Ward's Watch: Prepping By The Parapet

time to raise our taxes!

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 9:28 AM

BYW With the Credit Market imploding Ratner may have trouble raising capital. Also rates on Muni Bonds are screaming north. AY may nor be built. That would produce srceams of horror from the Asshat Nation. LMMFAO!!!

The What

Someday this war is gonna end....

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 9:31 AM

I know I'm willing to pay higher taxes to make sure this crown jewel gets built. VIVA BROOKLYN!!! VIVA BRUCE! GOD BLESS YOU!!

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 9:32 AM

"One developer"? Why the secrecy?

It's amusing to see how AY opponents have resorted to rumor and innuendo now that their legal options have all but disappeared.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 9:46 AM

might as well skip the city and just write your checks out to Bruce Ratner

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 10:28 AM

"crown jewel" ... LOL HA HA HA!!!!

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 10:29 AM

From your post to God's ear.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 10:43 AM

Here's a good one, maybe The What can use it:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20080219/bs_ft/fto021920081334359078;_ylt=AozoX8V3CwKFRV6c_RfR1f0E1vAI

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 10:44 AM

Johnny, We already did, maybe he needs more!

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 10:44 AM

Title: America’s Economy Risks Mother of All Meltdowns
Source: Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4d19518c-df0d-11dc-91d4-0000779fd2ac.html? nclick_check=1
Published: Feb 19, 2008
Author: Martin Wolf

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 11:37 AM

The meltdown continues!

BTW, I tood a good look at the "Environmental Impact Study" on the ESDC website yesterday. It is almost completely bogus! Sad.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 11:57 AM

D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 12:27 PM

Whenever I look at the Ward Bakery, I think about two very similar, recently restored local terra-cotta buildings from the turn of the last century: BAM and the Prospect Park Boat House (aka the Audubon Center). Yeh, yeh, I know all you Ayn Rand followers are gonna chime in with your screams to "tear it down, tear it down" but it could've been saved and it could've been gorgeous. Ratner's decimating our neighborhood in spite of not having the money to rebuild it. And, btw, the political support for this project is starting to ebb away.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 12:58 PM

"Ratner's decimating our neighborhood in spite of not having the money to rebuild it."

Oh yeah. That area looked MUCH better before Ratner arrived.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:15 PM

I love how an affidavit meant to persuade the courts to move faster--in other words, phrased to obtain a desired result--is now proof-positive that Ratner does not have the money to do this project. Laughable.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:28 PM

Agreed 1:15 and 1:28. As legal options dry up, opponents are grasping at whatever rumors they can find. Face it, folks, this battle is over and you have lost.

12:58, what makes you say that political support for AY is waning? Re: decimation, if Ratner were demolishing the southern part, such as lower Vanderbilt, Park, Prospect, Sterling, etc., then I would concede your point. But aside from the south side of Dean Street between Flatbush and 6th Avenue, the rest of the footprint has been a dump for decades.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:54 PM

yes but luckily for us he has our money to finish the project.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 1:57 PM

You're right. He's lucky. Whatever it takes to make this project a reality.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 2:10 PM

Oh come on, 1:54pm. Either you are completely ignorant about the area, or you are willfully ignoring what's there currently and what's already been lost. As I stated, the Ward Bakery is a gem. On the same block is a large former industrial buildings that had been prepped for conversion to loft apartments (the yellow bldg with red window trim). Then there's the former Spalding bldg on Pacific and 6th Ave which was already functioning as a condo. Also the Dean St bldg where internationally reknown artist Louise Bourgeois had her studio, along with other artists, musicians and artisans. Then there's the condo bldg on Pacific Dan Goldstein still inhabits. Additionally there is a row of handsome brick-fronted 19th century townhouses on Dean St that are scheduled for the wrecking ball. In the years btw 1995-2003 a great deal of very positive, building-by-building change took place in the area. Hardly a dump. Everyone who lives locally knows that the blight that existed previously was related to the MTA-owned and maintained land (eg. the foul corner of Atlantic and Flatbush) and that the new blight has been created recently by Ratner's demolitions.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 2:14 PM

How do Ratner's demolitions constitute blight?

Cherry-picking four buildings does not refute the "dump argument". I could just as easily point to the four decrepit buildings in the footprint (and, yes, that includes the Ward Building) and conclude the opposite.

Citing the Dean Street townhouses is irrelevant, as 1:54 already exempted them. I agree that they are attractive and will be a loss. But that block also contains some ugly buildings closer to Flatbush. IMO, losing a few townhouses is a fair trade for an arena and high-rises containing several hundred units of affordable housing.

Remember that blight also means underutilization, something that definitely applies to a low-rise area near one of the biggest transit hubs in all of NYC. And don't forget the railyards, which constitute about 35% of the footprint.

As usual, you assume that anyone who supports AY is not familiar with Prospect Heights. My wife and I own an apartment in the area and plan to stay.

And, no, I don't work for Ratner, so please spare me that tired line.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 2:35 PM

FRC has used "blight" as a plank in their legal argument to justify the use of eminent domain. The irony -- and the injustice -- is they themselves have manufactured the blight through the demolitions. It's called creating facts on the ground.

Btw, who said you worked for Ratner? Don't be so defensive.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 4:57 PM

AY would be a dump.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 4:58 PM

"As I stated, the Ward Bakery is a gem."

Actually, it's a closed, obsolete former factory that definitely has interesting architecture, but is not a "gem." If it's such a gem, why has no one sought to develop the property?

"On the same block is a large former industrial buildings that had been prepped for conversion to loft apartments (the yellow bldg with red window trim)."

Great! Everyone knows that very, very few industrial buildings in NYC have been converted to residential. We need as many as we can get!

"Then there's the former Spalding bldg on Pacific and 6th Ave which was already functioning as a condo."

A historic building, true, but residents were quite quick to realize 2X their investment when Ratner inquired.

"Then there's the condo bldg on Pacific Dan Goldstein still inhabits."

Former residents (with the exception of spoiled rich-boy, NIMBY Goldstein) complained that the building was a DOG - inconsistent heat, cracked walls, etc. Goldstein himself got locked in an elevator at one point! The building was by most accounts a very expensive failure.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 6:00 PM

every building with a cracked wall should be seized by the government and given to Bruce Ratner! and if the building has inconsistent heat too, then Bruce should get the building next it too, because that kind of shit is contagious! and if the owner takes an offer, well then the whole area is a "dump." and if a building is converted to residential... yup, its a "dump!"

you make some real sense there. you should become a dump expert.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 6:36 PM

I used to live on Carlton between Atlantic and Fulton in the late 90's and early 00's. This area was and is a dump. Any attempt to say otherwise is a complete lie made by someone who never lived in the area.

Posted by: guest at February 20, 2008 8:05 PM

that nonsense is interesting.

2 problems.

Carlton between Atlantic and Fulton is no in the footpint.
this isn't the late 90's.

sounds like YOU haven't lived in the area in a while.

Posted by: guest at February 21, 2008 7:10 AM

2/20, 6:00pm guest: Check your facts. There were indeed plans in place to renovate the Ward Bakery for adaptive mixed use. Not sure what point you're making when you say, "Great! Everyone knows that very, very few industrial buildings in NYC have been converted to residential. We need as many as we can get!" This building is about to be demolished so are you being sarcastic or did you just not know that detail either?

2/20, 8:05pm guest: If you lived btw Atlantic and Fulton on Carlton, you either lived in the Atlantic Terminal Publc Housing complex or in the Atlantic Commons middle income development across the street which, in the late 90s, was brand spanking new. Maybe you didn't like living in the PJs but it's apples to oranges compared to the buildings in the AY footprint and not really relevant to this discussion.

Posted by: guest at February 21, 2008 12:16 PM

"I know I'm willing to pay higher taxes to make sure this crown jewel gets built. "

I'm willing to pay higher taxes to ensure that this crap doesn't get built.

Posted by: guest at February 22, 2008 7:13 PM