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June 24, 2007
Critics Say Affordable Housing Bill Amounts To Sweetheart Deal For Ratner
NY1
The 421-a Ratner clause passed by the New York Legislature turns potentially good reform into something bad.
On paper, it seems like it has good intentions: a measure to greatly expand a law giving tax breaks to developers who build housing for low income and working class New Yorker City residents, but critics say beware the fine print.
"In addition to broadly creating more affordable housing around the city, the bill contains sub paragraph 13, which says for the Atlantic Yards project that Forest City Ratner is developing, even the market rate buildings can get a tax break, and our estimates are that could be a tax giveaway of as much as $100 million,” says Brad Lander of the Pratt Center for Community Development.
That’s $100 million dollars on top of $300 million in direct city and state subsidies, plus another $1.4 billion in tax exempt bonds Ratner is expected to seek to finance his mega project, which calls for 16 high-rise residential and office towers, plus a new arena for the Nets Basketball team in Prospect Heights.
NoLandGrab: You don't really need to be a critic of Atlantic Yards to see what's wrong here. The Sweetheart Deal (can't you just smell the pork?) is simply a matter of fact.
Posted by steve at June 24, 2007 7:32 AM