Atlantic Yards
February 1, 2010
Judge Doesn't Immediately Rule on AY Condemnation
On Friday Judge Abraham G. Gerges of State Supreme Court somewhat unexpectedly declined to immediately green-light the Empire State Development Corporation's request for final approval of the seizure via eminent domain of properties in the Atlantic Yards footprint. Gerges said he would rule on the matter "expeditiously" following arguments from a lawyer for property owners urging the judge to reexamine the project given because of the changes it's undergone in the past few years. Meanwhile, a lawyer for the ESDC said current Atlantic Yards plans are "virtually identical" to those approved by the state in 2006. On Atlantic Yards Report Norman Oder has an extensive post about the hearing, saying "Gerges's focus is on the narrow law of condemnation, so it would be unusual for him to allow argument on claims that the project has changed so much--and after the chance for public comment on such changes--that the ESDC should issue a new Determination & Findings. So he could simply dismiss the news claims filed by property owners and leaseholders. Or he could ask the ESDC to revise the petition because of technical defects. Or--the longer shot--he could look at the broader claims, or hold this case in abeyance while another court examines those claims." Oder also notes that the planned street closings scheduled to start today on 5th Avenue between Atlantic and Flatbush are unlikely to occur.
Property Seizure for Atlantic Yards Is Delayed [City Room]
Condemnation on Hold [AY Report]
January 27, 2010
City Gives Ratner $31 Million for Dean Street Buys
The city not helped displace residents of four buildings on Dean Street, it also kicked in an extra $31 million over what it had originally committed to help Forest City Ratner close on its eminent domain-enabled purchase of four buildings on Dean Street, according to two reports. The city claims that it hasn't increased the total amount of subsidies it's kicking in to the project (well, not since it first increased the total amount of subsidies from $100 million to $205 million); instead, the city argues, it just moved up some of the money that was originally allocated for later-stage infrastructure to help pay for the property purchase. The Atlantic Yards Report calls the legitimacy of the move "murky," because while it technically does not violate the letter of the 2005 non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (after all, it was non-binding!), it's clearly a bait-and-switch on the public. Legal or not, the use of funds has left a bad taste in some other people's mouths as well. "It's a government Ponzi scheme," said Council Member Letitia James. "I'm offended because they're using public funds to seize homes and businesses." Plus, adds AYR, there's nothing stopping the city from simply kicking in more dough later on to cover the infrastructure. In related news, don't be surprised if the Atlantic Yards is not complete within the ten-year time frame: AYR reports that the agreement with FCR doesn't have a lot of teeth.
City Shells Out Another $31 million for AY [NY Daily News]
Did City Give FCR $31 Million More for Land? [AY Report]
Graphic from Atlantic Yards Report
January 13, 2010
Closing Bell: Barclays Center on the Map
As Curbed noticed yesterday, Atlantic Yards is a done deal in Google's book: As the image above shows, the Internet giant has already put the Barclays Center on its maps.
January 12, 2010
Atlantic Yards Street Closures to Kick In Next Month
Get ready for the Atlantic Yards-related inconveniences to begin! As Atlantic Yards Report posted yesterday, three streets in the project's footprint will be closed as of Feburary 1: (1) Pacific between Carlton and Vanderbilt; (2) Pacific between 5th Avenue and 6th Avenue; (3) 5th Avenue between Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. How is this likely to impact traffic in the area? "Expect a lot more traffic on Sixth Avenue between Flatbush Avenue and Pacific Street, which will become two-way," says AYR. In addition, points out NY1, the B63 bus stop at Fifth Avenue between Pacific and Atlantic will also be eliminated.
January 11, 2010
Moving Day for Boymelgreen
Crain's reported last week that beleaguered developer Shaya Boymelgreen was set to get evicted from his Pacific Street headquarters by today, so it was no surprise that a tipster happened to see him parked in his SUV in the parking lot of 752 Pacific Street along with a couple of moving trucks. As you may recall, Boymelgreen had illegally agreed to sublet the building to Forest City Ratner as part of the Atlantic Yards development. Since a judge ruled in the landlord's favor last spring, Boymelgreen has not been paying rent on the space. The eviction is only one of many problems facing the developer. He has myriad lawsuits and financial problems involving failed real estate projects and a bank he founded four years ago.
January 5, 2010
George Will on Atlantic Yard's 'Cognitive Dissonance'
"The Atlantic Yards site, where 10 subway lines and one railway line converge, is the center of the bustling Prospect Heights neighborhood of mostly small businesses and middle-class residences. Its energy and gentrification are reasons why 22 acres of this area -- the World Trade Center site is only 16 acres -- are coveted by Bruce Ratner, a politically connected developer collaborating with the avaricious city and state governments. To seize the acres for Ratner's use, government must claim that the area -- which is desirable because it is vibrant -- is "blighted." The cognitive dissonance would embarrass Ratner and his collaborating politicians, had their cupidity not extinguished their sense of the absurd." — George Will in The Washington Post
December 28, 2009
Why Architecture Matters: Paul Goldberger and AY
The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Christmas Day, was a rebroadcast of the original 11/17/09 show with New Yorker (and former NYT) architecture critic, Paul Goldberger. Speaking before the recent closing of the bond issue and property transfer (and erection of the arena propaganda, above), Goldberger went on record saying that he thought that AY “was, and is, a mistake”. He based that on his opinion that mega-projects don’t improve street life, and he hoped that the slowdown in the economy would give the project time for improvement, and the correction of mistakes. He went on to quote the celebrated critic Louis Mumford, who said that, “the great function of the city is to permit, indeed, to encourage and incite, the greatest possible number of meetings, encounters, challenges between all people, classes, groups, providing a stage upon which the drama of life may be enacted.” Mega-projects, and he cites the World Trade Center, as well as Battery Park City, are enclaves unto themselves that do not encourage this great mingling of people necessary to great city life. Goldberger conceded that he likes the redone façade of the proposed stadium, but still does not approve of the project. “Over the years, I've realized that streets are more important than buildings," he said. "The urban experience has to be had on foot."
The Atlantic Yards Report also has a full report of the Lopate/Goldberger interview, with commentary.
December 24, 2009
Atlantic Yards, The Morning After
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
December 23, 2009
Atlantic Yards Signed, Sealed, Delivered
It feels kinda anti-climactic, but after six years of public conflict, lack of transparency and backroom dealing, the Atlantic Yards deal has closed. This means that the both the bond deal and the real estate transaction involving Forest City, ESDC, the MTA and the City of New York have been signed. Curbed has posted a full-length version of the press release, but here's what Bruce himself had to say: “Today, what has long been a vision for the future of Brooklyn becomes a reality. Six years after we announced our plan for Atlantic Yards we are very pleased to be closing on the project with our public partners. Today’s closing represents a vital step forward for New York City, one that is all the more important because of the economic challenges our City faces. The jobs we are creating today, as we set forth on the arena and one of the boldest affordable housing initiatives in our City’s history, will create a new dynamic center in this wonderful borough.” We're sure others will have some choice words on the subject in the upcoming hours and days.
December 21, 2009
Freddy's Welcomes a Chain Gang
Yesterday chains were installed at the bar in Freddy's, on 6th Avenue and Dean. The building that houses the bar is slated to be demolished to make way for Atlantic Yards, and patrons/AY protesters will now be able to lock themselves to the bar when the wrecking ball materializes. The Associated Press had the following to say about the chain installation: "On Sunday, supporters bolted a chain to the establishment's bar, and some patrons hundcuffed themselves to it for about an hour while sipping on pints of beer. They say they'll do it again when authorities try to seize the property."
Fans Chained to NY Bar in Eminent Domain Protest [AP]
Photo by threecee.
December 16, 2009
Investors Eat Up Atlantic Yards Arena Bonds
Despite long-time public opposition and more recent financial challenges, Forest City Ratner had no problem raising $511 million, roughly half of what he needs, to finance the development of the arena at Atlantic Yards yesterday; the bond sale narrowly beat the end-of-year deadline for tax-free financing for the project. “There was a strong appetite for the bonds,” said Jay Abrams, a bond analyst at FMS Bonds. “The market was comfortable with the ratings the deal received and the security that was pledged.” Not every felt quite as sanguine, however. “These bonds went on the market without any oversight from any state officials,” said Daniel Goldstein, spokesman for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, the main Atlantic Yards opposition group. “The state will be on the hook if the project defaults.” The Brooklyn Paper had a good summary of how the rest of the financing breaks down:
- $511 million from yesterday's tax-free bond sale
- $100 million in taxable bonds yet to be sold
- $293.4 million in equity from Mikhail Prokhorov pending NBA approval
- $156.4 million from the city
- $104.3 million from the state
$500 Million in Bonds Sold in 2 Hours for Nets’ Arena [NY Times]
Ratner Sells $511 Million in Tax-Free Bonds [NY Daily News]
Ratner’s tax-free bonds are snapped up fast [Brooklyn Paper]
Investors Grab Up Brooklyn Arena Bonds [NY1]
Junk Yard Bonds Get Trashed [Brownstoner]
Photo by Willets Point United
December 15, 2009
Junk Yard Bonds Get Trashed
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn put on some good theater when it organized the ritualistic throwing of mock Atlantic Yards Arena Bonds into the back of a garbage truck outside S&P's headquarters in downtown Manhattan yesterday, but the action was aimed at raising awareness about some serious issues. From the Atlantic Yards Report..."Probably the most important one concerns the ESDC's creation of the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), which, however legal, skirts the review of the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) and Comptroller, because only subsidiaries which have the same members or directors as the ESDC or Job Development Authority are included." AYR also notes the low turnout of both politicians (Tish James was the only one to show up) and the anemic coverage of the issue in the press. Another troubling issue surrounding the bonds, according to AYR: "While the $500 million in tax-exempt bonds authorized by the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) are supposed to be non-recourse, with no risk to the state, state officials have refused to rule out the possibility that the state would bail out the bondholders should revenues not meet expectations." The post concludes with a long list of questions for both the ratings agencies and the ESDC, but we won't be holding our breath for the answers.
"Junkyard Bonds" Tossed in Garbage Truck [AY Report]
Photo by Tracy Collins
December 2, 2009
Ratner's Yards Bonds Rated 'Barely' Investment Grade
On the heels of last week's eminent domain ruling, Forest City Ratner took another step towards realizing its vision for a basketball arena in Brooklyn when Moody's Investor Service gave the $500 million in tax free bonds being used to finance the Barclays Center a crucial investment-grade rating. According to a largely positive story in Crain's yesterday afternoon, "the “Baa3” rating reflects several factors, including the strength of New York City as a media market, existing sponsorship support for the team, the large amount of equity the developer and its partner are putting in the project and strong reserve funds." And check out this quote in The Times from a vice president at Moody's: “The lawsuits are not an issue as far as the rating is concerned. The rating assumes that the lawsuits will be settled and that the project will move forward." A more skeptical article in the New York Observer noted that while technically investement-grade, the bond rating was only one step above junk level, reflecting significant risk factors like relocation, weak team finances and "uncertain demand for premium seating." And Atlantic Yards Report points out that the Moody's rating assumes 225 events per year but Ratner's on record as predicting only 200. Crain's says that bond sales are expected to begin sometime this week.
New Nets Arena Wins Another Court Challenge [NY Times]
Moody's Gives $500M in Nets Bonds Thumbs Up [Crain's]
Nets Arena Wins Needed Bond Rating, Mostly [Observer]
Atlantic Yards Debt Gets Rated [The Bond Buyer]
November 24, 2009
BREAKING: Goldstein et al Lose Eminent Domain Lawsuit
The New York State Court of Appeals has just ruled in favor of the ESDC in the closely-watched eminent domain lawsuit brought by property owners in the footprint of its proposed Atlantic Yards project. According to Atlantic Yards Report, "In a decision (PDF) that gives the crucial--but perhaps not final--boost to the Atlantic Yards project, the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, approved the use of eminent domain by a 6-1 margin, saying that it's not the role of the courts to intervene in agency decisions, given the wide latitude in state law." The ruling means that Ratner may proceed with the sale of tax-exempt bonds to finance the sports arena that is scheduled to be the first stage of the gigantic development. The construction of both affordable and market-rate housing is supposed to begin with months of the arena, but as The New York Times points out this morning, "with so many new apartments sitting vacant, analysts say it could be many years before demand will justify building so many units in one neighborhood."
Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn Clears Legal Hurdle [NY Times]
Court of Appeals upholds AY eminent domain 6-1 [AY Report]
Photo by Tracy Collins
November 23, 2009
Bloomberg Editorial Disses Yards Arena Design
"November 19, 2009
Brooklyn Speaks to File Its First AY Lawsuit
After pursuing a non-adversarial stance for the entire history of the Atlantic Yards saga, Brooklyn Speaks, the coalition of neighborhood and civic groups, is set to announce a lawsuit challenging the ESDC’s approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan. From yesterday's press release:
The suit contends that the plan was approved without sufficient study of the impacts of its extended construction schedule and completion risks. It also alleges that the ESDC has illegally delegated to FCRC much of its governmental power to determine the future content and configuration of the Project. Groups and elected officials filing suit include the Atlantic Avenue LDC, the Brooklyn Heights Association, the Boerum Hill Association, the Fifth Avenue Committee, the Park Slope Civic Council, the Pratt Area Community Council, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assemblyman Jim Brennan and City Councilmember Letitia James. Attorney Albert K. Butzel of the Urban Environmental Law Center is representing the plaintiffs.
Atlantic Yards Reports notes that the lawyer for the coalition is Al Butzel of the Urban Environmental Law Center, the same guy who led the legal fight to block the Westway landfill project back in the 1970s.
New Lawsuit Challenging AY Approvalby BrooklynSpeaks [AY Report]
Photo by Tracy Collins from 2008 Rally
November 9, 2009
Ratner Tight-Lipped on AY Details
In an interview with Crain's, Bruce Ratner is guarded about the shape of things to come for Atlantic Yards, refusing to talk about the development's timeline or when/whether it will include office towers. Ratner also declines to share current designs for AY, saying, “This isn't a public project. We will follow the guidelines.” Develop Don't Destroy quickly published a rebuttal to Ratner's statement, saying, "Presumably this means he'll return all the public money he has gotten and is supposed to get and renounce eminent domain for the project." Few new details about Atlantic Yards come to light in the profile, and it's perhaps most notable for Ratner's hell-or-high-water statements: He says he's "not nervous" about it happening and speaks with what AY Report calls "some not necessarily warranted optimism" when saying "we'll figure something out" if the Court of Appeals rules against the use of eminent domain.
Tenacious B [Crain's]
Crain's Calls Ratner "Tenacious;" Wouldn't "Desperate" and "Strategic" Also Apply? [AY Report]
Photo by threecee
November 2, 2009
Uncertainty, Skepticism Around Arena Bond Offering
There was a lot of discussion last week about the viability and timing of the issuance of debt to finance the construction of Barclay's Arena, the centerpiece of the Atlantic Yards project. First, on Wednesday, the blog Noticing New York wrote, "We have never seen so many loose ends and approvals that are not in place." On Thursday, Reuters followed up with an article that quoted the ESDC chief financial officer Frances Walton as saying "The expectation is that they will be issued...We have begun discussions with ratings agencies." That same day Bond Buyer quoted Ms. Walton as saying, “The structure and the timing of the bonds are still in flux,” (Two weeks ago The WSJ called the odds of the bond sale going through a "toss up"); the same article also floated the idea that the bonds could be structured with an early call to be exercised in the event that the plaintiffs prevail in their eminent domain case (which is expected to be decided by the end of this month but not before the issuance date scheduled for the week of November 16. Noticing New York followed up with its own analysis on Friday, questioning whether such a structure would threaten the tax-exempt status of the bonds. Meanwhile, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a Federal entity, just gave $55 million to Forest City Community Development Entity, LLC in Brooklyn. As Atlantic Yards Report points out, grants from the Financial Institutions Fund are targeted at "highly distressed low-income communities," the kind where Ratner plans to sell condos at $1,217 a foot.
ESDC’s Bond Buyer Happy Talk About Arena Bonds [Noticing New York]
So Many Unchecked Approval Boxes [Noticing New York]
Sale of Nets' Arena Debt Is Tough Shot [WSJ]
NYS Sets Big Bond Sale, Waits on Other Large Issues [No Land Grab]
Atlantic Yard Bonds May Be Sold, Escrowed [Bond Buyer]
Bond Buyer Article Excerpted [DDDB]
Forest City Gets $55M [AYR]
Photo by Tracy Collins
October 19, 2009
One More Atlantic Yards Lawsuit
At the Walk Don't Destroy Brooklyn fundraiser held Saturday by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, DDDB announced that it would file another lawsuit today against the Atlantic Yards development project, this time regarding "the failure of the Empire State Development Corporation to issue a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in response to changes in the project," according to the Atlantic Yards Report. This lawsuit, sponsored by 19 community organizations, joins two other major lawsuits currently in the courts, both co-sponsored by DDDB: the massive eminent domain case and the MTA case. Update: DDDB along with 19 other community groups did in fact file suit earlier today. Read all about it here.
DDDB: New Lawsuit Challenging Atlantic Yards [AYR]
Atlantic Yards: Suit Filed Against MTA [Brownstoner]
Oral Arguments over Eminent Domain at Atlantic Yards [Brownstoner]
Photo by Tracy Collins
DDDB Holds Fifth Fundraiser Against the Yards
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the Atlantic Yards watchdog organization, held its fifth annual Walk Don't Destroy fundraiser on Saturday, which raised over $40,000 according to the Atlantic Yards Report. City Council Member Letitia James, DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein, actor John Turturro, and about 200 others walked the 2.3-mile route, which included a stop at Borough Hall, headquarters of Borough President Marty Markowitz, a supporter of the Atlantic Yards development. “This is about working-class people,” Ms. James said as she marched across Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues, according to The New York Times. “This is about saving our homes and businesses against billionaires. We want our community back.” The cash raised by the event will presumably go towards DDDB's efforts to prevent the Atlantic Yards stadium and residential development project, such as its current lawsuit against the MTA for negligence of due process in its sale of land to developer Forest City Ratner.
Staying Power at Fifth DDDB Walkathon [AYR]
Walking Against the Bulldozers [NY Times]
Atlantic Yards: Suit Filed Against MTA [Brownstoner]
Photo by Tracy Collins
October 16, 2009
Atlantic Yards, the Nets, and the Times
Atlantic Yards seems to be in the hot seat this week due to the Court of Appeals case that began on Wednesday regarding the state's use of eminent domain to acquire land for the development project. Here's a round-up of recent comments, from the Atlantic Yards Report, the Wall Street Journal, and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. The WSJ points out that if the Yards wins in court, its next big challenge will be "selling the development to a skeptical bond market." The $700 million bond sale needed to fund the project comes at a time when sports spending is receding and the bond market is still shaky. The article adds: "If developers of the Atlantic Yards project don't issue bonds by Dec. 31 to fund the arena's construction, the debt will lose tax-exempt status, which would kill the project." And concerning the arena's prospective occupants, the Nets basketball team, the Atlantic Yards Report writes that there's some jostling in New Jersey regarding what to do with the team until it moves to Brooklyn. Regarding legal matters, the Report also questions why Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries didn't join the lawsuit against the MTA for its dismissal of due process during the sale of land to developer Forest City Ratner, especially since his neighboring assemblymembers, Jim Brennan and Joan Millman, did join. Jeffries said that participating in the lawsuit would compromise his power of advocacy, but the Report wonders if he's simply hedging his bets. Finally, several sites made a stink that The New York Times failed to run a print article about the opening arguments of the eminent domain case on Wednesday. Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn wonders whether the Times is avoiding the topic because its Manhattan tower was built with the use of eminent domain.
Sale of Arena Debt Is Tough Shot [WSJ]
WSJ Calls Arena Debt a 'Toss Up' [AYR]
Newark Mayor Booker Focuses on Temporary Nets Move [AYR]
Jeffries Agrees with Plaintiffs But Won't Join Them [AYR]
Something Is Wrong at the Times [DDDB]
Photo by Tracy Collins
October 15, 2009
Oral Arguments over Eminent Domain at Atlantic Yards
The long-awaited Court of Appeals case against Empire State Development Corporation for the use of eminent domain in the Atlantic Yards development project began yesterday. The ESDC argued that the use of eminent domain to condemn private homes and businesses was necessary to promote economic development and because the region was already blighted. The lawyers for the business and home owners, on the other hand, claimed that the state used the blight designation long after planning had begun, to justify the 22-acre condominium and stadium project, and development had been occurring on its own before Forest City Ratner bought the land. The New York Times' City Room blog brings us some key excerpts from the opening round of questioning, in which the chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, questions Philip Karmel, the lawyer for the ESDC:
“The majority part of this project is market-rate housing?” the judge asked. “That is not the purpose of the project, your honor,” Mr. Karmel replied. “Is it the largest component of the project?” Mr. Lippman pressed. “It is a significant component,” Mr. Karmel said, not quite conceding the point.
In another line of questioning, Judge Robert S. Smith, in a tone that suggested skepticism, asked Mr. Karmel if there were any limits on the state’s ability to take private land, so long as there was a public benefit. Mr. Karmel said that under current law and precedent, there was not.
Judge Smith also questioned Mr. Karmel about the state’s definition of blight. “Suppose I am a developer and I want to buy on an area that is half blighted and half not,” the judge asked. “They can condemn the whole thing, even if only half of it is blighted?” The answer, Mr. Karmel said, was yes.
The judges were equally tough on the plaintiffs' lawyer Matthew Brinckerhoff. As Norman Oder points out in a detailed dissection of the day, a decision is expected by Thanksgiving.
High Court Hears Arguments in Atlantic Yards Case [NY Times]
At Hearing, Judges Skeptical of Both Sides [AY Report]
Court Battle Could Determine Fate of AY [NY Daily News]
Atlantic Yards Appeal Gets Intense in Albany [Brooklyn Eagle]
Atlantic Yards Court Case Begins Wednesday [Brownstoner]
Atlantic Yards: the Profits from Eminent Domain [Brownstoner]
ESDC Approves Revised Plan for Atlantic Yards [Brownstoner]
Image by Tracy Collins
October 14, 2009
Atlantic Yards: Suit Filed Against MTA
While the Atlantic Yards' eminent domain case begins in court today, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and four elected officials filed another suit in the state's Supreme Court yesterday against the Metropolitan Transit Authority, claiming that its sale of land to developer Forest City Ratner violates state law. Specifically, they charge that the M.T.A. violated the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 when, in June 2009, it sold the 8.5-acre Vanderbilt Yard at Flatbush and Atlantic to the developer in a $100 million deal without first getting an independent appraisal of the yard and opening the parcel to competing offers. According to DDDB, "an annulment [of the sale] would disallow the transfer of the property, which the developer requires for its project, including its proposed basketball arena, until the M.T.A. complied with the law." The M.T.A. declined to speak with The New York Times regarding the lawsuit, but the lead plaintiff, state Senator Velmanette Montgomery, said: "While the M.T.A. is forcing service cuts and fare increases on the people of New York, they are giving Forest City Ratner just about a free ride. We have laws in this state which forbid these kinds of sweetheart deals."
Suit Challenges Sale of Land to Atlantic Yards Developer [NY Times]
Elected Officials and Two Orgs Sue MTA for Sweetheart Deal [DDDB]
Photo by Tracy Collins
October 13, 2009
Atlantic Yards Court Case Begins Wednesday
Oral arguments in Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corporation, the case regarding use of eminent domain for the Atlantic Yards development, will begin tomorrow in the state's Court of Appeals, and The Wall Street Journal brings us a nice summary of some of the legal background—namely the federal case in 2005, Kelo v. City of New London, that paved the way for a much broader interpretation of public benefit to justify the condemnation of lands. The WSJ certainly chooses a side in the matter, saying that private beneficiaries like Costco, Ikea, Stop and Shop, The New York Times, and the New York Stock Exchange have all benefited from the condemnation of "small businesses, homes, and church property." The article adds: "In eminent domain cases, the political class typically uses its power to help the strongest private interests against the weakest ... Other states, like New Jersey, have seen stricter standards for eminent domain actions implemented through the courts. But New York is a draconian holdout. The Brooklyn case offers the courts a chance to tell the political class and its developer friends that they can't trample over private property rights."
A Property Rights Foul [WSJ]
Image by Howard Ohlhous
October 9, 2009
Atlantic Yards: Shaya Gets the Boot
As you may remember, Forest City Ratner, developer behind the Atlantic Yards, hit a little snafu in the planning stages when it claimed to own or control more land than it actually did, namely the lots at the corner of Carlton and Vanderbilt. The snafu came in the form of property owner Henry Weinstein, who fought Shaya Boymelgreen's attempt to assign his lease to Forest City Ratner. Weinstein took Boymelgreen to court and legally took possession on September 18, but according to the Atlantic Yards Report, he just received the eviction notice from the Sheriff's Office yesterday. (Note: This post has been updated because it was, well, completely wrong to start with.)
Atlantic Yards Misrepresents Ownership [Brownstoner]
Eviction Notice at Carlton and Vanderbilt [AYR]
Photo by Tracy Collins
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