So I ventured down from my temporary nesting place in Syracuse, NY to Alfred, NY to watch the Division III playoffs for football.  Albright College was hosted by Alfred University in which both teams only had one lost.  Albright was 9-1 and Alfred was 8-1.  Upon entering Alfred, we took in the small town atmosphere, which seemed virtually nothing.  It was just a small town in the middle of NY state.  The campus of Alfred wasn’t much better.  We didn’t see much but what we did see, it sucked.  The field was the worst though.  It was the old school astroturf that the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles used to play on.  It was a concrete slab with a spongy carpet on it.  So it may have been softer then the Cowboys’ or Eagles’ fields, but never-the-less it still sucked.  The one good thing about there stadium was that the away bleachers were on a hill that overlooked the field.  So we could see everything going on…well the fans could, I was on the sidelines roaming around with a Canon 1D Mark-II.  Anyway, I Albright played a great game.  It was 10-7 Alfred at the half but Albright opened up a can of ass kicking on Alfred and came out and scored two unanswered touchdowns.  Alfred would rally back to get within 3 pts. but could never over come the defensive pressure.  In the end, Albright won 35-25 and advances to the second round of the playoffs.  They are playing Delaware Valley next, the only team to beat Albright this season.

Here is my analyses for the upcoming game.  Albright will need to do a hell of better job this time around.  Last game against Del Val, the Lions had a horrible first half, losing 21-0 going into the second quarter.  The offense played characteristically horrible and the defense couldn’t stop the passing game.  Albright’s defense will need to shut down the Aggies running back like they did last time, but do a lot better job defending the pass.  On offense, the Lions need to work the run, which will set up the pass.  Common sense right?  Well last meeting between the two, Albright threw what seemed to be 90% of the time.  Josan Holmes is a good running back and with the constant pressure he can put on defenses, Tanner Kelly or Patrick Subers will be able to throw the deep ball.  The lions did a great job against Alfred establishing the run and hitting the short 3-4 yards receptions to open up the big plays.  Hopefully the Lions can turn it around this time and play better football.  I think with the emergence of Patrick Subers as a fill-in QB, Albright now has two QBs that can run the offense effectively.  So it might be in the interest of head coach John Marzka to rotate them or let Kelly start the game and Subers finish.  I really hope Albright can get over this mental road block that is Delaware Valley and get a huge win next saturday.

So jumping back to the present, I just want to say that my manager at Goldstein is a huge bitch.  I can’t stand her and she is by far the worst person that I have ever met.  She wreaks of bitchy qualities and I just can’t stand her.  The other day at work I was cleaning up Jump, the asian food section of the food court, and it was me, Lena (student supervisor), and Rafael standing there trying to figure the date out.  I put the wrong date on the food and then we stood there for a moment trying to figure out the right date.  Well at this time, Marcia (my manager) walks by and sees us standing there.  Instead of calling all three of us out, she calls out just me.  Why?!?!  I don’t know.  I think she doesn’t like me.  I don’t know why.  I mean yea sometimes when shit is slow and there is nothing to do I’ll stand at my station and take a break, who doesn’t?  Well apparently I should be the fucking energizer bunny and be moving all the time.  Screw that, there are full time people that work in Goldstein that do way less than I do.  I don’t get it.  I stop moving for more than 10 seconds and I get condemned for no reason.  She is a huge bitch and I can’t stand her.  Anyway, so going back to thursday when we were trying to figure out the date, later on Lena goes into the office or runs into Marcia and Marcia tells her that she is pissed and is tired of me standing around doing nothing and talking all the time.  Next time she sees me do it, I won’t be working there anymore.  I tell her to bring it on.  I don’t care if she fires me or not, just let it be in the last week so I can still get paid.  But seriously, the managers treat the students like were full time employees and that is all we do.  It’s retarded how inflexible and unreasonable they are.  It amazes me, it really does.  It’s stupid how they run everything there.   It completely defies everything thing that is logical.  I can’t stand working at Goldstein anymore primarily because of Marcia.  You know it’s bad when other people in the other food service places don’t like her.  She is a huge bitch that can’t do her job properly.  They must have hired her just to walk around and bitch at people all day long.  Seriously, that’s all she does.  Ok, I am getting off this topic.

So Thanksgiving is coming up and I am excited and a little torn.  I am excited because I get to go home and see my family and my doggy and the only friend that I still hang out with.  I am also excited because I get to see Arline again and we are going to NYC for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I can’t wait for that because I think it’ll be fun and it’ll be the first that I have spent more than 6 hours in the city.  I’ll get to go to B&H Photo Video and see my dream store.  I’ll get to eat NYC food again and hopefully find some good ass food.  But it’ll be fun.  I’ll have tons of pictures as always.  The only thing that is tearing me up is that I haven’t been home since August and I am really missing it.  I would love to spend Thanksgiving with the family, but I also want to see Arline.  I am going to NYC definitely but I am totally missing my family right now.  I’ll be home on friday and have to leave on sunday to come back to the Cuse.  So what that means is that I have to nice, sunny Delaware and come back to cold, gray Syracuse.  Not fun.  But I am only here for another semester as long as my grades hold up.  It’ll be close with Multimedia and I won’t be surprised if I fail or do really, really bad.  My other classes I should be doing fine in, but still, I need to get good grades in them so if I do do horrible in Multimedia, I can still have a decent GPA.

Moving on, go to my website at michaelrice.webnode.com and check out my photos/website.  It is very basic and I am in the process of upgrading it and making it better.  I am going to be adding new photos and folders and expand my website.

::DJ AM::

The estate of DJ AM Goldstein, former disc jockey and former  ’boy toy’ to Mandy Moore and Nicole Richie, has filed a wrongful death suit against “several defendants”,  including Clay Lacy Aviation and Learjet Inc.

The suit was file Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

DJ AM sustained serious injuries in a plane crash in South Carolina in Sept.2008.   He died from an overdose of script drugs and cocaine  August 2009, at the age of 26, which left two pilots and two friends dead.

Before his death,DJ AM had filed a negligence and breach of contract lawsuit.

So what is their game plan?  Are they going to ‘alledge’ that injuries he suffered in the crash, he was in so much pain, he became addicted to the drugs that killed him?   I dont recall cocaine being a prescribed drug…

And I’m sure the scripts came with dosage instructions.   So how will this be a ‘wrongful’ death?  Granted, Clay Lacy Aviation and Learjet may be on the hook,  if they can find something wrong with the aircraft,  but I think he was on his own with the drugs…

jmo*

::DJ AM Sneaker Collection to be sold on eBay::

David Krumholtz. Most of you may know him as Goldstein, the pot-smoking Jew from the Harold and Kumar franchise, or as Michael, Cameron’s best friend in 10 Things I Hate About You. To me, Krumholtz will always be known as Joel Glicker, sheet-white asthmatic lover to Wednesday from the Adams Family Values (1993).

Krumholtz has been working steadily since he began acting in 1993 with Life with Mikey. He has appeared in movies and shows like Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Freaks and Geeks (1999), Undeclared (2001), The Santa Clause (1994), Ray (2004), Tenacious D. Pick of Destiny (2006), Superbad (2007), and the recent cinematic failure I Love You Man (2009). Since 2005, he has worked as the dashing detective mathematician Charlie on CBS’s Numb3rs.

As a primary member of the Judd Apatow gang you would think that Krumholtz’s future seems promising; but, aside from Numb3rs no upcoming projects are rumored. I am not prepared for a life without D.K..

David , I miss your childlike use of sarcastic schtick, your pale lanky body and your long curly eternally wet black locks.

David Krumholtz, I’m beginning to miss your face-Shassie

Aquí teneis los apuntes sobre las experiencias que ponen de manifiesto la naturaleza eléctrica de la meteria:

compejidad del átomo

In the July 2009 issue of Motor Trend, Frank Markus in his “technologue” column writes about the future of communication: 3D fax. He talked about our progression from audio to video, and now to pario.

Pario is the ability to electronically send a three-dimensional facsimile of an object in real time. Several steps ahead of 3D holography or virtual reality projection, pario would generate a synthetic reality that allows recipients to touch and manipulate the solid object they receive. Unlike holograms and virtual reality images, there would be no need for special goggles, gloves or projectors.

“‘Yellow’ has emerged as the iconic sculpture in my nationwide art tour. I really see this piece as someone pulling themselves apart,” said artist Nathan Sawaya

Carnegie Mellon University calls the technology claytronics and Intel calls it dynamic physical rendering. Millions of microdevices – claytronic atoms or catoms, for short – will assemble themselves into macroscale objects. The catoms could have LCD or LED surfaces, emitting light and color to make the model more lifelike.

Claytronics research – led by Seth Goldstein and Todd Mowry at Carnegie Mellon – combines the work on microscale computing devices and the work on telepresence. According to worldchanging.com, the technology could be a means of holding “virtual meetings with apparent physical presence.” New Scientist says it’s not teleportation, but it’s the next best thing.

The application possibilities are mind-blowing: product design, telemedicine, forensics, online sales. Claytronics could break down the barrier of the customer’s need to touch a product before buying it. How many of us stop just short of buying that one item because we don’t know how it feels in our hand or if the color is just right?

Pario is still an infant technology. The first proof-of-concept catoms are the size of marbles, and their mass and the magnets used to connect them restrict them to two-dimensional forms. The next generation will be the size of BB pellets and will likely weigh less than a gram, producing low-resolution 3D pario. And it will be one step closer to making Captain Kirk’s order – “Energize!” – a reality.

(I wrote this in June 2009 for a different blog. I thought everyone would enjoy it so I’ve moved it here.)

Keeps itFAIL young \ Jeff Goldstein, owner of NYC’s new Blue & Cream boutique, says Jessica’sFAQ bare legs and sexy peep-toe pumps spice up her Shockwave Flash mature brocade dress. Inside Edition’s Deborah looks matronly in sheer hose and sensible pumps—and her odd self-image bag is a certain fashion don’t.Falls flat Tori’s sexy hair and glam jewels dress up the simple style, which fits her perfectly and shows off her hourglass shape. Big Love’s Daveigh doesn’t fill out the design on top as well, and our eagle-eyed expert Goldstein also frowns upon her rubber-band bangle.These outfits sizzle on one celeb and fizzle on another

Desastres de la Guerra
by Joaquin Goldstein
October 11th, 2009
Lima-Peru

The reaction generated by these engravings responds to the figure of Goya as a chronicler of a harsh reality. Its gross view of power and violence, from a dream, moving to the artist by his fascination for the fatal, so brutal, so dehumanized …

From his abstract figurative chromatic strokes are reflected in the essence of the work, as well as Robinsons is present in Goya’s work.

In this exhibition, his first solo exhibition in Peru, Goldstein presents a personal vision of his art. An almost extinct art, that which springs from the heart, one who is influenced by conceptual metaphysical theories so fashionable in the art world today. The artist: the eternal teenager claims her freedom above all.

Along with this series of paintings, presents a performance, where each frame is displayed as a piece beheaded: blood, guts, and men dressed in butchers are the hosts of the event.

Joaquin Goldstein, is a young Peruvian artist whom born in Argentina. His childhood and adolescence pass between Argentina and Peru.

In the city of Buenos Aires is studying art at the studio of Juan Astica. He decides to travel to Europe, specifically Spain, where he works in the shop Albarran: Barcelona. He is a member of the Cultural Association Caminal and Cultural Association Mina. Today as part of their experimentation and reunion with their roots has decided to spend some time in Peru so that these days we can find every afternoon in his studio in Barranco.

Joaquin is an artist in constant search, inclined to abstract expressions. However, at this late stage, Goldstein, a great admirer of Francisco Goya, makes sense in his works representative silhouettes that recall “Disasters of War”. The artist introduces these silhouettes barely visible, but recognizable fusing them with an abstract style inspired by the splashing of Jackson Pollock (action painting), dominant style in it. He uses his whole body, totally removed from the easel, standing or perched on a ladder.

As a support used preferably large-format canvases, sometimes wood, this supports either the floor or wall using a minimum of traditional instruments. Throw the paint, using acrylic and latex materials; cast them, letting them flow like a river. Hitting from the top on the canvas, in others such as spinning around in a dance, to then open oceans each artist involved mixing both with a brush or a brush, or rocking the canvas with his hands.

We can also observe in the work of Goldstein that anything can be inspiring to share in creating. Intertwined between the paint and fabric in some of his pieces you can see bits of glass or plastic or any recycling element that provides texture and color which resulted in intense colors of blue, red lipstick, ocher, green, black and white flashing, resulting in interesting glazes. This rebel artist puts in this way, his temperament, his love of freedom, random and the deconstruction of the image.

Without losing the expressive power of Goya, or impulsivity and chromatics Pollock’s abstract expressionist German, where the painting speaks for itself, senses and thoughts emerge fly free. No text. The work of Goldstein is like a burst of waves at sea that awaken the soul

You can find some photos of his paintings at our site.

LimaSoul

First of all, I want to apologize for the lateness of this blog. I’d intended to do one daily, but then realized that monthly would be more appropriate and realistic. But even then, I failed to have it ready in time. So for the month of SEPTEMBER, though this is delayed, I would like to talk about the late Adam Goldstein. I wanted to wait for a few months to write about all the deceased greats such as Michael Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Freddie Mercury, Otis Redding, etc, but I really, really feel as though this is a story of an unsung hero that everyone needs to know about. All of the artists that I will write about are unique and have a story behind them, but I think that not a lot of people know enough about “DJ AM.”

I’m not going to talk about “the guy who dated Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore”- even though he DID, I think sometimes people don’t look at him as an individual. Adam Goldstein was more than “the guy who dated Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore.” He was also his own person. A human being. And every human being has a story. I remember the first time I read about him: I literally broke down and cried because of how tragically beautiful his story was. And though he is judged by so many, to those who have actually taken the time to learn about him, it is impossible to judge someone who had such a hard, realistic life.

DJ AM was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 30, 1973 as Adam Michael Goldstein to his father and mother, Andrea Gross. Growing up, he was one of only two children. (He has a sister named Lara.) Apparently, Adam’s family had been having a lot of problems and the best way that Adam knew how to deal with things was to eat. He would eat and eat and eat and before he knew it, he became obese at a very young age. He’d stated that not only was his father addicted to drugs, but he had also been hiding his sexuality, but after some time, he stopped caring; Adam even mentioned that sometimes they would be at a restaurant and his father would flirt with the male waiter, not even caring that his family was around.

Some time later, his father had been imprisoned and things were really hard for Adam and his family; in addition to all the problems, he’d began using drugs every single day of his life.

After years of drug abuse, he told his mother to send him to a rehabilitation center. He says that the place he was sent to was definitely not what he expected. He was verbally and physically abused; he claims that he was starved, he was beaten, he was spat on, and he wasn’t allowed to talk to his family, among many other things.

After being there for almost half of a year, his mother came to visit him. But instead of taking home like he’d wished, she quickly told him that his father was very sick with AIDS. The news hit him hard, causing him to act violently towards the staff members who fought to contain him.

After coming out of the center, he was clean for a while, then went back to his habit, this time incorporating crack cocaine into the equation. His father died shortly after and later in his adult years, he stated multiple times that he wished he’d gotten a chance to talk to his father and confront him about the issues, but he hadn’t ever gotten to do so while the man was still alive.

Adam had been scratching for years and he began to get more and more shows. He spent his nights DJing, then he would spend his money on drugs as soon as he got paid. In the back of his mind, he knew that his life was spiraling out of control. His weight was out of control, his drug abuse was controlling him, and he had emotional issues that he still hadn’t been properly taken care of.

One evening, he was in his apartment, staring at his shirtless body in the mirror, thinking about how seemingly hopeless his situation was. I thought this was so sad, because he mentioned that he hadn’t really looked at himself in the mirror for almost a year because he didn’t want to see himself. I don’t know why, but when I read that, my heart really went out to him.

He claimed that after gawking at himself in the mirror, it was then that he realized that he didn’t want to live anymore. So he chose not to. He stated, “I put a gun in my mouth and pulled the trigger” in an article that I once read. Adam did exactly that in hopes to end his life, but surprisingly, the gun never went off. Now he realized that he needed help; he needed something. He claims that he knew it was God who saved him, because he really should’ve died that day. I agree with him- if that isn’t a miracle, then I don’t know what is.

He moved in with one of his friends and he began to work hard on his sobriety as well as weight loss. He spent a lot of time running for miles in the early morning and sure enough, he began losing weight and before he knew it, he was where he wanted to be. But after being left by a girl he’d fallen in love with, he picked up on eating again. He ate and ate and soon he was bigger than he’d ever been in his whole life. At a height between 5’11” and 6’0”, he was a thirty year old male clocking in at 324 pounds and he was definitely unhappy. He tried to get back into running and also put himself on several diets, but nothing worked.

Finally, he ended up getting gastric bypass surgery and he once said that even though that seemed like the easy way out, it really wasn’t- though he lost all of the weight, he still “had to learn how to like himself.” And I’m not saying obesity is a good thing, but I just find it strange that before AM lost all the weight, MOST people/90% of the population of the US didnt even notice him. It’s kind of sad that he had to lose all that weight to “be somebody” in the eyes of the celebrity world.  I’m not even overweight and I feel that way. It’s pathetic that people have to be pressured to be “hot” so we can appreciate their MUSIC… as if looks has anything to do with it. Just a side note.

If I was to end the story right here or even after the first few sentences, it would already be obvious to most people that Adam Goldstein did indeed have a hard-knocked life. I’m only telling the shortened version of his story, because obviously this is a blog, not a magazine article. I just want you to get the general idea and try to envision how hard this life must have been for him mentally, emotionally, etc.

And his struggles didn’t stop here. He worked his way to the top, becoming “the most in-demand disc jockey in Hollywood.” He deserved all the awards and titles. Earlier in his life, Adam Goldstein had stated that the hardest part about quitting his habit was that he felt as though he couldn’t deejay well while he was sober. But after staying sober from 1998 to 2009, he was STILL a damn good deejay. Clearly, he was a hard worker who had a real passion and love for music. He was one of the first deejays to mix different genres together successfully. He could put a rock song with an R&B song or a 50s song, while mixing over an 8-0-8 and he would have everyone dancing. I have the privilege of owning many of his sets on CD, courtesy of him being generous enough to let his fans download his music for free. I remember way back in the day when “Butterfly” by Crazy Town was still playing on the radio. Up to this day, I still enjoy listening to the song- ESPECIALLY the part during the bridge where you can hear DJ AM scratching in the background. DJ AM was so creative- not only was he the man behind all of these club mashups you hear today, but he also is the guy who coined that infamous, infectious phrase, “AWW YEAH!” that you hear in the back of so many songs and remixes and radio clips. He started at zero just like EVERYONE ELSE but the man pushed his way to the top. He was definitely a fighter- nothing had been handed to him for free.

Another great thing that happened as far as his career was concerned was his union with Blink 182’s drummer, Travis Barker (who is also amazing!), performing under the moniker: TRV$DJAM. If you’ve never listened to TRV$DJAM, I can’t even explain to you how much you are missing out on! This is truly one of the best collaborations you could ever imagine. The two recorded together, shot a music video together, shot some commercials together, toured together, and released two albums: “Fix Your Face” Volume 1 and “Fix Your Face: 09 Coachella” edition, which are definitely two of my favourite albums/mixtape CDs of all time. I can’t even explain how amazing the two of them were together. Not only that, but the music choice is phenomenal. There are rap songs, rock songs, oldies, ALL KINDS of music being mashed together, producing a magnetic, eclectic style of music that is so diverse that it can be enjoyed by literally anyone. And it sounds ridiculously amazing. The talented duo was even chosen to be the house band for the 2008 MTV VMA awards.

Things were going well for them until the late evening of September 19, 2008. After playing a show in Columbia, South Carolina, the two boarded a private jet. Apparently, something was wrong with one of the tires, causing the plane to come crashing down and burst into flames.

Though Adam Goldstein and Travis Barker were severely burned and injured both physically and emotionally, they were the only two survivors on the plane. They lost two great friends that day, as well as their pilot and co-pilot and both Barker and Goldstein were not shy to say that that was one of the hardest things about the plane crash- living one while having to say goodbye to everyone else they had spent so much time with. And even after this hard time, Adam (and Travis also) still managed to push his way back up. Less than a month later, Adam kept his promise to go on tour with who he called “the greatest rapper alive”, Jay-Z. Even after getting several skin grafts and having burns scar his body, arms, and back of his head, he STILL fought.

Some time after the crash, Adam was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and he was put on medication as most people with PTSD usually are. I remember reading in one of my cut-out DJ AM articles that he had a nurse give the medicine to him to make sure he wasn’t taking more than the appropriate amount. (This was very important to him, because he was an ex-drug addict.) He suffered a lot emotionally, because he had dreams about the crash, he now had a fear of flying, and he couldn’t seem to figure out why he had been chosen to live. But he claimed that as mind-boggling as it all was, he still knew that God saved him for a reason and so even though his heart hurt for those who passed, he was still happy to be alive. He stated, “I have a great deal of faith that everything happens for a reason. I put myself in God’s hands…”

With the release of the second Fix Your Face album (the 09 Coachella edition) as well as the launch of his Friday night residency at Rain Nightclub at the Palms in Las Vegas, his work with and for DJ Hero, the opening of his new club, DUSK, in his hometown (Philly), his new television show, “Gone Too Far” that was centered around helping drug addicts, he seemed to be doing great. (He had been working with addicts for years, but this was the very first time that his help would be recorded on video and broadcasted for the world to see.) And not only that, but on the evening of April 1, 2009, Goldstein tweeted (on his Twitter account) that as of that day, he had been sober for eleven years. The people who knew and/or knew of him were so proud of him and his ability to constantly bounce-back from all the rough situations that life had thrown at him. In the last interview he ever had, he stated, “I guess I get why they call it ‘post-trauma’ because it was really tough…I have really bad days and I have okay days… it’s strange, but I’m blessed, I’m alive, I’m here…”

A little over a month later, police found Adam Michael Goldstein dead in his seventh-floor NYC Soho neighborhood apartment. I remember seeing his final tweet: “New york, new york. Big city of dreams, but everything in new york aint always what it seems.” His twitter page was always so real- he always seemed so happy in his tweets/updates: so enthusiastic and bright. When everyone first saw the tweet- for those who saw it while he was still living- it was just a tweet. He was probably just quoting one of his favourite songs. But now that it was the last message he left us with, even though he was quoting the legendary Grandmaster Flash, it still seems a bit odd and almost ominous in a way that that would be the last update he ever sent out.

After reading this blog, maybe you will be one of the people who still have many questions about what happened on that Friday evening of August 28, 2009 and all the evenings/days leading up to the day of his death. Where was the happiness of that man who got to throw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game a few days before? What kind of pain would a fighter like Adam have to be feeling in order to allow something like this to happen? How did someone who survived obesity, hidden blood clots, a serious plane crash, a suicide attempt and God-knows-what-else die of what has been called “acute intoxication due to the combined effects of cocaine, oxycodone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), Ativan, Klonopin, Xanax, Benadryl and Levamisole” (according to the NYC Med. Examiner) or “accidental drug overdose”? I guess it all comes down to that dreaded, two-word question: WHAT HAPPENED?

Here is the answer to that question: only God knows. I see a lot of judging and criticizing when it comes to this issue: the life and death of Adam Goldstein. As I said before, I just wish that people would look at him as a human being as opposed to seeing him as just a celebrity. Maybe he had other problems that no one else knew about. Maybe he was struggling. Maybe it was on accident. Maybe it was on purpose. No one really knows because as far as we know, no one was there. But there is one thing that I’m 100% sure about- Adam Goldstein was a person- a REAL one. He didn’t deserve to be disrespected during his life and he definitely doesn’t deserve to be disrespected in his death. In almost every interview he ever did, he came off as such a humble and deeply poignant person. I remember reading a tweet he’d posted on July 7^th. He spoke about how he was literally crying while watching the Michael Jackson Memorial and how he didn’t know that it was going to affect him so much. “My tears have me glued to the tv watching :The Farewell… Had no idea I’d react like this. Nothing moves my soul like music… Nothing.” I don’t know why, but when I read the end of that tweet, it really cut to the heart. (“Nothing moves my soul like music…nothing.”) It’s so deep and moving. Maybe it was only that moving because I truly love and believe in music. But that quote showed more than music. It showed music, yes, it showed passion, it showed sensitivity, humanity, emotion- it was such a real statement.

Even when Adam spoke about owning 1000 pairs of shoes (which he stated that he would soon be auctioning some off and giving the money to charity), even when he spoke about having come such a long way, even when he spoke about his success, he still resonated kindness and humanness. He portrayed himself as more than a celebrity- he was a human being. It’s a beautiful thing if you really step back and think about it. He spoke of life, he spoke of happiness, he spoke of God and how He had saved his life- clearly we lost a good one on August 28^th this year. I really wish I’d known Adam Goldstein. And even though I didn’t, I still feel like I miss him- and I do. I miss his presence on this earth and I miss hearing about him and knowing that somewhere out there, he was living as a role model for people like me- people who have to fight through every day in hopes that one day things will be better.

I know that Adam Goldstein was not a perfect person. No one is. But I believe in good people. And I honestly believe that he was a good person. Even though he’s gone, I know that he will always, always be a hero of mine and he’ll always be motivation for me to keep pushing and keep fighting, because life is so worth living. I pray to God that He holds Adam safe in his arms as he sleeps and I hope that Adam gets the peace he was searching for  his whole life. I pray that if there is anyone out there who felt the way Adam seemed to have felt, I hope they, too, find peace. And I also want to extend my hand and say that I’m so tired of people dying with broken hearts and broken spirits. If you need anything, I’m here. I cant save the world, but I’d like to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a friend to anyone that needs someone.  I also pray for God to give his mother and sister comfort as well as all his friends and family members and fans. And I also thank God for putting Adam Goldstein on this earth so that AT LEAST one person could benefit from the life that he lived- me. I know this blog has been really, really long and I wish that I could have told his story as beautifully as it actually was, but I’m hoping that someone out there got to learn a bit about the kind of person that the infamous DJ AM was. If you’ve never listened to his music, go for it- check his videos out, go to his page and download his mixtapes, get something of his and just enjoy it. Also, be sure to tune in to MTV on October 12, 2009 at 10 pm Eastern Time. DJ AM’s weekly television show, “Gone Too Far” will premiering next Monday night! Don’t miss it. It’s a show that follows him around from state to state, taping him as he helps young people who have delved into the world of drugs and have seemingly “Gone Too Far.” It’s the last of him that we will ever see on television and I believe it will be a very beautiful thing. The show is going to show him doing something that he always seemed to be interested in- helping others. After seeing clips and previews of the show, I can honestly say that you won’t regret watching it. So tune in. But for now, this is the end of my blog. Happy DJ AM month, everyone. Rest in peace, Adam Michael Goldstein. You’ll always be a role model, a genius, and a fighter. God bless you and your beautiful soul.

If you want to know more about DJ AM, follow him at http://twitter.com/DJ_AM

You can also go to his website, www.djam.com and become a friend on his Myspace page, www.myspace.com/djamone

Also, make sure you hit up youtube.com and put his name in the blank. Don’t watch any of the controversial, disrespectful, opinionated assumptions of what happened with his life and death: instead, watch a video of his. Watch an interview, watch him spin, watch the way he lives and loves his music. Below, I have posted three links:

the first one a link to his “Fix Your Face” music video with Travis Barker, where you can see how ridiculously fast his hands were, the second one is part of the last video interview he ever recorded, talking about his new TV show (Gone Too Far), how much he loves helping people, and how grateful he was to be alive, and the third one is one of my favourite videos of him scratching records live. I love to watch how into the music he gets. For the first few minutes, DJ Jazzy Jeff tears it up, then DJ AM joins him. And even while Jazzy Jeff is mixing, DJ AM gets really into the music, dancing, singing, doing all the things that anyone who truly loves music usually does. Plus the lighting is really cool and DJ AM’s speaking voice is awesome. Enjoy.

Link 1:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPYBpgC9Zts

Link 2:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4h8g_ZhHTU

Link 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZ682hsSD0

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/opinion/27rich.html

This editorial by Frank Rich has caught my eye. I’m not a fan of the NYT, but it does have some outstanding pieces occasionally.

Truth obviously hurts in the mind of Canadian photographer Dina Goldstein that tried to give her particular view on fairy tale tragedies.

DJ AM died….. Sorry to say it folks, but who gives a shit! The dude was a crackhead, plus he contributed to one of the shittiest songs in history, “Butterfly” by Crazy Town. Talk about taking a shit on a strap-on. Anyhow, people die all over the world everyday and nobody gives a shit. DJ AM gets all emo and gets down on some crack and people make it seem like it’s some sort of American tragedy. The man had a second chance at life and he pissed it away. Sorry, but I can’t feel bad for him. Don’t get me wrong, I feel bad for his family and friends but other than that it’s just another crackhead celebrity off the streets. Crack is Wack, don’t do it kids or you’ll end up dead in bed, shirtless, with a bag of crack on your crotch. What a champion, lets pay tribute.

Leave a comment on his Myspace

This is the statement left (8/29/09) by DJ Diplo in response to Adam Goldsteins (DJ Am) death Friday.

“Im sure that AM had to go day in and day out and negotiate all the music we appreciate for mass consumption, he had good nights and just ok ones..
but he wasnt a radio DJ or a programmer or part of a label . he was a straight up Djs dj, he picked his tracks to play out and had THE STYLE that defines our whole generation like it or not …and even if you didnt like his style (which ranged form deep top 40 to deepest old school hip hop to deepest hipster indy rock.. he would come to your party and do what u do better than you (he did it to me coupla times) he would put tracks out there before they were acceptable and he was always adapting to whatever was goin on.. not because he had to… but because he loved music...he was definitely a peoples champ

and in a world that doesnt really seem to care about you – promotors, fareweather friends, rich assholes, alcholics, trendsters…. AM carved a whole pie out of it and built a giant empire that little of you even know about. He never ever ever didnt have time to talk to one of his dj homies, each and every one of the small wannabes like me still spoke to him still weekly. How many people do u know DJ wedding partys for billionaires, arenas for Jay z, and djs for roctakons shitty basment party in manhattan for free and then 20 k the next night.. each day he was still asking me for new music and tellin me how the wierdest of my tracks were starting to pick up momentum….. but.. i never knew how long it would last.
Djs have a ceiling, and Am lived on the roof. he sometimes would tell me a bit about his reservations in passing about his lifestyle and i feel like its a loveless place we all live in (DJs). but i dont think We will ever see another person built for it like AM.. he was THE Michael Jackson of this shit. so it really worries me a bit that hes gone , cause hes the only that i thought understood it all… he was a sweetheart and tried his damnest to be the best at it and still be the best at being himself.”

Leave a comment on his Myspace

RIP Adam. Comments & photo from Maddecent.com

-Kevin

DJ AM, a high-profile disc jockey who was involved in a plane crash last year with Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker, was found dead on Friday evening in his apartment in Manhattan.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The celebrity disc jockey and Los Angeles club owner known as DJ AM was found dead in a New York City apartment Friday afternoon, his publicist Jenni Weinman said in a statement.

Adam Goldstein, 36, was famous as a jet set DJ who spun records at some of the world’s most exclusive parties, including private events for Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Stiller, among many others, and could command more than $25,000 for a three-hour set. A former member of the rock band Crazy Town, he grabbed tabloid headlines for having been engaged to socialite/reality TV star Nicole Richie and dating actress/singer Mandy Moore.

Remember hearing the stories of Cinderella and Snow White when you were a child. Everyone knows how they end or do we?

Take a look at these classic beauties highlighted in a modern day setting as portrayed by Dina Goldstein – photographer extraordinaire.

Dina’s ongoing project was inspired by the observation of three-year-old girls who were developing an interest in Disney’s Fairy tales.

I’d like to see what Goldstein will do with The Little Mermaid. Guess we don’t get to live so happily ever after…Let’s just hope that Disney isn’t watching. We know how protective they can be of their image especially when they are constantly trying to sell us magical dreams.

“Fallen Princess” is set to be completed by October of this year. To see more images visit: http://www.dinagoldstein.com/

Sesion de fotos por parte de Dina Goldstein.

Se han preguntado ¿que paso con las princesas despues de las peliculas?

Via visual evasion

e.me

UPDATE as of 11/25/2009:  Appeals Court Rules in favor of Bruce Ratner

Download this full post in print-friendly PDF

A Quick Tour of the Atlantic Yards Project

Once United, Now Divided

Do Scare Tactics Play a Role?

The Tables Are Turned

Let’s Examine the Evidence

Commentary

References, Records, Legal Docs

Amidst the coverage of ACORN for allegations of voter registration fraud, the Rathke embezzlement scandal, the ACORN-8 civil lawsuit and Justice Department complaint, controversy over Project Vote and alleged misuse of the Obama donors list, and most recently ACORN’s role in the upcoming Census in 2010, there lies a lesser told tale of controversy, conflict and allegation. Correction: it’s a feverishly told tale, at least in New York, but one largely ignored, perhaps because the very checks and balances that are supposed to be in place to expose allegations of impropriety apparently fall by the wayside when the media itself becomes part of the story (allegedly…).

This is a long, complex story that has many twists and turns, and many angles (angles that, quite frankly, I’d consider more important than the one I’m going to cover here). This is a compartmentalized version of a broader story, and will focus primarily on its relevance to ACORN.

On December 10, 2003, one of the most ambitious real estate development projects in the history of Brooklyn was announced, a project that would later unfold into layers of conflict and speculated corruption, and be considered by many to be “the most controversial project ever in New York.”

The Atlantic Yards project, an endeavor of high-profile real estate developer Bruce Ratner and his Forest City Ratner companies, is a 22-acre mixed-use commercial and residential development project that cuts through the neighborhoods of Prospect Heights and Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY.

A Quick Tour of the Atlantic Yards Project

The project’s footprint is massive in nature, especially given the size and makeup of the area in which it will be located, which covers an area of a few

Click to enlarge

blocks. To be built above the Vanderbilt Rail Yards and pervading the residential blocks of Pacific and Dean Streets where they intersect with Flatbush and Vanderbilt Avenues, 17 buildings, some as high as 600 feet, will consume the neighborhood. Atlantic Yards will consist of:

• Barclay’s Center, an 850,000 square foot sports and entertainment arena to house the Brooklyn Nets and other performance venues
• 336,000 square feet of office space
• a 180-room boutique hotel
• 247,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space for local businesses
• more than 6,400 units of residential condominiums, 50% of which will be designated as affordable housing pursuant a Community Benefits Agreement that was negotiated between Ratner and ACORN et al

While some of the area slated for development consists of unused rail yards and some abandoned historic buildings, such as the Ward Bread Bakery building and the Long Island Railroad Stables building, a portion of the area also consists of private residences, many of them historic brownstones and low-rise buildings that have been renovated or restored by their owners over the years to turn the area into a thriving, diversified community. Many have longed for the rail yards to be developed, including residents; however, they’ve long expected any development would remain in keeping with the general feel of the community.

The tricky thing here is that the development site straddles an area that intersects between a lower-income neighborhood that is made up of predominantly minority residents, and a moderate income neighborhood that is predominantly white (some younger, more recent transplants, some from generations of Italian, Jewish, and German immigrants). Over the years, as transplants have settled in the Prospect Heights neighborhood and begun renovating and restoring many of the brownstone and low-rise properties and opening up small businesses, residents of the adjacent neighborhood of Park Slope have complained that the gentrification of Prospect Heights has increased both the median income and the housing prices for the area, making housing less affordable to the lower income residents of Park Slope and other nearby communities. Further, those concerned about accessible housing for low-income residents have feared the situation would worsen as a result of the Atlantic Yards project, given the addition of so much luxury housing and commercial development to the area. Minority community organizations had speculated that thousands of minority and immigrant populations will be displaced.

Once United, Now Divided

Sufficed to say, the Atlantic Yards project has been met with opposition from many groups since its announcement, each of them making some of the following arguments.

• Residents will suffer the obvious impact to their own homes – their surroundings will be overwhelmed by enormous towers and huge increases in traffic, people, noise and pollution; many will even lose their homes altogether to demolition. Those who do remain are concerned about having open public spaces and open streets ideal for proper community building.
• Local businesses (and residents) want to preserve small, local retail and fear the new retail space will far exceed their level of affordability and will cater instead to corporate and chain businesses.
• Environmentalists want the plan to reuse some existing buildings and work them into the overall aesthetic of the existing neighborhood; they also want the design substantially reduced to better manage gridlock and pollution, as well as make use of sustainability models.
• Historic Preservation groups want to keep the existing brownstones in tact, and want to preserve the historic buildings in the area and the nature of the surrounding architecture and landscape.
• Transportation agencies are concerned about the lack of planning to divert congestion, and manage parking issues and mass transit inefficiencies.
• Community Advocates insist that the project will cause the neighborhood to undergo an accelerated gentrification process and make the area unaffordable to the average Brooklyn resident.
• The public in general, at least those familiar with the area, have opposed the lack of public input in planning and decision making, which has largely been made behind closed doors and without any non-partisan entity to represent the interests of the public.

As opposition groups formed, controversy began to grow over the media coverage of the Atlantic Yards project. As a joint partner of Forest City Ratner, there had already been rampant criticism of the New York Times in 2001 for its business relationship with Forest City Ratner and their use of eminent domain to build the new New York Times headquarters building in Times Square, which opened in 2007. Charges of impropriety and conflict of interest eventually ran through various city agencies, the Empire State Development Corporation, Forest City Ratner as well as the New York Times itself, given that all had a vested interest in good media coverage and quelling opposition. An obvious concern therefore with the Atlantic Yards project, both of Brooklyn residents and other media outlets, was whether the New York Times, once considered to be *the* authoritative source of area coverage, could possibly report objectively this time around. With the media desperately needed to serve its role as one of the necessary checks and balances in this case, residents especially became skeptical and eventually fearful of the Times coverage. They recognized early on that building and maintaining support for the Atlantic Yards project would be key for Ratner and for the New York Times. And, here we were, just off the heels of the New York Times-Ratner Times Square building project, repeating the same scenario again.

As controversy grew, the nature of the New York Times’ coverage – or lack thereof – was frequently called to task. Any coverage that the paper did provide on the Atlantic Yards project was viewed as overwhelmingly supportive, and often seemed even to lean toward supporters of the project. Local papers in the heart of those communities, such as The Brooklyn Paper, covered the story with a view from the inside, often times exposing woeful inadequacies of the Times coverage. The IFC Media Project, even featured a segment alleging that one of that paper’s reporters, Deborah Kolben, was even fired by her prior employer, The Daily News, at the request of Bruce Ratner himself, apparently because Ratner found her coverage to be less than complimentary.

There were additional reports that the New York Times was not presenting a balanced view of the story; some even suggested that the publication was working with Ratner to purposely pit the communities against each other, making race and socio-economic status the characteristics that determined the project’s supporters versus the opposers.  When affordable housing was added to the project’s plans through the efforts of ACORN, the gamefield shifted – opposers were portrayed as “greedy white people” who didn’t care about the housing and jobs that the project would bring to the community, a mantra echoed from all the way up to Mayor Bloomberg, Governors Spitzer and Paterson, Chuck Schumer, and the rest of the state’s Congressional representatives.

In addition, there were claims that the Times coverage was notably absent about several key issues that included allegations against ACORN and BUILD, groups that participated in the controversial Community Benefits Agreement, which includes stipulations that are questionable to say the least (more on that later).  What had started out as a willing effort amongst the affected communities to work together to present an alternative proposal that would preserve the personality and diversity of their communities, while protecting existing homes, and creating new affordable housing and jobs, had evidently been manipulated into a race war and a class war of sorts.

Do Scare Tactics Play a Role?

In retrospect, one of the earliest opposers of Bruce Ratner was actually Bertha Lewis, of the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN). Years earlier, when Forest City Ratner had opened its Atlantic Center in Brooklyn, only blocks from the current Atlantic Yards project, Lewis staunchly opposed Ratner by organizing picketers, even storming his office. She demanded that the businesses located in the retail space of Ratner’s building pay their workers better wages, a fight she eventually won. And as new development has progressed in Brooklyn neighborhoods over the years, Lewis and ACORN have consistently muscled the developers into meeting ACORN’s demands for affordable housing and other benefits for their communities, seemingly as payback for the developers’ driving up the median income and housing prices. And as a close working partner of unions such as SEIU, IBEW and AFL-CIO, ACORN frequently guns for all new development projects to create union jobs during construction and to maintain union workers once the projects are completed.  They are known for using signature tactics against even the most reasonable of opposition, tactics that focus on manufacturing racial and socio-economic undertones when none initially exist; sometimes a few unknowingly take the bait and fall prey to the trap, more frequently, the aggression that accompanies their rhetoric simply intimidates the others into abandoning their cause altogether.

ACORN's stance before receiving Ratner cash

And, as the Atlantic Yards project progressed, this was precisely the case again with ACORN. When local residents living in the homes that are in the direct path of Atlantic Yards demolition banded together to create groups like “Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn” to try and oppose the massive development project and avoid an eminent domain land grab case, Bertha Lewis was initially helpful, according to reports, offering advice on how to “gum them up”, referring to slowing down the project by way of obstructing the process. Initally, ACORN opposed the Atlantic Yards project. However, as talks between ACORN and Ratner occurred in parallel, behind closed doors, it apparently did not take long for ACORN to seemingly change their tune and to start attacking opposers with divisive, confrontational rhetoric.

“It is because of race and class that whenever you have a small group of white liberals running and screaming about something, people think it’s important. They don’t have to worry about affordable housing. They don’t give a damn about people of color. All they care about is preserving their little Prospect Heights community,” Bertha Lewis said in statements to The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 06/09/05

Despite the fact that the members of “Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn” (DDDB) were supportive of developing the community, simply on a much more understated scale, and that they fully embraced the notion of creating jobs and ensuring that designated affordable housing would be available to low and moderate income families, ACORN continued to drive a wedge between themselves and any opposers.

The Tables Are Turned

As weeks and months passed, the confrontations and the rhetoric seemed to keep heating up. More and more groups like ACORN and BUILD began to band together in fierce support for Ratner and the Atlantic Yards project. Meanwhile members of opposition groups like DDDB grew increasingly uncomfortable, and speculated that Ratner and other supporters, including some media, were intentionally creating a racially charged situation in order to intimidate project opponents into defeat. Words got really ugly on both sides, but even a prominent city council member (and former Black Panther) who was in favor of moving the project to his own district admittedly noted that there was manipulation going on and people abusing and hiding behind “the race card” in order to advance their own selfish agenda for their organization rather than work as a group of communities together.

By about May of 2005, when a Memorandum of Understanding was drawn and signed between Bruce Ratner and Bertha Lewis, the rhetoric between ACORN and DDDB and other Atlantic Yards opposition was reaching new heights. The entire focus of all development negotiations with any of the “public” groups had been quickly shifted to the benefits of affordable housing and “thousands of jobs” the project would bring to a community supposedly suffering economically. The project itself had grown significantly in scope and in budget. This was in stark contrast to what the residents of Prospect Heights and members of DDDB had been discussing with ACORN and other project advocates. To even the most unfamiliar outsider to the story, it seemed clear that public negotiations had been all but hijacked. With the focus of the Atlantic Yards project now placed squarely upon offering affordable housing, creating union jobs, paying a living wage to project workers and building tenant employees, and generating stimulus for a socio-economic depressed area and disadvantaged class of citizens, this changed the politics of the project from one of a private investor to one in which the state had a legal public interest in seeing completed. After hearing Bertha Lewis present her version of the plan and quoting some overly positive – and questionable – statistics, members of the other parties grew even more concerned and began challenging Lewis.

“In order to get the affordable housing, we’ve lost our sense of community and ability to have input into the public process,” said Candace Carponter, of DDDB at a joint panel discussion between the parties titled Affordable Housing and the Atlantic Yards Development. Carponter went on to explain that with the current plan as Lewis presented it, it would cost at least three times as much to build this as other organizations could do it, it would use eminent domain, and at least $1.5 to $2 billion to build the project. “This is a low-rise neighborhood.” Carponter said. “Most of the buildings are five or six stories. It’s Brownstone Brooklyn at its organic best.”

“The affordable housing, the promise of jobs are being used as a Trojan horse for a massive land grab,” Carponter continued. “It is not necessary to build an arena to build affordable housing.”

(Source: Atlantic Yards Report)

Throughout the discussion, the records indicate that words became quite heated, and there was a lot of back and forth challenging occurring between Bertha Lewis/ACORN and the other parties, who were supposed to be there to try and determine compromises and potential alternatives together. As more people challenged Lewis about the fact that she’d already independently signed a MOU with Ratner, which legally binds ACORN to publicly support the project, it became evident that the project would be moving forward, with its larger scale and revised focus firmly rooted without the rest of the public’s input.

One of the panelists, a non-partisan law professor, tried to bring the discussion back to the heart of the matter. “I’m going to put to one side the obvious questions that this raises, which is: ‘Why isn’t the government speaking for the community?’ What’s wrong with our processes?”

As members of DDDB responded with their concerns over the now evident issue of an abusive land-grab planned under the pretense of eminent domain, the discussion turned again to the ACORN agenda, as Bertha Lewis insisted that the real issue is “about black and brown people in Central Brooklyn.”

ACORN's stance today

Only one month later, the Community Benefits Agreement surfaced. This is a legally binding agreement between Ratner and several organizations, supposedly representing the interests of the public and making negotiated concessions amongst those parties.

Download the CBA

Those parties represented in the CBA?

• All Faith Council of Brooklyn
• ACORN
• Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD)
• Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (DBNA)
• Downtown Brooklyn Educational Consortium (DBEC)
• First Atlantic Terminal Housing Committee (FATHC)
• NY State Association of Minority Contractors (NYSAMC)
• Public Housing Communities (PHC)

You’ll notice that a key party is conspicuously missing from the CBA – DDDB, the very group from which many members actually live in homes that are in the direct path of the Atlantic Yards project.  Several of the other parties listed in the CBA, most notably BUILD and ACORN, are alleged to have been recruited by the developer, given funds to operate in their designated roles for the AY project, and in some cases even given a salary by the developer (as is noted in the written contracts and agreements published by FCR). It would appear that there was hardly anything public about the input collected and the agreement drafted.  Once the project turned into a “public housing, union jobs” project, it was turned into a land grab case under eminent domain, also making it eligible for state and federal funds.

While other community members tried to understand the latest turn of events and an apparent shutout from the public decision making process, some interesting documents turned up that brought some light to the issue, and helped solidify the beliefs of many that these were actually “paid supporters” against whom they were fighting.

Let’s Examine the Evidence

Click to enlarge

First was a document between Bruce Ratner’s Sr. Vice President, David Berliner, and Bertha Lewis/ACORN, signed on August 19, 2008. It is a written agreement for Forest City Ratner to provide a loan plus a grant to ACORN, totaling $1.5 Million.

So, the first question is:

What happened around August of 2008 that prompted the need for some cash for ACORN, that was negotiated so quietly? Other monetary negotiations for ACORN’s Atlantic Yards related activities were documented elsewhere, and made public. But not this. Why? I cannot answer that, so I’ll simply list some current events at that time – you can connect the dots:

• June 9, 2008: Strom’s NY Times story breaks, publicizing the Rathke $1 Million embezzlement scandal (which had been under wraps since it occurred in 2000). Further stories collaborated with Anita MonCrief follow from Strom. Until of course the stories get too close to ACORN and to the Ratner deal.
• August 2008: Marcel Reid, Karen Inman and the rest of the ACORN-8 (current and former ACORN members) file suit against ACORN to demand full financial disclosure
• August 22, 2008: “U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign paid more than $800,000 to an offshoot of the liberal Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now for services the Democrat’s campaign says it mistakenly misrepresented in federal reports.”
  Pittsburgh Tribune
• October 8, 2008: Miller and Grant vs. ACORN and Project Vote/Voting for America, Voter Registration Fraud lawsuit filed with Ohio Court of Common Pleas

Secondly, why did Bertha Lewis quietly negotiate her own Memo of Understanding with Ratner in such an underhanded manner? More importantly, why would Lewis commit herself to the strong language in the agreement, which states the following:

Download the full PDF

While the community groups that were supposed to be publicly negotiating together, in the interest of the neighborhood as a whole, were still conducting meetings and discussions, Bertha Lewis cuts a side deal with Bruce Ratner to ensure the ACORN housing proposal flies, no matter what the end solution is. She wants 50% of the residential units to be affordable housing. At a community planning meeting with the groups she’s supposed to be having open discussions with, she deflects challenges regarding this clause. Many residents speculate the agreement may be nothing more than a payoff.

Lewis ends the session, ““We don’t know what the state is going to allow Bruce Ratner to do,” she said. “Whatever the state allows him [Ratner] to do, the deal is 50/50…You guys are so fucking disrespectful. You would not ask Extell [an alternate proposal for consideration] this. Don’t talk to me, talk to the state.”

Lastly, there’s the publicly glorified “Community Benefits Agreement”, hailed as a great example of diplomacy and compromise in the community. Like the MOU that Bertha Lewis negotiated with Ratner on ACORN’s behalf, the CBA focused more on removing any obstacles to the AY project, by accommodating the specific needs of a select few organizations with an agenda. And it contained the same clause as noted above in the MOU – this time for all 8 of the participating organizations. If the allegations are true, that’s sure a lot of “rent-a-mob” employees.

Download the Community Benefits Agreement

Probably most controversial throughout the later history of the project however, has been the use (or abuse) of eminent domain (and this is part of the bigger story I’d encourage readers to explore). In order to achieve the full scope of the project, Ratner and the city invoked the use of eminent domain to seize 68 privately held properties from residents wishing to remain in their homes. To many, this appeared to be a clear abuse of the law. After filing suit against Ratner, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Pataki, residents and a local business owner alleged “the Project itself was conceived by Ratner, and is being driven by his needs, motives, and vision, not those of the public at large,” challenging the constitutional use of eminent domain in this case. Plaintiffs also claimed that Bloomberg and Pataki have backed the proposal and guarded it from review by community boards or the City Council, keeping the public from providing input or offering alternatives. At state senate hearings, the Ratner camp was spotted handing out hard hats, vests and whistles to “union members” who then marched outside and into the building in support of the project. It’s been a frequent sight, and one blogger called it “manufactured chaos”.  Funny thing, it is such a well known tactic seen regularly at rallies where ACORN and SEIU are the hired rent-a-mobs.

As ACORN supported Democratic candidates in local, state and federal elected positions, both financially and by way of sheer people support at events, some under its ACORN name, some under the “Working Families Party” name (also see Lewis, Co-Chair), and others through any of the many ACORN affiliates (i.e. CCI), support from government officials for the Atlantic Yards project grew stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, IRS filings for Ratner’s other big (hired) support group BUILD indicated that its entire $5 Million budget from 2005 and 2006 was solely funded by Ratner (see “IRS documents show BUILD relies on Ratner–but the Times ignores the Daily News’s scoop” under References below). When residents alerted the NY Times, once again, the paper simply made no mention of it.

And in the End…

Long story short, after back and forth lawsuits, the project may finally be moving ahead, sort of. A panel of four New York appellate judges ruled May 16^th, 2009 that Forest City Ratner’s use of eminent domain to take private property to build a new home for the Nets does not violate the state Constitution.

Read a Daily News article on this decision

So, six years later, while once thriving businesses and family residences now lie in ruins, demolished in anticipation of the new development, the Atlantic Yards project is expected to resume once again, legal battles supposedly having  been cleared away…for now.  Meanwhile, ACORN has continued its undying, unconditional support of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project even though there is barely any talk of affordable housing any more, let alone actual construction of any.

Download the full PDF

But that hasn’t stopped Ratner or ACORN from lobbying for federal stimulus funds to subsidize the Atlantic Yards monstrosity.  And guess what? They’ve been getting them, at least by way of qualifying for breaks on bonds – and they’re still trying, with some help from folks like Chuck Schumer and Al D’Amato and his Park Strategies outfit.

And the New York Times? They remain conspicuously subdued – even absent – in their coverage, unless it’s positive news, of course.  And forget any reporting on the ACORN front. As a joint partner with 48% shared ownership of several Forest City Ratner projects including their own building, they wouldn’t risk losing the largest supporter, most powerful muscle machine, most successful fundraiser and most influential federal-grant-funneling partner they’ve got in ACORN.

Commentary

I’ll conclude by offering my own commentary, and by posing a few questions for the reader to consider.

Let me preface this by stating that I fully support the principle of a non-profit organization that solicits funding for programs to aid disadvantaged citizens in any way, so long as it is private funding. My own upbringing was that of a disadvantaged citizen, the child of a single mother, living barely above the federal poverty level in a declining railroad community. But our founding fathers were very clear about their beliefs that private citizens and private businesses are the best resources to aid the general public, not the government. And I have found this to be true. The funds and resources allocated by the private sector for such purposes are far more efficiently managed, and the potential for corruption is significantly reduced, especially since the element of political campaign contributions and the exchanging of favors is removed. My community and empathetic citizens and private organizations aided me and my family far better than the government could.

Given this background, I fundamentally disagree with the approach that organizations like ACORN take in trying to better the lives of minorities and the disadvantaged. The model of government regulation and entitlement programs has long been proven to hold back such groups, and often contributes to the financial stagnation of impoverished neighborhoods and decay in job growth. If my tax-payer dollars are going to be allocated somewhere, I would prefer the money goes to reputable, private organizations with a proven model of success behind which I can proudly stand.

Secondly, the standard tactics consistently employed by ACORN specifically are something that I just find to be reprehensible. I would never support anyone or any organization that employs bullying, confrontational or intentionally divisive tactics to selfishly further its own causes. That is the ACORN that I’ve seen in action at events I’ve attended and communities in which I’ve lived. And since I would never financially support such behavior willingly, it infuriates me that I am forced to support this behavior unwillingly, as a tax-payer. What is most unfortunate is that this image is what discredits any of the good intentions that ACORN may have had, or the honorable activities they may have conducted at any time. And I know that there are still some good people in ACORN, and some good people who’d left, who somehow still believe the ACORN name can be repaired.

The reality is that this is an organization that has already admitted to embezzling $1 million, admitted to never having notified the authorities or their donors (a whistleblower had to do it for them), and has several current lawsuits against it (and despite their claims, the lawsuits do name ACORN, the group, as a defendant). Yet, this is an organization that receives millions of dollars in federal funding every year – money that comes from American taxpayers, many of whom I would venture to guess strongly and fundamentally disagree with their principles and their methods. This is an organization with the power to organize millions of union members to support any cause it desires, the power to influence the decisions of our nation’s lawmakers, the power to force private businesses to change their practices, even the power to force our nation onto government health care. This is an organization that has publicly denounced capitalism and free markets, the very principles upon which our nation and its Constitution are founded.

I vehemently disagree with every one of the principles by which this organization operates. And yet, my government forces me to compromise my own values and to subsidize the very behavior that I despise, with my hard-earned tax dollars. Still worse, I watch my tax dollars go right back into the pockets of the very politicians I just voted against. Donated to them by ACORN.

Have we no more honest lawmakers anymore that are strong enough to stand up to this? Where is our representation, where are our voices? At a time when Americans are struggling to hold onto every dollar they make, why are our tax dollars being permitted to go to politicians by way of ACORN? And with an admitted embezzlement and a variety of lawsuits and allegations against them, why do they qualify for any federal funding? They receive plenty of private funding from groups like the Tides Foundation

I end by posing a few rhetorical questions:

If an organization receives tax-payer funding of any kind, should that organization be allowed to donate to political campaigns or political causes?

Should a non-profit organization that receives federal funding be permitted to enter into a legally binding agreement that requires that organization to publicly support a project – a project that has significant political implications? Should they be permitted to accept any sort of funds (donation, loan, salary, etc.) from that business?

The media has a duty to serve the public with honesty and integrity in their crucial role in a system of checks and balances that were established by our founding fathers to keep politics and power in check. Where is the line drawn for the media when it comes to its business investments, partnerships, and associations? Can the public trust that a news outlet will remain objective if it has a vested interest in other business matters?

References, Records, Legal Docs

Financial Records & Legal Docs:

• ACORN Political Contributions & Ballot Measures
• Forest City Ratner Contributions & Ballot Measures
• Service Employees International Union Contributions & Ballot Measures
• Memo of Understanding between Bertha Lewis/ACORN and Forest City Ratner
• $1.5 Million Loan Agreement Between Ratner and Bertha Lewis/ACORN
• Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement,
  Forest City Ratner and ACORN, BUILD, et al
• Al D’Amato/Park Strategies Lobbying Reports
  Lobbying on behalf of Forest City Ratner for Atlantic Yards
  (sampling, not inclusive of every filing)
• ACORN vs. Rathke (civil suit)
• Justice Department complaint against ACORN
• IRS documents show BUILD relies on Ratner–but the Times ignores the Daily News’s scoop
• National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund’s FOIA request for Department of Labor records for use in investigating complaints of intimidation by ACORN and by several unions, including SEIU, and for conflict of interest regarding Deborah Greenfield (Obama transition team)
• <ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS TO BE POSTED, IN PROGRESS>

References/Links:

• Atlantic Yards Report
  Norman Oder’s blog. (THE source for all things AY, Ratner and ACORN). Journalist for more than 20 years–as a daily reporter, and later as a freelancer for publications from The American Lawyer to Columbia Journalism Review to the Village Voice. Also Master of Studies in Law from Yale on fellowship.
• In March, Congressman Bill Pascrell of NJ wrote a letter to Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, and Rep. Barney Franks, requesting that the Treasury intervene in allowing Barclay’s to spend $400 Million on naming rights over the Atlantic Yards arena, citing Barclay’s receipt of federal bailout money.  Read the Letter
• Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn
• ACORN
• Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development (BUILD)
  NOTE: Most of the content on this site has not been updated since 2004.
• Empire State Development Corporation
• Working Families Party
• Amicus Brief from BUILD
• Group Letter to the state assembly and senate asking for Forest City Ratner’s proposal to go through the City’s democratic development review process known as the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).
• The Complete Guide to ACORN Voter Fraud (Pajamas Media)
• Judicial Watch: ACORN/Census Bureau Documents
• Atlantic Yards website
• The Paper of Wreckage (Village Voice on the NY Times)
• Bailout! Feds save Ratner millions with new ruling
• The Brooklyn Paper: Ratner hosts rally to support…himself!
• Time to stop bullying at Atlantic Yards
• A local resident and photographer has created a collection of photos from the area, including before and after shots of buildings as they are demolished. It is an excellent view into what’s really going on for those who’ve lived in the community during all of this conflict.
• View a recreation of the story on video
  Brooklyn at Eye Level, a Project of the Civilians. This renowned company develops original projects inspired from investigations into real life, using artistic and documentary methods. Excellent videos of their production  put together the whole Atlantic Yards story, from the perspectives of different community leaders and residents.

ACORN makes much of its political donations through other 527s organizations, such as America Votes, in addition to joining forces with labor unions and other organizations that can make political donations under less restrictions than theirs (labor unions are supposed to be very rigid in campaign finance limitations; however, given the billions spent by unions annually in politics, it would appear that most have found ways to donate quite freely).

Top 50 Federally Focused Organizations, 527s. Click to Enlarge.

America Votes members, including ACORN & SEIU. Click to Enlarge.

Legalish Disclaimer

With the exception of news or research content from third party sources, which is identified and specifically noted accordingly, the content on this blog is the opinion and original creation of the blogger, not intended to “malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual,” or anyone or thing…in other words, I make every attempt to verify research and to be accurate and to give proper credit to sources; I also add opinion and commentary to such research, and I try to distinguish these as best I can to the reader.  I always encourage readers to consult additional sources independently and not to rely solely upon any single source in forming their own opinions.