Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Richard Lipsky, the former lobbyist convicted of bribery, got a break. (Remember, Lipsky lobbied for Forest City Ratner, and paid bribes to corrupt state Senator Carl Kruger, another Atlantic Yards supporter, though none of the admitted crimes involved the project. Kruger was caught on tape having very chummy conversations with Forest City External Affairs VP Bruce Bender, who requested state money for Atlantic Yards but instead got it for a Prospect Park project.) The New York Times told us 12/22/16, in Ex-Prisoners Get an Advocate From Their Own Ranks , that Lipsky, who's advocated for criminal justice reform since his guilty plea and brief three-month sentence, won the battle for an exemption from a law that bars those guilty of crimes including bribery, from advising unions until 13 years later. Federal Judge Jed Rakoff, who gave Lipsky such a short sentence in light of publicly unexplained cooperation with prosecutors (see sentencing memo ), agreed to the exemption, des...

New York Times columnist Michael Powell, in A Developer Between Legal Clouds , offers some much-needed connections between “Developer No. 1” in Brooklyn and “Developer No. 2” in Yonkers and some corruption cases that curiously left Forest City Ratner a beneficiary yet legally unscathed: The Brooklyn and Yonkers cases are not simply about wayward politicians. The cases share an intriguing tie to the developer Bruce Ratner, who in project after project deploys lobbyists and politicians to change zoning ordinances and chase down rich packets of subsidies. I think the case in Yonkers--where Forest City gained the benefit of a City Council vote thanks to a vote gained by bribery, and never explained giving the indicted briber a no-show job--involves the developer more than the case in Brooklyn, where lobbyist Richard Lipsky and former state Senator Carl Kruger had a range of clients and beneficiaries. Questions and answers Powell writes: So many questions remain, not the least of w...

Reported Brooklyn Daily , regarding the guilty pleas by former state Sen. Carl Kruger and Richard Lipsky: The [federal complaint against Kruger and Lipsky] in no way says or suggests that we behaved in an inappropriate manner,” Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco explained. Not so. Neither  the 4/7/11  indictment  (superseding a 3/9/11  complaint ) suggested that Forest City, or executive Bruce Bender, behaved illegally . And the indictment, far more terse than its predecessor, did not suggest inappropriate behavior. But the complaint , as I pointed out 12/21/11, very much suggested inappropriate behavior--at least if you think asking Kruger for $15 million, including $9 million to complete the Carlton Avenue Bridge (and talking rather profanely about it ), is inappropriate.

In lobbyist Richard Lipsky's guilty plea yesterday, there was no mention of Atlantic Yards or the unnamed developer, Forest City Ratner, that was among his clients. It was about paying referral fees to now-disgraced Sen. Carl Kruger for clients Kruger directed his way, and then expecting Kruger to help him in Albany. Though the indictment and legal complaint  indicated that Kruger allocated $500,000 to a client of Lipsky--actually the allocation was at the request of Forest City Ratner executive Bruce Bender, but to his wife's charitable cause--there was no evidence of whether Kruger did so at Lipsky's request. Lipsky, whose Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog was frozen after he was charged last March, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of bribery. Though he faced a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, Crain's  reported  that Lipsky made a d...

The New York Times reported, in Lobbyist Is Expected to Plead Guilty in Corruption Case : Richard J. Lipsky, a prominent New York lobbyist who was charged in the bribery conspiracy case that also ensnared State Senator Carl Kruger, is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, a person briefed on the matter said Tuesday. Mr. Lipsky’s plea would come just two weeks after Mr. Kruger resigned from the Senate and pleaded guilty to corruption charges... Lipsky was charged with feeding lobbying fees to Kruger in exchange for the Senator helping Lipsky's causes, though it wasn't clear what Lipsky would plead to: Over several years, a criminal complaint charged, Mr. Lipsky directed about $260,000 in lobbying fees to two shell companies linked to Mr. Kruger. “Kruger’s official actions included sponsoring and supporting legislation, lobbying other elected officials and directing state monies for the benefit of Lipsky and his clients,” the complaint...

In March, I pointed to a couple of posts Room 8 blogger Gatemouth, aka Howard Graubard, had written about the charges against state Senator Carl Carl Kruger (who, by the way, says he's running for re-election !), Assemblyman William Boyland, and lobbyist Richard Lipsky. Now Gatemouth points out that state Senator Marty Golden, who in 2008 took three days to introduce a resolution concerning arrested state Senator Hiram Monserrate, has been conspicuously silent regarding Carl Kruger, who helped to elect Golden. And, Gatemouth points to another curious connection between Kruger and Golden: a $3000 campaign contribution by Dorothy Lipsky (lobbyist Lipsky's wife) to Golden. Spreading the wealth I took a look at campaign contributions that Richard Lipsky and Dorothy Lipsky gave from their three addresses (all listed in the city's lobbying database; search on Richard Lipsky ) and found a varied set of recipients. See below for the full list, but it includes significant contribu...

When, in September 2006, I first wrote about lawyer Michael Ratner's campaign contribution in apparent furtherance of the goals of Forest City Ratner (run by his brother Bruce), nobody in the press seemed to care. When news of corruption charges against state Senator Carl Kruger first surfaced this month, I mentioned that Kruger had received FCR-related campaign contributions, and on Friday I wrote again about Michael Ratner. Exclusive? Today, in an article labeled "Exclusive," the New York Post offers Kruger's campaigns see big 'Net' gains : State Sen. Carl Kruger -- who, the feds charge, directed state money to the Atlantic Yards project, which includes a new Nets arena -- took thousands of dollars in campaign cash from deep-pocketed donors connected to its developer, the team and the arena. (Actually, he directed state money toward a Prospect Park project pushed by Forest City executive Bruce Bender.) Nets investor Michael Ratner and his wife, Karen Ra...

The New York Observer has a long, gloomy piece on the once Observer-anointed , alleged bribe-giving lobbyist Richard Lipsky, The Long Decline of Richard Lipsky , which closes: Unlike Mr. Lipsky, most lobbyists wanted those in office to stay-they relied on these relationships for business. He had burned so many bridges that he needed a whole new crop of lawmakers. It makes sense, then, they say, that Mr. Lipsky would be caught handing cash over to a longtime outer-borough lawmaker. It was the only way he could get anyone to take his calls. "He wanted to start representing the fat cats, but because he was so obnoxious and aggressive, he didn't have that many successes," said longtime lobbyist Norman Adler. "When you are under pressure like that, you pull out all the stops." Unmentioned is why Forest City Ratner might have wanted to hire Lipsky: to organize youth sports (as the developer claimed ), to be an all-around weapon against Atlantic Yards opponents, and, ...

Though state Senator Carl Kruger has certainly helped developer Forest City Ratner over the years, and the charges described last week certainly put that help in a new light, the federal complaint does not show Kruger allocating funds to the developer. Sure, he seemed willing, but he didn't have enough money, so what he did have went to a Prospect Park project requested by Forest City Ratner Executive VP Bruce Bender. That might be seen as much as helping an old crony as anything else. Senate leaders bend to Bender? Still, another look at the complaint suggests some shocking--at least to those who believe what they learned in civics class--behavior from a Senate staffer, apparently at the behest of "Senate Leader #1." Who's that? Apparently Senator John Sampson (as identified in news coverage), who has had supporters use Forest City Ratner offices for a fundraiser. That staffer was willing to essentially outsource government "pork" directly to Bender, le...

In Lobbyist Richard Lipsky's downfall: Lobbyist in bribery scandal touched nearly every biz cause , Crain's New York Business describes Richard Lipsky's ethical flexibility and, near the end of the article, suggests that a connection with developer Forest City Ratner led Lipsky to ally with state Senator Carl Kruger. Crain's reports: In the 1990s, lobbyist Richard Lipsky fought ferociously on behalf of small business owners against building a Pathmark supermarket in East Harlem, and, a decade later, against a Walmart store on Staten Island. But the underdog narrative that ran through his three-decade career became muddied more recently as signs emerged that Mr. Lipsky was following the money rather than his principles. Forest City Ratner hired him in 2006 for its $5 billion Atlantic Yards megaproject in Brooklyn, and a related corporate entity snagged him to pave the way for an East Harlem shopping mall whose anchor is a Target superstore. Those moves were widely attrib...

In an 8/24/07 post on his Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog headlined West Harlem's Not For Sale , lobbyist Richard Lipsky wrote some reflections that cast a more noble light on his work than the corruption charges issued today: Which brings us to a post that was done by the Wonkster yesterday on the CB 9 vote. Calling the CB9 vote a "bump in the road," and referring to Curb's description of the vote as "meaningless,"the web site went on to point out that Richard Lipsky's representing the area's largest property owner and according to the indefatigable Norman Oder, is making arguments that he supposedly refuted when he was representing FCRC on the Atlantic Yards controversy. First, it would have been nice if Wonkster had linked to us if it was going to link to Oder's exhaustive deconstruction of our arguments. But that being said, we are flattered by the almost hermeneutic-like attention Oder pays to our positions on the topics of eminent domain...

With the expected indictments of Brooklyn State Sen. Carl Kruger and lobbyist Richard Lipsky on corruption charges--not related to Atlantic Yards, at least so far (but see below)--the ranks of Atlantic Yards supporters/enablers with a taint keep growing. ( Photo by Adrian Kinloch) Quick: former Assemblyman Roger Green had to resign (and run again) after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor; Darryl Greene, Forest City Ratner's consultant on minority hiring, had to withdraw from the Aqueduct "racino" project because of his record of mail fraud; Carpenters Union official Sal Zarzana was cited by a court-appointed monitor for inappropriate expenditures; Carpenters Union official John Holt was cited for obstructing an investigation and giving false answers to an investigator. The charges The New York Times reports : State Senator Carl Kruger, a powerful and at times controversial Brooklyn Democrat, is expected to turn himself in on Thursday to federal authorities in Manhattan...

Daily News columnist Adam Lisberg yesterday took a swipe at lobbyist Richard Lipsky for some seeming inconsistency: vigorous advocacy against projects involving eminent domain like Willets Point and Columbia University, while working for Bruce Ratner on Atlantic Yards. Lisberg writes: At the same time, though, developer Bruce Ratner's companies are paying Lipsky $3,500 a month for "information and advice" on Atlantic Yards, the controversial project to bring apartments and the Nets basketball team to Brooklyn. The first phase of Atlantic Yards alone required the state to condemn 15 privately owned properties. Eminent domain allows government to seize a private owner's property to serve the greater public good — if you consider a basketball stadium or a shopping center to be a public good. Lipsky said he's usually against it, but the Nets arena and its benefits for neighborhood kids make it worthwhile in Brooklyn. "I don't have an absolute position o...

A New York Times articles August 13, headlined E-Mails Show State Officials’ Skepticism About Willets Point Project , began: Even as the Bloomberg administration promotes the $3 billion development of Willets Point in Queens as one of its signature projects, state officials whose approval is needed have privately raised concerns over highway ramps crucial to the proposal and have questioned whether the development will ever get off the ground. State officials have repeatedly expressed frustration with the city’s inability to provide reliable information and the pressure it was placing on them to expedite their analysis, according to a review of hundreds of e-mails involving the Willets Point project that were provided to The New York Times by an opponent of the project. Reading that, I wondered if the Times ever reported that Marisa Lago, then-CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in April 2009 said publicly --not in an email extracted via (presumably) a Freedom of Inf...

Lobbyist Richard Lipsky was paid $15,000 last year by the Atlantic Yards Development Group (and $10,000 by FC East River Associates, which is developing East River Plaza in East Harlem), so that may be enough to keep him writing things like this on his Neighborhood Retail Alliance blog: The point gains additional poignancy, because it has been suggested by New York's Burden-planning commissioner Amanda-that Flushing Commons is a prime example of Mayor Bloomberg's promotion of sustainability because of its location right next to a major transit hub. Now, in our view, Atlantic Yards, located at Fulton and Atlantic Avenue, has a greater claim to this distinction because of the 18 or so interconnecting rail links in and around the site; but the claim that downtown Flushing offers a similar venue for the use of mass transit over looks the fact that the 7 Line (the only train servicing the area) is already stuffed to the gills-and the buses that run out of Main Street a...

From a press release from Willets Point United : Willets Point United, Inc. – a group of more than 20 property owners in Queens, NY, fighting to keep their land despite the city’s desire to condemn it and turn it over to a yet-to-be-named private developer – believes the NYC Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) approach to improving Willets Point is inappropriate, and we will oppose it in every way . Today we have notified the EDC via letter of the very disturbing track records of certain developer firms likely to respond to the EDC’s Request for Qualifications (RFQ) by today’s deadline and asks that these firms be disqualified from future consideration for receipt of a Request for Proposals (RFP). (Emphasis added) One contact on the press release was lobbyist Richard Lipsky, the same guy who declared Atlantic Yards opponents should get "a well-deserved delay of game penalty" and sneered "Enough already! It's high time that the DDDers, took their settlement mon...

Eric McClure of NoLandGrab has the analysis of Richard Lipsky's Olympic-style gyrations, in which the AY lobbyist says the Court of Appeals decision on AY eminent domain was fine, but the fallout from the Kelo case in New London means that the courts should back property owners (whom he represents) in Willets Point. I'll just add that the plaintiffs in the Willets Point case, via attorney Michael Rikon, filed an amicus brief in the AY case supporting the AY plaintiffs.

The Village Voice's Best of NYC 2009 issue honors Richard Lipsky as the Best Small-Business Lobbyist . First the citation, then my asterisk. Lipsky the lobbyist is usually found on the steps of City Hall: He's the guy in the suit, with a shock of dark hair and a brush mustache gone gray, talking nonstop into a cell-phone device in his ear. In a city where lobbyists get paid big bucks to whisper quietly to influential politicians, Richard Lipsky will have none of it. He barks, bellows, and bites. When handed the microphone at a rally, he's as good a rabble-rouser as an irate Bronx tenant. This is not how lobbyists are supposed to do business, but Lipsky has long gone his own way. Victims who can attest to the sharpness of his bite include the likes of Wal-Mart—defeated three times in its bid to find sites for giant local box stores. Another un-lobbyist-like tool is his nonstop blog—cloyingly dubbed "momandpopnyc.com" [actually momandpopnyc.blogspot.com ]—which reg...