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November 21, 2009
Foes file new suit against Atlantic Yards project, say state illegally empowered Bruce Ratner
Daily News
BY Erin Durkin
Atlantic Yards opponents fired their latest salvo against the project Thursday, charging in a new lawsuit that the state illegally handed over the reins of the project to developer Bruce Ratner.
They're asking a judge to overturn the Empire State Development Corporation's September approval of a modified plan for the new Nets arena and 16 towers.
"The agency has handed over to Forest City Ratner control of 22 acres of Brooklyn, no strings attached," said Assemblyman Jim Brennan (D-Park Slope), one of the plaintiffs.
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Plaintiffs said the plan gives Ratner wide leeway on the timing of the project (which could take anywhere from 10 to 25 years), the design of the buildings and how much commercial space to include.
"Nowhere in the [law] is there authority to delegate to private parties decisions regarding the timing or makeup of a project. That, however, is what the petitioners submit, ESDC has done in this case - and done illegally," the suit charged.
Opponents also said changes to the project meant a new environmental study was required, since delays could leave part of the site as "a kind of urban wasteland" for decades.
Attorney for the plaintiffs Albert Butzel said that as Atlantic Yards floundered amid financing trouble and mounting legal challenges, state officials bent over backwards to help Ratner get the project off the ground. "His wish is their command. It ought to be the other way around," he said.
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"We're on the verge of making Atlantic Yards a reality, a reality that means thousands of jobs," said Forest City Ratner vice president Bruce Bender. "It should not surprise anyone that opponents who pledged to sue early and often are still suing. It is what they do."
But Butzel noted it's the first lawsuit from Brooklyn Speaks, a coalition that in the past has pressed for changes to Atlantic Yards but stopped short of legal action to halt it altogether. "They finally ran out of patience," he said. "It's getting awfully late to just ask."
Posted by steve at November 21, 2009 5:12 AM