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 think Bstoner is 100% right that this is really a class, not race, divide. It’s disturbing that the article calls the fight a “race war” without citing a single race-related quote from anyone on either side.
Read the article: the only evidence that this is a “race war” is that a black woman was arguing with a white guy. This is just bad journalism.
Come on, it’s not like ACORN is BUILD. That money is not going directly into her pocket.
ratner is a rich scumbag
Let’s say she believed very strongly…now she believes in $500K.
I may not agree with everything she says, but do agree with her on some points. She believes very strongly that the Atlantic Yards project will bring a large amount of affordable housing to downtown Brooklyn. She’s willing to sacrifice some goals for what she believes is the greater good. I respect her resolve (although I disdain some of her race-baiting comments), but I think she is being duped and that
Ratners history of delivering on promises is pretty poor.
However commendable Ms. Lewis’s intentions may be, the fact of the matter is that she has obviously been bought here — agreeing not to say anything bad about Ratnerville? Surely that didn’t come cheap — just like the people whose apartments he bought to destroy their building. Here’s a link to an (admittedly) right-wing article on the history of ACORN and Bertha Lewis (who seems far from the worst of the bunch). Ordinarily, I’m just as appalled at this sort of right-wing nonsense (although it seems right up the alleys of several other frequent posters here, all of whom are pro-Atlantic Yards, yet curiously avoid saying anything about ACORN and B. Lewis’s part in the scheme), but in this case I think ACORN and B. Lewis, knowingly or not, are being manipulated by Ratner & Co.:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/13_2_acorns_nutty_regime.html
She did what she thought was best for advancing the interests of the group that she represents. Nothing wrong with that. We were just interested to see what the magic number was it took to get her on board. As anon 9:16 points out, Bruce will cover that tab with the sale of one market-rate unit.
Who has the long track record here on supporting less affluent members of our neighborhoods? Stood up for tenant rights, victims of gentrification, workers rights, living wage? Is it No LandGrab? Dan Goldstein? Babs? or Acorn.
So suddenly we will villify Ms. Lewis (sounds like Karl Rove designed smear tactics ) and
claim she has narrow interests/easily bought. And the rest of the altruistic bunch is looking out for our interests. Yeah, right.
Thanks and a “tip o’ the hat” to Monsieur Brownstoner for posting this item.