Longtime Bruce Ratner nemesis Daniel Goldstein agreed to a $3 million settlement to vacate his apartment in the Atlantic Yards footprint last week, but that doesn't mean either side wants the bad-mouthing good times to stop!
Forest City Ratner Executive Vice President MaryAnne Gilmartin told the Post that in the end, during negotiations with Goldstein, it all came down to him wanting to squeeze every last drop of milk from the project's teet: "The sticking point was how much money he wanted." Goldstein disagreed entirely however: “The money amount was settled pretty quickly. The sticking point that led to nearly four hours of discussions was Ratner’s insistent desire to bind me to some sort of gag order."
The gag order was first reported by City Room in the twilight of the negotiations last week, but Goldstein refuted that report, saying it was an attempt by Forest City Ratner to hurt his credibility (it wasn't the only harsh publicity Goldstein got last week). But some might wonder why Ratner agreed to such a large settlement so hurriedly, and Goldstein thinks he knows why: The Nets.
The court was unlikely to agree to an accelerated eviction date of May 17 — it would be just a few days after the state would by paying me its original “just compensation.”
However, the billionaire Russian oligarch, Mikhail Prokhorov, could not assume ownership of the Nets, nor prepare for the NBA draft and free-agent market, in his effort to rebuild the NBA’s worst team until my apartment was vacated.
The state’s May 17 eviction date may have appeared arbitrary, but May 18 is the NBA draft lottery, and Prokhorov wanted to be at that lottery. That’s not what ESDC or Ratner told the judge or the press last week. But that was their motivation.
As to why the state thought it so important to evict my family and me on Prokhorov’s NBA schedule, so he could encrust his plaything with diamonds, is something that speaks for itself.
