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October 20, 2009
New Suit Could Sidetrack Atlantic Yards
GlobeSt.com
by Cody Lyon
Opponents of Brooklyn’s planned Atlantic Yards project say their plan has never been to delay the Forest City Ratner Cos. development. Instead, they say the idea is to stop it.
At least that’s what petitioning lead attorney Jeffrey Baker tells GlobeSt.com about this fourth of a series of pending lawsuits facing Empire State Development Corp., the quasi-governmental agency, and FCRC, developer of the 22-acre downtown Brooklyn site that includes a large sports arena meant to house the NBA’s Nets, currently of New Jersey. This latest legal volley was filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
But, by holding things up in court, the group may put the brakes on the project, since there’s a Dec. 31 groundbreaking deadline for Forest City Ratner to obtain tax-exempt bond status and its $400-million branding deal with Barclays Bank on the new arena, Barclays Center. The arena has been touted as the potential new home for the Nets, who have a deal with Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov who will own 80% of the team contingent upon the team's possible move to Brooklyn.
...In a statement, an ESDC spokeswoman says the agency “carefully considered whether a SEIS would be required,” but determined in the end that it “was not required.”
NoLandGrab: "Carefully considered?" That couldn't have been said with a straight face. "Careful consideration" on the part of the ESDC consists entirely of "what does Bruce want?" and "what can we maybe get away with?"
Posted by eric at October 20, 2009 11:20 AM