More cries of foul play in downtown Brooklyn, where neighborhood activist Dan Goldstein has uncovered a heretofore unreleased memo indicating that the city and developer Bruce Ratner entered into an agreement that would allow Ratner to increase the footprint of his Atlantic Yards project by 25%. City officials and Ratner say the memo was available to anyone who asked, but Goldstein and others are claiming subterfuge, especially given that the city announced with fanfare another Atlantic Yards memo on the same day the memo in question was penned.
Of course, whether or not there was impropriety here, Ratner already owns most of the land covered by the agreement, which includes the Atlantic Center (see above) and a neighboring Modell's/P.C. Richard complex. Which leaves Goldstein in the potentially untenable position of lobbying for the sanctity of one of the saddest malls in the land.
· Private Memo Guarantees Ratner Space [NY Sun]
· DDDB Reveals Secret Agreement Among Bruce Ratner, New York City and State [DDDB]
· Weighing Extell vs. Ratner at Vanderbilt Yards [Curbed]