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
“I would say that 70% of people oppose the project and 30% support it.”
PLEASE LET US SEE THE DATA YOU HAVE THAT SUPPORTS THIS VIEWPOINT.
“The supporters seem to be uneducated Brooklyn natives and those who are simply in it for the money and think their property values will escalate.”
I’M AN EDUCATED BROOKLY NATIVE WHO OWNS A HOME IN THE AREA AND SUPPERTS THE PROJECT. I’M NOT LOOKING FOR ANY WINDFALL PROPERTY ESCALATION, BUT I DO WANT THE JOBS, HOUSING AND RETAIL THAT THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE TO PROCEED. YOU SIMPLY DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.
11:57 – you represent a view that is erroneous. Some housing is being condemned, but only on blocks that are currently mostly industrial. The reality is the number of homes being lost is nothing compared to the urban renewal blitz that brought us public housing in the 1960s nor even the construction of Central Park.
Oppose the scale if you want, but don’t exaggerate. It just ruins your credibility.
12:01 – The way it has always worked in this city in the post-war era of oppressive zoning laws is the poor either live in obsolete housing or public housing. People haven’t built new housing for the poor since the depression.
Seriously. What do you want? More public housing? The only time New Yorkers have gotten decent housing at a fair price was in the days before rent control, rent stabilization, public housing, and the 1960 zoning act. Back then, developers built as much housing as they wanted and everyone was happy.
Your view has been public policy for almost 50 years, and a lot of the poor you claim to want to help are living in apartments that haven’t been renovated since then. What do YOU propose that is any different that what has been tried for the past half century?
WOW!12:18 thinks that Brooklyn natives are uneducated and 12:01 thinks that we are all poor. You two should get together seeing as how you already seem to share a brain.Those have to be 2 of the most insulting remarks I have heard in a while,even on this site.I am a Brooklyn native and I am neither poor or uneducated.I have owned property since the age of 20,and yes I paid for it myself. I have lived in London,Senegal and Paris and I spent 10 years living on the UES. It pains me that people are moving to Brooklyn without any regard for the people who called it home long before it was fashionable. On the UES I would every so often have to let someone know that I was not a well dressed nanny, (I was one of two Black people that lived in the building) ,but I never thought that I would ever have to justify myself at home in Brooklyn.There are so many unexpected, well off native Brooklynites,you should watch yourselves. You never know where we may turn up.-Mimi
you protesters probably cost us the Zeppelin Reunion!!!!!!!!!
I’m vehemently opposed to the scale, cost, corruption and pollution that is Atlantic Yards. Why it matters I’m not sure but my family’s been in Brooklyn for more than 80 years now.
Underwriting a $4 billion project to the tune of $2 billion would be odd if it weren’t my money that’s being stolen. Not entirely sure how 6,400 apartments down the street from my house will improve the value of my property. Guess some folks like constant gridlock outside their houses. Me, if I wanted to live opposite Madison Square Garden I would.
We could have bought the Nets several times over for what we’re paying to move them across the river for a few years.
And we should keep in mind that we’re not getting a sports franchise. We’re leasing one that Ratner owns. When – or before – the lease is up, he’ll renegotiate for more tax-payer subsidies. That’s what pro teams do. And at that point, we either give him more money or he relocates the team and we’re left with an unused stadium . . . that we paid $2 billion to build.
The new rendering looks like a pile of cinderblocks.
Kingstonlounge, your comments are about as original as a big mac with fries. Try leaving your bubble once in a while – there really are people not employed by Ratner who support AY.
Also, what proof do you have that the counterprotesters were paid to attend the rally? This line has been parroted ad nauseam, but I have yet to see bona fide evidence of its truth. Unless you or another anti-AY drone can furnish proof, then I will assume that you are simply repeating a lie.
The new rendering looks like a pile of cinderblocks!
12:18 – the sad part is you probably believe that – even though you have absolutely no evidence for your conclusion.
Signed – a white, educated (advanced degree) non-native (albeit here 20 yrs) who is, was and will always be Pro-AY – and has no belief in escalating property values related to being near AY.