Browsing through the Brooklyn Paper, what a pleasant surprise it was to learn that CUNY (The City University of New York) has boldly ventured into the real estate business. (Now that’s education!!!) Together with developer Bruce Ratner, an ambiguous personage to further complement CUNY’s ambiguous plans, they’ve partnered to ambitiously build a residential tower in downtown Brooklyn on an area of land owned by CUNY. That particular region of the city is currently wild over building enterprises, apparently trying to out-build and out-skyscraper Manhattan.
The CUNY/Ratner team is proposing not the average high-rise but one that would rise higher than most NYC structures, nearly 1000 feet. While this sounds like fun (several critics suggesting that it sounds more like hype) and many would welcome this towering achievement, there are certain flies in the ointment…with CUNY and Ratner attracting the flies. Not to be bogged-down in the “complexities” and similar inconveniences of fair and open bidding, they’re keeping absolutely silent as to the who, whats and wherefores of the proposed project. Theirs is a private and self-indulged enterprise for the public good, not to be revealed to lesser mortals: namely, the public.
In NYC, however, diversification and backroom deals aren’t a new thing. The Archdiocese of New York and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (and beyond) are just two very large and very old examples of entities designed for one type of business that have gradually and cleverly redesigned themselves for another type. The Port Authority long ago went from regulating commercial traffic to also owning much of the very commerce they were regulating. And the Archdiocese went from trafficking in souls to also deal heavenly in real estate ventures. Indeed, real estate seems to be the prime arena of interest for these diversifying spirits…and they use such exotic and closemouthed practices when establishing themselves within their new arenas of diversity!!!…laden with lucrative piggy banks and investment-frenzied white elephants.
brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/47/…
Tags: Big Apple Sauce, construction
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