Ghost of the Ward Bread Bakery*
haunted (from dictionary.com):
- inhabited or frequented by ghosts: a haunted castle.
- preoccupied, as with an emotion, memory, or idea; obsessed: His haunted imagination gave him no peace.
- disturbed; distressed; worried: Haunted by doubt he again turned to law books on the subject.
Just when one begins to believe that the Atlantic Yards saga might be coming to a close, The Universe decides to mix things up. The latest twist involves the federal indictment in Yonkers, NY of two politicians and a lawyer. The Feds seem to believe that the three were involved in not-quite-above-the-board shenanigans related to that city’s 81-acre, megamillion megadevelopment called Ridge Hill. The alleged misconduct involving wads of cash and a “job” in exchange for city council approval of the project appears to follow an unfortunately well-worn script in the history of big, New York real estate projects. You know, your typical conspiracy, bribery, extortion, false statements, mortgage fraud, lying, tax crimes. What makes this interesting for those who’ve been battling the mega-boondoggle that is Atlantic Yards is the fact that “Developer #2″ in the indictment is none other than our good friends, Forest City Ratner (FCR), the would-be developer of Atlantic Yards:
From the press release (excerpt from Atlantic Yards Report):
The Ridge Hill Development Project
The “Ridge Hill Development Project” was a project proposed by a large developer (“Developer No. 2″) to develop an 81-acre tract of land to establish retail shopping, restaurants, office space, hundreds of residential housing units, and a hotel and conference center. ANNABI was an outspoken critic of the proposed Ridge Hill Project and voted against both the project and legislation that would allow the project to move forward despite her opposition. ANNABI, with two other City Council members and others, also filed a civil lawsuit to effectively block the Ridge Hill Project. As the City Council was considering the Ridge Hill Project, Developer No. 2 made repeated and unsuccessful efforts to convince ANNABI to vote in favor of the project.
On June 2, 2006, JEREIS was introduced to representatives of Developer No. 2, after which JEREIS told representatives of Developer No. 2 that he could arrange a meeting between them, ANNABI, and JEREIS to discuss the Ridge Hill Project. JEREIS and representatives of Developer No. 2 also had an agreement in which Developer No. 2 would give JEREIS a consulting job sometime after ANNABI formally voted in favor of the Ridge Hill Project. After two meetings held in less than two weeks, ANNABI reversed her opposition to the Ridge Hill Project and issued a press release — drafted by JEREIS and representatives of Developer No. 2 — informing the public of her support for the project.
Specifically, at a City Council meeting on July 11, 2006, ANNABI voted in favor of the zoning change necessary for the Ridge Hill Project. Shortly after ANNABI changed her vote on the Ridge Hill Project, JEREIS received the promised consulting contract from Developer No. 2 worth $60,000 over one year.
Secret Payments To ANNABI And Efforts To Conceal The Crimes
…Since at least 2004, ANNABI has received from JEREIS, MANGONE, and others more than $160,000 worth of secret payments designed to influence and reward her for favorable official action or inaction on matters pending before the City Council as specific opportunities arose.
No FCR people have been named as defendants…yet. However, being connected to a federal investigation probably isn’t the way the developer would like to be kicking off the new decade, especially as the Atlantic Yards deal is now getting some much needed (but woefully late) scrutiny, with many loose ends dangling, a bunch of T’s uncrossed and seemingly a million I’s undotted. I can’t imagine that FCR attorneys, accountants and executives are sleeping very soundly, probably haunted by thoughts of skeletons hidden in closets with those meddling feds poking around. Who knows where all this might lead as the feds follow the money trail, but it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to many if Yonkers is the tip of an iceberg that extends all the way back to Brooklyn and beyond.
* The Ward Bread Bakery was an historic architectural gem that has been demolished for Atlantic Yards. For the foreseeable future, the site would be used as a “temporary” surface parking lot for the Barclays Center arena.
