Councilman Bill DeBlasio has seemed to have never met a developer dollar he didn't like. Rumor has it he has admitted as much. But it is certain that he by and large sides quite proudly with any developer who pays lip service, no matter how far fetched, to affordable housing.
So Bill DeBlasio has believed Bruce Ratner, a man who has no record whatsoever in creating affordable housing, when he said the Atlantic Yards project would contain a gajillion units of affordable housing. DeBlasio ignored the fact that Ratner's plan for affordable housing wasn't even that affordable (even by Manhattan standards) and were as vague as can be as to when, where and how it would be built. We warned Bill DeBlasio that Ratner cannot be trusted to provide affordable housing. But DeBlasio has been one of way too many politicians willing to throw taxpayer money at Ratner's feet. The only person to outdo DeBlasio in the amount of taxpayer money offered to Ratner is Vito Lopez, who, right after Ratner's family donating to Lopez's political machine, offered so much taxpayer money to Ratner that even Mayor Bloomberg cried foul [1].
In 2006 many felt Councilman David Yassky sounded too open to Ratner's charms [2]. True or not (and Yassky doesn't seem to feel his views have changed, but I feel his rhetoric has) David Yassky has increasingly become one of Ratner's main critics [3], siding with Councilwoman Letitia James, a long standing critic, in demanding very clear requirements for infrastructure improvements and more guarantees for the affordable housing Ratner has promised. Conversion or merely clarification, Yassky's views are much more in line with the community's now.
Now even Bill DeBlasio is starting to doubt the veracity of what Bruce Ratner says. According to the April 19 Brooklyn Paper [4], even Developer Dollar Bill is having second thoughts about Ratner's Atlantic Yards project.
Ratner has, in essence, publicly backed out of the entire affordable housing offer. To be fair, DeBlasio always claimed that the basis of his support was always the affordable housing, but he seemed way too gullible to be blieved, seemingly buying into everything Ratner promised. But now Ratner's nearly complete abandonment of the very basis for public funding of the project has finally made DeBlasio realize that Ratner has been lying through his teeth.
DeBlasio was quoted as saying:
We need to stop until there is a clear plan. The plans have changed, at least according to Ratner himself, so why should demolitions continue?
He went further by condemning the whole review process:
I've never seen something so fundamentally mishandled in terms of excluding the community [as Atlantic Yards]," said DeBlasio, who is running for Borough President.
Councilman Bill DeBlasio, where the HELL have you been? Many of us knew the affordable housing would never materialize or would materialize in a form that would become unaffordable rapidly. Many of us have been condemning the lack of community participation in the process. We have been TELLING you this for years now and that never stopped you from throwing more of OUR money to Ratner. Seriously, dude. We told you so. What took you so damned long to listen?
Oh...yeah. Now you're allegedly running for BP maybe you feel the community suddenly matters to you. Better actually be able to DO something about this project you helped shove down our throats before you ask us to believe your conversion.
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