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June 26, 2007
Downtown Change Continues, From 16 Court St. to Albee Square
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
In an editorial about real estate activity in Downtown Brooklyn, Dennis Holt contends:
The Atlantic Yards development is really several different projects, will be built like several projects, and should be known as several projects.
NoLandGrab: Holt's assertion is creative, but runs counter to the justification for the extraordinary exception for Atlantic Yards in the 421-a reform bill, passed by the State Assembly late last week.
This controversial exception, added to the bill by State Assemblyman and Chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party Vito Lopez in the last few days of the legislative session, allows for affordable housing to be calculated for the ENTIRE Atlantic Yards project in order to satisfy the 20% eligibility requirements for tax exemptions.
For any other development project in the State of NY, the percentage of affordable housing must be met for EACH building in order to qualify. Buildings such as those to be built in the first phase of Atlantic Yards, which will have little in the way of "affordable" units, would not qualify were it not for the special exception.
If, as Holt argues, the separate phases of Atlantic Yards should be considered as different projects, then shouldn't, at least, each phase be required to qualify individually for subsidies, instead of in aggregate, as the developer Forest City Ratner would prefer?
Holt is an ardent champion of Atlantic Yards, but on this point, developer Bruce Ratner probably would prefer that the chatty editorialist keep quiet.
Posted by lumi at June 26, 2007 6:29 AM