Let's Kick out Some High School Students and Build Luxury Condos

Greed, Inc, otherwise known as forest city, just can't get enough of public subsidies and public land....
RATNER NOW WANTS BROOKLYN TECH!

As if the Atlantic Yards illegal land-grab wasn't enough, billionaire developer Bruce Ratner now has his sights set on acquiring the Brooklyn Technical High School building.

And here's a good reason why this is a bad deal for the school:

In addition, Broooklyn Tech is currently in the midst of it's own alumni-funded multi-million-dollar upgrades. In late 2005 the school announced it had received a record $10 million in donations from their alumni. In their 11/05 press release they stated their commitment to the school: "Over the past 20 years, the Alumni Association has funded major projects in the school including a state of the art robotics laboratory, modernization of the school library, and the completion of a new athletic facility." Many alumni, as well as residents of Fort Greene share the belief that the school is a venerable gem and should be a protected as if it was a landmark.

as I said earlier:

The usual excuses: better facilities for the kids - will be used - to funnel yet more control over to Forest City (they get taxpayer funded tenants at his failed Metrotech park, he gets their prime vintage buildling in the heart of Fort Greene) Will he attempt to raze the building or add stories? Given his track record, I venture to guess yes. But the real loser will be Brooklyn Tech students - they have a building with a long history - that could easily be revamped giving them one of the most pristine facilities in the city, a prime location and their own space and identity - who among us would want to look back on high school and say we attended it in a corporate park with a dozen corporations? Are the dull, lifeless poorly designed building really the best environment for them to learn in?

The more I read and hear about this guy the more revolted I am. If Bruce Ratner is a 'favorite' among politicians, the new york times and our so called elite then it is a clear indicator or just how warped and corrupt they are. So its not so much a question of would Bruce Ratner kick out this or that person, the question is who wouldn't he kick out/use for profit?

The Original Article from South Oxford makes the point:

The Brooklyn Technical School of today includes multiple gymnasiums, a huge basement level swimming pool, open air rooftop handball courts, libraries with fireplaces, a metal working foundry, multi-level rooms for architectural reconstructions, laboratories of all types (including materials testing labs and an Aeronautical lab with a large wind tunnel), the second largest auditorium in the city (after Radio City), elevators with cast metal doors, WPA murals, a broadcast radio studio (complete with the large antenna that's visible from all over Brooklyn), and more. The stately 1922 art deco-styled building enjoys easy access across the street to Fort Greene Park for athletic activities such as track and tennis. It also shares close proximity to its own football field on Fulton & Clermont, which, by the way, was donated by a generous Brooklyn Tech alumni, Charles Wang (founder of Computer Associates).

What a difference between the Wang and Ratner: one gives back invests in infrastructure and quality of life , the other one takes, takes takes, and robs the public coffers to enrich himself.