Yesterday’s news about the closing of the bond and real estate deals related to the Atlantic Yards project (along with the go-ahead for property seizure via eminent domain) certainly had an air of finality about them, but the project’s opponents are insisting that the fight is not over. “The property owners and tenants fighting to keep their homes and business will vigorously challenge the legal papers filed by the ESDC today,” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn in a press release. DDDB also points out that there are still two outstanding lawsuits that would “stop it cold,” one of which will be heard in state Supreme Court on January 15. I want to make it very clear to the Governor, the ESDC and Ratner, that Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, our scores of allied community organizations and our thousands of supporters will not easily give up our fight against Atlantic Yards, said Daniel Goldstein. The lawyer for DDDB, Jeff Baker, had a slightly more tempered take on the situation: “Obviously this fight is in its final stages, but it is not over.” Meanwhile State Senator Bill Perkins continues to hammer away at the Governor and Attorney General for a written statement regarding the legality (or lack thereof) of the unusual manner in which process for issuing the arena bonds was structured to avoid review by the Public Authorities Control Board.
AY Fight in Final Stages, But Not Over, says Attorney [AY Report]
Sports Briefing: Gains for Atlantic Yards [NY Times]
Documents Signed, Atlantic Yards Moves Ahead [NY Times]
Ratner closes on Atlantic Yards [NY Post]
Bloomberg Cheers Ratner; Opponents Continue To Fight [Brooklyn Eagle]
Photo by Tracy Collins