bloomberg_082609.jpgMayor Bloomberg spoke with reporters from the Community Newspaper Group, the parent company of The Brooklyn Paper, on Monday as part of his campaign tour, where they discussed everything from overzealous ticketing agents to Atlantic Yards. Concerning the latter, he hopes that developer Forest City Ratner can use the Frank Gehry designs for the arena and skyscrapers, as originally planned but later abandoned due to cost. It would make the arena—and Brooklyn—even more of an international draw, he reasoned: “Simon and Garfunkel on their tour would go to Brooklyn in a second before they go to Madison Square Garden. They’re New Yorkers.” (Has MSG been airlifted out of NYC recently?) Concerning the epic legal battles and financial concerns behind the massive development, the mayor sided with Ratner. “One of the great sins here is this small group of people stalled it so long [that] the economy is different,” he said. (AY Report disputes this view here.) Also of note, Mayor Bloomberg touched upon another hot-button development topic, Coney Island. Last month, City Council approved his plan for a new amusement park, hotels, theaters, a water park, and apartments. The last step is to purchase all or some of the land owned by developer Joe Sitt of Thor Equities. “Fundamentally, the deal with him is done,” the mayor said. He also insisted that Sitt will not develop the land himself, ominously adding that “He needs sewers; he needs water; he needs streets … If the city doesn’t want to cooperate, [Sitt’s] going to spend a lot of time with a lot of money tied up.”
Bloomy Still Wants Gehry—and Other Tidbits [Brooklyn Paper]
Bloomberg Blames AY Opponents for Loss of Gehry [AY Report]
Photo by David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Bloomberg may be loved for planting a million trees, but he’s cutting down 2 million to create all the mailings to get re-elected. He’s also planted a couple million (or so it seems) ugly ugly condos that will blight New York for decades. That’s his real legacy.

  2. Dinkins did not make the omelet. Dinkins fucked the chicken in the ass that laid those eggs in the first place…

    On a personal level, however, I find him pretty likeable.