Atlantic Yards Report

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207434592009-11-20T17:55:00.677-05:00Atlantic Yards ReportThis watchdog blog offers analysis, commentary, and reportage about Forest City Ratner's planned $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project, the largest ever in Brooklyn, to build a basketball arena plus at least 16 high-rise buildings. It follows up on my 9/1/05 report on New York Times coverage of the project and the TimesRatnerReport blog (links below).Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.comBlogger2925125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-41589941159565942932009-11-20T17:55:00.000-05:002009-11-20T17:55:00.683-05:00Shiffman: It's time for Bloomberg to align all agencies with PlaNYC

In a Streetsblog piece headlined In Third Term, Bloomberg Must Align All Agencies With PlaNYC, veteran community planner (and DDDB board member) Ron Shiffman points to Atlantic Yards:Together with private developers, the city's Economic Development Corporation and other quasi-government entities, the planning department has embraced outmoded redevelopment plans for Willets Point in Queens, Hudson

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-4478380342447169632009-11-20T08:58:00.003-05:002009-11-20T09:06:16.417-05:00BrooklynSpeaks attorney Butzel: "ESDC has just handed over the entire keys to the kingdom to Ratner"

Though most news reports--and even Forest City Ratner, which erroneously claimed that "opponents who pledged to sue early and often are still suing"--treated yesterday's lawsuit filed by BrooklynSpeaks and allies as more of the same, the biggest news, as I pointed out, was the simple fact of the lawsuit: the radicalization of groups that once tried to negotiate with the state and the developer,

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-80095756640048128062009-11-20T07:42:00.005-05:002009-11-20T11:21:41.282-05:00Newark Mayor Booker again cautious about permanent Nets move, enthusiastic about temporary one

As he did during last month's radio appearance, Newark Mayor Cory Booker last night steered clear of any prognostication about a permanent move of the Nets to Newark but focused on a temporary one.He spoke during his monthly Newark Today with Cory Booker show on WBGO. The discussion (starting about 46 minutes in) focused on the Nets moving to the Prudential Center for a season or two before a

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-28526153794566869002009-11-19T19:03:00.000-05:002009-11-19T19:03:00.601-05:00Given no 2009 feasibility study of AY after changes, DDDB calls for new PACB review of project financing

Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has sent a letter to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, State Senator Bill Perkins, and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (chairs of the respective committees on public authorities) arguing that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) needs to convene and vote on whether to approve the Atlantic Yards project’s financing.Crucially, the letter points out that,

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-5539967724111723602009-11-19T17:00:00.001-05:002009-11-19T17:34:46.915-05:00BrooklynSpeaks, pushed into firm opposition, points in lawsuit to the failure of ESDC and FCR to talk, meet, or bend

I'll have much more tomorrow (including video) on the new lawsuit filed by BrooklynSpeaks and allies, but the fact of the lawsuit--BrooklynSpeaks' growing opposition--may be just as important as its contents.The suit in many ways echoes the previous lawsuit filed by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) and allies aiming to annul the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) approval of the

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-60045439586663294482009-11-19T14:58:00.004-05:002009-11-19T15:02:04.532-05:00An Atlantic Yards koan: how can you anchor "vaportecture"?

A caption from Crain's New York Business attached to the image below (click to enlarge):The Nets' new Barclays Center sports complex is an anchor to the planned Atlantic Yards development.Well, how can you anchor "vaportecture"?

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-70714171806111346232009-11-19T07:45:00.005-05:002009-11-19T08:02:04.004-05:00DDDB tries to manage expectation ahead of court ruling in eminent domain case

In a post headlined Eminent Domain Ruling Expected Soon...What Will it Mean?, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is trying to manage expectations ahead of the anticipated ruling--it could be as early as today, next Monday or Tuesday--by the Court of Appeals in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case.From DDDB:We expect the Court to rule in the plaintiffs' favor, so they can keep their homes and

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-43827091821370599072009-11-19T07:21:00.004-05:002009-11-19T07:44:05.575-05:00Daily News: other AY footprint landowners also have been low-balled

In today's New York Daily News, a follow-up on the news that Atlantic Yards opponent and eminent domain lead plaintiff Daniel Goldstein received a low-ball $510,000 pre-condemnation offer from the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC):A real-estate broker says "That's way low."Peter Williams said he was offered $432,000 for a one-story loft building on Sixth Avenue, which two years ago

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-35974710255042427112009-11-19T02:39:00.003-05:002009-11-19T10:00:59.690-05:00New market-rate units at FCR's 80 DeKalb building would be cheaper than some AY affordable housing (as of 2006!)

In July 2006, Forest City Ratner projected that the most expensive "affordable" studios in the Atlantic Yards project would rent for $1861 a month.That was over market-rate then--and it still is. Forest City Ratner's new 80 DeKalb building in Fort Greene will offer studios at $1795 a month, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.Given that the Area Median Income (AMI) has gone up since 2006, the rent

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-30186566573956433122009-11-19T02:34:00.003-05:002009-11-19T02:34:00.270-05:00Empty luxury condos, government intervention, and AY housing

The slogan "the right to the city," formulated in 1968 by the French Marxist Henri Lefebvre to imply a right to housing and other elements of urban life, has lived on in several ways, including a controversial effort to turn empty luxury condos into subsidized housing.The Right to the City-NYC coalition, which includes housing advocacy groups and several elected officials (including Prospect

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-82390801931602106152009-11-19T01:51:00.001-05:002009-11-19T01:51:00.108-05:00New lawsuit challenging AY approval to be announced today by BrooklynSpeaks members, elected officials, others

Groups in the BrooklynSpeaks coalition–originally following a “mend-it-don’t-end-it policy”–today will file their first lawsuit, word of which first emerged last month.It will be interesting to see how much this case, which challenges the Empire State Development Corporation's approval of the Modified General Project Plan and failure to pursue a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement,

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-84570887179267664082009-11-18T17:38:00.005-05:002009-11-18T17:42:59.016-05:00Testing is under way, at least, at the temporary railyard

Photographer Tracy Collins went out to the Vanderbilt Yard today and reports: "It appears that the MTA is at least testing the new 'temporary' rail yard that's being constructed for the proposed Atlantic Yards development."The railyard is in the eastern third of the Vanderbilt Yard, between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues (and Pacific Street and Atlantic Avenue). The longstanding railyard, between

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-70121267482263591162009-11-18T17:16:00.004-05:002009-11-18T17:28:48.189-05:00Under authority reform bill expected to be passed, below-market land sale by MTA (as in AY?) would be precluded

The New York Observer reports that Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and state Senator Bill Perkins have achieved success in their effort to reform public authorities, with apparently only modest pushback from Mayor Mike Bloomberg and others resisting the changes:Brodsky said that the original bill will be signed, and that both legislative houses will pass chapter amendments to ameliorate some of these

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-89924131195395737042009-11-18T16:29:00.009-05:002009-11-18T17:20:21.196-05:00NYTimes Sports section salutes Yormark, calls promotion a "modest success" (*) despite failure to come close to 15,000 attendance

New York Times sports reporter Ken Belson November 16:Whether the Nets beat Indiana (4-3) is an open question. But the promotion has prompted some fans to act. The team has sold 700 $10 seats so far and expects as many as 15,000 fans to show up for Tuesday’s game, around the season average.Belson, writing today (in an article destined for tomorrow's paper), curiously called the promotion a "

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-76686329468362677992009-11-18T14:56:00.005-05:002009-11-18T15:02:33.831-05:00Atlantic Yards is not on the agenda for ESDC board meeting tomorrow

The Empire State Development Corporation does have a board meeting tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Yards is not on the wide-ranging agenda, but the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is expected to get $50,000 (via the Assembly) and use it for a marketing campaign of some sort.The authorization for arena bonds, however, is coming on November 24.

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-66727606995355518242009-11-18T10:33:00.001-05:002009-11-18T10:42:58.060-05:00ESDC subsidiary to approve arena bonds on November 24

The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) subsidiary Brooklyn Arena Development Corporation (BALDC) will meet on Tuesday, November 24, and authorize arena bonds. (It will also take "related actions," which will be worth a look.)Either the ESDC knows that a favorable decision on the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case will come down by Tuesday, or the ESDC, and bond rating agencies, have

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-21066954079302713322009-11-18T02:32:00.005-05:002009-11-18T20:15:34.713-05:00Do the judges on the Court of Appeals read the papers and think about Kelo? If so, they have to consider their legacy

With a decision from the New York State Court of Appeals in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case anticipated anytime within the next week or three--the next possible date is Thursday--you have to wonder: Do the judges read the papers?Do they know the aftermath of the Kelo vs. New London case, where not only nothing was built but the company behind the plan, Pfizer, is leaving town?The answer

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-38123143427422821432009-11-18T02:22:00.004-05:002009-11-18T14:52:46.037-05:00Book on mega-projects offers more reasons for skepticism of Atlantic Yards

I wrote yesterday how the 2003 book Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment, authored by Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff, implicitly criticized Atlantic Yards in advising that overrides of local decision making are "very rarely justified" for sports facilities, since they don't serve "urgent regional needs."There's much more in the book to generate skepticism about

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-45578886287242220742009-11-17T23:50:00.003-05:002009-11-17T23:55:43.458-05:00Nets hope for 15,000 attendance, draw 11,332

From the New York Times, before the Nets played the Indiana Pacers at the Izod Center tonight:But the promotion has prompted some fans to act. The team has sold 700 $10 seats so far and expects as many as 15,000 fans to show up for Tuesday’s game, around the season average.From the New York Daily News, after the game:Despite a desperate attempt to snap the team out of a franchise-worst

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-82393023756697703392009-11-17T02:27:00.000-05:002009-11-17T02:27:00.834-05:00How to prioritize megaprojects? Avoid state intervention on behalf of local sports facilities

At a panel on megaprojects November 7, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer suggested a need to prioritize, given that not all projects could go forward. And he also pointed out that many projects have regional importance.No one tried to prioritize, but I found some guidance--implicitly critical of Atlantic Yards--in the 2003 book Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-29398310252597227272009-11-17T02:03:00.004-05:002009-11-17T02:03:00.188-05:00In Markowitz's publication Brooklyn!!, again no mention of Atlantic Yards

The Fall 2009 issue of Brooklyn!!, Borough President Marty Markowitz's promotional publication, appeared in my mailbox yesterday, even as we're nearly two-thirds of the way into the season.Likely Markowitz wanted to wait until the results of the November 3 election so he could salute three new Council Members, humbly thank readers "for allowing me to serve you as borough president for the next

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-17211931773051425052009-11-16T21:10:00.004-05:002009-11-16T21:47:55.031-05:00ESDC: "we expect to release bond terms in the next two weeks"

OK, last week I reported that the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) might not put Atlantic Yards arena bonds on the agenda until mid-December. The New York Observer's Eliot Brown reported that "the project is running into trouble at the ratings agencies."Now Reuters quotes the ESDC (likely the same source I quoted):"Forest City Ratner Companies, along with Goldman Sachs, is in talks

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-72648642555064063812009-11-16T20:56:00.005-05:002009-11-16T21:09:21.307-05:00Who would've thunk it: the Nets are "my" team

Like a lot of people who've bought Nets tickets, I got this email today offering discounts. But I think the only people who can really call a team their own are in Green Bay. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-23210272435275279452009-11-16T07:27:00.005-05:002009-11-16T07:39:21.991-05:00No answers to tough questions for NYC EDC's Pinsky on sweet deals on stadiums

Last week, Seth Pinsky, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC), answered questions from readers of the New York Times's CityRoom blog about citywide entrepreneurship.Given the circumscribed topic, it's unsurprising that, in his answers (Round 1, Round 2), Pinksy bypassed hard questions on development issues. Still, it's notable--and further evidence for

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-57128498288341928642009-11-16T02:33:00.012-05:002009-11-19T10:31:08.867-05:00Getting money out of Russia: why Prokhorov might want the Nets no matter where they play

The proposed purchase of a majority interest in the Nets by Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's richest man (at a reported $9.5 billion) may seem to be a toy (as per the New York Times) for the oligarch.After all, it would cost him just $200 million down (all borrowed) plus a willingness to absorb Nets' debts and losses--hundreds of millions of dollars more--to gain 80% of the team and 45% of the

Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0