City Councilwoman Letitia James refused an invitation to appear on a special
cablecast of news station New York 1’s “Road to City Hall”
last week — live from St. Francis College and focused on Brooklyn
issues — because of what she said was an unbalanced presentation
by the show’s producers on the Atlantic Yards project.
The two-hour program was arranged to raise point-counterpoint discussions
among important public figures, as well as elected and appointed officials,
in a panel format that would allow audience questions.
The program, which aired live on July 20 from Founders Hall at the college
on Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights, was riddled with outbursts and glitches
throughout — not the least of which was Geoffrey Davis, brother of
slain Prospect Heights Councilman James Davis, bursting in uninvited to
interrupt the program.
But no one addressed the absence of James, whose attendance had been touted
in both NY 1 and St. Francis College press releases promoting the event.
James had initially agreed to appear in a panel discussion featuring James
Stuckey, executive vice president of Forest City Ratner — the company
that plans to develop an NBA basketball arena, soaring skyscrapers more
than a dozen apartment high-rises in James’ Prospect Heights district
— and Mafruza Kahn, associate director of the Pratt Instituted Center
for Community and Environmental Development (PICCED).
James has been the staunchest political opponent of the project. She said
she didn’t attend because the panel was unbalanced — it did
not include a representative of Extell Development Company, which submitted
a competing bid to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the rail
yards over which much of the Ratner plan would be built.
The producers from NY1, she said, told her they had not extended an invitation
to Extell.
“Extell wasn’t invited,” she told The Brooklyn Papers.
“I had asked them to do a more balanced panel, since there were two
proposals before the MTA, and there weren’t two representatives on
behalf of the respective bids.
“It was always the same panel — PICCED, Stuckey and myself,
but I wanted Extell to be there,” she said. “I wanted Extell
to have been extended an invitation, but it was my understanding that
no such invitation had been forthcoming.”
James wasn’t the only one who wanted to know why Extell had not been
invited.
At the July 20 show, community activist Darnell Canada leaned forward
before the segment on the Atlantic Yards began, and asked the reporter
in front of him if Kahn, who was seated next to Stuckey in front of the
cameras and being fitted with a microphone, was a representative for Extell.
When the answer was no, he said, “Well, I want to know where is Extell,
and what kind of jobs they’re going to be offering.”
Robert Puca, another audience member, who is an opponent of the Ratner
proposal, said on the show that he, too, was curious why Extell was left
out.
“I’d like to say there’s no representative for Extell Corporation,”
said Puca. “They’re the other bidder here, and they should be
here, too. I’m curious as to why they’re not or if they were
even asked,” he said, before going on to another question about subsidies
for the developer.
Following Kahn’s answer to the subsidies question, show host Dominic
Carter touched briefly upon the other bidder’s invitation.
“One, you’re correct sir that there are a number of bids on
the rail yards,” he said, “but by a show of hands, do you believe
that the Ratner bid is correct and they’re going to get what they
want?”
To that most audience members raised their hands.
“It appears that people think Ratner’s going to get what he
wants anyway,” Carter said.
Calls to NY1 political director Robert Hardt seeking comment as to why
Extell was not invited, were not returned by deadline.
Carter, who spoke briefly after the taping, said charges by anti-arena
audience members that his reporting was biased were “completely ridiculous.”
“I make sure to report both sides” he said.
“I would never choose one side more than the other.”
