Bloomberg Pulls Rank in BAM Cultural District

Voicing its frustration with the pace at which projects in the BAM cultural district have been moving, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff announced yesterday that City Hall would create an umbrella organization called Downtown Brooklyn Partnership to “take things forward.” Headed by Joseph Chan, currently Doctoroff’s senior advisor, the organization will swallow the BAM LOcal Development Corporation, which until now has held the reins, and oversee the dispersement of the $74 million the City has pledged to the cultural district through 2009. The announcement was accompanied by the news of some juggling of locations of planned projects, including efforts to move the Theater for a New Audience to move to make room for a public “gateway” to the cultural district.
City Expands Role in Brooklyn Cultural District [NY Times]