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September 4, 2006
Developer Is Expected to Snip Away at High-Rise Project in Brooklyn
The NY Times
By Charles Bagli and Diane Cardwell
Facing mounting criticism of its $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project, the developer Forest City Ratner plans to reduce the size of the complex by 6 to 8 percent, eliminating hundreds of apartments from what would be the largest development project in the city, according to government officials and executives working with the developer.
Forest City is also considering reducing the height of the project’s tallest tower, which is known as Miss Brooklyn, to get it under the height of the borough’s tallest building, the nearby Williamsburgh Savings Bank, according to real estate executives.
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But both supporters and critics have expected Forest City to reduce the size and density of Atlantic Yards, which has been the focus of a series of raucous, standing-room-only public hearings, most recently on Aug. 24. The stage appeared to be set when the Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz, the project’s chief cheerleader, proclaimed at that hearing that no tower at Atlantic Yards should be taller than the 512-foot Williamsburgh Savings Bank building.
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“I don’t think the bottom-line community concern is really about aesthetics, which is what shaving a few stories off the heights of the buildings is about,” said James F. Brennan, a Brooklyn assemblyman. “I don’t think this flies.”Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, added, “They could chop Miss Brooklyn in half in terms of the height and that won’t change our position.” Mr. Goldstein’s group opposes the arena, the project’s density and the state’s use of eminent domain to acquire some of the property.
Mr. Goldstein said he suspects that the developer has had this proposal “in their closet for a long time.”
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At that point, there could be a long line of politicians and activists hoping to take credit, including the Bloomberg administration, Mr. Silver, Ms. Millman and Mr. Markowitz.“Everyone’s going to take credit for something that everyone knew would happen,” said an executive who works with Forest City. “For these guys, it’s very important.”
NoLandGrab: Now we know what the puchline was to the big laugh had by the Forest City Ratner contingent during Marty's speech at the public hearing on August 23rd. Apparently the inside joke is that Marty was calling for things that were already "in the can," while opponents and reporters scribbled notes about the change in Marty's tune.
Brooklynites don't mind being played like a violin — too bad it's the taxpayers that still have to pay the piper.
Sorry 'bout the tired musical cliches - they're just about as lame as the typical game in which the developer proposes a project that's way too big, shaves it down, and calls it a win for the community.
The community has no details of any possible changes, but a 6%-8% shavedown of the project would still make Atlantic Yards the most dense residential community in the nation, by a lo-o-o-ong shot — and bigger still than when it was initially unveiled.
The line of those seeking "to take credit" for such a cosmetic change apparently won't include "everyone," since Assemblymember Brennan appears to have clearly seen through the smoke being blown by the developer.
Posted by lumi at September 4, 2006 10:24 PM