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December 19, 2006
A Bit of Everything Wrong
NY Sun
By Nicole Gelinas
Gelinas hits the nail on the head in this editorial about why Sheldon Silver shouldn't approve Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. "A bit of everything" is "wrong," which is why we've had our hands full at NoLandGrab for almost three years.
But this private-sector veil doesn’t mean Atlantic Yards is anything other than a centrally planned, public-sector project. Forest City Ratner couldn’t pursue Atlantic Yards without a half-billion dollars in public subsidies, the government’s power to condemn private property, and exemptions from local zoning. Rail yards owned by the state’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority occupy 40% of the area, but the rest of the project site is already a developed neighborhood.
Further, the rationale behind Atlantic Yards is vintage New York central planning. To justify the use of eminent domain, state officials have determined that the area, some of which falls under a 44-year-old “urban renewal site” designation, “has been physically blighted and underutilized for decades.”
But the reality is different. A visit to the project site last year revealed historic warehouses converted into condos alongside modern factories serving New York’s arts community. Working-class and middle-class apartment buildings as well as a popular establishment called Freddy’s Bar, which dates back to Prohibition days, face the wrecking ball in the name of state-sponsored urban renewal.
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The Public Authorities Control Board should vote Atlantic Yards down. If it doesn’t, the project could be a target for Governor Spitzer on day one because killing Atlantic Yards is like killing a little bit of everything wrong with the Empire State.
Posted by lumi at December 19, 2006 9:13 AM