Source of BUILD's Wealth Revealed?

anonymous

Subject: then...

so, if BUILD's IRS form says that Ratner contributed $5 million, then BUILD is either lying when they make denials about having been paid by Ratner

OR their form was filled out incompetently, or naively, or deceitfully, or incorrectly by their Legal Counsel, Shaira Erima, who represented them in their cba negotiations.

Or Ratner promised money and isn't delivering.

none of these scenarios seem good.

anonymous

Subject: People, this is so not over

This is a prediction, not a debate. Check in next week and see if there's any more media. I'm betting yes.

anonymous

This game of handicapping players would be so fun - if it were happening somewhere else. But meanwhile, they're building these seventeen skycrapers in my neighborhood.

It's time for the 90% of Prospect Heights residents, who are neither members of BUILD or DDDB to say something about this development. Most of the people I know either like Atlantic Yards, but think there are some problems which need to be addressed or don't support it, but think there are some benefits to the community.

Waiting to see what happens, while enjoying the cat fight, does not seem like a good option anymore.

(That being said, I just want to point out that FCR can drop BUILD like a hot potato should BUILD end up as a political liability. It would cost FCR only a million to get out of the CBA with BUILD - and BUILD would have to sue for it.)

anonymous

Subject: How is this not illegal?

I hate double negatives. It is illegal. There will be a letter written to the Ethics Board and the CB8 members who are officers at BUILD will have to step down or recuse themselves from discussion and voting on anything Atlantic Yards. Do you remember Dolly Williams, the Markowitz appointee on the Planning Commision who bought a share in the Nets and had to recuse herself from issues concerning AY? Well, it's Hello Dolly all over again. And what makes anyone think that this is the end of the BUILD story? Stay tuned.
Ratner has lost big in Yonkers and in New Jersey, recently. See nolandgrab.org archives.
Lucy

flute

Eliot wrote: It's time for the 90% of Prospect Heights residents, who are neither members of BUILD or DDDB to say something about this development. Most of the people I know either like Atlantic Yards, but think there are some problems which need to be addressed or don't support it, but think there are some benefits to the community.

Well, here's one way to begin to have your voice heard:

http://www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com/Survey.html

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods is a coalition of recognized diverse community groups and is currently reaching out to all community groups in Community Board districts 2, 3, 6 and 8. CBN will be arranging seminars about the EIS process and representatives would be glad to speak at any community meeting. All block associations, church, community and business groups regardless of their position toward any proposed development are invited to join the CBN and are encouraged to attend and participate in CBN's monthly meetings.

Welcome to COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS!. Please use the buttons to the left to explore our site and learn more about our history and mission. We hope you will join us in providing an authentic community voice in the Environmental Impact Statement that is being prepared for the proposed Atlantic/Vanderbilt Yards project, the largest building project in the history of Brooklyn with enormous consequences for all residents of New York City.

Please take a moment to complete our Survey to help us gather community feedback for the process. Any information you volunteer will remain confidential as stipulated in our Privacy Policy.

Note: I personally have no connection to CBN. This survey was distributed in my apartment building and I felt that it might be something in which people on this board would be interested.

anonymous

Picked up a copy of the Brooklyn Paper this weekend and this story is on the front page.

More interesting, they mention a link to a site put together by a freelance journalist who has been exploring the media coverage (or lack thereof in the case of the Times) on this project. This is a very interesting site:

http://www.timesratnerreport.blogspot.com/

anonymous

Correction: the $5M funding of Build isn't on the front page, that's on page 8. The front page story is that the public park on top of the arena is not going to be public anymore. PDF version of the paper is here:

http://www.brooklynpapers.com/html/issues/_vol28/28_39/28_39bp.pdf