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December 10, 2008
CBN Press Release: Request for Audit of Public Funding for Atlantic Yards
Today the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods gathered with area residents, politicians and community leaders to mark the fifth anniversary of the announcement of the Atlantic Yards Development Project. In stark contrast to the announcement ceremony five years ago, the group stood outside in the project footprint under rainy skies, not admiring models but staring at vacant lots that have been cleared and abandoned by developer Forest City Ratner which has suspended all work on the project.
“Five years ago the people who lived here said this project would be a disaster for the community,” said Candace Carponter, co-chair of CBN. “CBN was formed to analyze the project, and all our studies confirmed what many had believed: this project was not only ill-conceived and socially unfair, it was never economically viable. Now Forest City Ratner has stopped all work and is trying to blame legitimate lawsuits that are preventing the disaster from getting worse. It won’t wash.”
“And where has the money gone?” continued Terry Urban, CBN’s other co-chair. “Hundreds of millions of dollars in city and state funds have been committed to this project. While there has been some infrastructure work done, the Carlton Avenue Bridge has been destroyed and is not currently being rebuilt. This healthy neighborhood has been severely blighted with the help of the public purse. And we want to know where the money went.”
CBN has formally requested a complete audit of all public monies that have been committed to the Atlantic Yards Development Project, both budgeted and already spent, be performed by NYS Comptroller DiNapoli and NYC Comptroller Thompson. The results of the audits will be made publicly available on the CBN website, www.councilofbrooklynneighborhoods.org.
[Letters to the Comptrollers after the jump.]
December 10, 2008
New York City Comptroller William Thompson
Office of the Comptroller
City of New York
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007
Dear Comptroller Thompson:
The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, a coalition of 42 community organizations, is writing to you on behalf of our combined membership of over 3,500 residents of Central Brooklyn. We are very concerned with recent news reports that work on the MTA’s Vanderbilt Railyards has been halted by Forest City Ratner Corporation. The MTA said this work was vital for the development of a new rail yard and was central in their selection of FCRC as the developer for the Atlantic Yards Development Project. The ESDC, the state Authority charged with oversight for the Development project, has referred all questions to FCRC and has stated that the developer is setting the schedule, not the state. The developer has also made similar public statements.
Forest City Ratner Corporation has severely blighted the neighborhood with the destruction of valuable housing stock, and buildings that housed light manufacturing, and local industry. Hundreds of residents have been displaced. The Carlton Avenue bridge, a major connection between Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, has been closed in preparation for replacement and now has no date for re-opening. This closure is not only inconveniencing and isolating two sister communities, it is endangering Brooklyn residents by adding up to ten minutes to the response time of the fire station that serves those communities which relied on that bridge.
When it was learned last week that Forest City Ratner had halted all work on the project, the ESDC was contacted and asked when the Carlton Avenue Bridge would be returned to the public road grid. Amazingly, the ESDC said it was not their responsibility. They replied to a local resident, “"The responsibility for work to construct a new Carlton Avenue Bridge is Forest City Ratner's. No work is being done on the bridge now. Beyond that, I will have to refer you to FCRC on all of your other questions." There have been no transferences of public property to the developer so their disposition is still a public responsibility, yet the Public Authority charged with oversight of this project defers to the private developer.
Most disappointingly, Forest City Ratner has done this damage with the extraordinary monetary support of New York City and New York State.
Therefore, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhood formally requests a complete audit and reporting of all public monies allocated to the Atlantic Yards Development Project by the City of New York, either directly, via any City agency or through any other channel. We request a complete report of the status of the Atlantic Yards Development Project and oversight of the public expenditures for the Project.
We look forward to your speedy response to this urgent request regarding this troubled and clearly stalled Project which has involved the public purse in its destructive process.
Thank you for your prompt attention.
Sincerely,
Candace Carponter
Therese Urban
Co-Chairpersons
Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
cc: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn; NYC Councilwoman Letitia James; NYC Councilman Bill DeBlasio; NYC Councilman David Yassky
December 10, 2008
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli
Office of the State Comptroller
110 State Street
15th Floor
Albany, NY 12236
Dear Comptroller DiNapoli:
The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, a coalition of 42 community organizations, is writing to you on behalf of our combined membership of over 3,500 residents of Central Brooklyn. We are very concerned with recent news reports that work on the MTA’s Vanderbilt Railyards has been halted by Forest City Ratner Corporation. The MTA said this work was vital for the development of a new rail yard and was central in their selection of FCRC as the developer for the Atlantic Yards Development Project. The ESDC, the state Authority charged with oversight for the Development project, has referred all questions to FCRC and has stated that the developer is setting the schedule, not the state. The developer has also made similar public statements.
Forest City Ratner Corporation has severely blighted the neighborhood with the destruction of valuable housing stock, and buildings that housed light manufacturing, and local industry. Hundreds of residents have been displaced. The Carlton Avenue bridge, a major connection between Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, has been closed in preparation for replacement and now has no date for re-opening. This closure is not only inconveniencing and isolating two sister communities, it is endangering Brooklyn residents by adding up to ten minutes to the response time of the fire station that serves those communities which relied on that bridge.
When it was learned last week that Forest City Ratner had halted all work on the project, the ESDC was contacted and asked when the Carlton Avenue Bridge would be returned to the public road grid. Amazingly, the ESDC said it was not their responsibility. They replied to a local resident, “"The responsibility for work to construct a new Carlton Avenue Bridge is Forest City Ratner's. No work is being done on the bridge now. Beyond that, I will have to refer you to FCRC on all of your other questions." There have been no transferences of public property to the developer so their disposition is still a public responsibility, yet the Public Authority charged with oversight of this project defers to the private developer.
Most disappointingly, Forest City Ratner has done this damage with the extraordinary monetary support of New York City and New York State.
Therefore, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhood formally requests a complete audit and reporting of all public monies allocated to the Atlantic Yards Development Project by the City of New York, either directly, via any City agency or through any other channel. We request a complete report of the status of the Atlantic Yards Development Project and oversight of the public expenditures for the Project.
We look forward to your speedy response to this urgent request regarding this troubled and clearly stalled Project which has involved the public purse in its destructive process.
Thank you for your prompt attention.
Sincerely,
Candace Carponter
Therese Urban
Co-Chairpersons
Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
cc: Governor David Paterson; State Senator Velmanette Montgomery; State Senator Martin Connor; State Senator-elect Daniel Squadron; Assemblywoman Joan Millman; Assemblyman James Brennan; Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries
Posted by eric at December 10, 2008 12:48 PM