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June 20, 2008
Local Coverage of the Atlantic Yards Governance Act
Two local weekly papers note the proposed Atlantic Yards Governance Act legislation. This bill would cause oversight of the proposed Atlantic Yards project to be taken away from the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and moved to a trust.
The Brooklyn Paper: Pols want more Yards scrutiny
By Sarah Portlock
State legislators want to take oversight of Atlantic Yards away from a development agency controlled by the governor’s appointees and give it to … a new agency controlled only slightly less by the governor’s appointees.
The bill, drafted by Assemblymembers Hakeem Jeffries (D-Fort Greene) and James Brennan (D-Park Slope), would replace the Empire State Development Corporation’s ongoing oversight of Bruce Ratner’s approved mega-development and hand it over to a new, 15-member panel.
It’s unclear whether the new body would have any real power to alter the $4-billion development, as Gov. Paterson, who supports the project, would have seven appointees.
Brooklyn Downtown Star: Group Wants to Put Trust in Yards Project
By Shane Miller
As plans to build a new arena for the New Jersey Nets and several residential towers in Prospect Heights flounders due to community opposition, legal troubles, and a tanking real estate market, elected officials and civic groups from the area called on a new levels of oversight and governance for the project.
The Campaign to Reform Atlantic Yards held a press conference on the steps of City Hall Monday morning to address what the coalition feels is a lack of transparency, accountability, and public involvement in the massive development project.
To meet those aims, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries has introduced a piece of legislation called the Atlantic Yards Governance Act. The bill is modeled after the Hudson River Trust Act of 1998, and it would create the Atlantic Yards Development Trust to oversee the project. The Trust would be comprised of state and city appointed officials.
The bill would also create a Stakeholders Council made up of local residents who would be appointed by elected officials, and whose task it would be to advise the Trust. “Every major state project in New York City, except Atlantic Yards, has a governance body similar to the one this legislation creates,” said Jeffries. “The best way to assure this project’s public benefits are realized, including the creation of affordable housing, is to have real oversight on the project.”
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Councilwoman Letitia James threw her support behind the bill, but also reiterated her opposition to the project as a whole.
“I continue to believe the plan put forward by Forest City Ratner and the ESDC is bad for my district and for Brooklyn,” she said. “The outcome of the Atlantic Yards project is far from certain, and the current plans may be scrapped entirely, but it will always be critical to have local representation in decision-making on such a significant project.”
Posted by steve at June 20, 2008 4:19 AM