Despite the fact the "there is a long list of more worthy state projects — from the Second Avenue subway to the Cross-Harbor Freight Tunnel to high-speed upstate rail links — that would produce bigger public benefit from the stimulus bucks without bailing out a private real-estate developer," Forest City Ratner is trying to "elbow to the front of the line before any of the roughly $17 billion in federal aid arrives," writes New York Magazine. While Borough Prez Mary Markowitz is the only public official to publicly call for stimulus money to be diverted to the private project (and ESDC is unwilling to state its position), there are a number of electeds that Ratner has in his corner, including Mayor Bloomberg and Senator Schumer. The "key player," notes the magazine, is actually the original bloviator Alfonse D'Amato. After paying him big lobbying bucks over many years, Ratner plans to leverage the former Senator's close ties to Governor Paterson to make some rain.
Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Stimulus Shakedown [NY Mag]
Photo by Tracy Collins
