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November 28, 2007
Atlantic Yards Ombudsman Is Named
City Room [The NY Times]
By Sewell Chan
Some background on the Atlantic Yards ombuddy:
The new ombudsman, Forrest R. Taylor, was chief of staff to Gifford Miller when he was speaker of the City Council from 2002 to 2004.
Previously, Mr. Taylor was a protegé of Marc V. Shaw, a former first deputy mayor who now works for the Extell Development Company, and worked as deputy executive director for operations at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where Mr. Shaw was executive director before he joined the Bloomberg administration. Most recently, Mr. Taylor has been manager of Prowess Initiatives and Analysis, which advises companies on government relations and corporate communications.
Mr. Taylor, 46, a Detroit native who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1981, has his work cut out for him. Atlantic Yards, a massive retail, residential and office development that includes a new basketball arena, has been the most controversial project ever to rise in the city’s most populous borough.
As the “dedicated project coordinator,” Mr. Taylor will be the liaison from the development corporation to elected officials, community groups and the public.
Posted by lumi at November 28, 2007 5:52 AM