George Will on Atlantic Yard's 'Cognitive Dissonance'
“The Atlantic Yards site, where 10 subway lines and one railway line converge, is the center of the bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood of mostly small businesses and middle-class residences. Its energy and gentrification are reasons why 22 acres of this area — the World Trade Center site is only 16 acres — are coveted by…
“The Atlantic Yards site, where 10 subway lines and one railway line converge, is the center of the bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood of mostly small businesses and middle-class residences. Its energy and gentrification are reasons why 22 acres of this area — the World Trade Center site is only 16 acres — are coveted by Bruce Ratner, a politically connected developer collaborating with the avaricious city and state governments. To seize the acres for Ratner’s use, government must claim that the area — which is desirable because it is vibrant — is “blighted.” The cognitive dissonance would embarrass Ratner and his collaborating politicians, had their cupidity not extinguished their sense of the absurd.” — George Will in The Washington Post
As a conservative, I’m always amused when we receive “advice” from folks like Donatella and Brenda on how we should behave, and to whom we should listen. I’m sure that advice is given with the intention that we win some elections, right???
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
What Donatella said.
fsrg, I don’t care if he’s from Fargo, ND, and doesn’t know how to get the 4 train at Atlantic Ave. He’s still right about the underlying principle of the issue.
I just cannot understand how supporters of AY can overlook the fact that bogus claims of “blight” were used to justify ED, how obvious back room deals were cut with the MTA for the site, at a time when the transit budget is toast, and they are getting ready to charge poor kids to go to school. When promises of jobs and homes for minorities were dangled in their faces to get their support, both of which are obviously not going to happen, and our taxes, and the taxes of our children’s children are going to be paying for the priviledge of having a mediocre sports arena with no real public benefit.
The alternative COULD have been halfway done by now – smaller projects without ED, incorporating what was there already and working, like Goldstein’s building and the houses behind and around it. Development of the actual Yards, for which developers paid a fair price, benefiting both the MTA and us as taxpayers, and needed housing for all income levels, designed to retain and improve the streets, bridges, businesses and infrastructure in an organic, sane, and above board way.
Buckley was a fatuous, hypocritical grotesque.
> spittle-flecked demagogues
Excellent description. I’ll have to add that species to my taxonomy.
Cheers to Donatella for getting her species of conservatives straight. Will is old-school, from back before the spittle-flecked demagogues ruled the pack.
George Will didn’t get on a bandwagon. He has been writing about eminent domain abuse since before Kelo went to the Supreme Court.
Yes, what FSRG said.
If not enough: it is a hole in the ground, not a “bustling” neighborhood. Again, I hope DG gets booted out ASAP and let the project proceed.
Also too bad the entire premise of Wills column is totally and completly FALSE:
“The Atlantic Yards site, where 10 subway lines and one railway line converge, is the center of the bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood of mostly small businesses and middle-class residences….”
The AY cite is decidedly NOT in the center of Prospect Heights (anyone here want to make the case that the center of PH is AY….didnt think so)
Nor is the AY site mostly “middle class” – it was mostly empty and then a few decidedly NOT middle-class condos (like Dan Goldsteins) were developed.
George Will is an interesting guy. He is conservative, but an independant thinker, civil (of the William Buckley style), erudite. Nothing like the Fox-style mental defectives now dominating the Republican party who call them selves conservatives but who are really something else — ignorant bigots. Not that it means anything but he absolutely loves baseball.