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July 12, 2007
No breaks for Atlantic Yards [No exenciones para Atlantic Yards]
El Diario is the first daily paper to publish an editorial against the special tax break for Atlantic Yards in the 421-a reform bill:
The bill includes a $300 million abatement, or lost city tax dollars, to the for-profit Forest City Ratner, the developers behind the oversized Atlantic Yards project. So now, Ratner will basically receive a tax abatement for no additional affordable housing. As the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development puts it, it’s a giveaway with no return.
Forest City Ratner can tick off its community compromises on its Web site but take comfort in a maneuver that Lopez should not have facilitated. He was not alone. Lopez points to the overwhelming support for his bill in the Assembly and the Senate, meaning that his colleagues signed off on a gift to Ratner.
Governor Eliot Spitzer should sign off on 421A reform. But not on a version that includes more rewards for Atlantic Yards.
Posted by lumi at July 12, 2007 8:54 AM