Category Archives: Ratner and the Nets Stadium

[LIVE] from "Marty and Letitia talk about Atlantic Yards (at PS9)

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“Great urban planning incorporates many different uses into a cohesive neighborhood, and truly great urban planning invites the public to participate in the space, whether they work there or live there or they’re drawn there to visit.”

– Bruce Ratner, 2003, quoted by executive director of group (PICCED)that produced independent study finding that Forest City Ratner (1) has not made provisions to integrate the Atlantic Yard project into the surrounding neighborhood, and that (2) has eschewed the public review process.

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“The Project does not appear to utilize street-level design to incorporate the project into the community.” – PICCED researcher

“The process so far has not been participatory or accountable.” – PICCED bottom-line finding.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The PICCED report will be updated with new information on the “Memorandum of Understanding” (MoU) signed between Forest City Ratner, the City and the State last Friday.

The MoU puts the Atlantic Yards project on the map. “Until last week, the project had no official formal existence” beyond press releases and websites, the PICCED executive director said. Now it’s “an official relevant public project” as of last week: “in some ways, the formal public process is just getting started.”

ATTACK ON PRATT Several people are calling Pratt’s “objectivity” into question, partly because black residents were underrepresented in a Prospect Heights neighborhood survey on community concerns about the Atlantic Yards project. PICCED’s executive director is urging people to read their report, which they claim is “probably the most objective document” written about the project. With regard to the survey, they say they helped a neighborhood conduct a voluntary survey and they didn’t represent it as anything else.

UPDATES CONTINUE…

"Hear what the Ratner project could mean to our neighborhood in terms of:

  • displacement of residents
  • impact on schools, police and fire services
  • effect on small businesses
  • transportation issues"

"The presentation will also include a discussion of the project’s
claimed community benefits as well as its financial impact to city and
state taxpayers." Monday, March 7, 7:00 PM; P.S. 9, 80 Underhill Avenue (between St. Marks Ave. and Bergen St.); Invited officials: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; Councilmember Letitia James

Categories: PHNDC, Ratner and the Nets Stadium

TODAY: Tish James and Senator Montgomery on the Ratner "Memorandum of Understanding"

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Senator Velmanette Montgomery: "This agreement is non-binding. This is a PR stunt to convince the public that the arena and skyscraper complex is a done deal. That is far from the truth. The MTA reserved the right to sell the land to a higher bidder. Just like with the West Side stadium, we need open bidding to get fair value for this land."

PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY 2 PM: Council Member Letitia James and Senator Velmanette Montgomery in response to the recent Memorandum of Understanding on Atlantic Yards; City Hall Steps, Manhattan, 2 pm

WHO: Council Member James, Senator Montgomery, Congressman Major Owens, Council Member Charles Barron, Pratt Area Community Council, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition, Bob Law, Darnell Canada of Rebuild, Brooklyn Vision, Prospect Heights Action Coalition

Categories: Ratner and the Nets Stadium

Reality Check: Ratner Strides Ahead with Nets Stadium Deal

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ArenaspanDespite the relentless stream of dire predictions for the Atlantic Yards project, Forest City Ratner just cleared another major hurdle. The New York Times reports today that "the city and the state have signed an agreement with the developer Bruce
C. Ratner to build a new home for the Nets basketball team and at least
4,500 apartments as part of a $2.5 billion project at the Atlantic
Yards in Brooklyn."

Of course, there are still plenty of obstacles that Ratner must pretend to be concerned about… The project "still must go through a lengthy environmental review,
condemnation proceedings, approval by the state Public Authorities
Control Board and possible lawsuits … The Empire State Development
Corporation would shepherd the project through the review process and
take control of any land the developer has not already acquired." PATTI HAGAN quoted: "This project is too big … We don’t want to supersize Brooklyn."

Categories: Ratner and the Nets Stadium

Shaya Boymelgreen Muscling In on Bruce Ratner's Territory?

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Muscle_man_1Thanks to Staceyjoy for the tip…

Deborah Kolben writes in the Daily News: Shaya Boymelgreen "is plowing ahead with plans for a hotel in the center of Bruce Ratner’s $2.5 billion Atlantic Yards project just as Ratner’s pace seems to be slowing …

(a spokesman says Boymelgreen) is trying to convert a former bread factory at 800 Pacific St. into a 150- to 200-room hotel. ‘We’re having preliminary conversations with various hotel operators’ …"

"Down the street, Boymelgreen also is working with developer Henry Weinstein to convert an 85,000-square-foot building and a neighboring vacant lot into office and residential space.

Both buildings are planned for the spot where Ratner wants to build 17 residential and commercial towers and a 19,000-seat NBA arena for the New Jersey Nets." Read more…

Categories: Ratner and the Nets Stadium

Dan Goldstein: "I'm not 'holding out'"

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YuppieAnti-Ratner activist Dan Goldstein got profiled this past weekend, as part of a New York Times article that described ProHo residents as "yuppies on the edge": "Mr. Goldstein is the only resident of the condo, now called the
Atlantic Art Building, who has not sold his or her apartment to Bruce
C. Ratner and his Forest City Ratner company in the last year to make
way for a development that is to include a new home for Mr. Ratner’s
New Jersey Nets." Full text here (sorry, Times, but you have to make your articles easier to find).

Set Speed did the heavy lifting and determined that the condo board president in Dan’s building paid $441k for his unit, then got paid a little more than $1.1M by Forest City Ratner: "Dan, what are you waiting for?? You got them right where you want ’em!
You can spend the next 7 years watching the construction from your
awesome wrap-around terrace. But you know what, you’ve still got your
morals and I respect you for that."

But yesterday, here on the dailyheights message boards, Dan clarified his intentions: "this guy, who happens to be me, is not "holding out" to get 3x what I
paid. I’m holding out because I want to stay in my home, stay in this
great neighborhood, and do everything I can, with thousands of others,
to stop Bruce Ratner’s nightmare corporate welfare scam."

So what happens to Dan if Ratner gets his way?  How would that work? Dan would get kicked out. But somebody would have to cut him a check to compensate for his loss.

Categories: Ratner and the Nets Stadium

Salute: Risk-Takers and Four Percenters of Prospect Heights

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Psjonesphoto2_teri_slotkin_ploughsharesoPoet Patricia Spears Jones writes a paean to Prospect Heights in the Brooklyn Rail: "I live in a neighborhood with an African tailor, West Indian shopkeepers, and Italian chefs. The economics are fragile, but they always are. There are real risk takers here."

"My neighborhood has fought its way to precarious prosperity only to be threatened by MEGA DEVELOPMENT … I don’t quite know what the Stadium will do except condemn housing in one of the most integrated neighborhoods in all of New York City … (where) only four percent of its citizens live on integrated blocks. I belong to that four percent." Read more…

[Photo: Teri Slotkin]

Categories: Arts/Theater/Dance, Ratner and the Nets Stadium

WNYC: Letitia James on The Air

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Cd35_james_480Letitia James, who represents District 35 (includes Clinton Hill, Fort
Greene, parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bedford
Stuyvesant) on the New York City Council, on life, politics, education, affordable housing, Bruce Ratner and Atlantic Yards, and the best place to get red velvet cake.   

 

Listen to The Brian Lehrer Show.

Thanks to DDDB for the link. UPDATE: no, the link doesn’t appear to be working right now (noon Wednesday).

Categories: Letitia James, Ratner and the Nets Stadium

EXCLUSIVE: Olympic Rings to be Draped in Construction-Site Orange

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Humanity_will_shineDaily Heights sat down (asynchronously) with the merry pranksters behind 2012landgrabs.net, originators of the "NYC20$12Billion" fake advertising campaign. Please read the exclusive interview.

The Olympics will bring us prestige, glory, post-9/11 rebirth, flowers and kittens. Why do you hate our freedoms?

The Freedom to be kicked around by a latter-day Robert Moses and a

CEO-mayor is a freedom we can all do without.

Who are you/you guys? Only graphic designers would post EPS files

for download. Bingo.

Are you buying any "official" advertising space, or is this purely a stealth campaign?

NYC2012 and Danny D grabbed all the ad space. Otherwise we’d be above ground.

Be honest. Some of those examples on the "spoofs" page are photoshops, right?

Honesty counts. Yes. But do you have any idea what it takes to get the New York Times interested? It takes Photoshop! Seriously.

Why 2012landgrabs.net? Aren’t you afraid the IOC or Bloomberg (or me) will grab the 2012landgrabs.com domain and dilute your message?

That is a very good question. ".net" is of the people. ".com" is of the board room. Having said that, I’ll race you to register.com.

Do you think New York has a chance of getting the Olympics in 2012?

Zero.

What do people of New York actually think of the Olympic bid, anyway?

I think they could care less. Honestly. Though if the Olympic Rings could be draped in construction-site orange, well then, maybe.

Have you seen any polls or anything?

63% are in favor, down from 67% in June. Supposedly Bush won Ohio too. But 57% or so are against the West Side Stadium. Those numbers might seem contradictory on their face, but New Yorkers realize that the Stadium is a sure way to kill any chances the City has to win the Olympic Bid.

What’s the best method for affixing these signs to a flat surface–keeping in mind, of course, that one won’t be vandalizing, or affixing the sign to a surface that one has no permission to affix something to?

Wheatpaste works. Many copy shops can print on stickers. Or one can buy Avery letter-size labels. That works well. A flat, smooth surface is best.

Why should people of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn care about all this?

The Ratner arena and the massive amount of shit that goes with it is a scam land grab. The Olympics are being used to slam it down your throat. Resistance is mandatory.

Anything else?

It is every New Yorker’s duty to download the EPS files, learn how to use Illustrator, print the files and affix everywhere and anywhere.

Categories: Media, NYC 2012 Olympic Bid, Ratner and the Nets Stadium

Eminent Domain: Bring it on

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This is the one everybody’s been waiting for. Daily News: "Oral arguments being presented today before the Supreme Court …  in a case that could have far-reaching impact … concern a dispute between Susette Kelo, a homeowner in … New London (Conn.) and … Pfizer, which wants to expand its $300 million global research campus …"

"…there’s a growing backlash against a more recent take on public use – taking property for private projects … which create ‘public’ economic benefits …" New York attorney and eminent domain expert MICHAEL RIKON: "I do believe the tide is shifting … Across the country, courts have plainly had enough of this."

Categories: Ratner and the Nets Stadium