The Brooklyn Paper: SNA Newspaper of the Year, 2007

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Atlantic Yards

Expert: There is a way to fix Atlantic Yards traffic

Letters: The mailbag is filled with letters about Atlantic Yards, Walter O’Malley’s induction into the Hall of Fame, biking safely and bus service in Brooklyn. Comments (3).

December 15, 2007

Now he tells us! On the way out, Doctoroff admits Atlantic Yards process was flawed

Atlantic Yards: Departing Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff took a parting shot at the Atlantic Yards mega-development this week, offering the stunning admission that if the city had to do it all over again, it would have demanded a proper public review of the $4-billion project. Comments (4).

Doctoroff’s disaster

Editorial: We always knew that the Atlantic Yards project would afford us many occasions over the next 30 years to say, “We told you so.” But we just didn’t expect to get one so soon. Comment.

All Drawn Out

Atlantic Yards: Our cartoonist’s take. Comments (1).

Happy anniversary

Brooklyn Angle: Four years ago this week, Bruce Ratner unveiled the Atlantic Yards project. That anniversary gives us a chance to revisit whether the developer is living up to his original promises (thank goodness we saved the press kit!). Comment.

Garden security has Brooklyn pols asking Yards questions

Atlantic Yards: State officials said that the NYPD won’t need to close streets around the Nets arena because police don’t close roadways next to Madison Square Garden on game nights — but there’s only one problem with that promise: the NYPD did shut a roadway between the Garden and Penn Plaza after 9-11. Comments (1).

December 8, 2007

City can’t curb Yards security

Atlantic Yards: Elected officials and community groups again attacked the city, state and developer Forest City Ratner for their persistent refusal to discuss how they plan to secure the proposed Atlantic Yards basketball arena when it is slated to open in 2010. Comment.

FOIL-ed! State says it can’t talk security

Atlantic Yards: The Brooklyn Paper finally receives the information it requested from the state regarding security at Atlantic Yards — and all it consists of is a document explaining why the state can not provide the information! Comment.

December 1, 2007

Dolly Williams is fined for her conflicted Yards vote

Atlantic Yards: Borough President Markowitz’s appointee to the city’s powerful Planning Commission violated ethical standards by investing in the controversial Atlantic Yards project and then voting on the project three weeks later. Comment.

State finally names an overseer for Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards: Two hundred and three days after promising to appoint someone to oversee demolition and construction work at the Atlantic Yards project — and after three other people reportedly turned down the job — state officials have finally hired their long-awaited watchdog: former Giuliani staffer Forrest Taylor. Comment.

Ratner Claus!

Atlantic Yards: On the same day that news broke of his plan to build Brooklyn’s tallest building, Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner kicked off the holiday season on Wednesday at Metrotech in Downtown Brooklyn with the borough’s first major tree-lighting. Comment.

November 24, 2007

Hypocrisy in Coney

Editorial: Some elected officials have come out against the mayor’s plan for Coney Island. Where were they when the mayor was making the same mistake at Atlantic Yards? Comment.

Barclays $$ a ‘joke’: foes

Atlantic Yards: Barclays Bank — the $800-billion company that will pay Bruce Ratner $400 million for the naming rights at the Atlantic Yards arena — has co-founded a non-profit that will dole out $1 million a year in grants to Brooklyn organizations, but critics called the sum patronizing. Comments (4).

McRae to replace Williams on Planning board

Atlantic Yards: Borough President Markowitz has named Community Board 2 chair Shirley McRae to be the new Brooklyn representative to the city Planning Commission, The Brooklyn Paper has learned. Comments (1).

November 17, 2007

More blood money

Atlantic Yards: Barclays, the slavery- and Apartheid-linked financial institution that paid Bruce Ratner $400 million for the naming rights to his Atlantic Yards arena, is bankrolling African strongman Robert Mugabe, the Sunday Times of London reported last week — prompting one Brooklyn leader to say “enough is enough” with the tarnished financial powerhouse. Comments (3).

End Barclays deal now

Editorial: The Brooklyn Paper once again calls on Bruce Ratner to sever his relationship with Barclays, which has now been found to be propping up the dictatorial regime of African strongman Robert Mugabe. Comments (1).

November 10, 2007

Gehry sued! Cracks at MIT cast doubt on ‘Miss Brooklyn’

Atlantic Yards: Massachusetts Institute of Technology has sued Frank Gehry — the visionary behind Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards — claiming that his three-year-old building on the Cambridge campus is already falling apart. Comment.

Pols want Atlantic Yards security review

Atlantic Yards: A coalition of local officials is demanding an independent security review of the Atlantic Yards mega-project because the state’s development agency can’t be trusted to put the public safety first. Comment.

What’s Ratner up to now?

Construction Update: Work continues on Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-project — and even though the state hasn’t appointed its promised ombudsman to oversee construction work (186 days and counting!), Empire State Development Corporation minions are getting increasingly good about filling us in on what’s going on in the project footprint. Comments (1).

Bricks fall — again — from Ratner-owned building

Atlantic Yards: Tenants in a building slated to be torn down to make way for Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards ran for their lives last Wednesday as bricks fell from the building’s facade — the second time in the last three months that a Ratner-owned building suffered a partial collapse during demolition. Comment.

November 3, 2007

Spelling it out: Artist tapes his anti-Yards message onto buildings

Atlantic Yards: Scott Witter — the curator of Brooklyn’s Other Museum of Brooklyn (a.k.a. BOMB) — has covered an entire brick wall with a caustic message to Mayor Bloomberg protesting the controversial 16-skyscraper–and–arena Atlantic Yards project, warning that the project would result in a neighborhood getting “raped.” Comment.

October 27, 2007

Gays won’t shack up with Bruce

Atlantic Yards: A prominent gay and lesbian political club came out against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development on Monday night — even as the developer and Borough President Markowitz are still discussing creating a gay community center in a Ratner-owned building Downtown. Comment.

Green building goes dark; Yards shadows KO plan for solar power

Atlantic Yards: A cadre of local elected officials broke ground on what will be Brooklyn’s largest eco-friendly residential development to date — but the solar panels that were to be the building’s crowning element had to be scrapped because they would never get light once the Atlantic Yards project is completed across the street. Comment.

Big step forward for Downtown

Editorial: A plan for retail stores in the ground floor of the Municipal Building is a major step in the right direction towards revitalizing the entire area — a common-sense move long resisted by Metrotech builder Bruce Ratner. Comments (1).

October 20, 2007

Tale of 2 cities: Newark arena closes key streets; Yards next?

Atlantic Yards: Three days after Newark residents learned that key streets around that city’s new glass-walled sports arena would be sealed off on game nights, residents of the Atlantic Yards footprint called on state officials to admit that the same frustrating scenario will likely happen in the heart of Brooklyn. Comment.

Rent-stabilized tenants fail in anti–Atlantic Yards bid

Atlantic Yards: A group of rent-stabilized residents in the Atlantic Yards footprint has lost the latest battle in the war to save their homes. Comment.

October 13, 2007

Moment of Truth: Court to determine if Ratner gets land

Atlantic Yards: The climactic legal battle against the Atlantic Yards mega-project began in a Manhattan courtroom this week, where lawyers argued over one of the oldest issues in American jurisprudence: When can the government seize a person’s home and give it to someone else to tear down and redevelop? Comments (3).

Atlantic Yards case is strong

Editorial: A federal appeals court must reject Atlantic Yards unless it wants to defy the Supreme Court’s landmark Kelo ruling from just two years ago. Comments (2).

Marty skips gay Atlantic Yards talk

Atlantic Yards: Borough President Markowitz has declined a gay Democratic club’s invitation to herald the positives of the Atlantic Yards project at a forum later this month, and, while he’s there, explain why he supported a notoriously homophobic Borough Park politician in his race for a Civil Court seat. “I have little interest in becoming someone’s punching bag,” the Beep told the group. Comments (2).

Hit the road, Dolly!

Atlantic Yards: Brooklyn’s representative on the Planning Commission — whose business dealings with Bruce Ratner forced her to recuse herself from discussions on the largest development in Brooklyn’s history — will not be appointed to a second term. Comments (3).

September 29, 2007

Lawsuit against Atlantic Yards is losing its plaintiffs one by one

Atlantic Yards: Two of the final holdouts in the Atlantic Yards footprint have quietly settled with developer Bruce Ratner, a move that signifies that the opposition to Brooklyn’s largest real-estate project may be entering its endgame. Comment.

No love for ‘UNITY’ from city, state

Atlantic Yards: City and state officials don’t intend to consider a community-based alternative development plan for the Prospect Heights site of Bruce Ratner’s controversial Atlantic Yards project that was unveiled this week. Comments (1).

UNITY Plan: Why now?

The Explainer: Why did a group of activists hatch a new development plan for the Prospect Heights rail yards that Bruce Ratner has already been promised for Atlantic Yards? The Explainer breaks it down. Comments (1).

Cleaning up

Atlantic Yards: A group of Prospect Heights activists finally did what neither the city nor Bruce Ratner seemed able to do: clean up Pacific Street. Comment.

All drawn out

Atlantic Yards: Our cartoonist’s take. Comment.

September 22, 2007

Group has alternative to Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development

Atlantic Yards: A coalition of community-based urban planners will unveil a new alternative to Bruce Ratner’s state-approved, already-under-construction Atlantic Yards mega-project on Monday, calling it the last best hope for sensible development on the controversial Prospect Heights site. Comment.

September 1, 2007

Wrecking balls

Atlantic Yards: Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner will move forward with a long-planned demolition this week, leaving a family that is suing to stop the project to live, literally, in the shadow of its progress. Comment.

All drawn out

Atlantic Yards: Our cartoonist’s take. Comment.

August 25, 2007

Marty’s varying views

Editorial: A single extra story — 10 feet! — drew the ire of Borough President Markowitz last week when the Beep recommended that the city deny a developer, Two Trees Management, a variance to build a little higher. Comment.

August 18, 2007

Ratner knew! City: Bruce endangered workers at Yards site

Atlantic Yards: Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner could have prevented the potentially deadly partial collapse of the Wards Bakery in April that sent bricks raining onto Pacific Street, according to a long-awaited Department of Buildings report. Comment.

August 11, 2007

Mayor delivers for Ratner

Atlantic Yards: Mayor Bloomberg agreed this week to give Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner a $200 million bonus. Comment.

Legislators seek fresh Atlantic Yards oversight

Atlantic Yards: A group of city and state officials want better government oversite of the Atlantic Yards project. Comment.

Ratner robbed at Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards: A Forest City Ratner construction site was robbed this week — and all the local crime. Comment.

July 28, 2007

Bloomy slightly sours Bruce’s sweet deal from the state

Atlantic Yards: City officials have reportedly trimmed a $300-million tax break for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner that was rubberstamped by state lawmakers last month. Comment.

Marty’s blind spot

Editorial: Borough President Markowitz championed the MTA’s land giveaway to pal Bruce Ratner, yet now says MTA mismanagement is behind a proposed transit fare hike. Markowitz shares the blame Comment.

July 14, 2007

Yassky: Stop Ratner gravy train

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner will reap a whopping 50-percent profit on his Atlantic Yards investment, a prominent Brooklyn lawmaker charged this week as he called for an end to the massive taxpayer subsidy of the mega-development. Comment.

Update: CB10 backs Home Depot

Atlantic Yards: Despite considerable anger, Community Board 10 backed a developer’s plan for a Home Depot on Eighth Avenue in Bay Ridge Comment.

Is Kohen Ridge Ratner?

Yellow Hooker: If Andrew Kohen’s plan to build a Home Depot in Bay Ridge is defeated, you can thank — or blame — Bruce Ratner. Comment.

‘Block’ busted building is for sale

Atlantic Yards: A Dean Street house that was the site of a bizarre attempt to seal in a family that was still living inside is on the market again. Comment.

June 30 – July 7, 2007

Earlier report: Assemblyman gives Ratner a clause for celebration

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner’s sweetheart deal got a cherry on top last week after a state lawmaker slipped in a last-minute amendment to a housing reform bill that will shave $175 million off the developer’s costs. Comment.

Ratner’s latest sweetheart deal

The Explainer: How did a state Assembly bill designed to stimulate affordable housing end up including a huge tax break for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner? The Explainer breaks it down. Comment.

The Ratner Clause

Editorial: The latest Ratner sweetheart deal is the worst of them all. Comment.

Bloomy slams “Ratner carve-out”

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner “doesn’t need” the massive public subsidy handed to him by the state Assembly last week, Mayor Bloomberg said on Friday — and called for Gov. Spitzer to block the legislation. Comment.

All drawn out

Atlantic Yards: Our cartoonist’s take. Comment.

June 23, 2007

Art for Yards sake? Man sleeps in window and makes a larger point

Atlantic Yards: A man is sleeping in a Dean Street gallery window. It must be about Atlantic Yards, right? Comment.

June 9, 2007

Case dismissed

Atlantic Yards: A federal judge this week dismissed a high-profile lawsuit against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards, striking a major blow to opponents of the $4-billion, arena, residential, retail and office skyscraper project. Comment.

June 2, 2007

CB6 member to resign in protest: Says Marty’s purge makes boards “meaningless”

Atlantic Yards: Web Exclusive: A veteran member of Community Board 6 will resign next Monday to protest the politically motivated axing of nine board colleagues who voted against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development — and he’s urging his fellow panelists to do the same. Comment.

Power Lies! It turns out state was wrong — A’Yards will tax electric service, raising rates

Atlantic Yards: The Atlantic Yards project is partly responsible for the sharp energy rate hikes requested last week by Con Edison, according to the company’s own officials — apparently contradicting a state’s assessment last year that the mega-development would have only an “insignificant” impact on the energy grid. Comment.

Yards renters to appeal ruling

Atlantic Yards: A group of renters in the Atlantic Yards footprint say they will appeal the dismissal of their case. Comment.

May 26, 2007

Pols to Yards foes: Yer Out!

Atlantic Yards: Nine community board members were purged by Borough President Markowitz because they didn’t toe his Atlantic Yards line, raising questions about the future independence of the city’s most local governmental forum. Comment.

The value of local voices

Atlantic Yards: Our editorial on the politically motivated purge of community board members by Borough President Markowitz. The board members dared question the Atlantic Yards mega-development of Markowitz buddy Bruce Ratner. Comment.

May 19, 2007

Battle over arena … bagels!

Atlantic Yards: The opponents of Atlantic Yards are so frustrated by Bruce Ratner and his high-priced pals that they’re taking out their aggression on a lowly bagel store owner. Comment.

Suit: Ratner is one bad liar

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner is a money-grubbing liar who tricked a politically connected businessman into investing $6 million of his own money to help Ratner acquire the New Jersey Nets with promises he “never had any intention of fulfilling,” a bombshell lawsuit charged last week. Comment.

May 12, 2007

Yassky to city: Hold Ratner accountable

Atlantic Yards: Councilman David Yassky slammed city economic development officials for allocating $205 million contribution to the Atlantic Yards mega-development without getting a guarantee that developer Bruce Ratner will make good on all of his “promises” to Brooklyn. Comment.

Judge: What is Yards benefit?

Atlantic Yards: A State Supreme Court justice opened a long-awaited legal challenge against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development last Thursday by grilling state lawyers over whether the project has a substantial enough “public benefit” to justify condemning privately owned buildings and turning then over to the developer. Comment.

State will watch Bruce — times 3

Atlantic Yards: The Empire State Development Corporation — which approved developer Bruce Ratner’s the $4-billion mega-project last year — now says it will create two new positions to oversee the project, in addition to an already created (though yet to be filled) job of “environmental monitor.” Comment.

May 5, 2007

Judge: What is ‘Yards’ benefit?

Atlantic Yards: A State Supreme Court justice opened a long-awaited legal challenge against Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development on Thursday by grilling state lawyers over whether the project has a substantial enough “public benefit” to justify condemning privately owned buildings and turning then over to the developer. Comment.

Collapse at Yards stalls Ratner’s wrecking balls

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner’s demolition of the Ward Bakery inside the Atlantic Yards footprint remains blocked by city officials, a week after hundreds of pounds of debris crashed onto Pacific Street as workers began tearing apart the historic building. Comment.

Meet the new Yards

Atlantic Yards: It’s back to the drawing board for the Atlantic Yards — they wish. Comment.

April 28, 2007

Ratner’s wrecking ball hits, protested

Atlantic Yards: Developer Bruce Ratner began demolition of three more buildings within the Atlantic Yards footprint, days after dozens of opponents called for the developer to call off his wrecking ball until pending litigation is resolved. Comment.

Pols to Spitzer: Stop ‘Yards’ work

Atlantic Yards: Stop Bruce Ratner — now — before he hurts someone! Comment.

April 21, 2007

Demolition delayed: Facing lawsuits, Ratner will wait for ruling

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner’s wrecking ball was stopped this week — and it was the developer himself who decided not to do the swinging. Comment.

Ratner demolitions OK’d

Atlantic Yards: Bring on the wrecking ball — a federal judge has ruled that Bruce Ratner can start knocking down buildings in the Atlantic Yards footprint, even as several court cases aimed at stopping the mega-development percolate through the court system. Comment.

Ratner demolitions protested

Atlantic Yards: More than 50 opponents of Atlantic Yards rallied on Monday morning in front of three buildings that Bruce Ratner plans to demolish this week, arguing that the developer should wait until pending litigation on the project is resolved before tearing them down. Comment.

Credit where due

Editorial: Former Borough President Howard Golden was honored for saving the borough on Monday night — but The Brooklyn Paper has a slightly different view of who deserves the credit. Comment.

April 14, 2007

Questions Ratner still hasn’t answered

Editorial: This week, Bruce Ratner finally responded to a question from The Brooklyn Paper — the first time in a year. So why does he ususually dodge? Because he doesn’t want you to know the truth. Comment.

Ratner moves to protect wall of art

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner will protect the legacy of Sol LeWitt, a world-famous conceptual artist who had a workshop in one of the Prospect Heights buildings the developer plans to raze for his Atlantic Yards mega-development. Comment.

One week later, pols bury Yards tunnel plan

Atlantic Yards: Two Brooklyn lawmakers have already abandoned their week-old proposal to dig a tunnel under the proposed Atlantic Yards project as a way of fixing the mega-development’s anticipated traffic — a sad foreshadow of how difficult it will be to find a solution to the coming traffic snarl at the intersection of Flatbush, Atlantic and Fourth avenues. Comment.

April 7, 2007

Another Yards lawsuit filed

Atlantic Yards: Twenty-six Brooklyn civic groups have gotten together and filed the latest lawsuit over Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-development. Comment.

March 31, 2007

State: We never saw Yards numbers

Atlantic Yards: State officials admitted this week that when they approved Atlantic Yards last year they were relying on documents that were incomplete — and may have even been in violation of Bruce Ratner’s original pact with the state and city. Comment.

God to Ratner: Don’t build so big

Brooklyn Angle: If there are any atheist opponents of Atlantic Yards, they might want to start believing in God — because God, apparently, is opposed to Bruce Ratner’s mega-development. Comment.

Ratner’s buying him a new car!

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner is buying the son of one of his fiercest opponents a Beemer. Comment.

Ratner’s new ‘Ward’

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner is about to tear down the most historic building in the footprint of Atlantic Yards, but he’s doing it green! Comment.

March 24, 2007

Ratner’s lobby hobby: Bruce spent big in Albany last year

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner spent more than $2 million to lobby state and local lawmakers last year — the year in which his Atlantic Yards project slid through the state approval process. Comment.

New gripe against Barclays

Atlantic Yards: Barclays Bank’s partnership with Bruce Ratner is under fire from the state Libertarian Party — not because of the bank’s slavery- and apartheid-linked past, but because the British banking behemoth’s participation in the Atlantic Yards project is a tacit endorsement of the state’s use of eminent domain, which Libertarians despise. Comment.

March 17, 2007

The Ratner ripoff

Editorial: The Paper wants to know why the city is buying land for Bruce Ratner. Comment.

City buys Ratner land: Councilmembers ask why

Atlantic Yards: Why is Mayor Bloomberg spending $100 million of your money to buy land for developer Bruce Ratner? Comment.

A great day for Lady

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner did not steal Patti Hagan’s dog — but the longtime Atlantic Yards opponent is happy to report that her precious pooch has been found. Comment.

March 10, 2007

Wrong way! Park Slope united against Seventh and Sixth avenue one-way conversions

Atlantic Yards: City officials backtracked a bit this week from a bombshell proposal to convert Seventh and Sixth avenues into one-way thoroughfares, saying the much-reviled proposal would be killed if residents reject it at a meeting next week. Comments (1).

Slope going nuts over ‘insane’ one-way plan

Letters: The plan to make Seventh and Sixth avenues into one-way thoroughfares filled the mailbag; also, letters about the F train, postal service, Whole Foods and censorship. Comment.

Little guy beats Ratner in not-so-little case

Atlantic Yards: A state judge has ruled that a backroom deal between Bruce Ratner and another big-time developer for control of a key piece of real estate in the Atlantic Yards footprint was “improper.” Comment.

Marty goes on the record on Barclays

Atlantic Yards: Borough President Markowitz gives us his opinion on Bruce Ratner’s naming-rights deal with a slavery-linked British bank. Comment.

Bruce’s Yards built on lies

Editorial: This week brought yet more evidence that Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-project is built on a foundation of deception. Comment.

When will Atlantic Yards be done? Depends on which Ratner you ask

Atlantic Yards: The Nets arena will open a year later than promised — and the rest of Atlantic Yards won’t be done until 2022 — six years behind schedule, two key officials said this week, contradicting a promises by Bruce Ratner that the mini-city would be completed on schedule by 2016. Comment.

Slope goes down wrong-way street

PS … I Love You: In what seems like a monthly endeavor, our columnist attended yet another forum on where Park Slope is headed — and left cynical as ever. Comment.

Saving Bruce Ratner’s cats

Atlantic Yards: While opponents of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project continue to work around the clock — figuratively — to block the developer’s wrecking ball, cat lovers are working around the clock — literally — to rescue a colony of feral felines who are also about to lose their homes to make room for the 16-tower mega-project. Comment.

March 3, 2007

One way Seventh

Atlantic Yards: The city is considering a “radical” proposal to convert traffic-choked Seventh and Sixth avenues in Park Slope into one-way thoroughfares and removing a lane of traffic from each direction of highway-like Fourth Avenue. Comment.

Federal judge: Suit is hot air

Atlantic Yards: A U.S. judge says the federal courts should toss out a lawsuit by property owners and tenants facing eviction for Bruce Ratner’s 16-skycraper-and-arena mini-city — a blow to opponents that legal experts said could mark the beginning of the end of the four-year battle against the $4-billion project. Comment.

City left with Yards mess

Editorial: Bruce Ratner has barely put a shovel in the ground at his Atlantic Yards mega-development and already the city’s Department of Transportation is putting Band-Aids on the machine gun wound that the project will cause in the heart of Brooklyn. But don’t blame DOT; blame the state planners who ignored traffic in the borough so Atlantic Yards would sail through the approval process. Comment.

Two John Jay HS principals fire back at The Paper

Letters: Our weekly letters column gets hotter than ever, with attacks from two John Jay HS principals, an Atlantic Yards supporter and a fan of the Brooklyn Public Library’s supposed “censorship” of an anti–Atlantic Yards exhibition. Comment.

February 24, 2007

Ratner doesn’t get it

Editorial: Bruce Ratner’s landscape architect told the truth this week — and his comments reveal a great deal about the developer’s lack of commitment to sane urban planning. Comment.

It has begun: Ratner starts work on Atlantic Yards

Atlantic Yards: Construction work on Bruce Ratner’s $4-billion Atlantic Yards mega-project began this week, not with a bang, but with a whimper. Comment.

Clarke meets with Barclays bigs

Atlantic Yards: Rep. Yvette Clarke held an unprecedented meeting with Barclays Bank last week, the culmination of two weeks during which she slammed Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner for naming his proposed basketball arena after a financial behemoth that profited from the slave trade, did business with apartheid South Africa, and froze Jewish bank accounts during the Holocaust. Comment.

Lights, cameras, Ratner!

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner wants to hear your complaints — and watch you as you make them. The developer has just opened a “community liaison office” within the 22-acre Atlantic Yards footprint so area residents can express their “questions or concerns.” The office has a welcoming sign and two not-so-welcoming surveillance cameras trained on the door. Comment.

Yards poster caper in Fort Greene

Atlantic Yards: Low-grade mischief preceded the Fort Greene screening of the anti–Atlantic Yards film “Brooklyn Matters” at Bishop Loughlin High School on Wednesday, from verbal harassment to the illicit removal of posters advertising the show. Comment.

Library responds to ‘censorship’ charge

Letters: The Brooklyn Public Library fires back at charges that it censored an Atlantic Yards art show. Comment.

February 17, 2007

Images the Brooklyn Public Library doesn’t want you to see

Atlantic Yards: The Brooklyn Public Library censored a politically charged exhibit inspired by Atlantic Yards, free-speech advocates charged this week. Comment.

Clarke to Ratner: Fear the Wrath of Congress

Atlantic Yards: Rep. Yvette Clarke will hold congressional hearings on the Atlantic Yards development unless developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays amend their $400-million naming-rights agreement to her satisfaction, she told The Brooklyn Paper this week. Comment.

Looney Mooney is back

Atlantic Yards: A man who set out to row himself across the Atlantic Ocean last year, but sank three hours into the journey, vows to complete his mission — and he hopes he’ll have Barclays behind him. Comment.

Linking Ratnerville and Miss Oklahoma win

Letters: The mailbag is again filled with letters about Miss America and Bruce Ratner’s Barclays deal. Comment.

Drink ’til you drop at Yards-area bar

Atlantic Yards: A neighborhood establishment wants you to come in and get completely wasted — and you can thank Bruce Ratner for it. Comment.

Dixie Chicks who? Dan Zanes wins the big Grammy

Atlantic Yards: Brooklyn’s own Dan Zanes won his first Grammy this week. Comment.

February 10, 2007

Yvette Clarke to Ratner: Reject Barclays

Atlantic Yards: Rep. Yvette Clarke, a powerful supporter of the Atlantic Yards project, denounced developer Bruce Ratner’s $400-million deal with Barclays that would brand the Nets arena — the centerpiece of Ratner’s 16-skyscraper project — with the name of an institution that profited from the slavery and other horrors of human history during its “troubling past.” Comments (1).

Barclays to Brooklyn: No ‘Blood money’ here

Atlantic Yards: A British bank that is under fire from black leaders for profiting from the slave trade centuries ago fought back last week, claiming the allegation “is simply not true” — but a prominent historian, and yet another high-powered elected official, came forward this week to dispute the bank’s rosy view of its own history. Comment.

Full Barclays letter to The Paper

Letters: Barclays has requested a retraction from this newspaper (and others) for stories about the bank’s link to slavery and other dark moments in human history. We stand our ground. Comment.

Editor’s note: Our Barclays coverage

Editorial: Barclays has requested a retraction from this newspaper (and others) for stories about the bank’s link to slavery and other dark moments in human history. We stand our ground. Comment.

Ratner foes have first day in court

Atlantic Yards: A familiar cast of characters clashed in the first courtroom battle over the fate of Atlantic Yards — with opponents saying the project abuses state condemnation powers and a state lawyer retorting that plaintiffs are “naive” to the ways of the world. Comment.

Bruce gets the last laugh

Atlantic Yards: In the end, Bruce Ratner wasn’t that funny. A handful of comedians performing stayed away from jokes at the expense the Atlantic Yards developer at Tuesday night’s anti–Atlantic Yards fundraiser, “Laugh Don’t Destroy,” at Union Hall in Park Slope. Instead, the overflow crowd was treated to the usual array of jokes about urinating, flatulating, defecating, masturbating, douching, drinking one’s own urine, and, of course, “Star Trek.” It was crude, rude and hilarious. Comment.

Ratner’s shadows end solar power dream

Atlantic Yards: Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project would cast such long shadows that the architect of a housing complex being built across the street has scraped a plan to heat his building with solar power. Comment.

Slavery? Apartheid? Barclays deal is wrong for other reasons

Letters: Our mailbag is again filled with more missives about our “Blood Money” front page. Comment.

February 3, 2007

Atlantic Yards cost skyrockets; Opponents scream as Bloomy quietly doubles taxpayer subsidy

Atlantic Yards: The city has doubled its contribution to Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project — and Mayor Bloomberg admitted this week that there was no limit to how much the city could spend on “infrastructure improvements” in and around the developer’s 16-tower mini-city. Comment.

Barclays: No ‘blood money’ here

Atlantic Yards: A British bank that is under fire from black leaders for profiting from the slave trade centuries ago is fighting back, issuing a long-awaited statement that claims the allegation “is simply not true.” Comment.

From the editor: Our Barclays coverage

Editorial: Barclays has requested a retraction from this newspaper (and others) for stories about the bank’s link to slavery and other dark moments in human history. Comment.

More blacks insulted by Bruce

Atlantic Yards: A prominent Fort Greene minister will lead a protest to condemn Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner’s $400-million deal with Barclays, a bank linked to the slave trade. Comment.

Small victory over Ratner

Atlantic Yards: An Atlantic Yards opponent who still owns land in the footprint of the skyscraper-and-arena-project has won a small victory against developer Bruce Ratner — though it may not keep him out of jail. Comment.

Is the tide turning on Paper’s ‘Blood Money’ page one?

Letters: The Paper’s mailbag is once again filled with anger from Atlantic Yards supporters — plus some support. Comment.

All Drawn Out

January 27, 2007

Black leaders to Bruce: Pay us back!

Atlantic Yards: Two black leaders — both of whom support Atlantic Yards — have joined the chorus of critics saying that developer Bruce Ratner betrayed his black supporters by selling the naming rights to his proposed Nets arena to Barclays, a global investment firm that was founded by slave traders and did business with South Africa’s apartheid government. Roger Green — a former state Assemblyman — and successor Hakeem Jeffries are the latest lawmakers to come out against the deal. Comment.

Inside Ratner’s big deal$

Atlantic Yards: Community groups and schools will be paying a lot to rent Bruce Ratner’s arena when the Nets aren’t using it — an apparent pullback from the developer’s promise to make the arena available to local non-profit groups “at a reasonable rate.” Comment.

Atlantic Yards documentary: A review

Atlantic Yards: Paper film critic Baker Hollingsworth reviews Isabel Hill’s documentary, “Brooklyn Matters,” on the eve of its Brooklyn debut on Jan. 31. Comment.

Vox Pop: Ratner’s bank job

Atlantic Yards: Community groups and schools will be paying a lot to rent Bruce Ratner’s arena when the Nets aren’t using it — an apparent pullback from the developer’s promise to make the arena available to local non-profit groups “at a reasonable rate.” Comment.

Yards suit tries on a new tack; Lawyers claim state missed a deadline

Atlantic Yards: Opponents to Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards have unveiled a new legal strategy that could bolster their battle against the state’s use of eminent domain to make way for the mega-development, legal experts said this week. Comment.

All Drawn Out

Ratner’s ‘Blood Money’ fills the mailbag

Letters: Readers respond to last week’s story about Bruce Ratner’s deal with Barclays Bank, an institution with links to slavery, the Holocaust and apartheid. Comment.

DDDB Dialing for Dollars

Atlantic Yards: The anti–Atlantic Yards group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is reaching out and touching someone — someone’s wallet, that is. In a bid to pay off an ever-growing mountain of legal bills, the opposition group has undertaken a round of fundraising calls — even calling the Brooklyn Paper for cash (we declined, thanks). Comments (1).

January 20, 2007

Blood money: Nets arena to be named after bank founded on slave money

Atlantic Yards: The future home for the Brooklyn Nets will be emblazoned with the corporate logo of a British bank that was founded on the slave trade, collaborated with the Nazis and did business with South Africa’s apartheid government. Comment.

‘Barclays’ has a bad ring

Editorial: Bruce Ratner has stabbed his black supporters in the back. Comment.

Letters: Marty was right: The Paper is biased!

Letters: A writer concurs with Borough President Markowitz in slamming The Paper’s Atlantic Yards coverage. Comment.

January 6, 2007

Roger cuts ‘Green’ for Yards review

Atlantic Yards: In a final strike against Atlantic Yards opponents, outgoing Assemblyman Roger Green blocked a promised grant of $100,000 for an independent review of the project by a coalition of 40 civic groups, citing a racially charged comment made by a lone individual. Comment.

Roger Green, at long last, have you no sense of decency?

Editorial: The disgraced former Assemblyman — who once had to resign after being convicted of stealing state funds — hit a new low just before leaving office last month with a vendetta-filled move to block funding for an independent review of the massive Atlantic Yards project. Comment.
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