Gothamist: Atlantic Yards Supporters Rally in Downtown Brooklyn

gershkuntzman

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:50:03 -0500

Interesting editorial in The Brooklyn Paper on this subject: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/23/31_23_ratners_false_choice.html GERSH

charlesbklyn

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 12:28:06 -0500

How inappropriate, for government officials to allow a single, private developer, to use the Brooklyn Day celebration for self-serving political and economic benefit. Once again, we see how the government in New York is facilitating and aiding developers by use of public funds, energy, and now, public celebrations, to enhance a single developer's benefit. Using the celebration to bring attention to all developers in Brooklyn, both large and small, would have held a valid public purpose. But to use the Brooklyn Day celebration to promote a single, private developer, is outrageous, and probably breaks several ethical canons of governmental independence. The citizens of New York City should be concerned that their government is using the public trust bestowed by them to facilitate a private developer, who seems to be incapable of even starting his development without the public picking up the tab. To be clear, the Atlantic Yard development is a public funded, windfall profit giveaway to one developer. Period. The United States Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Kelo v. New London (2005) has stated the following: “A purely private taking could not withstand the scrutiny of the public use requirement; it would serve no legitimate purpose of government and would thus be void” … "Nor would the City be allowed to take property under the mere pretext of a public purpose, when its actual purpose was to bestow a private benefit." This development is a purely private taking, as a pretext of a public purpose, to bestow a private benefit on one developer. I pray to the Supreme Court, bring this developer, and these public officials, before your honorable chamber to answer why the Atlantic Yard development, the public process, the continued use of government resources, and even Brooklyn Day Celebrations, is now only for the wealthy few and politically connected.

sonyactivision

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:07:58 -0500

Mmmmm. I wanna hotdog! And can I have a $4.2billion hideous piece of shit to go with it?

snowman

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:07:50 -0500

I support AY jrod5417 and I'm a couple blocks away. "Ratner is once again painting himself as the man who's bringing basketball to Brooklyn, but realistically what he's bringing is blight." ~kingstonlounge Well it would bring basketball to brooklyn..you can't argue with that. And as for blight.. really? Are you familiar with the footprint that is to be developed? I agree that impressive design and construction of AY will be very important... But at present, most of the development footprint is a big ugly and undevelopded patch of land in the middle of some of the best neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Unless they build it devoid of any character, AY will be a place that will benefit Bk and Nyc as a whole for generations.

Leon Freilich

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:04:07 -0500

THIS MOUTH FOR HIRE Ratner mouthpiece Al Sharpton Has a message in store: Storm the treasury, find the funds-- Our one true friend needs more!

Kevin Walsh

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:22:42 -0500

Curtis, Curtis, Curtis. You're lettin' me down bro. www.forgotten-ny.com

Spiritof76

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:55:36 -0500

I always thought Sliwa was a joke, but now he's worse. He's a parody of a joke. Lose the beret, guy. It's not the 80s anymore.

matty

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:24:56 -0500

I think the Nets franchise would do better in Brooklyn than Jersey. I don't like the residential aspect of AY but a hotel and a stadium would definitely provide jobs to the area.

JRod5417

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:25:21 -0500

AY has supporters?!?!

kingstonlounge

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:07:33 -0500

I don't think Ratner could be more transparent in his pathetic attempts to spin the community response to AY. Back in May, there was a rally to call for a halt to demolitions, subsidies, et cetera, until there was a public review of his pet project; Ratner responded by staging a counterprotest, primarily composed of union laborers forced to attend via the concept of union duty. Meanwhile, the police kept journalists out of the Atlantic Terminal Mall, even going so far as to manhandle the Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder. That too was a pathetically transparent effort, but this is even more bizarre. By artificially inflating his numbers via free hotdogs, celebrity appearances, and so on, Ratner has exposed his basically infirm position, confirming for us that this is far from a done deal. Many people, presumably there for food and autographs, did not stick around for the speeches, and one wonders what their commitment to AY is - or whether they really even understood what they were supporting. Ratner is once again painting himself as the man who's bringing basketball to Brooklyn, but realistically what he's bringing is blight. Hopefully, this latest "rally" will be regarded by the public as the corporate theatrical sham that it really was.

JMH

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:56:32 -0500

Affordable housing the first thing to go? I'm STUNNED.