The Price of Bertha Lewis' Silence
How much does it cost to buy Bertha Lewis’ support? According to this week’s Brooklyn Papers, half a million bucks. At the end of an article detailing the racial rifts in the debate (which we think are actually more class differences that happen to fall along racial lines), we learn that for all Ratner’s lip…
How much does it cost to buy Bertha Lewis’ support? According to this week’s Brooklyn Papers, half a million bucks. At the end of an article detailing the racial rifts in the debate (which we think are actually more class differences that happen to fall along racial lines), we learn that for all Ratner’s lip service to affordable housing, if he ends up not keeping up his end of the bargain to make half the units “affordable”, all he has to do is pay Lewis’ organization, Acorn, $500,000. A drop in the bucket to buy the silence of a woman who could have been a real thorn in his side.
Race War on Yards [Brooklyn Papers]
Berta Lewis = Moron [No Land Grabd]
I just don’t understand why they’re all always kissing each other on the mouth. I’m really not into checking out unattractive public officials making out. eeeeek
Pete, the 5th Avenue Committee is developing a significantly sized building right across the street from the Atlantic Yards site. They are capable of a lot more than you think.
But what makes you think that Ratner, who has reneged on many many promises in the past, is the one that should be building it? Especially since he seems to think it OK to buy silence (and very cheaply, as has been pointed out) rather than to do what he promised and what the borough and the city so clearly needs. He’s not buying her silence for nothing. He’ll only build what’s most profitable and nothing more.
In the meantime, control of an incredible parcel, and the profits that will be derived from it, has been given away by public entities to a private developer who is a proven liar.
I think Shahn’s scenario is as likely as Iceberg being elected head of a tenants organization.
I may not like Ratner’s exact proposal, and can be critical of design of other bldgs he has put up – but I doubt there is a developer/architect in the world who would pass the test from majority of us that read this blog.
C’mon – enought inertia that 5th Ave. committe develop. Get real.
What those of us who are in general support of AY – favor is bold large scale development. We see this as an important transit hub of NYC – where very appropriate for massive bldg.
THe city needs to more office space to compete with Jersey, etc, much more housing for all and this area has the infrastructure.
Some small scale or ‘organic’ development that blends in with bordering neighborhoods is usually great – but the city cannot lose the opportunity to have some much bigger and better at this location.
I agree with the poster who views Bertha Lewis’s accomplishments in their entirety. In the end, her mission is to bring affordable housing to Brooklyn and she is trying to do just that. In her campaign bio, Letitia James said that affordable housing is one of her top priorities, yet she is working overtime to block a project that would result in 900 units of truly affordable housing. In the end, the AY project will go through and whatever affordable housing that comes along with it will be the result of Bertha Lewis’s efforts, not those of James. In the end, I respect Lewis more, as she is intelligent enough to see that the AY cannot be stopped and realizes that the best thing to be done is to get some goodies from old Bruce. I really get sick of these affluent yuppies (e.g. babs the former investment banker, Patti Hagan the dual brownstone owner, Dan Goldstein the volunteer living off his assets) playing the role of radical. Especially since this project is a DONE DEAL!!!
I think you have gotten caught up in the rhetoric David, and are missing the point some of us are trying to make. I, for one, am for the development of the Atlantic Rail Yards. I just believe that Bruce Ratner will break every promise he makes and disappoint everyone who is trusting him to be honorable. For that, and a lot of other reasons, I think his proposal for the site should not be built as proposed.
While I believe that a free and open housing market is the only way to get housing prices in NYC down to reasonable levels, I also know that it’s not going to happen until rent stabilization is phased out in the next 10-20 years. Until then, there needs to be housing made available for people who cannot afford a $1.0m condo. Therefore, I may not agree with Bertha Lewis all of the time, but I agree that there should be an affordable housing component on whatever is built at the site.
I hope that DDDB is successful in delaying FCRC in court so that the project becomes a financial liability and he has to abandon it. At that point, there should be significant inertia for the site to be developed by someone else (The 5th Avenue Committee anyone?) and done the right way.
I’m confused, too. I thought that you’re in favor of building anything there.
I am confused… are all you anti-AY folks saying that if he built the affordable component then you’d be in favor of AY –
True enough — so she thinks it’s a smarter tradeoff to take the $500K, because she’s realized that that’s probably the most they can expect, since Ratner will reneg on the affordable housing — and also because she can’t say anything against him due to a previous agreement. Sounds like she’s decided to cut her losses — now if ACORN could step back from this and take their race-baiting, rabble-rousing tactics with them, considering that it looks like their leaders consider this a lost battle already…