Norman Oder has a piece in City Limits called “The Unfulfilled Promises of Atlantic Yards” that focuses on how Forest City Ratner hasn’t delivered on a lot of stuff outlined in the mega-project’s 2005 Community Benefits Agreement (CBA). Oder makes the case that not only has the developer failed to make good on a number of the CBA’s touted benefits—many of which, he writes, have been sidestepped because of the agreement’s “aspirational, conditional language,” so the lack of promised affordable housing thus far can be blamed on subsidies not being available, for example—but has also yet to hire an Independent Compliance Monitor to report on the extent to which the CBA is being adhered to. The article also looks at what the developer promised on the job front, including 17,000 construction jobs: “17,000 jobs mean 1,700 jobs a year for ten years or, if the current pace continues, some 34 years. To speed the pace, Forest City is considering innovative but risky modular construction, which would save considerably on building costs, including worker salaries.” Still, it’s unclear how many workers have been employed by the developer thus far (In July a Forest City rep said there 430 construction workers at the arena site), or the extent to which local labor is being used.
The Unfulfilled Promises of Atlantic Yards [City Limits]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. the “amenities” and “jobs” are a joke politicians use to sell whatever needs to be bought by naive voters. The legal language is a silly exercise to satisfy the unitiated to the ways of the world. If its not non-negotiable, its just not gonna happen.

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