Renewed Anger Over Atlantic Yards Claims
The clip above, from the soon-to-be-released “Battle of Brooklyn” documentary, illustrates how pro-Atlantic Yards boosterism leaned heavily on the number of jobs the project would create—claims that were called into question with yesterday’s news that developer Forest City Ratner is considering building a prefabricated housing tower. While the clip mostly focuses on assertions about how…
The clip above, from the soon-to-be-released “Battle of Brooklyn” documentary, illustrates how pro-Atlantic Yards boosterism leaned heavily on the number of jobs the project would create—claims that were called into question with yesterday’s news that developer Forest City Ratner is considering building a prefabricated housing tower. While the clip mostly focuses on assertions about how many jobs the arena will create, articles in Patch, The New York Times, and The Eagle highlight how the developer’s possible use of modular construction has reignited debate about Atlantic Yards. In the Patch story, Richard Weiss, a spokesman for Construction & General Building Laborers’ Local 79, has the following to say: “The union supports projects based on one criteria only: are there jobs for our members in this project? If that’s not the case, then we’re not going to support it.” Meanwhile, Candace Carponter, the legal director of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, tells the The Times: “With Ratner’s selling out of the unions, shelving of any office space and the scarcity of subsidies for housing, the community is left with the arena as the primary benefit, if you believe a traffic-choking, noise-generating, taxpayer-money-losing white elephant is somehow beneficial.” And to round it out, Councilwoman Letitia James is quoted in the Eagle as saying the prospect of the modular build adds to “a long list of failed promises” regarding the project.
New Attention for Atlantic Yards Project [NY Times]
Unions Outraged Over Ratner’s Prefab Tower [PS Patch]
Hint of Old-Time Ratner Debate Surfaces Again [Eagle]
Bruce Bender (and Elected Officials) on Jobs [Vimeo]
Winelover, the world class musical acts have been coming to the area for years – at BAM, whose programming has done a great deal more to put Brooklyn on the cultural map than having a Brooklyn arena date on U2’s or whoever’s next world tour.
Winelover, the area around MSG is bleak. What will occur as a result of AY is bleak. What was there before were a few blocks of railroad tracks surrounded by very nice, livable neighborhoods. Manhattan can “be on the map” with MSG and traffic and noise – don’t think that’s why people moved to Prospect Heights or Fort Greene.
Winelover do you even know the footprint of AY? Well I lived on the edge of the footprint for years. What the hell is bleak about it? We live in an urban environment so that means subway tracks and yards and highway overpasses too!!! According to you and FCR shills transportation infrastructure that goes through vibrant neighborhoods is “bleak” so we need to build crappy stadiums instead?
Stop drinking the kool aid. Brooklyn is already on the world map. Those buildings seized through eminent domain had people and businesses in them and the few vacant ones would have been bought up by developers for million dollar condo conversions. The area was fine- the way things are going we’ll just get more broken promises, millions of taxpayer dollars spent and maybe just an ugly hole in the ground.
i read about this elsewhere, and the modular building thing is pretty cool. in the article i saw, i believe that they said that they may open a factory in LIC to make the modules.
meanwhile, corruption in gov’t doesn’t surprise me, and who could be “for” that? however, what’s there now s*cks, and what will be there is a professional team, and hopefully world class musical acts thereby putting Brooklyn on the map in a big way nationally and beyond.
plus, they’ll be housing instead of what there’s now, which is really bleak.
“1) Union construction workers like union construction jobs.
2) People who have been hating the AY project for the last 5 years still hate it.”
Excellent summary.
I love the FCR guy. He keeps talking about jobs such as administration and management etc. These jobs are already filled. The guy walking around the “star”? That is Nets PR. Do you think the Nets PR guy is going to quit the team because they are moving the 10-20 miles east? No. Do you think the concessions people, who really need these jobs in Newark, won’t consider coming over to Brooklyn? Of course they will. If you want to talk about jobs, talk about construction, and if that goes modular, which it may not, then there will be far fewer of them associated with this project. But please, this idea that the Nets are staffing up in Brooklyn is nonsensical and patronizing. Then again, we have been treated like five year olds throughout this whole process. Oh, wait, five year olds are given more respect.
DIBS, I find you usually have some of the more articulate and intelligent comments on this site, but I have to say your views on this topic are very confusing. Yesterday, you were railing on and on about how the unions are yielding disproportionate influence on elections and robbing the taxpayers blind with their unsustainable pension and benefit packages. Yet, when people complain about Ratner’s influence on the AY process, his false promises and the fact that he has robbed the taxpayers by receiving significant subsidies based on promises that he is now reneging on, your response is “ENOUGH ALREADY”. What’s with the double standard?
The 2 “new” bits of information I got from this article are:
1) Union construction workers like union construction jobs.
2) People who have been hating the AY project for the last 5 years still hate it.
“Aw heck, yesterday’s post provoked well over 100 comments; can I milk this for a second day?”