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
this comment board is friggin blighted!
No, Gehry needs to get laid.
No neighborhood will be “destroyed”. But all commuters from all neighborhoods will be affected because almost all the trains in Brooklyn go through the Atlantic/Pacific station which is where the massive hoards of AY residents will be piling on.
P.S. It’s so true, Gehry is a hack! And a whore. Hack whore.
Franz,
IMO the impact of AY on PLG will be minimal. We’re far enough away so that we will not be very much bothered by construction. Of course, traffic on game nights may back up as far as our neighborhood and the Manhattan Bridge will no longer be a viable option for driving into Manhattan.
FWIW, I’m still opposed to the project because of the negative impact it’s likely to have on the closer-in brownstone neighborhoods, and the fact that it’s a really ugly project designed by a once great architect who’s become a hack.
PLG is another neighborhood that will almost certainly be destroyed by AY.
i wonder if this will have any palpable impact on my neighborhood, PLG. not asking for the hysteria that normally ensues when the acronym surfaces, just a reasoned opinion. thanks. oh, and while i dislike ratner and his ilk, i must admit to some guilty excitement at the prospect of having NBA basketball games taking place three train stops away.
of all the lies from anon 6:42 this is the most humorous:
I support elected officials who take into account the next fifty years and plan accordingly.
Yeah, great ‘plan’ to deal with trafic and infrastructure…oh and this lie funny too:
I support a private sector that is wiling to invest a significant amount of money in our borough.
you didn’t mention whose money this ‘private sector’ is investing- taxpayers.
I’ll tell you who I’m giving money to. And my votes, too. Every single future candidate who runs against the corrupt encumbents who let this thing go through without proper debate.
It’s a promise.
I disagree. The reason Gore didn’t win the election in 2000 was because the dems and other liberal groups were too factionalized. Remember Nader won a number of votes in Florida too. I hate the Atlantic Yards. But the fact that Ratner had a clear (albeit evil, full of lies) message that was heavily funded and that he paid off loudmouth, heavy handed supporters like ACORN and the unions, swayed this issue for our local politicians. We should all learn from this experience. Get to know your elected officials. Realize that their system works on money. (Sad but true.) If you want to win them over to your cause you must be prepared to organize a huge amount of fundraising to get yourself any attention. There are some exceptions in the local political arena, but they are few and far between. Money rules our system. And it’s not a democracy. It’s a representative system. And that’s why these sleazy politicians think that they can do whatever they want. If you want to take back the power be prepared to spend some significant bucks. That’s what Ratner did. And unless this judge rules against him then it was money well spent in his mind I’m sure. People we can organize. But you can’t start fighting about how. Join an existing group like Develop Don’t Destroy and let them fight for the rights of our neighborhoods. That is how it’s done in the big world of politics. Money and might talks. Let’s help DDDB make some impact. Or else we will all be bitching about how Wal-Mart is shutting down our local stores when they move in to the neighborhood as is rumored or who knows what else.