This weekend, The New York Times wrote a qualified endorsement of Bruce Ratner’s plan to develop the Atlantic Yards. The editorial is at once a reasonable summary of the issues at hand and a wishy-washy stance that comes rather late in the game for the paper of record. Where were they 6 months ago? 12 months ago? From where we sit, the paper’s editors seem to let Ratner off the hook a little too easily over the isue of traffic and to skirt the issue of eminent domain entirely. In qualifying their support of the project, they call for a longer public hearing period and more of the financial burden of acquiring property to be shifted from the public to FRC. Finally, they call for an additional reduction in the size of the project of 15 percent (on top of the 5 percent that’s already on the table).
Editorial: The Atlantic Yards Project [NY Times]