Number 10: Daniel Goldstein
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner didn’t know who he was messing with when he set out to seize the home of Daniel Goldstein, co-founder of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a highly sophisticated coalition of 26 community organizations leading the fight against that project. Although the group has only had one court victory to-date, which was…
Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner didn’t know who he was messing with when he set out to seize the home of Daniel Goldstein, co-founder of Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, a highly sophisticated coalition of 26 community organizations leading the fight against that project. Although the group has only had one court victory to-date, which was overturned, their protests and series of lawsuits and appeals have managed to stall the project into credit crunch territory, possibly jeopardizing its financing. The court’s recent decision to deny the state’s motion to dismiss the eminent domain case, led by Goldstein, has pushed construction (if started) back to at least Spring 2009, and the court’s decision will likely be used in other eminent domain cases involving private developers across the country. Goldstein will be the most memorable Brooklyn community activist of this decade, fearlessly (at all hours of the day) speaking for thousands.
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Photo by Steve Soblick
EinFG, how has he been effective when he’s lost every court battle? If anything has delayed AY, it’s the economy, not the actions of this wannabe rich-boy “activist”.
Go, Daniel, go.
While I only wish AY would go away, he has effectively taken on powerful forces to stop it. I admire him and all the other activists that haven’t given in to greed, hubris, apathy or pessimism.
which tactics?
Agree with Montrose. Ratner’s AY is far too dense, would collapse the sewer system, fails to deliver REAL affordable housing and completely skirts public process. Sure, you’ve read all that before. But finally a significant number of elected officials have come out against the plan and at last there’s a move in Albany to establish proper oversight. As someone who lives 2 blocks from the footprint, I would still rather endure the mess (so, please, stop the demolitions already!) and delays than see the wrong thing built here. I’m not prepared to give up a vision of a decent development to expediency or hopelessness. I have disagreed with many of DG’s tactics over the last 4-5 years but I’m glad his — and DDDb’s –actions have prevented this disaster from moving forward.
I’m with BH76 and MM. AY has been an eyesore for years, but I’d rather look at it this way a little longer and get it right. Ratner’s AY will be a big mistake.
Can we call AY Goldstein’s Hole until it gets built?
Daniel Goldstein influential? You guys are nuts. I suspect that this guy no longer lives in Brooklyn, but only returns occasionally for the now rare photo op. He and his organization have done nothing significant, losing every major court battle, and will ultimately fail to stop Ratner and Atlantic Yards.
Polemicist, do you read the numerous condo articles on this site, look around you, or even read posts carefully, or do you just throw out knee jerk reactions to people you generally disagree with?
When countless condo buildings across the city can’t sell a majority of units, even at reduced prices, when so many begin construction as condos and open as rentals, and even more are in the pipeline to nil interest, then there is a condo glut. Even before the economic downturn beginning in earnest a few months ago, you couldn’t give some of these apartments away. Too many are being built, many are of dubious quality, or in poor locations, like overlooking the BQE or a junkyard, and most are overpriced. No matter the reason for their non movement, there are a lot of empty apartments out there. Glut, pure and simple.
And if you read, I encourage somebody, many somebodies actually, to develop the AY site, most people, including Goldstein, do. We do need housing, but please don’t thow that up as a ridiculous smokescreen for allowing Bruce Ratner to have his way. His AY does very little for the kind of housing needed for the majority of Brooklyn families.
MM:
There is no “condo glut”.
A glut of any good implies there is no or limited demand. That is not the case in this city. The demand is enormous. Developers may not get the prices they originally desired, and banks may even foreclose on properties – but there will be buyers. The only question is when and at what price.
People said the same thing about Hell’s Kitchen in the early 1990s. So much for that “glut”.
With Bloomberg poised to sail into a third term, I think you will find Atlantic Yards is constructed anyway. More than anyone else, he knows building more housing is more crucial now than ever before if this city is to redefine itself.
The stadium may very well get cut, but the residential development will get started.