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July 31, 2006
Community Boards 2, 6, & 8: Why now?
Question:
Why are Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 6 & 8 holding hearings this week and what do they hope to accomplish?
Answer:
Our communities have requested that the Community Boards take a position on the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project since the project was first announced. Since that time the Community Boards had stated that they intended to take a position once there was an official project to review. The Community Boards have actively participated in each step of the process thus far, from holding an extremely well-attended information meeting on the project early in the process to hosting public discussions of the draft scope of analysis for the proposed environmental impact statement to presenting testimony for the ESDC hearing on the scope of analysis. With the release of the General Project Plan and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement there is now an official project to review.
Community Boards always solicit public opinion before taking positions on any project; Public Hearings are an important form of input. At the Community Boards' Public Hearings on August 3rd the public will have an opportunity to share their opinion with us about the Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project in a formal, official setting. Each speaker will have up to 3 minutes to present testimony to the Community Board, and leave us with a written statement for the record. The record will be held open as well so that others might share written statements after the hearing.
The Community Boards rely on the active participation of our communities at all of our meetings and hearings so that we can continue to be an effective, representative voice in government. We encourage anyone with an opinion to share to do so on August 3rd, and to participate in the ESDC Public Hearing on August 23rd as well.
Posted by lumi at 5:25 PM
Developers nix or delay condo projects as sales slow, costs rise
AP, via USA Today
This article about the slowdown in the luxury condo market appeared in papers nationwide (locally, in AM NY).
PHILADELPHIA — More and more developers are canceling or delaying condominium projects as home sales slow, construction costs soar and lenders balk at financing units that might not sell.
What's making the situation worse is a glut of high-priced condos and too few people who can afford them.
NoLandGrab: Locally, tons of luxury condos are already in the pipeline and the demand for Starchitect-designed luxury condos has never materialized.
Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards Development Group President James P. Stuckey has repeatedly claimed that the luxury condos "allows us to do the cross-subsidization" for affordable housing.
Are we expected to belive that in order to meet the affordable housing goals for the project, Ratner is pinning his hopes on a non-existent market for Frank Gehry-designed luxury condos? Or, does Stuckey make this stuff up because the public hasn't seen the financial projections for the project and can't tell if he's telling the truth or not?
Posted by lumi at 4:33 PM
THURSDAY: CB 2, 6 & 8, Atlantic Yards Hearings
The Real Estate Observer posted the locations of this Thursday's hearings held by the disenfranchised Community Boards 2, 6 & 8.
The latest round of public hearings will take place this Thursday, Aug. 3, in three separate locations, all at 6 p.m. Here's the lowdown:
Brookyln Community Board District 2:
Long Island University
Health Sciences Center, Room 119Brookyln Community Board District 6:
Long Island College Hospital
339 Hicks Street, Conference Rooms F&GBrooklyn Community Board District 8:
Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation 520 Prospect Place
Update: The Brooklyn Papers informs that the community boards are organizing these hearings on their own. They're a bit upset because they've been cut out of the traditional review process because the Atlantic Yards project is overseen by the state, not the city.
NoLandGrab: Community Boards 2, 6 & 8 have been "a bit upset" at Forest City Ratner for a couple of months now. (See Real Estate Observer and Atlantic Yards Report)
Back in May the Community Boards issued a letter requesting that Forest City Ratner "discontinue all mention, in any form" of the Boards "participation" in the Community Benefits Agreement, since they only had a "limited role that ended months before the agreement was signed, when some of the eventual signatories barred [the boards] from attending the working sessions."
The brochure stating, "Three local Community Boards [2, 6, & 8] and other elected officials also served as advisors in crafting the CBA," was handed out this weekend outside the gates of the Boricua Festival at Celebrate Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 10:17 AM
Community Commentary: Law prof disputes Daily News
Native Brooklynite David Reiss — Assistant Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School and Community Board 6 member (Chairperson, Budget/Community Development Committee) — responds to the Daily News Editorial Board's assertion that community groups and critics of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project are "barking up the wrong legal tree," by explaining that these groups, according to the NY State legislature, are actually fulfilling their responsibility.
The editorial board of the Daily News took the members of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn to task last week because they were “scouring” the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), required by New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), for flaws.
The problem with that position is that that is exactly what SEQRA contemplates what members of the public are to do with a DEIS.
When enacting SEQRA, the New York legislature found that, “Every citizen has a responsibility to contribute to the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the environment.” One of the ways that SEQRA contemplates that citizens were to contribute to the protection of the environment was by participating in the environmental review process.
SEQRA provides two important ways that members of the public can participate: by commenting on the DEIS and then by commencing litigation if they believe that SEQRA has not been complied with. It is important to note that the community has an uphill battle in any SEQRA litigation: less than 15% of SEQRA challenges to Environmental Impact Statements are successful. But – and it is an important “But” -- where a court finds that the government has failed to take a hard look at areas of serious environmental concern, it may, indeed, rule in the favor of the challengers.
Given that in New York, citizens have very few ways of making themselves heard through official channels (particularly when New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure has been suspended by the Empire State Development Corporation), it seems uncharitable for the editorial board of the Daily News to begrudge members of the public this one official outlet for their concerns, even if it disagrees with their position on the merits of the project.
Posted by lumi at 8:24 AM
Push poll (likely from FCR) boosts Boyland against Montgomery in Senate race
Atlantic Yards Report
Central Brooklynites are getting push polled over Atlantic Yards (time and time again).
This time Norman Oder's number was up. Let's see if Oder took the bait or took notes...
Sometimes the news just falls into your lap. When I got a call yesterday from a pollster from Pacific Crest Research, the name rang a bell. The same company conducted a push poll last year to gauge and change attitudes regarding Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards (AY) project, almost certainly on behalf of the developer.
I was asked numerous questions, some quite general, but most focused on the race between last-minute challenger Tracy Boyland and longstanding State Senator Velmanette Montgomery for the 18th Senatorial District.
The point of the push poll apparently was to see if the information provided--including leading statements, with incorrect information--would nudge listeners into supporting Boyland, who backs the AY project, against the incumbent, who opposes the AY project.
...Finally, after about ten minutes on the phone with C.J., came the money shot: “Boyland says Montgomery is siding with people who have million-dollar brownstones and want to preserve their exclusive neighborhood instead of looking out for her own constituents.”
NoLandGrab: "Stupid gits!" We recommend that future call lists be scrubbed of the following names "Dan Goldstein," "Patti Hagan," and "Norman 'the Mad Overkiller' Oder," unless they're fixin' "to have an argument".
Posted by lumi at 8:02 AM
Case Won on Appeal (to Public)
The NY Times
By Adam Liptak
Some views from legal experts on the issue of eminent domain, a year after the controversial Kelo ruling by the Supreme Court and on the heels of the Ohio State Supreme Court ruling for homeowners in Norwood (a case that is very similar to Bruce Ratner's Brooklyn bid to seize private property for his arena and 16 high-rise tower complex):
Sometimes, Supreme Court cases have a way of highlighting issues that had been absent from the national agenda, and the cases can provoke reactions that have a far greater impact than the ruling itself.
“I always tell my students,” said Douglas Laycock, a law professor at the University of Texas, “that one of the best things you can do is lose a case in the Supreme Court.”
...
“The decision brought to light this incredible rift between what lawyers and cities thought was the law and what the American people thought was the law,” Ms. Berliner said. “This is certainly the situation of losing the battle and winning the war.”The cases that tend to provoke the biggest popular reaction are those in which justices seem to be out of touch with ordinary people, said Michael J. Klarman, a law professor at the University of Virginia.
“Almost all of the instances of backlash,” Professor Klarman said, “are conservative, populist reactions to decisions that seem elitist.”
...
“There is no doubt that Kelo has inspired a level of reaction that denies power that a rational community would like a city council to have,” said Douglas W. Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University who opposes Kelo but expresses doubts about the initiative.
Posted by lumi at 7:39 AM
Yonkers shuts out villages over lawsuit
The Jounal News
By Revecca Baker Erwin
The latest salvo in the controversy over Bruce Ratner's Ridge Hill project in Yonkers is payback for one town's bid to sue over the stat's environmental impact statement (EIS):
The villages of Ardsley and Hastings-on-Hudson, which had a contract to dump leaves and branches in Yonkers, found themselves shut out of the Nepperhan Avenue dump this month.
Officials in both villages said Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone canceled the villages' contracts as punishment for joining Greenburgh's lawsuit to put the brakes on the $600 million Ridge Hill Village project in Yonkers, just over the town line.
...
Amicone spokesman David Simpson said city officials are getting tired of going to court with Greenburgh every time the city tries to boost development near the border, and didn't deny that canceling the contracts was payback.
...
Brooklyn developer Forest City Ratner plans to start building 1,000 apartments, 1.3 million square feet of retail space, a hotel and entertainment venues by the end of the year. Greenburgh and the villages are challenging the project's environmental review.
NoLandGrab: Expect suits in Brooklyn over the Environmental Impact Statement, that is if many of the absurd claims in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement are left standing.
Posted by lumi at 7:27 AM
July 30, 2006
Thompson backs Brooklyn project
Crain's
By Erik Engquist & Anne Michaud
City Comptroller William Thompson offered "strong support" for the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn last week after a published report said he was rethinking his position. Mr. Thompson does not have an approval role over the project--the city has already budgeted its $100 million share--but he carries weight as a Brooklynite, fiscal watchdog and potential mayoral contender. Atlantic Yards has become a political bellwether, playing a major role in congressional and state Senate races in Brooklyn. Sources had told The Crain's Insider electronic newsletter that the comptroller was having second thoughts because the scope of the project had grown.
article (subscription required)
Posted by amy at 11:30 AM
Gossip Roundup
Gawker
Are Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams leaving Brooklyn? Fucking Ratner, driving away all the good celebs.
Although Scary Ratner Syndrome is a creative sentiment, Ledger/Williams are here to stay.
Posted by amy at 11:01 AM
NYC high school students get a taste of the design life.
Real Estate Weekly reports on the CBA in action...
Twenty-three New York City high school students have completed a mentoring program, working under top names in the building trades to learn about construction and design related fields. Participating youth received certificates of completion for the program on Friday at the Atlantic Yards Information Center, where they have been meeting since November. Jamie Hector, star of the HBO drama The Wire, was on hand to congratulate the youth on their accomplishments, and PR maven Terrie M. Williams shared with the youth tips for success in business and life.The atrium-domed recreation center, which included tennis courts, a track, pool, fitness center, basketball court, dance studio and internet cafe, was conceived and designed by the students and helped them to learn the principals of structural engineering, design development and teamwork.
The students collaborated with professional mentors from Gehry Partners, Ismael Leyva Architects, P.C., Flack + Kurtz, Thornton Tomasetti Group and team-leader Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC), who helped draw up plans and a model for their project.
The youth did a formal presentation of the project before an audience in May.
The project was part of the ACE (Architecture, Construction, Engineering) Mentoring Program, founded by the principals of leading design and construction firms to introduce high school students to career opportunities in architecture, construction and engineering and to address shortages of qualified professional staff in those fields. The group was born in 1994 when seventeen firms banded together into three teams, each organized like a typical design and construction team, and "adopted" about 90 students from local high schools. In addition to exposing young people to real world activities in these fields, ACE provides scholarships to high school students who exhibit the greatest aptitude and decide to pursue a college curriculum in architecture, engineering or construction. FCRC is participating in the program as part of its ongoing commitment to the community as reflected in the recent Community Benefits Agreement developed for the Atlantic Yards project.
"These youth were extremely eager to learn and their level of dedication bodes very well for their futures," said Randall Toure, vice president at FCRC. "We are happy that many of them will continue their exposure to the design, construction and development fields as summer interns at the mentoring firms."
Under the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement, internships, specialized classes and mentoring initiatives to train minorities and women for work in architectural, engineering and other fields havebegun to be established.
The CBA seeks to provide youth with business and career development opportunities and to assist hard-to-employ youth to develop skills.
Posted by amy at 10:54 AM
Each AY tower would dwarf (in sf) that 31-story public housing tower
Atlantic Yards Report
But what about the tallest established residential building nearby, Atlantic Terminal Site 4B, the city's tallest public housing tower, at 31 stories and 310 feet. It's located across Atlantic Avenue at Carlton Avenue, opposite the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard, the site for several proposed towers.Atlantic Terminal Site 4B covers 252,500 square feet, which makes it smaller than any of the proposed 16 towers in the Atlantic Yards project, including the six that are shorter. That's a testament to the density proposed in the Atlantic Yards plan and a reminder that height provides only a partial sense of a building's impact.
Posted by amy at 10:51 AM
How big would "Miss Brooklyn" be? Look across the river
Atlantic Yards Report
So it's hard to get a sense of scale in the immediate neighborhood. But head for the the South Street Seaport and you might see a substantial glass-clad office building, 180 Maiden Lane, which stands between Front Street and the FDR Drive.Could this building serve as a cue?
Indeed, the building includes 1.08 million square feet and stands 554 feet tall over 41 stories. So it's not quite as tall as Miss Brooklyn would be, but it's nearly as bulky.
So if you're crossing the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridges, or just looking over from the Brooklyn shoreline, a view of this building gives a whiff of the future--at least as currently planned.
Posted by amy at 10:47 AM
Shooting from the lip
Daily News
Mike Lupica
I don't want to make a big thing of this, but I did tell Coach Frank the other day that the Nets are my team now, whether Caring Bruce Ratner ever scams his way to Brooklyn or not.I'm currently just trying to decide which Nets cap I want to wear.
Posted by amy at 10:46 AM
A not-quite-correction in the Times
Atlantic Yards Report:
A Times editorial in the Westchester weekly July 16:
At another huge development in Brooklyn that Mr. Ratner proposes to build, an amazing 50 percent of housing units will be sold to low- and middle-income residents.The correction published July 23:
An editorial last week about the Ridge Hill Village project in Yonkers mischaracterized the units earmarked for low and middle-income residents at another project, the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Brooklyn. These units will be rented, not sold.While that correction is technically correct--yes, the affordable units would be rented, not sold--it still leaves the impression that 50 percent of the total number of units would be rented to low- and middle-income residents.
Rather, 50 percent of the 4500 rental units would be affordable, while the project would include another 2360 market-rate condos. The affordable housing percentage, announced and pledged at 50 percent, applies only to the rentals.
Posted by amy at 10:43 AM
July 29, 2006
Affected community boards to hold public meetings on Atlantic Yards project Aug. 3
The Brooklyn Papers:
The three community boards that converge where Bruce Ratner wants to build Atlantic Yards are mad as hell at being cut out of the public review process of the largest development in Brooklyn history — and they’re going to host a public hearing about it.Because Atlantic Yards is being overseen by the state, rather than the city, local boards have lost their traditional, though only advisory, role in the public review process.
But Community Boards 2, 6 and 8 — which cover Fort Greene, Park Slope, Boerum Hill and Prospect Heights — are fighting back, inviting the public to their own public hearings on Aug. 2.
Don't believe everything you read in the papers - the event is actually on AUGUST 3.
Posted by amy at 12:19 PM
It doesn't get any better than Brooklyn, except maybe...
Today NoLandGrab would like to share with you some inspiring words from Marty Markowitz:
While some people want to grow up to be mayor, governor, or President of the United States, my dream in life has always been to lead Brooklyn as borough president. To me, this is the ultimate job. There is no higher honor that anyone can achieve in life than that which a community bestows on one of its own.
Awww, that's sweet. Or it would be if it were true. The Brooklyn Papers suggests that Marty's filing with the Campaign Finance Board shows mayoral aspirations. I guess that's why he's trying to practice by creating a second Manhattan.
“I’m sure he wants to be mayor,” said one Democratic insider who likes Markowitz. “He thinks he’d be a good one and he has great fundraising ability because of his support of the [Bruce] Ratner [Atlantic Yards] project and other developers.”
Posted by amy at 12:00 PM
Looming Primary Turns Up Heat On 57th District State Assembly Race
Courier-Life's Stephen Witt covers the race in the 57th State AD. In the running:
Bill Batson talks about Atlantic Yards:
“The Atlantic Yards project is in the heart of Brooklyn and 16 skyscrapers would drive a stake through the heart of Brooklyn,” said Batson at the forum.
Hakeem Jeffries talks about Batson talking about Atlantic Yards:
“I think Batson has articulated a position that under no circumstances should anything be built, which fails to acknowledge the threat presented to our community of housing costs that have spiraled out of control,” he said.
Freddie Hamilton talks about the race and class of the people she imagines are fighting Atlantic Yards:
Hamilton said unfortunately, race and class are playing a role in the Atlantic Yards issue, in that those who oppose are generally white people of means.
To repeat ourselves ad nauseam, being against the Atlantic Yards Project does not mean you are against development, just BAD development. And not to undermine Freddie's credibility, but she signed the CBA for a group that received $350K from Ratner. And if you really want to see who is fighting the Atlantic Yards project, look at some pictures.
Posted by amy at 11:00 AM
Public Hearings On Atlantic Yards Set; Many Decry Bad Timing
Courier-Life
Stephen Witt
Holding a public hearing on the Atlantic Yards project during the dog days of summer is a gross injustice, according to opponents and the community boards in which the project footprint sits.“It violates the spirit of the law to hold it while the community boards are in recess,” said City Councilmember Letitia James.
Posted by amy at 10:58 AM
Was ATURA planning for (part of) the AY site--or just a framework?
Atlantic Yards Report:
It's already been established that the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA) would incorporate less than two-thirds of the proposed Atlantic Yards site, and an even smaller proportion of the properties subject to eminent domain.So the incomplete coverage is an argument against ATURA being cited under the standard set in the Supreme Court's Kelo decision, which said that a community planning process was a prerequisite for the use of eminent domain.
(The project site is in blue, and ATURA in red, including the dark red, so the overlap is striped.)
But was ATURA actually a planning process? While it incorporated a broad area into a framework for urban renewal, the disposition of individual parcels was subject to specific planning decisions.
Posted by amy at 10:51 AM
Shadowy AY open space OK, says DEIS, because it's better than nothing
Atlantic Yards Report:
Yesterday I walked through Peter Cooper Village (PCV) in Manhattan in late afternoon, mindful of the warning by the Municipal Art Society that the open space at PCV's similar and co-managed neighbor, Stuyvesant Town, was more building backyard than true public park.I was struck by how so much of the green space was in shadow--and from buildings only about 15 stories in height, less than half the height of most buildings proposed for the Atlantic Yards project. (And some AY buildings would be three times taller, at least.)
Would the seven acres of publicly-accessible open space proposed for Atlantic Yards be in late-afternoon shadow, when students return from school and adults from work?
Yes.
Posted by amy at 10:41 AM
Spitzer to Empire State Development Corp.: Hold on a Minute
The Gowanus Lounge on Spitzer asking for more time for public comment and hearings for the EIS:
A cynical analyst might say that it is calculated move on Spitzer's part to throw a bone to the South Brooklyn voters that are against Atlantic Yards in its current form, without taking any stand on the project itself. (It is after all hard to ignore forever a major public project driven by state government when you're running for governor.) From Spitzer's point of view there is no political cost in asking for another 30 days of public comment and for a public hearing after summer vacation is over.The less cynical observer might conclude that he's genuinely offended by the rush job of the hearings and the image problem created by scheduling a major hearing when all the concerned community boards are not in session. Whatever the motivation, the fact is that Brooklynites and Community Boards desperately need as much time as possible to honesty assess Atlantic Yards' impact, and the community needs a healthy debate, both pro and con.
Posted by amy at 10:18 AM
July 28, 2006
Spitzer, local officials tell ESDC: Give community more time to study DEIS
Atlantic Yards Report
Never one to rest on his laurels, Atlantic Yards Report's Norman Oder posts for a second time today, getting the scoop on New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's letter to the ESDC requesting postponement of the DEIS hearing by at least 30 days, in which Spitzer called an extension of the environmental review period "indispensable."
Councilwoman Letitia James and Assemblymembers Joan Millman, Jim Brennan and Roger Green praised Spitzer's action in a press release (after the jump).
July 28, 2006
Assemblymembers Roger Green, Joan L. Millman, Jim Brennan and Councilwoman Letitia James Applaud Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for Joining the Call to Extend Public Comment Period for Atlantic Yards Re-Development Project
Brooklyn N.Y.- In response to requests by local elected officials, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer called upon the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to extend the public review period by at least 30 days for the 1,400 page Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Atlantic Yards Arena and Re-Development Project. Currently the public only has 30 days to review the DEIS prior to the public hearing and then an additional 30 days to submit further written comments on what could be the largest single private development in Brooklyn's history.
In a letter dated July 25, 2006 Attorney General Eliot Spitzer stated, "In view of the expected contribution of development at the Atlantic Yards to the future of Brooklyn and the importance of public review of environmental issues associated with this project, I believe that an extension of time for public review of the DEIS by at least 30 days is indispensable under these circumstances."
The letter of support was welcomed by a coalition of local elected officials who represent constituents living close to the project and support a longer public comment period.
"It is imperative that enough time be allowed in the process for the public to review and respond to the DEIS," said Councilwoman Letitia James. "When it comes to analyzing the potential impacts of the proposed project at the Atlantic Yards, we need to take into account the concerns raised by all potentially affected parties. I thank Attorney General Spitzer for joining the call of the community to extend the official comment period."
"The 1,400 page DEIS is almost as overwhelming as the proposed project itself," stated Assemblywoman Joan Millman. "We need to ensure that the public has sufficient time to thoroughly analyze and review all of the potential impacts this project could have on our neighborhoods. I applaud Attorney General Eliot Spitzer for supporting the community in its efforts to meaningfully participate in the public review process."
"I am pleased to hear that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer stands with the community in advocating for an increased public comment period," said Assemblyman Roger Green. "Meaningful input from the public will only serve to enhance the Atlantic Yards project as it moves forward in the process."
"I am delighted that Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has once again shown his commitment to adequate public review of development projects," said Assemblyman Brennan. "Lengthening the public comment period would benefit the public significantly."
The public review period for the DEIS is only one of two opportunities when the public can officially submit comments for the record. Past public projects administered by the ESDC have allowed for as many as 140 days for the public to submit comments.
Posted by lumi at 4:02 PM
AY plans revealed: temporary parking + staging slowly eclipsed
Atlantic Yards Report
Now we know what the Atlantic Yards site might look like--at least in part--thanks to graphics released with Draft Design Guidelines that are part of the General Project Plan.
Five buildings and the arena would be built in the first major stage, leaving the entire eastern segment of the site for temporary surface parking and staging. Then, according to the draft plans, buildings would be constructed one by one in 11 phases, moving east and then clockwise, each time reducing the amount of space for parking and staging.
...
Note that there's no official rendering of what might be called phase zero, which would show the entire site east of Sixth Avenue as either surface parking, staging, or railyards. Phase zero would persist during the construction of the first stage, over four years--so the first graphic below is adapted from the Laurie Olin renderings provided by the ESDC.
Posted by lumi at 7:13 AM
Green must drop out
Brooklyn Papers, Editorial
It's bad enough that Bruce Ratner's biggest booster in the State Assembly pleaded guilty to ripping the taxpayers off and has direct ties to convicted party boss Clarence Norman, but with only $4,800 cash in hand for his bid to unseat Edolphus Towns, he won't fade away.
Brooklyn Paper's has three words for the languishing candidate:
Drop out now.
Posted by lumi at 7:02 AM
Things looking up in Brooklyn, if you’re a skyscraper
The Brooklyn Papers, Editorial
By Gersh Kuntzman
The Downtown Brooklyn Plan — an upzoning and condemnation law passed two years ago — is finally bearing young with at least eight buildings on the drawing board for just a short stretch of Flatbush Avenue Extension from the Manhattan Bridge to Willoughby Street.
Check out the list of buildings (a majority of which are luxury condos) at different stages on the drawing board. They're all pre-approved as part of the Downtown Brooklyn Plan and in the pipeline before Bruce Ratner receives the official nod for Atlantic Yards.
NoLandGrab: Your friends and neighbors are gonna freak when they wake up and realize what the City's plan has in store for Downtown Brooklyn.
Don't forget to tell them that the Mad Overdeveloper, Bruce Ratner, has 23 Williamsburgh Savings Bank Towers worth of development planned for the railyards and Prospect Heights, which would make that little corner of Brooklyn the densest residential community in the nation.
Posted by lumi at 6:45 AM
Enjoy the show —movies will stay, Goldman says
Downtown Express By Ronda Kaysen
In this article about Forest City Ratner's sale of a Lower Manhattan property, which includes the only movie theater below Houston Street, Ratner is described as the developer:
"who is currently developing the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn and a 75-story Beekman St. tower in Lower Manhattan."
NoLandGrab: This description is proof that Central Brooklyn's unprecedented land-use disaster is beginning to be recognized citywide, though the facts are still unclear in the press.
For the record, the "Atlantic Yards" project was made "official" by the Empire State Development Corporation last week. Hearings, approvals, eminent domain condemnations and litigation are still pending.
Posted by lumi at 6:15 AM
July 27, 2006
Brooklyn arena foes have new brew
Metro NY
By Amy Zimmer
Just in time for the 230th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Island, Freddy's Bar & Backroom has found a replacement for the other beer:
As an act of defiance, Freddy’s Bar & Backroom stopped selling Brooklyn Lager in April.
The Dean Street joint sits in the footprint of Bruce Ratner’s plant to build a $4.2 billion arena and 16 high rises. After learning that Brooklyn Lager’s President Steve Hindy supported the project, the bar’s manager Donald O’Finn decided to boycott the local brewery.
The bar now serves Blue Point Toasted Lager, brewed in Patchogue.
“It’s sold better than Brooklyn Lager ever did,” O’Finn said.
Freddy’s building is now owned by Ratner, but the bar remains a meeting spot for anti-Ratner organizers.
NoLandGrab: Word has it that Barbés, at 9th St. & 6th Ave., has also made the switch to Blue Point Toasted Lager from the Beer-whose-name-shall-not-be-spoken.
Posted by lumi at 9:33 PM
Gehry's Guggenheim effect
CBS News, Guggenheim to Build Museum in Abu Dhabi
The Guggenheim announced plans Saturday for a Frank Gehry-designed art museum in Abu Dhabi, a coup for the small Persian Gulf nation and the latest international franchise for the ambitious foundation.
The museum would sit on a manmade spit jutting into the Gulf from the currently uninhabited Saadiyat Island, which lies adjacent to Abu Dhabi. With a price tag of just over $200 million, the building would be completed in about five years.
Speaking to The Associated Press, the Canadian-born architect said the Arabian desert has a "much different feel" than the desert near his California home and would require him to "invent a different kind of architecture that belongs here.
"I want to play off the blue water and the color of the sand and sky and sun," Gehry said Saturday. "It's got to be something that will make sense here. If you import something and plop it down, it's not going to work."
NoLandGrab: Gehry's concern for context and character, "something that's going to make sense here," is touching.
Meanwhile, in the blogosphere...
CultureVulture, The Guggenheim effect
Is the Guggenheim today's equivalent of Planet Hollywood? During the 1990s, it seemed like anywhere lucky enough to acquire an outlet of the celebrity-sponsored restaurant chain had been admitted into some exclusive club of elite global cities. Now it seems you're not on the map unless you've got a Guggenheim, writes Steve Rose.
The latest grateful host is Abu Dhabi, where Frank Gehry - architect of the spectacular Bilbao Guggenheim - is due to design the biggest Guggenheim yet.
For 20-something Garfield fans who repeatedly dream of trying to ship Gehry to Abu Dhabi:
Abu Dhabi, it's far away. Abu Dhabi, that's where you'll stay.
Abu Dhabi, the place to be. For any kitten who's annoying me, yeah!
Abu Dhabi, it's off the track. Abu Dhabi, now don't come back.
Abu Dhabi, it's quite a thrill. For any kitten who can make me ill!
Now some take a train, and some take a plane.
But I am sending you, not on a boat, or even by goat. But in a box marked "Postage Due."
Abu Dhabi, you're what they lack. Abu Dhabi, now you're all packed.
Abu Dhabi, a far commute. For any kitten who is too darn cute!
Posted by lumi at 8:50 PM
It came from the Blogosphere...
Stay Free, Kelo Killed in Columbus
Commentary on yesterday's Ohio Supreme Court decision siding against eminent domain abuse makes an astute observation about Bruce's roots:
Ironically, Bruce Ratner is himself from Ohio; if he tried to pull this crap in his hometown he couldn't do it anymore.
NoLandGrab: Suppose someone should alert the owner of this banner that it is now illegal for Bruce Ratner to "plunder Cleveland," though it is still within the law for Ratner to "go home."
The Gowanus Lounge, Brooklyn Double Speak of the Week: "Friendly Condemnation
A blogger's musings on "friendly :) condemnations:"
Can someone who speaks English, rather than Double Speak, please tell us this: What in the name of God is a "friendly condemnation"? Is it like "friendly fire," which even though it's a big, bad boo-boo, still leaves the recipient as dead as he who is on the recieving end of old-fashioned unfriendly fire? Or is it like what your significant other does when he or she is breaking up with you but still wants to be friends, berating you terribly--but in a very nice way--so that after 12 or so months of weekly therapy sessions you can still be friends?
...
Anyway you cut it, there will be a whole lot of good, old fashioned unfriendly condemnation going on if the project goes forward, and some of these takings of property will become the subject of the litigation that could ultimately determine the project's fate. Daniel Goldstein, who is the most outspoken of the Atlantic Yards opponents whose property would be taken in a most unfriendly way, is deeply convinced that the eminent domain will be the soft underbelly that kills the project.
Dope on the Slope, Ice Cream Castles
Dope serves up "Superblock a la Mode" to Frank Gehry, inspired by this little tidbit from Slate's review of "Sketches of Frank Gehry."
An entire neighborhood of Gaudí—or Gehry—would be like a meal of only ice cream. Too much of a very good thing.
Posted by lumi at 7:40 PM
ARENA FUROR ABOUT 'TIME'
NY Post
By Patrick Gallahue
Brooklyn activists are calling a technical foul over the timing of public hearings on the Atlantic Yards plan - saying the scheduling was done to "disenfranchise" the public and limit discussion of the colossal project's impact.
Posted by lumi at 7:36 PM
Atlantic center viability
An "anon" is wondering in the Brownstoner forum:
if atlantic yards is an attempt by the developer to shore up his retail before it all collapses? there is no way the stores in these two existing malls could be profitable!? (ok except for target). office max? burlington coat factory? circuit city with one cash register open? The worst mall in new york!
BINGO! Talk amongst yourselves, but remember, be nice.
Posted by lumi at 7:26 PM
Jeffries, Batson, Hamilton, Atlantic Yards
The Politicker ran a wrap-up of fundraising in the 57th Assembly District race.
Hakeem Jeffries has blown away his rivals financially in the three-way race for the 57th, bringing in $77,610 over the past six months in individual and corporate contributions, according to his July fundraising report filed with the state.
While rival Bill Batson successfully hit up Atlantic Yards opponents to net $32,841, Jeffries, a lawyer for CBS who has leaned in favor of the Forest City Ratner development, netted contributions from prominent professionals like Carver Bank CEO Deborah C. Wright ($500) and p.r. scion Steven G. Rubenstein ($2,000).
NoLandGrab: Wright's contribution to Jeffries will be seen by some area residents as quid pro quo for the time when Bruce Ratner was generously "sent by God" to deposit $1 million in Carver Bank, which is located in Ratner's Atlantic Terminal Mall.
Posted by lumi at 7:20 PM
NYC Comptroller to endorse Atlantic Yards?
The word through the grapevine is that NYC Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. is going to come out in support of the Atlantic Yards project today.
His justification will likely be on the grounds that Forest City Ratner has "demonstrated" that the project will have a net fiscal benefit to New York City, no matter how miniscule.
UPDATE: No release or announcement today.
Then again, we were pretty sure that Thompson had already expressed support for the plan, even though he has taken tough stands against Payments In Lieu of Taxes (as proposed in the Atlantic Yards financing plan) and favoritism in MTA land deals.
Posted by lumi at 9:11 AM
RAIL-ROADING RATNER
The NY Press
By Sushil Cheema
“FCRC believes that Atlantic Yards will help bring all of the surrounding communities together by bridging the rail yard, which has served as a scar on this part of Brooklyn for too long,” says Joe DePlasco, a spokesperson for FCRC.
But at a time when the use of eminent domain to seize land for private development projects has roiled communities throughout the country, this Brooklyn project is facing its own set of opponents. A large and loud set at that.
“We don’t like it. It’s a terrible plan, and there are a million things wrong with it,” says Scott Turner of FCRC’s project. A musician and graphic designer, Turner founded Fans for Fair Play, a local group that uses sports interests to oppose the Ratner plan. “Ratner is using sports nostalgia of the Brooklyn Dodgers,” Turner says, referring to FCRC’s 2004 purchase of the New Jersey Nets and goal of moving the team to Brooklyn in time for the 2009-2010 basketball season. “He bought a team to make the luxury condo project more sexy.”
NoLandGrab: Norman "The Mad Overkiller" Oder, who is probably really busy these days, wanted us to point out that the photo caption in the article isn't exactly correct.
The caption says, "Views of the Williamsburg Savings and Bank Tower will be lost with the Atlantic Yards Development." In fact, the photo was taken on 4th Ave., where the view of the "Clock Tower" would remain intact under the current proposal.
However, PC Richard, visible in the right-hand side of the photo, would be replaced by a 35-story building, which would be the tallest structure in Park Slope, by a long shot.
Posted by lumi at 8:53 AM
"Miss Brooklyn" would be 3X the Williamsburgh bank (in sf)
Atlantic Yards Report has been skimming through the General Project Plan and stumbled upon another holy-sh*t revelation:
"Miss Brooklyn" would be huge. While it would be the only building in the Atlantic Yards project taller (by about 20 percent) than the Williamsburgh Savings Bank nearby, architect Frank Gehry's flagship tower would be three times larger than the iconic bank, in square footage.
In fact, ten of the 16 buildings planned, including each of the five slated for the first phase, would be bigger than the bank, in bulk.
Posted by lumi at 8:45 AM
Battleground: Atlantic Yards
Time Out NY
By Justin Rocket Silverman
No issue in Brooklyn is more contentious than Bruce Ratner’s vision for a massive complex of skyscrapers to be built on top of the Long Island Rail Road’s Atlantic Yards and in the adjacent Prospect Heights neighborhood. ...
Though Ratner’s scheme garnered quick support from politicians, unions and some affordable-housing advocates, thousands of Brooklynites have heeded a call to fight the razing of Prospect Heights. United in the umbrella group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, opponents decry what they say is a sweetheart deal for Ratner that opposes the character of surrounding neighborhoods, one that would cause gridlock and waste the hundreds of millions of dollars that the city and state have agreed to contribute.
DDDB spokesperson Dan Goldstein makes a good point, which is another reminder that the City Council will have NO OPPORTUNITY to evaluate and weigh in on the project because NY State has taken it over in order to supercede local zoning regulations:
“They can’t build this project without my little apartment, and we have a very strong legal case,” Goldstein says. “Owning this condo gives me more power than the City Council.”
The article gets one major fact wrong:
Renters have lost their leases or taken payments to give up rent-stabilized units.
Atlantic Yards Report has posted a detailed report to the contrary.
Posted by lumi at 8:33 AM
The embeds
Time Out New York
Kudos to what Dope on the Slope fondly calls the "Brooklyn Blogade!"
The following "intrepid bloggers" were cited by TONY for sending "continual dispatches from the front lines:"
Brooklyn Record
Brownstoner
Gowanus Lounge
Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Planet PLG
Set Speed
Missing from the list was Atlantic Yards Report, which can't seem to get any respect from the mainstream media. Maybe he should try writing more often!
The cover story features controversial development in Brooklyn: Atlantic Yards, Gowanus, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Downtown Brooklyn, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg/Greenpoint waterfront and Red Hook.
Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM
"Crookwood" Gambled and lost
NoLandGrab readers may be familiar with the Gamble case, which we've followed on these pages due to its similarity to Atlantic Yards.
The Rookwood project in Norwood, OH and Atlantic Yards both involve: * politically well connected developers, * who have used eminent domain before for other projects, * with plans to build a privately owned mixed-use development, * who own the adjacent recently developed commercial real estate, * who want the government to condemn property to expand their real estate holdings (in Forest City Ratner's case, they are already the largest private property owner in Brooklyn), * who are claiming that the neighborhood is "blighted," despite evidence to the contrary, and * in a bizarre coincidence, the Gambles' home is on Atlantic Avenue in Norwood.
Though the Gamble case was decided narrowly on matters of Ohio state law, the similarities between the two cases strikes a public-relations blow to Bruce Ratner's bid to have several blocks of Prospect Heights declared blighted, and then condemned, for his $4.2-billion highrise and arena development proposal.
Here's the coverage:
Institute for Justice (press release), Ohio Supreme Court Rules Unanimously To Protect Property From Eminent Domain Abuse
Today, in an historic ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously held that the City of Norwood could not use eminent domain to take Carl and Joy Gamble’s home of 35 years, as well as the rental home of Joe Horney and tutoring center owned by Matthew Burton and Sanae Ichikawa Burton, for private development—specifically, a complex of chain stores, condominiums and office space planned by millionaire developer Jeffrey Anderson and his Rookwood Partners.
The NY Times, Ohio Supreme Court Rejects Taking of Homes for Project
The Times points out that this case can't be appealed to the Supreme Court, where a ruling would have bearing on Atlantic Yards (drat!):
Since the Ohio case was argued based on the state’s Constitution, yesterday’s decision cannot be appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which decides matters involving federal law.
The Cincinnati Enquirer, Coming home to Norwood
After their big win, the Gambles and co- lead plaintiff Joseph P. Horney visited their homes, which have been fenced off after the remainder of the neighborhood was bulldozed. Reporters followed the homeowners to see what's left, which gives new meaning to "developers' blight."
Joseph P. Horney, the lead plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court case, triumphantly forced open the temporary fencing Wednesday that surrounds what's left of the neighborhood, an 11-acre site. Once inside, he looked around and said, "It's painful to see the neighborhood. There's not much left of it."
...
what they fought for seems almost uninhabitable, surrounded by a desolate field of weeds and the drone of highway traffic.The houses of the three plaintiffs in the case are still standing, under a Supreme Court injunction blocking their demolition. They are the only homes left in what used to be a densely packed working- to middle-class neighborhood.
They've been fenced off, salvaged for parts and neglected for more than a year.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Court limits eminent domain
In a closely watched case with national implications, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that governments and developers cannot use economic benefit as the sole reason for seizing private property.
LA Times, Ohio Landowners Win Eminent Domain Case
The ruling was the first from a state high court since the U.S. Supreme Court issued a controversial eminent domain decision last summer.
...
"It's a complete vindication for every home and business owner in the state of Ohio," said Dana Berliner, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice who represented the plaintiffs."Some of the justification the city gave was that the area was 'deteriorating' because different people owned different houses, and there were cul-de-sacs in neighborhoods, and people had to back out of their driveways," Berliner said. "And what the Ohio high court said is that cities cannot use standards for eminent domain that are so vague that they could apply anywhere."
NoLandGrab: It is a widely held view that NY State's legal definition of "blight" is so vague that there isn't a neighborhood in the entire city that doesn't qualify.
AP, via Baltimore Sun, Ohio court bars taking of homes
Property rights advocates, business groups and backers of city planning were watching the Ohio case because of the precedent it could set.
NoLandGrab: Much is being made of the fact that this was the first State Supreme Court to rule following the Kelo case. It should be noted that the last state court decision on an eminent domain case was in Michigan. In the August, 2004 Hathcock ruling, the Michigan State Supreme Court overturned the historic and controversial 1981 Poletown decision, which is widely cited as the first eminent domain taking justified by economic development. That makes the state courts 2-for-2 against eminent domain abuse in recent years.
Posted by lumi at 6:37 AM
We'll always have Dusseldorf
Is this a sick joke, or a twisted attempt to show people in Prospect Heights that Frank Gehry's work ain't that bad when you look at it from a distance?
Either way, it's not playing well on Vanderbilt Avenue, just a stone's throw from the footprint of Frank Gehry's proposed superblock mega-city.
This ad for the City of Dusseldorf (click image for detail), spotted on a B69 bus shelter at Vanderbilt and Prospect Place, prominently features Frank Gehry's Der Neue Zollhof.
At a mere 12 stories, the project dominates the Rhine riverfront, making the prospect of Atlantic Yards, with 16 Gehry highrises and an arena, hard to swallow for the low-rise Brooklyn neighborhood.
Gehry buildings, such as Der Neue Zollhof or the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, have become international calling cards for second cities touting their trendiness and "good taste." However, this up-close examination by Project for Public Spaces of Gehry's total lack of a knack for creating viable urban environments, doesn't bode well for Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 5:57 AM
Sierra Club Tries on Two Suits for Size
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Nik Kovac
The local chapter of the Sierra club takes on some serious local land use issues:
Until this year, the nation's oldest and largest environmental advocacy group hadn't bothered to involve itself in any New York City litigation for over two decades. In just the last four months, however, the Sierra Club has now already filed briefs in two such cases - both in Brooklyn.
In March they got involved on the side of community activists hoping to change the Atlantic Yards project, and just last week they did the same in opposition to the current Brooklyn Bridge Park plans.
The "friend of the court" brief they filed along with Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) against Atlantic Yards was limited in scope, addressing only process concerns surrounding a particular environmental lawyer's alleged conflict of interest. Their more recent "friend of the court" brief supporting the Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund (BBPDF) is much more wide-ranging and dire.
Posted by lumi at 5:51 AM
News Analysis: Railyards a Path to Jailyards?
Brooklyn Downtown Star
By Norman Oder
Is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Brooklyn railyard - a key component of the Atlantic Yards megadevelopment plan in Prospect Heights - a criminal hot spot? Yes, claims the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), the state agency charged with moving the project ahead and, along the way, evaluating its environmental impact.
However, the state's evidence can be picked apart by anyone who's taken a walk around the area. And the report simply ignores data that suggests alternative explanations for the crime rates cited.
Posted by lumi at 5:44 AM
Local CBs to hold forum on Atlantic Yards despite summer recess
The following statement is made on behalf of Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 6 & 8:
The Atlantic Yards Arena and Redevelopment Project is the largest single project proposed in the borough of Brooklyn. Collectively, the project affects 3 community districts, specifically, Brooklyn Community Boards 2, 6 and 8. The project has been years in the conceptual stage and has changed over time since it was first introduced in 2003.
With the release of the project plan there is now an official document to review. The document is lengthy and contains some highly technical language that will be a challenge for the average person to fully comprehend. Despite repeated requests of all agencies and officials having some jurisdiction over this project, the Community Boards have been denied resources that would have been used to help enhance the public's understanding of the document.
While the timing of the plan's release is most unfortunate, as it coincides with the most popular time of year that many New Yorkers traditionally take summer vacations, we believe it would be even more unfortunate if the affected boards did nothing and let this important moment pass without hearing from our communities. We cannot and will not shirk our public mandate. Regrettably, we are forced to respond reactively to a timetable laid out before us.
All 3 affected Community Boards will simultaneously and respectively conduct a Public Hearing at locations within each community district on Thursday, August 3, 2006 from 6:00-8:00pm. The respective locations of the hearings are provided in the public hearing notice (Download the full, official CB Public Hearing Notice, PDF). The Community Boards will continue to receive written comments beyond the hearing date and welcomes the submission of statements from interested parties via mail, fax, email and hand delivery. Comments can be forwarded to the respective Community Board to the District Office locations also noted in the hearing notice.
In addition to the Community Board public hearing the Empire State Development Corporation, the State lead agency for the project, has announced their public hearing on the draft environmental impact statement on Wednesday, August 23, 2006 from 4:30-8:30pm at New York City Technical College, Klitgord Auditorium, 285 Jay Street, Brooklyn. The lead agency will also be receiving written comments through the close of business on September 22, 2006.
We encourage interested parties to share their views with us and with the state agency directly about this project plan. The project plan is available at the Community Boards' District Offices for review during regular business hours, and can also be accessed online at http://www.empire.state.ny.us/AtlanticYards.
Posted by lumi at 5:09 AM
July 26, 2006
Lightning Striking Again
NoLandGrab had the honor of attending the Eliot Spitzer/Tom Suozzi gubernatorial race debate at Pace University Tuesday night. The lightning round at the end of the debate, where the candidates had to answer Yes or No to the questions with no exceptions, proved to be the most telling segment.
When asked if they supported the use of eminent domain for private development, as in the case of the Atlantic Yards proposal, Suozzi responded “That’s a very tough question,” which elicited groans and boos from the audience. He followed up quickly by saying “I’ll say no under the current circumstances.” The host Dominic Carter of NY1, pressed Suozzi for a clear Yes or No to which he responded “No.” Spitzer quickly and quietly answered “Yes.”
NoLandGrab also had the pleasure of asking Suozzi afterward why he hesitated in his answer. He explained that he is not against eminent domain being used for public benefit, but that he does not agree with it being used in the case of the Atlantic Yards proposal.
Click here for NY1's coverage of the debate
Posted by amy at 9:36 PM
Eminent domain abused
Ohio Supreme Court overrules Norwood home-taking
The Cincinnati Enquirer
By Gregory Korte and Steve Kemme
Ohio's Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that a Cincinnati suburb cannot seize private property by eminent domain for a $125 million project of offices, shops and restaurants.
In what was the first property rights case to reach a state high court since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in "Kelo vs. New London" last summer, the court found that economic development is not a sufficient reason under the Ohio constitution to justify the taking of homes.
The Ohio case involves the city of Norwood, near Cincinnati, which used its power of eminent domain to seize homes and businesses for a private development in an area it deemed "deteriorating."
“It’s a complete vindication of the rights of the Gambles and Joe Horney and the Burtons, and the rights of every home and business owner in the state of Ohio,” said Dana Berliner, an attorney for the Washington-based Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm that represented the Norwood property owners.
The Ohio court also ruled that taking property because it is in a "deteriorating area" is unconstitutional, citing the vagueness of the term and the inherent need to speculate as to the future condition of the property in question.
NoLandGrab: It's probably safe to say that the Ohio ruling was not warmly received at Forest City Ratner headquarters today. The Norwood case is likely to be watched closely by states around the country - including New York - and the particulars of the proposed (and aptly named) Rookwood Exchange development project bear striking resemblance to those of FCRC's "Atlantic Yards".
Posted by lumi at 5:53 PM
It Ain’t Broke
Brooklyn’s neighborhoods, with skylines defined by church spires, are great urban success stories.
Why forsake what works? asks Francis Morrone
This month's issue of Civic News (the official monthly publication of the Park Slope Civic Council), features an interview with urban architectural historian, self-described "huge NBA fan," and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Advisory Board Member Francis Morrone.
Civic News gets the ball rolling with a curious disclaimer, which begs the question, "what is the Park Slope Civic Council's position on Atlantic Yards?".
Our desire, in this interview with writer and teacher Francis Morrone, was to provide historical and cultural context to the proposed Atlantic Yards project and, more generally, the development boom that is already transforming large swaths of Brooklyn. We spoke to Morrone not because we agree with all his positions, but because he is an exceptionally informed and thoughtful observer of our urban scene; we would be happy to consider contributions offering differing points of view.
Morrone’s column, “Abroad in New York,” appears on Fridays in The New York Sun. He has written architectural guidebooks to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Philadelphia, and recently published, with Judith Stonehill, Brooklyn: A Journey Through the City of Dreams. He is a lecturer at New York University and a Fellow of the Institute of Classical Architecture, and is well known for his popular architectural tours of New York City.
Civic News: You have characterized the battle over Atlantic Yards as a battle over what Brooklyn wants to be, as well as over what Manhattan wants Brooklyn to be. Surely, these are not battles that have just been joined in the 21st century. With apologies for asking a question that might require a doctoral thesis to answer fully, can you tell us a bit about how these battles have played out in the past?
Francis Morrone: I think that for a long time Brooklyn really didn’t know what it wanted to be, or it wanted to be something it couldn’t afford to be. Brooklyn’s identity has coalesced in the last 50 years around the decline-renewal dynamic. During this time, Brooklyn lost many of its characterizing institutions—the ones people wax nostalgic over. The Eagle went under, the Dodgers left, the Navy Yard closed, Steeplechase Park closed, the downtown movie palaces and department stores—Namm’s, Loeser’s, Martin’s, finally Abraham & Straus—closed, and so on.
A lot of this was sad, some of it was inevitable, and some of it is not what it’s cracked up to be. If Brooklynites loved their Dodgers so, then why did they stop going to the games? That old identity, the nostalgic one as I call it, was in part pretty shaky stuff. Suburban flight to the flimsy houses of Levittown was all it took to take away these characterizing institutions.
But in its place came something else, something I daresay that has the look of an enduring city culture, made up of newcomers in the last 50 years: the African-American newcomers from the southern United States (whose neighborhoods endured crushing desolation either from red-lining or urban renewal), the young (white and black) brownstoners, the energetic young people who occupy the brownstone “accessory apartments,” the gay and lesbian communities, and the post-1965 immigrants, such as those who revitalized Sunset Park.
None of these groups—not one—was part of nostalgic Brooklyn. I don’t want to sound like an architectural determinist, but, for God’s sake, isn’t it the urban form of the intact 19th-century streets that has proved Brooklyn’s salvation? One can live in Brooklyn with its European-scale neighborhoods and enjoy a full-blooded urban existence apart from the hypertrophied urbanism of Manhattan.
Skyscrapers are cool and bizarrely inhuman at the same time, and their clusters in Manhattan or in Pacific Rim cities may be awesome and exciting. They may, as with the prewar skylines of Manhattan, constitute an aesthetic fact as great as the Age of the Cathedrals. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t make all kinds of human sense to check the spread of skyscrapers. Again, the word is hypertrophy, which means, in its original medical context, abnormal enlargement. The Frank Gehry-designed towers proposed for Atlantic Yards emphasize and celebrate this notion of hypertrophy; they emphasize and celebrate the sheer inhumanness of it all.
CN: Brooklyn has proved itself a resilient city and borough over several centuries. Assuming Atlantic Yards gets built to its full scale, how fundamentally would Brooklyn be changed?
FM: The old part of Brooklyn would never be the same, that’s for sure. The visual profile would alter 100 percent. The scale of this thing is hard to convey to people. We can call it gigantic, or super-colossal, but these words have devalued meanings. What I tell people is that this thing is so big, so out of scale, that it will place so much pressure upon an already barely adequate infrastructure, will suck so much electricity, will produce so much garbage, will cast so much shadow, and divert so many cars onto your neighborhood streets, that you will probably want to move. It’s as simple as that.
Would Brooklyn adapt? I go back to what I said about the coalescing identity. Yes, Brooklyn has survived big physical interventions, like the Brooklyn Bridge, which did, for better or worse, put an end to an older Brooklyn, maybe even more than consolidation did. Consolidation—Brooklyn’s incorporation into New York City—coincided with a massive wave of immigration that completely altered Brooklyn’s ethnic profile and that basically created the “nostalgic Brooklyn.” Then, great demographic shifts occurred—not without much pain—after World War II. It’s amazing to think that the poet Marianne Moore, fearing for her safety, moved out of Brooklyn in 1967, and that Harvey Lichtenstein took over a moribund BAM in 1969. The one seems symbolic of Brooklyn at its nadir, the other seems symbolic of Brooklyn’s regeneration.
I think as we study it more and more we’ll come to see that the decline and the renewal were all jumbled up, and the decline may have been more like birthing pains. So, yes, Brooklyn is resilient. But the changes that forced Brooklyn to adapt have been in the nature of overwhelming social and demographic forces. There are no such forces at work with Atlantic Yards.
And it’s not just Prospect Heights. I look at Greenpoint—Williamsburg, too, of course, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Greenpoint—and I literally break down in tears. Again, the scale of the new building in the rezoned areas—where there’s only the L train in one part of it and only the G train in another part of it—is so absurdly big that it defies all reason, except to make a handful of people who are already rich grow even richer.
CN: You have suggested that incremental development, like the development that has gone on for the last several decades in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, may be best for Brooklyn. However, covering over a rail yards is a major capital project. Could that occur without massive intervention from either the government or a mega-developer like Forest City Ratner?
FM: Forest City Ratner can’t do what it wants to do without a lot of help from government—government that has conveniently abdicated its oversight role, and that will be spending nearly $2 billion of our money to help out Forest City Ratner. In any redevelopment of the yards, government would have to get in on the act; there’s no way around that, and it isn’t a bad thing. The MTA’s RFP [Request for Proposals] for the yards clearly stated that it was willing to sell off the site in increments. Nowhere is it written that the yards have to be decked over all at once, and in fact in other such projects it hasn’t always been done all at once.
That said, I have to admit something. The Atlantic Yards plan has scared me into redefining “incremental.” I could possibly get on board with the Extell plan [ed: an alternative plan for the site], which would build above the yards and nowhere else, depending on the specifics of the design. At least democracy wouldn’t be thrown out the window.
I hear people say “cities have got to change” or “change or die.” What the hell does that mean? Does it mean anything at all? This is what it means to me: If you keep cities in constant churn, you make more work and more money, for lawyers, bankers, and developers.
CN: Do you think that the arena was added to the project for political reasons? For example, was it hoped that the arena would strike a chord among Brooklynites, drawing support to a project that they might otherwise oppose?
FM: Absolutely. It was a political masterstroke. It even worked with me before I looked closely at what was going on. I’m a huge NBA fan. I thought, man, I’ll get season tickets and walk to the games!
CN: Tell us a bit about the history of the site of the proposed Atlantic Yards project.
FM: There have been yards on at least part of the site since the 19th century. But the present depressed yards date from around 1910 and were considered a major improvement to the surrounding area. This was because it partly hid the trains from view, partly muffled the noise, and eliminated grade crossings.
The yards were adjacent to the handsome old Flatbush Terminal, a building I was sorry to see go. At its height, that terminal handled 70 percent as many passengers as Grand Central Terminal, and more passengers than any of the fabled stations along the New Jersey waterfront. The electrification of rail operations, the depressing of the yards, the new terminal, and the relocation of BAM from Montague Street to its present location near the yards are not coincidental phenomena.
CN: Assume that the area around Vanderbilt Yards had not fallen under the wrecking ball of urban renewal – that, say, the Flatbush Terminal and Fort Greene Market had not been demolished. Is it possible to envision what the neighborhood would look like today?
FM: It’s hard to say—there are a lot of variables. Would the meat market still be operating as such? Would it, for example, have had any of the potential for gentrification that the Gansevoort Market in Greenwich Village had? The terminal was a lovely building in horrendous condition. I don’t know if it could have been restored as historic railroad stations across the country have been restored. The depressed yards would still be there, doing their “border vacuum” thing as Jane Jacobs put it – a physical barrier dividing Park Slope and Prospect Heights from Fort Greene.
Urban renewal made a mess of the area, that’s for sure, exacerbating the border vacuum problems it already had. One thing is for certain: We would have been spared the Atlantic Center.
CN: If you had a magic wand, what would you build on the Atlantic Yards site? What would be your dream project?
FM: In my dreams, different parts of the site would be sold to different developers who could build whatever they wanted, subject to strict height limitations and thorough environmental review. I’d like to see something like energy consumption guidelines—green buildings and the like. If we want affordable housing, and we should, then just make it a requirement, or set aside some parcels for Atlantic Commons-type development. (Yes, I know it’s not as easy as all that, but you asked me to dream.) I’d like to see development take place around publicly accessible squares—not plazas, not parks, not “open space,” but squares. Then one day you might be able to take a continuously joyous stroll from Park Slope to Fort Greene.
In short, my dream would be for development that would ensure that this oldest part of Brooklyn continues to present a strong vision of low-rise urbanity, that might one day be seen as being as truly remarkable in its way as the skyscraper urbanism of Manhattan.
Posted by lumi at 12:09 PM
“Friendly :) condemnations” (but not for renters): ESDC plans eminent domain for most of AY
Atlantic Yards Report explains why NY State is condemning Ratner's property too, in a "friendly :) condemnation."
ESDC spokeswoman Jessica Copen explained: "When a development site is assembled by eminent domain, it is typical for the condemning authority to run any properties already owned by the developer through a 'friendly' condemnation, so as to clear any title defects that may have accumulated over the years."
Copen's statement does reflect typical practice. However, George Locker, a lawyer who represents 15 of the remaining 55 tenants in the project footprint, contends there's another reason: to evict his clients, who live in FCR-owned buildings but are protected by rent-stabilized leases.
[For details on ownership of property occupied by tenants, click on map (adapted from the General Project Plan) to enlarge.]
"This is about getting protected residential rental tenants out of buildings," he charged. "ESDC is condemning rent-stabilized leases, contrary to the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], and in violation of the tenant's rights and benefits, and the landlord's obligations under rent-stabilization. All of this chicanery will be the subject of litigation."
Typically, a landlord who wants to demolish a building containing rent-stabilized tenants to build another building must apply to a state housing agency for a demolition permit and satisfy several requirements--a process that would take much longer than the projected timetable for approval of the Atlantic Yards project.
NoLandGrab: "Friendly :) condemnations?" What will they think of next? "I-heart-Bruce-Ratner" bumper stickers?
Posted by lumi at 11:44 AM
Dope slap
Nothing will earn ya a dope slap like greasing the wheels for wealthy sports team owners.
Today Dope on the Slope offers this image of the Newswalk watertower (which is enveloped by Ratner's plan footprint) then puts the squeeze on H.O.M.E.P.L.A.T.E. and overdevloper-slash-eminent-domain-abuser Bruce Ratner.
The city government that brought you Developer Entitlement Zones is eagerly promoting another fine product to deliver maximum value for your tax dollar. Among the social workers in city government who work tirelessly to assist underprivileged elites, it's known as Handing Out Money to Empower Professional Lobbyists And Team Executives (aka HOMEPLATE).
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Sports executives aren't the only fans of HOMEPLATE. Shortly after the program's inception, it received a hearty endorsement from the United Front of Unfettered Kingpin Developers (UFUKD).
Homeowners, The Pesky Little Blighters
According to the Real Estate Development "industry," as cited in today's New York Times, a bunch of pesky, small-time pipsqueaks (aka homeowners and small business owners) are ruining it for everybody with regard to the Atlantic Yards proposal...
As far as I can tell, this ["blight"] study concludes that individual property owners are a major inconvenience to big shot developers, and since threat of bodily harm is ostensibly illegal in real estate transactions, developers need another sort of weapon - namely, the threat of eminent domain.
Posted by lumi at 11:25 AM
For a Veteran State Senator, a Rare Primary Challenge
The NY Times
By Jonathan Hicks
State Senator Velmanette Montgomery is having to fend off a last-minute challenge from former City Councilmember Tracy Boyland.
Boyland's main point of attack on Montgomery is Atlantic Yards:
She also said that Ms. Montgomery had been outspoken on only one issue: her opposition to the Atlantic Yards project.
NoLandGrab: What the article doesn't mention is that Boyland's challenge is a retaliatory move by the Brooklyn Democratic Machine, which, though ailing, is not dead yet, and has pulled out all the stops to support pro-Ratner candidates.
Posted by lumi at 10:01 AM
(Non) Blight in Prospect Heights
Daily Gothamist went "blight" hunting in Prospect Heights and found...
a two-on-one basketball game, a water fight, one postal worker, two UPS workers, someone sweeping his stoop and at least four trucks delivering glass, some pipes (we think) and sheet rock for a number of construction projects.
Don't forget to check out the comments, in which readers are demanding some photos of real blight.
Posted by lumi at 9:46 AM
ON THE WATERFRONT
New Life For the Gowanus
NY Sun
By Roberta Weisbrod
An article about the potential for - and problems with - redevelopment in the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn makes this observation about sewer overflows:
What is needed is keeping the old 1911 flushing tunnel in good repair, upgrading it, correcting the combined sewer overflows — especially before the Atlantic Yards development adds more flow, cleaning debris from the canal, repairing bulkheads, and dredging contaminated sediments. Mr. Scotto also says: "The development projects will create pressure for infrastructure improvements — with, of course, the community keeping politicians' feet to the fire."
Posted by lumi at 9:34 AM
Frank Gehry on Film
What a new documentary does and doesn't say about the famous architect.
Slate
By Witold Rybczynski
A critque of Sydney Pollack's most recent film, "Sketches of Frank Gehry," not only points out that Pollack admittedly knows little about making documentaries or architecture, but also indirectly makes the case that Gehry knows little about urban design.
"It's not just that I didn't know anything about making documentaries. I didn't even know anything about architecture," says Hollywood director Sydney Pollack, recalling his reaction to Frank Gehry's request that he make a movie about his work. "That's why you're perfect," Gehry is supposed to have answered. After seeing Sketches of Frank Gehry, I'm not so sure.
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Pollack includes a token negative critic in the film, art historian Hal Foster. The Princeton professor is unconvincing, but there is a real criticism of Gehry to be made. He is currently designing two large urban real-estate development projects, one in Brooklyn and one in downtown Los Angeles. How suitable will his whimsical, idiosyncratic approach be for city building? My guess: not very. It's not a question of size, or density, or art in the service of commerce. The urban renewal of the 1960s demonstrated the peril of architects designing entire neighborhoods. This is no less true of gifted architects. Expressionistic virtuosos—Borromini, Antonio Gaudí, or that Art Nouveau genius, Hector Guimard—created wonderful buildings, which are wonderful precisely because they are exceptional. An entire neighborhood of Gaudí—or Gehry—would be like a meal of only ice cream. Too much of a very good thing.
Posted by lumi at 8:55 AM
"Near the planned Atlantic Yards"? The Times resists another correction
Atlantic Yards Report
With one word, The NY Times made a very weird error in the caption of yesterday's "blight"-in-the-Atlantic Yards-footprint story. Norman Oder pointed out the discrepancy to an editor, but after one illogical response, the Times blew him off.
Yesterday's caption...
This portion of Dean Street, between Flatbush and Sixth Avenues near the planned Atlantic Yards, is in a part of Brooklyn that a state agency has defined as blighted.
...should read (Oder has a slightly different wording in his commentary),
This portion of Dean Street, between Flatbush and Sixth Avenues in the planned Atlantic Yards, is in a part of Brooklyn that a state agency has defined as blighted.
NoLandGrab: Since the Times's editors probably have no love for Norman Oder, it's a wonder that they haven't blocked his email address yet.
Oder does make a good point though — the fact that those buildings are in the planned Atlantic Yards means you can kiss them goodbye if Ratner gets his way with Brooklyn.
Posted by lumi at 8:32 AM
Do the Math
New York Magazine, Intelligencer
By Mark Adams
In a week when the temperature hit 100, the numbers didn’t always add up... A new study detailed how Bruce Ratner’s rail-yard stadium complex—the price of which jumped from $2.5 billion to $4.2 billion, and which is looking less like a 21st-century Rockefeller Center than a Brooklyn Brasília 2.0—would result in gridlock. (Ratner offered his own fifteen-point plan in response, including embedding all 18,000 Nets tickets with MetroCard strips.)
NoLandGrab: New York Magazine should do its own "math." "Embedding all 18,000 Nets tickets with MetroCard strips" would be a HUGE cost that Ratner couldn't possibly assume and would be totally irrelevant to those traveling to games via automobile.
What Ratner's 15-point plan actually suggests is much more modest — a two-trip MetroCard may be offered to ticketholders at a 50 percent discount.
Posted by lumi at 8:25 AM
Yankee Lobbyists on Taxpayers' Tab
The Village Voice
By Neil deMause
File this under "unbelievable, but true," in the category "Public Funding of Stadiums:"
City documents newly uncovered by the Voice reveal that the New York Yankees billed city tax-payers hundreds of thousands of dollars for the salaries of team execs and high-powered consultants to lobby the city and state, thanks to the team's sweetheart lease deal engineered by the Giuliani administration.
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The Yankees are apparently taking advantage of a clause in their lease with the city that allows "planning costs" of their new $1.3 billion stadium—groundbreaking for which could take place as soon as next week—to be deducted from the team's rent.
Amazingly, one of these taxpayer-funded lobbyist has also worked for Ratner:
The city even apparently paid the Yankees to lobby the city itself. Another recipient of city money, via the Yankees, was the law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, which, according to the New York City clerk's lobbyist database, has served as a registered lobbyist for both Tishman Speyer, the Yankees' project managers for the stadium, and the Yankees themselves. (Tishman's $1.9 million in 2004 was the number one billable item in the stadium planning account.) Working on the Yankee account, the documents show, was land-use lawyer and lobbyist Stephen Lefkowitz: The son of longtime state attorney general Louis Lefkowitz, he has been involved with nearly every major development project in recent city history, including Battery Park City, the Time Warner Center, the attempts to build a new New York Stock Exchange and a Manhattan Jets stadium, and Bruce Ratner's Metrotech and Atlantic Yards projects.
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Skeezy as all this may be, lobbying experts say it's unlikely that any of it is illegal.
Posted by lumi at 8:15 AM
Yonkers Plan Clears Hurdle, but Still Faces Opposition
The NY Times
By Fernanda Santos
Here's the latest on Bruce Ratner's controversial Ridge Hill development plan in Yonkers.
Now that the developer Forest City Ratner Companies has won approval for its ambitious Ridge Hill Village development here, officials representing the city and the developer are turning their attention to resolving an environmental challenge to the project from neighboring Greenburgh.
Construction on Ridge Hill is expected to begin by the end of the year, according to the developer. The $660 million residential, retail and commercial project, near the New York Thruway in the northern part of this city, is expected to create 7,000 jobs and generate $24 million a year in gross revenue for Yonkers — a virtual lifesaver that might just pluck the city out of its perpetual financial pit, its supporters say.
But Ridge Hill has also generated fierce opposition from the Town of Greenburgh, which abuts the project and has battled Yonkers before over development along the town’s border.
In April, Greenburgh filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court challenging the adequacy of the project’s environmental review. The pending suit does not prevent the Ridge Hill project from moving forward, but it could deter its progress down the line, city officials said.
The article includes this interesting observation about why the Ridge Hill development proposal has met with so much resistance:
“This process had a number of flaws,” said Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Westchester County legislator who represents Yonkers. “Many of the parties could have been brought to the table way earlier and many of the deals could have been brokered more transparently so as to avoid a lot of the problems that came up along the way.”
NoLandGrab: To call exposure of cronyism and backroom dealing "a number of flaws" is being polite.
This article also includes a disclosure of the business relationship between Ratner and the Times, not that we're counting...
Posted by lumi at 7:50 AM
July 25, 2006
Despite rumors and Ratner, Ledgers staying in Brooklyn
It's pathetic for NoLandGrab to have to stick our noses into the cauldron of celebrity gossip, but when OnlyTheBlogKnowsBrooklyn kissed the Ledger-Williams family goodbye in Sunday's headline, "HEATH: FAIR WEATHER BROOKLYN FRIEND," (OTBKB had it on good authority from Sunset Parker?) the blogosphere started a titterin' from Curbed.com to The Real Estate Observer.
A source close to the first couple of Boerum Hill has told us that Michelle and Heath bought Ellen DeGeneres's house in Hollywood so that they could have a local base for the family while in town for work. The Ledgers, "still consider New York, and specifically Brooklyn, home," they still support the opposition to overdeveloper Bruce Ratner and they'll be back again in the fall.
The couple might be sorry that they'll miss the Empire State Development Corporation's public hearing and forum, but other Brooklynites will show up to represent Boerum Hill.
In the meantime, it's totally lame when an amateurish information portal on Atlantic Yards has the scoop on the professional snarks.
Posted by lumi at 4:32 PM
Letter to the editor: Taxpayers shouldn’t pay for Nets arena
Metro NY
LARRY PENNER • Great Neck
Aside from placing the proposed Nets arena in "downtown Brooklyn" (if built, the arena would be near "downtown" in Prospect Heights), our region's most prolific letter-to-the-editor writer Larry Penner, makes some good points and asks some serious questions about taxpayer-funding of Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan.
Regarding “Protesters: Arena on slippery slope” (July 17): The article concerning developer Bruce Ratner’s plans to build a new stadium for the Nets in downtown Brooklyn was most informative.
In too many cases, projects like this one have been heavily subsidized by taxpayers, commonly known as corporate welfare. Between direct government funding, indirect infrastructure improvements, low interest loans and long-term tax exemptions — the bill to taxpayers ends up being greater than the benefits. There also is a relationship between pay-to-play campaign contributions from developers to elected officials looking for favorable legislation, permits, subsidies and support. Is there any relationship between these donations to elected officials and their reciprocal endorsement of this project?
If the Atlantic Yards project is so worthwhile, shouldn’t major developers such as Ratner be able to finance it using his own funds, obtain loans from banks, issue stocks or bonds? Why the need to pick the pockets of taxpayers to pay a significant portion of the bill? Real business people who believe in capitalism build their companies on their own. How sad that some don’t want to do it the old-fashioned way: sweat and hard work. They are looking for shortcuts in the form of huge subsidies at taxpayers’ expense and favors from elected officials.
Posted by lumi at 12:16 PM
Battling Teardowns, Saving Neighborhoods
The fight against the "teardown" phenomenon to save historic neighborhoods and buildings isn't limited to opponents of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards plan, which proposes to demolish the one of the best local candidates for "adaptive reuse," the Ward Bakery (pictured here, with its architecturally significant white terra cotta facade).
The National Trust for Historic Preservation President Richard Moe gave a speech in San Francisco decrying the "teardown" trend. Text of this speech was recently published on the Trust's web site.
In some places, teardowns are acceptable or even desirable. Replacing outdated and inefficient structures is sometimes necessary if a community is to remain economically viable. But in recent years the pace of teardowns has amounted to an orgy of irrational destruction.
Sound older houses should be cherished as an irreplaceable legacy from the past — but instead, in community after community, they're being discarded like yesterday's newspaper.
Posted by lumi at 11:25 AM
"ATURA, ATURA, ATURA" indicates FCR's nervousness over Kelo decision
All of this talk about a 38-year-old plan, called the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA), is an indication that Forest City Ratner (FCR) and the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) are sweating bullets over last year's Kelo ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Yesterday's Daily News editorial made the point that:
"In 1968, most of the area was so blighted that city planners officially declared it an urban renewal zone, restating that designation as recently as 2004."
Today's NY Times "blight" article reported:
"The (blight) study also dwells in some detail on the eight-acre railyards that make up about one-third of the site, and which also fall within an urban renewal zone the city established along Atlantic Avenue in the late 1960’s."
Last week Brian Lehrer interviewed Jim Stuckey, Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards Development Group President, who offered:
"This area has been considered blighted since 1968 when the first Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Plan was adopted. About 60, 65 percent of the area fell within that urban renewal area and was considered to be a blighted area. Those findings when the Downtown Brooklyn plan was approved two years ago were reaffirmed."
ATURA, ATURA, ATURA: Why all this talk about ATURA?
The case that some of Atlantic Yards falls within the ATURA boundaries and the project fulfills the 30+-year-old urban renewal plan's goal to eliminate blight, is a desperate attempt to meet a rational-basis review for use of eminent domain as defined in Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion in last year's Kelo case, cited yesterday by Norman Oder in Atlantic Yards Report.
Kennedy wrote:
A court confronted with a plausible accusation of impermissible favoritism to private parties should treat the objection as a serious one and review the record to see if it has merit, though with the presumption that the government’s actions were reasonable and intended to serve a public purpose.
In reference to the City of New London, Kennedy concluded that certain criteria were met — criteria that would not apply in case of Atlantic Yards (see bold):
Here, the trial court conducted a careful and extensive inquiry into “whether, in fact, the development plan is of primary benefit to . . . the developer [i.e., Corcoran Jennison], and private businesses which may eventually locate in the plan area [e.g., Pfizer], and in that regard, only of incidental benefit to the city.” The trial court considered testimony from government officials and corporate officers; documentary evidence of communications between these parties; respondents’ awareness of New London’s depressed economic condition and evidence corroborating the validity of this concern; the substantial commitment of public funds by the State to the development project before most of the private beneficiaries were known; evidence that respondents reviewed a variety of development plans and chose a private developer from a group of applicants rather than picking out a particular transferee beforehand...
Kennedy added:
...a court applying rational-basis review under the Public Use Clause should strike down a taking that, by a clear showing, is intended to favor a particular private party, with only incidental or pretextual public benefits.
Justice Kennedy agreed with the majority, that the New London private-property condemnations satisfied the definition of "public benefit," but acknowledged that there are cases of abuse that must be struck down by the courts. It stands to reason that Atlantic Yards would be one of those cases, that is, if FCR and the ESDC can't justify using eminent domain as part of an existing urban renewal plan — enter ATURA.
Embracing ATURA, but not before we OVERRIDE ATURA
On February 18, 2005 (four months before the Kelo decision was handed down), a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and State and FCR was executed, clearly stating [page 3, sec. 5(ii)] that the ESDC would seek "to exercize... its power to override local zoning and other local regulation where appropriate" (that includes ATURA).
In the Final Scope of Analysis released on March 31, 2006, the intent to supercede ATURA zoning was reiterated on page 10, where the document describes actions that must be taken to amass the different properties into one development site. The Final Scope declares that it will be necessary to: "Override by ESDC of the ATURA Plan as it relates to Site 5 and Site 6A." The rest of the railyard isn't part of this action because under ATURA, the railyard has no zoning.
OOPS! We have a problem
| OVERRIDE ATURA | EMBRACE ATURA |
In order to override local zoning as mandated by ATURA, the ESDC must override the 30+-year-old urban renewal plan, because the Ratner proposal plans for much more density than ATURA would allow. |
The eminent domain takings (most of which aren't even in the ATURA plan's boundaries anyway) will pass the "blight" test because NY State's definition of blight basically covers the entire City of New York. However, to pass the standard set by Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion in the Kelo case as the case winds its way through the court of appeals, FCR and the ESDC must now embrace ATURA and claim Atlantic Yards meets ATURA's blight-clearance goals. |
Our intuition tells us that Ratner and the ESDC are running scared, and the best strategy their legal eagles could divine to justify this unprecedented land grab is this weak and desperate grasp at legal straws.
Posted by lumi at 9:21 AM
Blight, Like Beauty, Can Be in the Eye of the Beholder
The NY Times
By Nicholas Confessore