Despite accepting $3 million in exchange for moving out of the Atlantic Yards, longtime Bruce Ratner enemy and last Atlantic Yards holdout Daniel Goldstein insists he is not giving up the fight. "I've not been silenced, and I am not leaving DDDB as it transitions into a new phase of fighting Atlantic Yards," he said in a press release sent out this morning. He claims that at yesterday's hearing with the Empire State Development Corporation, he had no idea he would be offered a settlement, and did not have a press statement ready. However, "Forest City Ratner saw it as a big press event and sent out a press release immediately," which Goldstein says led to biased reporting.
City Room reported yesterday that Goldstein accepted the settlement on a "gag agreement," which Goldstein says is not true. Though he admits he has stepped down as the DDDB spokesman, he says, "that's just a title...So they have not succeeded in silencing me and I am free to criticize and speak about the project." He also says that he accepted the settlement reluctantly in an attempt to look out for his family's best interests. "What I did do was what I needed to do as a responsible husband and father to make sure that my family could make an orderly transition to a new home in Brooklyn. I was left with no good choice by the ESDC or Judge Gerges."
Goldstein's settlement paid him $2 million more than he could have accepted if he took a deal six years ago—and it's $2.4 million more than a recent lowball offer—but he points out that he also has legal fees to deal with. He paid $590,000 for the condo in 2003, right before Ratner presented the Atlantic Yards project to the city. Now, as he looks for a new home, Goldstein is looking to the future of DDDB. He writes, "These are fights that have to be fought if we are to find a way to become a working democracy, which treats individuals and communities fairly, rather than disenfranchising and disempowering them. See you at the next meeting (once I find a new Brooklyn home)."
