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September 23, 2008
Is AY a game of charades, as per DDDB? Maybe, but the game isn't over
Atlantic Yards Report
Norman Oder looks at the dots connected by DDDB, and both agrees and disagrees.
Announcing Atlantic Yards: The $4 Billion Game of Charades, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn has a good array of reasons to argue that Atlantic Yards "isn't gonna happen." I'd agree that it certainly won't happen in the way promised, but that doesn't mean that the project can't move forward in some way.
...However, the dots don't necessarily connect. Three top officials, Governor David Paterson, new Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) CEO/President Marisa Lago, and Mayor Mike Bloomberg, speaking generally, have expressed caution and skepticism about governmental overreach, without citing Atlantic Yards.
The project has been approved by the ESDC and the state Public Authorities Control Board. To such officials, that indicates a certain amount of momentum and inevitability, not to mention the institutional investment in the project within the state and city governments.
Questions pending
Several questions arise:
- what is the project?
- what is the timeline?
- how much would the project cost?
- will the city commit to not providing additional subsidies?
- what are the factors regarding the building of affordable housing?
- has the project (and timetable) changed so much it merits another round of environmental review?
Even as lawsuits and rules regarding federal tax-exempt bonds remain unresolved, the backers of the project in state and city government should be prepared to answer those questions.
Posted by eric at September 23, 2008 12:04 PM