Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Ratner to state: Just have some blind faith!

From the Daily News:

State officials are set to vote on the latest version of developer Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project in September - even if they don't know what it looks like.

At a raucous hearing Wednesday, critics ripped into the Empire State Development Corp. for allowing Ratner to move forward without producing renderings of the new Nets arena and the 16 towers he plans to build in Prospect Heights.

"We are being asked to comment on a phantom project, to review a project without being able to view the project plans. This is beyond ludicrous," said Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein.

Since star architect Frank Gehry was booted from the project to save money, the Kansas City firm Ellerbe Beckett has been working to design a stripped-down arena for the Nets.

"The design is not complete yet," Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President MaryAnne Gilmartin said last week, adding that renderings would be released in September or October.

But Gilmartin also said the developer may not put out the images before the board votes - and doesn't have to.

Nearly drowned out by a chorus of cheers and boos - and one heckler calling him a "big fat slob" - Borough President Marty Markowitz reiterated his support for the project.

2 comments:

Taxpayer said...

If taxpayers are to have any faith in anything, it should be limited to matters of religion.

As for business and government, faith is for morons who cannot think for themselves.

Government and business must prove and prove again, each day, each moment that each is going to deliver as promised or suffer severe penalty.

Blind faith regarding how tax dollars are spent by corrupt people?

How about NO FAITH?

Snake Plissskin said...

Don't get too upset. All we usually get is a two inch square rendering of 50 story buildings in the paper with a three inch headline telling us how great it is (the public's tax bill for infratructure costs is never discussed)

Then you get variances, and changes and modifictions and then they discover that the promises are merely guidelines and soon whatever they show you is just that: a whatever.