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Another award for Ratner and Gilmartin: Forest City "has built with a deep seated belief in Brooklyn"

Another good cause meets an inevitable suck-up strategy.

A press release yesterday, Brooklyn Community Services 150th Anniversary Kick-Off Gala on June 6 Honors First Lady of NYC Chirlane McCray, Philanthropists Charles J. and Irene Hamm and Forest City Ratner Companies:
BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 3, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Brooklyn Community Services (BCS) 150th Anniversary Kick-Off Gala on Monday, June 6 will honor Brooklyn trailblazers: NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray, philanthropists Charles J. and Irene Hamm and corporate leader Forest City Ratner at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street in Brooklyn, from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. The emcee is ABC's The Chew co-host Carla Hall.
...BCS Corporate Leadership Award: Forest City Ratner Companies has built with a deep seated belief in Brooklyn and its people--from the MetroTech Center to Atlantic Center to Barclays Center. Accepting the award: Bruce C. Ratner, Executive Chairman and former BCS Board member and MaryAnne Gilmartin, President and CEO.
....Award presenters include: Eric L. Adams, Brooklyn Borough President, Marty Markowitz, former Brooklyn Borough President, Steven Klinsky, Founder, BCS Gary Klinsky Children's Centers. Special guests: former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, Chef Roblé Ali (Bravo's Chef Roblé and Co), Michael Chernus (Orange is the New Black) and Billy Magnussen (Bridge of Spies, The Big Short).
Sponsors: Greenberg Traurig LLP, Citigroup, Consolidated Edison, Forest City Ratner Companies, PVH Corporation, CBRE Group, Corcoran, Cullen & Dykman LLP, Cydean Group LLC, Investors Bank, Goldman Sachs, Bala Consulting Engineers, Depository Trust & Clearing Company, M.C. O'Brien, Inc., Park Strategies, New York Mets, New York [sic] Nets, Uber, Optimum, Signature Construction, The Wright Group, Dimes Savings Bank of Williamsburgh, and Pinnacle City Living.
(Emphases added)

Note that not only are Forest City Ratner and the Brooklyn Nets sponsors, so too is lobbyist Park Strategies, led by Alfonse D'Amato, a regular client of Forest City. Also listed on the event website is Corcoran Group Real Estate, which is marketing the 550 Vanderbilt condos.

Here's the honoree bio:
CORPORATE LEADER

Over the past 25 years, no company has matched Forest City Ratner in its uncompromising commitment to Brooklyn, New York. Forest City's leadership construction of Downtown Brooklyn and its surrounding areas has been utterly transformative for the borough and has paved the way for the economic boom that Brooklyn is experiencing today.
From the 1992 opening of the MetroTech Center development with anchor tenants Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan Chase, to the 2004 christening of The Atlantic Center, bringing world class retail that is accessible to Brooklynites from all walks of life, to the 2012 completion of the Barclays Center, ushering in a new era of professional sports in Brooklyn in a state-of-the-art arena: every step of the way, Forest City has built with a deep seated belief in Brooklyn and the people who live here.
Accepting the award are Forest City's Executive Chairman and former member of the BCS Board of Directors, Bruce C. Ratner, as well current Forest City President and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin. We at BCS could not be more proud to honor Forest City's work, past, present and future, and we thank Mr. Ratner and Ms. Gilmartin for being a part of this momentous evening for BCS.
What the heck is a "deep seated belief in Brooklyn"? Like the much-used term "civic developer"--which means "relating to the city," rather than "in the public interest"--the belief in Brooklyn can be spun as something public-spirited but is first and foremost a recognition of a marketing demographic.

And, of course, the Culture of Cheating is ignored.

What's BCS?

Here's the mission:
BCS celebrates the strength of the human spirit. Our mission is to empower at-risk children, youth and families, and adults with mental illness or developmental disabilities to overcome the obstacles they face, as we strive to ensure opportunity for all to learn, grow and contribute to ONE Brooklyn Community.

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