Ratner Signs Affordable Housing Agreement
June 27, 2005, NY1 News — The man who plans to build an arena for the New Jersey Nets in Brooklyn made a promise to the community Monday that affordable housing will be made available in the area. Developer Bruce Ratner today signed a Community Benefits agreement promising the affordable housing, as well as assuring…
June 27, 2005, NY1 News — The man who plans to build an arena for the New Jersey Nets in Brooklyn made a promise to the community Monday that affordable housing will be made available in the area. Developer Bruce Ratner today signed a Community Benefits agreement promising the affordable housing, as well as assuring that the project will set aside a certain number of jobs for minority-owned businesses. The developer says he’s also throwing in some Nets house seats for the community to share. We hope to exceed the goals and standards, but if we don’t there could be litigation, said Ratner. I would add something else that is even more important; you have Bruce Ratner’s word, and that should be enough for you and for everybody else in this community, said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. This is a guy, if you don’t understand that, you don’t know how great this guy has been for Brooklyn and for New York City.” Opponents aren’t convinced by the Community Benefits agreement, and they have vowed to continue the fight against a stadium in their neighborhood.
Ratner Promises Affordable Housing [NY1]
B’kln Deal Boosts Women, Minorities [NY Post]
What Ratner did here is a classic example of divide and conquer. He offered benefits (jobs and housing) to some representatives of the minority community (ACORN, Rev. Dougherty’s church, BUILD). Now, any even reasonable criticism of the project is called racist.
By any measure, the traffic impacts of this project will be nitemarish. It is simply out of scale with the community and too big.
If the MTA engaged in a truly fair process, where it put the location out for an RFP prior to Ratner already having an MOU in place with the City and State, and signing a CBA, there would undoubtedly be other competing bids for the site and end the blight there now.
I didn’t mean to insult anybody just noticing that minorities and dodgers nostalgia is part of Ratner game to fight opposition of his project.
It is a fact and honestly I don’t understand how it can be offensive.
I don’t oppose development, new housing and minorities being a major part of this project.
I do oppose out of context and scale, ill conceived, urban planning. (please check out Unity plan http://www.developdontdestroy.org/public/AYDWS.pdf as a valid alternative and compare it to Ratner extravaganza)
I do oppose stadium in central city location (Stadium is not center generating function – when game is on there are too many ppl and when is off it is just dead piece of concrete as a mater of fact opera is not working as well for the same reasons)
Think Madison square garden surroundings in night.
I apologize for my grammar and spelling but I am immigrant minority.
I’m happy to see progress being made. And if this ever does get built, even though I know during construction won’t be so much fun, will be benefit for area and NYC.
We need more housing for growing population.
“Where in the post does it say minorities are being used. I don’t see it.”
Um, looks like it’s right there where malymis says, “He uses minority to improve his PR…” Ungrammatical, granted, but I think that’s the phrase John is addressing.
Also, it isn’t racist to say that minorities (at least in Brooklyn) are more likely to go to a basketball game than the city opera. It’s just a fact. This article cites 4% minority attendance at operas nationwide. Don’t have a quick stat at hand, but I’m betting minority attendance at basketball games is at *least* 3 times that.
How insulting to minorities to assume that they can be “used†like that. Shame on you. I guess that song from Avenue Q is correct – we are all a little bit racist. With the Ratner project we are getting housing, jobs, and entertainment where once was nothing but blight. That is what minorities want. Maybe if the City Opera were moving there you people would be more supportive? Also – it seems to me that your organization is being run around by Ratner’s deals with the real members of the community. The people who are selling him their property, the minorities you so mock who will be getting good jobs, and the housing advocates who are actually making a positive contribution to our community.
Most of the commiunity opose his project.
So how this could be good deal for commnity?
He uses minority to improve his PR, the same way as he uses brooklyn dodger nostalgia to stuff his stupid stadium right in the middle of brooklyn(not mention 17 towers – enviromental disaster for brooklyn)
Actually this looks like a great agreement for the community.
It is one more of ratner dirty trick to improve PR
there is no comunity agreement.
http://www.developdontdestroy.org/062705CBArelease.php