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
folks who have just arrived: nobody on here is a supporter of this project. they are all paid off to support it. this is what makes this whole thing so sad. nobody actually supports it at all. it’s all about money. what else could it be? the rich guys in suits started to realize they couldn’t make money the old fashioned way they’d have to steal it. and they picked brooklyn precisely because it’s the home of so many horrible paid off politicians. hopefully the judges will rule against eminent domain. and i’d like to hear our new state assemblyman, mr. jeffries (sp?) explain why he didn’t campaign against the yards and has only said that he hopes the PACB would rule on this later on. Please. You are going to have a whole lot of explaining to do to your constituents. Enough of this all being a nice guy and having meetings with other Assemblymen. Why didn’t you stand up with Tish James like you should have? We all know that the State Assembly doesn’t ask much in terms of time requirements for elected officials. But please know that we are all going to remember Tish James was the only politician who stood up against Ratner. So everybody please put in a call to your local elected officials and thank them for doing nothing tomorrow.
7;32 that’s why he said it through an anon proxy (notice the / symbols replacing the ‘ symbols. Notice its a ratner supporter. No surpise.
anon 6:42 You’re lying but that’s not surprising for a fOrest city employee.
IF this project is so good why are the financials hidden? why has the developer NEVER sent a flyer out showing the actual project instead, they sent out deceptive flyers implying the project was low scale and mostly open space.
Your own lies and deceptions prove the point of AY opponents you know the design and financials are a liability that is why you have tried to hide it from the public.
Private sector investing? Wow, I guess if you’re going to lie, lie big.
I like peanut butter.
This will be the least hip, least appealing development in NYC. What a loser this piece of crap will be. Supporters can debate it all they want, but unless they themselves can afford to buy all the luxury units in the AY buildings, this development will be a failure.
As for who tends to spend lots of money on luxury developments in Brooklyn? Hmmmm, let’s think, oh right – rich liberals. Uh, you know, the kind that are very against AY.
12/21 at 6:58pm, what you’re saying is a threat and it’s illegal.
I’m reading all the comments from AY supporters and something has become apparent. This is how a retard like Bush got to be President. Because SOME people would send our world to hell in a handbasket simply for an opportunity to vote against people they deride as liberal NIMBYs. Why the f*ck do you all even care about the personality traits of the AY opponents? What does that have to do with ANYTHING?
And I love how when it comes to things like toxic dumping or nuclear plants, everyone loves what NIMBYs can accomplish for a community. But when it comes to messing with their beloved basketball, forget it. Good thing you all know your priorities.
Yes, we are fools to want a low rise housing project. Look, Mr. Gehry, You are old enough to know better than to think that what this community needs is a way to separate people from the exciting streetscape that is brownstone living. And by brownstone living I don’t literally mean brownstones, but the idea that the street is accessible to all and the sidewalks are a place to meet your neighbor and for kids to hang out with their friends. What you are creating is the type of housing project they literally blew up in Chicago because it encouraged social apathy with its enormouos buildings. I don’t care if there’s going to be rich or poor people in those huge buildings, they are just too big and there’s too little outdoor space to make it a place anybody is going to want to live in. Let’s see, meet me at my pad in apt. 40D….ha, ha! Who is going to want to live like that? Nobody who lived through 9/11/01 in this city. So if you are banking on dumb out of towners think again. I don’t think that new development called Forte is selling very well. And they’ve got only 1 building with 30 stories. You will be lucky if you sell even 1 unit.
Cause trouble at your construction site? Hello? There won’t be a construction site because this project isn’t going to go through. Dream on! You are going to have to spend your days dreaming about bulldozing another neighborhood because a judge is going to stop you goons from tearing down this one.
AY will be great for the future of Brooklyn! And I\’ll tell you this much, I absolutely DARE any of your critics to come down to the site after construction has begun and cause trouble. I dare you, I DOUBLE DARE you! We\’ll teach you a lesson the old fashioned way.
Want trouble? Well then….
COME GET YOU SOME!