Extell, with its army of lawyers and lobbyists and its mountains of cash, has swept the chips from the table on its one-sided gamble on the massive RIverside Center development. Local Councilmember Brewer has announced unanimous approval of the project by the two relevant Council subcommittees. And her own support! And the support of the chair of CB7!
A cynic would say: why is this surprising? Extell had the money. Any deals that were made in the past limiting development will be ignored. Modern city planning guidelines will be ignored. Sensible alternatives will be ignored. The major media will simply ignore it. Various officials will express opposition in order to maintain a veneer of populist credibility, but their opposition will be toothless. That Extell will get pretty much everything it wanted was a foregone conclusion.
It appears that the cynic was right.
Update
The City Council voted unanimous approval of the project, going so far as to over-turn the minimal improvements (no car dealer, less parking) that City Planning had imposed on them.
The New York Times continued its flawless (from Extell's point of view) non-coverage of the subject with an article announcing Extell's victory.
They had a typical Barnett quote: "I think everybody was trying to get something that was good for the neighborhood and economically viable." Did the genius' at the Times deconstruct the quote? Of course not. Here's a rough translation: "I think the local citizens organized and acted as though democracy actually worked, like they usually do; I think their leaders and officials bent over backwards to appear as though they were on the side of the citizens; in the end, my plans for grossly inflated profits a.k.a. economic viability carried the day."
Comments