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May 11, 2006
Some heft for the community: CBN retains consultant to run DEIS review
Atlantic Yards Report covers yesterday's announcement by the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods that it has hired a consultant to review the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) — "expected to be issued in the next weeks or months" — and the local Community Boards' response to the release of the document that will likely be thousands of pages long.
The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) has stepped forward and announced it has retained Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates (PPSA) to act as the lead consultant for a review of the DEIS. Last December, CBN issued a Request For Proposals to top environmental planning firms to help review the DEIS.
The response to the RFP brought forward dozens of firms and organizations, CBN said in a press release, and PPSA--the city’s largest independent planning firm--will coordinate those efforts. It's not clear whether the Community Boards will participate. While CBN has no official position on the Atlantic Yards project, given the job of responding to the environmental review, many of its member groups oppose the project, and the Community Boards may be wary of the association.
Then again, the CBs don't have the money to hire experts. Nor does the CBN--at least, not yet. "Our budget overall is somewhat in excess of $500,000," CBN's Jim Vogel told me. "We have positive indications for funding from both the City Council and the State Legislature, but we continue to hold our breath. Our consultants are aware of our budget and the somewhat tenuous funding position and are being very cooperative."
Posted by lumi at May 11, 2006 6:35 AM