Although Dan Doctoroff signed an agreement with the state and Forest City Ratner in ’05 that allowed the developer to sidestep ULURP for Atlantic Yards, thus substantially weakening the community’s say in the mega-project, the outgoing deputy mayor is now singing a different tune. If it happened again, and the state were to ask if I would encourage them to take Atlantic Yards through the ULURP process, I would say yes, Doctoroff tells the Observer in an interview. But is it really too late for Atlantic Yards to go through the public-review planning process? In a press release, Develop Don’t Destroy spokesman Daniel Goldstein argues that it’s not. As the project has not begun construction—and can’t while it faces two court challenges—Mayor Bloomberg can get it right and send the development of the Vanderbilt Yards through ULURP; it’s what his soon-to-be former, highly praised and trusted right hand man thinks is appropriate,” says Goldstein. We agree: Better late than never for Brooklyn’s largest development, a project that is going to receive substantial public financing and forever alter the borough.
Doctoroff Looks Back on Atlantic Yards [NY Observer]
Doctoroff: Atlantic Yards Should Have Gone Through ULURP [DDDB]
Photo by pencer T. Tucker for nyc.gov.