The Chelsea Alien Pod was one of the best (i.e. most entertaining) development stories of the mid-aughts, but it was not an incredible shock when the much maligned project failed to come to fruition. Now its hubristic would-be developer, Colin Rath, has a released a self-published book titled It Is What It Is—the same title as the documentary he wanted to make, which did not quite reach its Kickstarter goal, managing to get $875 out of its target $125,000 pledged. The Times' Matt Chaban, who actually read the book, describes it as "strikingly candid, confident and, at times, condescending," and writes, "Mr. Rath spends a good deal of time accusing various contractors and creditors of fraud while questioning the mental states of certain neighbors who attacked the project." Rath lost the property in 2009, and millions of dollars in the process of trying to develop it—money that he is hoping to recoup by selling the absurd condo that he designed next door.
· Untested Developer Picked Wrong Time, Wrong Place and Wrong Neighbors [NYT]
· It Is What It Is [official]
· Colin Rath coverage [Curbed]
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