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April 26, 2006
Yonkers, Ratner battle Con Edison over Ridge Hill
The Journal News
By Michael Gannon
Forest City Ratner's controversial Ridge Hill project in Yonkers is still making waves. The most recent development, "the use of the threat of eminent domain," will come as no surprise to Brooklynites.
A city-controlled agency could go to court to force Consolidated Edison to sell 5 1/2 acres of property south of the proposed Ridge Hill Village project that developer Forest City Ratner needs to build a new access road for the site. ... The utility agreed last year to allow Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner to build a section of the access road connecting Ridge Hill, a $600 million housing, retail and entertainment complex approved by the City Council last year, to Tuckahoe Road to the south. Altogether, the developer needs 7.1 acres for the access road, none of which is developed land.
Con Edison, however, has not indicated any kind of agreement to a sale price that the IDA [Yonkers Industrial Agency] or developer has been willing to pay, said David Simpson, a spokesman for Mayor Phil Amicone, who heads the IDA board.
The article also mentions some of the extraordinary tax breaks that Forest City Ratner has managed to secure: sales and mortgage-recording tax exemptions and a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes.
John Larkin, president of the Nepera Park-Grey Oaks Neighborhood Association, questioned why Forest City Ratner should be eligible for tax breaks.
"It annoys me this $4 billion corporation is going begging to the city when they can pay full taxes, like I do," he said.
Posted by lumi at April 26, 2006 6:44 AM