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May 16, 2006
Smaller Size Proposed for Atlantic Yards
The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore
From Metro Briefs:
Assemblyman James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn Democrat, introduced legislation yesterday that would require the developer Forest City Ratner to reduce the size of its proposed Atlantic Yards real estate development by about three million square feet, or roughly a third. In exchange, the bill would offer up to $15.4 million a year in state money to subsidize below-market-priced housing in the project, a 22-acre residential, commercial and arena development near Downtown Brooklyn. The bill would also relieve Forest City Ratner of about $310 million in costs associated with renovating and buying building rights over the railyards on the site of the project. Five other Brooklyn members of the Assembly are also sponsoring the legislation.
NoLandGrab: It will be interesting to see how Ratner responds to this proposal.
Where did Brennan come up with these numbers? One troubling aspect of the proposal is that it requires additional massive public subsidy, a reward for Ratner to not overdevelop on the site. Taxpayers should be privy to the profit projections for the project to know if this is a good deal or not, especially if these figures were released to the politicians acting on our behalf.
It also does not address the issue of eminent domain and would therefore not satisfy many of those who do not believe that eminent domain for a private development is Constitutional.
Posted by lumi at May 16, 2006 11:22 PM