ESDC Forced to Cough Up Financial Docs on AY
After dragging its feet for two years, the Empire State Development Corporation signalled yesterday that it would finally release documents containing financial information about the Atlantic Yards project. After the ESDC fought a freedom of information reques last year, Assemblyman James Brennan teamed up with state Senator Velmanette Montgomery on Monday to file a lawsuit…
After dragging its feet for two years, the Empire State Development Corporation signalled yesterday that it would finally release documents containing financial information about the Atlantic Yards project. After the ESDC fought a freedom of information reques last year, Assemblyman James Brennan teamed up with state Senator Velmanette Montgomery on Monday to file a lawsuit against the ESDC for improperly withholding the financial documents. One reason opponents of the project are so curious to see the documents is to get a better view into how profitable the project is expected to be for Bruce Ratner, hoping that big numbers would undermine his argument for needing to make the site so dense. The craving for transparency is due in part to the fact that the project gets to by-pass the city’s land-review process because so much of the land is state-owned.
Lawmakers Push for the Release of AY Financial Documents [NY Sun]
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3:21 a lot can happen in 15 years dont give up on coney island. Brooklyn wouldnt be brooklyn if it wasnt for Coney Island.
Oh yeah- you’re some spokesman for Bensonhurst and the pro-AY crowd. Your eloquence simply spoke volumes. NOT.As for your version of Brooklyn pride- what? A new Jersey team bought here and paid for by a midwesterner???? That’s Ratner, av joe- your 4th point is not only a wonder of irrationality, but also schizophrenic.
You’re no blue collar average Joe- those are hardworking, caring men and women who care about their families first and foremost, not a sports franchise, Frank Gehry or “best positioning ” (and what the hell is that about??). Blue collar, by the way, refers to the shirt associated with certain jobs- it doesn’t mean uneducated or unintelligent. I venture to guess you are no blue-collar worker but actually the “yuppie, uppity, know it all” you claim to despise. My best guess is that you are a Ratner PR flack and not a very capable one at that.
So if you are so desperate to celebrate Brooklyn Pride maybe you should check out all the stuff Brooklyn does have- the Gardens, the museums, Coney Island, Keyspan Park, etc etc etc. If you think Brooklyn pride is predicated on the Ohio-born Ratner and the New Jersey Nets, I highly doubt you live in Brooklyn at all.
God you are just so hurt by those personal attacks, aren’t you Average Joe / Anon 3:02. I’m not sure how your delicate character can stomach the thought of kicking people out of homes they bought with their own money for a land grab by a private developer other than the fact that you are on his payroll.
Excuse me, but some of us live in Coney Island, and I don’t want this AY monstrosity anywhere near my property. Just about everything I’ve earned in my lifetime is tied up in my home and property. I don’t need AY moving in to sink it.
I enjoy reading this blog and the different opinions. The AY is a really important matter that deserves our attention, and I’ve expressed my opinion above too. But it’s disconcerting when some commenters turn to personal attacks and insults.
the stadium and the phase “Nimby” are smoke screens.
Average Joe writes:
“The project is grand, ambitious and will immediately revitalize the depressed area surrounding Atlantic Avenue…”
If it’s so “depressed”, why are there condos sitting right in the middle of the AY footprint worth millions? That doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s quite obvious that if Ratner hadn’t been properties vacant, they would have been built on long ago. The Brooklyn construction boom is out in force on every possible site that’s anywhere near “hot” neighborhoods. The State of NY had to declare the AY footprint to be “blighted” in order to push forward on eminent domain. Just one of the many lies of AY. How is a place blighted if it ALREADY costs millions to live there?
Average Joe continues:
“Brooklynites are very suspicious of all of the “newcomers” who are attempting to define our borough and what is in our best interest. No way in the world are we going to hand over the boroughs future to a bunch of transplant from the Midwest.”
Ratner is from Ohio. And who do you think is going to live in AY anyway? People from Bensonhurst???
Average Joe sez:
“Furthermore, the people who you detest and hate to see on your streets on game day are people like me; regular Joe Shmoes, family men, who work blue collar jobs from nine to five and are just looking for some entertainment and the opportunity to share in some hometown pride with our friends and family.”
Aw, Average, now I know you’re a complete phony. Because you and I both know that people with the area median income cannot afford NBA tix. That’s why you see so many black folks and families at WNBA games — tix are affordable.
Does FCR have a full time blog troll? You sure keep the conversation lively. When there are MBAs posting on this site who don’t spell and punctuate properly, it makes your “Average Joe” a little suspicious.
Moles and Trolls have infiltrated. becareful what you write people.