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October 30, 2005
Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project ‘Affordable’ units may go to Crown Hts.
The Brooklyn Papers
by Ariella Cohen
Is Ratner planning on moving the poor folk out of the Yards?
Forest City Ratner is considering the acquision of the former St. Mary’s Hospital in Crown Heights, leading some to speculate that the 3-acre site could be used for the affordable housing component of the proposed Atlantic Yards mega-project.
In a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU), dated May 17, 2005, between Forest City and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Forest City promised, among other things, to construct 600-1,000 “affordable for-sale units” in return for ACORN’s support of the project.
The off-site option for affordable home building has drawn criticism from community advocates who claim that by separating the luxury housing from the non-luxury, Ratner will be forcing lower income residents into ghettos.
NoLandGrab: Assemblymember Roger Green, casually mentioned the possibility of moving the so-called affordable housing off site in his testimony at the ESDC hearing two weeks ago. Green has been an ardent Ratner supporter going back to when the project was first announced.
Posted by lumi at October 30, 2005 4:22 PM