Did Forest City Ratner try to avert yesterday's rally? There were hints, plus an FCR associate shadowing the protest
Did Forest City Ratner or others try to stop yesterday's protest, led by People for Political and Economic Empowerment (P.P.E.E.)?
P.P.E.E. president Martin Allen, in the interviews below, hinted as such, though he wouldn't name names. He said they wanted to avert the protest, and call him in for a negotiation.
He said he wanted a public negotiation, with promises for local jobs and hiring fulfilled as promised. If such another project arose, I asked what he'd do differently? Get it in writing, he said.
But Forest City did sign a Community Benefits Agreement, so the devil's in the details.
Shadowing the protest
At one point, the woman pictured at left, along with an associate walked along, observing the protest.
One of the protesters identified her to me as Yvette, the daughter of Darryl Greene, the controversial minority hiring/contracting consultant who was so toxic, because of his criminal record, that his role in one firm's Aqueduct "racino" bid led to the demise of that bid.
Greene's firm, The Darman Group, has long worked for Forest City Ratner and was supposed to help the firm hire an Independent Compliance Monitor to report on the Community Benefits Agreement.
A records search indicates that Darryl Greene has a relative named Yvette Dennis. Beyond that, the program (excerpted below) from a conference on women in construction indicates that Yvette Dennis is part of The Darman Group.
Was the woman yesterday Yvette Dennis? The two photos look somewhat similar, but I can't be certain, because when I tried to query her, she refused my questions and then walked into the Atlantic Terminal Mall.
Update: a reader tells me, "I can confirm the woman in both photos in your piece is named Yvette and that she appears to run the Community Labor Exchange on site."
P.P.E.E. president Martin Allen, in the interviews below, hinted as such, though he wouldn't name names. He said they wanted to avert the protest, and call him in for a negotiation.
He said he wanted a public negotiation, with promises for local jobs and hiring fulfilled as promised. If such another project arose, I asked what he'd do differently? Get it in writing, he said.
But Forest City did sign a Community Benefits Agreement, so the devil's in the details.
Shadowing the protestAt one point, the woman pictured at left, along with an associate walked along, observing the protest.
One of the protesters identified her to me as Yvette, the daughter of Darryl Greene, the controversial minority hiring/contracting consultant who was so toxic, because of his criminal record, that his role in one firm's Aqueduct "racino" bid led to the demise of that bid.
Greene's firm, The Darman Group, has long worked for Forest City Ratner and was supposed to help the firm hire an Independent Compliance Monitor to report on the Community Benefits Agreement.
A records search indicates that Darryl Greene has a relative named Yvette Dennis. Beyond that, the program (excerpted below) from a conference on women in construction indicates that Yvette Dennis is part of The Darman Group.
Was the woman yesterday Yvette Dennis? The two photos look somewhat similar, but I can't be certain, because when I tried to query her, she refused my questions and then walked into the Atlantic Terminal Mall.
Update: a reader tells me, "I can confirm the woman in both photos in your piece is named Yvette and that she appears to run the Community Labor Exchange on site."
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