After Wednesday's public meeting, the NY Post is reporting that Ratner spokesperson Joe DePlasco said the developer "would consider suggestions" made by Marty Markowitz to scale down the Atlantic Yards project. Markowitz proposed limiting the height of the project's 16 high-rises to under 520 feet so that the Williamsburgh Savings Bank would remain Brooklyn's tallest building. The New York Times weighs in with a dissection of Markowitz's about-face, reporting that while Markowitz claims he had planned to speak out all along, the borough pres "may also be sensing a shift in the political winds." We think DDDB's Daniel Goldstein's take is interesting: "I can't see Marty demanding that those building be scaled back and going out on a limb unless he's received some kind of assurance that that will occur." And we like the Times' lowbrow breakdown of what the project means to Marty: "Junior’s Cheesecake, Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, a bag of chips and then some." Finally, in a down and dirty editorial on Wednesday's hearing, the Brooklyn Papers (edited by former Post reporter and columnist Gersh Kuntzman) calls Ratner supporters "thugs" for shouting down the anti-Ratner camp, or the "nerds." We can already picture it: Thugs vs. Nerds. In Theaters Now.
Rendering of the Atlantic Yards project from Invisible Man
