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July 19, 2006
DEIS release in the media
Here are today's headlines:
AM NY, Atlantic yards report released
AmNewYork City Editor Michael Clancy quotes the opposition...
"Sixty days to review a 15-inch-thick document, requiring the input of numerous experts for the largest project ever proposed by a developer in the history of New York City ... is a contemptible slap in the face to the people of Brooklyn," said Daniel Goldstein, the spokesman for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn.
...and the state agency.
"We are one step closer to creating thousands of new jobs and much needed housing -- including affordable housing -- which will have a lasting impact on the borough," said Charles Gargano, the chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation.
Metro NY, Living in the shadow
Reporter Amy Zimmer quotes the report...
“The overarching goal of the proposed project is to transform a blighted area into a vibrant mixed-use community, incorporating principles of environmental sustainability,” the report read. “However, these social and economic benefits cannot be achieved without some adverse environmental impacts. There would be significant adverse impacts as a result of the operations of the proposed project.” And while the developer would try to reduce these problems, “there would remain some unmitigated impacts.”
...and notes the escalating project costs.
The 1,000-page-plus report also said the costs of the Frank Gehry-designed plan has swelled to $4.2 billion from $2.5 billion.
The ballooning costs resulted from price increases of construction, fuel and financing rates, said Jim Stuckey, executive vice president of Forest City Ratner.
Metro NY, State report fans flames in Atlantic Yards controversy
More from Metro about the controversy over the release of the DEIS:
The buildings’ shadows, for instance, “would result in a significant adverse impact on” the stained-glass windows of the Church of the Redeemer and other sites, the report said. Traffic studies show that with the project’s completion by 2016, “a total of 68 intersections would be significantly impacted.” The document, however, said the plan wouldn’t affect police, fire or emergency services, or strain the subway system, which would have to carry more riders on game days.
“When Brooklyn comes to a standstill, what are they going to do?” asked Goldstein.
For traffic, Forest City Ratner executive vice president Jim Stuckey said his company put together a 15-point plan that would offer MetroCards to people who would drive to games and create a space to park 400 bikes.
“The 22-acre site has many abandoned and vacant buildings,” he said. “There have been years of failed attempts to redevelop this area.”
NLG: Stuckey fails to mention that Bruce Ratner bought and emptied those buildings. The dirty little secret about the blight study is that it was conducted in 2005, not 2003 when the project was announced. Since then, Ratner has had plenty of time to purchase properties, empty them of their inhabitants (that makes them abandoned?) and leave the windows open to accelerate deterioration. Nice trick.
NY Daily News, Yards impact report 'absurd,' critic says
The News points out that the DEIS draws some incredible conclusions:
State planners insist the project, which will include 16 condo and office towers and up to 6,860 apartments, would have no "significant adverse impacts" on emergency services in the area or on subways, libraries and hospitals - sparking criticism from opponents.
"These services are already overwhelmed, and they say adding approximately 18,000 new residents and an 18,000-seat arena will have no impact?" said Daniel Goldstein of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. "How dare they make such an absurd claim?"
The News is also the only publication to report that Stuckey mentioned that the ballooning project "cost estimates did not include the $100 million the developer must pay the MTA for the Vanderbilt rail yards."
NLG: This is a noteworthy reminder that Ratner originally expected to receive the development rights for the railyards for FREE, as was the case for his Atlantic Terminal Mall (nicknamed "The Toaster").
NY Post, RATNER'S GOT HIGH 'HOOPS;'NETS DEAL 'DONE'
The Post's headline writer and reporter Rich Calder really jump the gun in what would make a perfect Atlantic Yards News email blast:
Bruce Ratner's bid to build 16 skyscrapers and an NBA arena in Downtown Brooklyn became all but a slam dunk yesterday when the Empire State Development Corp. signed off on the megadeveloper's massive project - now estimated to cost $4.2 billion, nearly double the original estimate.
NoLandGrab: Calder was the one reporter who didn't understand that the Empire State Development Corporation "signed off" on the General Project Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Statement, not the project. Though the ESDC will likely officially "sign off" on the project later this fall, when the Final Environmental Impact Statement is released. No mention of legal challenges, either.
NY Sun, In Push for Atlantic Yards Project, State Touts Eminent Domain
David Lombino's report has the eminent domain angle:
The state’s general project plan details the need for eminent domain to clear as many as 22 different tax lots, containing both commercial and residential property — and about 118 people — that remain in the project’s footprint but have not sold to the developer. The existence of blight will likely be used as the state’s rationale for using eminent domain to condemn the remaining properties, as well as circumventing the city’s land use approval process, which would ordinarily prohibit a project of the density proposed for Atlantic Yards.
NLG: To be totally clear, blight or no blight, NY State legally does not need to provide a rationale for taking over a project and superseding City zoning. If the State takes over a project, legally NYC has no standing, though under usual circumstances, the Mayor would use the City Hall soapbox to decry this type of usurpation.
NY Times, Measuring a Project’s Shadow, and Burden, on Brooklyn
Times reporter Nicholas Confessore provides the most comprehensive article of the lot, focusing on the potential environmental impacts described in the DEIS.
A new school’s worth of classrooms would be needed to handle all the children. Dozens of crowded intersections would be choked with more traffic. Brownstone neighborhoods would find themselves in shadow. The city’s sewer and water systems would face new challenges. And good luck getting a parking space on game day.
These were among the most striking findings of a 1,400-page study released yesterday, for the first time laying out all the potential effects of the proposed Atlantic Yards project, an 8.7-million-square-foot residential, commercial, and arena development that would spread over 22 acres near Downtown Brooklyn.
The study, released by the Empire State Development Corporation, was accompanied by a project plan that estimated the cost of the development at $4.2 billion, much more than the original cost, $2.5 billion.
Residents have known for more than two years that something big may be coming to the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, something that would affect their lives and neighborhoods in countless ways. But until yesterday, they did not have a picture of the details.
The article briefly describes impacts to traffic (including maps of congested intersections), schools and shadows ("with a 'significant adverse impact'... near the Atlantic Terminal public housing complex").
Posted by lumi at July 19, 2006 7:56 AM