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March 1, 2010
Final Atlantic Yards holdouts to lose their property
NY Post
by Rich Calder
Reality is starting to set in for the final holdouts of the embattled Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn.
A state judge ruled today that the state can seize property from 12 private landowners who refused to sell to developer Bruce Ratner, so he can move forward with his long-delayed, $4.9 billion plan to build an NBA arena, housing and office towers in Prospect Heights.
Ratner, who received state approval for Atlantic Yards in Dec. 2006, is now finally planning a ceremonial arena groundbreaking — March 11 — so his New Jersey Nets can move there by 2012. However, the timetable for the project’s 16 skyscrapers remains unclear because of the national credit crunch.
"I woke up this morning owning my home but by the afternoon I was told the state now owns it," said Daniel Goldstein, a holdout who became the public face of an opposition group that nearly killed the project by using the legal system to hold up construction.
Goldstein said his group isn’t giving up yet – they can still appeal the judge’s ruling and a few outstanding lawsuits could potentially halt development – but conceded he and his family must finally begin looking for a new place to live. Goldstein moved into the condo in 2003; months later Ratner announced his plans for Atlantic Yards.
...Bruce Bender, an executive vice president at Forest City Ratner, said the "ruling is a major milestone that signifies Atlantic Yards is progressing, that construction will accelerate and that long-awaited benefits will begin to materialize in Brooklyn."
NoLandGrab: And who will be surprised when the lion's share of the "benefits" accrue to Forest City Ratner?
Posted by eric at March 1, 2010 10:37 PM