PRESS RELEASE - Atlantic Yards Mailer to Community Constitutes False and Misleading Advertisement

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For Immediate Release
Brooklyn, June 8, 2004

For More Information:
Sue Wolfe 718 858-3822, ext. 100

Atlantic Yards: Forest City Ratner Mailer to Community Constitutes False and Misleading Advertisement

Boerum Hill Association Calls for Inquiry by Department of Consumer Affairs, Better Business Bureau, and New York State Attorney General's Office

Forest City Ratner's recent glossy brochure in support of the proposed "Atlantic Yards" development project, mailed to residents throughout Brooklyn, constitutes false and misleading advertising, the Boerum Hill Association (BHA) said today.

"The brochure makes all kinds of fanciful – but purely hypothetical and entirely unverified - claims about the benefits the Atlantic Yards will bring to our community. It includes absolutely no information about the size and height of the 17 buildings that will actually make up this mega-complex, not to mention even one word about their environmental impact," said Sarah Leah Whitson, BHA board member and former President. "The brochure then tries to lure residents to 'support‘ the project by returning a vaguely-worded postage-paid postcard in exchange for a mystery Nets ‘souvenir'! Because the postcard is preprinted to indicate support for the project, with no option for dissent, Ratner can claim each returned card as a vote of support even if ‘I oppose this project' is written on every one.

The glossy, color brochure, filled with photos of laughing children and parents, has not a single photo of the proposed development. Instead, it merely claims, among other things, that the Atlantic Yards will bring "10,000 new, permanent jobs" – a highly contested claim for which no verifiable evidence has been offered to date. The brochure prominently displays the New York Times logo in large font, quoting favorable segments of an article from the newspaper. It then lists vague statements of support for the project from local elected officials, and then invites readers to "Send back this card and receive a free Brooklyn Nets Souvenir!" The self-addressed, bar-code stamped postcard includes a declaration of support for the Atlantic Yards, with space for the sender's name and email address. The identity of Forest City Ratner as the project developer is entirely absent.

"It's pretty unbelievable – pretty reprehensible, actually – that Ratner would use such a slick piece of advertising to drum up evidence of support for his project," said Whitson. "A responsible developer – in compliance with the spirit of New York State laws prohibiting false advertising and deceptive practices - would have included real facts about its proposed project"

New York law states that any advertising which is misleading in any material respect is considered to be false advertising. An advertisement is considered misleading if it fails to disclose facts which are important in light of what is stated in the advertisement, or facts which are relevant in the light of the circumstances of the advertisement. The law also requires an advertiser to disclose its true name and address.

"It's pretty clear to us that Forest City Ratner's mailer constitutes false advertising under this standard of law, and we are going to seek whatever remedies are available to us under the law," stated Sue Wolfe, president of the BHA. "We've been absolutely deluged with complaints and expressions of outrage from residents." The BHA plans to file complaints with the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Better Business Bureau and the New York State Attorney General's office.

"We are increasingly left with the impression that Ratner has no interest in real community dialogue about his project – a project that will substantially change the face of our neighborhood," stated Wolfe. We've gotten no meaningful response from the Ratner people to our numerous attempts to reach out and communicate about what residents really want. Instead, we get a naked public relations ploy to hoodwink residents into expressing their support for this controversial project."

"Instead of spending all this money on this kind of misleading – and very upsetting – advertising, Ratner should be engaging in serious discussions about how to make this project work. We know how to cooperate with developers; we are experienced in collaborative growth throughout our neighborhood. It's deeply dismaying to us that Ratner chooses to resort to this kind of end-run around what should be a consultative process," stated Wolfe. "We look forward to engaging in such a process with them."

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Posted by jpotisch at June 8, 2004 05:20 PM