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June 25, 2006

Phantom Project Pork

Develop- don't destroy BROOKLYN
For Immediate Release

State Finalizes $100 Million Appropriation for Highly Speculative Ratner "Atlantic Yards" Proposal

BROOKLYN, NY—The New York Post reported today that the Governor, Assembly and Senate have finalized an agreement to appropriate $100 million for Forest City Ratner's proposed "Atlantic Yards" development in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn. The 8.7 million square foot development proposal­including 16 skyscrapers and a 20,000 arena in a low-rise residential community­is the largest single-source development proposed in the history of New York City.

The city has already approved $100 million for the proposal but the $200 million city and state total is just the tip of the iceberg. The developer claims the project would cost the public $1.1 billion while a study done by project opponents, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB), shows that the total public cost could reach $2 billion or more.

The appropriation has come before the public and elected officials even know what exactly the project is, what its total public cost would be, what its return would be, what the environmental impact would be and if those impacts could be mitigated. The appropriation also comes without any public disclosure by Forest City Ratner of its profit-loss statement, and before the state mandated environmental review has even begun.

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Posted by amy at June 25, 2006 8:49 PM