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City's Head Of Public Design Quits Amid Sexual Harassment Rumors
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 15, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 15, 2011
Modified Oct 15, 2011
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The former dean of NYU's Schack Institute of Real Estate, and Forest City Ratner's ex-point man on the Atlantic Yards project, has abruptly resigned his unpaid post as the head of the city's Public Design Commission. Sources tell the Post that 57-year-old James Stuckey, who claims he left NYU a few weeks ago for "health reasons," allegedly quit because of repeated sexual harassment claims. "All I can say is I left for health reasons and there's really nothing to say," Stuckey told the Post. Is "hot blooded" a health condition?
"He's been doing this a very, very long time," the source says. "He's a very competent guy, technically speaking. But his historical Achilles heel is this stuff." After spearheading the Atlantic Yards project, Stuckey was allegedly fired from Forest City Ratner after one of Bruce Ratner's "top lieutenants" threatened to quit following an incident at a 2006 Christmas party. According to the source, Stuckey "took all of his subordinates to a club and then called a number of women employees into a private room, where he had them sit on his lap as though he were Santa Claus."
Because it would cause a "PR nightmare" to fire him in the middle of the Atlantic Yards project, Ratner reportedly helped Stuckey get the job at NYU, as Ratner is a member of the Schack Institute's board. Mayor Bloomberg's spokesman declined to comment on Stuckey's resignation other than to say it was "voluntary." No word on whether anyone has applied for a permit to build a Christmas-themed strip joint called The North Pole.
Tagged
Atlantic Yards
Forest City Ratner
NYU
public design commission
sexual harassment
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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