PACB Gives Ratner What He Wants
After an Oscar-worthy head fake on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, along with the two other members of the Public Authorities Control Board, George Pataki and Joseph Bruno, gave the thumbs up to Bruce Ratner’s vision for Atlantic Yards. “I am pleased the developer is committed to addressing numerous community concerns through several specific actions…
After an Oscar-worthy head fake on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, along with the two other members of the Public Authorities Control Board, George Pataki and Joseph Bruno, gave the thumbs up to Bruce Ratner’s vision for Atlantic Yards. “I am pleased the developer is committed to addressing numerous community concerns through several specific actions that will result in significant neighborhood improvements,” said Silver. Last time we checked, traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and a surfeit of chain stores didn’t exactly qualify as improvements (though there were some last minute changes, including 200 more units of affordable housing and $3 million more for improvements to neighboring parks) but then again, pols who live upstate must have a better grasp of what’s better for Brooklyn than the four assembly members closest to the site. So where does this leave those who oppose the project? Eminent domain lawsuits, scale negotiations and a guy named Spitzer. From the beginning, the project has been a public-private partnership in which the public has not been represented, said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society. The vote today reflected a process that simply did not allow New Yorkers to shape the project, and the result is a plan that will not work for Brooklyn.
State Approves Major Complex for Brooklyn [NY Times]
NY Board Approves Atlantic Yards Plan [Bloomberg]
The Nets Win! [NY Post]
Photo by f.trainer
R-E-A-L-L-Y-D-U-M-B-D-E-A-L!!!
I would bet most people on this board who despise the concept of Ratner-ville are not members of DDDB. At least not yet. Now that the politicians who are supposed to represent us have shown that they are all good for nothing we will of course support DDDB and their lawsuit. Democracy will prevail and I guarantee you that you will still lose. No matter how you cut it Bruce you will lose. Because nobody is going to want to buy your badly designed condos. Especially not now when you have lost your beloved 421a tax exemptions so your condos will cost more than any sane person would spend on them. Plus who is going to want to live in the most densely populuated urban jungle in America? Nobody that’s who. So you go ahead and knock yourself out trying to build something so big and ugly in our midst and we will defeat you.
Well said, JP!
I must say, it’s great entertainment to see the DDDB folks throwing their hissyfits on this board. It hurts to lose, doesn’t it? And since you have flopped in your efforts to defeat Ratner, all you can do is hope that the project fails. Very funny!
I think the overriding issue for a lot of people in the area is that this was forced upon us. I’m in Ft. Greene and was the one person amonst my friends to support the arena initially. Why? Because it was going to be an arena w/ a public park on the roof and some shopping and moderate to low income housing. I would gladly trade 50 nights a year of some traffic and noise for the jobs and opportunities.
But when suddenly there are 50+ story office towers going up, it became a problem. When the reality of the strain on the current infrastructure (electric grid, sewage, etc.) became more clear, it became a bigger problem.
I won’t cry for anyone with millions of dollars to spend on brownstones because I don’t have it, and would like to. But there are too many people who don’t have a choice in where to live…period. They have more than one job, they’re single parents, they have family here for generations, they can’t afford a second car, they can’t afford to move, etc. THAT’S the problem.
And yeah, the traffic is a nightmare. Many people chose to live in Bklyn to avoid the nightmare that is the crosstown bus on 23rd or 42nd St. That’s now going to be the reality on Atlantic Ave., 4/5/6/7th Aves.
Final comment (and thanks for indulging me): politicians not from the neighborhood making this decision is like senators/congressmen from rural areas of the country deciding how much anti-terrorism funding NYC should get, and then cutting the budget and earmarking funds for their own states.
R-E-A-L-L-Y-O-N-T-H-E-P-A-Y-R-O-L-L!!!
R-E-A-L-L-Y-D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!
The Nets they suck. What a bunch of wimps can’t even throw a punch. All you longtime residents who think your going to earn enough money to go to a Nets game Ha what a joke it will cost you 400 a game to take your little family. that is if you can cross Flatbush withour getting killed by the cars. My prediction in 12 years flatbush and atlantic will be hailed by the post as the Avenue of death.
you came, you turned my life around, you built shopping malls. you stalled traffic. you came and you came without warning. but then you took the neighborhood away, oh ratner.