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July 20, 2007
PRESS RELEASE: Conflict of Interest?
AKRF-ESDC-FCRC Connections Raise Questions About Objectivity of "Atlantic Yards" Environmental Review
The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods' concerns regarding the objectivity of the firms responsible for the Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement have been validated.
Documents released by New York State's Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) in response to a lawsuit filed by State Assemblyman James Brennan have raised questions about the relationship between the ESDC, the consultant it retained to conduct the State's environmental review of the "Atlantic Yards" project, AKRF, and the project's developer, Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC).
The 600+ pages were released to Assemblyman Brennan and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery primarily in hard copy and are being shared with the press and public on request. According to detailed analysis reported on the blog Atlantic Yards Report, AKRF had been retained by FCRC in 2003 to conduct an evaluation of the economic and fiscal benefits of the proposed arena-and-high-rise development project. Atlantic Yards Report published a copy of a cover letter sent by AKRF to FCRC on September 26, 2003, which said in part that the consulting firm was "excited about the project and what it can mean to Brooklyn, New York City and the (sic) New York State."
AKRF was subsequently hired by the ESDC to conduct the state's environmental review of the "Atlantic Yards" project. AKRF's review, not surprisingly, found that the project - which would be of unprecedented scale and density - would have only negligible negative effects.
"The intent of the Environmental Impact Statement is to analyze and evaluate a project's potential pitfalls, and to provide the public an opportunity to voice its concerns," said Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods (CBN) co-chair Therese Urban. "But when the firm doing the analysis has already been paid by the developer for work on the very same project, it certainly raises the specter of conflict of interest. Especially when the resulting EIS is so clearly flawed."
CBN is among 26 community and civic organizations that have sued the State of New York, seeking to annul the Final Environmental Impact Statement for "Atlantic Yards." The plaintiffs have alleged that the State failed to take a required "hard look" at the project's impacts, failed to adequately consider alternatives, and did not have sufficient basis to make a blight finding, among several other causes of action.
"The revolving door connecting consultants, developers and the state agencies responsible for big development projects is troubling at best, inappropriate on its surface, and potentially much worse than that," said Jim Vogel, spokesperson for CBN. "Forest City Ratner is one of New York's biggest developers, and it's reasonable to wonder if AKRF would jeopardize future contracts with FCRC if it were to find significant problems with FCRC's flagship project. When a developer knows that the state agency responsible for approving a project will be relying on the developer's hand-picked consultant to review their own work, prepared on the developer's behalf, I'm sure that makes the developer pretty confident of the outcome. But the public interest is not being served by this cozy arrangement."
In his inaugural address, Governor Spitzer said 'every policy, every action and every decision we make in this administration. must transform our government so that it is as ethical and wise as all of New York.' The relationship among the ESDC, its consultants, and the projects it oversees would appear ripe for such 'transformation.'
The COUNCIL OF BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOODS (http://www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com/ ) is a coalition of recognized diverse community groups active in Community Boards 2, 3, 6, and 8. CBN is comprised of 40 community organizations that have joined together to ensure meaningful community participation in the environmental review of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.
Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11205
Posted by lumi at July 20, 2007 8:45 AM