The embarrassing (but luckily non-harmful) partial collapse of Ward’s Bakery a couple of weeks ago gave the ESDC the swift kick in the pants to announce its plans for improving the oversight of the massive demolition and construction project planned for the Atlantic Yards site. According to a Daily News report yesterday, the ESDC will appoint an ombudsman to act as a liaison between government agencies and the public and an owner’s representative to watch the constuction; in addition, two other groups will be formed to review transportation and other issues. Our concern is that the community is still not involved, said Candace Carponter, co-chair of the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods — one of the plaintiffs involved in a lawsuit against the ESDC and Ratner over the project’s environmental review. added. The two committees are made up of representatives from [city and state] agencies. There are no community members.
Brooklyn Arena Project Gets Safety Net [NY Daily News]
Ombudsman Slated for Brooklyn Project [Metro]
ESDC Plans Ombudsperson, New Working Groups [AY Report]
Photo by Tracy Collins