Can New Rochelle Mayor and Forest City Ratner debate truth and facts?
Can a leopard change its spots?
What’s in your wallet?
Put your money or Forest City’s Money where your mouth is! If everything that The Mayor and Forest City Ratner say are facts and can be proven, then show the citizens of New Rochelle by sitting down with Jeffrey Hastie and members of United Citizens for a better New Rochelle and debate the facts in public. What have they got too loose if everything is above board and legal? Some recent goings on with Atlantic Yards and Cause of Action Group info, finishing with Bob Cox’s recent article:
1)Elected officials call for Atlantic Yards sale deferred until new analysis and commitments regarding housing; Forest City pushes back, but should be happy all accept scale of project.Saturday, November 16, 2013
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2013/11/elected-officials-call-for-atlantic.html
“They are urging that the Atlantic Yards Development Agreement be revised to require the affordable housing to be built on the originally promoted ten-year schedule before the developer is allowed to sell 70% of the remaining project to the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group”.
2) Absent among elected officials putting pressure on Atlantic Yards: state Senator and BP-elect Eric Adams, who evades question of delays, backs modular plan. Monday, November 18, 2013
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2013/11/absent-among-elected-officials-putting.html
“There was one conspicuous absence last Friday when a broad range of elected officials urged that the Atlantic Yards Development Agreement be revised to require the affordable housing to be built on the originally promoted ten-year schedule before the developer is allowed to sell 70% of the remaining project to the Chinese government-owned Greenland Group, and that the ongoing Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement study alternatives to Forest City’s plan”.
3) The Culture of Cheating: What happened to Atlantic Yards jobs? This is a 9/9/13 adaptation and update of a 9/4/12 post
http://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/p/this-is-9913-adaptation-and-update-of.html
“When the Atlantic Yards mega-project was announced in December 2003, developer Forest City Ratner, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and their allies promoted “Jobs, Housing, and Hoops,” with bright blue buttons perfect for a local’s lapel.
Nearly nine years later, the Barclays Center opened 9/28/12 with a string of Jay-Z concerts. The Brooklyn Nets debuted in October. But there was far more hype than evidence of the “jobs” and “affordable housing,” which prompted so much public passion.
Could it be that Atlantic Yards, that 16-tower, borough-changing behemoth, is first about basketball and entertainment? Wasn’t the public assistance–the subsidies, tax breaks, override of zoning, eminent domain, and more–justified because of the promises of the full project”?
4) Officials call on Atlantic Yards developers to hurry up affordable housing By Reuven Blau / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Published: Thursday, November 14, 2013
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/pols-protesting-unkept-promises-atlantic-yards-article-1.1517814#ixzz2kxPZcS1O
“Group of 10 politicians call on site’s new developer, Greenland Group, to accelerate construction of 2,250 units of affordable housing, promised as a condition of approval”.
5) Cause of Action REPORT: Political Profiteering: How Forest City Enterprises Makes Private Profits at the Expense of America’s Taxpayers Part I: August 2, 2013
6) Cause of Action REPORT: How Forest City Enterprises Makes Private Profits at the Expense of America’s Taxpayers. Political Profiteering of Forest City Enterprises Part II November 7, 2013
REPORT: Political Profiteering of Forest City Enterprises Part II
7) Letter from Purported Insider Describes Mindset of Forest City “Everyone Has a Price” By Robert Cox on Thu, 11/14/2013
http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/letter-purported-insider-describes-mindset-forest-city-everyone-has-price
Meanwhile back at the ranch, who is being investigated for miss-conduct and other political gamesmanship? Not United Citizens for a Better New Rochelle or the Taxpaying Citizens of New Rochelle. So I ask Forest City Ratner family members, employees, staff and people or businesses hired by Forest City/Ratner, what’s in your wallet, should I say “Who is in Your Wallet? We can’t forget that this all doesn’t happen without moving the City Yard at major expense to the taxpayers and getting some property away from the Armory Site.
There is a significant bonding requirement in the proposed movement of the DPW yard. A Bond Resolution has already been passed for $25 million. I believe this was another one of those procedural votes that Councilmen Tarentino and Trangucci voted against and the others followed the leader. I don’t think that would happen today if there were another vote. Is there or should there be a requirement to have a financial vote like this require a Super Majority. There should be a referendum of some sort to change the City Charter to give the citizens of New Rochelle the ability to vote to challenge irresponsible and reckless projects like Echo Bay. As currently written, New Rochelle Citizens are at the mercy of The City Council and do not have any real power over how their taxes are spent by the city government.
At the City Council meeting of July 9, 2013 questions that have been raised by New Rochelle residents, City Council Members, The City of New Rochelle Planning Board and the Westchester County Department of Planning about this project were not answered in the Final Report FEIS. WHY?
So much is being missed because the focus is on Echo Bay. With yet more updates and changes, the updated cost for moving the yard is now at $32 million. Which is a cost $2.2 million per year for 20 years. This now would require a new resolution to add the additional $8 million. With a net income from the Forest City Ratner Echo Bay Project of $400,000, that would mean a cost to the tax payer of about $1.6 million per year. This is just the tip of the iceberg hitting the Titanic. They must then find a home for the leaf recycling area at the current Beechwood Avenue site. I could go on but you get the message by now. It isn’t as simple as The Mayor and Forest City Ratner make it out to be.
I think it is time for The Mayor and Forest City Ratner to take Jeffrey Hastie and the members of United Citizens for a better New Rochelle up on their offer and debate the facts of The Forest City Ratner Echo Bay Project in public. It is time the residents and taxpayers speak up and request this of the current administration before there is any further movement on The Forest City Ratner Echo Bay Project. Let’s get this done.
I for one am going to reach out to Janine Rose the Anchor/News Director for New 12 Westchester. She also hosts “Newsmakers,” a weekend program which focuses on the people and events making headlines throughout the area. We have already tried talking to our City Council Members and we see what last week got us. We have to be mad as hell and not gonna take this anymore, Politely and in a Non-Political Manner. The time is now!
E-mail: Janine Rose Anchor/News Director for New 12 Westchester jmrose@news12.com
Let’s see what can be done to facilitate a question and answer show getting the facts, Getting The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth so help us God.
“Common Sense for the Common Good”.
