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December 12, 2006
Ready, set, go for Atlantic Yards
NY Daily News Editorial
Yesterday, we missed the latest installment of the News's glowing endorsement of the Atlantic Yards project. But no worries, Forest City Ratner emailed a copy to their list:
Now, the fate of Atlantic Yards rests with Pataki, Silver and Bruno as the overseers of the Public Authorities Control Board, an entity established in the fiscal crisis three decades ago to make sure quasi-independent agencies didn't issue bonds that couldn't be repaid. The board has jurisdiction because the Legislature and governor agreed to invest $100 million in infrastructure improvements.
By all rights, the panel should consider only one issue: whether the project is financially sound. Not whether its buildings are too tall and its scale is too large, as opponents argue. The review process has settled those questions, but there's concern that one member of the board - Silver - could use his veto power to demand revisions, if not kill the project, as some of his Assembly colleagues want.
The speaker exercised such muscle in blocking the Jets stadium proposed for Manhattan's West Side and the transformation of the Farley Post Office into Moynihan Station. He says he was on solid ground in both cases, and he hints he's likely to give a thumbs up to Atlantic Yards - while also saying the deal would rise or fall based "on how the developer responds to some of the criticism, either because of the mass of the project or some of the traffic."
NoLandGrab: Two things to note: the actual financial analysis of the project has never been released to the public, so a vote by the board would seem to be premature; and the Silver quote would indicate some softness in the Assembly Speaker's position, which has been characterized in the press and on local blogs as supportive of the project.
Today, Norman Oder factchecks the News editorial for free. Here's a sample:
The benefits of the Atlantic Yards are manifest, among them 2,500 apartments geared for the middle and working classes, $5.6 billion in tax revenues over the next 30 years, 15,000 construction jobs, a couple of thousand permanent jobs and a great entertainment venue for Brooklyn. It's a win-win-win.
Actually, 2250 apartments, not 2500. That's a basic fact. Why add another ten percent or so—is factchecking that difficult?
$5.6 billion in tax revenues? Only if you play with the numbers.
15,000 construction jobs? That’s job-years. [1,500 jobs over 10 years.]
A couple of thousand permanent jobs? Perhaps, but a lot fewer than promised.
Click here for the rest of Oder's fact-checking rout of the Daily Snooze.
Posted by lumi at December 12, 2006 8:28 AM