November, 2007: State Senator Carl Kruger and Councilman Domenic Recchia express
adamant opposition to City's redevelopment plan for Coney Island—their
backyard. Recchia represents Coney Island and Kruger nearby neighborhoods including
Brighton Beach. Kruger went so far as to call the plan a "backdoor
approach to eminent domain." (More
here and more
here about Kruger's and Recchia's Coney Island opposition.)
No such worries were on display yesterday as both Kruger and Recchia journeyed
from their backyards to speak at Bruce
Ratner's Rally in Support of Bruce Ratner (aka Rally for the "Done
Deal" Come Undone), aiding in the developer's choreographed attempt to
extract more subsidy from Albany and/or City Hall.
(Confused? That's understandable. More here: The
Unbearable Lightness of Kruger's NIMBYism).
One other thing: Bruce Ratner's brother Michael Ratner and his wife Karen Ranucci
gave
Senator Carl Kruger $4,000 in 2004, the early days of the Atlantic Yards
proposal. Michael Ratner really has no business giving Carl Kruger money, except
for...business. Carl
Kruger doesn't need money, he has more money than even Joseph Bruno thanks,
in particular, to the real estate industry.
