October 26, 2006
DDDB PRESS RELEASE: Brooklyn Property Owners and Tenants File Federal Eminent Domain Lawsuit Against Ratner, Pataki, Gargano, Bloomberg and Doctoroff
Plaintiffs’ Suit Seeks to Halt the Abusive and Unconstitutional Use of Eminent Domain for Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Development Proposal
NEW YORK, NY— Today eleven plaintiffs–property owners and tenants from the site targeted for Forest City Ratner’s (FCR) proposed Atlantic Yards project in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn–filed a Federal lawsuit, in the Eastern District, to stop the State of New York from taking their properties for the developer’s private benefit through an abuse of its eminent domain powers. The suit says that the defendants’ use of eminent domain for the “Atlantic Yards” project is unconstitutional.
Governor George Pataki, FCR’s President Bruce Ratner, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) Chairman Charles Gargano, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, Forest City Ratner Companies and its parent Forest City Enterprises, amongst others, are named as defendants in the suit.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has organized a stellar legal team to represent the plaintiffs: lead counsel is Matthew D. Brinckerhoff of the constitutional law firm Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff & Abady; counsel for tenant-plaintiffs is Jennifer Levy of South Brooklyn Legal Services; co-counsel is DDDB attorney Jeffrey S. Baker of Young, Sommer, Ward, Ritzenberg, Baker & Moore; and a team of dedicated volunteer attorneys.
“This lawsuit presents a textbook example of what the Fifth Amendment expressly prohibits: the taking of one citizen’s property in order to benefit a powerful and influential private citizen. Our case is strong–the sham process employed by defendants to justify the taking of plaintiffs’ property for Bruce Ratner’s ‘Atlantic Yards’ is precisely what was forbidden by the majority in last year’s controversial Supreme Court Case -- Kelo v. New London,” lead attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff said. “The ‘Atlantic Yards’ proposal is premised upon the abuse of eminent domain. Plaintiffs will not stand idly by while their properties are seized by the State and given to Bruce Ratner to maximize his enrichment. We seek a court order prohibiting the State from abusing its eminent domain power in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”
Property owners and tenants in the proposed development have the right to keep their homes and properties. New York State has no legal right to take those properties for a private, favored developer when there is no comprehensive development planning process, no bidding process for the condemned land, a phony “blight” finding and when that project is wholly conceived and driven by that private developer for that private developer’s benefit. This is the case with Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” proposal.
Posted October 26, 2006 12:00 PM | Permalink
New location & condo numbers, old photos & claims from FCR
Without much mainstream media coverage to analyze, Atlantic Yards Report takes a crack at the "Atlantic Yards Project Briefing handed out by Forest City Ratner representatives to some Prospect Heights residents at a meeting Monday night."
The document remains intriguing, especially since the developer persists in claiming $6.1 billion in tax revenues for the project--a highly dubious figure--and showing pictures of demolished buildings under "Existing Conditions." (We get the backlot building at 463 Dean Street and the Underberg Building (twice), though they were torn down in May. At least the developer has found a current photo of 636 Pacific Street, which had previously be portrayed pre-renovation....)
And, curiously enough, the project location is described as "close proximity to Downtown Brooklyn," which differs from the longstanding description of "A Vision for Downtown Brooklyn."
Posted October 26, 2006 10:03 AM | Permalink
Eminent domain lawsuit coming today; another suit also in the works
Atlantic Yards Report
Separate from the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn law suit being filed in federal court today, another parallel suit is coming down the pipe (emphasis added to the crux of the case):
Not part of this lawsuit, but expected to be part of another, are 15 rent-stabilized tenants in two buildings in the proposed project footprint, represented by attorney George Locker. He told me, "I will be raising exclusively state claims, in a separate plenary lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court after issuance of the Final Environmental Impact Statement." That could be in November.
Locker added, "I fully support the DDDB litigation and believe that they will prevail on their Federal claims, which will be applicable to my clients, as my claims will be applicable to theirs." Locker believes that the state and developer are using eminent domain to circumvent state law, which otherwise would require a series of hearings before demolishing buildings containing rent-regulated tenants.
Posted October 26, 2006 9:55 AM | Permalink
EMINENT DOMAINIA: Ballot initiative fine print, Kelo backlash and Korean American small-biz owners to demonstrate
NLG: Community Commentary, The Long, Long Arm of the “Kelo Plus” Initiatives
A legal analysis of "Kelo plus" ballot initiatives, which seek to rein in governmental regulation under the guise of property rights, by eminent domain legal scholar and activist John Ryskamp.
Gannett News Service, via HometownOnline, When should government take land? Michigan voters will get to decide the fate of Proposal 4 on Nov. 7:
If approved, the amendment will require the government to decide when to use eminent domain on a case-to-case basis using strict justification. Their authority to declare an entire area as blighted will be limited and determined individually. And only then, if the power of eminent domain is justified the government will be required to pay 125 percent of the fair market value to the owner, Nowling said.
San Jose Mercury-News, Voters should read fine print before making Prop. 90 decision
Polls show that few voters know what Proposition 90 is about, much less understand its significance. No wonder, given that relatively little money has been spent so far communicating messages for and against the initiative.
...
The proposal's promoters are selling it as a reform of eminent domain, the process governments everywhere use to force the sale of private property for public purposes. But it is much more than that. It is a sweeping change in the state constitution that could potentially affect just about every new state or local government regulation adopted in the future.
Prop 90 seems benign enough; it restricts eminent domain to traditional "public use" and prohibits private-to-private transactions, as in New London, CT and Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. But here's the rub:
Proposition 90 would require government to pay owners the amount the property would yield in its "highest and best use'' if the government left the property alone.
NoLandGrab: Here's a hypothetical — if your property is oil-rich but lies in an ecologially sensitive area, the government must pay you for your oil in order to protect the environment.
Sacramento Bee, Editorial: Speak up on 90, Governor
The editorial board of the Sacramento Bee is calling on Gov. Schwarzenegger to condemn Proposition 90:
The governor needs to come out strongly against Proposition 90. If voters were to approve this deceptive law, it would gut Schwarzenegger's efforts to improve flood control, preserve open space in the Sierra, upgrade transportation and ensure that cities and counties have adequate funds for public safety and other priorities.
El Paso Times,
Korean Chamber of Commerce to protest Downtown revitalization
About 160 Downtown business owners plan to close their stores for two hours today and march to City Hall to protest the city's proposed Downtown redevelopment plan, the leader of a Korean business group said Wednesday.
"We want to send a message to City Council and the mayor that we are together; we are here. We are creating Downtown activity," said Walter Kim, owner of KSM Corp., a store on South El Paso Street, and president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce of El Paso. Kim has also been involved in Land Grab Opponents of El Paso, which has threatened to sue the city over the Downtown plan.
NoLandGrab: In NYC, small-business owners are particularly vulnerable to eminent domain takings, many of whom are first- and second-generation immigrants. Ethnically based business networks in NYC have not spoken up against eminent domain abuse as they have in El Paso.
Posted October 26, 2006 8:30 AM | Permalink
Forest City in the News
The Detriot News, Developers aim to get Detroit on its feet
Al Ratner will be participating in the the 20th annual University of Michigan/Urban Land Institute Real Estate Forum at Cobo Center in Detroit.
NoLandGrab: It's ironic that the forum will discuss creating pedestrian-friendly infrastructure in Detriot, while meanwhile, back in Brooklyn, Forest City's plans to create surface parking has transportation advocates scratching their heads.
Editor & Publisher, Times Co. Looking for Tenants to Rent Five Floors in New HQ
The NY Times Co. is looking to rent out five of the 29 floors they own in the Times Tower, the new headquarters developed in partnership with Forest City Ratner.
Business Wire, Forest City Offers Westfield San Francisco Centre Tour to NAREIT Attendees
Forest City will be holding a tour of the Westfield San Francisco Centre for attendees of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) convention.
Rocky Mountain News, New gem for Forest City
An article about Forest City's recent developments in Colorado with some historical background.
The final phase of Northfield Stapleton, a 1.2 million-square-foot outdoor shopping center, debuts at 10 a.m. today.
It's the latest from Forest City Enterprises, the Cleveland-based developer that has begun several other area projects since becoming master developer of the 4,700-acre redevelopment project in 1999.
...
Most recently, Forest City was named developer for the 160-acre Fitzsimons Bioscience Park in Aurora, whose aim is to attract bioscience companies and about 10,000 jobs in the next couple of decades.Forest City was one of about a dozen developers that vied for the job, said Jill Sikora Farnham, executive director of the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority.
...
Forest City Enterprises has its roots in a lumberyard business founded in 1921 by Polish immigrant siblings Charles, Max, -Leonard and Fannye Ratner.The company went public in 1960 and today owns, develops and manages diverse real estate projects in 25 states. It reported revenue of $1.2 billion last year.
...
Northfield Stapleton was built with enough sustainable characteristics to win it LEED-CS Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
Posted October 26, 2006 7:52 AM | Permalink
Brooklyn Property Owners and Tenants to Announce Federal Eminent Domain Lawsuit Against Ratner, Pataki, Gargano, Bloomberg and Doctoroff
MEDIA ALERT: October 26. 1pm Press Conference. City Hall
Plaintiffs’ Suit Seeks to Halt the Abusive and Unconstitutional Use of Eminent Domain for Ratner’s Atlantic Yards Development Project
NEW YORK, NY— At 1pm on Thursday October 26th on the steps of City Hall, Brooklyn property owners and tenants, along with their legal representatives, and supporters will announce the filing of a Federal lawsuit (Eastern District) against the abuse of eminent domain and the taking of their properties by New York State for Forest City Ratner's "Atlantic Yards" development project in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Governor George Pataki, FCR’s President Bruce Ratner, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) Chairman Charles Gargano, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, Forest City Ratner Companies and its parent Forest City Enterprises, amongst others, are named as defendants in the suit.
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has organized a stellar legal team to represent the plaintiffs: lead counsel is Matthew D. Brinckerhoff of the constitutional law firm Emery, Celli, Brinckerhoff & Abady (ECBA); counsel for tenant-plaintiffs is Jennifer Levy of South Brooklyn Legal Services; co-counsel is DDDB attorney Jeffrey S. Baker of Young, Sommer, Ward, Ritzenberg, Baker & Moore; and a team of dedicated volunteer attorneys.
ECBA and the lawyers who work there have developed a national reputation in the field of constitutional litigation, winning important victories in landmark matters such as Morris v. Board of Estimate, the US Supreme Court case which struck down the previous form of New York City government as a violation of one person/one vote principles, and Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, the US Supreme Court case that upheld a litigant's right to a jury award. The Firm currently has an active constitutional docket, including two other Fifth Amendment Takings Clause cases, and numerous Equal Protection Clause, Free Speech Clause and other constitutional cases.
More information will be available at the press conference and later today
WHAT:
Press conference to announce lawsuit against eminent domain abuse stemming from Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” development proposal
WHEN:
Thursday, October 26th. 1pm.
WHERE:
The Steps of City Hall in Manhattan
(R/W train to City Hall, 4/5/6 train to Brooklyn Bridge, 2/3 train to Park Place)
WHO:
Attorneys, Brooklyn property owners and tenants threatened by eminent domain abuse, and supporters
Posted October 26, 2006 7:27 AM | Permalink
October 25, 2006
Building Miss Brooklyn
n + 1
By Nikil Saval
An analysis and synopsis of the fight over Atlantic Yards, this article tells the story of how Bruce Ratner is co-opting NYC-style progressive liberalism to expand his substantial real estate empire:
But paradoxically, we are now asked to accept the notion that modestly wealthy residents of Park Slope have less interest in the poor and the unemployed than billionaires like Bloomberg and Ratner; that outsized urban complexes containing mostly condos and high-priced rentals are the best available solution to the problems of gentrification. Real estate magnates will bring the working class back to Brooklyn; the “black and brown” have their best friend in Bruce Ratner.
Posted October 25, 2006 9:45 PM | Permalink
ESDC says FCR's timetable isn't accurate; still, Nov. 2 may be Final EIS deadline
Breaking news from Atlantic Yards Report is no news.
Spokeswoman Jessica Copen contacted me to say, "We haven't scheduled any special meetings for November. We're working towards finalizing the Final Environmental Impact Statement as soon as possible, within the statutory timeframe."
Read Norman Oder's post for an explanation of "statutory timeframe."
NoLandGrab: Was Forest City Ratner blowing smoke when they handed out their timeline at Monday evening's neighborhood meeting (see "The Speedy FEIS?")? Or is the ESDC's Copen the one with the spin moves? State law would appear to indicate that the FEIS would need to be complete by early November, though on the other hand, it could allow for more time.
Posted October 25, 2006 11:23 AM | Permalink
Tish James, DDDB welcome Bloomberg's PACB comments
Here's one we missed from Atlantic Yards Report, covering Mayor Bloomberg's disgust with the Public Authorities Control Board (the three unknown representatives of the proverbial and perennial "three men in a room"). Just last week, Sheldon Silver's representative to the PACB killed the Moynihan Station project, and did the same last year with the West Side Stadium proposal.
Yesterday City Council Member Letitia James, who represents Prospect Heights and environs, including the area slated for the Atlantic Yards project, issued a statement: I agree fully that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) is not a good example of representative democracy. "Three men in a room" should not have control over development in our city- not at Moynihan Station and not at Atlantic Yards.
The mayor suggested someone might want to "look at" the constitutionality of the PACB. There are many in this community, including myself, who have been doing just that. Of the numerous lawsuits that will be filed in relation to Atlantic Yards, one may very well deal with this undemocratic process, and the near total lack of citizen input.
DDDB issues a press release as well (full text after the jump) arguing:
“Mayor Bloomberg is absolutely correct: three-men-in-a-room control over Ratner’s ‘Atlantic Yards,’ and other enormous development projects in New York City, is clearly undemocratic and, as he suggests, may be unconstitutional. We’ve been saying that for the past three years,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesman Daniel Goldstein. “We sure hope that the Mayor is not suggesting that he accepts and abets this undemocratic process when it suits his goals, and rejects it when it doesn’t. That would be Machiavellian. Indeed we will be ‘looking at that,’ as the Mayor urges, over the coming months.”
Continue reading "Tish James, DDDB welcome Bloomberg's PACB comments"
Posted October 25, 2006 9:54 AM | Permalink
The speedy FEIS? Ratner anticipates AY approval in a matter of weeks
Atlantic Yards Report
Ratner has publicly announced the timetable for the remainder of the approval process at a neighborhood meeting on Monday night, which leaves Brooklynites like Norman Oder to wonder, just who is really in charge.
Developer Forest City Ratner (FCR) anticipates that the Final EIS will be certified by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) during the first week in November.
Then, according to the timeline handed out to Prospect Heights residents by FCR officials at a community meeting Monday (click on graphic to enlarge), ten days later the ESDC will hold a special meeting to approve the EIS and eminent domain findings, and to approve the General Project Plan (GPP).
Posted October 25, 2006 9:23 AM | Permalink
FOIL follies II: Brennan's request for business plan rejected
Atlantic Yards Report serves up the second installment of its four-part series on Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, a law whose use has proved to be very important and necessary to shedding light on many of the obscured details of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal.
FOIL Wars, "The Empire State Development Corporation Strikes Again"
Yes, the Empire State Development Corporation finally released a memo attempting to back up its prediction that the Atlantic Yards Project would generate $1.4 billion in new city and state taxes.
But that wasn’t what Brooklyn Assemblyman Jim Brennan really asked for. Indeed, his FOIL request for the project’s “business plan”—the crucial estimate of overall costs and revenues—was rebuffed by the ESDC. Now he’s appealing that rejection.
...
Not all agency documents are subject to disclosure. Brennan said that the agency stated that, according to the law, it may deny access to records or portions thereof that "are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are not... statistical or factual tabulations or data."In other words, if they are statistical or factual dabulations or data, they should be disclosed. The ESDC's rationale, Brennan said, must be that the business plan is not a statistical or factual tabulation. He believes that it is.
Posted October 25, 2006 8:50 AM | Permalink
Re-Imagining Downtown Brooklyn
...and other opportunities for the outer boroughs.
Project for Public Spaces
While Brooklyn may have great neighborhoods and destinations, Project for Public Spaces explains that "the inner core of Brooklyn is not performing anywhere near its potential."
The PPS newsletter directs sharp criticism at Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, a project that promises "yet more concessions to traffic and carte blanche for the architect's ego:"
The Forest City Ratner proposal for the Atlantic Yards site has many weaknesses (which we'll address shortly), but the truth is that no development--even one much stronger than what's on the table now--can truly succeed there without also addressing the area around the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush, and Fourth Avenue. This intersection should be an iconic space--a source of pride for Brooklyn as a whole. Not only is it a gateway to major assets such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Downtown Brooklyn, and even the cultural institutions near Grand Army Plaza, but it is also the threshold to many of Brooklyn's great neighborhoods. Done the right way, development here could transform the intersection into the "Crossroads of Brooklyn."
If this major intersection is ever to become important to Brooklyn, the first priority must be to define it as a great destination. Right now it is dominated by vehicles -- it's just a place to drive through. The pedestrian experience is a nightmare, and there is no plan to deal with this major obstacle. Any development on any portion of this intersection will be a failure if surface transportation issues are not dealt with.
Posted October 25, 2006 8:32 AM | Permalink
Brooklyn Bound
Travel & Leisure
By Peter Jon Lindberg
New Yorkers looking for the small-town quality of life in the big city, and visitors who shun the spoon-fed tourist spots, are now flocking to Brooklyn. Travel writer and Brooklynite Peter Jon Lindberg often travels the world without leaving Brooklyn.
It seems that a postcard from Brooklyn isn't complete without a couple of paragraphs about Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards proposal:
The fiercest battle, however, centers on Atlantic Yards, a $4.2 billion development that would bring 16 residential and commercial towers and a Frank Gehry–designed basketball arena to the corner of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, already one of the most congested intersections in the city. The 22-acre complex would replace a derelict rail yard—as well as seven residential blocks of not-at-all-derelict Prospect Heights. Most tenants and homeowners in the project’s footprint have already vacated their apartments, but a handful still remain, refusing buyout offers and possibly forcing an eminent domain action.
The pros and cons are both outsized. According to an environmental-impact study, Atlantic Yards would cast a literal shadow over surrounding low-rise neighborhoods, place a significant strain on mass transit, and knot up some 60 intersections in gridlock. It would also supply 2,250 subsidized apartments for low- and middle-income residents (an increasingly threatened population in New York), create thousands of jobs, add up to $1.5 billion in tax revenue, and relocate the New Jersey Nets to a legendarily jilted sports town that’s gone five decades without a big-league team.
Brooklyn desperately needs affordable housing. And an NBA franchise would be a potent symbol and point of pride for still bereft trolley dodgers. Yet Atlantic Yards seems grotesquely proportioned, the proverbial bazooka-on-a-quail-hunt. If approved, it will be the biggest and costliest development in Brooklyn’s history: a Manhattan-scale megaplex in a borough defined by its small neighborhood charms.
NoLandGrab: Lindberg might want to check that $1.5-billion number with "The Mad Factchecker" Norman Oder, who finds that the Empire State Development Corporation calculates the benefits at around $1.4 billion, but without considering substantial public costs.
Posted October 25, 2006 8:05 AM | Permalink
our development subsidy panel - watch and listen online
Drum Major Institute Blog
In case you missed DMI's Marketplace of Ideas panel last month - or if you're doing research for your own brilliant blog post - check out the audio and video we have of the panel now on the DMI website.
Norman Oder already posted on this forum (link). However, if you are interested in learning more about holding companies, like Forest City Ratner, accountable for public subsidies, and the wisdom of using public money for sports venues, you may want to check it out.
Everyone on the panel from good government advocate Assemblyman Brodsky to crusading New York Daily News collumist [sic] and Atlantic Yards supporter Errol Lewis was extremely passionate and pointed in their discussion.
Posted October 25, 2006 7:53 AM | Permalink
Bobb well ahead in fundraising for school board chief
The Washington Times
The Ratner clan is making large contributions to a big-money fight in the nation's capital for... School Board Presidency(?).
Former D.C. Administrator Robert C. Bobb has raised $160K, more than four times the amount raised by all of the other candidates combined, and an unusually large sum for a local school-board election.
Mr. Bobb picked up several thousand dollars in contributions from members of the Ratner family, which runs Ohio-based Forest City Enterprises. The company is redeveloping property along the Anacostia River.
Posted October 25, 2006 7:46 AM | Permalink
Clarke's opponents hang tough
NY Daily News
By Elizabeth Hays
City Council[member] Yvette Clarke has taken it easy since winning a bruising Democratic congressional primary last month - but that doesn't mean the race is over.
Clarke (D-Flatbush) still faces three opponents in the 11th Congressional District in next month's general election, even if it's assumed that in heavily Democratic Brooklyn, the Democratic primary winner is a shoo-in.
Steve Finger, a doctor from Sheepshead Bay, is running as a Republican and Libertarian, while activist Ollie McClean is running as an Independent.
...
McClean, the daughter of immigrants from Barbados and a founding member of the United African Movement, said she had planned to stay in the race if City Councilman David Yassky, who is white, won the nomination for the traditionally black seat.But after Clarke beat Yassky in the primary with 31% of the vote to his 26%, McClean said she was asked by supporters to stay in.
"Now, it's not just to have a black face in a high place, we have to have accountability too," said McClean, who opposes the Atlantic Yards arena/commercial/residential project, which Clarke supports.
Finger, who regularly appears on a Libertarian cable access talk show, also opposes Atlantic Yards, "on eminent domain grounds."
Posted October 25, 2006 7:42 AM | Permalink
TODAY: Protest Rally in Response to Atlantic Avenue Carnage
AABA Press Release via StreetsBlog, which points out that "AABA has been fighting for years for more neighborhood-friendly traffic policies along the Avenue." The press release targets traffic mitigations for the Atlantic Yards proposal and a move in the wrong direction.
Wednesday, October 25 at 10:00 am on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Bond St.
JOIN AABA FOR A PROTEST RALLY AND PRESS CONFERENCE
Excess speed kills two on Atlantic Avenue this October. One of them, Al Fernandez, a long time neighbor, was crushed to death while sitting on the sidewalk.
Stand with merchants and residents to show your outrage at Department of Transportation’s policies to move traffic without regard for community safety. Demand a safer Atlantic Avenue. Demand that the 4-7 PM parking ban be lifted which hurts small businesses.
Act now before Atlantic Avenue becomes even more dangerous by plans to widen the road by eliminating more parking and moving traffic even faster by increasing green time. These are proposed as "mitigation" measures for the Atlantic Yards Development Project.
Continue reading "TODAY: Protest Rally in Response to Atlantic Avenue Carnage"
Posted October 25, 2006 7:35 AM | Permalink
October 24, 2006
NYT backs off space at its new headquarters
Crain's NY Business
By Julie Satow
Here's the latest drama at the Times Tower:
The New York Times Co. is giving up five floors at its new corporate headquarters before it has even moved in.
The publishing company, which reported a 39% drop in third-quarter profit, is on the hunt for a tenant to occupy 155,000 square feet on the 23rd through 27th floors at 620 Eighth Ave. -- the brand spanking new skyscraper that is under construction between West 40th and West 41st streets.
The Times partnered with Forest City Ratner to develop the 52-story building, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano. The publisher of The New York Times had planned to occupy the first 29 floors, with Ratner leasing the remainder of the building. So far, Ratner has signed leases for more than 75% of its 700,000 square feet.
Posted October 24, 2006 10:26 PM | Permalink
It came from the Blogosphere...
Picketing Henry Ford, On Debord, on Urbanism, on Deception
An esoteric (read, "hyper-intellectual") post from Stuart Schrader for those who are curious about radical/avant-garde architecture theory and how it relates to Atlantic Yards (read, "not Bruce Ratner").
Brownstoner, Atlantic Yards: What The Archetypes Are Thinking
B-stoner's take on the "archetypes" in the Times's City section article from this weekend:
The Times asked nine area residents to discuss their views on the Atlantic Yards project. What struck us in reading the responses was what a war of hyperbole and propaganda this whole thing has been, from the promises of hand-outs and subsidies to the scare renderings showing Fort Greene being cast in a perpetual shadow. What continues to amaze us is how many of the poorer people in favor of the project seem to think they actually have a decent statistical chance of getting anything out of this.
One Hanson Place, Atlantic State Condos on market
As the Atlantic Yards projects barges ahead, more and more buildings are being erected along the Atlantic Avenue corridor. Start with the Boerum Heights complex, which recently changed marketing hands to Brooklyn Properties. Then there's a newer project a few blocks down at 489 Atlantic Avenue.
Posted October 24, 2006 9:05 PM | Permalink
City Modifies Harlem Project To Include More ‘Affordable' Units
NY Sun
By David Lombino
Could missteps at Atlantic Yards already be making a difference elsewhere in the City?
Atlantic Yards was cited as one of the bugaboos by a city official, in an article about the Uptown New York project, which has been limping along after the opposition killed the deal and, just yesterday, the City's Economic Development Corporation reissued a request for proposal for the project.
A lingering critique of the Bloomberg administration's development strategy is its preference for large development projects and its lack of regard for "community-based development."
In Brooklyn, neighbors of the proposed Atlantic Yards project — vastly bigger at about 8.7 million square feet — have complained the city has not addressed community concerns. That project is being guided through the review process by a state agency.
The director of land use in the office of Manhattan borough president, Anthony Borelli, said in the case of Uptown New York, the administration backed away from a fight.
"I think the city actually saw that it would probably be more productive and less adversarial if they started from scratch, rather than push it through with a lot of community opposition," Mr. Borelli said.
Posted October 24, 2006 8:51 PM | Permalink
BrooklynSpeaks on the Arena and Eminent Domain
BrooklynSpeaks and the Municipal Art Society have received some flak for not taking a strong position on the Arena and Eminent Domain. [NoLandGrab has noted that the group posted a statement about the issue of eminent domain, which was buried somewhere on its web site.]
In order to clarify things a bit, BrooklynSpeaks recently posted this statement:
The Arena
BrooklynSpeaks believes that, before the project can move forward, measures must be in place to mitigate the enormous potential impacts associated with the Arena. These impacts could include: the overwhelming of our transit system; thousands of new vehicular trips in an already congested area; and the creation of a secondary parking industry that would blight the surrounding neighborhoods. To read more on our principle that the project must include a transportation plan that works, click here.Eminent Domain
BrooklynSpeaks believes that the public process for making land-use determinations, including decisions concerning the use of eminent domain, should be as fair, transparent and open as possible, and involve the public in a meaningful way. This is especially critical when the use of eminent domain is contemplated, because the power of the state is subject to abuse if the public process fails to sufficiently involve all affected parties. The BrooklynSpeaks sponsors believe that the public process for Atlantic Yards so far has been flawed.
NoLandGrab: The one thing that BrooklynSpeaks doesn't say is that, in reality (and as far as developer Bruce Ratner is concerned), the arena construction can't go forward without using eminent domain.
So, if eminent domain is a practical barrier to the arena and BrooklynSpeaks has taken a concrete stand against using eminent domain when "the public process for Atlantic Yards so far has been flawed," then it is curious that the coalition has not added it to the list of issues that need to be resolved "before the project can move forward."
Posted October 24, 2006 10:23 AM | Permalink
Endless Apartments
NY Sun, Op-Ed
By Edward Glaeser
This has got to be a first: in today's NY Sun a Harvard prof cites opposition to Atlantic Yards as one of the stumbling blocks to affordable housing being built by the free-market.
There are a host of regulatory barriers to construction. The brawl in Brooklyn over shortening the Atlantic Yards tower shows how effective community groups can be in limiting height and the supply of homes. As these community groups have grown since the 1970s, the heights of new residential buildings in Manhattan have plummeted.
NoLandGrab: The joke is that Glaeser is being simplistic by looking at one aspect of the Atlantic Yards fight.
Atlantic Yards will require massive public subsidies (many of which have not been publicly identified and released), which, according to Glaeser's own opinion, are "an emblem of the perversities of residential planning in New York."
Atlantic Yards Report also takes Glaeser to task for ignoring a couple key facts (link):
First, the main tower--Frank Gehry's 620-foot "Miss Brooklyn"--has not been shortened, though even Borough President Marty Markowitz, a project supporter, wants it reduced. Second, it's 16 towers, not just one. Third, and most importantly, the main reason community groups are arguing about height and density is because this project is not subject to city zoning, as it's proceeding under the auspices of the Empire State Development Corporation.
Posted October 24, 2006 9:39 AM | Permalink
FOIL follies I: City Planning's response a month overdue
From Atlantic Yards Report:
This is the first of four articles on Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests.
On July 26, I filed FOIL requests for Atlantic Yards-related documents with three city agencies and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). The New York City Housing Development Corporation was the first to provide documents. The ESDC, after first ignoring my request, finally acknowledged it, then denied it, had it questioned, then reversed itself.
The Department of City Planning (DCP) has been dragging its feet. Though my request arrived the next day, and state law says that my request should've been acknowledged within five business days, the agency's response was issued on August 15, some 13 business days later.
Wanna bet what happened next?
Posted October 24, 2006 9:13 AM | Permalink
Coming soon to Prospect Heights: a large suburban parking lot?
BrooklynSpeaks
One of the most troubling aspects of Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards plan is their proposal to demolish existing buildings on the project site to construct a 944 space surface parking lot and a staging area for construction. According to the plan, the lot would be the entire block encompassed by Vanderbilt and Carlton Avenues, and Pacific Street and Dean Street. FCR says the lot will be “temporary.” In the best case scenario, temporary means from the start of construction until 2016, when residential buildings will be constructed on the lot. In the worst case scenario, if economic conditions change and the second phase of the project doesn’t materialize, temporary means permanent.
There's additional coverage at StreetsBlog ("They Paved Prospect Heights and Put up a Parking Lot"), which promotes the BrooklynSpeaks principles for those who "are in favor of the "Atlantic Yards" project and want to see the project have a good chance of succeeding without destroying the neighborhoods all around it" (read Marty Markowtiz and City Councilmember Bill de Blasio).
Posted October 24, 2006 9:03 AM | Permalink
Atlantic Yards/NY Times "Voices"
Another DailyHeights food fight has broken out over this weekend's NY Times article, which featured opinions from surrounding neighborhoods on Atlantic Yards.
BrookFetish pointed out:
Not one person from Prospect Heights was interviewed.
Jack Krohn countered:
Lumi Rolley, a major force behind NoLandGrab, doesn't live in Prospect Heights, either, but her views are often taken seriously.
Unlike Ms. Rolley, I DO live in Prospect Heights and I support the Atlantic Yards.
NoLandGrab; Unlike Mr. Krohn, Ms. Rolley wasn't aware that one had to live in Prospect Heights to be concerned about the taking of people's property for a mammoth private development project. Our apologies.
Posted October 24, 2006 8:52 AM | Permalink
THE INVESTOR: Christopher Morris
From The NY Times:
Christopher Morris has already figured out the one fact that Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards supporters don't want you to know, that "Atlantic Yards = Instant Gentrification."
I want to be ahead of the game, so I want to be where all the action is. I have five properties in Brooklyn close to the stadium, which I bought for a total of $15 million. I bought two properties that are three blocks from the Atlantic Yards for about $4 million. One I’m turning into condominiums, 24 condos. I wouldn’t have bought that property if it weren’t for the Atlantic Yards. Mr. Ratner has brought a whole change to this neighborhood.
Posted October 24, 2006 8:42 AM | Permalink
The Long, Long Arm of the “Kelo Plus” Initiatives
by John Ryskamp
A legal analysis of "Kelo plus" ballot initiatives which seek to rein in governmental regulation under the guise of property rights by eminent domain legal scholar and activist John Ryskamp.
The assault on the scrutiny regime established by West Coast Hotel v. Parrish (1937), continues apace. To the amazed incomprehension, blustering, handwringing—and loss—of advocates of the scrutiny regime, state propositions have moved further to destroy the underlying doctrine of the Constitution that law rationally relates to a legitimate government purpose. The effect of these initiatives—extending the assault on government power beyond eminent domain in response to the Kelo case—is to substitute a new Constitutional doctrine: every law maintains an important fact. The initiatives—here we will discuss the representative California initiative, Proposition 90 —are not restricted to real property, and they are not restricted to fair market value. Thus, they open up the factual inquiry to evaluating and ranking facts in terms of each other, and reconciling them with each other on the basis of the concept of maintenance: this is the new Constitutional doctrine in action. We are being drawn irresistibly into a new Constitutional era, without its true significance ever being recognized, either by those who are bringing it into existence, or by those who oppose it coming into existence.
Continue reading "The Long, Long Arm of the “Kelo Plus” Initiatives"
Posted October 24, 2006 8:16 AM | Permalink
THOUGHTS ON THE SEPTEMBER 12, 2006 PRIMARY ELECTION
Room8
By Paul Robeson, Jr.
Just when you thought that Brooklynites were done dissecting the primary election...
The September 12, 2006 Democratic Primary was a masquerade carried out by the Democratic Party machine in collusion with the mass media. The nominating and electoral processes were rigged so that no independent candidates who represented the people's interests could have a fair chance of getting elected. The issues of paramount interest to minority communities were deliberately submerged (the Atlantic Yards development proposal, the war in Iraq, minimum wage, single-payer universal health care, repeal of the Bush tax cuts, the export of jobs, immigration, the impeachment of President Bush),and the machine candidates were careful not to call attention to them.
There was only one truly independent and progressive Black candidate running in the primaries who a had a chance to win -- Chris Owens in Brooklyn's 11th Congressional District. He had three opponents, two Black and one white, who were backed by different factions of the corrupt Democratic Party machine.
Posted October 24, 2006 8:13 AM | Permalink
PRESS RELEASE: Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon Raises Over $100,000 for Legal Fight Against Ratner's Atlantic Yards
Over 1,200 Donors Prep Fight Against Eminent Domain Abuse, Environmental Degradation and Undemocratic Development Process
BROOKLYN, NY— On Saturday, October 21st, at the Second Annual Walk Don’t Destroy Walkathon, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) raised over $100,000 for its legal war chest in preparation for looming legal battles against the abuse of eminent domain, a faulty environmental impact statement, and the subversion of democratic process engendered by Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” development proposal.
On a beautiful fall day nearly 400 walkers and their 1,200 sponsors raised substantial funds in the one-day Walkathon held in and around Prospect Park in Brooklyn. After the two mile walk, walkers enjoyed a concert and heard speakers including City Councilman Tony Avella, DDDB Attorney Jeffrey Baker and DDDB Advisory Board member actor/director Steve Buscemi.
Posted October 24, 2006 7:14 AM | Permalink
October 23, 2006
Spoof alert!
Last week we ran an item from the Riverfront Times about Frank Gehry's foray into re-envisioning St. Louis. The arrogant quotes from the genius starchitect hewed so closely to recent statements intended to blow off Atlantic Yards critics that we left our sense of humor behind and fell for the entire article, which was meant to be a satire.
How were we supposed to know that the artiste who is excited to "build a neighborhood from scratch" in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, and who dismissed concerns of neighborhood residents by glibly saying, "they should have been picketing Henry Ford," didn't actually say:
"Watch how the little red people exit the stadium and wend their way around the site."
The new Busch Stadium, "is not architecture. It is mimicry. It is safe, and cloying, and an insult to St. Louis."
We should have gotten a clue that the article was a work of fiction at the part where the Kiel Opera House would be relocated — physically moved on rollers — to a site across the street from Busch Stadium.
Well, our only consolation is that Frank Gehry and his lawyers have even less of a sense of humor than we do. This from the Riverfront Times disclaimer (added to the article after the "satire" even pissed off some locals):
An attorney who represents one of the famous people whose name the story features prominently called today to inform us that as far as it concerns their client, the piece is "entirely false" and has "no basis in truth whatsoever."
Whaddaya know? The principals of a company known and admired the world over (and their general counsel!) are reading li'l ol' Riverfront Times!
Posted October 23, 2006 11:35 AM | Permalink
Blight Me T-shirts on sale at Institute for Justice
Eminent domain activists from the Institute for Justice were a big hit with their "blight me" tees at the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon.
The latest in eminent domain streetware is for sale online at the Institute for Justice for $13.99.
Click here to purchase.
Posted October 23, 2006 11:10 AM | Permalink
Crossing Atlantic Avenue
We've been explaining that the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush and 4th Avenues is one of the most congested intersections in Brooklyn, and questioning the wisdom of building an arena and 16 high-rise towers there and closing existing streets to do it.
Englishman In NY crossed the Atlantic only to get stuck at Atlantic Avenue.
If you don’t believe me take a look for yourself at the snarl up yesterday morning at about 11.30am. I couldn’t see why traffic was backing up along Atlantic Avenue. But I wouldn’t say that the resulting mess is not an uncommon site in the area.
Posted October 23, 2006 10:48 AM | Permalink
Walkathon coverage
Kids Corner at the Walkathon featured this mural designed by Eduardo Alexander Rabel. Photographed by Jonathan Barkey (click images to enlarge).
Daily Gotham, DDDB Walkathon: community, fun, "other" parties and money
Mole333 deflates some myths, stumbles over Greens and Republicans in search of Democrats, and has fun!
In the end, the DDDB event is like so many DDDB events...fun. That is what most people who only hear their policy statemets don't realize. DDDB is a community rooted group that has a real sense of fun and pride in the community. And that comes out in their Walkathons.
Gowanus Lounge, Walk Don't Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon Video
RATNER FLICKR FLACK:
Holy cow, the Nets mascot has defected to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn??? Meet Miss Brooklyn, City Councilmember Tony Avella, and Steve Buscemi.
deborahgoldstein's photos, DDDB Walkathon2
Walkathon2 T's, Kids Corner, student protesters and more...
Posted October 23, 2006 9:26 AM | Permalink
Mayor blasts “three men in a room” as undemocratic; does that apply to AY?
Atlantic Yards Report stumbled upon one item where Atlantic Yards critics and Mayor Mike Bloomberg can agree.
In response to State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver killing the Moynihan Station project:
[Bloomberg] said Friday on his weekly WABC-AM radio appearance:
Why is there a structure at the state level where three individuals basically have a veto over everything? This PC, PSA, whatever the board is that approves it. And I'm not sure why that's constitutional. Maybe somebody wants to look at that. I don’t happen to think that it’s good democracy to give the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the majority leader in the senate—no matter who they are, whether they agree with me or not—that’s not representative democracy, that’s not letting everybody have a say, because in fact, it isn’t everybody.Host John Gambling suggested that a two out of three vote might be an improvement. Bloomberg responded:
I suppose that would be better… You can argue the governor is elected by the whole state, but then the majority leader and the speaker are representing really only their own districts, and that’s not what I think we should have.But if the PACB passes the Atlantic Yards plan, would Bloomberg appreciate it if project critics question the process? And if he's so concerned about process, how can he countenance any project that is supervised by a state authority and bypasses the City Council, which means local elected officials don’t get a voice?
Maybe someone will ask Bloomberg when he reappears on Gambling’s show next Friday.
Posted October 23, 2006 9:13 AM | Permalink
Instead of the Times's railyard photo, consider some alternatives
Atlantic Yards Report
I wrote yesterday how the photograph (right) the Times used to illustrate its Atlantic Yards City section cover story failed to depict the proposed site. What could the Times have done differently?
...
The Times photo was apparently taken looking west from the Newswalk, the tallest building in the wedge cut out of the footprint, between 6th and Carlton avenues and Pacific and Dean Streets.The building is minuscule compared to the proposed project. Check the Newswalk building at left-center near the top in the graphic (right). The rendering was produced by the Environmental Simulation Center for the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (and subsequently adapted to emphasize Newswalk).
Posted October 23, 2006 8:58 AM | Permalink
When is a net not a Net?
Field of Schemes
Neil deMause emails back and forth with the Empire State Development Corporation's Jessica Copen to get some answers about the recently released economic impact analysis memo.
The catch is that the analysis still doesn't show the net effect of the project.
The problems, as I've noted on the Village Voice website, include that there's no indication whether the numbers were adjusted for the substitution effect (money spent at Atlantic Yards might otherwise be spent elsewhere in the city) and leakage (money going to the Nets is less likely to recirculate in the local economy). The memo also states that all Nets players would be expected to live in New York state (and 30% of those in New York City), which is odd, considering that plenty of players on the city's existing teams choose to live in the New Jersey suburbs.
Finally, there's no way to tell how much of the "new" economic activity associated with the larger development would be cannibalized from elsewhere: Would the companies moving into the "Miss Brooklyn" office tower just be relocating from other parts of the city? Would the families moving into the new housing bring their own new jobs with them? The memo is silent on such matters, so it's impossible to say. It's just another indication of how economic impact documents are more art than science - or perhaps a careful blending of the two.
Posted October 23, 2006 8:49 AM | Permalink
October 22, 2006
Walkathon Pics - Here they are!!!
Click for more Flickr goodness!
Posted October 22, 2006 9:27 AM | Permalink
DDDB walkathon raises more than $100,000
Atlantic Yards Report
The Walk Don't Destroy 2 walkathon fundraiser for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) yesterday raised more than $100,000 toward legal battles over the Atlantic Yards plan. The event at Prospect Park generated nearly double the amount raised at the first walkathon last November. Organizers said that some 1100 people contributed, with more than 300 participants.That money should (presumably) help build a legal fund sufficient to get fights against eminent domain and perhaps other issues off the ground.
Posted October 22, 2006 8:34 AM | Permalink
Bruce Almighty?
Daily News
We've all had Jehovah's Witnesses (and members of other religions) arrive on our doorstep spreading the word of God. This week, The Score found a few Ratner's Witnesses trying to spread the Gospel of Caring Bruce Ratner.Two well-dressed young men were going door-to-door Thursday in central Jersey trying to sell what they called a "Hometown Hero" plan, pinned to New Jersey star and current Net Jay Williams.
The plan, which would've cost The Score $39.99, included two free tickets and four buy-one, get-one-free deals for games early in the season. They even told us we could use the buy-one deal for the expensive floor seats, where a glance at Beyonce is worth the 40 beans right there.
When we asked if we could sleep on it and order the plan over the phone the next day, they told us "no," basically putting us in a take-it-or-leave-it situation. Here were the Nets, a team that can't wait to get out of New Jersey, going door-to-door in the Garden State pushing a promotion linked to a guy who might not even make the team.
article NoLandGrab: We're suckers for new terms being coined. Ratner's Witnesses. Heh.
Posted October 22, 2006 8:28 AM | Permalink
On the Block
New York Times
JENNIFER BLEYER
The Times interviews nine "people who live and work near Atlantic Yards." Is it nitpicking to say that no one lives near Atlantic Yards, since it doesn't exist? Is it also nitpicking to say that of the four supporters of the project interviewed, three are listed as living in Crown Heights, which is not one of the immediately surrounding neighborhoods? The opponents all hail from the vicinity of the Vanderbilt railyards. It does reinforce the idea that it's pretty hard to find anyone in Prospect Heights/Ft Greene/Clinton Hill/Park Slope/Boerum Hill that supports the project.
Atlantic Yards Report details more problems with the article in "NIMBY or YIMBY: behind the Times's curious framework (and photo)":
The intro to the piece attempts scrupulous balance:
The plan is colossal — 16 high-rise buildings and an 18,000-seat basketball arena on 22 acres near the borough’s busy downtown — and fans and opponents have matched its magnitude with their own statistics. The developer, Forest City Ratner, which is also the development partner of The New York Times Company for its new headquarters in Midtown, says that the $4.2 billion project will bring 4,000 permanent jobs, billions of dollars in tax revenue and more than 6,000 units of housing. Opponents counter that the plan will corral $2 billion in public money and tax breaks, crowd 15,000 new residents into the area and clog local streets with thousands more cars.Why can't the Times try to sort out the fiscal claims? Would there really be "billions" in tax revenue, or $2 billion in public costs? At some point this can't simply be a "he said, she said" debate.
As for crowding, why can't the Times simply acknowledge that this likely would be the densest residential community in the country--or compare it to other large projects in the city? Why is it the "opponents" who have to establish basic facts?
As for the clogging of local streets, isn't that what the state acknowledged in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement? And isn't that what local community boards--concerned analysts more than opponents--have predicted?
Posted October 22, 2006 7:49 AM | Permalink
October 21, 2006
TODAY: Walk Don't Destroy!
Today, at 12 Noon, hundreds of Brooklynites will gather at the Prospect Park Bandshell for Walk Don’t Destroy 2!
- Sign in at noon at the Prospect Park Bandshell- Walk is from 1 - 2:30pm (From the Bandshell to Grand Army Plaza and back to the Bandshell-less than 2 miles)
Concert at the Bandshell to follow walk, around 2:45:
Featuring: John Wesley Harding and
The States | Sixth Sense | NuComme
Posted October 21, 2006 8:49 AM | Permalink
Philadelphia Museum Job Sends Gehry Underground
New York Times
"There is a kind of modesty thing," he continued. "Most of us, we don't set out to do the Bilbao effect, as it's being called. It'd be a real challenge to do something that's virtually hidden, that could become spectacular."
...
Mr. Gehry said he came to the project with respect for the existing building. "It's an old war horse; it has character and I like the setting of it," he said. "So I like the idea of having to treat it delicately."
NoLandGrab: Yes, respecting existing buildings, definitely what it's all about. While we appreciate the sentiment, we'd sure like to know why it doesn't apply to Brooklyn.
Posted October 21, 2006 8:32 AM | Permalink
"Gentrification subsidy": proposed 421-a reform seems tentative
Atlantic Yards Report
A city task force has issued recommendations to modify the 421-a tax break in order to generate at least $200 million for affordable housing.
...
Currently, developers who get tax breaks in the 421-a exclusion zone--Manhattan from 14th Street to 96th Street and the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront--must include at least 20 percent affordable housing. The program would expand to parts of Harlem, Lower Manhattan, DUMBO, Brooklyn Heights, and parts of the Brooklyn/Queens waterfront.In other words, there would be no requirement to build affordable housing on the non-railyard blocks of the proposed Atlantic Yards site.
Posted October 21, 2006 8:22 AM | Permalink
New IRS bond regs could affect Nets arena
Field of Schemes
The Yanks and Mets bonds are long since sold, but the new IRS regs could come into play for the proposed Brooklyn Nets arena, which would use a similar tax-exempt bond plan. Matthew Schuerman of the New York Observer goes so far as to speculate that they may "imperil" the entire Atlantic Yards finance plan, but really, this is just a matter of forcing Ratner (or the public) to pay more to borrow the funds for it. Though it's worth recalling that this same problem - that bond buyers want to know where their money is coming from - is the same one that forced the New York Jets' Manhattan stadium plan to switch from tax-increment financing to fixed PILOT payments back in 2003. At what point might Atlantic Yards be too rich for Ratner's blood? That's between the man and his fleet of accountants.
Posted October 21, 2006 8:13 AM | Permalink
An Ecumenical Roof-Raising
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Medi Blum
Atlantic Yards got some play at last week's interfaith prayer rally against the Iraq war at Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Fort Greene:
Reverend Miller included in the wrongs being done to Brooklyn the growing tide of gentrification and the resultant diminishing of ethnic and racial diversity and the displacement of state and local funding to profit big business.Delivering as an aside perhaps the most controversial comment of the night, Reverend Miller, who is the president of the Concerned Citizens Committee and a member of the Downtown Brooklyn Leadership Coalition-two organizations which oppose Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plans-linked the no-bid, Halliburton contracts in Iraq with the seemingly no-bid "land invasion" occurring "right here in downtown Brooklyn."
Posted October 21, 2006 8:09 AM | Permalink
Are You Ready For 50K New Neighbors?
Brooklyn Downtown Star
Nik Kovac
"A platform over Sunnyside Yards," it read, "between Thompson Avenue and 43rd Street would create a development site of approximately 166 acres. Depending on the zoning, the new mixed use neighborhood could add between 18,000 and 35,000 new units. By themselves, the 20,000 to 50,000 residents of this 'new-town-in-town' could provide enough customers for an entirely new neighborhood with stores, schools, playing fields, and parks."Such a platform has always been high on the list for local councilman Eric Gioia, who is has lived near them for nearly his entire life. "I welcome this new study," he told the Ledger/Star by phone, "and I welcome development on that site."
In fact, he has even tried to lure Bruce Ratner's Nets arena to that site instead of the Prospect Heights railyards, but Ratner's people have so far told Gioia no way. The Prospect Heights location was conspicuously absent from the Garvin study of platform opportunities, even though four other sites in Brooklyn were included.
Posted October 21, 2006 8:06 AM | Permalink
PSCC: We're Not DDDB
Brooklyn Downtown Star Norman Oder
After a briefly contentious debate that led a former Park Slope Civic Council (PSCC) president to charge that the group was beginning to sound like Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), the PSCC Board of Trustees voted, nearly unanimously, that it "cannot support" the Atlantic Yards project as currently proposed. Besides the concerns about environmental impact, the board cited an undemocratic public process and inappropriate use of eminent domain.
Posted October 21, 2006 7:59 AM | Permalink
October 20, 2006
IRS Haunts Stadium Deals
To get around having the public vote on bond debt for sports venues, local governments came up with Tax Incremental Financing (TIFs). The IRS struck down TIFS, so to get around that, local governments came up with Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS). Now it looks like the IRS isn't buying that one either.
From The Real Estate Observer:
The IRS is planning to revisit the financing scheme behind the new Yankees and Mets stadiums because, according to sources cited by The Bond Buyer, the arrangements looked "too much like a private loan."
What's the big deal? The new regulations will drive to the heart of the question about whether cities should be allowed to use their power to issue tax-exempt bonds for the benefit of privately owned sports franchises (which don't even make it into the World Series, to boot). And the new rules may imperil Forest City Ratner's deal to finance the Nets arena.
Posted October 20, 2006 7:08 PM | Permalink
A Whole New Ballgame
UPDATE: It turns out that this article is a spoof, and that NLG occassionally loses its sense of humor (and the bull sh*t meter as well). See "Spoof Alert" for more.
Riverfront Times uncovers secret plan for Ballpark Village cultural landmark.
The Riverfront Times
By Randall Roberts
Brooklynites haven't even tried to keep a straight face every time Frank Gehry opens his mouth.
This article about the secret plans for St. Louis's Ballpark Village — to be designed by Frank Gehry — gives folks a sense of what the world-famous starchitect really thinks. These excerpts are from emails leaked to the Riverfront Times:
None of the principals in the proposed deal returned phone calls, but negotiations and other details regarding the plan are elaborated upon in a series of e-mails obtained by Riverfront Times in which Pulitzer, Cardinals president Mark Lamping and vice president of business development Bill DeWitt III, architect Gehry and longtime Redbirds broadcaster Mike Shannon discuss the project.
Gehry on America's pastime:
And in point of fact, Gehry couldn't care less about the sport. In one spirited e-mail joust with DeWitt, the architect freely admits he's not enamored of the American Pastime. "Not even close," he writes. "It's such a silly sport, don't you think? I appreciate its linear nature and lack of time constraints. But I much prefer watching ice hockey."
Gehry on the "little red" fans:
"Watch how the little red people exit the stadium and wend their way around the site," Gehry urges DeWitt — "the site" being the fenced-in crater he has been retained to fill. "That's more interesting to me than any game. I see The Village as an extension of these patterns, a more refined version, where baseball fans can find sustenance in a more sophisticated atmosphere.
Gehry on sports and St. Louis:
"Baseball is fine for the so-called boys of summer," Gehry's e-mail concludes, "but what St. Louis needs is something for the men — and women — of fall, winter and spring."
NoLandGrab: "Fall, winter and spring?" Uh, that sounds like the season for the St. Louis Blues.
Gehry on stadiums:
The new Busch Stadium, Gehry adds, "is not architecture. It is mimicry. It is safe, and cloying, and an insult to St. Louis."
Gehry on ESPN Zone and other mainstream cultural amenities that are no longer included in the Ballpark Village plan, now that the project has been re-envisioned as a cultural center:
"This project is literally in the shadow of the Arch — one of the great public sculptures IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Why would anyone want such VULGARITY in such proximity to PERFECTION?"
Posted October 20, 2006 11:52 AM | Permalink
Atlantic Yards housing subsidies: how much?
Atlantic Yards Report
The NY Times connects the dots between a new Queens waterfront affordable-housing proposal and the controversy surrounding the sale of Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village.
Under the proposal, the city would bring as many 5,000 new rental units to a largely industrial area of Long Island City, where chic restaurants are just beginning to appear amid low-slung factories and three-family homes.
...
Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff had said it was a matter of efficient use of public dollars: preserving the historic units [at Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village] would have cost about $107,000 per unit. In contrast, he said yesterday, the units in the new Queens development would be built for about $54,000 each in city funds.
Norman Oder connects the dots back to Atlantic Yards:
[The Queens waterfront] would be a lot more than the 2250 affordable rental units promised for the Atlantic Yards project, which would have more than 6000 total units.
...
So, would the affordable units at the Atlantic Yards project cost $54,000 per unit? $107,000? Somewhere in between? Of course the numbers would have to be adjusted because of the range of incomes promised for Atlantic Yards. Still, it's time to look more closely.
Posted October 20, 2006 8:17 AM | Permalink
"Atlantic Yards" Economic "Impact" Analysis Memo
The one thing that all of these reporters below are too polite to point out is that this document, dated October 18, is written after the fact and appears to be what is commonly known as a CYA memo.
The memo contains charts but doesn't include any documents from the original study cited in the General Project Plan. Does this study actually exist? If so, then why were the results released in a memo? We're not experts here, but we're impressed by the opacity of, and foot-dragging by, the Empire State Development Corporation.
VillageVoice.com, Power Plays, Secrets of the Ratner Plan Revealed! (Not)
Neil deMause explains what is and isn't in the "Atlantic Yards Economic Impact Analysis" released earlier this week.
What the ESDC actually made public yesterday was a seven-page memo from staffer Kathy Kazanas, listing about $1.2 billion in new city tax revenues, and $2.3 billion in state tax revenues, that are projected to flow from the project.
...
There's no indication whether the state's number-crunchers accounted for leakage (money spent at sporting events is more likely to leave the local economy) or the substitution effect (Brooklynites buying Nets tickets might cut back on their monthly cheesecake tab at Junior's), and the analysis appears to assume that all the Nets players would relocate their homes from New Jersey to New York, for starters.
...
A bigger problem, though, as Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder notes, is that the ESDC memo entirely omits any mention of public costs, whether the $200 million (or is it $1.9 billion>) for in direct subsidies for the project, or the increased cost of providing city services to Ratner's projected 6,800 new households.
The Real Estate Observer, Yards to Offer Good Jobs (If You Can Get One)
Observer reporter Matthew Schuerman focused on the jobs figures revealed in the analysis:
The Empire State Development Corporation released figures this week that showed just how many maintenance and security jobs the residential parts of the complex would provide: 343.
NoLandGrab: One of the reasons an accounting of the public costs of Atlantic Yards is important is so the public can learn if the money could be better spent to create more jobs.
The NY Times, Study Shows Data for Claim of Atlantic Yards’ Benefits
Times reporter Nicholas Confessore outlines the benefits touted by the study and later follows up with the catch:
Perhaps more significantly, the study also excludes public subsidies for the project’s planned 2,250 units of housing priced below market rates. Those subsidies are still under negotiation, but could substantially increase the public cost of the project.
...
“That is a skeleton projection of state and local tax revenue,” said Assemblyman James F. Brennan of Brooklyn. Mr. Brennan has requested a detailed accounting of the project’s financial return to Forest City — figures not covered in the new study — and for the costs of each element of the mixed-use project, like the arena.Such requests have so far been rebuffed. Mr. Brennan said he believed that a fuller financial picture might undercut supporters’ contention that the project’s enormous size and density could not be reduced without endangering its economic viability.
To test your gag reflexes, we highlight the requisite quotes from the Ratner camp:
Jessica Copen, a spokeswoman for Mr. Gargano, maintained yesterday that the documents were privileged, but said the agency had decided to make them public this week as a gesture of “good government.”
“We are in the midst of a public review process and have provided to relevant agencies required information involving the Atlantic Yards project" — Joe DePlasco, Ratner spokesman
Atlantic Yards Report, The ESDC acknowledges some costs, Times offers some skepticism, story downplayed
Norman Oder explains the ESDC's follow-up to the memo summarizing the study (emphasis added):
More than a day after the Empire State Development Corporation released a sketchy fiscal impact analysis for the Atlantic Yards project, the agency offered some backup calculations--which do allow for nearly $500 million in costs, but still fail to fully account for all costs, including housing subsidies.
...
How did the agency reach a $1.4 billion net revenue calculation? Copen responded by citing both the document released as well as other ESDC documents. Some $845.5 million includes the fiscal benefits of operations and construction activity for New York City and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The $1.1 billion is net revenue to the city and state from the General Project plan. Total: $1.9 billion.Fiscal cost for the project for NYC + NYS:
NYS sales tax exemption $20.0 million
NYC sales tax exemption $20.0 million
MTA sales tax exemption $ 1.9 millionNYS mortgage recording tax exemption $ 17.8 million
NYC mortgage recording tax exemption $181.4 millionBond Financing
NYS $138.3 million
NYC $113.5 millionTotal NYS $176.1 million
Total NYC $316.7 millionTotal: nearly $493 million (a figure cited in July by the Bond Buyer)
Subtract that from $1.9 billion and you get $1.4 billion. However, as noted, that leaves out all sorts of costs for schools, sanitation, and public safety--not to mention other subsidies.
NoLandGrab: Public benefits, $1.9 billion; incomplete accounting of public costs $500 million; developer profit $1 billion(?); "brutally weird" public process... priceless.
Posted October 20, 2006 7:24 AM | Permalink
Density illustrated
The South Oxford Street Block Association just posted this graphic to illustrate the comparison between the population density proposed for Atlantic Yards and the population density of one of the largest superblock developments in NYC.
NoLandGrab: Keep in mind a point made a while ago by Brooklyn Views — the arena itself has a large footprint, which means the "FAR (floor area ratio) on the remaining site is significantly greater."
This same point applies to population density, since no one will LIVE in the arena. In other words, if you discount the arena, the density of the remainder of the site is even higher.
Posted October 20, 2006 7:06 AM | Permalink
It came from the Blogosphere...
Landmark This!, Officer's Row, Oh No!!!
An update on the fight to save the Navy Yard's Officer's Row from the wrecking ball explains many of the PR techniques being used by forces who support tearing down the historic buildings:
Another issue with this is the argument that it will benefit the Farragut Housing residents. As I said, they do need a supermarket. But is this just developer using the poor to their advantage? Make the preservationists out to be anti-poor is the method they're using (reminiscent of Atlantic Yards proponents no?).
fluxed.net, big ups brooklyn
An artist comments on the Footprints exhibit and the contributions of his friends Mike and Eliza:
but more importantly, this show was about the proposed atlantic yards project in brooklyn. it is a massive project that includes a sports stadium and PLENTY of luxury apartments. i dont live in brooklyn and i dont know the history of the place, but having been there its really fantastic and it would be a shame to increase its density so quickly.
Fans For Fair Play, A called third strike
A Mets fan finds life lessons in a called third strike (something that Nets owner "Caring" Bruce Ratner probably wouldn't understand):
A called third strike.
Every baseball player knows you guard the strike zone.
Magic doesn't happen unless you make it happen.
City Hall isn't fought unless we do the fighting.
Posted October 20, 2006 6:38 AM | Permalink
