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May 27, 2009
End developer welfare at Atlantic Yards
El Diario La Prensa
The Spanish-language El Diario continues to oppose Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project — a uniquely honorable distinction among New York City's dailies.
At a time of economic crisis, in which the city, state and nation are struggling to fill budget holes and provide critical services, every public dollar must be wisely spent and invested. This calls into question mega projects such as the Atlantic Yards redevelopment plan.
Forest City Ratner (FCR), the private developer, billed the gargantuan $4 billion project as one that would bring affordable housing to Brooklyn. Thirty percent of the housing units were supposed to be for low and moderate income households.
But a slew of critics have questioned the supposed affordable housing, tax revenues and other benefits that the project is supposed to provide, especially with FCR’s inability to secure financing for the project’s housing component.
FCR, with the support of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and the Bloomberg administration, planned to build an arena for the Nets and 16 residential and commercial towers. Those plans have been scaled back. FCR has reportedly lobbied for more taxpayer support and even a slice of stimulus funding, and tried to renegotiate on money it owes to agencies like the MTA.
Aside from an oversized project threatening to rupture neighborhoods and communities in Brooklyn, the lack of transparency around costs or benefits to the public is unacceptable.
NoLandGrab: Is El Diario's common-sense opposition to Atlantic Yards just too simple and straightforward for the other papers to fathom? Or do they just not like getting scooped?
Posted by eric at May 27, 2009 11:21 PM