ESDC Presses Pause Button on AY Demolition
In the wake of yesterday’s building collapse at the Ward Bakery, demolition on all Atlantic Yards properties has been put on hold. From the ESDC press release today: “The Empire State Development Corporation and developer Forest City Ratner have agreed that the developer will temporarily suspend all abatement and demolition activities until the City’s Department…
In the wake of yesterday’s building collapse at the Ward Bakery, demolition on all Atlantic Yards properties has been put on hold. From the ESDC press release today: “The Empire State Development Corporation and developer Forest City Ratner have agreed that the developer will temporarily suspend all abatement and demolition activities until the City’s Department of Buildings concludes its preliminary investigation or the City directs us otherwise.” Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn is calling for the ESDC to take it one step further and create an oversight body to ensure more accountability going forward.
ESDC Calls Halt to All AY Demolitions [DDDB]
Tracy, you want to talk about racist and sexist – choosing firms because they are owned by a race or sex is sexist, but that doesn’t bother you, does it?
Mr. Ife – If the companies mentioned are so reputable why are they doing such a bad job. I assume in demolition work that what happened is considered a major failure – people could have been injured or killed. Why the sloppy job?
Unbelievable! To what portion of the project does the above article refer? “Prep work and construction of a temporary rail yard on the east side of the Vanderbilt Rail Yard”. Does it say anything about Ward’s bakery? No. The only demolition mentioned as being part of the initial work contract cited in the article is that of 179 Flatbush. Whatever the merits of the arguments against the project, warping the facts in carelessly read articles and stretching credibility does not seem, to me at least, to be the most effective method of putting them across.
john ife: If so than Ratner is already going back on this word
http://www.blackstarnews.com/?c=121&a=3027
Prep work and construction of a temporary rail yard on the east side of the Vanderbilt Rail Yard started this week, Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC) announced.
The Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn is a residential and commercial development, including over 2,200 units of affordable housing and the future home of the Nets basketball team, all designed by world-class architect Frank Gehry.
In keeping with the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), a voluntary and legally binding agreement signed by eight local community groups and ratified by over 200 community groups and leaders, the first contracts of this initial work, worth more than $600,000, have been awarded to minority- and women-owned (M/WBE) firms.
The internet is a wonderful thing, but it never ceases to amaze me how so much misinformation is posted that passes for fact. A little research (yes, on the internet) by the original poster and by those subsequent posters who accepted that the OP assumptions were correct would have revealed that the demolition contractor is Gateway, a firm that is one of the most well respected demo companies in the city (they do a whole bunch of work directly for NYC), that the asbestos remediation subcontractor to Gateway is Topline, also a well respected company certified by NYC, and that neither of these firms is minority owned. I’m all for animated and healthy discussion on the merits of Atlantic Yards and/or its developer, but it really gets my goat when folks can’t be bothered to do a bit of elementary fact checking before floating erroneous “facts” in support of their viewpoints. It detracts from rather than reinforces the opinions expressed.
Anon 5:44, you should quote more of the first post:
“As part of his PR, hired minority/woman owned firms for the demolition who are probably sub par in an already sub-par business. (unless they are fronted by women/minorities)”.
the phrase “unless they are fronted by women/minorities” implies that as long as the “real” work is not being done by women/minorities, and that the women/minorities are just a front, then the work is not “sub-par.”
sounds pretty sexist/racist to me, and i do take offense.
Anon 3:30; I think you misread the first post. They said “minority/woman owned firms for the demolition who are probably sub par” Did not say that minority firms are sub par. This particular firm is deemed sub par because they knocked the parapet off to fall five stories into an unprotected area.
Don’t be too quick to take offense.
D-O-N-E-D-E-A-L!!!
“So this BS about minority owned businesses benefiting is really just about business as usual between people who are already benefiting from serving their own self-interests…not the community’s interests at all.”
So true.