January 18, 2007
Map of the Day: The Eagle Has Landed in Brooklyn
It's official: Barclays Bank has bought naming rights to the Brooklyn Nets' future arena in the Atlantic Yards project. Naturally, there's a website: Barclays Center - Planned Home of the Nets. Cute how it says "Planned," right? And this map showing how all routes lead to the "Barclays Center" is pretty funny.
We noticed a few things on the site. Three Nets players were highlighted: Vince Carter, Nenad Krstic, and jersey-popping Richard Jefferson. There's a lot of "Barclays is proud to be part of Brooklyn's growth" blah blah and "Meet Barclays" but not much for Nets fans who stuck with them in NJ for decades. Oh, and Barclays says they are "funding the Nets-Barclays Sports Alliance" to "promote athletics, education and personal development among young people in Brooklyn." The alliance will first "repair and renovate basketball courts and other sports facilities throughout the borough."
For some critical perspectives on the Nets arena deal, here's Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and the Atlantic Yards Report.
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18 minutes from Penn to Atlantic?!? Geez, where do I pick up that line?
Would save me a ton of time each day...
Barclays??? We don't need another British bank in NYC. We already have HSBC. I sense they will make a bigger move into the area soon.
I hope they get screwed out of a lot of money when the damn thing doesn't get built.
Barclays has been buying a lot of credit card accounts recently; I know my primary card, originally issued by Juniper Bank and tied to one of the airlines, just became a Barclays account. I'll be calling this afternoon to cancel it, and I'll be sure to explain that it's because Barclays has thrown its support behind the destruction of Brooklyn. If you also have a Barclays account, I hope you'll do the same!
Ohio-based Forest City Enterprises and London-based Barclays Bank have just announced a $300 million naming rights deal to slap the international banking giant's logo all over the arena the developer has proposed in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn as part of his 16 skyscraper, 1 arena "Atlantic Yards" project. The use of eminent domain to seize and demolish homes, which the developer Bruce Ratner needs to construct that arena and the rest of the project, is currrently under review by a federal court to determine its constitutionality.
Who is this Barclays Bank?
From South Africa's Mail and Guardian:
http://tinyurl.com/2fnzsq
'Barclays financed the slave trade'
Stuart Graham | Johannesburg, South Africa
28 May 2005
A group of protesters sang, danced and chanted anti-Barclays slogans in Johannesburg on Saturday morning against the British bank's take-over of Absa.
The protesters, from the Jubilee South Africa group, wore anti-privatisation T-shirts and carried banners reading "Barclays economic terrorists," "Barclays financed the slave trade" and "Go back to colonial Britain".
"We are opposing Barclays Bank's takeover of Absa until Barclays apologises for supporting the apartheid regime and until they give reparations to those who suffered because of its support of apartheid," Jubilee member and the march's organiser, Tristen Taylor, said.
The protesters shouted "Voetsek, Barclays, voetsek" and "Barclays has to go" as they sang and danced to Absa's head office in Main Street. They were watched by a small group of police officers.
A police officer on the scene estimated that there were about 200 protesters taking part in the march.
Taylor said the protesters want Barclays to resolve a lawsuit in the United States, which charges that Barclays and 22 other foreign companies aided and abetted the apartheid regime.
"We want them to resolve the Khulumani v Barclays lawsuit in the United States, which was brought about by 87 South Africans who had been subjected to gross human rights violations during apartheid," Taylor said.
Barclays left South Africa in 1986, saying at the time that it was opposed to the policies of the apartheid government.
It announced its return earlier in May with its bid for a 60% stake in Absa for $5,5-billion.
Taylor said Barclays has not appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) despite its financing of the apartheid government.
"Barclays chose not to appear before the TRC to disclose its dealings with the apartheid regime and seek amnesty," he said. "This is despite being a major financier to the apartheid regime."
A statement from Jubilee said Barclays acquired R10-million in defence bonds from South Africa in 1976.
It said this was the largest single purchase from the South African armed forces during the apartheid years.
The group also alleged that Barclays loaned more than $478-million to the South African government between 1972 and 1978.
Jubilee said between 1982 and 1984 Barclays loaned $725,4-million to South Africa.
Taylor said Barclays left South Africa in 1986 not of its own accord, but because of political pressure from within Britain.
"There was massive pressure on Barclays in the United Kingdom to withdraw from apartheid South Africa," he said.
Taylor said Absa has already started cutting its workforce in preparation for the Barclays takeover.
He said it is expected that the company will shed 2% of its jobs once it has been restructured.
"The Barclays takeover is not a new investment but a merger and acquisition," Jubilee's statement said. "It creates no new infrastructure or jobs." -- Sapa