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June 21, 2006
New Albany Administration May Be Hope Of Opponents of Atlantic Yards Plan
NY Sun
By Russell Berman
Opponents of Bruce Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards project have added celebrity clout to their cause in recent weeks, but their best hopes for scuttling plans to transform 22 acres of Brooklyn may hinge on a new administration in Albany.
The proposal is in the midst of the state land use review process, and a preliminary environmental impact statement is due next month. The Empire State Development Corporation says the timeline allows for construction to begin by the end of the year, but any delay could push the project into the hands of a new governor.
Neither the Democratic front-runner, Eliot Spitzer, nor his Republican opponent, John Faso, have stated a position on the current Atlantic Yards proposal, and neither campaign provided one yesterday.
Whether the coalition Develop – Don’t Destroy Brooklyn can succeed in forcing a rescaling of the Atlantic Yards development is an open question, but some urban planning scholars say they have a chance. An urban planning professor at Harvard University,Susan Fainstein,said the support of the next governor would be key,but she predicted that the project would be altered. “The huge number of residential and commercial buildings are likely to be shrunk,” she said.
Posted by lumi at June 21, 2006 8:13 AM