Develop-
don't destroy
BROOKLYN Press
Release Main Page
For Immediate
Release: June 5, 2008
While Its Atlantic Yards Proposal Faces
Failure,
Forest City Ratner Manufactures 'Rally'
In Support of … Forest City Ratner
BROOKLYN, NY — Despite the very real prospect of a failed development
plan, a plan that is inarguably and substantially stalled,
Developer Forest City Ratner is holding a "Brooklyn Day Celebration"
today at Brooklyn Borough Hall to "support the Atlantic Yards project
and The Nets moving to Brooklyn." To fabricate support, the developer
has organized the 'rally' in support of itself--and is paying
for it as well—in the guise of a "celebration" with
free food, free trinkets, live music, and former Nets players. Such goodies
are not the benefits once promised by the developer, and while they may
draw a crowd, they won't provide jobs or "affordable housing."
"Forest City Ratner has manufactured a 'rally' in support
of itself. Most likely it is an attempt to fabricate support to extract
more public subsidy from Albany and City Hall for their development proposal,"
said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein. "For
a project long sold as a 'done deal' today's 'rally'
is a desperate attempt to boost a deal that's come undone and is on
the precipice of failure. Confident developers simply don't manufacture
extravaganzas like today's."
The Building and Construction Trades Council have shut down all Downtown
Brooklyn job sites where actual work is taking place, starting at 11:30,
so union members can join the "celebration" and 'rally'
manufactured by Forest City Ratner in support of Forest City Ratner for
a project whose construction job promises are in jeopardy of ever materializing.
The Trades Council flier urges all members to attend the 'rally.'
(See union flier here: http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2008/06/union_flier_for.html).
"Though Ratner is attempting to manufacture support for more public
subsidy for his failing project, the developer cynically calls his 'rally'
a 'Brooklyn Day Celebration.' But the Atlantic Yards proposal is nothing
to celebrate," Goldstein said. "Today Bruce Ratner celebrates
a vision of Brooklyn that only works for him, not Brooklynites."
More here.
DEVELOP
DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads a broad-based community coalition
fighting for development that will unite our communities instead of dividing
and destroying them.
DDDB is a 501c3 non-profit corporation supported by over 4,000 individual
donors from the community.
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