DDDB Holds Fifth Fundraiser Against the Yards
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards watchdog organization, held its fifth annual Walk Don’t Destroy fundraiser on Saturday, which raised over $40,000 according to the Atlantic Yards Report. City Council Member Letitia James, DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein, actor John Turturro, and about 200 others walked the 2.3-mile route, which included a stop at Borough…
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards watchdog organization, held its fifth annual Walk Don’t Destroy fundraiser on Saturday, which raised over $40,000 according to the Atlantic Yards Report. City Council Member Letitia James, DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein, actor John Turturro, and about 200 others walked the 2.3-mile route, which included a stop at Borough Hall, headquarters of Borough President Marty Markowitz, a supporter of the Atlantic Yards development. This is about working-class people, Ms. James said as she marched across Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, according to The New York Times. This is about saving our homes and businesses against billionaires. We want our community back. The cash raised by the event will presumably go towards DDDB’s efforts to prevent the Atlantic Yards stadium and residential development project, such as its current lawsuit against the MTA for negligence of due process in its sale of land to developer Forest City Ratner.
Staying Power at Fifth DDDB Walkathon [AYR]
Walking Against the Bulldozers [NY Times]
Atlantic Yards: Suit Filed Against MTA [Brownstoner]
Photo by Tracy Collins
Benson, Ratner built Metrotech, after many years.It has yet to deliver on its promise of remaking downtown Brooklyn. The Fire Dept made its headquarters there- to help him. The Shopping Malls have long been noted as poorly designed, and insular. Neither one of these are on a scale with AY- and there is little in his past work to indicate he is capable of bringing it to fruition- certainly Metrotech isn’t- it’s dwarfed by AY.
The other point is that Ratner is dependent on special favors and dispensations to get what he wants done. Eminent Domain is a prime tool to him. So while you amy think he’s so great, it also pays to remember that Ground Zero, Joe Sitt, and other projects are getting the same help and handholding ratner is.
Ground Zero is the Port Authority, Joe Sitt and the City are at odds over Coney Island, I have no idea who is behind the Moynihan Station (which is one building as opposed to 19 plus an arena)so I can’t address that, but to claim the West Side is lacking development is laughable. The misbegotten stadium idea was well and rightfully killed.
As for how effective ratner is? It’s what? 4 or 5 years later and he is still in court having lot a ton of money and now trying to renege on agreements. Were he so effective a little guy like Goldstein would have been stopped ages ago. Obviously Ratner isn’t as good as you think.
Wow, the working class renter who lives in the footprint is not comprehensible or relevant and does not make sense to you brokedeveloper or idisagree? Frightening.
Maybe that is the whole problem, you have no clue that there are people involved. You only like numbers. You think a pile of cash ( evidence of this please) is the answer to all problems? Sad. You have no clue about the raw deals, the gag orders, the drilling, the lack of heat in the buildings on and on. You can’t understand that? Does not bode well for your over intellectualized points. Where is this pile of cash? To quote FSRG, you cite no sources. You believe what you want to believe to make it feel right for you. That is your free will. Good for you. Their free will? Really? A senior citizen who lived in his building for over 40 years, has a choice? He can live in the hellish conditions, that Ratner has created in the footprint, or he can use his “free will” to take approximately 80,000 to relocate his 40 years of living, memories, said good bye to his neighbors on and on. So I don’t think I’m hyperbolizing. If it’s preaching a human story, so be it. There are no piles of cash but for the ones Ratner will surely sit on if this project goes through.
You find that irrelevant and incomprehensible? I can live with that.
notignorant – setting aside the incomprehensible and irrelevant parts of your post, what do you mean by gag orders? presumably, you are talking about a confidentiality agreement signed by the people who were given piles of cash, with their own free will? not something a judge forced these people into, right? when you insist on hyperbolizing and making stuff up, it really weakens whatever merit your argument may have had.
Interesting…how ironic would it be if John Tuturo, Michelle Williams and all the “Anti-AY” celebrities end up in the front row at BK Nets games if the arena gets build and we sign LeBron?
Benson
Thanks for the compliment I guess.
I don’t need to cite a study, I am a citizen that lives here, just like you or fsrg, I’m not a researcher beyond that I just walk out my door and go meet people who live in the city I live in, over the years. If that is a political web site rant, so be it.
You know who is not working class? Billionaire Oligarchs from Russia, Bruce Ratner who lives in the richest district in NYC, Bloomberg etc. I don’t think I need to cite some long winded study to know that fact. Sorry if the average citizen does not feel pleased when their tax dollars goes towards these fat cat’s enrichment, when senior citizen benefits are being cut, when the governor is having to cut every other service in the state practically. ( Sorry no study attached).
No one said anything about gagging women, or the the Taliban, or likening Bruce Ratner to such a thing. That is the response of someone who just wants to create incongruent drama. You are clearly the one who could use a walk, putting ridiculous images and statements to my post.
A gag order, which apparently you need a citing or definition to understand, is not gagging someone literally, dear. It means you are forced out and must sign a contract that says you can not speak. You are not bought out, you are possibly relocated, to a place you probably can not afford. And you do this for 19 luxury high rises, and a sports stadium. No one is likening that to the atrocities of Darfur of the unfathomable gender inequality in the world, so spare us your demagogue finger pointing.
The point is, show us a picture of yourself, then point your finger about things you clearly know nothing about, that are easy enough to find out. One does not need to cite a study to recognize corruption.
“Ratner is hardly the only successful developer in the city- far from it. Metrotach is not the wonderful downtown boost it was given to be. ”
Bxgrl;
Really? Care to identify a single developer who has taken on a project of this magnitude in the past 25 years?
There are lots of developers in this town who handle single building projects. However,I can’t think of any who are taking on big projects like this.
Let’s look at the score:
-Ground Zero: still a hole in the ground;
-Moynihan station: nowhere
-Far West Side development in Manhattan: nada
-Coney Island redevelopment: nowhere
Shall we talk about how the MTA does with big complex projects? How is that Fulton Street project going?
Jeez- can the ESDC bend over any further and ask Ratner to kick it harder? Or kiss his butt any more than it already does?
FSRG = Forest City Ratner Guy (or girl)?
NotIgnorant = NottaMakinMuchSenseEither
What even happened to the firm that made the alternate proposal that paid more for the land and didn’t require eminent domain? That was back in 2004 if I remember correctly. To me, the only REAL crime in all of this was that there was no real auction process for the land once it was decided the pols were behind the Ratner proposal. The Eminent domain process certainly sucked for the renters, but then, how can you ever expect a rental situation to last forever? The owners all made out like bandits. I was this close to buyer in the “Atlantic Arts” building, and would have doubled my money. Oh regrets….
Please see the details of the new lawsuit for the full description of how this is so not about “affordable” housing. The Empire State Development Corp has now stated its willingness to make the affordable units contingent on public subsidies when no such condition exists in the approved project.