This past week and especially the coming Monday heralds a new day in New York. Not only does Eliot Spitzer resign and David Paterson become Governor, but the whole political dynamic in the state is completely shook up. Out of the many examples we will find in the coming weeks and days, there is Brooklyn, and the infamous Atlantic Yards project that Bruce Ratner is so fond of.
Now the AY project was having trouble already, but a Paterson Administration could spell complete doom for Ratner and his quest to remake Brooklyn into gentrified garbage. It is about preserving and beautifying Kings County, not tearing it down and making anew. And there are some that feel that this is the right time to drive the stake in Ratner's heart plans.
From Curbed:
Who knew that something as sordid as that Client 9 thing would have implications for something as dry and legalistic as eminent domain? But it does. This morning's Sun considers the possible implications of Gov. David Paterson--who has been an opponent of eminent domain--on a number of projects including Atlantic Yards, the big Columbia Expansion and the city's plan to take Willets Point and redevelop it with a huge convention, hotel, retail and residential complex. Opponents of Atlantic Yards aren't wasting any time. The postcard here to "Dear Gov. Paterson," which isn't specifically about eminent domain, is already in circulation.The Sun notes that the incoming governor was part of a 2005 rally on the steps of City Hall "during which he called for a statewide moratorium on the use of eminent domain." The issue--along with a Brooklyn Museum Gala honoring developer Bruce Ratner--were major topics of conversation at a meeting on Atlantic Yards last night. The Atlantic Yards postcards are already in the mail, with anti-Columbia Expansion and Willets Point likely to follow.
So far Paterson is saying a lot of good things, I can only hope that it continues and translates into positive action for our state.
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