Bruce Ratner

Last updated
Bruce Ratner
Born (1945-01-23) January 23, 1945 (age 79)
Cleveland, Ohio
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s) Real Estate Developer and Philanthropist
Spouse(s)Julie Ratner [1]
Pamela Lipkin (2008–2017) [2]
Linda E. Johnson (2020-Present)
Children2
Parent(s)Harry Ratner and Anne (nee Spott)

Bruce Ratner (born January 23, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American real estate developer, philanthropist, and former minority owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets. [3]

Contents

Family and education

Ratner was born into a Jewish family in the Cleveland metropolitan area, [4] the son of Anne (née Spott) and Harry Ratner, [5] one of eight children to immigrate to the US from Poland. [3] Four of his paternal uncles, Leonard Ratner, Charles Ratner, Max Ratner, and Nate Shafran along with his aunt, Fannye Ratner Shafran [6] founded Forest City Enterprises in 1920; originally a construction materials company it eventually evolved into construction and then into real estate development. [7] Ratner's older brother was the late civil liberties attorney and activist Michael Ratner and his sister is Ellen Ratner, a former news analyst for Fox News. [8] Ratner graduated from Harvard College in 1967, and earned a Juris Doctor from Columbia University [3] in 1970.

Early career

After graduating law school in 1970, Ratner was the director of the Model Cites program until 1973. Simultaneously, Ratner served as the head of the Consumer Protection Division in the administration of New York City mayor John Lindsay. [9] From 1974 to 1978, Ratner taught at NYU's law school. [9] Following his teaching career, Ratner returned to work for the City of New York. Under Mayor Ed Koch he became consumer affairs commissioner where he went after corrupt merchants, repairmen and alarm companies. Ratner served as Consumer of Public Affairs for 4 years beginning in 1978. [10] He then turned to developing real estate. [3]

Forest City Ratner

In 1985, he co-founded Forest City Ratner, a joint venture with his family's company of which he is now executive chairman. [11] He developed the $1 billion complex of nine buildings in downtown Brooklyn called MetroTech. [3] [12] He supervised the building of a 393,000 square-foot shopping mall at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in the 1990s. [3] [13] As a response to Hurricane Sandy, Forest City, the Brooklyn Nets, & Barclays Center launched the creation of a Brooklyn focused recovery fund. [14] It is notable that during Ratner's tenure, half of the firm's leadership was female. [15]

Metrotech Center

Ratner's firm, Forest City Ratner, began construction of Metrotech Center in June 1989. [16] Brooklyn journalist Dennis Holt labeled June 26, 1989, as the start of a "new Brooklyn." [17] The complex totals over 5.8 million square feet of office space. [18] The creation of this office space brought at least 22,000 jobs to the borough. [18]

New York Times Building

In 2007, Ratner's company, Forest City Realty Trust completed construction and opened the New York Times Building. The skyscraper, located at 620 Eighth Avenue, is the eleventh-tallest building in the city, tied with the Chrysler Building. [19]

New York By Gehry

In 2011, Ratner's company, Forest City Realty Trust completed construction and opened New York By Gehry. Designed by Frank Gehry, the building stands 76 stories and 870 ft tall. In his review of the building, New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff proclaimed it "the finest skyscraper to rise in New York since Eero Saarinen's CBS Building went up 46 years ago." [20]

Nets ownership and the Pacific Park Brooklyn (formerly Atlantic Yards) development

Ratner first became owner of the Nets when he headed an ownership group that purchased the franchise from YankeeNets for $300 million. Ratner's group beat out an ownership group led by Charles Kushner and former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine. Ratner relocated the Nets to New York City, specifically to build an arena in the Prospect Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn even though there was desire to keep them in New Jersey and strong neighborhood protests to keep them out of Brooklyn. [21]

Barclays Center is the centerpiece and the only completed piece of a $3.5 billion sports arena, business and residential complex in development called Pacific Park Brooklyn. [22] This project is being built by Ratner's company, Forest City Ratner. The site of the arena is adjacent to the site that Walter O'Malley wanted to use for a new stadium for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the early 1950s. (O'Malley's plan was rejected by the city, resulting in the Dodgers relocating to Los Angeles in 1958.) On September 23, 2009, Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov reached a deal with Ratner to purchase an 80% stake of the Nets for $200 million, subject to Ratner acquiring financing for the arena project and control of the land by the end of the year in addition to the approval of three-fourths of the NBA board of governors. [23] According to Ratner, accepting Prokhorov as majority owner "gives us a partner who adds to the financial strength of the venture. Mikhail will have primary responsibility for the basketball part and we will have primary responsibility for the arena and the real estate." [23] On May 11, 2010, the sale of the Nets was approved by the NBA. [24]

Ratner originally planned to move the Nets across the Hudson River for the beginning of the 2009–10 NBA season. However, he had to revise his goal and moved the franchise to Brooklyn for the start of the 2012–13 season. Although the arena was scheduled to open in 2011, along with the rest of the complex, controversies involving the project's use of eminent domain and local residents, coupled with the lack of continued funding in a struggling economy, caused the project to be altered and delayed. [25] On May 16, 2009, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division struck down an opponent's lawsuit that sought to prevent the state of New York from using eminent domain to seize the property where the 22-acre (89,000 m2) Pacific Park Brooklyn project is being built. The opponents appealed the New York Supreme Court's ruling, [21] but lost when the Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, upheld the right of the state to use eminent domain for this project. [26] A groundbreaking ceremony was held on the site on March 11, 2010, [27] but ringed with protests. [28] The Nets began playing in Brooklyn in time for the 2012–13 NBA season. [29]

Board memberships

Ratner serves on a number of boards including the Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Lang Lang International Music Foundation, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage as chairman of its trustees board. [30] He was chairman of the board [1] and now chairman emeritus of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's board of trustees. [31]

Center For Early Detection of Cancer

In 2016, Ratner established the Center for Early Detection of Cancer in memory of his brother, Michael Ratner. [32]

Honorary Degrees

Ratner holds honorary degrees from Brooklyn College, Medgar Evers College, Pratt Institute, and Long Island University. [33]

Personal life

Ratner has two daughters: Elizabeth ("Lizzy") Ratner, a senior editor at The Nation magazine, [34] and Rebecca ("Rebbie") Ratner, a filmmaker. [8] Following his first marriage, he was married to plastic surgeon Pamela Lipkin from 2008 to 2017. [2] As of 2020, he is married to Linda E. Johnson, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library. [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Nets</span> National Basketball Association team in New York City

The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Barclays Center. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City; the other is the New York Knicks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nassau Coliseum</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, U.S.

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, Nassau County, New York, on Long Island. The venue is situated approximately 7 miles (11 km) east of the eastern limits of the borough of Queens in New York City, adjacent to the Meadowbrook Parkway. It is one of the larger public auditoriums in the New York metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowlands Sports Complex</span> Sports complex in New Jersey, U.S.

The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands, upon which it was built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meadowlands Arena</span> Arena in New Jersey, United States

Meadowlands Arena is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, the state-owned facility has been used as a rehearsal stage by major concert-touring music stars and by NBCUniversal for television filming. The arena is located on New Jersey Route 120 across the highway from MetLife Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack, next to the American Dream shopping and entertainment complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prospect Heights, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood in New York City

Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway – beginning at Grand Army Plaza – to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east. In the northern section of Prospect Heights are the Vanderbilt Rail Yards, built over as part of the Pacific Park project. The Barclays Center, home to the NBA's Brooklyn Nets basketball team, is located in the northwestern corner of the neighborhood in Pacific Park at Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikhail Prokhorov</span> Russian entrepreneur and politician (born 1965)

Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov is a is a Russian oligarch and politician sanctioned by the US, EU, and UK governments. He was also an owner of the Brooklyn Nets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barclays Center</span> Multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City, U.S.

Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. The arena also hosts concerts, conventions and other sporting and entertainment events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Markowitz</span> American politician

Martin Markowitz is an American politician who served as the borough president of Brooklyn, New York City. He was first elected in 2001 after serving 23 years as a New York State Senator. His third and final term ended in December 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Park, Brooklyn</span> Development in Brooklyn, New York

Pacific Park is a mixed-use commercial and residential development project by Forest City Ratner in Brooklyn, New York City. It will consist of 17 high-rise buildings near Brooklyn's Prospect Heights, adjacent to Downtown Brooklyn, Park Slope, and Fort Greene neighborhoods. The project overlaps part of the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area, but also extends toward the adjacent brownstone neighborhoods. Of the 22-acre (8.9 ha) project, 8.4 acres (3.4 ha) is located over a Long Island Rail Road train yard. A major component of the project is the Barclays Center sports arena, which opened on September 21, 2012. Formerly named Atlantic Yards, the project was renamed by the developer in August 2014 as part of a rebranding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yankee Global Enterprises</span> American company which owns the New York Yankees baseball team

Yankee Global Enterprises, LLC, formerly YankeeNets, LLC, is an American limited liability company (LLC) which owns the New York Yankees baseball team, along with a plurality stake in YES Network and a 20% and 10% stake in New York City FC and AC Milan soccer clubs, respectively. It was formed in 1999 and is controlled by the family of George Steinbrenner. Other investors, including Lester Crown, Jerry Speyer, and Marvin Goldklang own minority stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forest City Realty Trust</span> Real estate management and development company

Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., formerly Forest City Enterprises, was a real estate investment trust that invested in office buildings, shopping centers and apartments in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and the greater metropolitan areas of New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The company was organized in Maryland with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. As of December 31, 2017, the company owned 29 office buildings, 29 shopping centers, and 78 apartment complexes. On December 7, 2018, the company was acquired by Brookfield Asset Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The New York Times Building</span> Office skyscraper in Manhattan, New York

The New York Times Building is a 52-story skyscraper at 620 Eighth Avenue, between 40th and 41st Streets near Times Square, on the west side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Its chief tenant is the New York Times Company, publisher of The New York Times. The building is 1,046 ft (318.8 m) tall to its pinnacle, with a roof height of 748 ft (228 m). Designed by Renzo Piano and Fox & Fowle, the building was developed by the New York Times Company, Forest City Ratner, and ING Real Estate. The interiors are divided into separate ownership units, with the Times Company operating the lower office floors and Brookfield Properties operating the upper floors. As of 2023, the New York Times Building is tied with the Chrysler Building as the twelfth-tallest building in the city.

Brooklyn Matters is a 2007 documentary film, produced and directed by Isabel Hill and edited by Marian Sears Hunter.

8 Spruce Street, previously known as the Beekman Tower and New York by Gehry, is a residential skyscraper on Spruce Street in the Financial District of Manhattan is New York City. Designed by architect Frank Gehry + Gehry Partners LLP and developed by Forest City Ratner, the building rises 870 feet with 76 stories. WSP Cantor Seinuk was the lead structural engineer, Jaros, Baum & Bolles provided MEP engineering, and Kreisler Borg Florman was construction manager. 8 Spruce Street was the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere at the time of opening in February 2011.

<i>Battle for Brooklyn</i> 2011 American film

Battle for Brooklyn is a 2011 documentary that follows the stories of a Brooklyn neighborhood as the residents fight to save their homes from being destroyed by an impending real estate project. The film attempts to show the unjust outcomes that are possible when moneyed interests partner up with government entities to outweigh the rights of citizens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knicks–Nets rivalry</span> National Basketball Association cross-town rivalry in New York City

The Knicks–Nets rivalry is a crosstown rivalry between New York City's two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams: the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. Both teams compete in Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The New York Knicks were established in 1946 as one of the charter franchises of the NBA, and have been based at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan since 1968. The Nets were established in 1967 as a member of the now-defunct American Basketball Association, and joined the NBA in 1976. They have been based at Barclays Center in Brooklyn since 2012, though have played in the New York metropolitan area their entire existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Brooklyn Nets</span> History of professional basketball team

The Brooklyn Nets, a professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, were founded in 1967 and initially played in Teaneck, New Jersey, as the New Jersey Americans, followed by a period spent in Long Island as the New York Nets and later returning to play as the New Jersey Nets. They are a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as an original member of the American Basketball Association (ABA). In 2012, the team moved to Brooklyn and were renamed the Brooklyn Nets.

Jonathan Frederick Phinneas Rose is an American urban planner and real estate developer. Through his corporation Jonathan Rose Companies, he is known for developing communities that are considered affordable and environmentally-responsible. Apart from his involvement in various aspects of property, Rose has founded Gramavision Records, a jazz and New Music label. Rose has written several books including The Well Tempered City: What Modern Science, Ancient Civilizations and Human Behavior Teach Us About the Future of Urban Life.

Max Ratner was an American real estate developer and philanthropist who co-founded Forest City Enterprises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Yormark</span> Athletics director

Brett Yormark is the fifth and current commissioner of the Big 12 Conference, a position he has held since August 1, 2022. Yormark has a diverse professional background in sports and entertainment, having held top positions at Katz Sports, NASCAR, Palace Sports & Entertainment, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, and NBA. He was formerly the chief executive officer of Roc Nation. Prior to that, he served as chief executive officer of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, where he oversaw the business operations of the Brooklyn Nets organization, the Barclays Center, the New York Islanders, New York Liberty, Nassau Coliseum, and the Nets' minor team Long Island Nets.

References

  1. 1 2 New York Observer: "If Bruce Ratner Can Move the Empire Theater He Can Move Himself" by Carl Swanson March 16, 1998
  2. 1 2 "Real estate magnate Bruce Ratner and his plastic surgeon wife Pamela Lipkin reach divorce deal with little ugliness". New York Daily News. April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bagli, Charles V.; Berger, Joseph (September 26, 2012). "Nets Helped Clear Path for Builder in Brooklyn". The New York Times.
  4. ↑ Jewish Daily Forward: Top 50 Jews of 2012: "Bruce Ratner" retrieved December 25, 2012
  5. ↑ "Bruce Ratner". 23 January 1945.
  6. ↑ Bullard, Stan (May 16, 2015). "The Ratners: Family rooted in growth". Crain's Cleveland Business.
  7. ↑ Forest City Website: "Our History" Archived 2013-05-24 at the Wayback Machine retrieved April 12, 2013
  8. 1 2 Smith, Chris (2006-08-06). "Mr. Ratner's Neighborhood". nymag.com. Retrieved 2009-12-26.
  9. 1 2 "Bruce C. Ratner (Emeritus)". Futures in Education.
  10. ↑ "Bruce Ratner | TRD Research". 14 March 2019.
  11. ↑ "Forest City Announces Leadership Transition at New York Subsidiary".
  12. ↑ "Downtown Brooklyn".
  13. ↑ "Bruce C. Ratner". Gawker. Archived from the original on 2013-01-24.
  14. ↑ "Brooklyn Recovery Fund Launches to Help Get Brooklyn Back on its Feet after the Storm". 2 November 2012.
  15. ↑ "Real Estate Gender | Women in Real Estate".
  16. ↑ "Forest City in Brooklyn: A Real Estate Pioneer on the Way Out?".
  17. ↑ "On people power, activist journalism, and the roots of modern Brooklyn".
  18. 1 2 "The Return of MetroTech". 15 December 2004.
  19. ↑ "12 tallest skyscrapers in New York City". am New York. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  20. ↑ Ouroussoff, Nicolai (9 February 2011). "Downtown Skyscraper for the Digital Age". The New York Times.
  21. 1 2 Thompson, Ryan (2009-07-09). "The Court Date is Set for Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  22. ↑ "N.Y. / REGION: After Decades at a Walk-Up, Tenants Fear Losing a Home". New York Times. Feb 17, 2014.
  23. 1 2 Bagli, Charles V. (2009-09-24). "Richest Russian's Newest Toy: An N.B.A. Team". The New York Times.
  24. ↑ "NBA approves sale of New Jersey Nets to Mikhail Prokhorov - Russian billionaire buys New Jersey Nets - Nets sold - InsideHoops.com". www.insidehoops.com.
  25. ↑ Calder, Rich (2008-01-28). "Court Trouble: Ratner admits arena-funding woes". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  26. ↑ Bagli, Charles V. (2009-11-25). "Ruling Lets Atlantic Yards Seize Land". The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Fahim, Kareem (March 11, 2010). "Ground Broken on Atlantic Yards Project". The New York Times.
  28. ↑ "Protesters Hold Mock Funeral at Atlantic Yards Groundbreaking". NBC New York. March 11, 2010.
  29. ↑ "Event Calendar". Barclay's Center.
  30. ↑ Aldredge, Betsy; Spilka, Abby. "Bruce Ratner Named Chairman-elect of Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust" (PDF) (Press release). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-06-26. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
  31. ↑ "Board of Trustees". bam.org.
  32. ↑ "Non-profit launches program to bring free mobile lung cancer screenings to New York City". 12 December 2019.
  33. ↑ https://www.lungcancernews.org/2018/02/19/bruce-ratner/ [ dead link ]
  34. ↑ "Lizzy Ratner". 2 April 2010.
  35. ↑ "Leadership". 31 March 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.