Small, informal gathering for current and prospective PS9 parents tomorrow (Tuesday) night. May make a general announcement later. For now, if you want details, e-mail us.
Are "Angry Yards" Protesters Ratner Puppets?
Stephen Witt, writing in the January 10, 2005 edition of the Park Slope Courier, reported on an "incendiary letter" charging that "Forest City Ratner is the hidden force behind grassroots suppport" for the Atlantic Yards project. According to Witt, the letter alleges that Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) "orchestrated and engineered" a protest outside the office of City Council member Letitia James.
Witt writes of the "quickly scrapped" note: "The note, bearing the letterhead of City Council member Albert Vann, asks for ‘black elected officials’ to express outrage …"
BUILD President James Caldwell is quoted in the article: "I as a black man can think on my own … We’re an independent organization and all we want is betterment for all the people in our community." ACORN Executive Director Bertha Lewis: "Out of respect for Mr. Vann, I refuse comment…" Forest City Ratner Companies spokesperson Joe DePlasco: "Ridiculous."
Would be nice if the whole article was online, but it doesn’t appear to be. Can anybody find it?
BREAKING NEWS: A Train Lingers at Scene of Crime
Douglas reports that the A train seems to be running north through the Chambers Street station once again; however, it slows down drastically as it approaches the (still unsolved) crime scene before it comes to a full stop: "Then, the train lingers with the doors open while the conductor reads from a scripted statement: ‘As many of you know, a crime was committed last week when a fire was started in the Chambers Street station. If you have any information about this incident, please step out of the train and speak to one of the detectives.’ Long pause. Anyone? Anyone? Then, after about a 5-minute wait, presumably the amount of time required for one’s memory to spark or conscience to awaken, the train continues north."
WEEKEND UPDATE: ProHo team wins NYC Idiotarod "Best in Show"
Jose reports that your home team, Pirates of the High Cs, won Best of Show at NYC Idiotarod and just managed to avoid last place in the race). Photos TK. Details TK. TK TK. TK. TK?
Atlantic Yards
Give thanks: lightningfield.com
Recent Home Sales – 11217 edition
Brooklyn 11217, reported in January:
92 Lafayette Ave., $650,000, 1600 sq. ft. 1899 lot size; tax value $20,960
636 Pacific St Unit 204, $729,684
636 Pacific St Unit 504, $1,045,378
Restroom. No problems.
Brooklyn Museum of Art. Informed.
OOPS
Turns out one of the primary dailyheights e-mail addresses was out of service for a while. Sorry. If you tried to send a suggestion, idea, article, etc. and you didn’t get a response, please try this handy (and hopefully spam-proof) e-mail form.
HEADS UP: Cheer on TEAM PIRATE tomorrow in the NYC Idiotarod
Our home team, Pirates of the High Cs, race a shopping cart in the NYC Idiotarod, tomorrow (Saturday,
January 29) at 2 pm. Starts at Fulton Ferry Pier in Brooklyn, and
finishes at Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan: "The rolling pageant and
grueling endurance race will happen rain or shine, blizzard or breeze." Apparently they discourage "just filming" but hopefully someone will document it (hint, hint). See precisionaccidents.com for more info.
Effusive FCR Exec: We Like “Radical” ACORN
In case you never made it past the jump in that Brooklyn Papers article …
Forest City Ratner executive positively gushes: “We like working with
ACORN. They have that radical feeling, they really fight for what they believe
in. We just love their history, how they started, and feel it really
represents what we’re working to do here." [PR tip-of-the-day: don’t say “trying to do.” Say “working to
do.” It makes you sound like a go-getter!]
“Forest City Ratner has been working in conjunction with the
New York City chapter of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform
Now (ACORN), to establish an affordable housing scheme for Atlantic Yards.”
“Talk is cheap,’” [ACORN’s] Lewis said of the Ratner
executive’s announcement …" Read the whole thing… (DIAL-UP WARNING:
3.24MB PDF of the entire paper)