A Sham Indeed
You can disagree over whether you think Ratner’s plans will ultimately be good for Downtown Brooklyn or not, but it’s hard to dispute the fact that the process that ultimately awarded him the project reeked of cronyism and back-room dealing. Which is why we got a kick out of reading the following snippet from yesterday’s…
You can disagree over whether you think Ratner’s plans will ultimately be good for Downtown Brooklyn or not, but it’s hard to dispute the fact that the process that ultimately awarded him the project reeked of cronyism and back-room dealing. Which is why we got a kick out of reading the following snippet from yesterday’s MTA board meeting:
Few speakers – whether supporters or opponents of the plan – voiced any passion at the public hearing before the vote, in part, because the outcome was never in doubt. However, a local resident, Shabnam Merchant, who lives near the project site at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, stepped up to the microphone to say, “It’s a sham.” She said she could not pretend otherwise, then spent the rest of her allotted two minutes standing there not speaking.
Arena Project Wins Approval from M.T.A. [NY Times]
David, if you like the Atlantic Terminal I’ve got some Garden State Brickface I could sell you 🙂 Well as they say if you like that kind of thing, you like that kind of thing. I suppose then you love “The Heights” on Court Street?
http://www.fcrc.com/project_main1.asp?id=21&cc=1&rid=21
C’mon these buildings are hideous! Even if you liked the way the Atlantic Terminal “looks”… its functionally horrendous.
While you’re at the link above check out their other “projects”… They are basically glorified strip mall builders.
As for Geary, that’d be great, but 1) he’s only designing the arena, and 2) who would be surprised if the final design had nothing to do with him?
Why am I harping on Forest City? Because the DESIGN is the thing!!! The ARCHITECTURE is the thing. No one is saying the railyards shouldn’t be developed, just that Ratner’s plan sucks, is exploitive, and the final execution will be on the cheap… and we’ll be stuck with the core of our city looking like the worst box high rises in Manhattan.
And BTW, the area is NOT a virtual wasteland, it is a vital and intersting neighborhood (I don’t live there by the way) that is organically restoring itself all around the MTA’s hole in the ground.
By that same developer logic Coney Island is a wasteland so let’s bring in Thor Equities… with another lovely portfolio of “projects”.. another story, another time, all too soon!
Weird because I thought Prospect Heights went from Atlantic to Eastern Pwy – From Flatbush to Bedford- who knew it was only encompased within that small little area [sarcasm] – the levels of exaggeration and hyperbole are out of control – “the destruction of their neighborhood”; my god you’d think that Robert Moses was comming to build a highway down Vanderbilt Avenue. The site currently has virtually nothing that that adds to a neighborhood – schools, parks, shopping, cultural institutions, transit etc… -and it barely has any residents (except for recent arrival Dan Goldstein)- this 10 sq block area is currently not part of the neighborhood! And while yes Ratnerville the effects of the development will bring effects wider than its immediate location, so does the fact that it is now a virtual wasteland creating huge gaps between neighborhoods.
One man’s rut is another man’s groove.
The Atlantic Center Mall is an eyesore, but I agree with “David” that the Atlantic Terminal building isn’t bad looking. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Gehry, but I know a lot of people love his architecture.
I have to say, what a brilliant way to protest something–wish I’d thought of it. Too bad Ms. Merchant didn’t bring along a bunch of people to follow her lead. Imagine person after person, getting up to the microphone saying, “It’s a sham” and then silently waiting out their 2 minute allotment.
I think it’s easy to dislike the project because of the cronyism that allows it and the subsidies the taxpayers are financing.
One might be more tolerant of the plan and design if it’s creator were somehow sincerely benificent, philanthropic or environmentally concious.
Has anyone else read about the incredible sums of money that NYC and State pay to rent office space in MetroTech and the Atlantic Center? Given this history, we taxpayers will definitely end up footing the bill for this whole Atlantic Yards fiasco. Why do our elected officials keeping propping up Ratner?
Seriously what is wrong with Atlantic Terminal?? It is a shopping center/office building over a transit center, and all in all it looks pretty nice to me – is it the Met – no but it isnt Atlantic Center either.
What about my parking?…what about my parking?…