After more than five years since Atlantic Yards came onto the public radar screen, the State Senate finally got around to holding a hearing on Friday, and from all reports it was the standard spectacle-over-substance event that has come to define the process. The auditorium at Pratt was filled with BUILD employees dressed up as construction workers who persisted to disrupt the proceedings with only a few reprimands from State Senator Bill Perkins, who was running the show. Amidst all the political theater, though, there were, as far as we can surmise, three matters of substance that came up during the course of the day: 1) George Sweeting of the State’s Independent Budget Office said that the combination of a scaling back of the commercial component along with additional subsidies to the developer would “eclipse” his previously projected net public benefit to the project of $25 million; 2) The MTA revealed that it had allowed Forest City Ratner to recently renegotiate both a lower upfront payment and a reduced construction scope for the rail yards it is committed to build; 3) After it had been revealed earlier in the day that only 300 units of subsidized housing are included in Phase 1 of the project (which could last as long as 12 years), HDC’s Matthew Wambua testified that the city was renegotiating the affordable housing component with FCR.
Senate Hearing: No Tough Questions for ESDC [AY Report]
Job Hungry Hardhats Jeer Opponents [NY Daily News]
As Plans for Atlantic Yards Evolve, Government Benefits Don’t [NY Observer]
Ratner a Rail Loser [NY Post]
AY Combatants Finally Forced To Sit Through State Senate Hearing [Village Voice]
Today’s State Senate Hearings on Atlantic Yards [Noticing New York]
Photo by Adrian Kinloch