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July 28, 2009
ATLANTIC YARDS LITE
NY Post
by Rich Calder
Oh, what a difference three years makes.
Renderings of Bruce Ratner's embattled Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn commissioned by the Municipal Art Society portray how the $4.9 billion project is in danger of looking now that all the bells and whistles have been stripped from it - most notably "starchitect" Frank Gehry and his expressionist building and arena design.
...The MAS says it's doing what Ratner and the state won't - providing the public with renderings to rely on as the Empire State Development Corp. holds public hearings Wednesday and Thursday regarding Ratner's revised project plan, which was released last month and is scaled down and more costly than the one state officials approved in 2006.
...Ratner has failed to produce new renderings or models to address the project's many recent changes -- including the replacement of Gehry's magnificent glass-and-steel arena design to shave its costs from $950 million to $772 million.
...The rendering reveals the dramatic differences between the new design for the Atlantic Yards arena and what was approved in 2006, and it highlights why the state must reevaluate the new project and its environmental impact," said Vin Cipolla, President of the Municipal Art Society.
Download MAS' side-by-side comparison of the promised "public benefits" of Atlantic Yards then and now.
Posted by eric at July 28, 2009 10:37 AM