Al Qaeda operative Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani has been trial in lower Manhattan since last month for allegedly bombing U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 and killing over two hundred people. Last week, the jury deliberated for two days without a verdict and now one juror has asked the judge to dismiss her because she feels she’s being “attacked” because she’s a holdout. The Daily News reports that the juror wrote in a note, “At this point am secure and I have come to my conclusion but it doesn’t agree with the rest of the (panel). My conclusion (is) not going to change. I feel am (being) attacked for my conclusion. Therefore am asking if there is anyway I can be excused or exchanged for an alternate juror.” Judge Lewis Kaplan asked the jury to continue their deliberations. The Ghailani case has, the NY Times reports, “has been seen as a kind of test for the Obama administration’s goal of trying detainees like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, accused of masterminding the 9/11 attacks, and other suspected 9/11 plotters in civilian court,” but of course, maybe the KSM-NYC trial may not happen .
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Juror Wants Out Of Embassy Terror Deliberations
An Atlantic Yards protest outside Freddy’s last year. ( No Land Grab’s Flickr ) Beloved old Prospect Heights dive Freddy’s Bar & Backroom, the Prohibition-era bar that became an unofficial headquarters for the anti-Atlantic Yards protests , has found a new home. The previous owner of Freddy’s is out and Freddy’s staff members have taken over; last night they signed a lease for a space on 5th Avenue, between 17th and 18th Streets, in the location formerly known as Ellis Bar. This marks a happy ending to the David and Goliath story of the little bar that was forced out of its longtime home to make way for the Atlantic Yards Barclays Center project. But hurdles remain, according to the press release: “The opening of the doors is contingent on the speed and accuracy of both the State Liquor Authority and the Department of Buildings, as well as the embrace of Community Board 7. Freddy’s still has to pass through various city, state and community authorities for final approval, which will determine our opening date. Plus, before opening, there will be extensive remodeling to flavor the space ‘Freddy’s.’ We will still feature our popular videos, art exhibitions, live music and a few surprises. The ‘Chains of Justice’ will still grace our bar as a reminder of the power of the community bond.” Anyone wishing to be involved “in all the mighty work to come” is asked to contact new co-owner Donald O’Finn through the Freddy’s website . Get involved, people!
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Freddy’s Bar & Backroom Opening in South Slope
Possibly due to quizzical looks over yet another all-expenses-paid trip, or possibly because the city Conflicts of Interest Board just said no, Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz will not be joining Bruce Ratner on a trip to China to lure investors to the Atlantic Yards project through the EB-5 visa program. A spokesman told the Post that Markowitz “supports the group’s mission, wishes it great success and is confident the project will excite even more investors as it moves forward. Markowitz is apparently so bummed out about it that he couldn’t even turn the situation into one of his signature puns. Yesterday’s zinger will just have to hold us over that much longer.
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Markowitz Backs Out Of China Trip
As long as the city Conflicts of Interest Board gives him the go-ahead, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz will be accompanying Bruce Ratner to China to lure Atlantic Yards investors with the EB-5 visa program, which supplies investors with Green Cards if they invest $500,000 to $1 million in American projects. The all-expenses-paid trip would be funded by the New York City Regional Center LLC, and if there are no conflicts of interest, it will be the latest in the BPs free trips, including jaunts to Turkey and the Netherlands. But look at the fancy new renderings of the buildings they’ll fund! Markowitz spokeswoman Laura Sinagra told the Daily News , “Part of his role is to encourage investment in Brooklyn, and this program is designed to bring investors to the table for projects that create jobs…he obviously believes this project is worthy of investment, and is seeking guidance from the Conflicts of Interest Board on the possibility of accompanying the group.” However, many are questioning whether the project, and looking for investors overseas, will really help create jobs in the city. Ratner executive MaryAnne Gilmartin says just 100 people have been put to work at the site so far, but Ratner has promised 1,600 jobs a year if the project is completed in 10 years. However, he also said completion in 10 years is pretty improbable. Atlantic Yards critic Daniel Goldstein doesn’t believe the investments will even help create jobs.
The Post’s rantin’ Steve Cuozzo is in rare form today with his takedown of the new plaza planned for the Barclays Center /Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn. Cuozzo calls the design “singularly malevolent in its ugliness,” and ” more conducive to hosting a Crips-Bloods scrimmage than the intended upscaling of the neighborhood .” The best part? When ” He Who Yells At Cloud ” lays the blame for this “travesty” at the feet of the project’s biggest opponent. “The chief culprit is Daniel Goldstein, the activist who held up Ratner’s Atlantic Yards for as long as it took to score a $3 million payout to move out of its way,” sprach the Cuozz. “Goldstein failed to stop the project in the end, but delayed it long enough for Ratner to lose any chance of financing Gehry’s vision.” Let this be a lesson to all those who would stand in the way of taxpayer-abetted boondoggles: Resistance only makes matters worse. Don’t struggle. Submit. Open wide and let your rulers shove whatever they want down your neighborhood’s throat. Cuozzo, of course, leads by example by warmly embracing the Bloomberg administration’s changes to the neighborhood by his office. For a more thorough analysis of the media’s coverage of Barclays Plaza, check out Atlantic Yards Report , which notes that “the big story” concerns developer Bruce Ratner’s admission that the project won’t be completed within the 10 year time frame he repeatedly trumpeted. (WNYC is all over this .)
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Post: Barclays Plaza "Travesty" Would Be Good For Gangs
Hevesi’s 2007 mug shot Former NY State Comptroller Alan Hevesi resigned in 2007 because it was discovered he used state vehicles to chauffeur his sick wife around . Now he’s expected to plead guilty to charges that his office gave state pension business to investment firms that would give his team, family and friends kickbacks and fees. Albany—forever stinky! In mid-2007, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced that he was investigating how the $157 billion NY State pension (the 2nd biggest in the country ) was being shopped around to investment firms , who get lucrative management fees. (One issue with the NY State pension fund is that it’s overseen by one person, while other state pension funds have a board of managers.) Hevesi denied the charges , though his deputies have fallen in recent years , but now sources tell the local papers that he’s been in talks with authorities. One tells the Post , “There’s no deal. It’s close. Either there is a deal or it’s not done. And it’s not done.” The Daily News sums up where the investigation has gone lately: Until recently, Cuomo’s pension fund probe had only touched Hevesi on the periphery – although almost all of his top aides were indicted, pleaded guilty or cooperated with probers. Investigators revealed in June court papers that Hevesi met regularly to discuss pension fund business with his political guru Hank Morris, who was charged in a 123-count indictment for his role in the pay-to-play scheme. Morris was “intimately involved in the day-to-day business” of the pension fund, court papers allege. Firms wanting to do business with the fund were often forced to fork over campaign donations or kickbacks to Morris. Israeli investor Elliott Broidy, who has pleaded guilty as a result of the scandal, admitted providing luxury overseas trips to a top controller official and his family. Sources say that was Hevesi.
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Ex-State Comptroller Hevesi May Plead Guilty In Pension Case
[A Soho oldie via the Curbed Photo Pool/ibitmylip .] · Union Square : from gritty to…Best Buy, Citibank, Duane Reade [NYT] · Russian supermodel Irina Shayk buys at 166 Perry [NYO] · Donald Trump says he wants to buy more Manhattan buildings [NYP] · The Scribbler of 10th Street is back, and he’s got some ideas [VNY] · Google unveiling interactive billboard thing in Times Square [NYT] · Atlantic Yards watchdog Norman Oder writing Atlantic Yards book ! [NYO] · Meanwhile, groups and pols want an Atlantic Yards oversight law [BK Eagle] · Old-school Williamsburg Italian joint Cono’s closes suddenly [BK Paper] · Guy arrested for hanging out in front of Madonna’s UWS building [NYP] · Arts groups chase $17M in funds meant to make FiDi less boring [Crain's] · Controversy surrounds conversion of Greenpoint Hospital into housing [BK Paper]
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Linkage: Russian Supermodel Buys; Trump Wants More Buildings; More!
Developer Bruce Ratner is flying to China next month, but he’s not searching for the next Yao Ming. More like the next ch-ching! Now that the Barclays Center arena is under construction and the Nets are on their way, Ratner is onto the next phase of Brooklyn’s beloved Atlantic Yards megaproject: Those 16 or so towers, the first of which is scheduled to break ground sometime in 2011. He needs to raise cash, and the Wall Street Journal reports that a federal program called EB-5 is the ace up Ratner’s sleeve. Sounds even more mysterious than the Atlantic Yards architecture dream team ! The program grants green cards to investors who lend at least $500,000 to job-creating programs in needy areas, and the program was largely unknown in New York City until the Brooklyn Navy Yard used it to seek out $125 million in financing last spring.You don’t need to Netflix Green Card to understand the lengths that some foreigners go to in order to attain the powerful little document, so Ratner may just get his desired $250 million . With an arena built with Russian money and other parts of the project funded by the Chinese, Atlantic Yards is shaping up to be quite the international buffet! · Ratner Mulls Visa Financing [WSJ] · Atlantic Yards coverage [Curbed]
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Revenge of the Megaprojects: Atlantic Yards to Bribe Foreign Investors With Green Cards
[Via Curbed Photo Pool/carnade ] · Novogratz clan adds broker firepower to sell 400 West Street [Real Deal] · Dirt cheap Brooklyn Heights co-ops for anyone who figures out requirements [MC] · East Village fan explains why she’ll never buy in the East Village [BrickU] · Danish urban planner calls Atlantic Yards “birdshit architecture” [Capital] · So far, no one seems to be a huge fan of the Union Square Sukkahs [NYO] · A slideshow of starter apartments under $300,000 [NYM] · Should the city intervene in the Stuy Town situation? [Crain's] · Move-ins underway at maligned Greenwood Townhouses ['Stoner]
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Linkage: Urban Planner Has Harsh Words for Atlantic Yards; More!
After analyzing a whole bunch of reports, charts, stats and—oops, sorry, we fell asleep for a moment there—Atlantic Yards watchdog Norman Oder writes that the first wave of Yards affordable housing might not be so affordable : “In five of the six scenarios contemplated for the first housing tower, the monthly rent for most of the affordable apartments would range from $2287 to $3790 , depending on household size.” Well someone’s got to pay for the billboard ! [Atlantic Yards Report]
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