Atlantic Yards or Atlantic Lots?
These past few days have been a big one for Atlantic Yards news. Saturday, hundreds of protesters led by three opposition groups and several politicians rallied at the Atlantic Yards footprint, calling for a halt to demolition until developer Forest City Ratner can provide details on its plans and assurances that it has the financing…
These past few days have been a big one for Atlantic Yards news. Saturday, hundreds of protesters led by three opposition groups and several politicians rallied at the Atlantic Yards footprint, calling for a halt to demolition until developer Forest City Ratner can provide details on its plans and assurances that it has the financing to see them through. They were met by a 50 percent larger group of counter-protesters, estimated Atlantic Yards Report blogger Norman Oder, who proceeded to comment on the ethnicity, neighborhood of residence and motivation of each one. On Sunday, Bruce Ratner penned an op-ed piece in the Daily News blaming construction delays on the project’s “rigorous public review” and legal challenges waged by opponents. He said “the delays have pushed us into a time when the economy has slowed, and both financing and tenant commitments are more challenging to obtain. But contrary to rumors, large deals are still getting done, and in the past year alone we have closed on the two largest construction financing in our company’s history, totaling over $1.3 billion. Atlantic Yards will be no different.” Ratner said the company’s first goal is to break ground on the Barclays Center (Nets basketball arena) this year, then the first residential building. “As for Miss Brooklyn, Frank Gehry’s signature commercial tower, a targeted marketing campaign to identify an anchor tenant is currently underway. When that tenant is confirmed, we will finalize plans and start building,” he wrote. He said the whole thing would be completed by 2018, which opponents called crazy talk.
Today, the New York Post obtained renderings commissioned by the Municipal Arts Society depicting how the project’s footprint would look as economic woes stall its construction indefinitely. They name it “Atlantic Lots” after the sea of parking lots that surround the arena and lone tower the developer said he’d work on first. Ratner spokesman Loren Riegelhaupt responded, “Frankly, this is so far from anything even remotely resembling what we are building that it’s not worth commenting on further.” For one thing, he said, the developer would mostly likely plant trees (you know, temporarily) on that big grey slab surrounding the arena. Also today, the Daily News has an article proclaiming “Miss Brooklyn is slashed more than 100 feet in a massive redo” from 620 feet to 511 feet. That of course happened before the project was approved Dec. 2006, but the new model looks substantially different, “replaced by an asymmetrical design that rises like a spiraling Lego structure.” State officials told the newspaper Miss Brooklyn would only have 650,000 square feet of office space and no condos or hotel. But a construction timetable for the project’s signature tower was not given, and an anchor tenant still needs to be secured before it can ever get financing. They also unveiled that red building to the right of Miss Brooklyn, also a revised design. Technically, the Post and Daily News models are not competing visions, they just depict different stages of construction. As usual, the Atlantic Yards Report has a meticulous dissection of everything. And a Metro columnist says the city would be better off if the Nets just went to Newark.
Ratner: AY Dead? Dream On [Daily News]
The Future is ‘Blight’ [NY Post]
Atlantic Yards’ Miss Brooklyn is Slashed [Daily News]
Opponents say Ratner’s Time Line for AY is Pie in the Sky [Daily News]
Nets to Newark Could be a Blessing [Metro]
Bruce Ratner: Put Up or Shut Up! [Daily Gotham]
Not a Done Deal: Time Out Rally Met With Counter-Protest [Daily Gotham]
Original aerial photos in Municipal Arts Society models by Jonathan Barkey
“Folks that have been around since the crack epidemic should know that Brooklyn has been revitalized not due to mega-projects, but because of grass roots community involvement and the appeal of its livable neighborhoods. An over-scale AY is like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.”
Folks that have been around since the crack epidemic (and before then, like me) know that Brooklyn has waited for development at this site for GENERATIONS. Brooklyn’s improvement is as much due to long-term residents (like me and many others) who invested in our communities and worked in our own wys to make things better. We have very strong opinions on how Brookyln should go forward. The 400 or so Johnny-come-lately Anti-AYERS, had NO plan for development or improvement of the site until Ratner came along. Suddenly, they’ve annointed themselves experts on how this realtively SMALL piece of Brooklyn should develop, suggesting Brooklyn would be “destroyed” if the project went forward. Nonsense. Anti-AYers focus ignore the wishes of long-term residents who want jobs, housing and retail. Furthermore, AY is planned for a site adjacent to downtown Brooklyn, an area quite appropriate for large-scale, dense development (with several subways and LIRR on the site). Pedestrians will be as safe here as they are at the other high-traffic areas of this city of 8 million people, and asthma rates won’t be any higher here than anywhere there is development (as in all over this city).
Re pollution – how about vast seas of gridlocked cars, trucks and buses idling on Atlantic and Flatbush because of congestion?
D-O-N-E D-E-A-L
Re pollution – how about vast seas of gridlocked cars, trucks and buses idling on Atlantic and Flatbush because of congestion?
12:45
Pollution?
Density on the scale of AY is 100% necessary to REDUCE pollution in this country.
How, pray tell, does AY contribute to pollution?
“The majority of these anonymous posts make one thing very clear- The fact that Ratner’s cronies enjoy spending their free time browsing Brownstoner.”
I’m no Ratner shill. I just have my own viewpoint and I’m not shy about expressing it. I am in favor of AY. If you’re not, that’s OK but my opinions are my own.
Besides, what does registration have to do with my opinion? The way I see it, YOU could just as easily be described as a shill for DDDB/Goldstein. Your being a registered commenter does not change that.
“Unless of course they’re paid shills, like the counterprotesters on Saturday.”
Proof? Evidence? Documentation? I guess accusations equal reality in your world. Typical of inflexible, “whatever it takes” approach of anti-AY “shills.”
Anti-AY 11:34 here again, in answer to your question 11:52. I’ve lived in Brooklyn for 9 years. I’m sure there is a polling difference b/t born-here Brooklynites and newer arrivals, but the debate should be about intelligent urban planning, not demographics.
I actually wouldn’t be against the Nets arena if it were just that, although the subway and car traffic would be unpleasant at best. But the Nets are the tail wagging the dog – it’s not the arena, it’s the 16 skyscrapers adding 17,000 residents! Add the game night crowds and it’s like doubling the population of Prospect Heights and Ft. Greene COMBINED. How do you think that will affect pedestrian safety, asthma rates, etc for native-born local kids?
Folks that have been around since the crack epidemic should know that Brooklyn has been revitalized not due to mega-projects, but because of grass roots community involvement and the appeal of its livable neighborhoods. An over-scale AY is like killing the goose that laid the golden eggs.
are you more likely to respond to a customer satisfaction survey if you received crappy service or adequate service?
12:18 is at least honest about his/her arrogance. i would venture that many anti-AY folks share the sentiment, but would never say so publicly.