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April 20, 2007
Groups sit down with pols over Atlantic Yards
MetroNY
By Amy Zimmer
The Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement signatories (some of whom represent groups formed for the express purpose of the CBA and supporting the project, and are financed by Forest City Ratner) have a hot-line to developer Bruce Ratner. That didn't stop them from throwing a fit when politicians showed up at last weekend's rally to express concerns about the demolition of buildings like the Ward Bakery to make way for giant parking lots:
When eight groups signed onto Forest City Ratner’s Community Benefits Agreement two years ago, they were designated the gatekeepers of the $4 billion project’s affordable housing and employment initiatives.
They were to serve as a bridge between the neighborhood and developer, but as local elected officials continue to raise concerns over the project – and are calling on the Spitzer administration to make changes -- the CBA organizations are feeling shoved aside.
Eight local politicians sent a letter requesting a sit-down with the Empire State Development Corporation the state agency overseeing the project, to discuss community concerns. Yesterday, CBA members held a closed-door meeting with some of those pols.
“We said, you’ve dismissed the collective body – which is the CBA,” said Delia Hunley-Adossa, chair of the Community Benefits Agreement Executive Committee, “We let them know they didn’t reach out to use so we reached out to them.”
Hunley-Adossa understood the concerns that protesters raised at a rally earlier this week, opposing the demolition of two city blocks’ worth of buildings for a parking lot. “I worked on that during the environmental review,” she said.” A lot of people were worried they would lose their on-site parking [during the construction] and were concerned about traffic flow.” The lot was a way to accommodate the community.
“We told them, ‘Our concern is you never came to us. You jumped and went straight to the ESDC, to the new guy,” she said after the meeting. “Had you come to us, you would have known we are addressing these issues.”
State Rep. Hakeem Jeffries called the CBA meeting “productive,” saying it was designed “to promote a dialogue between the CBA [signers] and elected officials and hopefully allow us to help the CBA coalition to deliver the benefits that have conceptually been promised.”
But ultimately he said “This project still can’t go forward without government blessing. If we could involve the Spitzer administration, the government could be more of a partner. The Pataki administration was missing in action.”
ESDC spokesman Errol Cockfield said the state plans to “increase oversight and monitoring so that community concerns are heard,” adding, “Out agency will be a vocal ambassador to ensure the developer and various government agencies work toward a positive result.”
Posted by lumi at April 20, 2007 9:37 AM