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CELEBRATINGTHE STATUECOVERAGE ST A R T S PAGE 9And They%u2019re Off: CandidatesOut of the Gate for Fall RacesBY ROB TAYLORPetitioning for the September Prim ary Elections ends July 10, and based on preliminary indications, many o f the bids for nom inations for U.S. Congress, State Senate and Assembly seats in the downtown Brooklyn area are being made by incumbents facing no opposition.One race that will be hot, in rhetoric if nothing else, will be in the 12th Congressional District o f Central Brooklyn, where incumbent two-term representative M ajor Owens will be pitted against the national chairman of the Congress on Racial Equality, Roy Innis. The race is already attracting a large am ount o f media exposure as sparks and personal jabs begin to fly.Owens, who officially announced his candidacy July 2, has called the Innis campaign %u201c an insult to the voters o f the 12th D istrict.%u201d Innis, in turn, has accused Owens o f %u201c flipflopping%u201d on issues and of %u201c spreading lies about his candidacy.%u201dAccording to Owens, the 12th District is considered to be one o f the ten poorest congressional districts in the country. Both Innis and Owens were active civil rights proponents in the 1960%u2019s, but in the last decade, Innis began to take a inore conservative approach to politics. He now opposes affirmative action and other socialC ontinued on Page 3nounced his re-election bid, July 2, following a breakfast with more than 100of the city%u2019s labor leaders. (Phoenix/Taylor Photos)U.S. Congressm an Major Owens from central Brooklyn%u2019s 12th District anOn the steps of City Hall, Congressman Ed Towns surrounds him self withfam ily and friends, July 1, as he officially began his cam paign for a third termas 11th District representative.Feds Tell Developer To Beef Up Grant BidAtlantic Terminal Developer Passed Over For Housing FundsBY LIZ KOCHAs the most recent round o f Urban Development Action G rants (U D A G %u2019s) were awarded by the U.S. Department o f Housing and U rban Development (HUD) last m onth, the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA) project o f developer Jonathan Rose was not on the list.Rose had hope to receive $6.41 million in UDAG monies that the City o f New York had sought to help fund the $230 million mixed-use ATURA project on the edge o f downtown Brooklyn. The latest round o f awards was announced by HU D on June 27, and the ATURA application was not even considered in that national competition because it %u201c needed to have its private financial commitment complete and unequivocable,%u201d according to HUD aide Jack Flynn. The application will be held over for the next round, he says, with awards to be announced in Septmeber.The Rose project application was already once held over early this year for the same reason. Rose and the City%u2019s Public Development Corporation have been negotiating a lease with the City HealthLee Silberstein from PD C declined to com m ent if or when the deal with HH C would be consolidated but said: %u201c We are still analyzing the feasibility of H H C as a tenant. I believe we will receive the funding because the project is strong.%u201d Rose has repeatedly stated in the past th at the project could not be built without the UDAG m onies, a position he must maintain as a requirement for the funding which is designed for developments in distressed area.Flynn stated that applications that are held over rather than rejected indicate an otherwise strong project but stressed that %u201c all private money must be firmly committed with no qualifications,%u201d and pointed out that a letter o f intent did not fulfill the requirement, rather a contract or signed lease was necessary.For the next round o f applications, also the last this year, Rose would need his comm itm ents in place by mid-September. For the last round of awards, approximately $80 million will be available.Patricia M cKiernan, a spokesperson for H H C , said the whole project is still in discussion and that thereaiiu nospitars corporation to uecoinc a tenant m to one o f the 24-story office towers planned in the project.no uuiiiixiuuicm y ci.i