No Land Grab

CBN co-chairperson Therese Urban said, “Everyone involved in this review has done an amazing job in producing this Response. Even though the ESDC denied the community a reasonable period to analyze the huge DEIS they launched at us with July’s “Summer Surprise,” the community has made an heroic effort resulting in our Response. It is CBN’s hope that the comments of our consultants and community members will be carefully studied by the ESDC and government officials in considering the many, glaring shortcomings of the DEIS. Due to the number and profound nature of the errors and shortcomings of the DEIS, CBN does not believe the current DEIS can be approved.”

CBN’s representatives expect to be joined by several of the experts who worked on behalf of the organization to craft CBN’s response to the DEIS, and have invited other community groups and elected officials to join them in delivering their written testimony tomorrow. Expert contributors to the effort are listed below, along with the DEIS Tasks and production duties they addressed.

CBN’s response to the Atlantic Yards DEIS is expected to be highly critical of the document. The experts working for CBN have identified numerous inconsistencies in the environmental study, as well as a multitude of insufficient and inadequate analyses and examples of questionable methodologies.

Complete copies of CBN’s response will be available for download from the organization’s web site (www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com) on Saturday, September 30th.

Environmental Consultants Contributing to CBN Analysis of DEIS:
Dr. Tom Angotti (Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development) Chapters addressed: Land Use, Zoning and Public Policy, Public Health, Construction Impacts, Mitigations, Alternatives, Overview

Dr. Arline Bronzaft (Professor Emerita, Lehman College, CUNY) Chapters addressed: Noise, Public Health, Construction Impacts

Noah Budnick (Transportation Alternatives) Chapters addressed: Transportation

Ethan Cohen (City University of New York) Chapters addressed: Neighborhood Character

Brad Lander (Pratt Center for Community Planning and Economic Development) Chapters addressed: Socioeconomic Conditions

Dr. Jesse David (National Economic Research Associate) Chapters addressed: Socioeconomic Conditions

Dr. Edgar Freud P.E. (Sierra Club) Chapters addressed: Infrastructure

Daniel Gutman (Environmental Consultant) Chapters addressed: Air Quality, Public Health, Construction Impacts

George Janes    (Environmental Simulation Center) Chapters addressed: Photo Simulations

Brian Ketchum (Community Consulting Services) Chapters addressed: Transportation

Carolyn Konheim (Community Consulting Services) Chapters addressed: Transportation

Tim Logan (Sierra Club) Chapters addressed: Infrastructure

Dr. Franco Montalto (eDesign Dynamics LLC) Chapters addressed: Infrastructure

Dr. Laxmi Ramasubramanian (Hunter College CCPD) Chapters addressed: Socioeconomic Conditions, Community Facilities

Andrew Wiley-Schwartz and Phil Myrick (Project for Public Spaces) Chapters addressed: Open Space

James Vogel (ntelligence Inc.) Media Production and Website

The COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS (www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com) is a coalition of recognized diverse community groups active in Community Boards 2, 3, 6, and 8. CBN is comprised of 40 community organizations that have joined together to ensure meaningful community participation in the environmental review of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

James Vogel
Secretary, CBN

Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205