Closing Bell: Ratner Gets Sued; Ward's Doomed

The Observer is reporting on all things Bruce Ratner today. First off, they’ve got word that a Brooklyn “activist” by the name of Clive Campbell is suing Ratner, Jay-Z and Barclays Bank for $5 billion in slavery reparations. Campbell says that Ratner, Jay-Z and Barclays all stand to profit via Atlantic Yards from the African Slave Trade and continue to profit from these gains, through a conspiracy dating back hundreds of years and continue to date to oppress Black people, enslave them, unlawfully deport them to all corners of the Earth. (Barclays, which owns the naming rights to the Atlantic Yards arena, has conceded that companies it’s purchased may have been involved in the slave trade.) The Observer also reported today that Ratner recently purchased a 6,408-square-foot brownstone on the Upper East Side for nearly $7 million. (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.) And, in a final bit of AY-specific news, the ESD sent out a press release today noting that demolition at Ward’s Bakeryis going to continue over the next couple of weeks; barring unforeseen circumstances, it appears likely that the building will be all gone by the middle of March.
Hip Hop Founder Filing $5 B. Claim Against Jay-Z, Bruce Ratner [NY Observer]
Bruce Ratner Buys Brownstone, But (Surprise!) It’s Not In Brooklyn [NY Observer]
Photo by threecee.