Ratner to Break Ground on March 11th
In the wake of yesterday’s ruling against the property owners in the footprint of the Barclay’s Center, the Daily News reported that Forest City Ratner will break ground on March 11. State officials said that the evictions would happen over the next several months. Reactions from those who stand to be displaced by eminent domain…
In the wake of yesterday’s ruling against the property owners in the footprint of the Barclay’s Center, the Daily News reported that Forest City Ratner will break ground on March 11. State officials said that the evictions would happen over the next several months. Reactions from those who stand to be displaced by eminent domain ranged from angry to belligerent. “It feels like I live in a state run by crooks,” said Daniel Goldstein. “There’s chains on the bar and a lot of people will be buying handcuffs,” said Steve de Seve of Freddy’s bar, which has served as a gathering spot for those opposed to the project.
Judge Gives Atlantic Yards Project the Green Light [NY Daily News]
hey g_man…
please specify where i made a personal attack..
a quote would be helpful.
“”It feels like I live in a state run by crooks,” said Daniel Goldstein. ”
Take your payout and move to California. Or somewhere even farther if possible.
“The real tragedy in all this: what will the NIMBYs occupy their time with now?? ”
If they can make it to Manhattan, they have Hudson Yards…
For the umpteenth time, Ratner’s project is not over an abandoned railyard. It’s over an active railyard, and it is being given to Ratner for less than half the appraised value. The MTA was so generous to him because hr promised to improve the yards, and instead he is decreasing the number of tracks.
There is no renderings for the whole project will look like. There has never been a cost benefit analysis. So saying this project will bring ANY jobs or housing is basing their expectations of over-optimistic press releases from the developer.
Prospect Heights deserves a great project at this site. The ESDC/Ratner are not likely to create something on par with the neighborhood.
This decision is a sad one for many of us who have opposed the AY plan, as envisioned by Ratner, from the very beginning. And, as others have noted, it has seemed rife with backroom politics, pay offs (think Acorn), sweetheart deals, sell-offs of public assets and a massive “contribution†of tax payer dollars without any public referendum, a deeply flawed environmental impact statement, and ever shifting promises about deliverables. AY was never really about housing – it was always about the stadium – and even today the housing promises are further and further in the future and not even on site. There were attempts to be creative with the space – such as the Unity Plan – but those attempts were never even given consideration.
However, perhaps the most bewildering cut of all is to hear posters on this page bemoaning the lack of civility, or personal attacks, on the part of those who opposed the plan. I can’t imagine that these posters ever attended any of the so-called “public hearings†on Atlantic Yards – hearings that were characterized by the importing of literally dozens of (paid) pro Atlantic yards supporters who blew whistles or shouted down opponents, and savaged some of the politicians (such as Assemblywoman James) who dared to be anything other than in lock-step with Ratner.
In postings yesterday, Bxgrl was blasted by folks who were oh-so-indignant when she said that the fix was on from the beginning and questioned what could be expected from a final review. I can’t help but wonder if any of the posters were as vigorous in their defense of public figures who opposed (or sometimes merely questioned) AY in public forums and experienced immediate and vicious public abuse.
Had there been public forum with civil behavior on both sides, the outcome might have been different. But to cast attacks by opponents as the saddest parts of the history of this project fails to recognize the pro-AY bullying characteristics of every public forum on the topic.
harriet, see Maly at 9:29, bkn4life at 10:33 and numerous accusations of judicial corruption in yesterday’s post.
Freddy’s Bar is quite overrated. Won’t miss it.
I was in court when Brinkerhoff made his argument to Gerges. It was glorious in its legal arguments (as far as I can tell, not being a lawyer).
For those of us who have been following the issue for 6 years and who have been to heard most of the court and ESDC hearings, this is a difficult ruling to stomach.
I have read many of the ESDC documents and heard the ESDC and FCR lawyers in court. I think they are presenting a legal fiction… paid for by real dollars.
You can understand my disappointment in Gerges’ decision. Sorry if some of my friends may (or may not) have made personal statements about him, but I don’t like what’s going to happen to my neighborhood, and I don’t like the way our state government is run.
By the way, I haven’t seen any attacks on him personally.
So… no one knows about WHAT is actually going to be built now?