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November 10, 2009

word of the day: strategic

Not Another F*cking Blog

The latest Atlantic Yards DeConstruction Update announced that demolition prep was beginning at 475 Dean Street, which got Atlantic Yards footprint neighbor, photojournalist (that's his shot of 475 Dean) and blogger Tracy Collins's blood boiling.

Why? Why are they now preparing to demolish this building (in the photo above)? 475 Dean used to be the home of many and the place of business for others, until Forest City Ratner (FCR) bought the building (with our taxpayer money) and cleared it out. It’s been sitting vacant for years. Why, now, are they preparing to destroy an inhabitable building, in the midst of a housing crisis? Why, when there’s no guarantee that Atlantic Yards will actually happen? Can’t they wait until the Court of Appeals rules in the next few weeks? It doesn’t make any business sense to me. Granted, I’m not in the eminent domain and public subsidy development business like FCR, but it just seems like a calculated, strategic move at this point in time.

I suspect that they, FCR, made the strategic decision to convey in the strongest terms possible that Atlantic Yards is a DONE DEAL, that it is happening, that there is no Plan B, that it’s inevitable. They must act this way in order for the all so crucial sale of hundreds of millions in bonds before year end. They must keep up appearances for the bond rating agencies, for investors, for the markets, for politicians who’ve hitched their wagons to the train wreck in slow motion that is Atlantic Yards. They can’t afford to blink, to give even the slightest hint of doubt or uncertainty, as blinking now could prove fatal to the whole charade.

Much like the demolition of the historic Ward Bread Bakery building last year, FCR cannot afford the possibility of optional uses for the site. As long as a building stands, there’s the possibility of reuse, there’s the possibility of an alternate, there’s the possibility of something other than Atlantic Yards.

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Additional coverage...

Atlantic Yards Report, As 475 Dean Street is finally slated for demolition, the question is: why exactly now? Tracy Collins has an answer

Way back in March 2007, I wrote that Forest City Ratner planned demolition of 475 Dean Street, a former garment factory turned into artists' lofts. Now, as announced in the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update, workers are planning to remove asbestos on the roof in anticipation of demolition.
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Well, this surely is a strategic decision, but let's see if and when they demolish the Spalding Building at 24 Sixth Avenue, another renovated loft building of more pristine quality, or so I believe.

There might be another reason for the demolition. People still live in adjacent buildings on Dean Street, plaintiffs in separate lawsuits. Demolition work will make daily life that much more uncomfortable and--at least from the developer's perspective--might make them more likely to leave.

Posted by eric at November 10, 2009 10:58 AM