With all the emotion and politics wrapped up in the Atlantic Yards debate, it was refreshing to read Forgotten NY’s take on the project’s implications. While many of us were still recovering from Christmas, FNY chronicled the buildings that are likely to be demolished or seriously overshadowed by the project, including the Hot Bird building on Vanderbilt. At the end of the report, FNY weighs in on Ratner’s proposal:

Looks like as presently designed it’s way too out-of-proportion to the low-rise brownstone area and is better suited for someplace like the Meadowlands and some of the Dean Street buildings Ratner wants to raze are too good to lose; nothing like them will ever be built again. Clearly, though, something has to be done about Pacific Street, which is a mess.

My fantasy: Clean up the area by the yards, lose the old warehouses if you must and build brownstone buildings that resemble the century-old ones already there. And, make them available to lower and middle income persons; not just “affordable” in Bloomberg’s sense ($500K per unit), but truly affordable. Subsidize, which for me isn’t a dirty word. Like I said, my fantasy.

What We’re Losing: Razing for Ratnerville Begins [Forgotten NY]