eric at 12:28 PM
May 10, 2010
Bruce Ratner's NBA Waterloo
The Developer Looks Back on His Ill-Fated Nets Purchase; My Four-Hour Dinner With Prokhorov
The Wall Street Journal
by Matthew Futterman
With the formal handover of the New Jersey Nets to Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov just days away, Bruce Ratner can go back to what he's good at, things like building big buildings in Brooklyn and making a lot of money in the process.
"I was never one to puff my chest out with some big ego about being the owner of a basketball team," Mr. Ratner said during a rare interview.
History will show that from the fall of 2004 until this week, Mr. Ratner owned the Nets and, unlike nearly all of his other professional endeavors, he wasn't very good at it.
Before he bought the team for $300 million, Mr. Ratner admittedly wasn't a basketball fan. The only reason he made the deal was so he could build an arena and a massive development in downtown Brooklyn across the street from two very profitable shopping centers he began building there a decade ago. He subsequently lost $25 million to $30 million each season, he estimates, as the franchise declined from one of the league's best to its worst, winning just 12 games last season.
...But a championship team was never the point.
"He had a vision for a team that was for sale and didn't have many takers," NBA commissioner David Stern said of Mr. Ratner. "He had a vision of using it for an anchor for a spectacular new building and a new real-estate development, and that's what he's going to do."
Mr. Ratner's employees speak of how he was always optimistic about his project, through six years of litigation and a global financial crisis, when, in basketball parlance, he learned to rebound. Mr. Ratner always promised his troops they would figure out a way to keep alive his dream of moving the basketball team into a gleaming arena in Brooklyn. He didn't tell anyone what he really thought—that the project was dead.
"Back then, no one knew if anything would succeed," said Mr. Ratner, 65 years old. "And we were running out of time."
NoLandGrab: Wait — we thought it was "100% about basketball."
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Wall Street Journal reports Ratner had decided to ditch Gehry by November 2008, portrays sale to Prokhorov as a coup
In anticipation of the expected transfer of the New Jersey Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, developer Bruce Ratner granted what the Wall Street Journal described as a "rare interview" and was rewarded with an article that, while portraying him as bruised by the experience of ownership, delves neither into questions about Prokhorov nor the propriety of the latter's benefiting from significant public subsidies and eminent domain.
...Ditching Gehry
The WSJ's Matthew Futterman pinpoints November 2008 as the moment when Ratner ran the numbers and, "[w]ithin hours," decided to ditch Frank Gehry as the arena designer.
Oh. That's not what they told us.
New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark, in March 2009, told WFAN:
"Frank Gehry is still the architect of this project. And he loves it. It’s very dear to his heart, no different than it is to all of us – Bruce Ratner, our investors and myself."
The New York Daily News reported in May 2009:
Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco said a reevaluation of Gehry's design would be completed by July, at which point Ratner will determine whether the world-famous architect would remain on the project.
Revising the deal
The Journal reports:
He also knew he'd have to delay construction of his commercial and residential buildings and negotiate a new deal with the state's Metropolitan Transit Authority. In the previous deal, he'd agreed to pay $100 million for the 22-acre site where the project, known as Atlantic Yards, will be built. But now he would have to replace that lump sum with a series of staggered payments.
Oh, he would, would he? (If only he'd have to pay $100 million for the entire site, rather than for the 8.5-acre railyard.)
The framing here suggests, not without foundation, that Ratner is fully capable of getting public agencies to renegotiate. Whether that's a good thing or not goes by the wayside.
Posted by eric at 11:28 PM
April 27, 2010
Would-be replacements raise for Harry Reid
Politico
by Manu Raju and John Bresnahan
Sen. Chuck Schumer invited Harry Reid to spend Monday morning with him in Brooklyn, where some of Schumer’s well-heeled friends opened their checkbooks to help the Senate majority leader’s struggling reelection bid.
...So, there Schumer was Monday morning, introducing Reid to the big-money developers of the New Jersey Nets’ new $4.9 billion facility in Brooklyn. Schumer told the developers that he and Reid had been “through war together,” and he called the Nevadan his “foxhole buddy,” according to someone who was there.
...Monday’s fundraiser was headlined by Bruce Ratner, the real estate mogul who owns the Nets — and who has donated more than $127,000 to Democrats in recent years.
While Schumer’s office won’t say how much money the event raised for Reid, cash poured in from a number of developers and real estate types. The event came just hours before a procedural vote on a plan to rewrite the rules for Wall Street, but Reid’s office stressed that the donors who turned out Monday weren’t bankers or Wall Street officials — and that, in fact, many work for Ratner’s company as well as for electrical and construction companies.
NoLandGrab: OK, time for a shower — we feel filthy just reading that. Remember when Bruce Ratner actually claimed he'd sworn off making political contributions? Kidding!
Posted by eric at 11:25 AM
April 13, 2010
Bruce Ratner reflects on past with Nets, looks to future under Prokhorov
The Internets [NYDailyNews.com]
by Julian Garcia
Bruce Ratner talking basketball sounds almost as phony as Bruce Ratner talking international sanctions.
"I’m gonna miss this place," Ratner said of the Meadowlands arena. "It’s been six years of ownership and we were fortunate to be in the playoffs three times and three times we didn’t make it. Obviously it was a difficult year. The team stuck with it though and the last third of the season they played hard and the last 12 games they won five. So I think we’ll do well next year."
..."I think we thought we’d win 25 or 30 games and we did worse than that," Ratner said. "But the purpose was to try to get ourselves better and I think we’re in a great spot. We’ll have a great draft choice opportunity and there’s also free agency. So I think we’ll be great. We’ve got three or four very good players."
As for the transfer of power, Ratner said "everything is in great shape" despite accusations by New Jersey Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell that Prokhorov is violating U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe by doing business with that country.
"It was inaccurate," Ratner said of Pascrell's accusation. "Not accurate."
Related coverage...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Noted Basketball Genius Bruce Ratner Gives an Exit Interview on the Nets; Denies Zimbabwe Problem
International human rights law expert and basketball genius Bruce Ratner attended the Nets' final (losing) game at the Meadowlands IZOD Center last night.
...It was inaccurate," Ratner said of Pascrell's accusation. "Not accurate."
Interesting. Both inaccurate and not accurate. What is certainly accurate is that Bruce Ratner will go down in history as one of the worst sports team owners ever.
Posted by eric at 1:28 PM
April 4, 2010
New Net Ready to Dig Deep
PlayerPress.com
by Jason Keidel
In about two weeks, the NBA will approve the sale of the New Jersey Nets to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, extending David Stern's dream of infusing the league with international money and flavor.
Mr. Prokhorov promises to invest in the franchise, which stands in stark relief against Bruce Ratner, the penurious owner whose primary goal was to buy land in Brooklyn for the team rather than procure top talent for the team.
NoLandGrab: Land, we might add, which in some cases wasn't for sale.
Posted by eric at 10:08 PM
March 23, 2010
Warriors Latest NBA Team to Hit Market
NBA FanHouse
by Tom Ziller
The Warriors join the Pistson as the only NBA teams officially for sale, given that sales of the Nets and Bobcats have effectively been completed. Cohan figures to get a price substantially larger than what either Bruce Ratner or Robert Johnson received, given the Warriors' excellent market location and seriously devout fan base.
Posted by eric at 10:19 AM
March 14, 2010
Daily News columnist Lupica: "It was a hustle in broad daylight by Caring Bruce Ratner from the start"
NY Daily News via Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder excerpts Daily News columnist Mike Lupica quoting New York Magazine's Chris Smith on Bruce Ratner and his Atlantic Yards groundbreaking.
Daily News Sports Columnist Mike Lupica was a couple of days late, and he prudently avoided criticizing his own newspaper's pandering, but today he punctured the Atlantic Yards bubble:
At a time when the city and the state have no money to do anything, they kept plodding ahead on Atlantic Yards until they finally broke ground the other day.
And then acted as if the rest of us were supposed to cheer.
It was a hustle in broad daylight by Caring Bruce Ratner from the start.
It was always a real estate deal masquerading as a sports deal, no matter how many politicians want you to believe they're bringing the basketball Dodgers to Brooklyn.
Chris Smith was so right in New York magazine the other day:
In the end this was a losing deal for everybody, starting with the people who got moved out of their homes by a flagrant abuse of eminent-domain laws.
You wonder why nobody trusts politicians around here anymore?
Because of no-bid scams like this.
Related coverage...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Atlantic Yards: A Hustle in Broad Daylight From the Start
Wouldn't it be nice if all the news columnists were replaced with all the sports columnists? Then we'd really know the score.
Posted by eric at 10:11 PM
March 8, 2010
Brooklyn lodgers
The Daily Blahg
by Filip Bondy
The Daily News columnist would prefer that the Nets take up permanent residence in Newark.
On Thursday, the Nets finally, supposedly will break ground on their new arena in Brooklyn, after signing a two-year lease with Newark to play in the Rock until the 2012-2013 season.
It's a shame the move to Newark isn't more than an interim commitment. That North Jersey city and region probably can support a good NBA team. And I've become so inured to Bruce Ratner's false deadlines, it's hard to believe this groundbreaking will actually happen.
But I think it will, I think the arena will get built, and my position on this hasn't changed since Day 1:
The move to Brooklyn is absolutely great for the Nets. I'm just not sure it's so great for the borough.
Posted by eric at 9:56 AM
February 25, 2010
Meet the New Bobcats Owner... Soon
NBA FanHouse
by Tom Ziller
Bruce Ratner is believed to have sold the Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov for less than the $300 million he spent on the team, but one could argue Ratner's financial interest in the Nets was merely a necessary evil to get his massive Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn built.
NoLandGrab: You mean it wasn't "100% about basketball?"
Posted by eric at 9:28 PM
February 24, 2010
Best candidate for Rod Thorn’s job: Rod Thorn
Bergen Record
by Ian O'Connor
O'Connor's column suggesting that Mikhail Prokhorov hang on to Nets president Rod Thorn contains this tidbit about Bruce Ratner's stellar ownership record.
Through phone calls placed to informed NBA sources, Prokhorov also learned that Thorn’s boss, Bruce Ratner, was an absolute joke as an owner. Ratner’s decision not to pay Kenyon Martin way back when was the beginning of the end of the Nets as legitimate contenders.
NoLandGrab: Ratner's basketball acumen is especially impressive given that his owning the Nets has been "100% about basketball."
Posted by eric at 9:51 AM
February 20, 2010
Brownfield Cleanup Program to Transform Yonkers Waterfront Property
Yonkers Tribune
By Hezi Aris
After a cleanup of the site, an RFP is projected for the sale of One Point Street in Yonkers. Forest City Ratner is mentioned as a possible buyer.
City Hall is also most interested in inducing Bruce Ratner’s, Forest City Ratner (FCR) to make an investment for the property. They are comfortable working with FCR.FCR is very interested.
NoLandGrab: The comfort level with Bruce Ratner should be a lot lower considering FBI investigations and indictments resulting from FCRC's Ridge Hill Development in Yonkers.
Posted by steve at 10:18 AM
February 18, 2010
Ratner kicks off Citi awards ceremony
The Real Deal
Citi Habitats held its 2009 company awards ceremony this week, honoring its top-producing employees, with a keynote address provided by Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.
NoLandGrab: Guess all the Elvis impersonators were booked.
Posted by eric at 9:00 PM
February 1, 2010
Names for KeySpan Park we’d like to see
Courier Life Publications
by Stephen Witt
All we can say is, consider the source.
With the Brooklyn Cyclones ending their naming rights relationship with National Grid, which bought the old KeySpan energy company, we at CNG’s Courier-Life have some suggestions on naming rights deals we’d like to see.
...3. Ratner Field - The borough’s biggest developer, Bruce Ratner, already sold the naming rights to Barclays for the arena he’s building. Perhaps he can turn out one of his side pockets for the Cyclones and put his personal brand on the ball park.
NoLandGrab: Witt, who once famously threw a bear hug around Bruce Ratner, may be the only person in Brooklyn not on Bruce's payroll who could stomach a Ratner Park. But at least he didn't suggest "Marty's Parkowitz."
Posted by eric at 10:11 PM
January 28, 2010
Ratner Protesters Stage ‘Citizen’s Arrest’
The Local [Fort Greene/Clinton Hill]
by Igor Kossov
It’s hard to imagine a man in Brooklyn who has more critics than real estate developer Bruce Ratner, head of the controversial Atlantic Yards project. Yesterday morning, a dozen people gathered in front of One Metrotech Plaza, home of Ratner’s company headquarters, to attempt a citizen’s arrest of the developer.
The crime, they said, was bribery. Earlier in January, newspapers reported that Sandy Annabi, a Yonkers councilwoman,was charged with changing her vote on a Ratner development site for a bribe of $60,000 paid to her cousin. The protesters argued that Mr. Ratner should be indicted as well.
Calls made to Mr. Ratner’s office requesting comment on the attempted arrest were not returned.
“This is a case of letting Mr. Big go to catch the little fish,” said Steve de Seve, an activist who organized the gathering. A handful of representatives from advocacy groups FUREE and Picture the Homeless joined him in the street.
Related coverage...
Gothamist, Developer Bruce Ratner Escapes Arrest By Homeless People
Posted by eric at 3:53 PM
Hey Kids! Who Wants to Be the Next Bruce Ratner?
Hasbro releases Monopoly: City Edition to train future real estate moguls in eminent domain, property devaluation, and rent dodging.
FastCompany.com
by William Bostwick
 |
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner! Your name is now synonymous with everything that's wrong with the real estate business.
What do you get the next generation's up-and-coming Bruce Ratners? How about Monopoly: City Edition. Just released, the game scraps houses and hotels for industrial parks, skyscrapers, stadiums, power plants, and other urban icons. Apparently, the rules state you don't need to own all the streets on one block to start building there--eminent domain, I guess. You can also build "hazards" (like trash dumps) next to your opponents' residential properties to devalue them. Sounds like fun.
NoLandGrab: Bruce's favorite game token? The bulldozer.
Posted by eric at 1:19 PM
January 26, 2010
The Perp, Alias Mr. Big, Seen Near Freddy's Bar Locking Children Out In The Cold
The Fightin' Freddy's
Taking heed of Dylan Thomas, the Fightin' Freddy's are (is?) not going "gentle into that good night." Here's their latest communique.
The Fightin' Freddy's, the politically active group of patrons from Freddy's Bar, Esquire Magazine's Best Bar of 2006, have temporarily suspended efforts to save the bar in order to save the neighboring Pacific Dean family homeless shelter at 603 Dean St. from being torn down.
Here is a picture, drawn late at night by a police artist of the perp. Billionaire Bruce Ratner has not only closed down the homeless family shelter in the middle of Winter ON MARTIN LUTHER KING'S BIRTHDAY, NO LESS, because he needs a parking lot for the Barclays Center (more than families need a roof over their kids' heads). He has also allegedly bribed a Yonkers City Council member. And the allegations of bribery come from . . . . himself! They are being used in an indictment against the Council member that he alleges he bribed!
If you see this man, call Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Oh, wait. Ratner is a campaign contributor to Cuomo, who has failed to indict him for being Mr. Big in a conspiracy to bribe a public official. If you see this man, and he is near homeless children, do anything in your power to drive him off. Studies show perps who attack homeless children and their parents this way can never stop. They will keep on with what they are doing to them all Winter long.
First Save the Shelter
Then Save the Bar,The Fightin' Freddy's
Posted by eric at 3:05 PM
December 4, 2009
THESE BOOS ARE FOR YOU BRUCE RATNER
NetsAreScorching
by Mark Ginocchio
Unlike The New York Times, some media outlets aren't avoiding assigning proper blame for the demise of the New Jersey Nets.
The boos that filled an otherwise empty Izod Center as the Nets set a record in futility against the Dallas Mavericks last night should be meant for one person, and one person only.
Bruce Ratner.
...At some point, he needs to own up to the fact that as the owner of this franchise, he’s been the ultimate failure where it matters most – on the basketball court, not in the courtroom pushing people out of their homes. The hypothetical day Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov takes the reins of this organization can’t come soon enough. One can only hope that afterwards, Ratner crawls back in a hole somewhere, never to torture a sports team, a fanbase and a community, like Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, ever again.
Thank you, sir. May we have another?
AP, Bottom-dwelling Nets take their cues from the top
Everyone insists the New Jersey Nets can't get much worse.
In that case, we'll take the under.
Team president Rod Thorn blames "a perfect storm" for his team's record-setting 0-18 start to the NBA season, but that's just the short-term forecast. Actually, it's the lack of interest and effort from owner Bruce Ratner that's swamping the franchise, steadily drip-drip-dripping down the organizational chart like a five-years-long-and-counting version of water torture.
...The team is losing an estimated $30 million to $40 million a year, and the Nets arena is barely half-filled most nights, largely owing to Ratner's half-baked plan to move the franchise to a new stadium he planned to build in Brooklyn. Why NBA commissioner David Stern went along with the scheme is anyone's guess, but it has already cost his league plenty in credibility.
Thank you, sir. May we have another?
NBA FanHouse, Nets Are Committing Consumer Fraud
The Nets aren't just bad, folks. They aren't even trying. I am not kidding when I suggest the NBA commissioner, David Stern, apologize to their diminishing fan base and either issue ticket refunds or offer free concessions and parking in the Meadowlands. If not, we're talking about a legitimate case of consumer fraud.
...What owner Bruce Ratner didn't calculate was the team sinking to such wretched depths that no superstar -- including LeBron James, even if he's Jay-Z's close pal -- wants any part of this operation. Worse, the Nets are plotting a move to a new arena in Brooklyn in June 2012, meaning the poor fans of Jersey are being asked to support a lame-duck franchise that is moving across the Holland Tunnel, the entire expanse of Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge. As it is, entire sections of the arena are empty, forcing the team to take desperate marketing measures and send players into the community, such as Harris' appearance at a South Orange grocery store. What happens the next two seasons when they're playing either in the Meadowlands or in downtown Newark? And, for that matter, what happens in Brooklyn if no major free agent signs?
Click through for some stand-up talk from the Nets' Chris Douglas-Roberts, a good guy who deserves much better than Bruce Ratner's special brand of misery.
Posted by eric at 10:22 AM
Derogatory
Here's a shot of 14-year-old Evan Juliano holding the sign that he was told to put down at Wednesday night's game, because it was "derogatory," as reported by Star-Ledger reporter Steve Politi.
Seeing as how owner and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner has dismantled a championship contender in less than five years, we're impressed that resignation and wit on the part of fans haven't already given way to chants of "Ratner sucks."
Posted by lumi at 5:05 AM
December 3, 2009
Politi: Negative signs are everywhere for downtrodden NJ Nets
The Star-Ledger
by Steve Politi
Here's a must-read piece from Steve Politi: not only are the New Jersey Nets the worst out-of-the-gate NBA team ever, but apparently, "Ratner" is considered offensive language at the IZOD Center.
The sign was a simple protest, scrawled on a white poster board in black Magic Marker. It did not contain any naughty words. It was, as these things go at sporting events, rather tame.
“End Ratner’s Reign of Error!” the sign read, and 14-year-old Evan Juliano held it up twice from his seats a few rows behind the Nets bench.
He held it up because he and his father, Dave, are season-ticket holders for what is fast becoming the worst team in NBA history, an 0-18 train wreck that didn’t even bother to show up for its date with infamy Wednesday night.
But somewhere in the second quarter, as the Mavericks impossibly scored on 22 of 24 possessions en route to a 117-101 victory, the Julianos were told to put their sign down. They were told it was derogatory.
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, At the Izod Center, an "End Ratner’s Reign of Error!” sign is squelched
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, "End Ratner's Reign of Error!" In NJ and BK.
Nets fans, sports fans—heck, all humans—should now understand why Brooklynites (sports fans many), have been in an uproar for six years. If Ratner can do this to something he owns, just think what he does to things that are not his.
Posted by eric at 9:14 AM
December 2, 2009
Nets' problems of their own making
SI.com
But if you were to jot down a quick list of the Nets' problems, Frank would be nowhere near the top.
Sitting alone in that position is Bruce Ratner, New Jersey's cost-conscious owner who has overseen the dismantling of a franchise less than a decade removed from back-to-back Finals appearances. With the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn bleeding him for millions, Ratner's team paid the ultimate price.
...The Nets will try to avoid setting the NBA's record for futility to open a season when they face Kidd (one of Frank's staunchest supporters) and the Mavericks Thursday in the Meadowlands. They will likely lose, and lose badly. Interim coach Tom Barrise, who will coach the team until GM Kiki Vandeweghe takes over on Friday, will face the media and shoulder the blame. A few players might do the same. But the real culprit in this Titanic-sized season is Ratner. This ignominious record will be all on him.
Posted by eric at 1:30 PM
Unfair Substitution of Fiction For Fact in the Atlantic Yards Dialogue
Noticing New York
A prevailing hallmark of the promotion for Forest City Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards Brooklyn real estate mega-monopoly is the extremely unfair way that fiction has been routinely substituted for and intermingled with what are theoretically the actual facts. Not only have the fictions enlisted to support this abusive eminent domain taking been patently false factwise; they have for the most part not even been believable.
Things That Are Not True About Atlantic Yards
One supreme work of fiction in the mix has been the AKRF “blight” study. With high-end condominiums recently developed and built within and immediately outside of the megadevelopment’s footprint it is clear that there was no blight. Another unfortunate way that the intrusion of fiction has been amplified is that for the Court of Appeals decision its official “record” of non-facts was closed as of late 2006 by which choice the court ignored all sorts of conspicuous subsequent events that contradicted the fictions on the record.
Here is a list of other significant fictions that Forest City Ratner and the state officials servicing that firm have unfairly intruded into the public discussion. The list is not exhaustive. To make it so would be a difficult challenge.
Click through for the lengthy list of fictions, and for a very interesting tale of overheard dialogue at the meeting approving the issuance of tax-exempt bonds for Baron Bruce's basketball barn.
Also...
Atlantic Yards Report, AY facts and fiction, from Noticing New York
Some of the fictions are more debatable than others--after all, the Atlantic Yards site likely would have an arena, thus different from the infamous site in New London.
But White and other critics/opponents have a lot of ammo, starting with incontrovertible deceptions like the crime analysis in the Blight Study.
Posted by eric at 9:53 AM
November 30, 2009
Nets Ownership Dictation Opens New Doors, May Modification Vendee Profile
Windows Live
We're assuming that English was not this post's first language.
Prokhorov was cited in an article last hebdomad naming this a "hostile bidding". Hostile or not, Prokhorov looks more interested in the squad as an investing vehicle, not as the typical sportswoman proprietor ( IE Grade Cuban, Steinbrenner, Can H,etc. ). The squad is hemorrhaging money, Bruce Ratner 's immovable company is holds founder under the economical pressure, and merely like many other American corps the Nets ( and its current ownership ) necessitated a fresh extract of cash to keep operations and hold the dreaming of travelling to Brooklyn live. The trade looks to be more Risk capital than typical squad ownership dealing, an outsider investor rendering running cash exchange for equity.
While the conference is likelily excited about the new international frontiers that go available with a Russian proprietor, could it but be that most American businessman hold shied forth from the hazard and low one-year gainfulness of sports squad ownership, and VC type investings in the wide marketplace hold virtually vanishes in that economy, squeezing Ratner to turn elsewhere.
Funding the trade with upward front cash, highly rare in what I 've seen of these type of minutes, farther supports the dealing of more VC investing than new ownership squad. Ratner apparently remains in the icon and gets new cash flowing to proceed the Brooklyn venture and will now share in the top with his gent investor, in the procedure disintermediating himself from the squad, which he holded small or no involvement in in the first place.
Posted by eric at 11:31 AM
November 25, 2009
Nets Have Dug a Big Hole, but Their Foundation Is in Place
The New York Times
by Jonathan Abrams
The Nets have lost their first 14 games in a start that is threatening to make their season irrelevant before the calendar turns to 2010. The long-term future, however, looks a lot brighter.
The final challenge to their plans to build an arena in Brooklyn was denied Tuesday, increasing the likelihood of the Nets’ opening the 2012-13 season there. No matter where they play that season, their two budding stars — Brook Lopez and Devin Harris — give them the building blocks for an improved on-court product.
NoLandGrab: Final challenge? The decision was a blow for project opponents, to be sure, but four lawsuits challenging the project are still unresolved.
New York’s Court of Appeals dismissed a challenge over the use of eminent domain in constructing the long-planned and long-delayed Atlantic Yards project near Brooklyn’s downtown and ushering in a new arena for the Nets.
The ruling was the last major hurdle in the groundbreaking process.
NLG: Last major hurdle? Hardly. Ratner still needs to sell $700 million worth of arena bonds, for which there may not be a market, in the next five weeks.
The present is not quite as promising. Coach Lawrence Frank and the Nets flew to Denver for their game against the Nuggets on Tuesday night barreling toward the worst start in N.B.A. history with a four-game trip in their forecast.
Their 101-87 loss dropped them to 0-14, the effects of a raft of injuries and salary purging over the last two seasons. The trip ends in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Sunday, and if the Nets return home winless, they will have matched the 1988-89 expansion Miami Heat and 1999 Los Angeles Clippers for worst start in league history.
If so, history will not reflect the injuries, the long hours of Frank, whose job is on the line, or the cost-cutting demands from the current owner, Bruce C. Ratner. Instead, the Nets may stand as holders of the league’s worst start if they lose to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 2.
...After Tuesday’s court ruling, the future appears much brighter, but how to bridge that gap is still uncertain. Ratner purchased the franchise in 2003 for $300 million, originally planning to transplant the Nets from New Jersey in time for this season.
NLG: This season? No, when he announced the Atlantic Yards project in 2003, Ratner said the Nets would begin playing in Brooklyn in 2006.
NLG:Could it be that The Times doesn't realize that Bruce C. Ratner runs the company that was the development partner for their eminent domain-abusing headquarters building? They seem to have omitted that fact from this article.
Atlantic Yards Report, No, Ratner didn't buy the Nets in 2003 to move them in 2009
NoLandGrab's Eric McClure reminds us that the original move date was 2006 and also points out some other miscues.
Would you believe that some bloggers in Brooklyn have a heck of a lot more institutional memory than the Paper of Record?
Posted by eric at 12:50 PM
From the Times: a misleading "Atlantic Yards" photo, a buffing of "tenacious" Ratner, and no rebuttal to claims of benefits
Atlantic Yards Report
There are some unsurprisingly dismaying aspects to the front-page New York Times article today, headlined in print "Atlantic Yards Wins Appeal To Seize Land" and online as Ruling Lets Atlantic Yards Seize Land.
First, though the article correctly states that the state would exercise eminent domain, the shorthand headline inaccurately casts the inanimate "Atlantic Yards" as the actor.
Public benefit?
Second, the Times quotes developer Bruce Ratner, unrebutted, as saying "“The courts have made it clear that this project represents a significant public benefit for the people of Brooklyn and the entire city.”
The courts have made no such determination. Rather, the Court of Appeals decision issued yesterday was based on a record compiled in 2006 by the Empire State Development Corporation. The assertions in that record have not been vetted by the courts and there's much evidence--such as from the New York City Independent Budget Office--casting doubt on official claims.
"On the railyard"
Third, the original version of the article posted online said that the "arena would be built on an 8.5-acre railyard;" it took several messages to convince the Times to revise that description to "an 8.5-acre railyard and on adjacent property." (That's a basic error the Times has previously corrected.)
Actually, part of the arena would be built over the western segment of that railyard, occupying less than 30% of the total railyard acreage.
Another misleading photo
Fourth, and most important, the Times published a picture (above) of only a fraction of the Vanderbilt Yard, the railyard, and called it Atlantic Yards. The photo covers the railyard and a few buildings between Sixth and Carlton avenues and Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Street, or Block 1120, outlined in red on the map below left.
NoLandGrab: And this article could be considered error-free compared to the one in The Times' sports section, posted above.
Posted by eric at 12:21 PM
November 13, 2009
Ratner Family Ties: ACORN and Justice Department Plot Thickens
BigGovernment.com
by John M. O'Hara
The right-leaning Big Government suspects that Democratic politics are at the heart of the ACORN-Forest City Ratner relationship.
One family’s involvement with ACORN and the Obama administration is of particular interest and elucidates the complicated web of connections and cash behind ACORN and this President.
Meet the Ratners.
Bruce Ratner is a New York real estate developer who has given thousands of dollars to Democrats including President Obama. His philanthropy also includes having bailed out ACORN with $1.5 million to pay off their embezzlement debt, a decision he stands by despite ACORN’s recent prostitution scandal and a Congressional report detailing the systemic criminal elements in the organization.
As of late, Mr. Ratner has spent thousands lobbying the Obama administration for stimulus funds for an affordable housing / basketball arena boondoggle called Atlantic Yards. Oh yeah, Ratner owns the Nets who will occupy the new stadium should he have his way. In addition to paying back Mr. Ratner for his generous support over the years, the stimulus funds would benefit, you guessed it, ACORN! What’s more, the project would be seizing property from the very poor ACORN and liberals claims to represent by invocation of the extremely controversial doctrine of “eminent domain.”
Additional coverage...
Norman Oder, however, points out that ideology has nothing to with it.
Atlantic Yards Report, A caution on the alleged Ratner-ACORN conspiracy
In a post on the conservative site Big Government, John M. O'Hara connects the dots between Bruce Ratner's Democratic campaign contributions, the Forest City Ratner bailout of ACORN, the FCR lobbying for stimulus funds, and the job of Ratner's nephew at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), concluding that this would stymie a DOJ investigation of ACORN.
Another writer for the site notes that Bruce's brother Michael Ratner, head of the Center for Constitutional Rights, has sued the federal government on behalf of ACORN.
While that does constitute some very interesting circumstantial evidence, and FCR surely has an interest in ACORN's health, we should remember that the company and its principals are not ideological in their campaign contributions. Michael Ratner, acting apparently on behalf of corporate interest, has given campaign contributions to some politicians who are far from progressive.
It's all about business.
Posted by eric at 9:56 AM
November 12, 2009
Meet the Ratners: Defending ACORN is Their Family Business
BigGovernment.com
by Chris Berg
All in the family.
Today the Center for Constitutional Rights sued the federal government on behalf of ACORN. They are alleging that Congressional efforts to defund ACORN constitute an unconstitutional Bill of Attainder. This tired argument has been thoroughly rebutted, but the Center for Constitutional Rights is going to make it anyway. Republican National Lawyers Association Chairman David Norcross has noted that: “The actions of Congress to defund ACORN clearly do not meet the definition of a Bill of Attainder.”
The Center for Constitutional Rights is going to stand up for this corrupt organization, and I think I know the reason why. It’s all about family.
The President of the Center for Constitutional Rights is Michael Ratner. Michael Ratner is a well known liberal lawyer who has fought against the Patriot Act and Guantanamo Bay. He also teaches at Columbia Law School.
If you haven’t heard of Michael, that’s all right, I’m sure you’ve heard of his brother Bruce. He’s a prominent developer and owner of the New Jersey Nets. His company is Forest City Enterprises.
ACORN had been supporting Bruce Ratner’s plans for a massive new arena for the team and his surrounding real estate development plan. Last September as the embattled community organization was dealing with the repercussions of the Rathke embezzlement Ratner came to the rescue with a $1 million loan and a $500,000 grant. The money, which helped ACORN through some of its darkest days, also bought their silence as criticism of Ratner’s development became widespread.
Now we see Michael Ratner’s Center for Constitutional Rights fighting to overturn Congressional efforts to defund this corrupt organization.
These two brothers are working hard to defend this troubled organization. One brother provides the bail money while the other defends them in court.
...Now it appears that one of the next generation of the Ratner family has received a political appointment at the Department of Justice. Matthew Ratner, who has worked for the Ohio Democratic Party, and who according to SEC filings is the beneficial owner of 267,117 shares of Forest City Enterprises, has received a political appointment as a “confidential assistant” at the Department of Justice.
Only time will tell if Matthew has joined the family business.
Related coverage...
AP, ACORN lawsuit raises question: Can it survive?
ACORN has been cut off by banks, the government and most of its private foundation funders, severely hampering its housing operations and raising the possibility that it will not survive in its current form, according to a lawsuit the group filed Thursday against the U.S. government.
The lawsuit claims that Congress' decision to drop all funding to the group and its affiliates was unconstitutional because it punitively targeted an individual organization.
In affidavits accompanying the lawsuit, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis and other employees paint a bleak picture of an organization damaged by a string of scandals and the loss of federal funds.
When the funding measure first passed Congress, "I thought ACORN could survive. But I underestimated the effect ... and its consequences with our other sources of funding," Lewis said. "We want to comply with every investigation, but we cannot comply if we do not have staff and are closing our offices."
...The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Brooklyn federal court by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of ACORN and its affiliates, seeks reinstatement of the funds.
Posted by eric at 10:02 PM
November 11, 2009
Ratner: Atlantic Yards Is Not a Public Project
The Huffington Post
by Daniel Goldstein
"We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!" DDDB's Daniel Goldstein reveals the essential truth behind this week's testy declamation by Bruce Ratner, who's got the federales, er, well, at least the ESDC, on his side.
"Why should people get to see plans? This isn't a public project."
— Bruce Ratner discussing Atlantic Yards in Crain's Nov. 8, 2009
Forest City Ratner is the Brooklyn-based division of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises which is a publicly traded corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange (FCEA). Bruce Ratner is its CEO.
FCE is not a charity or a non-profit organization. Like any other publicly traded corporation they endeavor to make profits to increase shareholder value. They do this through development deals always infused with large taxpayer subsidies and gifts, which often benefit from eminent domain powers used by political friends. Broadly speaking, they are corporate welfare kings and eminent domain addicts. As such, they have served their shareholders well.
So when Bruce Ratner told Crain's that Atlantic Yards is not a public project, and demanded to know why people should get to see his plans for the project—he wasn't kidding, it's not a public project.
By nearly every standard Atlantic Yards is, indeed, a private project. But Ratner's honest, foot eating comment could not have pleased his public relations people or attorneys who have spent six years trying to convince politicians, the public and courtrooms that Atlantic Yards is a great public project, a grand civic gesture out of the goodness of the corporation's heart.
Posted by eric at 1:14 PM
November 8, 2009
Tenacious B - Bruce Ratner must clear yet more do-or-die hurdles at Atlantic Yards
Crain's
By Theresa Agovino
This article about Bruce Ratner, although largely worshipful, shows the uncertainty of the proposed Atlantic Yards project.
Any day now, New York state's highest court will rule on whether eminent domain can be used to clear the site. If its use is barred, the Atlantic Yards project will most likely die. In addition, the developer faces a year-end deadline to sell $700 million worth of bonds for the arena in order to qualify for much-needed tax-free financing.
Here, even Ratner admits there's no need to build the mega-project:
Yet he doesn't know when many elements of the plan will progress, and he's agitated by questions about them. In light of a financial crisis that has hobbled many developers, Mr. Ratner refuses to discuss what the project will look like, whether or not it will include an office building and even who will design the first residential tower, which he's slated to break ground on early next year.
Initially, the project called for four office towers, but by early this year, only one was on the drawing boards. Asked when it will go up, Mr. Ratner responds with a question: “Can you tell me when we are going to need a new office tower?”
And here we see how public subsidies do not mean the public has any say in the project itself:
He has no intention of sharing the designs for the complex. “Why should people get to see plans?” he demands. “This isn't a public project. We will follow the guidelines.”
As you might expect, Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report gives a full assessment of this article: In profile, Crain's calls Ratner "tenacious;" wouldn't "desperate" and "strategic" also apply?
Posted by steve at 10:27 AM
October 28, 2009
Bust Out the Sand Chair! Ratner Buys Long Beach Spread for $2 M.
NY Observer
by Max Abelson
Is it time to start calling Bruce Ratner the "Flamingo Kid?"
...last month, he was said to be selling his 4,500-square-foot, Francis Fleetwood–designed Montauk house to an art dealer for $10 million. Leaving behind 7 acres, Mr. Ratner reportedly wanted something less expensive.
He found it.
According to a source, he bought up a relatively modest three-bedroom oceanfront house off Long Beach’s Arizona Avenue. He paid $2 million to a Manhattan couple, Seema Kalia and hedge fund manager Vedula Murti.
...Listing broker Susan Solomon would not comment on the deal. “It’s an oceanfront piece of property and, you know—it’s a big piece of property and it’s on the ocean,” she said. “What do you want me to tell you?” The place looks cozy, but probably needs real renovation. “You can come in and do a little; you can come in and do a lot,” the broker said. “You want to knock it down, you can do that.”
Might Mr. Ratner, who spent $6,965,000 last year on an East 62nd Street brownstone, build something Yards-proportioned? “If somebody wants to knock that house down,” Ms. Solomon said, “they have to build something by the code.”
NoLandGrab: Unless, of course, his good friends at the Empire State Development Corporation override local zoning.
Posted by eric at 11:32 PM
October 21, 2009
The Power Dozen
There is Michael Bloomberg, and there is everybody else. Here’s everybody else.
New York Magazine
by Jacob Gershman and Chris Smith
When it comes to power in New York City, Michael Bloomberg is the only game in town—but that doesn’t mean there are no other players. We canvassed the city in an extensive if unscientific vetting process, culling the selections of dozens of businesspeople, politicians, and other assorted machers.
...Stephen Ross
WHO: Chairman and CEO
WHAT: Related Companies
The chief executive of Related Companies, Stephen Ross has been described as the real-estate industry’s last man standing. It’s more accurate to say he’s the only one sprinting ahead. While developers like Jerry Speyer and Bruce Ratner are running for cover, Ross is planning to form a bank to snap up distressed assets.
Posted by eric at 11:14 PM
October 2, 2009
Ratner says bond sale should start in two weeks, has no regrets about losing Nets, won't claim he got a "great deal"
Atlantic Yards Report
The New York Observer's Eliot Brown managed to turn a photo op at Forest City Ratner's Frank Gehry-designed Beekman Tower (in progress) into an opportunity to produce When Bruce Met Mikhail: The Backstory on the Nets-Atlantic Yards Deal.
There's not a huge amount new there, though Ratner said he expects the bond sale to begin in two weeks. Would that be after the eminent domain hearing at the Court of Appeals on October 14?
He expressed no regret at losing the Nets, plausibly pointing out that a deep-pocketed owner is best for the team and diplomatically avoiding the confession that he's just not a hoops guy.
And he avoided acknowledging that Mikhail Prokhorov got a good deal or claiming it was a great deal for him.
Posted by eric at 11:15 AM
When Bruce Met Mikhail: The Backstory on the Nets-Atlantic Yards Deal
The NY Observer
by Eliot Brown
The Observer's Brown gets a few minutes with Bruce Ratner during a tour of Forest City's Beekman Tower.
By Bruce Ratner's telling, his deal to sell the Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov began in earnest this summer over dinner at the Russian billionaire’s home.
...Asked whether he would miss owning an NBA team, Mr. Ratner hardly displayed remorse. He suggested that with an owner that has substantial resources (Forest City Ratner and its parent have been struggling in the recession) might be a better caretaker for the team than he.
That's a shocker, since Bruce famously said "it's 100 percent about basketball."
“It was important to go to Brooklyn, and we’re going to Brooklyn, and it’s important that we have a really good team in Brooklyn,” he continued, “and he’s going to make that more possible than I think we could, economically.”
...
Speaking of economics, Bruce is getting itchy to start selling bonds.
The state’s top court on Oct. 14 is hearing arguments in a key eminent domain lawsuit regarding Atlantic Yards, and while Mr. Ratner has been victorious in the courts thus far, a loss would surely kill the project. On the financing side, Mr. Ratner plans to start selling $700 million in tax-free bonds in coming weeks, which must be sold before a Dec. 31 Internal Revenue Service deadline.
“I think the ratings agencies will probably have ratings in about two weeks,” Mr. Ratner said. “And then we’ll start selling ’em.”
Posted by eric at 10:43 AM
September 24, 2009
Exclusive: Nets Owner Bruce Ratner on Deal With Russian Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov
Fox Business (The Glick Report)
"Do-gooder Liberal" Bruce Ratner, and his sidekick, Yormarketing Genius, sure spend a lot of time on the Right-leaning Fox Business network. It couldn't have anything to do with Alexis Glick's gee-whiz softball's, could it?
And, oh yeah, this deal is really, truly, about world peace, or as the altruistic Ratner puts it, the aim is to "really bring Russia and the United States closer in so many kinds of ways."
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, "Orwellian, almost": ESDC says construction schedule = "useful timetable," but Bruce Ratner admits "projects take a long time"
Posted by eric at 6:53 PM
September 3, 2009
The Nets’ Future - An FAQ
Nets Daily
Uber Nets' fan and Atlantic Yards-booster NetIncome posts an interesting and lengthy analysis of the team's dire predicament situation.
Are the Nets for sale?
In spite of denials and protestations, Bruce Ratner has been trying to sell the Nets for the past nine months, hoping to find a buyer who’ll be willing to pay $400 million for the team, a $100 million premium on what he paid for it five years ago, according to Nets insiders.
Who are the likely buyers?
So far, three investment groups have shown interest in the team, all of whom have been identified previously: those led by Vincent Viola, the former chairman of NYMEX and the team’s second largest investor after Ratner; Terry Semel, the former CEO of Warner Brothers and Yahoo!; and Mikhail Prokhorov, a Russian oligarch who is among the world’s richest men with a fortune between $10 billion and $15 billion. (In addition, a fourth investor, Marc Lasry, a hedge fund manager, has shown some interest, but it has waned recently, according to published reports confirmed by a team insider.)
What the prospects for a sale?
No better than 50-50, according to insiders. Ratner does not want to give up control of the Barclays Center in any sale or recapitalization. Instead he hopes the team’s new owners will be a tenant only in the new arena, pay him a large annual lease in addition to the substantial premium for the team. The insiders say new buyers are unlikely to pay the premium or the large lease, which is significantly greater than the $2.02 million the Nets now pay the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority for the IZOD Center.
“In that scenario,” said one team insider, “Ratner sells the team, you get control of the team and the right to lose $20 - $35 million a year on the team. Key to the franchise success is the arena, not the team.”
...Why does Ratner want to sell now?
Ratner’s desire to sell is tied to the team’s increasingly desperate finances—the Nets have lost $70+ million the past two years, according to filings made by Ratner’s parent company, Forest City Enterprises, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forest City owns 23% of the team and has increasingly funded team losses, going from 38% to 100% over the past four years, as the filings have noted. It has agreed to fund this year’s losses as well, but reportedly has told Ratner after this year “we’re done”.
Overall, Forest City has lost $119.1 million and all investors $353 million, according to a New York Times analysis of team finances.
There’s also the urgent need to find a significant amount of capital to construct the $774 million Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn. Ratner or whoever owns the team must put up at least $200 million in cash and show prospective financiers they have substantial revenue streams—like the lease—in order to obtain tax-exempt financing. And he must do that by year’s end, if not sooner.
...What about debt? Aren’t the Nets heavily in debt?
According to one insider, half the $400 million would go towards the down payment on the Barclays Center and half towards reducing team debt.
The team’s debt is more than $200 million, says Forbes Magazine. That, reports Forbes, makes the Nets’ debt-to-value ratio the highest in the NBA, if not professional sports, at 71%.
...How critical was the critics’ legal strategy?
Two insiders offered begrudging praise for the critics’ legal plan, noting that they first took it to federal court, then state court. Even without a victory, that sequencing slowed the legal process to a crawl. It was “brilliant”, said one insider.
...Suppose it doesn’t work. What happens then?
“The team will be sold to whoever can pay for it,” said an insider. “They could wind up in Seattle or St. Louis.” A sports marketing expert agreed, suggesting that Brooklyn gets less and less likely every day.
NoLandGrab: While we frequently find ourselves at odds with Mr. Income, he does seem to have good information, though he remains anonymous, as do his sources. If he's on-target, however, Bruce Ratner appears to be suffering from delusions — and a desperate need for cash.
Posted by eric at 11:13 AM
August 28, 2009
RATNER MOVING WEST
NY Post, Page Six
No, not to Newark — yet anyway.
TOUGH times for embattled Bruce Ratner? The Atlantic Yards developer has already replaced architect Frank Gehry and whittled down the cost of his $1 billion Nets arena by $200 million. Now he's sold his Montauk estate for $10 million to Chelsea art dealer David Zwirner, reports The Post's Jennifer Gould Keil. The 4,500-square-foot house on 7 acres on Old Montauk Highway was designed by classic East End architect Francis Fleetwood. Prudential Douglas Elliman broker John Golden had no comment. Ratner, we hear, has been looking in Quogue --for something less pricey, on the ocean and closer to the city.
Related coverage...
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Tough Times for Bruce Ratner
His money-losing Nets aren't moving to Brooklyn, and neither is Bruce Ratner. He's moving ot Quogue. Wherever he is, he must be busy peparing those renderings for Atlantic Yards which nobody has seen...what a way to spend the last week of summer!
Posted by eric at 10:38 AM
August 27, 2009
Ratner to be featured in film
TheDeal.com
by Gerald Magpily
Who wants to bet Bruce plays the villain?
Real estate dealmaker Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner Cos. is next to have his moment in the limelight. The owner of the National Basketball Association franchise the Nets will take center court in a documentary titled "The Battle of Brooklyn" about a neighborhood's struggle with the real estate mogul's plan to build a stadium in Prospect Heights for his team.
The six-year saga is still developing with the stadium still not built, which brings a slight dilemma for the filmmaker Michael Galinsky, who has more than 300 hours of footage and expects to have a finished product for film festivals by next year.
"You can't really edit a documentary until you kind of know the end of the story," he told the Daily News. "We don't know the end, but we do have a sense of an arc, and the end is coming. By Dec. 31, either shovels will be in the ground or they will not, and that will be the end of the story."
Posted by eric at 9:52 AM
August 10, 2009
It came from the Blogosphere...
Brownstoner, A Turning Point for Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards, Atlantic Yards, Atlantic Yards. It has been one of the biggest issues in Brooklyn for years, but now the controversial 22-acre development seems to be approaching its shit-or-get-off-the-pot moment.
Nets Daily, Ratner Remains Optimistic as Deadlines Loom
In an interview with the New York Times, Bruce Ratner remains confident of getting financing, winning final legal appeals, finding new investors for the Nets. He also says the city needs the overall project more than it did when first envisioned. As for the Nets, he states he intends to retain some ownership in the team no matter who invests in it. Meanwhile, critics vow new lawsuits.
Pinko Magazine, Gay Marry It … Or Abort It? Brownshirts and ghost trains edition.
I don’t think I was very clear in my post yesterday about Mayor Bloomberg, and I gave the impression that I think Atlantic Yards (and the West Side/Jets Stadium redevelopment) are GOOD ideas that I supported. That’s totally not what I meant, Atlantic Yards is a complete fiasco and if you live in New York and want to understand what it is and why it’s a complete fiasco, New American City has a good summary of where things stand today.
My argument was this: The whole thing is a dud and should be scrapped, but if the developers win and they get to build something, I’d rather see them build the whole plan with the Gehry arena etcetera. Right now we’re staring into a half-assed Atlantic Yards with a bullshit shoe-box arena that will be a blight on Brooklyn for decades. I hope none of it happens, and I hope that’s clear. But it is an example of a botched project on the Mayor’s watch.
Lost City, Ratner-Owned Brooklyn Cineplex a Potential Fire Trap
My friends found their own way down the many escalators by themselves and the building was quite smoky. The whole affair was horribly handled, and, even though the fire was localized, it's a miracle no one was seriously hurt.
It's just what you'd expect from a movie theatre owned by Bruce Ratner, isn't it? Screw the public; let's make money!
Extra Time [NY Post Soccer Blog], Beckham interested in buying MLS team
Could you see Beckham prying the Galaxy away from AEG after 2011? Or would you love to see him buy the Red Bulls? Figure it's a lot more likely that he purchases an expansion team? Since he loves Brooklyn so much, maybe he could get done the deal Nets' owner Bruce Ratner hasn't been able to...
Evil Cowtown, INC., I’ve got an idea with regards to the 2011 CBA negotiations: Let’s keep it the way it is!
That's CBA as in the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, not the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement. But Bruce Ratner does make an appearance.
Yeah. Michael Heisley is more valuable to the NBA than LeBron James. Yuh. Right. (Ditto with clowns like Bruce Ratner, Donald Sterling, George Shinn and Jerry Reinsdorf. If you had a scumbug all owner 1st team, those guys would make it up.
From The 3s, Net Worth – Atlantic Division – New Jersey Nets rebuilding from the ground up
Nets owner Bruce Ratner is allegedly selling the team, in spite of the fact today’s economy is not filled with prospective buyers. He would like the team to ultimately end up and play in Brooklyn. Along with the move, he prefers to be an owner, but is actively pursuing other ownership to ease the financial burden he has and will continue to endure.
Job Hut, Gilmartin on jobs, funding CBA partners; Darnell Canada interruption
A job-search site links to video from the Community Board 2, 6 and 8-hosted Atlantic Yards meeting on July 22nd.
MaryAnne Gilmartin of Forest City Ratner is asked about how to get jobs at the Atlantic Yards project. Darnell Canada loudly interrupts.
The Daily Politics, News Of The Day
Bruce Ratner is still racing to start work on the scaled-backed Atlantic Yards project, but could yet be derailed by the state's highest court.
Posted by eric at 9:41 AM
Lupica: Stern should tell Ratner to get out of the basketball business
Atlantic Yards Report
Here's one AYR slipped past us yesterday.
From New York Daily News sports columnist Mike Lupica today:
But when does [NBA Commissioner David] Stern tell [Nets owner] Bruce Ratner that it is time for him to get out of the basketball business?When does the commissioner tell Ratner to see if he can find a buyer who's more interested in the NBA than real estate?
Ratner is Donald Sterling of the [Los Angeles] Clippers, just taller.
Last month, ESPN The Magazine called Ratner the second-worst owner in professional sports, and the worst owner in pro basketball. Ratner was ranked #121, while Sterling was #116, though his team was overall rated worse (#122) than the Nets (#111) in the Ultimate Standings.
NoLandGrab: Calling someone a taller Donald Sterling is not a compliment.
Here's the original story:
NY Daily News, Government must tell us what triggered positive test for Red Sox slugger David Ortiz
Posted by eric at 9:29 AM
August 6, 2009
American Icons FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS Set Audience Record at Brooklyn's Asser Levy Park
PR-USA.net
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner shows up at Brooklyn BP's Marty Markowitz's free summer concert series and now he's a "luminary"?
Rock and Roll Hall of Famers FRANKIE VALLI AND THE FOUR SEASONS once again set attendance records as the popular group returned to Brooklyn's Asser Levy Seaside Park's outdoor music series and performed to an audience of more than 15,000 fans. The Seaside Summer Concert Series is the largest free outdoor music series in New York.
...
In addition to die-hard fans, luminaries seen rocking out included famed concert promoter Sid Bernstein; NY Times Publisher, Arthur Sulzberger; Sopranos actor Lou Martini, Jr., and NJ Nets (soon to be Brooklyn Nets) Owner and Urban Real Estate Developer Bruce Ratner.
NoLandGrab: Given the hundreds of thousands of dollars Ratner has given to Markowitz's pet projects to purchase his undying loyalty, we sure hope Bruce got a good seat.
Posted by lumi at 5:22 AM
July 8, 2009
Bruce Ratner: Scumbag Liar
ECO BROOKLYN INC.
By Genaro Brooks-Church
Here's a pretty good rant from green builders ECO Brooklyn.
I read in the Carroll Gardens Courier that Ratner is continuing his dishonest takeover of the Brooklyn community in Atlantic Yards.
After securing a corrupt deal with the MTA where he will be allowed to buy part of their land he said of the site this week:
“….it is about affordable housing and public space. It is about jobs and opportunity. It is about creating new community in the heart of a thriving borough.”
Lies, lies, lies. It is about his profit. Period. Bruce Ratner is the antithesis of green building and the concept of Build It Forward.
He says the area will be used for sports, conventions, meeting, concerts etc. Anything where you need to put a large group of people together for a couple hours.
So how is the community around Javitz Center? A bunch of desolate concrete roads.
What about the area around Madison Square Garden? Cheap pizzerias and tourists.
Posted by eric at 5:06 PM
July 2, 2009
Ultimate Standings 2009
ESPN The Magazine
by Morty Ain
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner! You're the second worst owner in professional sports! (and the worst owner is bankrupt and is trying to sell his team to a guy who plans to move it out of the country!)
But don't worry, even with all that, you stand alone in last place when it comes to "Community Commitment."
Welcome to ESPN The Magazine's seventh annual Ultimate Standings, in which we measure how much MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL franchises give back to the fans in exchange for all the time, money and emotion the fans invest in them.
...Developer Bruce Ratner is starting to resemble that college friend who just wasn't ready to move on after graduation. Hey, Jersey, we're hitting snafus with that planned move to Brooklyn, so, ummm, ya mind if I crash here a while longer? "I'd like to say we have the most hated owner in sports, but of course that's not possible," says Mike from Joenetsfan.com, "because a) Al Davis is still around, and b) Nets fans can't work up enough contempt to get stoic, let alone angry."
See the complete, sortable rankings
More coverage...
Nets Daily, Ratner Ranked Second Worst Owner in Sports
Only the bankrupt owners of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes are ranked lower than Bruce Ratner in ESPN’s listings of all 122 professional sports teams. The Nets also sit 111th–third from the bottom in the NBA–overall. The “stadium experience” at the IZOD comes in 119th.
Posted by eric at 10:32 AM
July 1, 2009
Six Charged with Vending Violations in Sting (Also: Screw Your Bidding System)
Fork in the Road, [Village Voice blog]
by Sarah DiGregorio
Bruce Ratner merits a dishonorable mention in this piece on street-food vendors.
New York's street vending has been pushed into its current state of chaos and disrepair by unchecked bureaucracy--vendors are regulated by as many as seven city agencies--and unreasonably low permit limits, which were set in 1979 by then Commissioner of Consumer Affairs Bruce Ratner, always a friend to the common man.
Posted by eric at 9:09 AM
June 28, 2009
Another Word on Franchise Ownership – Beware the Real Estate Mogul
SPORTS BIZ BY SENNO
The first point specifically targets owners who try to use sports teams as pawns in a real estate project. Bruce Ratner is playing out this same game with the New Jersey Nets. He bought the team with the sole purpose of creating a mammoth development in Brooklyn with an arena, apartment buildings, and retail. The focus has been on his project, not the team for the past 5 years, as he has battled court cases, had his staff strike landmark sponsorship deals, hired and then fired a well-known architect, and for better or worse stirred controversy. Meanwhile, the team was forced to cut expenses and trade its best players, and is losing over $40 million a year. Admittedly, they probably needed to make the trades and start over from a player development perspective, but the franchise is in a holding pattern. Everything centers around “when the Nets move to Brooklyn” – the free agents will come, fans will come, profits will come.
The deal may never happen. Ratner reportedly wants to sell, another indication it will never happen. If that’s the case, they are stuck in the Meadowlands losing boat loads of money and have basically lost the last 5 years when they could have addressed the situation because Ratner was trying to leverage the team for a project to benefit his business.
Owners with real estate motives destroy franchises, then leave the problem to the next person. The franchise suffers, the league suffers, the fans suffer, and the players probably suffer. Given their control over the situation, leagues should recognize this type of deal and either prevent it or put stipulations in that prevent an owner from leveraging a franchise for real estate, ruining the team in the process, then walking out on it. The leagues should blame themselves – and do something about it.
NoLandGrab: He means you, David Stern.
Posted by eric at 11:10 PM
June 15, 2009
Wedding bells
Bleed Scarlet
The Rutgers University sports fan site has this to say about the Nets' owner.
Is it possible at this point not to hate Bruce Ratner and his Major League-level nefarious scheming? Now the architects are mad at his plans for moving the Nets to Brooklyn.
Posted by eric at 9:46 PM
June 11, 2009
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross ranks No. 2 in real estate “Power 100”
The Business of Sports [The Sun-Sentinel]
The New York Observer’s latest Power 100 ranking of “The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate,” places Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross No. 2, behind only… President Barack Obama.
...
Two other sports team owners made the list: New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner, who is still trying to develop Atlantic Yards with a new Nets arena in Brooklyn, fell from No. 8 last year to No. 23 this year; and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson ranks No. 68, as board president of luxury co-op 834 Fifth Avenue.
Posted by lumi at 5:15 AM
June 4, 2009
The Power 100: The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate
An Observer List! Who Runs This Town?
NY Observer
The Observer has updated its list of the most powerful people in New York real estate, and Bruce Ratner's not half the titan he used to be.
No. 23: Bruce Ratner (2008: 8)
CEO of Forest City Ratner
He controls prime real estate in downtown Brooklyn and has two architecturally distinct new Manhattan towers, one unfinished. But his real test will be whether he can cobble together the money and political support to launch the project that has defined Forest City for the past half-decade: Atlantic Yards.
Here's the complete list.
Atlantic Yards Report, The Observer's Power 100: Ratner drops down the list; Gehry, Oder, Lipsky drop out
Norman Oder, no longer among the powerful, runs down the notables.
Last year, according to the New York Observer's quite arbitrary list of the 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate, Bruce Ratner was #8, Frank Gehry was #51, and I was number #77.
Things sure change. Ratner has dropped to #23 in The Power 100: The Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate, indicating uncertainty about Atlantic Yards, and Gehry and I have been dropped from the list--as has lobbyist Richard Lipsky, who snarked at my selection.
Well, Gehry appears to be off Atlantic Yards. And I sure can't be too powerful if elected officials holding an oversight hearing don't bother to consult the questions I've publicly posed.
Posted by eric at 7:48 AM
May 31, 2009
Ratner's hardball pays off: construction resumes at the Beekman Tower
Atlantic Yards Report
The construction workers cheering for Atlantic Yards on Friday probably don't embrace the developer's hardball tactics to reduce construction costs at two extant projects.
After all, FCR stopped work halfway through the construction process of the Beekman Tower in lower Manhattan, what the New York Times calls an effort to "desperately sought to cut costs on the project."
In an article Friday headlined Savings on Labor Allow Work on Residential Skyscraper to Resume, the Times reported that work resumed this week, just as abruptly as it stopped.
The key: a cut in labor costs and cheaper construction materials and appliances. Among the other projects helped by a new agreement with unions is the tower under construction at 80 DeKalb Avenue.
Posted by steve at 8:00 AM
May 25, 2009
Ratner, Botstein and Gehry: birds of a feather
Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist
An unrepentant Marxist, blogger, and Bard College alum notes that Bruce Ratner was recently appointed a trustee of his alma mater.
In a tiny announcement, the magazine informed its readers that “Bruce C. Ratner, director of Forest City Enterprises, was appointed to the Board of Trustees.” Right off the bat, I had to assume that Ratner was cut from the same cloth as Asher Edelman, Susan Weber (George Soros’s ex-wife), and Charles P. Stephenson Jr. He was likely to have made his money through some ill-gotten gains or to have come by it through marriage as Susan Weber and fellow board member and ultra-Zionist Martin Peretz did. Edelman, a Bard graduate who the Gordon Gekko character in Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” was based on, used to be a business partner of corporate raider Stephenson before the threat of arrest for insider trading forced him to relocate to Europe and out of the securities business.
NoLandGrab: Proyect's on the right track with his hunch about ill-gotten gains, but he's a little shaky when it comes to other details, like the idea that community opposition forced the Atlantic Yards project to relocate from Prospect Heights to Downtown Brooklyn. Score one for Ratner's public relations effort!
Posted by eric at 11:29 AM
May 22, 2009
The face of overdevelopment
stefano giovannini’s journals
Bruce Ratner - developer - 80 DeKalb event
Brownstoner, >80 Dekalb Tops Out
B-Stoner's invitation to the toppipng out probably got lost in the mail.
Posted by eric at 9:10 PM
80 DeKalb Avenue
 |
Photo, Tracy Collins, via flickr Atlantic Yards Photo Pool
Photog Tracy Collins tried to gain entry to the topping-out ceremony for Forest City Ratner's 80 DeKalb Avenue project (this was a case of the topping-out actually being at the top, unlike Ratner's Beekman Tower, which may or may not have been topped-out at its original half-way point), but his "I'm with Atlantic Yards Report" didn't seem to sway security. Wonder why not?
Anyway, his long lens managed to capture Forest City's Les Deux Bruces, Ratner and Bender, trailing, we think, MaryAnne Gilmartin. And other luminaries were on hand, as well.
More coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Tracy Collins on the block: a curious new condo at 499 Dean and a topping-out moment at 80 DeKalb
Posted by eric at 9:01 AM
May 13, 2009
Fight night
The Brooklyn Paper, Police Blotter
by Mike McLaughlin
More true crime from Bruce Ratner's formerly crime-free Atlantic Center mall.
Trauma
A man trying to break up a brawl outside the Atlantic Center mall was hospitalized after a blow to his head with a glass bottle on May 5.
...Lost their shirts
A known shoplifter escaped from Old Navy on Atlantic Avenue with 60 shirts on April 30.
Video surveillance showed the “known booster” loading up with about $1,470 of merchandise at 2:30 pm from the retailer in the Bruce Ratner-owned mall between Fort Greene Place and South Portland Avenue.
Posted by eric at 4:37 PM
April 21, 2009
Cold crime — Unbelievable!
The Brooklyn Paper Police Blotter
This Atlantic Center Mall swindle took place a couple months ago, but we just had to reproduce it here, since it's actually a parable.
One man, in his 40s, approached the woman and asked her for directions in the Bruce Ratner-owned galleria between Fort Greene Place and South Portland Avenue at 4:45 pm. Then, the accomplice joined the conversation and showed off documents that supposedly indicated that he would receive an $81,000 settlement from a car accident.
But the sharpie said he can’t bring money back to his unidentified home country and instead planned to give it to charity. He also said he’d give tens of thousands of dollars to the woman (who, for some reason, did not find this hard to believe).
At this point, the supposed benefactor asked the mark to take him to a bank because he’s never seen American money. The woman then withdrew $2,000 from a Court Street bank, a ceremony that was followed by dinner at McDonald’s with the two confidence men.
In the fast food restaurant, the older of the two con artists intoned a prayer over the greenbacks, wrapped the bills in a cloth and returned the bundle to the woman.
Hours after the “chance” encounter began, the lady took the sanctified cash to her church to donate it, only to unwrap the cloth to find that the scammers had pulled the old switcheroo and left her with old newspapers.
NoLandGrab: Substitute Bruce Ratner and the ESDC for the two perps, the people of Brooklyn for the vic, a billion dollars in public subsidies for the cash, and a basketball arena for the old newspapers, and — voila! — you have the great Atlantic Yards swindle!
Posted by eric at 11:54 AM
April 14, 2009
Nadler, ACORN and the Working Families Party: No Credible Evidence?
Anita MonCrief
The ACORN whistleblower connects the dots between ACORN, NY Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and... Atlantic Yards developer Bruce C. Ratner.
Over the past several weeks, ACORN has been in the news regarding the startling call by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) for a hearing on ACORN after Heather Heidelbaugh read my testimony into record at a hearing on April 2, 2009. However, “House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) shut down a request by Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) to launch an investigation into ACORN, with Nadler citing not enough “credible evidence” to proceed.”
...Interestingly enough Nadler has also received donations from Bruce Ratner and his brother Michael (who has sat on boards and panels with Nadler). As Norman Oder explained in his Atlantic Yards Report, the Ratners and ACORN have quite a lot of negative history with the residents of Brooklyn.
Posted by eric at 1:28 PM
April 5, 2009
CULTURE: The Abyssinian Baptist Church
H A R L E M + B E S P O K E
The iconic Harlem house of worship gets a rap on the knuckles over its choice of friends.
The church would become the most powerful Baptist church in the city and has since used its coffers to acquire property in the past several decades. New malls by controversial developer Bruce Ratner, favoritism to large scale construction with disregard to historic conservation, and the neglect of the Renaissance Ballroom has spurred some criticism on the direction of the church's future.
Posted by eric at 10:20 PM
April 1, 2009
Mail's In (Scorched Earth Edition)
The Star-Ledger
By Dave D'Alessandro
From sports writer Dave D'Alessandro's Q&A mailbag column in yesterday's Star-Ledger:
Dave: Reading the piece on Gehry himself disclaiming the building of the atlantic yards (and to a larger degree, the Nets' eventually move there), do you in the media share our ground-level fan's perspective that Ratner, in refuting all these claims, is basically the new information minister of Iraq, loudly claiming victory & mass suicide by his country's oppressors as bombs are going off a few yards behind him, and Iraqi forces are openly retreating? On a scale of 1 to 10, how accurate would you rate the idea that the Nets are in the Prudential Center in the next 2 years? Dave Barrett
David: Thanks. The image of Bruce as Baghdad Bob is something the Home Office has already turned into a new marketing campaign ("Come for the basketball, stay for the sorties"). But as for credibility, let's try to maintain some perspective here: One guy's a businessman, the other one was a 21st century Goebbels. OK, sometimes we can't always tell the difference. But to cut to the chase: I doubt the Nets will consider Prudential (for 10-11) unless something bizarre happens during those three preseason games next October, or they recognize it as a viable place to crash because it can significantly slice their $25-35M annual deficit.
Posted by lumi at 4:01 AM
March 28, 2009
A Short Look At Bruce Ratner's Credibility on Atlantic Yards
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
On March 21, 2008 in The New York Times Bruce Ratner expressed confidence:
...[Bruce Ratner] did say he was confident about starting construction on a $950 million basketball arena for the Nets by the end of the year. The arena was to be surrounded by the office tower, known as Miss Brooklyn, and three residential buildings in the first phase of the project. ...
It is March 2009. Not only has the "developer" not started construction on his billion dollar arena, but he doesn't own the land or have the financing to start.
The article, "Slow Economy Likely to Stall Atlantic Yards," continued.
...In another indication of the problems facing the project, Forest City recently sent a letter signed by the project’s celebrity architect, Frank Gehry, to chief executives of many of the city’s biggest corporations, inviting them to become a tenant in the “centerpiece of the project,” Miss Brooklyn. It was originally scheduled to be completed in July 2009..
What a difference a year makes. Last March Frank Gehry was signing direct mail solicitations to find an anchor tenant for his client's office tower.
Just this last week, Frank Gehry said about Atlantic Yards: "I don't think it's going to happen." And his client Bruce Ratner, trying to do damage control, called Gehry his "friend," but did not deny the obvious—his Atlantic Yards star architect was no longer working on his project.
Posted by steve at 6:45 AM
February 1, 2009
Forty years later, Joe Namath's still Super
NY Daily News
Mike Lupica
If Bruce Ratner scales down his own business model on that great, big, change-the-skyline plan for the Nets and Atlantic Yards, it's going to resemble a model train set.
Posted by amy at 10:39 AM
January 25, 2009
Alonzo Mourning's legacy not so stellar outside South Florida
Palm Beach Post
By Chris Perkins
Miami Heat basketball star Alonzo Mourning announced his retirement from professional basketball this past Thursday. Mourning's career outside of Miami is the focus of this article. Here is further confirmation that the New Jersey Nets are just part of the scheme by developer Bruce Ratner to win support for the proposed Atlantic Yards project.
In July 2003, Mourning departed the lowly Heat - remarking he didn't owe the franchise anything - and signed with title-contending New Jersey as an unrestricted free agent. But things soon went awry in New Jersey (owner Bruce Ratner didn't want to pay to keep center-forward Kenyon Martin or swingman Kerry Kittles) and when it seemed the Nets were finished throwing money around in pursuit of a title, Mourning, who went there to win a title, forced his exit.
He made life miserable for the Nets, spouting off to the media at every opportunity. Remarking on a conversation he had with Ratner, Mourning said, "I asked him, 'Other than your investment in this team for financial purposes - obviously getting a significant return - what's the reason why you bought the team?' " "And you ask anybody in here," Mourning continued, "he said, 'To move it to Brooklyn.' I mean, I didn't hear, 'To win a championship.' "I just shook my head."
Posted by steve at 7:16 AM
January 24, 2009
The weekly wrap-up, January 23
New York Post
This week we learned that...
... Bruce Ratner isn't quite so excited about this Atlantic Yards thing anymore.
Posted by steve at 8:20 AM
January 23, 2009
Happy Bruce Day!
From Wikipedia (emphasis added):
Bruce Ratner (born January 23, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio) is president and CEO of Forest City Ratner, the New York division of Forest City Enterprises, which is based in Cleveland. Ratner was New York City's most active real estate developer during the 1990s. Ratner graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1967 and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1970.
After obtaining his J.D. Ratner became the director of a Model Cities program for the Lindsay administration in New York City. Subsequently he served in the capacity of chief of the Consumer Protection Division in the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Ed Koch in 1978.
In 1992, Crain's New York Business selected Ratner as the top New York City executive in the fields of real estate, finance and insurance. His projects generally involve large public subsidies, but to his credit has only once used the power of eminent domain.
NoLandGrab: "Only once used the power of eminent domain"?
TRY "ONCE" UPON A TIME HE USED EMINENT DOMAIN FOR METROTECH, THE TIMES TOWER, ATLANTIC YARDS, AND HE TRIED TO USE IT IN BLOOMFIELD, NJ BEFORE THE COURTS GOT IN THE WAY.
As a birthday tribute, maybe the Bruce Ratner Fan Club can get crackin on that Wikipedia entry.
Posted by lumi at 5:48 AM
December 2, 2008
You Don’t Have to Be Rich to Get Into the Holiday Mood in Brooklyn
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Compiled by Mary Frost
The economy may be tanking, but enjoying the holidays doesn’t have to be an expensive proposition. With tree lighting ceremonies, snowflake celebrations, winter craft fairs and free musical performances, everyone can have a great time in Brooklyn this season.
...MetroTech Tree Lighting Ceremony
MetroTech Commons Associates kicks off the holiday season on Wed., Dec. 3, 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. by lighting a 50’ Colorado blue spruce tree decorated with white lights and red ribbons. Attendees will be entertained with performances by the Joey Morant & Catfish Stew and The All City High School Chorus plus special performances by a soloist from the Brooklyn Music School and the kids of P.S. 58. Santa Claus has scheduled an appearance to hand out candy canes to children in attendance. Bruce Ratner, President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies hosts the festivities. Mike Weiss, executive director of the MetroTech BID, is the emcee.
NoLandGrab: We know nothing gets us into the holiday spirit like watching the Grinch Who Stole Prospect Heights lighting his phony tree at MetroTech.
We also don't know what they're feeding that tree, but the Brooklyn Paper described it a couple weeks ago as being 15 feet tall, not 50.
Posted by eric at 1:56 PM
November 28, 2008
The cozy relationship between Sheldon Silver, the Met Council, and Bruce Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
I know I'm late on this, but let's take another look at the cozy relationship between Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, and developer Forest City Ratner. There's nothing illegal, just another episode of the questionable one-hand-washes-the-other power configuration that seems so prevalent in the city and state.
Silver says that those who care about process are "naive." Perhaps that's also his message for those who had hoped he'd ask hard questions about Atlantic Yards.
...Each year the Met Council holds a "Builder's Luncheon" to honor someone in the real estate field and raise funds for its supportive housing initiatives. This year's event, as the Council's widely-reported press release stated, raised $1 million and honored Bruce Ratner:
Numerous other elected and appointed officials were present as the keynote speaker, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver, presented Mr. Ratner with a beautifully decorated charity box.That gets the developer, Silver, and the Met Council some nice publicity for a relatively small amount of money, even while the developer and Assembly Speaker deal in much larger sums for a project in which affordable housing does not come first.
Posted by eric at 9:41 AM
November 21, 2008
NY State Budget Crisis
mole333 via Daily Gotham
Politics blogger mole333 lists re-thinking government-sponsored development projects among his ideas for dealing with New York State's budget crisis. Can you guess the identity of his poster-child for wasteful development schemes?
Sane Development. This state and city has a bad habit of pouring money into ill conceived development projects with little oversight. They do this largely based on promises of affordable housing. Yet there are few guarantees that these promises will ever be carried out. Bruce Ratner is merely the most obvious and egregious example, using his connections and family donations to Pataki, Bloomberg, Vito Lopez, etc. to get massive amounts of tax money from the people of NYC and NY State. Yet he is now saying he will largely back out of all promises regarding affordable housing. In the end, these development projects become more about patronage and political donations than about improving our city, and taxpayer money is wasted with little return for the community. The job creation is anaemic, the affordable housing non-existant or not affordable, and the only people to benefit are the developer and his political cronies. I am for devlopment if it is sane development, and I am for giving tax breaks to developers if they make enforceable promises and are held accountable if they don't keep them. But this habit of giving development projects to a low bidder, paying for his land purchase anyway, pouring tax money into his pockets, then getting nothing out of it is a huge waste of our time and money.
Posted by eric at 2:17 PM
November 7, 2008
Wrong Ratner...
The Moscow News Weekly reported that, "Late last month, Yahoo! Sports reported that the New Jersey Nets might be up for sale, and that owner Brett Ratner has been entertaining some interesting offers."
Brett Ratner is a hot movie director, Bruce Ratner is an overdeveloper (not hot)... none of whom are related to financier Steven Rattner.
Posted by lumi at 4:37 AM
November 5, 2008
Bruce Ratner Votes Obama
NY Observer
by Lydia Depillis
Bruce Ratner, president and CEO of Forest City Ratner, via a spokesman: "He enthusiastically voted for Barack Obama."
NoLandGrab: The bottom line for Bruce isn't blue or red — it's green.
Posted by eric at 9:54 AM
November 1, 2008
Construction Watch: Ratner's Big Kondylis Rising in BK
Curbed
With all the Bruce Ratner talk that swirls around Atlantic Yards, there's a forgotten Ratner. This is it. It's 80 Dekalb Aveue, just a block in from Flatbush and it will be a 34-story Costas Kondylis-designed glass number straddling the Fort Greene-Downtown Border. When all is said and done the Ratner-Kondylis tower will have 292 units, 73 of them "affordable" housing. Oh, yeah, and the devleopment got $109.5 million in tax-exempt bonds and $27.5 million in taxable bonds.
Posted by amy at 10:16 AM
October 30, 2008
Ratner no king for queens
The Brooklyn Papers
By Sarah Portlock
Here's the story of one community group that didn't suck up to Ratner:
Brooklyn’s gay community is moving forward with a plan to create a community center in or near Downtown, even without promised space from developer Ratner.
Last year, Ratner and Borough President Markowitz had discussed providing space for the “Brooklyn Pride Community Center” in a Ratner-owned building Downtown, but the Lambda Independent Democrats, a gay political group, had a falling out with the Atlantic Yards developer and his chief cheerleader over suspicion that gays would need to support the mega-project in exchange for getting the community center.
Now, organizers of the pride center are moving full-steam ahead without Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 4:26 AM
October 28, 2008
Sources: Foreign owners eye Nets
Yahoo! Sports
by Adrian Wojnarowski
Could Atlantic Yards become "Caspian Yards" or "Persian Gulf Yards?" One thing we do know — those repeated denials of Nets' sale talks are starting to ring hollow.
With tens of millions of dollars in annual operating losses and a $3.5 billion Brooklyn arena and real estate deal in peril, New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner has listened to overtures of two prospective foreign ownership groups, two league executives with knowledge of the talks told Yahoo! Sports.
The most serious advance, sources say, were made in recent months by Russian oligarchs, tycoons invested in the country’s oil industry. The Russians’ working plan would’ve been for full ownership of the Nets and control of the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, one source said.
Also, a Middle Eastern group, based in Dubai, expressed interest to the NBA and Nets ownership.
...So far, Ratner has resisted selling the franchise as he tries to revive the floundering arena project in Brooklyn. Most league officials have grown increasingly pessimistic that the economic climate will allow Ratner to obtain the hundreds of millions of dollars left to finance the construction. [NBA commissioner David] Stern declared optimism about the Nets getting the arena financed and moving to Brooklyn, but many others believe the situation is dire and ultimately unlikely to happen.
Posted by eric at 11:32 PM
October 27, 2008
...and your little dog too!
Seen at yesterday's Fort Green Pups Costume Contest, an eminent-domain-lovin' overdeveloper and his political lap dog.
Posted by lumi at 8:00 AM
October 24, 2008
Number 1: Bruce Ratner
Brownstoner
No matter how one may feel about him or his Atlantic Yards project, there's little doubt that Bruce Ratner is deserving of the #1 spot on the "Most Influential" list.
Anyone capable of sequestering $2 billion in public subsidies and 22 acres of private and public land (most through voluntary purchase and MTA approval, but some through still-pending eminent domain) for a single project, Atlantic Yards, has influence and then some. But even Bruce Ratner, president of Forest City Ratner, may not be mightier than a crash in the financial market, though he recently managed to fit through a loophole in the IRS’s tougher arena financing regulations. If built, Atlantic Yard's basketball arena and high-rises will change life in Brooklyn forever. If not, it could be "Atlantic Lots," blighting Brooklyn for a decades. Ratner is also responsible for three other local game-changers: Metro Tech, Atlantic Center and Terminal, and Lowe's (the first big box store in Gowanus), but his bid to build the tallest tower in Brooklyn, City Tech, fell through. At least his rental tower at 80 Dekalb looks to be on track.
NoLandGrab: This is not Bruce Ratner's first #1 hit.
Posted by eric at 12:14 PM
October 22, 2008
Tax-Exempt Bonds: The Evening Wrap
Here's the rundown on today's coverage of the IRS's decision to tighten a "loophole" on the use of PILOTs to finance arenas and stadia — only the Yankees, Mets and, maybe, the Nets, have slipped the knot.
Gothamist, Atlantic Yards Project Gets Big Bond Break from IRS
These New York teams may be hard-pressed to find investors who will buy the bonds, given the current Wall Street turbulence. Not so incidentally, the ruling comes four days before Yankees president Randy Levine and city officials are expected to testify at a Congressional hearing investigating the tax-exempt financing of the new $1.3 billion Yankee Stadium. Representative Dennis Kucinich, who is holding the hearing Friday, has threatened to prosecute officials if they lied about the value of the land the new stadium occupies.
State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat, slammed the IRS decision, telling the Times and the AP, "This is the same kind of socialism for the rich, and capitalism for the rest of us that’s gotten us into the current economic mess...The rules don't apply if you've got enough juice."
Curbed, Atlantic Yards Crap Tossing V.3.5: Financing Edition
The IRS issued a ruling yesterday that has monstrously huge implications for anyone that will ever want to build a stadium or arena ever again (don't go to sleep yet...this is big). You wouldn't know it in NYC, though, because even though it impacts the new Yankee Stadium and Citi Field, it's playing out as an Atlantic Yards story. At issue is whether tax-free financing can be used to build Frank Gehry's $950 million arena. (Leaving aside the issue as to anyone will ever finance a facility that is sure to go above $1 billion given traditional Gehry cost overruns in the middle of one of the most massive credit meltdowns in history.) The ruling creates a loophole for projects that are "substantially in progress," while banning it for new ones.
The Angry New Yorker, Tax Free Stadiums
Hey if I want to build myself a new house, think I can get me some tax free bonds to pay for it?
Brownstoner, Treasury Dept. Hooks Up Ratner Big-Time
One potential snag for FCR: The new regs require that the bonds be issued by December 31, 2009.
Gowanus Lounge, So, Does Mr. Ratner Get Tax-Free Bonds for Atlantic Yards?
The key phrase is that it grandfathers in projects “substantially in progress.” We can see lawyers and bureaucrats arguing this point about Atlantic Yards until we live in Green-Wood Cemetery.
Be sure to check out Gowanus Lounge's reflections on the ethics of subsidizing arenas.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Ratner Spokesman Vs. Treasury Department Spokesman on IRS Regulation
Bloomberg News, New York Yankees, Mets Get Approval for Tax-Exempt Bond Funding
Village Voice [Runnin' Scared blog], Atlantic Yards Gets Tax Break, Or Not
The Times spoke to Daniel Goldstein of DDDB, who "said it appeared to him that federal tax officials went out of their way to help the developer," the paper writes, "which he said 'makes no sense' when the federal government is in the midst of a costly bailout of the banking industry." Actually it does make sense: the bailout is an attempt by the powerful to restore a failed, obviously unsustainable confidence scheme to viability; this tax break (if it is a tax break), ditto.
Posted by eric at 9:18 PM
Bailout! Feds save Ratner millions with new ruling
The Brooklyn Paper
by Sarah Portlock
"Joe the Plumber" has been all the rage for the past week. Now, courtesy of the U.S. Treasury Department, we bring you "Bruce the Plunderer."
The Treasury Department has bailed out Bruce Ratner.
In a much-anticipated ruling issued late Monday, the federal agency exempted Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project from a ruling that bars the use tax-free bonds to finance stadium projects.
Atlantic Yards was apparently exempted because it is “substantially in progress” — a term defined as having received “preliminary approval of the government” and involved “significant expenditures” before Oct. 19, 2006; and having a finance plan in place that contemplated the use of tax-free bonds.
...“It’s a slight of hand that allows the city to stick it to taxpayers on behalf of developers,” said Neil DeMause, author of “Field of Schemes,” which focuses on the massive public cost of stadium financing.
Posted by eric at 1:11 PM
October 21, 2008
SCHOOLS' NETS GAIN
NY Post
by Rich Calder
The Nets have yet to start building their long-delayed Brooklyn arena, but team brass are breaking ground on posh playgrounds at public schools.
The first of eight being funded with $150,000 from Nets owner Bruce Ratner and Barclays Bank, which has naming rights to the new arena, is set to be unveiled today at PS 19 in Williamsburg.
Posted by eric at 10:59 AM
October 20, 2008
Ivanka Trump: the New Face of Tacky?
New York Magazine
The Daily Intel has changed its mind about Ivanka Trump, officially dubbing her tacky. The tipping point was her new line of microwave meals, but they cite ample previous evidence (emphasis, ours):
...we're going to go out on a limb to say most of the brands Ivanka has shilled for have fallen on the wrong side of tacky.
For instance:
Jewelry line (as seen on Home Shopping Network)
Zone Diets
MySpace
Quattro, a restaurant in Miami
Tiffany
Fox Business Network
Bruce Ratner
Celebrity Apprentice
Trump SoHo
Trump Casinos
Donald TrumpGross, right?
NoLandGrab: They said it, not us.
Posted by eric at 9:19 PM
Brooklyn Miracle: Slowest Project Inches Forward Overnight
Curbed
Was it just last week that this structure on Flatbush Avenue, across the street from our beloved One Hanson was kinda', sorta' noted as perhaps one of the slowest moving projects ever seen in Brooklyn. Slow enough to make a Shaya Boymelgreen condo look like the fastest building to go up in human history? Well, lo and behold, the scaffolding hiding the thing came down between Wednesday and Saturday. The bad news comes in two parts. First, the thing looks like it's going to be fugly with a capital "F." Second, with the scaffolding gone, it's easy to see that there's another 25 years of work, give or take, mostly give, remaining to be done. By the way, it will eventually the entrance to the Long Island Railroad Terminal at Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Center.
NoLandGrab: That's actually Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Terminal mall. The Atlantic Center is the god-awful mall across the way.
Posted by eric at 9:04 PM
Doctoroff antagonist Carter wins NY Post Liberty Medal, chosen (in part) by Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
Among the winners of the New York Post's seventh annual Liberty Medals, "a program that hails the hometown heroes whose can-do attitude, bravery and generosity give the city its unique spirit," under the category Lifetime Achievement, is Majora Carter, founder of Sustainable South Bronx, and a fervent foe of former Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Dan Doctoroff.
Among the "distinguished panel of New Yorkers" who selected the winners was Bruce Ratner, President and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies. Did Ratner vote for her?
Posted by eric at 9:53 AM
October 19, 2008
Barry Bonds' desperate swing
NY Daily News
Mike Lupica
The politicians, wearing their old Dodgers caps like the Nets were going to be playing in some modern version of Ebbets Field, wanted to do everything for Ratner but build a statue outside the basketball arena that would be surrounded by all the high rises.Only it was never about the Nets.
It was about the property.
About Ratner's vision of those high rises.
Only now, all this time later, Ratner has the shorts, the way a lot of rich guys do, and needs help from government on this deal.
The way a lot of rich guys do.
And a shovel still doesn't go into the ground where the Nets arena is supposed to be.
You know why?
Because Ratner has been the one shoveling something from the start.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn says Lupica "is right on target when he wonders where 'fiscally responsible' Bloomberg and 'reformer' Paterson are on Atlantic Yards. As we have said before, and Lupica says now, reform in New York State begins with the Atlantic Yards project. New Yorkers need to hear from the Mayor and Governor...now."
From Atlantic Yards Report:
Lupica's right in noting that the developer wants more subsidies. The mayor has been a big Atlantic Yards supporter, adding $105 million in new subsidies in 2007. His effort to have the City Council override voter-imposed term limits, as I've written, shares a spirit of backroom governance.Paterson (whose name was misspelled) has been basically supportive of the project and, of course, his administration's Empire State Development Corporation is vigorously defending pending lawsuits. Perhaps one of them will cause him to question the state's finding of blight.
Posted by amy at 12:17 PM
October 18, 2008
Never Surrender
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
No one can accuse Downtown developer and New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner of giving up easy. Though yet another court ruling has delayed his plans to begin construction on the state-of-the-art, $950-million, 18,000-seat Barclays Center, the Cleveland native refuses to let litigation or the crumbling economy, curb his enthusiasm for the project, which would pave the way for the arrival of our borough’s first major pro sports franchise since the Dodgers got shanghaied to Los Angeles in 1957.
Posted by amy at 9:32 AM
October 11, 2008
Ratner Contributions Questioned
NetsDaily
NoLandGrab: A storm is brewing over at NetsDaily where a commenter makes the mistake of invoking Norman Oder's name, thus inviting himself to a thorough fact-checking:
Norman Oder says:Since my name was invoked, I’ll agree that the project isn’t dead and, as I’ve written, if the tax-exempt bonds become available and legal challenges overcome *within a reasonable time*, Ratner certainly will build the arena.
By the same token, delay eventually will have its costs, given the effect on parent company Forest City Enterprises’ bottom line, especially if the stock continues to tank: http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2008/10/forest-citys-tanking-stock-price-impact.html
We just don’t know their decision-making process.
Posted by amy at 9:17 AM
October 10, 2008
Brooklyn BP Defends Donations From Atlantic Yards Developer
NY1
Markowitz defended the donations, saying that he has always been a proponent of this project and these contributions had no affect on his support.
"Make no mistake, I advocated for this project with no strings attached, no promise of any reciprocal support whatsoever," he said in a statement. "And I continue to do so adamantly because it will be a major catalyst for continuing what we call the 'Brooklyn Renaissance.'"
article
NoLandGrab: You say "Brooklyn Renaissance," we say "conflict of interest." Let's call the whole thing off!
And remember, when you point a finger, there are three fingers pointing right back at you.
More coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, Post: FCR, allies funnel at least $680K to Markowitz's "pseudo campaign accounts"
NY Observer, Report: Atlantic Yards Backers Reward Markowitz Nonprofits
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, Mega-bucks for Markowitz, Mega-project for Ratner
Posted by eric at 1:20 PM
BEEP REAPING BIG AS YARDS BACKER
ARENA-PLAN GROUPS BOO$T HIS PROJECTS
NY Post
by Rich Calder and Chuck Bennett
All this time, we thought Marty Markowitz was all-in on Atlantic Yards because he missed the Dodgers so much. Wrong!
Being the biggest booster of Brooklyn's controversial Atlantic Yards project has really paid off for Borough President Marty Markowitz.
Since 2003, Nets owner Bruce Ratner and others involved in the $4 billion plan for an NBA arena and 16 apartment and office towers in the heart of Brooklyn have quietly funneled at least $680,000 to three nonprofit groups set up by Markowitz to run pet projects, a Post investigation found.
The pet projects -- which include promoting tourism and offering free concerts -- have been instrumental in boosting Markowitz's popularity and getting him re-elected, critics charge.
"Affiliated nonprofits should not be used as pseudo campaign accounts," said Dick Dadey, of the government watchdog group Citizens Union. "One could argue that these nonprofits raise the profile of the borough president in a way that certainly aids his possible campaigns."
Posted by eric at 1:06 PM
October 6, 2008
Season preview: New Jersey Nets
SI.com
by Paul Forrester
Sports Illustrated is not high on the Nets' chances for the 2008-2009 season, listing the following at #2 under "reasons for worry":
Risky plan. The not-so-hidden subtext to the Nets' recent moves -- the trades of Kidd and Jefferson, the acquisition of Simmons, the stockpiling of draft picks -- is an expected push to lure LeBron in 2010. A key element to the effort is the Nets' supposed impending move to Brooklyn, where owner Bruce Ratner has been planning to build a new arena in the borough that LeBron playfully referred to as his favorite in New York. Originally set to open in 2006, the proposed arena has hit a number of legal snags, largely from community residents fighting the project. Now with the economy in a downward spiral, the financing for the $950 million initiative is in jeopardy. That could leave LeBron potentially playing in the swamps of New Jersey, which, as Kidd will attest, is a far cry from the headlines of New York City. We'd assume the front office hasn't placed all his eggs in the LeBron basket, because if the arena falls through, the Nets will need a Plan B.
NoLandGrab: Attention Bruce Ratner — in case of emergency, click here for Plan B.
Posted by eric at 9:51 PM
September 30, 2008
Which New York Buildings Would You Demolish?
City Room {NY Times Blog]
by Sewell Chan
The Times's blog picks up on a weekend article by architecture critic Nicolai Ourousoff pondering whether some New York City buildings are so ugly they should be torn down, and cites an amNY list compiled in June.
The story reprises that amNY list, which included one of Bruce Ratner's lovely Brooklyn malls, but adds an odd parenthetical note:
Atlantic Center (giant mixed-use project), Fort Greene and Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
NoLandGrab: Actually, the Atlantic Center is just a crappy mall. However, we could all save New York City the trouble of having to tear down Bruce Ratner's "giant mixed-use" Atlantic Yards project by stopping the white elephant from ever being built in the first place.
Posted by eric at 3:35 PM
September 29, 2008
Atlantic Yards Faces Another Delay
City Room [NY Times Blog]
by Charles Bagli
The developer of the ambitious Atlantic Yards arena and residential complex in Brooklyn said Monday that the project could be delayed for another six months after a state appellate court failed to dismiss a court challenge brought by opponents of the $4 billion project.
Earlier this month, the developer Bruce C. Ratner vowed that he would break ground in December on the long delayed project, where he plans to build an office tower, 15 apartment buildings and a basketball arena for the Nets.
The developer has fended off a number of lawsuits brought by critics of the project over the past two years. He and state officials had expected that the state Appellate Court would also dismiss the latest suit, which sought to block the state from using eminent domain to seize private property for Mr. Ratner’s project.
Instead, the court denied a motion to dismiss the suit, opening the door for oral arguments in the case next spring.
NoLandGrab: Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation rolled the dice, and they crapped out. If they hadn't gambled on a dismissal, they could have moved the case along much more quickly. Is it possible that deteriorating conditions in the lending market forced them into making a bad bet?
More coverage...
TheDeal.com, Barclays deals with Lehman staff, plans to hire 1,500 more
Off the beaten track, Barclays gave a shout-out to Brooklyn, saying it remains committed to a proposed basketball arena at the Atlantic Yards despite an unfavorable court ruling on the $950 million project.
Runnin' Scared [Village Voice blog] Setback for Atlantic Yards: Motion to Dismiss Denied
The Stop Shopping Monitor, Major setback for Atlantic Yards
Newark Star-Ledger, Nets' move to Brooklyn may face further delay
The Knickerblogger, Ratner Suffers Setback, the Conspiracy Theory Version
Posted by eric at 5:48 PM
Barclays committed to Brooklyn arena
Court setback imperils Atlantic Yards ground breaking but bank statement is a boost.
Crain's NY Business
by Matthew Sollars
Barclays Bank says it is committed to the planned basketball arena at the Atlantic Yards project despite a court setback which imperils a planned ground breaking.
A state Appellate Court panel Monday rejected a plea by the state’s Empire State Development Corp. and Forest City Ratner to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the use of eminent domain violates the state constitution. A group of 9 property owners and tenants opposed to the project filed the state suit after a similar lawsuit arguing eminent domain violated the U.S. Constitution was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June.
...“While the Appellate Division Second Department’s decision to hear the case may delay the project for approximately six months let me be clear that the project will go forward,” Mr. Ratner said, in a statement.
The developer also stressed that the project could boost the city during an economic downturn. "Atlantic Yards will be built and it will create thousands of needed jobs and affordable homes," he said.
Barclays Bank has agreed to pay an estimated $20 million per year for the naming rights to the proposed arena, and is believed to have a clause which allows it to back out the deal if construction on the arena is not started by the end of November.
“We look forward to breaking ground with our partners in Brooklyn,” said a Barclays spokesman.
NoLandGrab: Talk is cheap. Let's see what Barclays does when the end of November comes around — will they be donning hard hats and wielding silver shovels in Prospect Heights, or mailing in their cancellation notice while trying to grapple with the increasingly grave global financial crisis?
Posted by eric at 4:23 PM
August 29, 2008
Forest City in the News
MarketWatch.com, Forest City Enterprises Notice of Second-Quarter 2008 Earnings Conference Call
Forest City Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) will release its second-quarter 2008 financial results on Thursday, September 4, 2008 and will hold a conference call on Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss these results. Investors are invited to dial into the conference call hosted by Charles A. Ratner, president and chief executive officer.
The conference call is scheduled for 11:00 A.M. ET, Tuesday, September 9, 2008. To participate, dial 888-713-4205 using access code 93455825, approximately five minutes before the call. Tell the operator you wish to join the Forest City 2nd Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (International callers, please dial 617-213-4862)
Five Towns Jewish Times, Met Council’s Annual Builder’s Luncheon Raises One Million Dollars
The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) netted more than one million dollars the week after Tishah B’Av, 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.
Posted by lumi at 5:06 AM
August 27, 2008
Developers' Hazard: Legal Hardball
The New York Times
by David W. Dunlap
A recent dip into the archives of The New York Times unearthed an article on the effects of litigation on development in New York City, and interestingly, it features quotes from both Atlantic Yards (and then-Atlantic Center) developer Bruce Ratner and new Empire State Development Corporation CEO (and then-Boston development official) Marisa Lago.
Lawsuits are no longer last resorts. They are an integral part of the process. Litigation has altered the 42d Street redevelopment in Manhattan and the building of Atlantic Center in downtown Brooklyn; it has derailed other projects entirely, like Westway and Columbus Center, the previous proposal for the Coliseum site.
''It is almost impossible to finance a project when it's in litigation,'' said Bruce C. Ratner, president of Forest City Ratner Companies, which inherited Atlantic Center after the legal buffeting. ''Even if there's a remote chance that the plaintiffs will win, the banks are not going to lend the quantities of money required.''
NoLandGrab: Keep in mind that Bruce was saying this in 1996, when the economy was robust and the unforeseen global lending crisis was 11 years away.
There are cities, however, where land-use litigation is not commonplace. ''The ethos of suing on every project just hasn't occurred in Boston,'' said Marisa Lago, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority and former general counsel of the New York Economic Development Corporation.
NLG: "Suing on every project" wouldn't be necessary if developers and economic-development officials would propose better-conceived projects, involve affected communities from the get-go, and eschew the use of eminent domain.
Posted by eric at 3:24 PM
August 24, 2008
Bruce Ratner’s 80 DeKalb Avenue by Costas Kondylis
greenbuildingsNYC
Designed by Costas Kondylis, Bruce Ratner’s 80 DeKalb Avenue will be the developer’s first residential tower to rise in Brooklyn. The controversial Mr. Ratner will seek LEED certification for the $200 million project, claiming that the 34-story tower will incorporate a variety of low-VOC materials and use low-flow plumbing fixtures. The project broke ground back in July; earlier this week, Mr. Ratner closed on hard-to-obtain $110 million in tax-exempt bond financing from the New York State Housing Finance Agency for the tower, which will feature 73 affordable and 292 market-rate units. (Critics point out that this translates into a cost of $1.5 million in public money for each affordable unit).
link
NoLandGrab: See Atlantic Yards Report for "The reality behind FCR's 80 DeKalb deal (and the implication for AY)"
Posted by amy at 10:32 AM
August 22, 2008
Best of the Fests
Time Out New York
Reclusive Bruce is scheduled to be sighted at a Brighton Beach party.
Sunday 24
32nd annual Brighton JubileeStuff yourself with borscht, blintzes, kebabs and more at this Little Odessa fest, which festival organizer Pat Singer calls a “real multicultural experience.” Offerings include rock & roll shows, a blood drive, and Atlantic Yards founder Bruce Ratner hanging with a “surprise” Nets player. Bring Carmelo to Brooklyn and we’ll shut up, okay? Brighton Beach Ave between Coney Island Ave and Corbin Pl, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn (718-891-0800). Subway: Q to Brighton Beach. 9am–7pm.
Posted by lumi at 3:55 AM
August 19, 2008
Met Council’s Annual Builder’s Luncheon Raises One Million Dollars
Jewish And Breaking News
The Jewish news blog posts what looks like the press release issued by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty in the wake of its annual Builders Luncheon, which honored Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty (Met Council) netted more than one million dollars this past week, during its annual Builder’s Luncheon honoring Bruce Ratner, Chairman and CEO of Forest City Ratner Companies.
The nearly 500 guests spanned the real estate, political and communal spectrum. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Congressman Anthony Weiner and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz praised Mr. Ratner for his work in developing New York City. The keynote speaker, Speaker of the Assembly Sheldon Silver, presented Mr. Ratner with a beautifully decorated charity box.
Speaker Silver commented in his address, “Bruce is responsible for much of the development and growth that’s gone on in Brooklyn and in Manhattan. He is a major force in New York City for the good.”
NoLandGrab: The "beautifully decorated charity box" presented to Mr. Ratner by Mr. Silver pales beside other gifts bestowed upon the developer by the Assembly Speaker, which include PACB approval in 2006 of the Atlantic Yards project and a special clause in 421-a legislation. But just in case you were thinking this was a one-way street, Ratner greased the Silver-controlled Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee with $58,000 just this past January.
Posted by eric at 2:19 PM
August 16, 2008
Brooklyn Broadside: David Walentas: Pioneer Of the New Brooklyn
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Dennis Holt
When the last 30 years of Brooklyn history is written, it will dawn on someone to make note that Walentas was in Brooklyn before anyone had ever heard of Bruce Ratner, or Joshua Muss of Downtown fame to come, or Greg O’Connell of Red Hook.Now, those who are contributing to the creation of the new Brooklyn bear corporate names that don’t have the same ring, and there’s no one answering the phone personally like Ratner and Muss used to do in the old days when almost everyone else thought these guys were nuts.
...
There aren’t many individuals around who can legitimately claim that they created a whole new neighborhood. Ratner, Muss and O’Connell can, but not quite in the way Walentas did. In effect, Walentas took what was already there, changed the innards, and people flocked there.
article
NoLandGrab: Ratner took what was already there, destroyed it, built something unpleasant, and the government bailed him out. Are we sure that it was only in the "old days" that everyone thought he was nuts?
Posted by amy at 3:05 PM
August 15, 2008
It came from the Blogosphere...
The Pressure Zone, stories 24 - 28: the whirlwind
NY Sun reporter Abe Reisman, who covers crime and emergencies for the paper and reported yesterday's story on the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty's honoring of Bruce Ratner, posted a run down of his recent bylines:
"Developer Bruce Ratner Is Honored at Gala" (not technically part of crime / emergency beat, but i did it in addition to all that)
NoLandGrab: "not technically part of crime / emergency beat," but damned close.
Nets Daily, Mayoral Candidates Praise Ratner
Mr NYC, War Over Willets Point
Every year or two an epic battle between developers and citizens erupts in New York City. There was the battle over the West Side Stadium in 2005 (which was killed) and then there was fight over the Atlantic Yards development project in Brooklyn (which wasn't killed) in 2006-2007. Now, in 2008, Willets Point in Queens is the new front is this perennial struggle.
NLG: But AY hasn't not been killed yet, either.
QUEENS CRAP, Monserrate Announces Legislation to Restrict Eminent Domain
Queens Crapper posts the press release from Councilman Hiram Monserrate outlining the eminent domain legislation he announced yesterday.
Posted by eric at 10:02 AM
August 14, 2008
Developer Bruce Ratner Is Honored at Gala
The New York Sun
by Abraham Riesman
Bruce Ratner, how do NYC pols love thee? Let us list the names.
Developer Bruce Ratner may be facing challenges to his Atlantic Yards project, but he received nothing but support from top New York politicians at a gala in his honor yesterday.
Rep. Anthony Weiner and the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn — both likely 2009 mayoral candidates — as well as Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and the President of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, all lauded Mr. Ratner at a luncheon held by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty.
"Bruce Ratner is someone who reminds us all the time that, even in difficult financial times, we need to be a city that continues to grow," Mr. Weiner told an audience of more than 450 on the Upper West Side.
Mr. Ratner's proposed $4 billion redevelopment of Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards is currently facing delays and reported financial problems.
..."How this man looks every day in a positive way at all the hate that's been directed to him, I will never know," Mr. Markowitz said of Mr. Ratner yesterday.
NoLandGrab: Well, if ever there were any doubt, we now know where Anthony Weiner, Chris Quinn and Shelly Silver stand vis-a-vis Bruce Ratner and Atlantic Yards. As for Mr. Markowitz and his "Saint Bruce" routine, he just doesn't get how people might think this project and the rigged process behind it could maybe rub people the wrong way. It ain't personal, Marty — it's a BAD IDEA.
Posted by eric at 9:30 AM
August 13, 2008
Events for Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Politicker
Noon. Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty honors Bruce Ratner as builder of the year at Tavern on the Green.
Note: Norman Oder reported today that a "Request for Funding Guidelines" for the Barclays/Nets Community Alliance was "handed out to some 50 community groups last week at a conference hosted by the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty."
Posted by lumi at 4:21 AM
August 11, 2008
Six Seconds with: Ted Allen
NY Post: Page Six Magazine
According to Ted Allen, "best known for his Emmy-winning turn on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and serving as a regular guest judge on Top Chef," Bruce Ratner is #1:
Now he’s gone solo on the Food Network’s Food Detectives. “It’s like the show MythBusters but with food,” says Ted, 43, who’s been a New Yorker (via Chicago) since 2003 and lives in a landmarked brownstone in Clinton Hill.
...
Who’s the most annoying New Yorker? You could fill several phone books with that answer. It used to be Rudy Giuliani. Now [developer] Bruce Ratner is up there.
Posted by lumi at 5:05 AM
August 4, 2008
Nets Arena May Not Be Finished Until 2011, Ratner Says
The Real Estate [NY Observer]
by Eliot Brown
 |
The news was first spotted by Norman Oder at his encyclopedic watchdog blog Atlantic Yards Report, where he put up part of a transcript from a Forest City conference in June [corrected]. In the conference, Forest City chairman Bruce Ratner said the company hoped to start construction on the arena by the end of this year, and would take two and a half years to finish.
We put the question over to Forest City this morning, and here's their response, via a statement from vice president Bruce Bender:
"It is not a new schedule. I think Bruce was just stating that the schedule in place is in fact very aggressive. We plan to break ground this fall and are working to open in calendar year 2010. While that's the goal, if it is not met then it would end up being calendar year 2011."
NoLandGrab: How's that? It's not a new schedule? It's just the same schedule with new dates? Right, and the arena actually opened in 2006, the date announced initially by Forest City Ratner when they first presented Atlantic Yards to the public in 2003.
As we pointed out this morning, Bruce Ratner had to hew to truthiness in talking to shareholders about the arena's opening. But since Bruce Bender was only responding to a press inquiry, he could, as is his wont, be a little more creative.
Once again, we extend our challenge to Forest City Ratner to tell it straight to anyone not carrying the big enforcement stick of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Posted by eric at 4:47 PM
It came from the Blogosphere...
The Real Estate [NY Observer], Landowners Bring Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Battle to State Court
If anything else, the lawsuits thus far seem to have delayed the start of the more than $4 billion planned project, which calls for a new basketball arena for the Nets, and over 6,000 apartments. Now, more than a year and a half since the Atlantic Yards project received state approval, a host of clouds circle over developer Forest City Ratner, which once anticipated building the entire first phase (which includes the arena, an office tower and at least 1,000 units of housing) by 2010. The once-lush climate for financing has turned to an arid desert, tax-free housing bonds are in short supply given soaring demand, and the financing mechanism by which the company was to get tax-free bonds for the arena is under fire by the I.R.S., threatening to drive up costs by more than $100 million.
But if the landowners had an uphill climb challenging eminent domain in federal court, the ascent in New York state court is generally regarded as a particularly daunting one, given the relatively generous treatment to the state by New York's eminent domain law.
We're waiting on a statement from Forest City, but if history is any guide, the company will point out (correctly) that the courts have tossed all the lawsuits challenging the project to date.
The Campaign for Community-Based Planning, Checking in With Atlantic Yards: A Messy Footprint, a New Timetable, and a Lawsuit in State Supreme Court
It’s been a while since we’ve looked in on the Atlantic Yards project. Luckily, Norman Oder of the Atlantic Yards Report has been keeping vigilant watch over the goings-on at the site. Here’s a quick update...
Gowanus Lounge, Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Case Filed in State Court
Brownstoner, Nets Coming Late to Atlantic Yards and Suit Coming Soon
Two new developments in the Atlantic Yards saga. Atlantic Yards Report reveals that the Nets have three more years at the Meadowlands' Izod Center, not two, meaning the 2010 opening date Bruce Ratner has been promoting may be nothing more than a pipe dream; we might be looking at 2012 for the team's debut. Besides the team's schedule, there's the issue of construction. Ratner tells some outlets that groundbreaking won't begin until January; to others, he says November.
As construction remains stalled at the site, a lawsuit goes forward. Nine property owners and tenants filed a petition against the Empire State Development Corporation in the Appellate Division Second Department of New York State Supreme Court.
Nets Daily, Has Ratner Pushed Barclays Center Opening to 2011?
brooklyn bob says:
And btw, a JULY OF 2011 barclays center opening is a BEST CASE SCENARIO that assumes no further legal delays, no financing/loan delays and no construction delays. Yeah, right. That’ll happen.
3 more 20-win seasons in the swamp, at least. With 4 more being a very real possibility. While at the same time, newark’s brand new state-of-the-art arena awaits an nba franchise with open arms.
What a bleeping disgrace!!! Way to go ratner. Way to go stern. You two sure know how to screw things up. No wonder the nba’s popularity is going to hell in a hand basket.
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Case Filed on Friday
Yonkers Tribune, Nine Property Owners and Tenants File Atlantic Yards Eminent Domain Challenge in New York State Court
RotoWorld, Nets may not move until 2011
Posted by eric at 12:46 PM
July 31, 2008
Who’ll Save New York? Paterson’s Possible Super-Friends
New York Magazine
by Alec Appelbaum
Bruce Ratner makes a cameo appearance in this Daily Intel piece on New York State's woeful fiscal woes (but he doesn't make the cut as a "super-friend").
Governor Paterson sat alone when he confessed the state's miserable financial condition yesterday, but he can't begin to fix the mess that way. Who really thinks the hog-tied State Legislature will solve the problem it created? The speech served as a Bat signal to stir powerful New Yorkers who can put the governor's urgent message into play. We've compiled a short list of possible super-friends.
...Douglas Durst is a model developer for public-private partnerships. While Bruce Ratner probably has his calendar full with bended-knee visits to potential lenders and tenants, and other powerful developers are terrified about paying back existing loans, the civic-minded Durst is doing well enough — he can lean on a solid base of busy buildings — to step up.
NoLandGrab: Since Bruce's public-private "partnerships" are usually one-way streets (guess which way the benefits flow), we're glad he's not a super-friend. He remains, however, super in another away.
Posted by eric at 9:52 AM
July 21, 2008
Love, from New York
Biloxi Sun-Herald
by Anita Lee
"Kids rule," says a mural at the Coast's latest KaBOOM! playground, built Saturday.
One of those kids would be Michael Carajohn, a 16-year-old from New York whose mother is a plastic surgeon on Fifth Avenue, stepfather Bruce Ratner owns the New Jersey Nets basketball team, and aunt happens to be Fox News political correspondent and Talk Radio maven Ellen Ratner.
Even in this family, Carajohn is no slacker. He accompanied his aunt to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina because the images he saw on television broke his heart.
"I've lived in New York all my life," Carajohn said. "I've never seen anything like that. It was inconceivable to me. I was shocked when I saw it on TV, but when I came down here, I was completely floored."
Carajohn has returned 30 times to help the community. What's more, he worked to get a basketball court built for the children of DeLisle.
On Saturday his aunt, mother and stepfather joined 377 volunteers who built the playground on the grounds of what will be the Marsha Barbour Community Resource Center.
NoLandGrab: Kudos to young Michael, his mother, and even stepfather Bruce for pitching in to help build a new playground along the still-ravaged Mississippi coast. Some Prospect Heights residents might be down there pitching in, too, if they weren't preoccupied with trying to stop Bruce from knocking down and rebuilding their own neighborhood.
Posted by eric at 3:10 PM
July 15, 2008
Developer Cuts Back on Plans for Tower to House Baseball’s Cable Network
The New York Times
by Charles Bagli
A 21-story office building planned in East Harlem for Major League Baseball is shrinking.
The tower’s developer, Vornado Realty Trust, had planned to begin construction in April on what would be the home for professional baseball’s newly created cable network, which is scheduled to make its debut in January with 50 million subscribers.
But, according to real estate executives and city officials, Vornado’s inability to finance the $435 million project, known as Harlem Park, has delayed construction and is doing what critics who had complained about the tower’s size could not: reduce its height by about a third. That is in part because the developer seems to have had problems signing up other tenants for the building.
Vornado is now considering a revised plan for a 14-story building at 125th Street and Park Avenue and renegotiating its lease with Major League Baseball, the executives and officials said.
...It is the latest example of the difficulty developers have had in trying to borrow money for projects amid the national debt crisis, even projects that only a few months ago seemed to be on the fast track. After completing the excavation for his Beekman Tower project downtown, the developer Bruce Ratner had to stop work for three months while his company went from bank to bank putting together the construction financing.
NoLandGrab: Judging from the most recent developments in the financial and real estate markets, securing financing, especially for mega-projects, is going to get harder before it gets easier.
Posted by eric at 11:09 AM
July 13, 2008
Nets face lean years, Brooklyn or no Brooklyn
NewsOK.com
by Ian O'Connor
Let us get this straight. Bruce Ratner says it's "100% about basketball" at the same time that he's scuttling Nets' salaries faster than he's knocking down buildings in Prospect Heights. All so the team can position itself to sign Jay-Z protege LeBron James in 2010 (wink-wink, we're not tampering, David Stern). In the meantime, James's Cleveland Cavaliers, a legitimate NBA contender, are nearing the point where they will have enough salary cap room to sign another legit star to help LeBron bring a championship to Cleveland — while the Nets are riding an express elevator to the NBA's cellar.
The Bergen Record's Ian O'Connor lays out the hazards of wishing upon a star in the NBA.
The Nets have been busy clearing salary cap space, office space, locker room space, a parking space, all kinds of space for James. They weren't just getting rid of Richard Jefferson when they made the trade with Milwaukee for Yi and Bobby Simmons; they were getting rid of Richard Jefferson's wage.
But way back when, before he spent a summer acquiring Allan Houston, Chris Childs and Larry Johnson for the Knicks, Ernie Grunfeld told me the most frightening scenario for an NBA executive is clearing out money under the salary cap and then finding nobody worthwhile to take it.
"That happened to Chicago, after Michael Jordan,” Rod Thorn said. "They had significant cap room and they tried to give it to Tracy McGrady, and they tried to give it to (Kevin) Garnett at different times and it didn't work.
"That's the misnomer about having cap space … . If you have a team that's just not very good, to think that you are going to get a top quality free agent is kind of pie in the sky.”
...Sure, the Nets have Jay-Z and their pending palace, which probably won't be ready until the start of the 2011-12 season. With Ratner losing an estimated $40 million a year in the Meadowlands, and with the purchase of the team setting him back $300 million, the Nets are expected to have cost their owner nearly $600 million by the time he lands in Brooklyn.
At those prices, Ratner will want to make a splash in the new digs. And nobody splashes quite like LeBron.
But will the Nets be good enough to even make James' Fave Five?
NoLandGrab: You'd think Bruce Ratner would have learned his lesson about coveting things that aren't his when he started eyeing Daniel Goldstein's apartment.
Posted by eric at 1:43 PM
July 10, 2008
LEBRON-TO-NETS IS MATTER OF WAIT-&-YI
NY Post
by Jay Greenberg
Why, if you bought the spin, you'd think that Yi was Yao, and the Nets weren't the also-ran franchise they've become under the stewardship of Bruce C. Ratner.
Rod Thorn brought the Nets out of the wilderness once, so is trusted by Bruce Ratner to do it again. But it's not the owner, actually LeBron James, who will be the ultimate judge of Yi Jianlian, Devin Harris, Sean Williams and whatever other pieces Thorn has in place by 2010.
Whether from Brooklyn, Manhattan or Oklahoma City, the free-agent-to-be James will get his basketball money to the max. Hardly does LeBron need to play two blocks or one borough away from Madison Avenue to be any more the recognizable pitchman he already is.
If James's good buddy Jay-Z is part-owner of a bad team because Yi hasn't amounted to much more than a 7-foot hill of string beans, the Nets will pay big time for not having made a better trade of a valuable commodity like Richard Jefferson.
In the meantime, with groundbreaking at the Atlantic Yards scheduled for November and court challenges being knocked down like Yi does 15-footers, it's mostly Vince Carter vs. the wolf at the door at the Meadowlands. Although the wolf, like the patrons, must first find the door through Xanadu construction.
NoLandGrab: It's all about the basketball. It's all about the basketball. It's all about the basketball. It's all....
Posted by eric at 4:18 PM
Nets going 'international'
Newark Star-Ledger
by Dave D'Alessandro
"It's a landmark day for this franchise," crowed jubilant owner Bruce Ratner, looking out over a full practice gym that included more than 40 Chinese media. "We got two terrific players. This region is very heavily Asian and Chinese. We now become a real international team."
...Ratner, whose goal is to move the Nets into a borough that has a dense Chinese community -- there are 250,000 people of Chinese descent in Brooklyn -- says he knows that he must sell substance before cultural appeal.
"Success on the court is our best (method for) tapping into any market. Winning is the most important thing," the owner said. "On top of that, we do have a tremendous Chinese-American market in the tri-state area. If we have success, we will tap into that market in a major kind of way.
"But it's 100 percent about basketball."
NoLandGrab: Repeat after Bruce: "All about the basketball. All about the basketball. All about the basketball. All about...."
Posted by eric at 3:53 PM
Of Bard, and The Bard
Culturist [WNYC blog]
by Claudia La Rocco
This feeling was reinforced by the setting, Frank Gehry’s Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. Gehry, though Canadian born, has been based in Los Angeles for decades, and his extravagant buildings have always seemed, to me, to represent a particularly American vision of the world - one that, depending on my frame of mind, can come off as wonderfully hopeful and expansive, or terribly wasteful and vulgar:
This was my first trip to Bard, and I was expecting to find the Gehry building utterly out of place on the gorgeous, verdant campus, like a gaudy spaceship that has crumpled to earth in a remote forest. But this one, unlike many Gehry buildings, won me over, prompting the first nice thoughts I’ve had about the architect since he clambered into bed with the Brooklyn developer Bruce Ratner. The photo doesn’t really do justice to the odd delicacy of the building’s shimmery skin, which reflected the changing light as day shifted into night. The image, instead of alien machines, was of an alien itself, pulsing with strange life against a backdrop of plush evergreens.
NoLandGrab: "Verdant campus?" You mean, like this?
Posted by eric at 3:22 PM
With Yi Jianlian, the Nets Hope to Go Global
The New York Times
by Harvey Araton
Thinking expansively, going global, the Nets invited a billion Chinese to stream a news conference Wednesday on njnets.com and to communicate with the newly acquired forward, Yi Jianlian. Alas, the linking of the Far East to East Rutherford was apparently no instant triumph of digital interaction.
At least Jeff from Hackensack was poised to post a query for Bobby Simmons, another new Net who hails from the less exotic basketball hotbed of Chicago.
New ventures take time, require patience, not unlike the building of an arena in densely populated Brooklyn and the development of a 20-year-old 7-footer, who in a tailored suit looks like a devotee of the Slim-Fast Diet.
...Bruce C. Ratner, their principal owner, said that long-range planning was part of the process after the in-season trade of Jason Kidd, but he bristled when asked if the Yi deal was more of a marketing ploy.
“It’s 100 percent about basketball,” he said.
NoLandGrab: Sure, Bruce, like Atlantic Yards is 100% about "Jobs, Housing & Hoops."
Posted by eric at 12:13 PM
July 9, 2008
Nets just watch sales of summer, poised to keep Nenad Krstic
NY Daily News
by Julian Garcia
[Nets' president Rod] Thorn, GM Kiki Vandeweghe and principal owner Bruce Ratner have all admitted in recent weeks that the Nets are looking down the road than the upcoming season, or even the one after that, while still hoping to keep the team "competitive." Ratner has called it a "rebuilding" phase. Thorn called it "retooling."
NoLandGrab: And loyal fans and season-ticket holders of the New Jersey Nets might want to call it quits.
Posted by eric at 9:36 AM
June 26, 2008
Karl Fischer bunker beds
Restless
Bruce Ratner rates a (dis)honorable mention in a blog post about ubiquitous NYC architect Karl Fischer, complete with a humorous rendering of a Gehry-less Atlantic Yards (click image to enlarge).
Real estate magnate Bruce Ratner's problem is that he thinks too big. If he had quietly bought a block at a time and hired Karl Fischer, Atlantic Yards would be done by now (right). Instead, it's every other block of Williamsburg that gets an arbitrary eyesore from the napkin doodles of The Master.
NoLandGrab: Thanks, but we think we'll get our Prospect Heights fried chicken at Bob Law's Seafood Café.
Posted by eric at 3:23 PM
June 24, 2008
Al-Qaeda’s Law Firm
Newsbusters
A conservative screed against Michael Ratner and the Center for Constitutional Rights* calls the lefty hero Michael a "wealthy communist," brother Bruce an "eminent domain abuser" and, in what is a new low for the blogosphere, sister Ellen is labeled a "journalist."
Name-calling aside, our point is that Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner has earned a national reputation for his repeated abuse of eminent domain.
* That would be the "Constitutional Rights" minus the Fifth Amendment, since Michael Ratner is a part owner of the NJ Nets and stands to benefit from the taking of private property to build the team a new basketball arena.
Posted by lumi at 4:19 AM
June 18, 2008
Randolph Sacrificed, Minaya Death Watch Starts In Earnest
Can't Stop the Bleeding
Congratulations, Bruce Ratner, you rank right up there with the Dolans!
For whatever it’s worth, I don’t believe Fred and Jeff Wilpon are the worst owners in sports. As long as James Dolan and Bruce Ratner own their respective basketball teams, the Wilpons aren’t even close to the most loathed owners in the New York metropolitan area. But for all the credibility the Mets purchased with their acquisitions of Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana, there isn’t enough money in Flushing to erase the sort of ill will their handling of this episode will generate.
NoLandGrab: One has to wonder why our elected "leaders" do everything they possibly can to throw money at people like Fred and Jeff Wilpon, James and Charles Dolan, and Bruce Ratner.
Posted by eric at 10:21 AM
June 14, 2008
Brooklyn Today: Friday, June 13, 2008
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
RATNER AND CO. To Give Prospect Park Sites a Facelift. More than 200 volunteers from Forest City Ratner Companies, including Bruce Ratner himself, will meet at the Tennis House at Prospect Park today to give the building its first major renovation in 15 years. Another team will clean up the east side of the park at Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Road. The effort is part of Forest City’s annual “Community Day” initiative that will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The upgrades to the Tennis House will include power-washing the tiled floor, walls and steps; painting the house’s wrought-iron fence; painting the railings around the building and more.
link
NoLandGrab: Meanwhile, Ratner's community contributions to Prospect Heights this week include power-washing the streets, building fences, and painting an elderly lady into a corner.
Posted by amy at 9:44 AM
June 13, 2008
New IRS Rule May Delay Development Of Atlantic Yards Project
NY1
Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner downplayed today’s reports that a proposed Internal Revenue Service rule might stall the vast construction project.
..."We don't see really a problem,” said Ratner. “You know if the regulations don't change, do change, whatever the regulations will do, we'll be able to finance this. We've been assured of that. We've been working on it over the last two months, and it will take another three or four months to finish the documentation, but there's not a problem.”
article/video [dialup/broadband]
NoLandGrab: "We've been assured of that?" Assured by whom?
Bruce was apparently tracked down by NY1 while taking part in Forest City Ratner's "Community Day" clean-up of Prospect Park — which is not to be confused with "Brooklyn Day."
Posted by eric at 7:58 PM
June 12, 2008
Brooklyn Paper weekly - 6.7.08
Cristian Fleming Weblog
Satirist/Cartoonist Cristian Fleming offers "Brooklyn Day" congratulations to Bruce Ratner.
This might be brilliant if it weren’t so stupid. Let me see if I can summarize. Nobody really wants Atlantic Yards in it’s currently offered state. Bruce Ratner has really fucked this up good and hard, and its a miracle that he has because he has begged, bribed and stolen his way into such a plum deal. So Atlantic Yards sucks, yea? Ratner decided to have a “rally” in support of it. He cuts a deal to get construction workers (yes, the same construction workers that would, of course, be hired to build the Yards development) busy working on other buildings in the area a few hours off, coincidentally right when the “rally” is happening. Throw in some subtle encouragement by union and current site bosses to attend, and some additional bussed in attendees, and you have this sham rally. Of course, if I were looking at a chance to support a future paycheck I could use to support my family in a shitty economy how dumb would I be to not go? You would think that Ratner & Co. might make even the slightest attempt to make this actually look like less of the cynical ploy it really is. Congratulations Bruce, you’re an ass.
Posted by eric at 3:16 PM
May 19, 2008
JAY-Z CAUGHT USING SECRET HANDSHAKE
TheBoomBox.com
This whole Atlantic Yards thing is finally starting to make sense...
On May 16th, Jay-Z came through to the Barclay's Center showroom opening in Brooklyn, New York to support his big homey Bruce Ratner. The music mogul and Ratner have been in business together ever since the rap star bought a piece of the entrepreneur's New Jersey Nets. The pair's currently working on a deal to transport the basketball team from Newark to Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards near Jay's old stomping grounds.
CORRECTION: The Barclays Center Showroom is located in Manhattan, at the NY Times building, not in Brooklyn. And the Nets would be relocating from East Rutherford, though Z and B-Rat might secretly be working on a plan to move the team to Newark.
They had some laughs and popped some bottles, but it was their oddly-gripped handshake (seen here) that sparked yet another round of Jay-related conspiracy theory.
Hova has long been rumored to be a member of the Freemasons, the fraternal organization known for their deep political ties and use of signs (gestures) and grips (handshakes). Past members allegedly include thirteen signors of the Constitution, fourteen U.S. Presidents and many of the nation's most powerful families such as the Rockefellers (ROC, mane) and Rothschilds.
NoLandGrab: We always thought the "conspiracy" involved secret backroom deals between powerful real estate interests and their enablers in government, not the Freemasons. But now we learn that the ranks of the Masonic Temple include, or have included, David Paterson, Chuck Schumer, Charlie Ebbets and Branch Rickey. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe not. The "deep political ties" certainly sound familiar.
We also see that both former Montana Senator Conrad Burns and Scottish poet Robert Burns were Freemasons. No word, however, if C. Montgomery Burns is a Mason, though this video proves his membership in the Stonecutters.
Posted by eric at 8:41 PM
May 16, 2008
A SUITE GROWS IN, UM, MANHATTAN
ESPN The Magazine
by Otto Strong
The New Jersey Nets took one step closer to Brooklyn Thursday, even if the stopover came in the form of a showroom high above midtown. Team brass rolled out a living, breathing life-size version of what the suite experience will look and feel like in a new sales center on the 38th floor of The New York Times building.
The Celtics may have this season's Big Three, but the the Big Three who served as MCs for Thursday night's event—Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and Nets owners Bruce Ratner and Jay-Z—brought the one liners with them.
...Jay-Z was announced to be the first owner of a "bunker suite," one of 12 "event level" spaces that actually has no direct view of the courts, but is tucked between the home and visting teams locker rooms. At 500-square feet, these suites are larger than many Manhattan apartments. And at $540,000, they're just about as expensive, too. Aside from having a sophisticated décor that rivals trendier dwellings in the city, these suites include private bathrooms, multiple flat panel HD-LCD TVs and even a regulation pool table. Also included are eight courtside seats per suite, ya know, just in case you feel like checking out LeBron in person.
NoLandGrab: We're pretty certain that Forest City Ratner misses the irony of selling "bunker suites" in an arena that they swore was completely secure — before they re-designed it to eliminate most of the not-so-safe-looking glass façade.
Posted by eric at 2:09 PM
May 14, 2008
The 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate
Bloomberg, Trump, Ratner, De Niro, the Guy Behind Craigslist! They’re All Among Our 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate
NY Observer
It's noteworthy that the three highest-ranked developers on the Observer's list — #1 Jerry Speyer, #3 Stephen Ross, and #8 Bruce Ratner — are all having a heap of trouble closing their marquee deals: Hudson Yards, Moynihan Station/Madison Square Garden and Atlantic Yards, respectively.
Power. Webster’s Dictionary defines power as … No, no, no, never mind that: Power in New York City real estate means money—its acquisition, spending and creation—especially now, as the market enters a tremulous sunset after several bright, shiny years.
Our list of the 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate was assembled with this finance-centric criterion at the forefront. The list, especially higher up, contains those who animate the deals and the trends. They are the deciders and the money providers. They make the real estate world the rest of us live in; or cover, as the case may be.
...#8 Bruce Ratner
Chairman of Forest City Ratner Companies
The leader of what is perhaps New York’s most high-profile development, the controversy magnet Atlantic Yards, Bruce Ratner is one of the most active developers in the city, often pursuing large, publicly administered projects. He’s recently taken a liking to famous architects, ensuring that his developments leave a notable impression on the skyline.
NoLandGrab: Bruce Ratner only #8 while Amanda Burden is #5? Anyone familiar with the phony 8% Atlantic Yards "scaleback" knows that when Bruce Ratner says "scaleback," Amanda Burden asks "how much?"
Posted by eric at 10:40 AM
So, who's #77 on the Observer's 100 most powerful people in NY real estate list?
Atlantic Yards Report
For those of you who think that the all-too-powerful real estate industry pulls most of New York City's levers (is there anyone who doesn't think that?), a ray of light has emerged: it's a man, it's a journalist/blogger, it's Norman Oder!
According to the New York Observer's quite arbitrary list of the 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate, Bruce Ratner is #8, Frank Gehry is #51, and I am number #77.
While the listing is flattering, I can't say they have me convinced. For example, Charles Bagli, the veteran real estate/development reporter for the New York Times--and formerly at the Observer--does not appear on the list and he's way more powerful than I am. (Despite my criticisms of his AY coverage, he's a very able reporter.) And I am not more powerful than Nicolai Ouroussoff, the Times's architecture critic, at #85, nor Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, chair of the Assembly's Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, at #89; he has the power to grill public officials. And where's Julia Vitullo-Martin of the Manhattan Institute, a savvy and provocative commentator?
NoLandGrab: Like some modern-day Lincoln Steffens (or Fremont Older), Oder has raked the muck caking Atlantic Yards, and in so doing, has exposed the project's seamy underside like no other journalist.
Posted by eric at 9:55 AM
May 4, 2008
Ratner vows to break ground on Atlantic Yards
NY Daily News
RACHEL MONAHAN and ELIZABETH HAYS
NoLandGrab: In case the Bruce Ratner op-ed is too difficult for you to follow, the Daily News has handily provided the Cliff Notes in a separate article:
In an Op-Ed in Sunday's Daily News, Ratner acknowledged the massive 22-acre project is behind schedule due to numerous court challenges and the shaky economic climate. He insisted the obstacles have not derailed the project - and vowed to break ground on the Frank Gehry-designed Nets arena later this year and complete all 16 residential and office towers by 2018."In recent weeks, some have rushed to write the obituary of Atlantic Yards," Ratner wrote in his opinion piece. "Rumors of Atlantic Yards' demise, stirred by opponents, have been greatly exaggerated. The project is moving forward in its entirety."
Posted by amy at 10:54 AM
Atlantic Yards dead? Dream on
NY Daily News
BRUCE RATNER
NoLandGrab: The Daily News gives Ratner ample space to overcome news of yesterday's rally. In fact, they sealed the deal by not only giving him an op-ed, but then having an additional article regurgitating the op-ed. It's definitely easy to not bother looking behind the curtain, but is it right? Or is this just the latest edition of the Brooklyn Standard?
In recent weeks, some have rushed to write the obituary of Atlantic Yards, the multi-billion dollar, 22-acre development my company is building near downtown Brooklyn.But rumors of Atlantic Yards' demise, stirred by opponents, have been greatly exaggerated. The project is moving forward in its entirety, and in the coming years it will bring jobs, housing and an improved quality of life to Brooklyn.
We're still building all 6,400 units of housing - including 2,250 affordable units. We're still building the iconic Miss Brooklyn tower and the state-of-the-art Barclays Center, the future home of the Nets.
In fact, today, for the first time, I am offering an updated construction timetable for the project.
Posted by amy at 10:45 AM
April 30, 2008
Bruce Ratner, Mystery Science Theather 2008
More follow up on Bud Mishkin's NY1 interview with Brooklyn's favorite overdeveloper, Bruce Ratner:
Curbed, Ratner Praises East River Fish, Disses Architecture
The snarky real estate blog basically lets Bruce Ratner speak for himself in coverage of the Atlantic Yards overdeveloper's NY1 interview (because you can't make this stuff up).
Our favorite of the bunch:
"[Y]ou know, those who focus on the architecture are frankly misguided about what's really important in this world."
...or maybe it's:
"I want to do great architecture, but I have to say something, which is that, if one is going to boil life down to architecture, then you know what? It's not for me."
...or:
"The architecture is important, but it's not that important."
NoLandGrab: Ratner might consider reserving his love-hate relationship with "architecture" for the therapist's couch.
The Knickerblogger, Bruce Ratner: the Ed Wood of Developers?
Knickerblogger recommends Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's commentary on the Ratner NY1 interview:
Its sort of like the old Mystery Science Theater 2000 - except Atlantic Yards is the crappy film, Ratner the washed up actor - its just no fun without the commentary.
NLG: Speaking about actors, who would you choose to play Bruce Ratner in the movie? Email us with your A-list.
Posted by lumi at 5:39 AM
April 29, 2008
Ratner Speaks
Atlantic Yards Report and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn examine Bruce Ratner's interview on NY1 last night (transcript/video).
Atlantic Yards Report, Ratner lowers our architectural expections; will Gehry ease away?
Yes, the "news" (as hinted by the New York Observer) from the fairly gentle profile NY1 ran last night of Bruce Ratner is that the Atlantic Yards developer is talking populism, not Gehry-ism:
“We need jobs, we need shopping that's appropriate and the right price and quality goods, we need supermarkets that provide food that is of quality and well-priced, we need housing, and you know what? The architecture is important, but it's not that important,” says Ratner.
"I want to do great architecture, but I have to say something, which is that, if one is going to boil life down to architecture, then you know what? It's not for me,” he adds.
Interviewer Budd Mishkin, host of the "One On 1" series, didn't raise the suggestion, but to me it hinted as a potential estrangement from Frank Gehry. (Gehry's not mentioned at all in the piece, though models of his buildings are evident and, of course, such video segments are edited.)
After all, Ratner not so long ago was emphasizing his commitment to architecture:
"I’ve been talking for ten years about trying to use ‘design architects’ instead of ‘developer architects," he told New York magazine's Kurt Andersen in 2005. (Citation below.)
Gehry's never designed an arena, so to him that may be the prime lure of the Atlantic Yards commission. Given that most of the project, including the Miss Brooklyn tower (which Gehry called "my ego trip"), has been delayed and layoffs have occurred in Gehry's office, it's possible that Gehry--who has publicly said that typically he'd bring in other architects to work with him--sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
If so, Ratner is now talking about housing and jobs and big box shopping, not architecture.
(The profile offered a look at Ratner in his earlier days as well as a reasonable survey of his life and career.)
NoLandGrab: If starchitect Frank Gehry only designs the arena, then even Gehry detractors might start missing the old guy. The prospect for interesting architecture will become very dim — think MetroTech in the middle of Brownstone Brooklyn.
DDDB.net, Breaking: Ratner Eats East River Fish, Says He's "Progressive"
Develop Don't Destroy got a hearty chuckle from last night's interview. The community group ran the disco-era photo of Bruce Ratner and noted that the self-proclaimed "progressive" ate the fish he caught out of the East River.
NY1 did this fluff job on controversial Atlantic Yards demolition man Bruce Ratner. Some might say it was even hagiographic.
Ratner wants to make sure you know that he is a "progressive." He is so "progressive" that he makes sure to tell the interviewer, Budd Mishkin, that he is "progressive," and Budd tells the viewers that Bruce is "progressive." He also understands the opposition to his project because....their concerns "are not inappropriate," and people have the right to their opinions.
NoLandGrab: Ratner boasted of catching a striped bass, which is migratory and doesn't actually live in the East River, so might not be all that bad for eating, if you want to take your chances. Then again, it must have been a quite big striper because, currently, they have to be at least 28" to be a keeper.
Posted by lumi at 5:46 AM
April 28, 2008
Ratner on NY1: A Snapshot
The Real Estate Observer
Oh man, we hope that the rest of Bruce Ratner's interview with Budd Mishkin on NY1 is as good as the quote that The Observer ran as a teaser:
The notoriously press-shy Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner is due to appear on NY1 tonight at 8:30, going one-on-one with reporter Budd Mishkin.
The folks at NY1 have sent us over a brief teaser quote from Mr. Ratner:
We need jobs, we need shopping that's appropriate, and the right price and quality goods, supermarkets that provide food of quality and well priced, we need housing, and the architecture is important but it's not that important.
NoLandGrab: "Shopping that's appropriate," and "architecture is important, but it's not that important?" No wonder the Brucester is press shy.
Which leads us to wonder, what would constitute shopping that's inappropriate?
Posted by lumi at 6:17 PM
April 18, 2008
Ratner and the Brooklyn Museum: Perfect together
The Brooklyn Paper, Letter to the Editor
To the editor,
Of course Bruce Ratner should not have been feted at the Brooklyn Museum (“Protesters call Bruce’s honor a ‘Dung Deal,’” April 12). His Atlantic Yards plan across from our splendid Williamsburgh Savings Bank building is an architectural nightmare (never mind that the city does not need another sports arena).
But the honor for Ratner makes sense, given that Arnold Lehman of the Brooklyn Museum has offered up his own horror —his ill-proportioned, multi-million-dollar glass snout on a Beaux Art building. That new entrance looks as if it’s still a construction site.
More important, entire galleries in the Museum have been cleared of works of art — treasures that rival those of the Metropolitan Museum — to make way for the occasional gaudy show of modern nonsense. Real curators have been fired, and the publicity department seems to be running the galleries.
Oh, dear.
Every time I renew my membership to the Brooklyn Museum (to which my father used to take me from the time I could toddle, over 50 years ago!), I hold my nose in disgust and hope Arnold Lehman will retire soon.
So is it any wonder that Ratner and Lehman have discovered each other?
Barbara Minakakis, Ditmas Park
Posted by lumi at 5:10 AM
April 3, 2008
Atlantic Yards foes rage at Brooklyn Museum over Bruce Ratner honor
NY Daily News
by Rachel Monahan and Jotham Sederstrom
Atlantic Yards critics blasted the city-funded museum, saying it was wrong to honor a developer whose arena and residential project has been criticized for its size, the seizure of private property and its use of taxpayer money.
"A museum should be a good neighbor to its community," said Brooklyn resident Michael White, who spearheaded a petition that has netted nearly 100 signatures from outraged Brooklynites. "You cannot be a good neighbor by promoting the activities of someone who is a bad neighbor."
The glitzy event, expected to feature rapper Kanye West, has prompted a protest tonight outside the museum.
Posted by eric at 10:38 AM
March 13, 2008
Liberal talk radio hires ex-con Ney
The Hill
Good to see Bruce isn't the only Ratner creating jobs, and for an ex-con, no less. Of course, this ex-con just happens to be disgraced former Ohio Congressman Bob Ney, who was sentenced to 30 months on corruption charges back in 2006. Ney, we should point out, is a conservative Republican.
Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) has landed his first job since being released from prison last month.
Ney is working in Columbus, Ohio, for the Talk Radio News Service (TRNS), thanks to his longtime friend Ellen Ratner.
Ratner, a self-described “proud liberal” who is the TRNS bureau chief, confirmed that Ney is working for the communications company as the ex-lawmaker stays in a halfway house.
NoLandGrab: God bless those Ratners. They never let ideology get in the way of friendship — or campaign contributions.
Posted by eric at 1:31 PM
At the Brooklyn Museum gala, honors for (and $ from) Bruce Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
If you have $1000 or more to spend, you can attend the Brooklyn Museum's Brooklyn Ball 2008 on April 3, honoring developer Bruce Ratner and celebrating the opening of an exhibition billed as "the most comprehensive retrospective to date of the work of internationally acclaimed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami."
Controversial development company Forest City Ratner (FCR) and the locally loathed Atlantic Yards project has its fingers all over this gala event:
Three of the eight co-chairs have a connection to Ratner, including rapper and entrepreneur Jay-Z, who owns a piece of the Nets; FCR president Minieri; and Brett Yormark, president of Nets Sports & Entertainment.
Among the vice-chairs are Barclays Capital, which has signed a naming rights deal for the Atlantic Yards arena, Nets Sports and Entertainment, and, of course, Forest City Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 6:14 AM
March 7, 2008
Update: CUNY gives Ratner failing grade
The Brooklyn Paper
By Gersh Kuntzman
Here's some insight into how the project to build Bruce Ratner's skyscraper "Mr. Brooklyn" was cancelled.
The City University of New York scotched a plan to hire Bruce Ratner to build a new lab and residential skyscraper in Downtown Brooklyn because the Atlantic Yards developer would be too expensive, too slow and too controversial, The Brooklyn Paper has learned.
A newly surfaced memo shows that CUNY wanted out of its deal to pay Ratner $307 million — up from $86 million in 2005 — to build a new facility for City Tech on Jay Street because costs had begun to soar.
Posted by steve at 7:14 AM
March 3, 2008
Sunday Real Estate Round-Up 3/02/08
Bruce Ratner's new brownstone scores a line in Luxist's weekly real estate round-up, which got it from The NY Observer:
--Developer Bruce Ratner has paid $6.9 million at 128 East 62nd Street.
Posted by lumi at 5:01 AM
February 28, 2008
MANHATTAN TRANSFERS: It’s His Eminent Domain: Bruce Ratner Scores Upper East Side Townhouse for $6.9 M.
The NY Observer
By Max Abelson
A few more details on the brownstone that Bruce bought:
Mr. Ratner, loathed by Brooklyn brownstone owners who don’t want his Atlantic Yards basketball arena (he co-owns the Nets) or gaggle of skyscrapers, spent $6,965,000 for the Upper East Side brownstone, records show. News of the sale was first reported on The Observer’s Web site on Monday.
While Mr. Ratner fought for eminent domain to get some of the land for Atlantic Yards, the Neustadt Collection spent decades trying to get their neighbors in the building to leave. As Milton Hassol, the president of the Neustadt Collection explained, the brownstone was split into co-op apartments, some that weren’t owned by the doctor. “The process has taken 23 years,” he said. “As other people wanted to sell we bought them out. … And then when we got 67 percent interest, we could sell”—according to co-op rules.
Stuart Saft, a real estate lawyer, confirmed to The Observer that the other owners in the building would have had to sell if they were outvoted by the building’s main owner.
“They had to by law,” Mr. Hassol said, “but people can hold you up and make it difficult—but they cooperated.”
According to records, the Neustadt Collection got over $5 million from Mr. Ratner; he paid an owner named Diane Harris $571,130, and another, Charles Nemetz, $1,309,420. The deal was finished less than three weeks after the U.S. Court of Appeals supported Mr. Ratner’s right to use eminent domain. “Today’s decision is more than another victory for Atlantic Yards,” he said then. “It is a victory for public good.”
Posted by lumi at 4:51 AM
February 27, 2008
Democracy Now? Ratner Plays Hardball When It Counts
Brooklyn Downtown Star
by Norman Oder
Atlantic Yards Report's über blogger, Norman Oder, contributes this update on the brothers Ratner and their political gift-giving to the Brooklyn Downtown Star.
Bruce isn’t even the best-known liberal in his family. His older brother Michael, a distinguished lawyer, leads the Center for Constitutional Rights in its admirable effort to hold our government accountable for its off-the-radar detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. He co-wrote the book "Guantánamo: What the World Should Know."
John R. MacArthur, publisher of Harper’s, calls him “America’s most important civil libertarian.”
For Bruce and Michael, however, business in Brooklyn comes first. That’s why Bruce’s company has required gag orders of those selling property for the Atlantic Yards project, thus clamping down on criticism and even requiring sellers to say that Forest City Ratner treated them honorably.
That’s why, even though Bruce and Forest City Ratner (FCR) stopped giving political contributions years ago - apparently to dispel suspicion that the donations helped win projects - Michael and his wife Karen Ranucci, the development director of left-wing radio show “Democracy Now,” stepped in to fill the breach. Though residents of Greenwich Village, they reliably wrote checks to Brooklyn candidates from the county Democratic machine. Some contributions, according to state records, even had the return address of Forest City Ratner headquarters in Brooklyn. Michael, who apparently has an office there, owns a piece of the Nets, the sports team his brother wants to bring to Brooklyn. The extended Ratner family controls FCR’s parent company, Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises.
Posted by eric at 1:53 PM
February 26, 2008
Bruce Ratner Buys Brownstone, But (Surprise!) It's Not In Brooklyn
The Real Estate Observer
By Max Abelson
What does the Brucester care about Brownstone Brooklyn, when he can remain cloistered in Brownstone Manhattan?
According to city records, Mr. Ratner just bought himself a nice little 20-foot-wide, 6,408-square-foot, five-floor brownstone, exactly the kind that Brooklynites like so much. But it's on the Upper East Side.
The snark would end there, except for the fact that in typical Ratner fashion, Bruce was able to force the sale of two of the units in the building so that he could have the entire thing all to himself.
The building was split into co-op apartments, some that weren't owned by Neustadt, which meant the museum couldn’t sell the townhouse until it owned two-thirds of the house. Once that happened, according to Mr. Hassol, the other two owners in the building (listed as Charles Nemetz and Diane Harris) were forced to sell as well. “They had to by law, but people can hold you up and make it difficult--but they cooperated.”
NoLandGrab: You probably have to be a little person to appreciate the irony, but you can't make this stuff up, which is why we're all still here.
We think he could’ve gotten a better deal right here in Brooklyn—maybe even in Carroll Gardens, where we hear values are increasing quite a bit.
Definitely, Bruce could have done better in Brooklyn... but then he'd have to deal with encroaching overdevelopment.
Posted by lumi at 5:15 AM
February 11, 2008
DDDB PRESS RELEASE: Forest City Ratner Puts $58,000 Into New York Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee "Housekeeping" Fund
First Contribution By Developer In At Least Nine Years
Campaign Finance Loophole Allows for Huge Contribution After Atlantic Yards Approval, Before Project's Financing Agreements
New York, NY— Forest City Ratner gave $58,420 to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee’s Housekeeping account on January 7, 2008. The real estate development firm had not made any New York State political contributions for at least nine years, which is as far back as the state's campaign finance database goes. The contribution was made through a New York State election financing loophole known as a "housekeeping" account. It is a loophole condemned by Common Cause.
Norman Oder first reported about it today on his Atlantic Yards Report, noting that it was the third-largest contribution received by the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee (DACC) since at least July, and represents more than ten percent of the DACC’s take for it’s Housekeeping account.
Forest City Ratner CEO Bruce Ratner seems to have decided to change strategy after having "sharply cut back" on campaign contributions--according to a 2004 article in Newsday--now moving beyond lobbying expenses, and back into direct New York State political contributions.
The donation goes to the DACC, which hardly needs such "generous" help, considering that the Democrats have a strong grip on the Assembly's majority. But the $58,000 does go to the body controlled by Sheldon Silver who approved Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan in December 2006, and who will have a lot of say over the developer’s housing, bonding and other financing needs over the coming months. Forest City Ratner’s key Atlantic Yards financing has not been finalized, including "affordable" housing subsidies, the arena bond, and the amount of Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).
Oder reports that Common Cause issued an August 2006 report on New York State’s campaign finance "Housekeeping" loophole. The Common Cause report stated:
The size of these contributions, their origin and the fact that current or hopeful elected officials are involved in soliciting them raise serious concerns about the potential for corruption or its appearance.
The second major problem is that while the theory behind our state’s soft money loophole is that these funds will be used only for party building purposes and not for candidate elections, this legal barrier does not hold up in practice.
Common Cause concluded:
The potential it creates for corruption or its appearance means that New York State leaders must ban soft money.
Oder also reports that Ratner kin in Forest City Enterprises’ hometown of Cleveland and in Washington, DC have contributed to Governor Eliot Spitzer’s 2010 campaign fund.
Just last week Mayor Bloomberg decried the infusion of real estate industry contributions into the 2009 Mayoral campaign. According to the NY Times, the Mayor was saying it appears they [the real estate industry] are trying to buy influence in the 2009 mayoral campaign. He called it a "disgrace" that the three presumed "frontrunners" are receiving equal amounts from the industry.
Posted by eric at 5:44 PM
January 23, 2008
Happy Bruce Day to You
This Day ... In Jewish History
On this day in 1945:
Birthdate of Bruce Ratner. Appointed by Ed Koch to the position of Commissioners of Consumer Affairs for New York City in 1978, he became a real estate developer in 1982. He is now the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, his net worth now several hundred million dollars. Ratner is the developer charged with building the New York Times Tower He is a member of the board of the Jewish Heritage Museum.
NoLandGrab: For the uninitiated, Birthday Bruce (62) is also the developer of the highly controversial eminent-domain-abusing subsidy-sucking historically dense Atlantic Yards arena and 16 high-rise tower project in Downtown Brooklyn Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
But when you're slated to receive an estimated $2 billion in subsidies, it's like every day is your birthday.
Posted by lumi at 5:10 AM
January 22, 2008
WE HEAR . . . WE HEAR
NY Post, Page Six
THAT Nets chairman Bruce Ratner will marry longtime companion Dr. Pamela Lipkin, a prominent plastic surgeon, on Sunday before a small family gathering at their Manhattan home.
NoLandGrab: Sources say that Bruce Ratner's Manhattan home is NOT under threat of eminent domain.
January must be the month for developers' nuptials — Donald and Melania Knauss Trump are celebrating their third anniversary today.
Posted by lumi at 5:31 AM
December 27, 2007
Introducing the Ivanka
The NY Times
By Ruth La Ferla
OK, Bruce Ratner can't talk to the press about mundane stuff like security and the full cost of public funding for Atlantic Yards, but he's happy to discuss the daughter of the Donald:
Insistent on proving herself, Ms. Trump first took a job outside the Trump Organization. Bruce Ratner, the Brooklyn developer, put her to work with the project management team for Ridge Hill, his shopping center in Yonkers. “She did everything,” Mr. Ratner recalled, “from running the numbers of a deal to negotiating with tenants and coordinating where they would go in the center, to helping lay out the space.”
“She was down-to-earth,” he said. “She worked like everybody else. There was no special privilege about her.”
NoLandGrab: Luckily, not all real estate developers show as much cleavage as Ivanka.
Posted by lumi at 8:25 PM
December 20, 2007
Beijing’s Olympics: A Marriage Of Corporate And State Abuse
CounterCurrents.org
Bruce Ratner is now officially a "robber baron:"
New York of the 21st century also has its share of robber barons. Bruce Ratner is currently hoping to use eminent domain in the heart of Brooklyn to build a basketball arena and surrounding luxury trimmings at the expense of private homes and business owners. For certain eminent domain has almost always been a weapon against the poor. A study released earlier this year by Dick M. Carpenter II and John K. Ross titled Victimizing the Vulnerable: The Demographics of Eminent Domain Abuse reveals that the areas targeted nation-wide for eminent domain in recent years follow a predictable pattern: 58% of the targeted areas include minority residents, compared with 45% in surrounding communities, 25% live at or below poverty, compared to 16% in surrounding communities.
Posted by lumi at 8:29 PM
December 16, 2007
2007 PUFFIN/NATION PRIZE RECIPIENT
Puffin/Nation Prize
MICHAEL RATNER, ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S FOREMOST DEFENDERS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES, WILL BE HONORED FOR REPEATEDLY CHALLENGING THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION ON THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF INDEFINITE DETENTION AND RESTRICTIONS ON DOMESTIC CIVIL LIBERTIES.
link
NoLandGrab: And what award does Michael Ratner get for investing in his brother's venture, the constitutionality of which is being contested as we speak?
Posted by amy at 10:13 AM
December 12, 2007
Ratner, 2003: "I have never, ever seen a project get less protest than this"
Atlantic Yards Report
In another must-read, the time-traveling Norman Oder transports himself back to December, 2003, to "Oderize" Bruce Ratner's spin-o-rama appearance on the Brian Lehrer Show.
Bruce Ratner: If you look at the area, it’s zoned industrial, right in the middle of neighborhoods, and it looks godawful. It’s got train tracks, it’s got industrial buildings, and it’s extremely unattractive, it’s like a scar in the middle of two neighborhoods. I’ve heard it described as a ditch.
Note that Ratner seems to be using the 8.5-acre railyard for the project site as a whole, and leaves out the city streets and city property he needs. Also note that parent Forest City Enterprises, in cities like Richmond, VA, has restored industrial properties.
Lehrer interrupted.
Brian Lehrer: Certainly the residents who were howling yesterday… don’t feel like they live on a scar or ditch, they feel like it’s their home, they feel like it’s a nice... accessible place from Manhattan that’s still a refuge from Manhattan which it wouldn’t be…so do you want to stand by those words, scar and ditch?
BR: Yes, I do, because you know what, the thing is Brian, I don’t know if you were at the press conference there are about 15-20 people, that’s all, in a borough of 2.5 million, the same 15-20 people, who live—I respect it, I really do, they live in an adjoining neighborhood. You have to really—y’know, it’s important for news of course, to listen to all sides, you can’t let 15-20 or people decide something like this. The UN had protesters, Rockefellers Center had protesters. So you have to really look at it I have never, ever--I’ve done a lot of projects, I have never, ever seen a project get less protest than this. Here you have a major project, you have 25 news people at a press conference, and there are about 15 people with homemade signs out in front, in a borough of two and a half million people, at a press conference. (Emphasis added)
Ratner's assessment of community opposition was about as accurate as his prediction of a 2006 debut for the Brooklyn Nets. The same goes for his description of the project footprint:
BL: Does the city have to approve the project, are there hurdles yet?
BR: It’s on state land, being the Long Island Rail Road,, so it’s a state process, and yes, there’s a whole approval process, the state.
No, less than 40 percent of the site is state land, so the state process was not required. After all, the West Side yards project in Manhattan is going through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, or ULURP.
Click on the link below for the rest of Oder's deconstruction of the interview, including Bruce's boast that "our company brought the concept of big boxes to the borough" (a claim conveniently ignored by Ratner henchman Richard Lipsky when he cashes his FCRC paycheck) and his creative defense of MetroTech.
Posted by lumi at 9:13 AM
New York Knicks, Owner Dolan Need Emoticon Help:
Bloomberg.com
Hey, a story in which Bruce Ratner isn't being cited as the posterchild of overdevelopment, eminent domain abuse or big-city bullying.
Today, sports columnist Scott Soshnick suggests that Knicks owner James Dolan try to act more happy, you know, like the Brucester.
And all the while Dolan wears the same expression. It looks something like this: :(
Just typing that makes me wonder: Does Dolan even know what an emoticon is?
...
I've walked alongside New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner when, during halftime of a playoff game, he made sure to shake hands with his best customers.
Posted by lumi at 6:21 AM
December 11, 2007
LEGAL BAR BRAWL
PUB BIDS TO BOOT NEIGHBOR
NY Post
By Dareh Gregorian
This bizarre incident seems to be one of the occupational hazards of being the "biggest guy around":
A TriBeCa bar is suing its upstairs neighbor - for being too rowdy.
As punishment, it wants her booted from the building, along with the owner of her spacious digs: trendy restaurateur and former Man Ray partner Carlos Almada.
In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, the owners of the pint-sized pub Smith and Mills say their neighbor Victoria Hillstron has been driving their customers from drink with her over-the-top antics.
The suit says the tiny terror, who lives directly above the Greenwich Street bar, has also been claiming to be developer Bruce Ratner's sister - threatening to use her clout to get cops in trouble with the mayor's office if they don't take her allegations against the restaurant seriously.
A source close to Ratner said she is not related to the Atlantic Yards developer.
NoLandGrab: Who can blame someone for thinking that name dropping "Bruce" would strike the fear of God in most New Yorkers?
For the record, Bruce Ratner's sister is Ellen Ratner, who hasn't been harassing bar patrons as far as anyone knows.
Posted by lumi at 5:13 AM
December 2, 2007
Ratner's Christmas Turn-On
Brit in Brooklyn
Bruce Ratner (left): Love child of Dick Cheney + Al D'Amato? (With a little bit of Norman Tebbit?)Bruce Ratner and his helpers (including Marty Markowitz, right) were at Metrotech last night for the annual lighting ceremony.
Posted by amy at 11:42 AM
December 1, 2007
News Highlights of the Week: November 24 – November 30, 2007
Architectural Record
Renzo Piano is working on a skyscraper for Brooklyn that could rise as high as 1,000-feet, making it the borough’s tallest. The New York Daily News reported on November 28 that developer Bruce Ratner, who is building Frank Gehry’s massive Atlantic Yards project nearby, has been working with Piano on the project for at least a year. A spokesperson for the developer said that the office and residential tower’s final height has yet to be determined and that early renderings, which were leaked to the Internet, are “not a reflection of what we’re considering today.” But Ratner might face an uphill battle to build the skyscraper as tall as he’d like. At least one local politician, the paper wrote, opposes any new construction higher than Brooklyn’s current tallest, the 512-foot Williamsburg Savings Bank tower.
Posted by amy at 9:30 AM
November 30, 2007
Bruce under oath?
Could this be a photo of Bruce Ratner taking the Fifth? [Maybe, if you're talking about the Fifth Amendment eminent domain clause.]
Seriously, it's just Bruce ceremoniously breaking ground in Yonkers for Forest City's controversial Ridge Hill "regional lifestyle center."
Tuesday was a busy day for the popular Bruce Ratner, who appeared later that evening in Brooklyn for the MetroTech tree lighting.
More ground breaking photos and links at Community First Development Coalition.
Posted by lumi at 6:11 AM
Ratner Claus!
The Brooklyn Paper
On the same day that news broke of his plan to build Brooklyn’s tallest building, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner kicked off the holiday season on Wednesday at Metrotech in Downtown Brooklyn with the borough’s first major tree-lighting.
Posted by steve at 5:54 AM
November 14, 2007
Urban Architecture: The Absurdly Good, the Bad and the Stupid
The Gamut runs two Ratner projects on the list of noteworthy local architecture and gives the Brucester the "Gamut Scabies Award!"
Absurdly Bad Architecture includes the Regal Cinema on Court Street in Brooklyn Heights. Deidre Carson, a lawyer who had previously represented other movie-theater developers and formerly the president of the Brooklyn Heights Association (a neighborhood organization originally created to protect the area from irresponsible development - ah, the irony!) actually had the gall to describe the building as a product of a "world-class architecture firm." What the hell does "world-class" mean anyway? If this building is any example, it means the biggest bull turd they can lay on you. Which brings us to Regal's bastard grandchild: Frank Gehry's absurdly stupid design for private-developer Bruce Ratner's proposed Atlantic Yards project.
NoLandGrab: This photo was the best one we could find of Ratner's UA Cinema. Check out "Betty Blade's" Court St. photo with the cinema in the background to understand what makes this monolith so special.
Posted by lumi at 5:29 AM
MetroTech Christmas Tree Ushers in Season
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Mary Frost
Rat-ner Clause is coming to town!
A 50-foot Colorado Blue Spruce was installed at MetroTech yesterday morning, marking the start of the Christmas season in Downtown Brooklyn. Eric Rosenthal, garden designer from Chelsea Gardens, which procured the tree, said that the spruce is approximately 30 to 40 years old and comes from an area near Saugerties, N.Y. The official MetroTech tree lighting will take place Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 4:15 p.m. The Brooklyn Youth Chorus will sing holiday songs and dignitaries including Santa Claus — and Bruce Ratner — will appear.
Posted by lumi at 5:00 AM
November 9, 2007
Page Six: HOT ENTRANCE
NY Post
Bruce Ratner is officially a member of the titan club:
JAWS dropped yesterday in the Four Seasons Grill Room when ousted Citigroup chief Chuck Prince arrived for lunch with Bear Stearns legend Ace Greenberg and Blackstone Group founder Pete Peterson. Seated right in Prince's path was his predecessor at the financial giant, Sandy Weill. All eyes watched Prince make his way around the room, greeting titans Leonard Lauder, Bruce Ratner, David Martinez, Bill Rudin, Richard Holbrooke, Strauss Zelnick, Walter Cronkite and James Wolfensohn. But he avoided Weill, leading to speculation of bad blood.
Posted by lumi at 6:05 AM
November 8, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
Here's what they're saying:
Cup Crazy's National Hockey League blog, Future hope for Devils and Newark pinned on Prudential Center's success
Original plans during this decade had the New Jersey Nets seeking the move to Newark when YankeeNets operated that franchise, but roadblocks in ultimately sealing any agreement to build a new arena there killed it. After squabbling among the YankeeNets ownership group investors led to the eventual sale of the Nets in August 2004, new owner Bruce Ratner announced his intentions to relocate that team to the New York City borough of Brooklyn. So far, an arena project has been put together. It has been endorsed by state and city officials as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to built it in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights section of the city. Plus, the arena naming rights has already been sold. However, despite all of that, it is not completely 100% certain that the New Jersey Nets will ultimately end up moving there. There are still a few obstacles remaining such as court hearings on eminent domain issues concerning the surrounding areas of the Atlantic Yards, a mixed-use commercial and residential development area where the arena would be built. All of these obstacles have to be cleared before an official groundbreaking can take place and seal the Nets' future.
Tubious, James L. Stuckey
A short bio of the recently terminated President of the Atlantic Yards Development Group.
NolandGrab: We're fairly certain that it's James P. Stuckey — "that's a capital... "P" that stands for pool." (Hey, Stuckey always did remind us of The Music Man.)
Medium Happiness, Seriously You Shouldn’t Have Gone To Columbia
How greedy is Columbia University? Some believe, as greedy as Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner:
I read about a group of students that are (or at this point might have already begun) waging a hunger strike to protest the egregious, indefensible transgressions of Columbia University over the past “decade”. It was not long ago that I myself attended a very wealthy, urban school in another city. On a certain level, I can identify with their plight. Ineffably wealthy schools like Columbia, NYU, or George Washington have a knack for overlooking the little people in pursuit of what they are really after–making more money. But, there is one thing, if anything, that you learn once you’ve walked and breathed the rarified air of these places–they cannot be stopped. Much like Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn or Foggy Bottom in Washington, DC, Columbia will develop and gobble up what it pleases.
Queens Crap, Coming soon to Atlantic Yards...
It's high-artchitecture, but is it waterproof?
Posted by lumi at 4:39 AM
Gridlock at 30,000 Feet
NY Magazine
By Michael Idov
Here's a sign that "Bruce Ratner" has become synonymous with rampant overdeveloper and pariah to the community [apparently there are some things even Ratner couldn't get away with (but not many)]:
The Port Authority has the power to build new runways, but the immutable fact is that the area’s airports may have reached their natural limits. JFK has been expanded over the marshlands seven times. To make it any bigger, says an FAA official who wishes to remain anonymous, “we’d have to condemn a bunch of buildings in the Rockaways.” That, needless to say, is a project even Bruce Ratner couldn’t ram through without causing some kind of uprising. All the agency can offer at our three airports in the near term is more “holding pads”—the idea being that idling planes might as well get serviced while they wait.
Posted by lumi at 4:23 AM
November 1, 2007
Trick or Treat #3: Loch Ness Monster Challenges Floating Tree
Curbed.com
Some things are so strange that you can't make 'em up:
It's hard to know what to make of the Loch Ness Monster public art being rolled out in a salt marsh in Marine Park in the far reaches of Brooklyn, except that it launches the same week as the Floating Tree and that it's sponsored by developer Bruce Ratner. The 12 1/2-foot replica of the mythical monster is the work of artist Cameron Gainer and it's being floating out to its new home as we speak via boat, diver and park ranger.
Posted by lumi at 6:30 AM
October 30, 2007
Zombie developer outbreak continues to plague Brooklyn
 |
For info about how to survive a zombie outbreak, click here or here.
Click here for additional photos.
Posted by lumi at 12:04 PM
October 17, 2007
THE 2007 LIBERTY MEDALS
TOP LOCAL HEROES VIE FOR LIBERTY MEDALS
NY Post
Bruce Ratner served on the panel of judges for the Post's sixth annual Liberty Medals. Other local luminaries who served on the "distinguished panel of New Yorkers" that selected the winners were:
Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of the Weinstein Co.; Lloyd Williams, chairman of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce; Martha Nelson, group editor, Time Inc.; CUNY Chancellor Dr. Matthew Goldstein; City Comptroller William Thompson; Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
The winners will be presented their awards tonight and are profiled in today's Post.
NoLandGrab: Liberty Medals should not to be confused with Liberty Bonds, which Ratner secured for his Atlantic Terminal highrise building. According to the NYC Economic Development Corporation, tax-exempt Liberty Bonds were supposed to be used to "support rebuilding effort of lower Manhattan in New York City." Atlantic Terminal is in Brooklyn, next to Ratner's Atlantic Center Mall and across the street from where the developer proposes to build Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at 7:53 AM
October 16, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
The Knickerblogger, Simple Questions the Big Daily Papers Never Asked:
Some reaction to the oral arguments in the appeal of the federal eminent domain case:
Why is the ESDC defending a proposal that knowingly would bring in less money than a competing project, and NOT require disenfranchising other citizens?
Why Is the state taking such a cavalier attitude towards impropriety and corruption? Isn't this a de facto endorsement of government corruption?
New Media Newsroom 2007C, Vibe and Ratner
Did anybody else notice Bruce Ratner in a photo montage in the September issue of Vibe? It was about who parties with Jay-Z. Sure, they work together, but it's hard to imagine the actual party. See the mag for the full effect.
NoLandGrab: Does anyone have a copy?
Extremes of Perception,
Astounding
Atlantic Yards joins the eminent domain hall of fame.
The Knickerblogger, You can't construct an arena and put it right against a street in a post 9/11 world....
...Unless you live in the fantasy world of Bruce Ratner/Forest City/ESDC, where demapping city streets is good urban planning and luxury condos are affordable housing.
Posted by lumi at 7:43 AM
October 5, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
The Knickerblogger, Seroiusly Could Dickens Have Come Up With A Better Villian Than Bruce Ratner?
Knickerblogger outlines "super-villian" Bruce Ratner's "ethics problem," but "seroiusly," can someone send this blogger a dictionary?
NoLandGrab: Lumi would lend out hers but she seriously needs it.
Die Hard Fans Anonymous, The Dirty Dozen
One sports fan lists his picks for the 12 worst franchises in pro sports, and is under the impression that Ratner's project in Brooklyn "cannot get off the ground... If only the Brooklyn deal could just get done, then these Nets would rocket up the rankings."
Yeah, if only the arena were finished, then order would be restored to the universe.
Posted by lumi at 1:15 PM
October 3, 2007
Feasts and Fetes
From New York Social Diary:
Two weeks ago Wednesday, Lighthouse International held its Henry A. Grunwald Award for Public Service Luncheon chaired by Louise Grunwald, named in honor of her late husband Henry A. Grunwald, who was the first recipient of the award. The Grunwalds’ longtime friend Liz Smith emceed, and another friend Ted Sorenson was keynote speaker. The honorees included Peter G. Peterson, Ellen Ratner and Jeffrey E. Mittman, a soldier partially blinded in the Iraqi War.
Mr. Peterson is Senior Chairman and Co-founder of The Blackstone Group. Ellen Ratner is Bureau Chief Talk Radio News Service, Political Editor, TALKERS Magazine, and Fox News Contributor; and Jeffrey E. Mittman is a soldier who was partially blinded in the Iraqi War. The Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs introduced Sergeant Mittman. The Henry A. Grunwald Award for Public Service recognizes individuals who are committed to advancing public awareness of vision impairment and vision rehabilitation.
...
Vice Chairmen and guests included more Grunwald friends: Felix and Liz Rohatyn, Henry Kissinger, Holly Peterson, Barbara Walters, Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis, Alice and Tom Tisch, Gayfryd Steinberg, Mike Wallace, Amy Fine Collins, Mike Wallace, Mica Ertegun, Bruce Ratner.
WHO'S WHO?
Ellen Ratner is the sister of Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner.
Their brother Michael Ratner is president of the Center for Constitutional Rights and an investor in the New Jersey Nets NBA franchise, for which the State of New York is using eminent domain to seize property for the team's new arena. There is currently a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of taking private property for the benefit of a private enterprise — Michael Ratner and the Center for Constitutional Rights are not plaintiffs.
WHY CARE?
Bruce Ratner does not personally make campaign contributions, in order to avoid the appearance that he's buying political support for his projects.
Michael Ratner has made significant contributions to local politicians who support Atlantic Yards. Ellen Ratner's $4,500 contribution to Atlantic Yards supporter and NYC Comptroller William Thompson was bundled with contributions from Michael Ratner, his wife Karen Ranucci, Bruce Ratner's girlfriend Pamela Lipkin and Bruce's daughter Rebecca.
Norman Oder of Atlantic Yards Report uncovered these campaign contributions and more, highlighted in his article, "The Ratner campaign money trail leads to... Michael (& his wife)."
Posted by lumi at 12:06 PM
September 20, 2007
Jane’s addiction
Time Out NY
By Dustin Goot
In a preview of the Jane Jacobs exhibit, Municipal Art Society (MAS) organizers are hoping that the two-billion-pound (as in $4-billion) gorilla doesn't take center stage:
Though Jacobs is often characterized by her willingness to take on the city and shut down large projects—she famously fought Robert Moses—Klemek stresses that she “was not antidevelopment,” and MAS organizers say they’re looking to foster optimistic dialogue about what’s possible in New York rather than just an anti-Ratner bitch session.
NoLandGrab: Officially, Ratner now equals "the worst developer we could think of off the top of our heads."
Posted by lumi at 8:28 PM
September 14, 2007
Rembrandt: The Met's Embarrassment of Riches
Figure Painting, art blog of Condé Nast Portfolio.com
By Callen Blair
A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum says as much about the art of philanthropy as the art of Rembrandt — oh, and guess who is on the board:
If potential donors don't get the hint that philanthropy may win them immortality (the Met's board of trustess includes collectors Henry Kravis, Annette de la Renta, Shelby White, and Bruce Ratner), the pitch is unmistakable when the viewer gets to Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer. On the museum's audioguide, the listener is told that Aristotle "is thinking about his career, his fame, his fortune and perhaps saying to himself 'Will I be remembered in 500 years like Homer?'"
Posted by lumi at 5:09 AM
August 18, 2007
Ratner knew! City: Bruce endangered workers at Yards site
The Brooklyn Paper
Ariella Cohen
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner could have prevented the potentially deadly partial collapse of the Wards Bakery in April that sent bricks raining onto Pacific Street, according to a long-awaited Department of Buildings report.The seven-page report details years of water damage and neglect that led up to the April 26 collapse of the historic building’s 200-foot parapet, concluding that the owner who inherited the damage — Ratner — should have warned demolition workers about the 100-year-old building’s dangerous condition.
“Forest City Ratner had been apprised of the deterioration … but the extent of the deterioration and the risk of the collapse had apparently not been communicated to the crew,” the report states.
Posted by amy at 9:42 AM
July 21, 2007
Bruce Ratner eyes more Brooklyn sites
Courier-Life
Gary Buiso
This proposal for Marine Park has all the hallmarks of a Ratner project: currently occupied space, strip malls, big box stores, dissatisfied Community Boards, street de-mapping, even the rhetoric is the same:
“This will not happen in secret,” Fidler said, alluding to the anticipated public review of the project.At first glance, he continued, “the feeling is that this is empty city-owned land, and thus would not appear to negatively impact the community.”
Forest City Ratner declined to comment for this story.
City officials last week held an interagency meeting to discuss de-mapping two streets near the site, as well as to get input about aspects of the project.
Posted by amy at 8:40 AM
June 26, 2007
Two years later, flashback to Times Magazine interview with Bruce Ratner
Atlantic Yards Report
With the benefit of hindsight, Norman Oder posts a two-year-old NY Times interview with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner with running commentary.
Bruce Ratner doesn't talk much to the press--and when he does, he's protected--so it's worth another look at excerpts from his 6/26/05 New York Times Magazine interview conducted by Deborah Solomon, headlined Stadium, Anyone?.
Note that then-Public Editor Byron Calame criticized the Times for failing to disclose the parent company's business relationship with Ratner, but the Times never printed a note or a letter about the issue. Also note that the headline refers to a stadium, not an arena. They're not interchangeable.
Q: How do you explain the sudden vogue for stadiums and arenas? So many teams want a new home -- the Mets in Queens, the Yankees in the Bronx, the Jets with their doomed project in Manhattan. And you're building a new arena for the Nets in Brooklyn.
A: It has to do with the economics of sports. The high salaries of athletes drive the whole thing, because it creates a need for revenue. In the case of the Nets, we need an arena that has suites and luxury seating, and where you can put up advertisements all over the place.
Ratner was being reasonably candid here, warning that the issue was maximizing revenue. He also could have said that the price of the team--the tail wagging the much larger Atlantic Yards dog--was a component. And he also could have explained that naming rights to the arena might pay much of its costs.
Click here for more of the wisdom according to Ratner, including this warning, "Like so many things in life, it was just a matter of money."
Posted by lumi at 8:50 AM
June 8, 2007
Get your kicks...
Has the dismissal of the federal eminent domain case left you all hot and bothered? Nothing to do, nowhere to turn?
Before heading over to Freddy's Bar to commiserate with your neighbors, you can get a kick out of Bruce Ratner (link).
Posted by lumi at 10:17 AM
May 23, 2007
It came from the Blogosphere...
Date Hole, Smart Move: Local Documentaries
"Brooklyn Matters" as part of your classic NYC date, dinner and a movie (NLG corrections added):
So normally, a movie would be out of the question. Movies are uninspiring and more generally not a particularly original idea for a date. But when it’s a movie about something that’s happening right now in the city that you live in and you could actually affect change, it can be played as a pretty creative date idea.
This particular documentary is titled “Brooklyn Matters” and is about the pending redevelopment of the Atlantic train yards in
downtown BrooklynProspect Heights, Brooklyn. If you haven’t been paying attention to this at all, Bruce Ratner (a prominent developer) bought up a lot of space indowntown BrooklynProspect Heights (and by a lot of space, we’re talkinghundreds of22 acres) and requested that thecityState use eminent domain to appropriate the property (read: residences) that he couldn’t buy.What: Brooklyn Matters
When: June 3rd, 7pm
How Much: FREE! Donate, you greedy prick.
Where: Union Docs: Take the G or the L to Lorimer/Metropolitan and walk south on Union Street.So, after you go and get your indignation on, there’s really nothing better than to wash your misery down with the some delicious pulled pork and a delicious glass of beer. And I know that this place is the perinial favorite, but Fette Sau is, in fact, good.
Mitchell Langbert's Blog, Bloomberg--Left Wing Independent
The conservative argument against Bloomberg for President includes a large dose of welfare for sports team owners, eminent domain abuse and boondoggles for rapacious "liberal do-gooders" (Atlantic Yards issues in bold):
Bloomberg has avoided reducing government, avoided reducing taxes, presented plans for a wide range of big government boondoggles like a football stadium that no one wanted and a Robert Moses-style master plan, favored gun control, and has supported his fellow billionaires the Ochs-Sulzbergers in their goal of looting small private landlords through private-use eminent domain. At the same time that he has been supporting the ultra-rich, like Bruce Ratner and the Ochs-Sulzbergers, Bloomberg has viciously and repeatedly harassed small businesses in a dozen different ways, insisting on one regulation after another in synch with his left-wing public health compulsions.
Brownstoner, Ratner: 'Fort Greene, I've Got You Surrounded'
Man, it's getting hard to keep up with all the towers that are sprouting up in Downtown Brooklyn. Yesterday, Curbed ran some renderings of Bruce Ratner's latest project at 80 Dekalb Avenue aka 625 Fulton Street.
I Am A Child Of Television, Be Sure To Watch
Be sure to watch... On The Lot on FOX tonight.
Not because it looks like an interesting variation of the American Idol concept, with aspiring film makers being judged by a group of industry people (Carrie Fisher, Bruce Ratner, Gary Marshall, Jon Avnet) with the prize of a million dollar development deal with Dreamworks.
NoLandGrab: Um, that's supposed to be "Brett" Ratner, but it's nice to know that our community's campaign to make "Bruce" some sort of household name seems to be getting some traction.
So let's get it straight:
BRETT = filmmaker
BRUCE = national figurehead for developers-gone-wild
The Knickerblogger, Lies Have Consequences
What is curious is that is seems to be easier to get a lie known [than] the truth. We, opposition to Atlantic Yards have always felt that 'if the people knew' they would be outraged at the massive public outlays, the eminent domain abuse that Ratner is palming off as a 'civic' project. Likewise, leading up to Iraq war, i was bewildered that people actually believed there were "WMD" and Saddam was another 'Hitler'. Why is it so many people are willing to accept a lie instead of the truth?
Posted by lumi at 7:09 AM
May 18, 2007
Suit: Ratner is one bad liar
The Brooklyn Paper
Bruce Ratner is a money-grubbing liar who tricked a well-connected businessman into investing $6 million of his own money to help Ratner acquire the New Jersey Nets with promises that he “never had any intention of fulfilling,” a bombshell lawsuit charged last week.
Eugene Greene contributed the hefty sum — and rounded up another $25 million from other investors — to help Ratner buy the Nets in 2004, but now claims that the Atlantic Yards developer reneged on his promises to make Greene “the glue that helps run this team.” ...
When Greene confronted Ratner with the alleged breach of contract at the end of 2004, Ratner told him, “I don’t remember what I said. As you know, I have a memory problem,” the court papers said.Forest City Ratner officials did not respond to several requests from The Brooklyn Paper to address Greene’s serious charges. But the company’s outside press spokesman, Joe DePlasco of Dan Klores Communications, told The Brooklyn Paper that Forest City “disagrees with Mr. Greene’s allegations and will fight them.”
Posted by lumi at 8:44 AM
May 11, 2007
Bruce Ratner: Another day, another lawsuit
Steamrolling a neighborhood to steamrolling investors... with so much at stake, "Caring" Bruce Ratner is stacking up the lawsuits.
The latest, from a disgruntled investor, got some play in most of the paid-circulation dailies (the NY Times passed — like that's really news):
NY Daily News, Bizman rips Ratner over Nets worth in lawsuit
A former investor in the New Jersey Nets is suing Bruce Ratner for allegedly stiffing him out of a spot in the ownership of the Brooklyn-bound NBA team.
Eugene Greene alleges that at Ratner's request, he sank $6 million into the Nets in 2003 and also raised more than $30 million from other investors. In exchange, Greene charges, he was promised a "key role in the team's organization."
The Manhattan businessman has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Ratner, charging that senior executives with Ratner's organization told him he had been "f----d" out of the deal.
...
The lawsuit, which was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, is the latest legal battle for Ratner. The developer, who bought the Nets in 2004, has been sued repeatedly over his bid to build the Atlantic Yards megaproject, which would include an arena for the team in Prospect Heights.
...
"We need money, money, money," Ratner said, according to court papers. "And you need to get it for us.""You will be the glue that helps run this team," Ratner allegedly told Greene.
But Greene wasn't picked for the team's Board of Governors once Ratner's bid to buy the Nets was approved in 2004.
NY Post, $20M FOUL IS CALLED ON RATNER
Greene said that when he confronted Ratner about the broken promises, he was told, "I don't remember exactly what I said. As you know, I have a memory problem."
Joe DePlasco, a spokesman for Forest City Ratner, said, "We strongly disagree with [Greene's] assertion and we will defend ourselves vigorously in court."
The NY Sun, Former Nets Investor Sues Bruce Ratner for $30M
Mr. Greene's $6 million personal investment was returned by Mr. Ratner's company, his attorney, Jonathan Sack, said.
A spokesman for Forest City Ratner Companies, Loren Riegelhaupt, said the company is reviewing the suit.
Posted by lumi at 8:19 AM
May 5, 2007
Sightings
NY Post
NETS owner Bruce Ratner and his architect Frank Gehry noshing on hot dogs and fries at Nathan's Famous on Coney Island
NoLandGrab: Is Ratner scouting out alternatives suggested to him in this week's environmental hearing?
Posted by amy at 9:11 AM
April 20, 2007
Gentile: "I would never try to PULL A RATNER."
The Brooklyn Papers: "Yellow Hooker"
By Matthew Lysiak
Councilman Vince Gentile took exception to our headline two weeks ago linking him to Bruce Ratner. “I am a big fan of the Yellow Hooker,” he said after reading the recent column about his efforts to save the Green Church. “But let me make one thing clear, I would never try to pull a Ratner.” Then he followed up with an e-mail: “I just got a call saying, ‘Bless you for all you’ve done to try to save the Green Church.’ I wonder if Bruce Ratner gets those calls?”
NoLandGrab: Here's some background on "pull a Ratner."
Entry Word: pull a Ratner
Function: verb
1 to double-cross the community presumably in the name of public benefit, frequently with large amounts of public subsidy <an honest politician would never pull a Ratner>
2 to use eminent domain for private profit frequently (and often) <the developer wasn't making enough money with two malls, so he pulled a Ratner to build another>
Posted by lumi at 8:09 AM
Paradise Lost
The Brooklyn Papers
By Christopher Murray
In the Sackett Group’s thoughtful and moving revival of Lanford Wilson’s talky and rather obtuse 1975 drama, “The Mound Builders,” a small, committed group of over-educated white people are struggling to preserve a disempowered community’s hold on a tiny parcel of land against some soulless money-grubbers.
Is it any surprise that the play is being presented within a stone’s throw of the proposed Atlantic Yards mega-development?
But that’s where the similarities end. The play’s preservationists are a cadre of archeologists on a dig in Illinois, and the site is the burial ground of a long-extinct indigenous tribe. The play uses the lost civilization that “vanished without a trace” as a symbol for the frayed connections between the characters, few of whom seem to be able to sustain a relationship without betrayal, cruelty or self-destruction.
NoLandGrab: First Bruce Ratner is recognized as the posterboy for eminent domain abuse, and now he's also associated with "soulless money-grubbers."
Posted by lumi at 8:04 AM
April 9, 2007
Brooklynhampton
Montauk begins to shake off its outer-borough status
NY Magazine
By Julia Chaplin
Being located on the outskirts, keeping it real and a real estate boom aren 't the only things Brooklyn and Montauk have in common:
Like Brooklyn, Montauk has long been defined by an anti-scene. On the surface, it’s a blue-collar holdout, with an abundance of inexpensive roadside motels, dive bars with sharks’ jaws on the walls, and an annual hot-dog-eating contest. Nightlife revolves around the boozy Friday-night karaoke competition at Liar’s Saloon, where the local fishermen always win.
Recently, perhaps inevitably, the town’s low-key charm has been attracting well-heeled folks who could afford to live pretty much anywhere and previously tended toward the Hamptons. In January, J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler paid a record $27 million for Andy Warhol’s old Moorlands estate, which had sat on the market for years. Now for sale nearby is an oceanfront five-bedroom—asking price, $24.95 million—not far from the cliffside spreads occupied by the likes of Nets owner Bruce Ratner and Montauk pioneer Paul Simon.
NoLandGrab: The only difference is that Ratner doesn't live in Brooklyn, he just prefers to own large portions of it.
Posted by lumi at 7:52 AM
April 6, 2007
New chief at helm of libraries - Dionne Mack-Harvin wants to make system ‘first choice in information’
Courier-Life
An article about the official appointment of Dionne Mack-Harvin to the position of executive director Brooklyn Public Libraries last week has a tidbit, intended to dispell rumors relating to Atlantic Yards developer "Bruce" and a new Visual and Performing Arts Library.
Mack-Harvin also dispelled rumors that Forest City Ratner Companies President Bruce Ratner has come forward to fund the new Visual and Performing Arts Library slated for the BAM Cultural District area near Ratner’s planned Atlantic Yards project.
“Bruce has not made a contribution toward the visual and performing arts library, but we do appreciate donations, and private giving has helped us launch many of the programs I mentioned earlier,” she said.
"Bruce?" Funny, on NLG, people on a first-name basis with Bruce Ratner are usually being slightly irreverent.
Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM
April 1, 2007
Sunday Comix (This cartoon is not yet rated)
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Posted by lumi at 10:06 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.
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 23, 2007
Lost in translation: Top Chinese editors visit Paper office
The Brooklyn Paper, Editorial
We’re still scratching our heads about it, but this week, four of China’s top newspaper editors journeyed to our DUMBO offices to talk politics, media and, yes, Bruce Ratner.
The editors, from the 300,000-circulation Shanghai Youth Daily, peppered the hard-working scribes of Brooklyn’s real newspaper with questions about how free papers stay in the black (don’t ask us!), what we think of our competition (what competition?), and how we cover powerful people like Ratner (we ask a lot of questions, and Ratner ignores us).
The trip was part of a cultural exchange set up by the State Department, which naturally sees The Brooklyn Paper as a leading voice in the struggle for Truth, Justice and the American Way.
The Chinese editors were concerned with all three, especially how American local governments can condemn private property and turn it over to another private developer via eminent domain.
NoLandGrab: Bruce Ratner could even become the International Posterboy for Eminent Domain Abuse.
Posted by lumi at 7:13 AM
March 10, 2007
Ratner Improperly Acquired Two ‘Footprint’ Properties, State Court Says
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Elizabeth Stull
Based on court papers filed for both sides, Justice Ira Harkavy [pictured right] on Tuesday reversed the developer’s 45-year leases to 752-766 Pacific St. and 535 Carlton Ave., (now a six-story building and a parking lot), both in Prospect Heights.Owner Henry Weinstein had leased the properties to real estate developer Shaya Boymelgreen, which improperly sold those leases to AY 535 Carlton LLC, a company affiliated with Forest City’s Atlantic Yards Project, without obtaining the owner’s consent — as required by the lease agreements.
...
“My property is not for sale,” Weinstein said. “There is a much bigger issue at stake: The rule of law has to prevail. The whole reason the United States was formed was to get away from the divine right of kings.”
Posted by amy at 11:26 AM
March 7, 2007
SCORE ONE FOR GOOD GUYS
B'KLYN ARENA FINALLY RISING AMID THE RUIN
NY Post
Some columnists use facts, some rely upon their tremendous intellect, and others bring you Bruce Ratner!
Columnist Andrea Peyser might be as shrill as a "freakin'" blogger, but today she has the inside scoop on what it's like to pal around with the Brucester:
Three long and frustrating years have passed since I walked with developer Bruce Ratner along Brooklyn's horrendously blighted Atlantic Yards...
NoLandGrab: Um Andrea, "Atlantic Yards" is currently a blueprint with state approval — you were walking along Vanderbilt Yards and probably didn't even get around to visiting with some of the nice folks who still live in the footprint, whose homes hardly constitute "ruin."
Bruce Ratner is kind of creepy when he loads up the charm:
"I don't get angry much," he said with a sly smile. "But I've done my share of screaming. You get angry, you say things," he said, turning red.
NoLandGrab: We're pretty sure that Ratner's mad at us, furious at Norman Oder and goes ballistic when someone mentions Dan Goldstein.
Don't miss this prevarication (fancy word for "liar, liar, pants on fire"):
"We're going to have parks here!" he enthused.
The "park" is in fact privately owned, publicly accessible open space, which will be closed after 8PM during the basketball season.
"To some people, I'm the devil," he said.
Does being the eminent-domain-abuse poster boy make you "the devil?"
As we walked further, to a spot where ground has yet to be broken, we passed an enormous, dead rat. We saw a bunch of discarded bags sticking out of the snow, frighteningly marked "Biohazard." And, yes, one hypodermic syringe.
Today, Norman Oder asked, "who's responsible?" (link) and linked his article about how the MTA and City of NY have allowed the railyard and the adjacent sidewalk to fill up with garbage only to have the State of NY call it "blight!"
Peyser also offers this incredible story as told by the granddaddy himself:
There were moments over the last three years that it seemed Ratner might throw in the towel.
Like when The New York Times reported that the project would be badly delayed because Ratner had failed to file enough financial data with the state. His executive vice president, Bruce Bender, got the brunt of the boss' fury.
"I called him up at 6 a.m., screaming," said Ratner. "I made him call everyone in Albany to find out if the article was wrong." It was.
This financial data has yet to be released to the public and local politicians. It's not even clear if a full financial disclosure was EVER submitted to the MTA or the Empire State Development Corporation, because both public authorities have only released one and three pages respectively of financial gibberish.
Peyser's closing betrays how little she knows about her new pal Bruce:
Welcome to Brooklyn, Mr. Ratner. And good luck.
Mr. Ratner is already the largest private-property owner in Brooklyn. He owns the two malls across the street from the footprint of the Atlantic Yards plan and is the developer of Metrotech.
What Peyser doesn't know can't hurt her, but it's killing us.
Posted by lumi at 7:48 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.
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 19, 2007
Michael Ratner endorses DDDB over BrooklynSpeaks (not quite)
Atlantic Yards Report channels Bruce's bro, Nets investor and constitutional rights champion Michael Ratner, to settle the question once and for all: DDDB or Brooklyn Speaks?"
One lingering question in the Atlantic Yards saga is whether the generally hard-line opposition and legally focused battle by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) is a wiser tactic than the lobbying effort by BrooklynSpeaks to change the project.
...
An interesting perspective, and an implicit encouragement for a hard-line approach to contested issues, comes from human rights lawyer Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR).
Sez Michael Ratner, to the Columbia U alumni mag:
"What I believe is simple: Social change comes through principled opposition to the worst excesses."
NoLandGrab: Any chance that the hefty "Lefty" has written a fat check to DDDB recently from "his" "office" at Metrotech?
Posted by lumi at 9:08 AM
Celebrity Vegas Overload: Diddy, Jay-Z, Kobe, Shaq and More, More, More Stars Plus Illegal Parties Fallout
VegasPop
By Robin Leach (yes, "The Robin Leach")
Jay-Z, "king of entertainment," and LeBron James, "king of sports," will take over the 42,000 square-foot TAO restaurant and nightclub tonight to co-host a private "power dinner" that will consist of a who's who in the entertainment and sports industries...
Topping the A-list is Jay-Z's partner, our favorite mogul, affectionately known as "king of Kings," and "the biggest guy around," Cleveland's favorite son, Caring Bruce Ratner.
NoLandGrab: Could Ratner be in Vegas during the all-star break to check out the propects of moving the Nets to the city that really never sleeps, just in case Atlantic Yards doesn't work, due to the lawsuit?
Posted by lumi at 7:30 AM
February 11, 2007
Wikipedia War over Michael Ratner
Don't Worry It's Just Reality: Brooklyn Edition on Michael Ratner's Wikipedia entry...
What keeps getting removed? this section:ControversyInvestigative reporter Norman Oder uncovered campaign contributions made by Micheal to politicians in Brooklyn - where he does not live - but his brother has been involved in controversial real estate deals. His brother, Bruce Ratner, has been accused of [ http://nymag.com/news/features/18862/ corruption and political ruthlessness] including eminent domain abuse. Critics have charged that Michael ignores his brother's subversion of the democratic process and unconstitutional use of eminent domain. (the project in question would force homeowners to sell their property so Forest City can build luxury condos.
Michael Ratner and his wife, Karen Ranucci, both Greenwich Village residents, have recently made campaign contributions using Forest City Ratner's Brooklyn building as a return address. Ranucci has matched many of her husband's contributions. And Bruce Ratner's girlfriend, Pamela Lipkin, as well as other Ratner family members, have made contributions engineered by an FCR lobbying firm. The Ratner campaign money trail leads to... Michael (& his wife)
apparently michael ratner's cheerleaders aren't too proud of his campaign contributions. Why not, doesn't this upstanding crusading civil libertarian support those fighting eminent domain abuse? Not when the abuser is his crooked brother.
Posted by amy at 1:45 PM
February 6, 2007
Who knew there were Nets fans in NJ? Eddie Trunk did
MetroNY
By David Sandora
Bruce Ratner's pick-up line falls flat on a fan:
In the music world, Eddie Trunk is known as the guy who brings hard rock and heavy metal to the radio. But in the sports world, he’s known as Mike Piazza’s buddy and a fanatic for his hometown teams. Trunk, who can be heard on Q104.3 FM, XM and VH1 Classic, talked music and sports with Metro.
Why do you feel so strongly against the Nets moving to Brooklyn?
It just really, really kills me now that all of a sudden, you put all this time into the love of your local team, and you have this guy come in who doesn’t really care about basketball — he’s a real estate developer — and he buys the team and wants to move them to Brooklyn as the centerpiece for his whole renaissance for this real estate deal that they want to do.
I confronted Bruce Ratner, the owner of the Nets. I saw him at a game, I went right up to him and told him how I felt. They’re going to tell you all the right things about, “Well we want to include you guys” — but how? It’s $14 in bridge tolls alone to go from New Jersey to Brooklyn.
[Image from www.eddietrunk.com.]
Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM
February 2, 2007
Why they lie
The Brooklyn Paper explains why NoLandGrab can't even squeeze in a vacation, much less retire:
Lately, it seems that no matter which development story we cover — Atlantic Yards, the so-called “Brooklyn Bridge Park,” the redevelopment of Coney Island — one common theme emerges.
Developers don’t tell the truth.
And the simple reason is that they don’t want you — the taxpayers who subsidize most development going on today — to know how much of your money they’re taking.
We write about this subject a lot, but it bears repeating because the lies and subterfuge blinds many of our readers to the hidden costs of some of Brooklyn’s biggest projects.
With Atlantic Yards, developer Bruce Ratner once boasted that his project would generate $100 million in tax revenues for the city every year for 30 years. That figure is now down to $15 million. Fifteen million! That’s coffee money for a city with a $57 billion annual budget.
The city once said it would only spend $100 million on “infrastructure improvements” at the Atlantic Yards site. That figure is now $205 million — and the mayor told our reporter this week that the final figure will be higher.
Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM
January 23, 2007
Happy Bruce Day to You!
How old are you now?
From Wikipedia:
Bruce Ratner (born January 23, 1945 in Cleveland, Ohio) is president and CEO of Forest City Ratner, the New York division of Forest City Enterprises, which is based in Cleveland. Ratner was New York City's most active real estate developer during the 1990s. Ratner graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1967 and graduated from Columbia Law School in 1970.
"The Brucester" started out with a promising career in public service:
After obtaining his J.D. Ratner became the director of a Model Cities program for the Lindsay administration in New York City. Subsequently he served in the capacity of chief of the Consumer Protection Division in the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs under Mayor Ed Koch in 1978.
"Birthday Bruce" is known in some circles as the poster child for eminent domain abuse*, but in Brooklyn he's affectionately known as the "biggest guy around" and "Big Brother Bruce."
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn regrets that Bruce didn't get Prospect Heights for his birthday, but expect that tug of war to continue.
* Projects where Bruce Ratner has benefited or intends to benefit from the use of eminent domain include, Metrotech, The NY Times Tower, Atlantic Yards and a mixed-use redevelopment in Bloomfield, NJ.
Posted by lumi at 11:02 AM
January 19, 2007
Nets' owner Ratner choosing money over loyalty
The Bergen Record
By Ian O'Connor, columnist
The Record's veteran sports columnist visits Brooklyn and goes to town on Ratner:
"I'm at the games," Ratner said. "I see them, I meet the people, I love them."
Yes, he loves them. And yes, he's got the funniest way of showing it.
Away from a news conference podium, before he was rushed off by aides who thought they were guarding a head of state, Ratner said through a straight face, "We just think that we have great fans in New Jersey."
So great, in fact, that the owner will offer his own show of fan appreciation during the 2009-10 season when he asks those beloved New Jerseyans to take the kind of four-hour round-trip commute I took to listen to him gloat about the future of the Brooklyn Nets, not to mention all those wonderfully lucrative buildings he'll erect around them.
Ratner is a smart, rich, well-connected businessman. He's also a phony.
...
Ratner just needs to stop acting like some noble lord of a charitable trust. Like every other gasbag suit in the house Thursday, Ratner went on and on about the "vision" he had for Brooklyn's youth. He sounded as if he wanted to build a new high school at his own expense, rather than a sixth borough to call his own.
O'Connor catches the slap in the face to the African-American fan base:
If Ratner cared to reveal himself as a true philanthropist with Brooklyn's best interests at heart, he would have named this arena after Jackie Robinson and told Barclays to keep its cash. That way, Ratner would've avoided potentially awkward chats with his ballplayers and a diverse Brooklyn fan base -- the people who might wonder why Ratner is in business with a bank once forced out of South Africa by anti-apartheid protests.
However, even a seasoned columnist left the Mayor's myth-making unchallenged:
"It's only fitting that Brooklyn's future include a major sports team coming to play at the site that would've been the home of the Dodgers had they not been stolen away by Los Angeles," Bloomberg said.
Mayor Mike's Mythology: Alas, Bruce Ratner already built the Atlantic Center Mall over the site that Walter O'Malley coveted for a new Dodgers ballpark.
Posted by lumi at 9:40 AM
Barclays and Nets Announce Partnership to Further Brooklyn Renaissance
Barclays Center Agreement Provides Significant Investment in Brooklyn and Advances Local Community Initiatives
From the Barclays & Forest City Ratner joint press release, via PR Newswire (complete release after the jump):
"We are very proud to be a partner with Barclays, a prestigious company that exemplifies and shares our commitment to excellence, leadership and success," said Bruce Ratner, President and CEO of FCRC and Chairman of the Nets.
NoLandGrab: Not to mention that the deal with Barclays constitutes a big slap in the face to the African-American community.
NEW YORK, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays, a leading global financial services company, and the Nets, of the National Basketball Association, today announced a multi-faceted strategic marketing partnership that includes the 20-year naming rights to the Barclays Center, the planned centerpiece of the Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn. This will be the planned new world-class home of the Nets. The Barclays Center will feature a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment arena, designed by Frank Gehry, which will seat up to 20,000 people.
"Barclays is thrilled to partner with the Nets in this exciting endeavor. We are delighted to put our name to a development that will be a visual and economic landmark in the renaissance of Brooklyn," said Robert E. Diamond, Jr., President, Barclays PLC. "This opportunity brings together economic prosperity for Brooklyn and the chance to participate, in a unique way, in the cultural and sporting life of New York."
In addition to the agreement, Barclays has also agreed to partner with the Nets in the Nets-Barclays Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization whose goal is to promote athletics, education and personal development among young people in Brooklyn. The alliance will, as its first objective, repair and renovate basketball courts and other sports facilities throughout the borough, as well as sponsor amateur athletic tournaments and clinics for Brooklyn's youth.
This initiative mirrors the Barclays Spaces for Sports program in the UK, which helps local communities transform neglected land into the sporting facilities they want -- from skateboard parks to soccer fields or multi-use game areas. So far Barclays has opened more than 100 community sports sites across the UK.
"We are very proud to be a partner with Barclays, a prestigious company that exemplifies and shares our commitment to excellence, leadership and success," said Bruce Ratner, President and CEO of FCRC and Chairman of the Nets. "We believe this partnership marks an important moment in Brooklyn's history and its place on the international stage. With this essential investment in Atlantic Yards and the borough, we are now one step closer to our goal of bringing thousands of jobs, mixed-income housing, and, of course, a world-class arena and franchise to Brooklyn."
"We are excited that one of the most respected global financial services companies has chosen to partner with an NBA team to demonstrate its commitment to the United States market as well as its desire to make a difference in the communities where it operates," said NBA Commissioner David Stern.
"This partnership is a defining moment for the Nets business and brand," said Brett Yormark, President & CEO of Nets Sports and Entertainment. "It truly strengthens our position as a leading sports and entertainment franchise. We could not be more pleased than to have a partner as distinguished and well-respected as Barclays."
Brooklyn is the most populous borough of NYC and the Barclays Center will provide retail establishments and commercial offices in the area. It will also serve as a venue for arts and other athletic events. The Barclays Center is expected to include an 850,000 square foot world-class arena, which is scheduled to open for the 2009-2010 NBA Season. The arena expects to host more than 200 events annually, many of them family-oriented. The new partnership covers 20 years from the Nets' first season in their new arena, slated for 2009.
Barclays has been in the US for more than a century. Barclays Capital is one of the world's fastest-growing investment banks, focused on risk management and financing and has US headquarters in New York City. Barclays Global Investors, the world's largest asset management business, has its global headquarters in San Francisco, and Barclaycard, the credit card business, has its US headquarters in Wilmington, DE.
Sports are a significant part of the Barclays worldwide sponsorship portfolio, which includes The Barclays, the PGA TOUR event at the Westchester Country Club scheduled for August 20-26 this year. In addition, Barclays sponsors The Barclays Scottish Open golf tournament at Loch Lomond, the Barclays Singapore Open golf tournament and the Barclays Premiership, the world's leading soccer league.
About Barclays PLC
Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. We are one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalisation. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 60 countries and employs around 120,000 people. We move, lend, invest and protect money for over 25 million customers and clients worldwide.
About Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank PLC which has an AA long-term credit rating and a balance sheet of over US$1.8 trillion. With a distinctive business model, Barclays Capital provides large corporate, government and institutional clients with solutions to their financing and risk management needs. Barclays Capital has the global reach and distribution power to meet the needs of issuers and investors worldwide. Barclays Capital Inc. is a member of the NASD and SIPC.
About Barclays Global Investors
Barclays Global Investors is one of the world's largest asset managers and a leading global provider of investment management products and services. It has over 2,800 institutional clients and over $1.6 trillion of assets under management. It transformed the investment industry by creating the first index strategy in 1971 and the first quantitative active strategy in 1978. BGI is the global product leader in Exchange Traded Funds (iShares) with over 180 funds for institutions and individuals trading in 13 markets. Globally, it has $222 billion of iShares assets under management.
About Barclaycard
Barclaycard has more than 15 million retail customers world wide including more than 3.2 million in the U.S. through affinity programs. Barclaycard US is one of the fastest growing credit card issuers in the U.S. with more than 40 existing card partnerships with some of the most successful companies in the U.S.
For further information please visit: http://www.barclayscenter.com/ http://www.barclays.com/ http://www.barcap.com/ http://www.barclaysglobal.com/ http://www.barclaycardus.com/
Barclays, Barclays Center, Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors, iShares and Barclaycard are trademarks of Barclays Bank PLC.
About Forest City Ratner Companies
FCRC is a subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, Inc., an $8.5 billion NYSE-listed (ticker: FCEA & FCEB) national real estate company. Forest City Enterprises is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States.
About the Nets
The Nets are a member of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team reached the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and has advanced to the playoffs for five consecutive seasons. The Nets currently play at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.
Forward-looking statements (Barclays)
This document contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with respect to certain of Barclays plans and its current goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition and performance. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements sometimes use words such as 'aim', 'anticipate', 'target', 'expect', 'estimate', 'intend', 'plan', 'goal', 'believe', or other words of similar meaning. Examples of forward- looking statements include, among others, statements regarding Barclays future financial position, income growth, impairment charges, business strategy, projected levels of growth in the banking and financial markets, projected costs, estimates of capital expenditures, and plans and objectives for future operations.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances, including, but not limited to, global as well as US economic and business conditions, market related risks such as changes in interest rates and exchange rates, the policies and actions of governmental and regulatory authorities, changes in legislation, and the impact of competition -- a number of which factors are beyond Barclays control. As a result, Barclays actual future results may differ materially from the plans, goals, and expectations set forth in Barclays forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements made by or on behalf of Barclays speak only as of the date they are made. Barclays does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect any changes in Barclays expectations with regard thereto or any changes in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. The reader should, however, consult any additional disclosures that Barclays has made or may make in documents it has filed or may file with the SEC.
Safe Harbor Language (FCRC)
Statements made in this news release that state the Company or management's intentions, hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, real estate development and investment risks, economic conditions in the Company's core markets, reliance on major tenants, the impact of terrorist acts, the Company's substantial leverage and the ability to service debt, guarantees under the Company's credit facility, changes in interest rates, continued availability of tax-exempt government financing, the sustainability of substantial operations at the subsidiary level, significant geographic concentration, illiquidity of real estate investments, dependence on rental income from real property, conflicts of interest, competition, potential liability from syndicated properties, effects of uninsured loss, environmental liabilities, partnership risks, litigation risks, risks associated with an investment in a professional sports franchise, and other risk factors as disclosed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2006. Website: http://www.barcap.com/ Website: http://www.barclayscenter.com/ Website: http://www.barclays.com/ Website: http://www.barclaysglobal.com/ Website: http://www.barclaycardus.com/
Posted by lumi at 7:43 AM
January 17, 2007
The faces, attitudes and ages of NBA owners are changing: old school, new school
Contra Costa Times
By Marcus Thompson II
An article about the newest crop of NBA owners has this tidbit about Bruce Ratner and Atlantic Yards that's news to us (emphasis added):
Bruce Ratner, a 61-year-old real estate developer who had hip-hop icon Jay-Z's help paying $300 million for the Nets, is planning to privately fund a $4 billion, 22-acre complex that includes an 18,000-seat arena, a housing complex, a hotel, a shopping center and skyscrapers for office buildings.
NoLandGrab: Bruce Ratner doesn't privately fund any of his projects, but his PR department is doing a great snow job on the media.
Public spending for Atlantic Yards could reach $2 billion, only we don't know the exact amount because NY State and Ratner consider that top-secret information crucial to their "negotiations."
Posted by lumi at 7:57 AM
January 6, 2007
Bruce Ratner Will Ensure You Have Overpriced Coffee
Daily Intelligencer
Speaking of the inexorable march of franchised coffee, we noticed something interesting while idly gazing at some Atlantic Yards plans today. While much about Bruce Ratner's project is still up in the air — Miss Brooklyn's size, the project's time line, the exact numbers of jobs it will create and people it will push out of their homes, who will win Daniel Goldstein's lawsuits — one thing, however, is set in stone, at least according to sketches provided by Frank Gehry's office. Atlantic Yards will definitely have a Starbucks.
article
This story might look familiar to some...
Posted by amy at 11:32 AM
December 31, 2006
BUSH, RATNER, AND THE VISIONS OF FOOLS
Views from the Bridge
Bruce Ratner rides the same breed of horse as the Neo-Conservatives though he would no doubt vehemently deny it. It is not so much that the ends justify the means with Forest City Ratner, as it is an article of faith that some people are imbued by providence with the ability to plan, decide, and seal the fate of those they regard as less able beings. It is not that Bruce Ratner believes he rules public finance by Divine Right. It is that for him, like George Bush, the law is a secular impediment to his role as the conduit for the divine will. The law just gets in his way.To Mr. Ratner, the Atlantic Yards Project is more than the law, the state, the nation, and its people. We mortals here below are not able to grasp that fact, and so when the high trinity of New York State politics gathered in Albany this month, they “sanctified” Mr. Ratner’s mission in spite of the evidence. Apparently they agree that he is gifted with the angelic visionary ability to create for us what we cannot see we ought to do for ourselves. Like the Archangel Michael, Mr. Ratner wrestles with secular law to beat it into cooperating for the higher – though as yet unseen -- good. To him, those of us who see this as a mass mugging of the public treasure simply have feet of clay. We need indoctrination, not honest dispute.
Posted by amy at 11:07 AM
December 8, 2006
RICH CRIBS
NY Newsday
By Laura Mann and Abigail W. Leonard
Bruce Ratner's East End (not East Side) neighbor just reduced the asking price of his compound:
Wildlife and fashion photographer Peter Beard recently lowered the asking price on his cliff-side property in Montauk from $32 million to $20 million. John Hollyer, listing agent for Prudential Douglas Elliman, says Beard has "mixed feelings" about selling the storied estate, where neighbors include singer Paul Simon and New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 6:38 AM
December 6, 2006
It came from the Blogosphere...
Don't Worry It's Just Reality (Brooklyn Ed.), Why do "nice guys" like Michael Ratner Associate With 'bad guys' like Bruce Ratner?
It's a trick question... he's not a nice guy.
In a subsequent post, Dreadnaught notes that Michael Ratner is an international human rights lawyer, which gets him off the hook for local human rights.
The Gowanus Lounge, Christmas + Atlantic Yards = Atlantic Yards Youtube Christmas Carols
GL gives the Prospect Heights Action Carolers some airplay and has this warning for Marty Markowtiz:
Do you begin to sense what will happen if the BP runs for Mayor and people hold a grudge? The only mayoral candidate with a pre-mixed opposition group.
Gawker, Memo to Bruce Ratner: Where's Your YouTube Video, Hmmmm?
If you really wanna see Bruce Ratner's YouTube video, click here.
[Note: Give it up for targeted advertising. When we viewed Bruce Ratner's YouTube vid, the banner ad for Cingular featured Nets minority owner, Jay-Z.]
I'm Seeing Green, Atlantic Yards Light
Worried about being blown over by the Atlantic Yards project?
The Gowanus Lounge, Atlantic Yards: A Terrorist Attack is Not a "Reasonable Worst-Case Scenario"?
If a major terrorist attack is not "a reasonable worst-case scenario" for an arena atop a train and subway station with a highrise atop it and apartments nearby, what is?
You can overlook all of the impacts of Atlantic Yards that have been ignored: scale, density, pollution, congestion, shadows, etc., etc., etc., but even the most enthusiastic backer of the project should ask that officialdom hit the pause button until proper anti-terrorism and safety planning is done.
Posted by lumi at 6:52 AM
December 1, 2006
Ratner’s bro on the warpath
The Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman
This week's Brooklyn Papers has a little tidbit about Michael Ratner's fight for accountability. We're talking about the War on Terror, not the Battle Against Brooklyn:
Ratner’s group, the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a criminal complaint in Germany against Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and former CIA Director George Tenet on behalf of 12 Iraqis and Saudis who had been allegedly abused at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay by their American captors.
“There has to be some accountability for Donald Rumsfeld,” Ratner told Bloomberg News.
Funny, that’s what many Brooklynites are saying about his brother.
NoLandGrab: Actually, many Brooklynites are saying the same thing about Michael Ratner.
Just this week Atlantic Yards Report revealed that City Planning officials met with Forest City Ratner and Frank Gehry's people in Michael Ratner's office. It's also beginning to look like Michael Ratner is the bag man for Forest City Ratner's local political funding operations. Did we forget to mention that he is an investor in the Nets?
Posted by lumi at 4:34 PM
November 6, 2006
"A Magical Evening" — with Lane, Fierstein, Streep and Jersey Boys — Benefits Reeve Foundation Nov. 6
Playbill
By Ernio Hernandez
Playbill ran the piece again about tonight's black-tie fundraiser for the Christopher Reeve Foundation, along with the bit about, honoring "Visionary" Bruce Ratner.
Nathan Lane, Harvey Fierstein, Donny Osmond, Meryl Streep and stars of The Times They Are A-Changin', The Jersey Boys, Tarzan and more will take part in "A Magical Evening" benefit for the Christopher Reeve Foundation Nov. 6.
The event, which will celebrate the strength and courage of the late Christopher and Dana Reeve, will be held at the Marriott Marquis.
...
The Christopher Reeve Foundation will present the first-ever Dana Reeve Hope Award to Cristina Carlino, founder and CEO of Philosophy, Inc. The Visionary Leadership Award will also be bestowed upon Forest City Ratner Companies President and CEO Bruce C. Ratner and The Honorable Thomas H. Kean.
NoLandGrab: It's hard to argue with the event organizers: Bruce Ratner is a visionary. It's just too bad he's so shortsighted.
*It is amazing how one man's "visionary" is another man's villain:.
Posted by lumi at 8:29 AM
November 3, 2006
Marked Maverick
Yahoo Sports
By Adrian Wojnarowski
An article about Mark Cuban, the passionate owner of the NBA's Mavericks, uses Bruce Ratner to make a point about "caring:"
Listen, Cuban isn't perfect, but his flaws are forever in the spirit of trying, of caring, which is more than you can say for a lot of the mummies owning teams in the league. Bruce Ratner bought the Nets to cut a real estate deal in Brooklyn. He wouldn't know a basketball if Cuban threw it upside his head.
Posted by lumi at 6:37 AM
October 28, 2006
Fodder for "The Onion"
Don't Worry It's Just Reality: Brooklyn Edition
There are some quotes that are ridiculous you stop and check the source...is this a spoof? Sadly it isn't: Mayor Bloomberg:Bruce Ratner is as good a developer as you can find in terms of building quality projects and including the neighbors,If the Mayor's idea of 'quality' is Metrotech and Atlantic Mall, then scary times are head..and I don't mean Halloween. Including neighbors? Is the mayor at all aware that Ratner kept our community boards out of the process and all of them have publicly complained about this and have serious objections to the size of this project and the use of eminent domain? That politicians would say things like this, which fly in the face of reality indicates to me either Ratner is extraordinarily charming at Upper East Side cocktail parties (doubtful) or extraordinarily good at backroom deals (likely).
Dreadnaught apparently does not know about Ratner's Visionary Leadership...
Posted by amy at 7:20 PM
October 10, 2006
The Dirty 30
More evidence that Bruce Ratner is becoming the man New Yorkers love to hate, from Slam Online (emphasis added):
NEW JERSEY
Best of times: The rotation gets deeper with Marcus Williams, and the Nets are able to rest Kidd just enough for him to be a force in the playoffs, and Vince attacks the basket when he needs to. Jay-Z’s return from retirement saves New York Hip Hop and the east coast b(i)ased media declares another golden era on its way. Rappers from the other 49 states get day jobs.
Worst of times: Jason Kidd finally runs out of gas, Vince is given the keys to the franchise and he drives it off a cliff. Richard Jefferson has his first pessimistic thought. Jay-Z is too old and boring and his legacy is tainted. Once the Nets move to Brooklyn, Jay’s portion of ownership is forcefully bought out, and he suffers the same indignity that his idol Michael Jordan did with the Wizards. Bruce Ratner reaches Robert Moses and Walter O’Malley levels of hatred from New York City residents.
Posted by lumi at 6:24 AM
September 22, 2006
How did Ratner get to build a downtown Brooklyn tower? The state won't say
Atlantic Yards Report:
So Forest City Ratner will build a $186-million Renzo Piano-designed tower at a site owned by the City University of New York's College of Technology bounded by Jay, Johnston, and Tillary streets. That site now includes the Klitgord Auditorium, where the Atlantic Yards public hearing and community forums were held.The building would be about 1 million square feet--almost as big as Miss Brooklyn, the largest building in the Atlantic Yards plan--which suggests it could be 50 to 60 stories tall. It will include classrooms, luxury condos, and some affordable housing.
While the size of the development is apparently as of right, given the recent rezoning of Downtown Brooklyn, other questions remain. However, as the Brooklyn Papers reported, the state won't release details about the finances or the bid process.
Posted by amy at 11:18 PM
September 6, 2006
Press Release: City Council Member Letitia James Endorses NY State Assembly Candidate Bill Batson
From the Bill Batson press release on today's endorsement by the stalwart critic of eminent domain abuse and Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal, City Councilmember Letitia James:
"Bill has been described as a 'one-note candidate', but nothing could be further from the truth," James said. "In Albany, Bill will be dedicated to fighting for more affordable housing for this district, for increased subsidies for NYCHA residents, and for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity money so desperately needed by our public schools," continued James, "I am honored to go to Bat for Batson."
[Full release after the jump.]
Brooklyn, NY – Today, Council Member Letitia James endorsed 57th Assembly District Candidate Bill Batson at an 11am press conference, in front of the recently closed Associated Supermarket at 176 Myrtle Avenue.
"Bill has been described as a 'one-note candidate', but nothing could be further from the truth," James said. "In Albany, Bill will be dedicated to fighting for more affordable housing for this district, for increased subsidies for NYCHA residents, and for the Campaign for Fiscal Equity money so desperately needed by our public schools," continued James, "I am honored to go to Bat for Batson."
Sadique Wai, Batson supporter and member of the United African Congress stated, "I have known Bill for many years. He will fight for all of the people of this district—the recent immigrants and the long-time residents of this country. To Bill, we are all people that need to be heard."
The press conference was held in front of the shuttered market—which stands in the shadow of MetroTech—to illustrate the underdevelopment of parts of the district, while other portions are being overdeveloped.
"We cannot stand by any longer, watching developers get public subsidies from our city and state, allowed to run amok in our Borough, building things that do not benefit us. We watch as our hospitals close, our supermarkets close, and our schools suffer," Batson thundered. "I'm going to Albany to help Brooklyn fight back!"
Batson has already received endorsements from Norman Siegel, Major Owens, City Council Member Bill DeBlasio, and City Councilman/Congressional Candidate Charles Barron, Congressional Candidate Chris Owens, CSEA, the Sierra Club, CBID, and DFNYC, among others.
Posted by lumi at 10:35 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.
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.]
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
August 12, 2006
Pol Position: If That’s Being Iconic, We’d Hate to See Normal
Queens Ledger discusses Marty's choice of architect Robert Scarano as the first "Brooklyn Icon":
We couldn’t determine through our sloppy research if there was ever a second Brooklyn Icon named, but if the first one is any indication of the type of candidate that is considered, we really can’t wait for #2. In fact, we even have a few suggestions of our own (come on, you knew that we would). Perhaps the borough president’s office could consider Bruce Ratner as their second Brooklyn Icon? Or what about Joshua Guttman, he seems like a pretty stand-up guy. And there’s always Clarence Norman.
Posted by amy at 1:34 PM
Friday: The Sad $12m NoHo Penthouse, the Happy Midtown Salad, Sickly Brooklyn
The Real Estate:
Ratner recap: The Bruce gets $60.8 million in cash, plus 3.9 million units of stock, from his pals at Forest City Enterprises. Sweet deal, right? Yet in return he hands over his 30% stake in Forest City Ratner to FCE, which means saying goodbye to 30 enormous properties--including Atlantic Yards and the new Renzo Piano Times HQ. Matthew Schuerman explains: it's all about philanthropy.
Posted by amy at 1:29 PM
August 6, 2006
The Score: That chap Bruce is Doing a Ratner
NY Daily News
Sports columnists Michael O'Keefe and Teri Thompson carry an item you won't see on the telly, as they have a wee bit o' fun covering "Doing a Ratner."
According to Wikipedia, "Doing a Ratner" is a British phrase referring to a business executive who disparages his company's products and customers, frequently with disastrous results.
...
Wikipedia notes, however, that Caring Bruce Ratner has also suffered from foot-in-mouth disease: "On the other side of The Pond, a Forest City Enterprises executive, developer Bruce Ratner, characterized his own Atlantic Center mall as 'not something that we're terribly proud of.' Additionally, in May 2004, Bruce Ratner memorably insulted customers who live near the same mall to a New York Times reporter: 'Here you're in an urban area, you're next to projects, you've got tough kids.'"We don't know what "Doing a Dolan" means in England, but here in New York, it loosely translates to "running a premier sports franchise into the ground."
NoLandGrab: In Brooklyn, "Doing a Dolan" means shelling out $13 million dollars on a PR campaign to derail new sports-venue competition.
Regrettably, Dolan isn't "Doing a Dolan" on "Caring Bruce."
Posted by lumi at 9:17 AM
August 2, 2006
"Doing a Ratner"
According to Wikipedia:
Doing a Ratner is a British business phrase referring to a chief executive or a senior person of a company who criticises the company's products or disparages the customers, frequently with disastrous results for both the person and the company.
The entry also notes that our own Bruce Ratner has occassionally been caught "doing a Ratner:"
On the other side of The Pond, a Forest City Enterprises executive, developer Bruce Ratner, characterized his own Atlantic Center mall as "not something that we’re terribly proud of" [1]. Additionally, in May, 2004, Bruce Ratner memorably insulted customers who live near the same mall to a NY Times reporter: "here you're in an urban area, you're next to projects, you've got tough kids," [2].
Posted by lumi at 11:21 AM
August 1, 2006
Overdeveloper Bruce Ratner becomes posterboy for stopping at nothing, even evicting the elderly
Just in case they didn't notice at Forest City headquarters in Cleveland, the Ratner name has become synonymous in NYC (only the world's largest media market), with eminent-domain-addicted Mad Overdeveloper.
This week's Village Voice puts the ball in Ratner's court, telling the tale of several long-time Brooklynites who find themselves in the path of what would be the largest single-source development in NYC's history.
Ratner is a favorite of the city's alternative press, earning the Voice's cover and the New York Press's designation this past March as the "Most Loathsome New Yorker."
Other semi-related Brooklyn stories in this week's Voice cover the BAM Cultural District and the wounded-but-not-dead-yet machine Dems who are hard at work supporting Carl Andrews's bid to succeed Major Owens in the 11th District Congressional race.
BAM goes the neighborhood
While Atlantic Yards grabs the headlines, an art attack quietly transforms downtown Brooklyn
Compared to Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards project, the BAM LDC plan seems like small potatoes.
...but it's not without its own controversy.
Andrews Amnesia
Why are the media giving the scandal-ridden Norman pal a pass?
Why the mainstream media doesn't drop-kick Carl Andrews is anyone's guess. However, there's a clear Atlantic Yards angle, since the Brooklyn Democratic Machine is currently pulling out all the stops for pro-Ratner candidates -- witness Tracy Boyland's stealth petition drive to get into the 18th State Senate District race against staunch Ratner critic Velmanette Montgomery.
Posted by lumi at 9:20 PM
July 3, 2006
Save Our Land getting wise to Ratner
Save Our Land
"In the Brooklyn Centre Historic District of the beautiful Archwood-Denison neighborhood, in Cleveland, Ohio, Cuyahoga County" folks are learning that their "own Ratner family is doing some really tacky things" and "that these Ratners are not nice people."
NoLandGrab: More empirical evidence that Bruce Ratner's reputation as the poster child of eminent domain abuse, greed and overdevelopment is spreading beyond the shores of the East River.
Posted by lumi at 8:02 AM
June 24, 2006
Bruce Ratner and the Atlantic Yards vs. THE SUN
Gothamist on shadows:
The good news is that the shadows would be pretty minimal during the summer months. The bad news is that Bruce Ratner appears to be following Monty Burns down a path of unspeakable evil: "since the beginning of time man has yearned to destroy the sun. I will do the next best thing...block it out!" (ok, Ratner didn't actually quote Mr. Burns, but still, we're worried!)
Curbed chimes in:
Seems it wasn't long ago we were worrying about blinding heat rays reflected off architect Frank Gehry's titanium panels. So what'll it be, Brooklyn: fire or ice?
Posted by amy at 6:01 AM
June 20, 2006
RATNER DROPS SUIT AGAINST E-MAILER WHO ALLEGEDLY SENT SPOOF MESSAGE
NY Sun
Lawyers for the Atlantic Yards developer, Bruce Ratner, have dropped a lawsuit against an anonymous e-mailer who sent a spoof message several months ago. The e-mail was sent to a public supporter of Mr. Ratner’s project and appears to be written by Mr. Ratner. The e-mail, addressed to the Brooklyn Brewery president, Steve Hindy, stated that Mr. Ratner would not be purchasing beer from Mr. Hindy in the proposed arena that is part of the project. — Staff Reporter of the Sun
Posted by lumi at 9:05 AM
June 9, 2006
While Dan Zanes goes cock-a-doodle-doo, Ratner goes gobble-gobble
Here's more evidence that Bruce Ratner is becoming the poster child for heavy-handed development brought to you by *Time Out New York," over the debate of the meaning of the Brooklyn Borough motto "EEN DRAGHT MACKT MAGHT":
Proletariat-minded interpreters translate it as “In unity, there is strength” while others prefer the more foreboding “Might makes right.” Given Bruce Ratner’s gobbling up of the downtown corridor, the axiom’s sinister definition seems particularly appropriate.
NoLandGrab: Interesting, though the "Downtown Corridor" isn't all that Bruce Ratner has gobbled up as of late.
Posted by lumi at 7:51 AM
May 23, 2006
Ratner Bros.
NY Daily News
Elizabeth Hays's profile of Kevin Keating ("Getting rough on Rudy," May 23), director of the newly released documentary, "Giuliani Time," mentions that Michael and Bruce Ratner are brothers, but not the minor fact that Michael Ratner is also an owner of the Nets:
The film began in 1998 as a short segment investigating First Amendment cases brought against Giuliani, with seed money raised by Michael Ratner - brother of Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner - who runs the Center for Constitutional Rights.
Posted by lumi at 7:23 AM
May 9, 2006
The Influentials: Real Estate
The Neighborhood Changers
Building, blocking, brokering, they’re transforming the city piece by piece.
NY Magazine
(10.) PROSPECT HEIGHTS
Bruce Ratner, Forest City Ratner
When he’s finished replacing 22 acres of brownstone Brooklyn with the Atlantic Yards project, the borough will never be the same.
NoLandGrab: In the interest of fairness, the project is over 8 acres of railyards. The rest is a mixed-use commercial/residential neighborhood nestled in Brownstone Brooklyn, which would receive the brunt of the environnmental impacts from the project.
Posted by lumi at 7:48 AM
April 15, 2006
Dayeinu, Bruce Ratner
Gutter
Here's one we missed -- even the Guttersnipes got that old time religion at the expense of Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn:
In anticipation of this week's upcoming religion-o-rama, and despite our status as simple observers, never participants, we urge you to consider this latest, A Very Brooklyn Passover Haggadah, for an Atlantic Yardseder.
Posted by lumi at 7:37 AM
April 14, 2006
Ratner sighting
Downtown Express
Under Cover
"Sightings":
Beekman St. tower developer Bruce Ratner hosting Cholene Espinoza’s book party for her memoir, “Through the Eye of the Storm: A Book Dedicated to Rebuilding What Katrina Washed Away,” at the Puffin Room in Soho. Ratner’s sister, Ellen, just so happens to be Espinoza’s significant other.
Posted by lumi at 7:10 AM
April 13, 2006
Nets new rap says Ratner’s the man
Brooklyn Papers
By Gersh Kuntzman
A contest to pick a rap theme song for the New Jersey Nets was won by an aspiring rapper who — surprise surprise — mentioned what a great job owner Bruce Ratner is doing with the Atlantic-Division-leading franchise.
“Check the skybox/Blackberry active/Making transactions/It’s Bruce Ratner!!” sings rapper Michael Barnes in “Going Hard.” Ratner’s Nets partner, rapper Jay-Z, created the contest earlier this year in hopes of finding a song that would pump up the volume at the Continental Airlines Arena. Does Barnes’s “song” fill the bill? We invite our readers to judge. Here are the lyrics.
Posted by lumi at 8:11 AM
Most Loathsome Response
NY Press, Letter to the Editor
Brooklynite Paul Sheridan makes the case for Marty:
You ask us our opinions on your Web site—to vote for the Most Loathsome New Yorkers—and then what do you do with the results? Whatever you want! OK, so you designated Bruce Ratner #1, but what happened to our dear Brooklyn leader, Marty Markowitz? The readers voted him in as #2, but you list him as #31?
Hey, you guys got a career ahead in Ohio or Florida doing voter tabulation.
Cleveland Scene, Outsourcing our scum
The top of the Most Loathsome leaderboard gets some play in Cleveland, though they may be too quick to claim their prodigal son:
New Yorkers may think they're cooler than we are, but when they need someone worthy of mockery, they turn to Cleveland.
The New York Press recently gave Forest City's Bruce Ratner top honors in its annual list of the "50 Most Loathsome New Yorkers." It seems Ratner -- or "this comb-over-mini-Donald," as the magazine affectionately describes him -- hasn't made too many friends in the Big Apple with his $3.5 billion project to turn Brooklyn into an outdoor Tower City.
Posted by lumi at 6:36 AM
April 2, 2006
Nice ass Mr. Community Activist
The Life of 2ME:
But this left me pumped about fighting for my community and opposing all the overdevelopment that is being allowed here in Brooklyn. I think everyone is, especially those who live near the proposed Nets arena (which is getting little press--as if it doesn't matter) in downtown Brooklyn. That eyesore will be a disaster for my borough if it goes through. Riding around the next day, I ran across many rats here in Brooklyn. Giant ones, placed my the construction workers union at sites where they use non-union workers (i.e. cheap day laborers). Not only are many not fully skilled but they work in dangerous conditions which have lead to many injuries and a few deaths. Some sites have ambulances idling to whisk the injured and uninsured off to who knows where. Seems the three nastiest developers are Bruce Ratner (Nets arena) and Shaya Boymelgreen and Isaac Katan (they're responsible for many out-of-context buildings in my area). Remember their names if you're buying a condo here in Brooklyn. They're not worth the money (shoddy work).
NoLandGrab: Historically, Ratner has used union labor, but Brooklynites agree that he is nasty for plenty of other reasons.
Posted by amy at 9:10 PM
April 1, 2006
BRUCE: I WILL BUILD ARENA
Bruce Ratner and the Brooklyn Papers employ the Media Rule of Three: If you say something three times, people will believe it. Are they trying to convince us, or themselves?
“It’s fair to say when we get to Brooklyn, it’s going to be the moment this franchise has been waiting for probably since it got into NBA,” said Nets CEO Brent Yormack. “Everyone that works for this team realizes that, we believe it and we’re betting on it.” The National Basketball Association takes a very dim view of gambling.
Posted by amy at 9:55 AM
March 31, 2006
NY Press Calls Developers "Loathsome"
The Real Estate Observer
By Michael Calderone
The Observer celebrates the year of the irrepressible developer on the NY Press's "50 Most Loathsome List."
...this year's list is quite different, with an influx of real estate big wigs. Bruce Ratner, Larry Silverstein, David Walentas, Shaya Boymelgreen, and Michael Shvo all make the list. Barbara Corcoran and Steven Roth--who were on last year's-- are spared.
NoLandGrab: Hey, don't forget that Bruce Ratner was #49 in 2004. Sidelined in 2005 due to injury, he spent the off-season working on his jump shot, mounting what could be a record-breaking almost-worst-to-first most-loathsome comeback.
Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM
March 30, 2006
NY PRESS 50 MOST LOATHSOME NEW YORKERS
And the coverboy of The NY Press annual "50 MOST LOATHSOME NEW YORKERS," leading the field at #1, is the eminent-domain-addicted Sultan of Subsidy...
BRUCE RATNER
Nets Owner & DeveloperWhere’s Jackie O. when you need her? The Atlantic Yards project and the rest of the properties this comb-over-mini-Donald’s got his greenbacked mitts around aren’t exactly Grand Central Terminal, but bear with us. Think of all the upper-middle-class homeowners who will be displaced after long, hard years of work carving a viable neighborhood out of a once-desolate area of Brooklyn. Then there are the many working-class people living in Prospect Heights, and the small businesspersons in the area. Aren’t their homes and businesses worth saving? The Empire State Development Board, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Pataki and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz don’t think so. The centerpiece of the proposed development is a 19,000-seat arena that will house the Brooklyn (née New Jersey) Nets, in which Ratner has a major stake. Also on the table are 17 high rises, which will be as high as 55 stories, 628,000 square feet of commercial space and residences. The housing bit is a ruse to assuage the masses. The “affordable” residential buildings will, however, remain out of reach for a single mom of four surviving on a sub-poverty-line paycheck. Ratner’s attempts to evade official processes for major real estate projects and the use of Supreme Court-endorsed eminent domain have been met with challenges from underfunded groups like Develop Don’t Destroy. What really pisses us off is the imminent razing of Freddy’s Bar and Backroom, which is in the 22-acre footprint. With the Freddy’s gone, where will we get our $4 beers when that’s all we have in our wallet? Oh, and don’t look for criticism in the Newspaper of Record: Ratner’s building theTimes’ gleaming new headquarters building west of Times Square.
And don't forget Bruce's Cheerleader-in-Chief, Marty Markowitz, who slipped from #21 a year ago to #31.
31 Marty Markowitz
Brooklyn Borough PresidentInstead of using what little power he has positively during the transit strike last Christmas (press releases and sound bites don’t count), the genial Marshmallow Man Markowitz turned Borough Hall into a coffee-and-tea joint for those commuters who decided to brave the winds on the Brooklyn Bridge. He stood at the foot of the entrance to the bridge cheering on the frostbitten, grumbling masses, essentially putting on a kissing-babies act. Gee, a bialy and hot coco really warms our toes, Marty. That’s his shtick. Smile, pat some backs, announce his support for the newest cause du jour as long as the press is around. Then there’s the real Marty, the backroom Marty. Case in point: his ebullient support for development czar Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Railyard, 20,000-seat, Frank Gehry-designed sports arena and the surrounding retail, residential and “public” (ironic quotes) spaces. Last summer, Markowitz held a press conference with Upstate and city politicians and Ratner’s puppet community groups—among them BUILD—to announce the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement. They all agreed Ratner’s vision is in the best interest of Brooklyn. But the beep is really hot about pipe dreams of a supposed sports renaissance, heralded by the construction of a complex for what would be the Brooklyn Nets. The restless ghosts of the Brooklyn Dodgers would at last be laid to rest at Ebbett’s Field. Meanwhile, he oversees a borough in the midst momentous change, with neighborhood after neighborhood falling prey to rapacious developers, and long-established communities uprooted.
Other NoLandGrab regulars who made the list are:
#11 George Pataki -- who gets extra credit for the gaping hole at Ground Zero
#22 Michael Bloomberg -- with his "capo" Dan Doctoroff
#40 Bill Weld -- no mention of eminent domain; apparently, he already comes with plenty of loathsome credentials.
Posted by lumi at 7:02 AM
March 21, 2006
Ratner to investors: AY approval expected by fall, Nets losses downplayed, 15-year buildout?
Atlantic Yards Report tunes into the webcast of the Forest City Ratner special investor event to learn more about the world according to Ratner.
Is the Atlantic Yards project on track? Despite delays from the original plan to open the arena in the fall of 2006, Forest City Ratner president and CEO Bruce Ratner told investors in the parent Forest City Enterprises that he expects goverment approval by mid-fall and construction to commence a few months after that. Ratner, sounding jovial and confident, also deflected concerns about losses suffered by the New Jersey Nets, saying he was confident the team would make money when it moved to Brooklyn. (Photo from Forest City Ratner web site.)
Ratner participated in a special investor event on 3/13/06. His portion goes from 1:22 to 1:54, but keep listening for another two minutes for an eminent domain anecdote. An investor conference call is scheduled for March 31.
Posted by lumi at 5:36 PM
March 20, 2006
Nets investor seeks to impeach Bush
While we're on the topic of Nets investors, Brooklynites wonder if civil rights crusader Michael Ratner will increase his commitment to eminent domain abuse by ponying up some more bucks to ensure that Brother Bruce retains control over the NJ Nets while the team awaits the move to Brooklyn in time for the 20?? season.
While local activists fight for their right to live in their own homes, Michael Ratner focuses on saving the free world from George Bush.
Posted by lumi at 7:15 AM
March 19, 2006
Also, Bruce Ratner’s Penis Has Not Gotten Any Larger
Gawker:
Of course, Brooklyn Lager will soon be the least of Ratner’s worries. Today he’ll file an additional suit against Mrs. Miriam Abacha, from whom he has not yet received a single cent of her late husband’s fortune, despite her promises. Once she transfers a sum of $900 million (U.S.) to his bank account, he’ll buy you whatever beer you want.
Posted by amy at 10:01 AM
March 7, 2006
Brian Lehrer Plays Dumb with Michael Ratner
OnNYTurf
Last week, Will from OnNYTurf emailed Brian Lehrer during his interview with Michael Ratner, urging him to ask about Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.
A few minutes later, much to my surprise, Brian mentioned my email on the air, but this is what was said:
Lehrer: "'Please challenge Ratner on the Atlantic Yards.' That's a different Ratner."
Ratner: "Right"
WRONG! What Brian Lehrer has failed to grasp is that pre-eminent constitutional lawyer Michael Ratner is not only Bruce's brother - he is also an owner of a stake in the NJ Nets, the team for which eminent domain will be used to clear land for a new arena.
NoLandGrab: To be fair to Michael Ratner, he wasn't under oath when Lehrer popped the question.
It's also a free country — so what if Michael Ratner invests in a business venture that relies on the threat of the Fifth Amendment eminent domain clause to force property owners to sell out to Bruce and sign a gag order gutting their First Amendment right to free speech? Ratner knows his rights!
Posted by lumi at 8:56 AM
March 4, 2006
Ratner seeks blacks, women
Brooklyn Papers:
Bruce Ratner is inviting “minority- and women-owned business enterprises” to an informational session to discuss bidding on initial construction at his proposed Atlantic Yards mega-development.
...
Project opponents were far from excited. “I find it curious that [they] will be able to review plans for the rail yard that officially haven’t been” approved yet, said Jim Vogel, a Pacific Street resident. Registration for Tuesday’s session closes Monday.
Posted by amy at 11:37 AM
February 23, 2006
ISLAND OF LOST DREAMS
The NY Press
By Steven McCauley
A short list of alternatives to Mayor Bloomberg's vision for Governor's Island includes this one that's not so nice:
Invite Bruce Ratner and the Dolans to build something there. Then when they arrive for the ground breaking, just sink the whole damn island. Nitro, C4, Acme-brand TNT; whatever it takes.
Posted by lumi at 7:55 AM
February 18, 2006
ESDC appeals decision, says loss of lawyer puts Atlantic Yards project on hold
TimesRatnerReport:
Until the decision on February 14 disqualifying a lawyer for the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) because he previously worked on the Atlantic Yards project for developer Forest City Ratner, ESDC had planned to issue the Final Scoping Document--a prelude to a Draft Environmental Impact Statement--within 30 days.Now, with the potential loss of attorney David Paget, "the order of the court below has brought the environmental review process respecting the Atlantic Yards project--and thus the project itself--to a screeching halt, since experienced outside counsel is required for a project of this nature," said ESDC attorney Douglas Kraus in a statement filed with the appeal of Justice Carol Edmead's decision.
What about finding a new lawyer? Well, said Kraus, relatively few such qualified counsel exist, and three are already working for other parties in this case: two for Forest City Ratner and one for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He asked for an expedited appeal "in the interest of fairness," and called for a schedule that would lead to an oral argument before the state appellate court during the week of March 6.
Posted by amy at 3:22 PM
February 17, 2006
State Appealing for Right to Use Ratner Lawyer
WNYC:
The state economic development authority is appealing a judge's ruling that it had a "crippling" conflict of interest in its review of the proposed Nets arena and high rise complex in Brooklyn.
Posted by amy at 7:29 PM
February 3, 2006
Bruce Ratner Could Get Tax Credit For Going Green
Park Slope Courier
Assemblymember Roger Green is proposing state legislation aimed at giving FCRC Companies’ Atlantic Yards plan a tax credit for the installation of Green Roof Technology.
...
The proposed legislation would expand the green building tax credit program by making available an additional $25 million tax credit for the Atlantic Yards site.
So let's check this math...Green + Green = $$$Green $25 million tax credit for FCR. FCR will benefit from green building legislation while depriving others of the ability to install green roofs or solar panels on their own buildings due to the looming shadows?
The other exciting math is in the outdated graphic. The number of housing units is currently 7300 (not 4500) and office space is currently at 628,000 square feet (not 2.1 million).
Posted by amy at 10:58 PM
January 14, 2006
Ratner Sponsors Two Tourneys
From the Brooklyn Eagle:
In his continuing effort to bring a major professional sports franchise to Brooklyn, Downtown developer and New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner will be sponsoring two high school basketball tournaments this weekend.
Set speed aka onehansonplace.com calls it "trying to buy some street cred."
Posted by amy at 11:06 AM
December 4, 2005
Q&A With the Man Who Would Remake Bklyn
From the Park Slope Courier. Ratner uses the word 'respect' in a sentence. Incorrectly.
The challenge for developing in Brooklyn – for developing anywhere, really – is to respect the character of the place while providing for the needs of today and tomorrow, in terms of housing, work and retail space.
Maybe Ratner defines respect as taking people's houses and businesses when they do not wish to sell them, knocking down all of the existing buildings in an entire thriving neighborhood, and plopping down 16 tower buildings ranging from 20 to 58 stories high in a low rise area. Perhaps 'obliterate' was the word he was looking for.
Not to worry, TimesRatnerReport is already on top of the debunking.
Posted by amy at 12:11 PM
December 1, 2005
Ratner Roundup
Dope on the Slope talks turkey about Bruce's Brooklyn boondoggle. Topics covered are: "Pocket Stuffing," "Gehry's Goose Cooked?" and "Chestnuts Goading Me to Open Ire."
Gehry lost me when he failed to hold any public input forums or charettes before he pulled out his popsicle sticks and aluminum foil. Gehry should have insisted on such input as a condition of employment with Ratner. The fact that he didn't makes him unfit for the project in my view. Either he didn't recognize the difference in designing a single building and defining a neighborhood, or he wasn't willing to stand up for what he knew to be the right thing to do.
Posted by lumi at 6:31 AM
November 22, 2005
Why The Nets Could Never Be The Dodgers
Fans for Fair Play
Why the NJ Nets will never replace the Dodgers in the hearts and minds of Brooklynites, no matter how much myth and nostalgia Marty Markowitz and Bruce Ratner conjure.
Specifically, here's why Ratner and Markowitz are way off mark about the Nets doing for Brooklyn what the Dodgers did.
THE OWNER
DODGERS: Charles Ebbets
NETS: Bruce Ratner and hundreds of investors, including disgraced Tyco exec Dennis Kozlowski, former progressive activist attorney Michael Ratner and hip-hop star Jay-Z, who owns 7/10 of one percent of the teamOWNER'S PROFESSION; SOURCE OF INCOME
DODGERS: baseball team owner; Brooklyn Dodgers Baseball Club
NETS: real-estate mogul; Forest City Ratner CompaniesOWNER’S YEARS IN THE SPORT BEFORE HE PURCHASED THE TEAM
DODGERS: 20 (all spent with the Dodgers as a ticket seller, clerk, bookkeeper, scorecard salesman, business manager, president, field manager, and part owner)
NETS: 0OWNER'S TOTAL YEARS IN THE SPORT
DODGERS: 42
NETS: 2OWNER'S COMMITMENT TO LOCAL FANS
DODGERS: Charles Ebbets put himself into debt and took out loans to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn when he bought the team.
NETS: Bruce Ratner thinks nothing of New Jersey fans, taking their team away without a second thought.
Posted by lumi at 7:06 AM
November 13, 2005
Stephon not only struggling guard
Mike Lupica proves that the best way to bring sports and politics together is through poetry. And this is beautiful.
If Caring Bruce Ratner is still the owner of the Nets in five years, I'll eat my hat.A Nets hat, even.
He doesn't want the team.
He never really did.
He wants the land.
Dan Doctoroff thought he didn't have to buy people left and right to push his agenda with the West Side Stadium, he was Deputy Mayor.
Ratner was much smarter about all this, which is why he's got all these "community leaders" on scholarship now.
Posted by amy at 10:57 AM
October 16, 2005
Ratner's money tree grows in Brooklyn
Mike Lupica of the Daily News shoots from the lip once again:
Ratner is just smarter than Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff was with his vision for a new West Side, built around a football stadium. Ratner does not try to hide one of the sweetheart real estate deals in the history of New York City behind the Olympics. Instead, he spreads money all over the borough, trying to buy influence and loyalty, acting as if this is all about jobs when it is mostly about highly profitable luxury housing.
Lupica details all of Ratner's various con tactics and praises Letitia James' loud opposition to the destruction of Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Posted by amy at 12:11 PM
October 10, 2005
Mike Lupica: Shooting from the Lip
When is someone in city government going to have the guts to take a hard look at the way Bruce Ratner is trying to buy himself the entire borough of Brooklyn? (link)
Read Mike Lupica's past observations about Ratner's Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 9:22 AM
October 4, 2005
Pay day? That's rich
The Daily News
Borough President Marty Markowitz rakes in $135K a year (plus SUV benefits) and Bruce Ratner net worth is estimated at $4 BILLION!
How does Brooklyn's ruling class rank against the rank and file?
NoLandGrab: At least Marty makes more than Caldwell.
Seriously folks, we don't know where the $4 BILLION figure comes from (probably the market capitalization of the publicly traded Forest City Enterprises). The online version of the article doesn't provide a source.
Ratner's not on the Forbes 400 list, but it's not for the lack of trying.
Posted by lumi at 7:09 AM
September 21, 2005
Press Release: RATNER KEEPS AIDS PROJECT AFLOAT
A benefit to underwrite the cost of Mooney’s trans Atlantic Row for AIDS is announced, which will honor Mayor Mike Bloomberg and the Mayor of Goree Island, Senegal next month in New York.
In the footprints of the Atlantic Yards Development Project, Mr. Bruce Ratner, of Forest City Ratner Companies, recently donated space so AIDS Activist, Victor Mooney can build a ocean rowboat. Mooney is halfway in his first boat building attempt.
When: Thursday, September 22, 2005, 11:00 AM
Where: Atlantic Yards Boat House
814 Pacific Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-399-3056
For more on the Goree Challenge – a trans Atlantic Row for AIDS, visit www.goreechallenge.com.
Posted by lumi at 7:35 AM
September 17, 2005
Ratner seeks to house Katrina exiles
From the Brooklyn Papers:
While none of the remaining condo owners object to the idea — they uniformly praised the plan, even though it was put forth by Ratner — the point that people who lost their homes were replacing their former neighbors was not lost on them, either.“It’s extraordinarily ironic that these people who have been driven from their homes by natural disaster would be moving into homes that have been vacated by people who have been driven form their homes by threat of eminent domain,” Vince Bruns said with a laugh.
NoLandGrab: It will be even more "ironic" when the people who take the homes that are empty due to eminent domain have their orginal homes taken by eminent domain.
Posted by amy at 11:14 AM
September 14, 2005
Developer Has Mixed Record in Brooklyn
WNYC Radio
by Andrea Bernstein
Bernstein reveals an uncomfortable truth, about Forest City Enterprise's largest tenant:
One of the biggest employers [in Metrotech] is the City of New York.-The Fire Department has its headquarters here, and so does the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. According to city records, the city pays 32 million dollars every year to rent office space in these buildings it helped to build. Documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Forest City Enterprises, the parent company of Forest City Ratner has $7.3 billion in assets and does business in 19 states and the district of Columbia. But what is its largest tenant? The City of New York.
Furthermore, the Atlantic Mall, Forest City Ratner [FCR] couldn't hold down an anchor tenant until NY State's economic development agency relocated there. Eventually, FCR receives props for the Atlantic Terminal mall housing the popular Tar-jay.
Posted by lumi at 9:30 PM
September 11, 2005
Mike Lupica: Shooting from the Lip
NY Daily News
Isn't anybody in town supposed to find it interesting that Caring Bruce Ratner's development project in Brooklyn, the one being built around Jason Kidd, is going to cost the public about a billion dollars over the next 30 years?
You know what the most profound difference between Ratner's sweetheart deal and the one the Jets were trying to get off Mayor Money?
Ratner's is in Brooklyn.
And it's the Nets, not the Jets.
NoLandGrab: "Isn't anybody in town supposed to find it interesting that" the only columnist who is asking the hard questions about "Caring Bruce Ratner's development project in Brooklyn" is a DAILY NEWS SPORTS COLUNMIST?
Posted by lumi at 11:14 AM
August 21, 2005
Nets leaving no stone unturned in effort to build ticket sales
Beside a platter of chicken satay, Nets principal owner Bruce Ratner schmoozes with his customers."I want to meet you, I want to talk to you, I want to answer your questions," Ratner says later in his welcome speech.
NoLandGrab: Is he talking to us? Does Bruce Ratner want to speak to the citizens of Brooklyn? Oh hell no. He's having another barbecue to sell Nets tickets.
"Please," he tells the group from the head of a 40-foot table, "do whatever (the Nets) ask of you because we really need the money."
NoLandGrab: The bake sale will be held next Saturday at Bruce Ratner's house. And when you donate, please be generous. Just think of the children....
Posted by amy at 10:37 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.
Posted by lumi at 10:37 PM
August 2, 2005
"Bruce Walking" decoded
An astute reader brought to NoLandGrab's attention an interesting fact about the Tammany Hall LED installation sponsored by Forest City Ratner.
The letters of the title, "Bruce Walking" can be rearranged to spell WIN LARGE BUCK.
Eerie...
Posted by lumi at 4:59 PM
August 1, 2005
Mike Lupica: Shooting from the Lip
NY Daily News
Mike Lupica is either a super genius or the only columnist in a local daily paper that has the credentials and guts to make the following point:
And, oh by the way, the deal that Caring Bruce Ratner is getting on that land in Brooklyn is the same kind of sweetheart deal the Jets were trying to get from their friends in city and state politics.
Posted by lumi at 10:16 AM
July 29, 2005
Straight White Jewish Male Desperately Seeking Your Neighborhood
Bruce Ratner
AKA Bruce C Ratner
Born: 23-Jan-1945
Birthplace: Cleveland, OH
Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight, Baby!
Occupation: 60's-style overdevelopment
Level of fame: Niche
Executive summary: New York City developer
To contribute to Bruce Ratner's NNDB profile and learn more about our favorite eminent domain addict with a subsidy abuse problem, click here.
Posted by lumi at 6:36 PM
June 26, 2005
Stadium, Anyone?
Questions for Bruce Ratner from New York Times Magazine. Here's our question for the New York Times:
WHEN WILL YOU DISCLOSE YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH BRUCE RATNER?
This article is a fluff piece straight out of the clearly deranged Forest City Ratner PR machine.
It has been a bad week for Brooklyn. We can't trust the Supreme Court. We can't trust the New York Times. We already knew we couldn't trust our Borough President and Mayor. But we can still trust our neighbors. It's time to join your neighbors and friends in our fight against injustice. No one will protect Brooklyn but Brooklyn itself.
In Ratner's own words, "Like so many things in life, it was just a matter of money." It's just a matter of money that citizens don't have a say in our own neighborhoods and government? Mr. Ratner needs to realize that everything in life is not about money. Unlike Mr. Ratner, we don't see Brooklyn as a giant piggy bank that needs to be smashed to get at the cash.
Read the article here, if you can stomach it.
Watch DDDB skewer the rat here.
To contact Byron Calame, who represents the readers of The New York Times as the Public Editor, please e-mail public@nytimes.com.
To check out The New York Times Limited Edition Development Partner action figure click here.
Posted by amy at 10:33 AM
June 4, 2005
Ratner lands Giff's backing
From the Daily News:
City Council Speaker Gifford Miller - a vocal foe of the Jets' proposed West Side stadium - is coming out in favor today of developer Bruce Ratner's $3.5 billion Nets arena complex in downtown Brooklyn.
Posted by amy at 10:59 AM
Ratner site expands — into Park Slope
From the Brooklyn Papers:
But at a City Council hearing last Thursday, a presentation by Forest City Ratner said the developer was considering plans to greatly increase the amount of housing on the site, both by scaling back the amount of office and retail space and by expanding the site westward — jumping over Flatbush Avenue to include plots now occupied by Modell’s and PC Richard & Son.
Posted by amy at 10:46 AM
Breakin' Bread with Bruce
Curbed passes along info about how YOU can have dinner with Bruce Ratner!
URBAN LEADERSHIP AWARD DINNER
TUESDAY, JUNE 14
honoring
Bruce Ratner
at
Gotham Hall
1356 Broadway at 36th Street
Cocktails 6pm Dinner 7pm
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Real Estate Institute
Posted by amy at 10:39 AM
May 21, 2005
Housing plan Net gain for Mike
From the Daily News:
The announcement of more than 2,000 affordable-housing units as part of Brooklyn's planned arena complex wasn't just good for billionaire developer Bruce Ratner - it was good for billionaire Mayor Bloomberg, experts said yesterday.Standing on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall, both men had won the blessing of Bertha Lewis, executive director of the politically important group ACORN.
"It's a big win for both of them," said political consultant Hank Sheinkopf. "It makes it appear there is no acrimony and that housing, jobs and the community are essentially protected."
Posted by amy at 12:44 PM
May 5, 2005
Ratner Mea Culpa II
Bruce Ratner's latest mea culpa came yesterday when he acknowledged that he "wasn't ready to be an owner" last summer when he took over the team. Brooklynites can take this two ways:
* Ratner once again has screwed up so badly that he has to fess up in public.
* Ratner hates to loose so badly that he'll pay any price.
This latest admission will give activists courage, knowing that his revenue-based bird's-eye view is wrong for Brooklyn, but they better get their rears in gear because the man obviously loves a challenge.
NY Daily News, Heat on Ratner this summer
The NY Times, Ratner's Latest Goal Is Keeping Kidd Happy
NY Post, NETS OPEN WALLET
The Newark Star-Ledger, Nets owner will spend to improve
MSNBC, Nets owner takes blame for lost season
The Bergen Record, Nets owner opens vault for off-season
Asbury Park Press, Ratner ready to own up to ownership duties
Posted by lumi at 7:10 AM
May 2, 2005
45 Cars = 1%, Yonkers Ridge Hill Car Rally
Yonkers Tribune
The folks in Yonkers took to their cars to illustrate how Ratner's plan to build a VILLAGE in Yonkers would have a debilitating affect local automobile traffic. Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn activists added their voice to the struggle to point out that Ratner's proposal to build a MINI CITY in Brooklyn would do the same.
Posted by lumi at 7:07 AM
April 27, 2005
Ratner's generous to a fault
And some wonder: Just buying support?
The Daily News
By Deborah Kolben
As developer Bruce Ratner plows ahead with plans to build a controversial $2.5 billion arena and residential complex in Prospect Heights, he's also doling out checks to local groups.
"That's what we are, a helping hand," Ratner said yesterday as he gave $50,000 to the Brooklyn Perinatal Network, which works to combat baby deaths in Fort Greene, the neighborhood with the highest infant mortality rate in the city.
"I think it's a good thing, but I also note the difference between what they're doing and public relations; they're trying to get public support by any means necessary," said Clinton Miller, pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Fort Greene.
Posted by lumi at 7:19 AM
Bruce Ratner Donates $50,000 To Combat Infant Morality
After Meeting, Some Questions, Few Answers on Atlantic Yards
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
By Raanan Geberer
More on Ratner's $50,000 donation to the Brooklyn Perinatal Network:
"I'm going to lean all I can about perinatal [before-birth]* health," said Ratner before offering a symbolic check. "People said I didn't know anything about basketball, but I learned," he joked.
The arena was not mentioned during the ceremony, although several of its supporters, such as James Caldwell of the organization BUILD and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, were in attendance.
* FYI for the Eagle and its reporter, (from Merriam Webster) perinatal: occurring in, concerned with, or being in the period around the time of birth.
BROOKLYN YWCA -- Developer Bruce Ratner yesterday announced a donation of $50,000 to Brooklyn Perinatal Network, to help mobilize community efforts and develop a plan to address the increasing number of infant deaths in Fort Greene.
"I'm going to lean all I can about perinantal [before-birth] health," said Ratner before offering a symbolic check. "People said I didn't know anything about basketball, but I learned," he joked.
The reference was to the basketball arena that Ratner's company, Forest Citgy Ratner, is planning, also in Fort Greene. The arena was not mentioned during the ceremony, although several of its supporters, such as James Caldwell of the organization BUILD and the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, were in attendance.
Some people might be surprised that Fort Greene, where a mini-real estate boom is taking place, has had the highest infant mortality rate in the city for the past two years. However, Dr. Georgianna Close, head of the organization Fort Greene SNAP, told this reporter that Fort Greene still has several poverty areas, including three low-income housing projects.
The recent economic change, strangely, has had a negative effect on health funding for the area, according to the Brooklyn Perinatal Network.
“One reason for the rise [in infant mortality] is that Fort Greene, unlike neighboring Bedford-Stuyvesant, does not qualify for federally funded initiatives like Healthy Start. Because brownstones and co-ops abut existing NYCHA housing, the base income of the neighborhood is skewed, making the district ineligible for many public resources,” says a handout from the group distributed at yesterday’s ceremony.
The 15-year-old organization, headquartered at the YWCA, covers not only Fort Greene, but a wide stretch of Central Brooklyn stretching east to East New York and Brownsville. The $50,000 donation will be spread over two years, as seed money for the group’s efforts.
In her speck, Ngozi Moses, executive director of the Perinatal Network, slammed the city and state for cutting back on their health budgets. When funding does reach the organization, she says, “it takes nine months to get it.”
Even getting money from private foundations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations, she said, is getting harder because the aforementioned government agencies are competing for the same grants.
Therefore, she said, organizations like hers must turn to the private sector. She said private business has largely been unresponsive in the past, but praised Ratner, saying that aid from such a high-profile, wealthy individual will get more press and may inspire other firms to donate as well.
Ratner was rather modest, as usual, judging by his rare public appearances. “You’re the experts,” he said. “We’re just the helpers. If you need anything, contact us.”
After the meeting, Forest City Ratner Executive Jim Stuckey answered questions on the arena, and his answers echoed stock replies from the company during the past few months or so.
When asked how much the Atlantic Yards project are Forest City Ratner now owned, he merely said, “A significant amount.” He said he hopes construction can begin next year, and that the arena will be open in time for the 2008-’09 basketball season.
Asked to respond to those critics of the project who want the Atlantic Yards to go through the city’s ULURP land review process, Stuckey responded that Forest City Ratner will go through any process that is required by law.
“However,” he said, “you can look at history, and see that projects on state land and on MTA property usually go through the state review process.” Critics charge that the state process has less public input.
In response to another question, Stuckey mentioned a detail that has been part of the Atlantic Yards plan for a long time but is rarely mentioned: when the Nets arena is build, the MTA’s Long Island Rail Road yards themselves will be moved, to an area between Carlton Street and Vanderbilt Avenue.
This, he said, will improve security for the LIFF, as well as make it safe for trains to maneuver during the layup periods in between rush hours. “We’re doing them [the LIRR] a favor,” he said.
Posted by lumi at 6:27 AM
April 23, 2005
Mall plan makes waves in Coney
The Brooklyn Papers discusses other toys that Ratner played with, broke, and left out in the rain.
Thor Equities is owned by Joseph Sitt, who redeveloped the Gallery at Metrotech, an ailing indoor shopping mall abutting the Fulton Street Mall in Downtown Brooklyn, after it was abandoned by Metrotech’s developer, Bruce Ratner. Sitt renamed his mall the Gallery at Fulton Street.
Posted by amy at 1:39 AM
April 22, 2005
Rupture on Ridge Hill
The Journal News
EDITORIAL
...it is unreasonable to block the sale over disagreement on exactly how much money will go to the city. For one thing, the corporation has to pay off the debt it assumed in the transaction. And the city, not Albany, has a right to guide its own affairs.
Killing Ridge Hill would be a shame. The proposal — which includes residential, retail and office space, a hotel and conference center — would bring employment, sales-tax revenue, consumer benefits and housing, some of which would count toward Yonkers meeting a quota in its federal housing desegregation case.
Killing the project would hurt the developer, Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner, which has invested about $21 million so far since being chosen by the city in 2002 to develop the site. What a negative impact that kind of loss would have on the redevelopment boom Yonkers is finally experiencing.
Posted by lumi at 7:44 AM
April 18, 2005
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."
Posted by lumi at 8:33 AM
April 17, 2005
Mike Lupica: Shooting from the lip
NY Daily News
Our elected politicians rolled over for Caring Bruce Ratner in Brooklyn.
Then Mayor Money and his trusty aid, Shifty Doctoroff, did everything in their powers to give away the Hudson Railyards to the extremely needy Woody Johnson of the Jets.
Posted by lumi at 7:56 AM
April 16, 2005
SHUT OUT AGAIN
From the Brooklyn Papers:
Borough President Marty Markowitz has hosted another closed-door meeting about developer Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards proposal, continuing his policy of shutting out community members who have prominently voiced opposition to the plan to build a basketball arena as well as 17 residential and office high-rise towers.
Posted by amy at 11:32 AM
April 14, 2005
NETS BOSS OK ON JETS PLACE
NY Post
By John Crudele
Exclusive interview or pr puff piece? This Bruce Ratner interview is certainly not a hard-hitting investigative profile.
Right off the bat, writer John Crudele is surprised that Ratner would not take a stand against the Jets stadium. Then again, the Post can't seem to find a sports venue deal it doesn't like.
Posted by lumi at 6:45 AM
April 8, 2005
$24M arena jackpot
From the Brooklyn Papers:
Shaya Boymelgreen, who had been moving forward recently with plans to develop a hotel that would have potentially thrown a monkey-wrench into Ratner’s plan, abruptly agreed last Thursday to sell his properties at 800 Pacific St. and 546 Vanderbilt Ave. to Ratner for $44 million. Boymelgreen had purchased the property in August for $20 million.
...
Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for the anti-Ratner arena group Develop—Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, who lives in a condominium within the footprint of the site, said Boymelgreen’s sale of the property to Ratner would not deter the group’s mission.“We still intend to show the public that [Ratner’s] got a sweetheart deal from the city and the state,” Goldstein said.
Posted by amy at 10:51 PM
April 4, 2005
The News Interview: Bruce Ratner
NY Daily News
Developer Brucer Ratner, President of Forest City Ratner Companies, is principal owner of the New Jersey Nets, which he plans to relocate to Brooklyn. Ratner met with the Editorial Board.
Posted by lumi at 7:47 AM
April 3, 2005
Leviev, Boymelgreen sell 2 Brooklyn properties for $44m
Details on the Boymelgreen sale from Globes Online.
Posted by amy at 11:43 AM
March 29, 2005
Ratner push polling Brooklynites, focus group testing Manhattanites
Recent news of Ratner using push polls to sway the opinions of Brooklynites who live near the Atlantic Railyards stands in stark contrast to the focus group testing Ratner and Gehry are planning for Manhattanites. Curbed.com got a hold of the email solicitation for workshop participants (commonly known as focus group testers).
Posted by lumi at 9:21 PM
March 28, 2005
Lawyer's belief in civil rights leads him to defend detainees
The Cleveland Plain Dealer: Read about Michael Ratner, hero of the left, champion of constitutional rights, brother of Bruce, and part owner of the NJ Nets.
NoLandGrab: Normally, scrutiny of family members of well-connected developers would be off limits, but not when this family member, a champion of civil rights, doubles as a shrewd businessman whose investment in the NJ Nets has led to a money-losing arena proposal which seeks to use eminent domain, not for public use, but for a private developer's gain. Read previous entry on Michael Ratner.
Posted by lumi at 8:03 AM
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?
Posted by lumi at 10:11 AM
March 11, 2005
I'd Buy That for a Dollar!
The Dope on the Slope blogger and Tennessee expat tells us what he REALLY thinks about Bloomberg's and Pataki's giveaways in the Ratner deal.
I've got news for you Mayor. These inconvenient whiners are your constituents. There's an election coming up you know. Underestimating the size, conviction or resourcefulness of this opposition could be the worse political mistake you've ever made.
Posted by lumi at 6:18 AM
March 5, 2005
Ratner Regresses
From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
“You’ll find that you have opposition to anything that you try to do anywhere,” said Ratner, who claimed that getting the rights to the land for his MetroTech project was far more difficult, but less publicized than his play for the Nets’ move.“But that’s a good thing. It’s always good to have a different point of view. We expect that and know that it’s part of the process.”
A process that may be getting a little bit tougher than Ratner anticipated just a few weeks ago.
Posted by amy at 5:07 PM
March 1, 2005
Ratner to be guest on Mike and the Mad Dog at 5PM
WFAN Sports Radio, 660 AM:
The word is that Caring Bruce Ratner will be a guest on Mike and the Mad Dog, WFAN Sports Radio's afternoon sports-talk show at 5:00.
Mike Francesa and Christopher Russo don't take on-air calls during interviews, but you can still call and email the station with your questions and comments if they start pitching softballs and Ratner starts blaming everyone but himself for his mistakes. And above all, defend your neighborhood, because the last time we checked, the neighborhood is not blighted.
Telephone: 718-937-6666
Internet: http://wfan.com/instantaccess/
Posted by lumi at 12:31 PM
Bruce Ratner Hopes...
Fans For Fair Play:
Ratner hopes you buy the lie that his project is a done deal, when in fact there are dozens of high hurdles for Ratner to get over.
Sports, politics, finance, unions and broken promises are the weapons of mass distraction Ratner uses to fight the long-term aspirations of a diverse community. Read the litany of hopes and lies that Ratner uses to sustain the belief that the arena is a "done deal."
Posted by lumi at 8:14 AM
February 19, 2005
Forest City Ratner Backs Out Of Ft. Greene Community Forum
From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
A large-scale community forum on the proposed development of Downtown’s Atlantic Rail Yards will go on without a key participant, the proposed developer Forest City Ratner (FCR).One spokesperson for the developer, Randal Toure, told long-time community organizer Ruth Learnard-Goldstein by telephone last week that FCR wouldn’t be participating in the forum because, “He told me that they’re working on the MOU (memo of understanding) and that they’re making changes to the project. I have to tell you that I was struck dumb. I was speechless.”
Posted by amy at 10:52 AM
February 17, 2005
The Whitney Should Move, Not Expand Museums
The NY Sun: Francis Morrone's opines that Ratner could be just the guy to bring the Witney to the BAM neighborhood.
In fact, Bruce Ratner could be the link. This developer has shown a notable interest in that part of Brooklyn. He also knows from Renzo Piano, as Mr. Ratner is the developer of the New York Times Building. Having brought Target to the neighborhood, surely he could bring the Whitney. Maybe Target could even start a new line of Whitney branded merchandise.
Posted by lumi at 6:44 AM
February 12, 2005
Bruce Ratner Holds Court
From the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:
Bruce Ratner doesn't want to hear about the problems he'll have dealing with those opposed to his $3.5 billion plan for Downtown, which will include a sparkling new arena for his soon-to-be-Brooklyn Nets...Ratner has been unable to secure the parcel of land necessary for his $550 million Downtown Arena, but refuses to let the wait for the M.O.U. (Memorandum of Understanding) or questions regarding the Community Benefits Agreement get in the way of his vision for bringing big-time pro sports back to Brooklyn for the first time since the Dodgers fled to Los Angeles in 1957.
Posted by amy at 11:50 AM
February 11, 2005
Nets' Owner Starts Over
...and speaking about "the campaign to re-image the team" as a metro-area attraction, here's the latest NY Times scoop on the sensitive, caring side of Bruce Ratner. Too bad the story made him out to be such a dork.
Nets' Owner Starts Over By RICHARD SANDOMIR
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Feb. 9 - The pregame was easy for Bruce C. Ratner.
Ratner, the principal owner of the Nets, chatted with team officials over a turkey dinner Wednesday night at the Winners Club restaurant inside Continental Arena, then greeted Magic Johnson and Richard J. Codey, the acting governor of New Jersey, at courtside.
Fans reached out with their hands and suggestions. Ratner strolled through the new prefabricated Nissan Courtside Club to mingle with elite seat-holders, as well as Jason Kidd's wife, Joumana, as they supped on frankfurters and popcorn.
Then he suffered - quietly. He sat unobtrusively, usually with his arms folded over his chest, as the Lakers erased the Nets' 12-point fourth-quarter lead. He wondered about the identity of these largely nameless Lakers, who were showing perseverance without the injured Kobe Bryant.
"Who are these guys?" he said.
With each missed Nets shot, Ratner uttered a barely audible, "Oh, no." When the Lakers' Chucky Atkins tied the score at 92-92, Ratner shook his head sadly in disbelief.
In overtime, when Caron Butler's 3-pointer put the Lakers ahead for good, 102-101, Ratner emitted a pained, "Unnhhh."
With the score at 104-101 with 36 seconds left, Ratner, a tiny, rueful smile creasing his round face, said: "Anything can happen on any given night in sports. But I still don't like it."
When the game ended in the Nets' 28th loss of the season, Ratner slapped his right thigh, exhaled and said: "I've got a sinking feeling. It's far better to win."
Praying for Vince Carter to hit a buzzer beater is a new feeling for Ratner, who is 60. He was not an especially knowledgeable fan when he bought the Nets last year and was painted by critics as a developer who dipped into basketball only to move the team to a new Brooklyn arena by 2007 or 2008 and make a big real estate score.
It may be a while before he erases that image. There has been community opposition to his plan to build the arena and surrounding residential and commercial buildings, as well as discontent about how he has pursued his goal.
Norman Siegel, a lawyer for Develop Don't Destroy, said that Ratner had not provided enough information to neighborhoods about the project.
"Ideally," Siegel said, "a developer would reach out and meet with people and disclose his plans in detail so the people affected would understand what's happening."
But Bruce Bender, an executive vice president of Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner, said: "We've gone above and beyond to meet with the community. We've met with all the community boards. We've never turned down anyone. We have been very open. To say we haven't is wrong, deceitful and outrageous."
Forest City Ratner is the development partner of The New York Times Company in building a new headquarters in Manhattan on Eighth Avenue between 40th and 41st streets. For Ratner, the opposition to the Brooklyn development was a prelude to the ferocious reaction to the Nets' trading Kenyon Martin to Denver last summer, which Ratner subsequently called a mistake. After the Nets then traded Kerry Kittles, Jason Kidd said he wanted to leave.
The criticism was unlike anything Ratner had encountered as the commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs from 1978 to 1982 and as an urban developer. Both jobs, he said, had positive elements to them, but lacked the renown of owning a sports team.
"It was difficult for me the first three months, but it was a good trial by fire," he said. "I was horribly criticized. I got used to thickening my skin."
He said that he had atoned for much of the media and fan savaging when Rod Thorn, the Nets' president, and Ed Stefanski, the general manager, traded for Vince Carter. Ratner said that deal symbolized his belief that a solid organization, like his real estate company, could rebound with smart decisions.
"I didn't expect it to happen so quickly, that I'd be proven right," he said.
The impression that Ratner's intentions were purely real-estate driven was exacerbated by his status as a neophyte basketball fan. His sports memories reflect his upbringing in Cleveland - his love of the football Browns, and his first baseball game, the 1-0 no-hitter pitched by the Yankees' Allie Reynolds against the Indians in 1951.
"My father bought tickets for Game 5 of the 1954 World Series," he said, but the Indians, who won 111 games that season, were swept by the Giants. "When the Indians were last in the World Series, I made sure to buy tickets for Game 5." (The Marlins won the '97 World Series in seven games.)
To elevate his knowledge of basketball, Ratner plays the NBA Live video game on his computer; trolls the Internet for news and statistics; and bought the league's pay-per-view games on the N.B.A.'s League Pass subscription service.
"I watched the San Antonio game the other day to prepare for our game on Friday," he said. "I'm learning. Until 1983, I didn't know a thing about real estate."
Thorn, who has spent 40 years in the National Basketball Association as a player and an executive, said: "He's become a fan. He knows more about the game than he did before."
Ratner's challenges are hardly related to whether he can recite Wilt Chamberlain's free-throw percentage on the night he scored 100 points. It is, however, crucial that he build up the franchise in the years before the move to Brooklyn. Attendance is down this season by nearly 4 percent, to an average of 14,952 a game. Empty seats were noticeable Wednesday night throughout the arena. For most of the first half, there were five empty seats right in front of Ratner's.
"It doesn't break my heart," he said. "It's not whole empty sections. But when I look at N.B.A. games with whole empty sections, that scares me."
To maintain and add revenue, Ratner hired Brett Yormark, a former Nascar executive, as president of the team's parent company; created the Courtside Club from unused space near the basketball court's entrance; added areas for sponsor hospitality; reduced the price of 3,000 upper-tier seats to $15; initiated a postgame concert series; and distributes free tickets to deserving high school students.
During Wednesday's game, about 50 students from Thomas Jefferson High School in the East New York section of Brooklyn left their upper-level seats to meet Ratner, one after another, thanking him for their tickets.
Ratner said he was not concerned that reducing ticket prices or giving away a substantial number of tickets would hurt his bottom line. "Eighty percent of the revenues is in 20 percent of the seats in the lower bowl," he said.
He refused to divulge the state of the team's finances and said that before he sells the future in Brooklyn, he will build revenue in a market that has historically not fully supported the Nets and will, to some extent, be left behind.
"I don't accept that we can't substantially improve our business with the right product," he said.
He added, "With the right product, you can mess up the marketing."
One aspect of improved marketing is the imminent hiring of Marv Albert to call about 50 Nets games for the YES Network next season. Drawing Albert, a Brooklyn native, who is closely identified with the Knicks after calling their games for 35 years before leaving the MSG Network last June, is a public relations coup for the Nets.
Ian Eagle, who has called Nets game for 11 years, is deciding whether to accept a diminished role of about 30 games.
"Ian is very good," Ratner said. "But Marv is the gold-plated standard. It's our philosophy to get the very best people. I think I'm doing the right thing. There'll be some negative reaction about Ian, but it will turn out to be a positive thing."
There was little positive in the Nets' locker room after Wednesday's loss.
Ratner walked slowly from player to player, saying, "Tough loss." Not one looked up at him.
Ratner seemed forlorn when he walked out and decided against going back in to console Coach Lawrence Frank.
"I'm going to replay this game in my head," he said, before driving off in the rainy night in his chauffeured Lexus.
Posted by lumi at 6:12 PM