Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Remember the very, very strange experience of watching left-wing organizer Bertha Lewis and right-wing Republican state Senator Marty Golden together championing Atlantic Yards, at this 7/29/09 hearing ? Well, Republican commenter Galewyn Massey  (a pseudonym, I suspect) pointed out another irony,  writing  10/29/13: Did the Republican-Conservative Candidate for Mayor Joseph Lhota clear his Atlantic Yards attack against [Democratic nominee Bill] deBlasio with his strongest GOP supporter in Brooklyn, State Senator Martin Golden ? One of the headlines: “Lhota Says Developers Have ‘Bought’ de Blasio’s Silence on Atlantic Yards” — Another: “De Blasio ‘ignoring’ affordable-housing delays because pal is in charge” — Still another: “Joe Lhota slams Bill de Blasio over being quiet on affordable housing in Atlantic Yards” Isn’t it somewhat hypocritical that one of Lhota’s biggest supporters, Marty Golden, was similarly “Bought” by Forest City Ratner, the developer of the ...

Seeking to shore up a campaign deeply behind in the polls , Republican mayoral nominee Joe Lhota came to the intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street this afternoon, with the arena and the site for the first housing tower in the background, and again slammed rival Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee, regarding his failure to criticize Atlantic Yards while taking contributions from the developer. "Bill de Blasio has been all talk and no action when it comes to affordable housing," said the former MTA head, pointing to a quote from the then-Council Member regarding the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement: “It’s the responsibility of all of us, and especially of we elected officials, to ensure that it is scrupulously adhered to.” Lhota got some traction--he was his most pointed yet in targeting de Blasio's failure to follow through on the CBA, including developer Forest City Ratner's failure to hire a promised Independent Compliance Monitor. And...