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November 5, 2010
At first, non-promoted AY cabinet meeting, Forest City Ratner brings staff and support, gets warm welcome, talks parking, construction
Atlantic Yards Report
Just when you thought Atlantic Yards couldn't get any less transparent. Thank goodness for Norman Oder.
Remember the promise at the 9/29/10 meeting on the planned Barclays Center plaza that there would be regular meetings, with representatives of government agencies, community boards, elected officials, and the Empire State Development Corporation, along with developer Forest City Ratner?
Well, the first meeting of the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet was held yesterday at Brooklyn Borough Hall, lasting about 70 minutes, going through issues like construction progress, parking, and traffic.
The hosts were the Brooklyn Borough President's Office and Council Member Letitia James, but it was really the Forest City Ratner show, with MaryAnne Gilmartin, the developer's Executive VP, and her colleagues doing most of the talking.
The cabinet will meet quarterly to discuss construction and other issues. About 40 people attended, most because they had to be there and, while some of them (notably James) brought questions, there was no opportunity for members of the public to pose questions on the spot, as is the protocol for a "working meeting.
It was a convivial event, with Empire State Development Corporation Project Manager Arana Hankin heaping praise on Forest City Ratner's cooperation. The only other ESDC staffer there was project ombudsman Forrest Taylor, and when James had a question about parking as reported in an ESDC document, it was answered by FCR's attorney. (As I wrote, the answer was wrong.)
Future CBA discussions?
The closest thing to contention came when Community Board 6 District Manager Craig Hammerman questioned why a future meeting would examine the Community Benefits Agreement, a private deal between Forest City Ratner and eight community groups, which excluded community boards.
James, an Atlantic Yards opponent, indicated that she felt a responsibility to represent constituents who had expressed concerns about CBA implementation, and Carlo Scissura, the Borough President's Chief of Staff, similarly said the CBA was something they had to deal with.
Dean Street blocked
Another moment of concern surfaced when James described how double- and triple-parking outside a church on Dean Street had blocked the Fire Department at one point; FCR said it was exploring offering temporary access to a project site parking lot on Sundays.
Little public notice
Why didn't you hear about the meeting beforehand? Because, while the meeting was not closed to the public--there is an open meetings law--it was not promoted to the public, nor were those invited encouraged to tell their constituency.
Thus neither elected officials nor community boards sent out notices. I heard about it secondhand. (See bottom for my somewhat tense exchange with Scissura and James.) No date has been set yet for the next meeting.
Posted by eric at November 5, 2010 11:47 AM