Shocking News about BUILD

Oh my.

The Daily News reports that the "grassroots" group knowns as BUILD (Brooklyn United for Innovative Local Development) may be on the Ratner payroll:

BUILD said in an August filing with the Internal Revenue Service that it would receive $5 million from the developer's Forest City Ratner Companies. BUILD chief operating officer Marie Louis said Thursday that the group had received no money from Ratner and did not expect to receive any. Cheryl Duncan, a spokeswoman for BUILD, said the group had projected receiving the money from Ratner but no longer expected to. She said Ratner is providing office space to the group.

Louis has spoken in support of the project at public meetings, saying it would help ease poverty and unemployment in neighboring areas. A Ratner spokesman said the developer supported BUILD and other worthy local organizations but had not purchased the group's support.

"It is the right thing to do and FCRC encourages others to do the same," spokesman Joe De Plasco said.

Well Joe, if you didn't purchase the groups support, might I suggest you've been ripped off? Five million bucks is pretty damned high for a mere rental. When is the next check due?

Of course, this news really isn't shocking at all. Generating third party groups to advocate corporate positions is a tactic straight out of Nick Nichol's Rules for Corporate Warriors. Nichols is a spinmeister's guru who encourages a no holds barred approach to quashing public dissent.  He is allegedly fond of quoting George Carlin - "if you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten!"

What is shocking is that BUILD and Ratner aren't very adept at covering their tracks. If a group with so much money at their disposal can't keep their Machiavellian machinations secret, why do we expect them to handle something infinitely more complex, like creating a vital urban space?

Oh, that's right.

We don't.

(hat tip to NoLandGrab for the article link)