Ad-Nauseum! Canal by the Carroll Street Bridge
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HOME HOLIDAY Callan / Tom FIX YOUR HOME DELIVERED FIND HOME IMPROVEMENT THROUGHOUT GIFT GUIDE HELP IN CLASSIFIEDS BACK PAGE BROWNSTONE BROOKLYN GREAT IDEAS ON PAGE 9 Ornament from A Brooklyn Table A Brooklyn Ornament from Papers The Brooklyn BROOKLYN’S REAL NEWSPAPERS Including Brooklyn Heights Paper, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, Downtown News, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper and the DUMBO Paper Published every Saturday — online all the time — by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington St, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2006 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 18 pages •Vol. 29, No. 48 BWN • Saturday, December 9, 2006 • FREE Canal lights Holiday lights shining down from the Fat Cat reflect on the Gowanus Ad-nauseum! Canal by the Carroll Street Bridge. New document reveals Yards’ mega-billboards By Gersh Kuntzman The Brooklyn Papers WELL BLOW The Atlantic Yards project is a threat ME DOWN! to one of America’s national treasures — Brooklyn’s brownstone blocks — The scoop on Bruce’s stoop two preservation groups charged this PAGE 14 week, citing new state renderings that show 15-story illuminated advertising pared final environmental impact state- billboards on either side of the devel- ment for the $4.2-billion project (see ren- opment’s main building. dering left). The National Trust for Historic Preser- Such billboards are illegal under New vation and the group Scenic America both York City zoning — but that law is one of said that the 16-tower arena, residential many local codes being superceded by the and office space project would over- state in its approval of Atlantic Yards. whelm the brownstone blocks in neighbor- “Times Square should not be exported ing Prospect Heights, Fort Greene and to Brooklyn,” Fry said at a press confer- Boerum Hill. ence this week on low-rise Fort Greene And Scenic America raised a new issue: Place, just two blocks from where the 620- Two 150-foot-tall illuminated billboards on foot “Miss Brooklyn” tower would rise. either side of the “Urban Room” atrium at Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic composite based on state data has said that light from the signs would avenues would constantly bathe “Brook- only be turned up to maximum settings lyn’s famed brownstones ... in the light on game nights — but Fry retorted that from 15-story beer ads,” said Kevin Fry, the Atlantic Yards approval process gave the group’s president. Speaks Brooklyn him little reason to believe Ratner could The billboards only came to light last Illuminated signs on the Miss Brooklyn tower would be 150-feet tall. City zon- be reigned in. week, as part of the state’s hurriedly pre- ing that forbids signs that big is being superceded by the state. See BIG SIGNS on page 14 SHELLY’S UNIVERSE Ratner to pony-up rent By Ariella Cohen Of course, if Ratner never builds At- Community Development. “But there is The Brooklyn Papers lantic Yards, all bets are off, according to still insecurity for the tenants if the proj- the new deal, which is contained in the ect falls apart.” Bruce Ratner is paying the rent. state’s final environmental impact state- It’s more than insecurity, said George Answering criticism from fair-housing ment certified last week. Locker, an attorney for 13 rent-stabilized advocates, the Atlantic Yards developer The estimated 55 renters, of course, tenants in the 22-acre Atlantic Yards foot- says his company is guaranteeing to pay must still pay their base rent, lest they be print. the difference between the current rent of considered in breach of contract and “If this project isn’t built, these people soon-to-be-evicted tenants within the ruled no longer eligible for Ratner’s pay- will lose their homes and get nothing in footprint of his development and the rent ments. return,” he said. The agreement still vio- for “a comparable unit,” until the tenants One housing advocate cautiously com- lates state [relocation] law. This is not are relocated into a Yards building. / Dennis W. Ho / Dennis W. mended the developer this week. state law, this is Ratner law.” With the Atlantic Yards project near- Initially, Ratner only promised to pay “It sounds like an improvement if ten- Forest City Ratner Vice President Jim ing state approval, Sheldon Silver is the rent for three years — but many wor- ants can have confidence that they can Stuckey declined a chance to comment very popular. See who’s in his orbit. ried that tenants would get burned if con- have their rent paid until they are moved when approached by The Brooklyn Pa- PAGE 14A struction of Atlantic Yards dragged on into a new unit,” said Brad Lander, exec- pers at a Ratner-sponsored tree-lighting beyond that time frame. utive director of the Pratt Center for this week. The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Donating to state pols pays off By Paul Koepp But as a result of a lawsuit by the campaign contributions were more grams. Over the years, the senator Thomas, a Park Slope resident, got a $2,000 grant from the assem- for The Brooklyn Papers Albany Times-Union, the state leg- than matched by the subsequent has received $2,500 in campaign also gave $250 to state Sen. Marty blywoman. islature was recently forced to re- grant of state money to their organi- contributions from the agency’s vice Golden (R-Bay Ridge) — and this • Sandy Balboza of the Atlantic Carroll Gardens Assembly- veal all of the recipients of such zations. president Avrohom Schonberger and year, her organization received a Avenue Betterment Association, do- woman Joan Millman and Bay grants — and the name of the mem- In Golden’s case, he has sent treasurer Leon Goldenberg, state $5,000 grant from him. nated $400 to Millman over six Ridge state Sen. Marty Golden bers who funneled the money. $140,000 in taxpayer grants to records show. Thomas said her contributions to years. This year, her group received have repeatedly given state grant While members often brag in HeartShare Human Services, which Millman deals in much smaller the pols had anything to do with $2,000 to produce shopping guides. money to groups and organiza- press releases about their role in se- is headed by Bensonhurst bigshot grant, but doles them out to more their contributions to the group she Balboza said her relatively small tions whose leaders have made curing some grants, a complete list William Guarinello. contributors, records show. For ex- leads. donations to Millman had nothing contributions to their campaigns, has, until now, been secret. Guarinello, who is also chair of ample: “I give to people if they represent to do with the grants her group gets Critics have called the legisla- Community Board 11, and his fam- • Prospect Park Alliance Presi- me personally,” she said. “These are from Millman. a Brooklyn Papers investigation ture’s $170-million member-item ily have given Golden more than dent Tupper Thomas has given good representatives who support “I’m a citizen and I support peo- Mango / Greg has revealed. pool a “slush fund” because of the $17,000 in campaign donations $475 to various Millman campaigns wonderful programs for the commu- ple running for office who address Like all of their legislative col- lack of oversight. since February 2002. — plus hundreds more to other nity, and I don’t think that has any- our issues,” she said. “And that’s leagues, Millman and Golden con- In the case of Millman and Gold- “Obviously, we don’t think it’s elected officials. thing at all to do with contributions.” personal. What we do with that trol thousands of dollars in grant en, a review of the just-released quid pro quo,” said HeartShare This year, Thomas received • Matthew Pintchik of the Park money is make the community bet- money, often called “member state documents alongside their spokeswoman Tricia Fleming. $18,000 in grants from various As- Slope Volunteer Ambulance Corps ter. That’s economic development.” items,” that they steer to local organ- campaign finance records revealed Golden steered $370,000 to Agu- semblymembers, including those on gave $1,000 to one of Millman’s Balboza added that grant money Papers file The Brooklyn izations with little oversight. many civic leaders whose personal dath Israel for youth and senior pro- her contribution list. campaigns — and the corps later See MILLMAN on page 14 Joan Millman A Chrismukkah scandal! K, THIS MAY seem like a com- Park Slope rallies against my new tome Opletely gratuitous column about my new and hair featuring Hasidic- entology and Kab- YMCA (which stands for book, but it is actually a style side curls (in white, to THE BROOKLYN balah is nothing Young Men’s Chrismukkah story about how intoler- match his beard, of course). compared to Gersh Association, doesn’t it?), but By Gersh Executive Director Sean An- ant a neighborhood fa- As far as I’m concerned, ANGLE Kuntzman Kuntzman’s gospel mously liberal Park Slope you can judge this of Chrismukkah. drews said, “At this time, I book by its cover. Oy to the world!” have no comment.” can be. SCANDALWATCH He said he’d call me back, To me, that Jew- But when I As tout le ish-leaning Santa but I’m still waiting. (He did- monde knows, week, when organizers of the showed up for the reading, n’t attend my reading, either, is a cute icon that the poster had been altered to the cover of my perfectly cap- Writers on the Rooftop series by the way.) book, “Chris- at the Prospect Park YMCA remove our “Jewish” Santa Given my devout atheism, tures the spirit of Vari / Jeff mukkah: The Chrismukkah.