Today was the rally calling for Bruce Ratner to put up or shut up. Brooklyn is getting tired of Ratner making promises then breaking those promises even as he demands more taxpayer money. The rally was well attended, though we came slightly late and were way at the back, so didn't really see the whole crowd.

Chris Owens, President of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and Brooklyn Progressive Activist, led the rally. Three groups organized the rally: Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, and Brooklyn Speaks. MANY local politicians attended, including some who had previously been pretty solidly behind Ratner. Ratner has worn out his welcome even among his supporters.

Here are some excerpts from the press release from the three organizing groups:

UPDATE at bottom.

Last year, the central triumvirate trying to funnel taxpayer money into Bruce Ratner's pockets were, of course, Pataki, Bloomberg and, perhaps Lepidus to their Pompeius and Caesar, Markowitz.

Below them were a whole slew of supporters (like Yvette Clarke) and what I considered enablers, people who were helping along the process despite apparant concerns. Hakeem Jeffries and David Yassky were among what I considered the enablers.

Well, it's a year later and things have changed. On Ratner's side, of course, Pataki has faded away, but Vito Lopez, never one to shirk from corruption, has jumped in with such sleazy deals for Ratner that it is starting to drive away others.

David Yassky's concerns, voiced last year yet hollow sounding next to his apparant acceptance of the corrupt deal, have escalated until Yassky has become a major critic of the project.

In the ongoing battle over Atlantic Yards, one central critique of good government advocates has been the abject failure of the legislature to do its due diligence and examine whether this project is indeed in the public interest, and therefore worthy of public dollars.

One of the myriad lollipops being thrown at Bruce Ratner is this: a 421-a tax reform bill just passed by the Assembly reformed the 421-a tax break given to developers; now, one must actually build affordable housing to receive tax breaks for it. From Develop Don't Destroy:

The Assembly passed a bill reforming the 36-year old 421-a property tax break. No longer will developers building new construction receive tax breaks when they build all market rate buildings. Now they must provide 20% of the units at "affordable" rates in each building, based on a cap set at 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). AMI for New York City is about $71,000 for a family of four (AMI for Brooklyn is about $35,000).

But Bruce Ratner gets a special deal written in clause 13 of the bill. For his Atlantic Yards project, he gets the tax break for his market rate condos. No other developer in the 421-a "Geographic Exception Areas" (which include Central Brooklyn where the project is proposed) will receive tax breaks if they build all market rate.

Mayor Bloomberg has called for a veto of the bill, and now, the two legislators who represent Atlantic Yards in the legislature, Velmanette Montgomery and Hakeem Jeffries, have made their displeasure known in no uncertain terms.