Atlantic Yards: The Play-by-Play
“You can sue, sue, sue—but nothing ruins megaplans like a crashing economy.” So goes the sub-head of New York Magazine’s historical timeline of the Atlantic Yards saga prompted, presumably, by architect Frank Gehry’s much-blogged blooper, I don’t think [Atlantic Yards] is going to happen. Atlantic Yards, Inch by Inch [New York Magazine] Atlantic Yards: The…
“You can sue, sue, sue—but nothing ruins megaplans like a crashing economy.” So goes the sub-head of New York Magazine’s historical timeline of the Atlantic Yards saga prompted, presumably, by architect Frank Gehry’s much-blogged blooper, I don’t think [Atlantic Yards] is going to happen.
Atlantic Yards, Inch by Inch [New York Magazine]
Atlantic Yards: The Past, Present & Future [Curbed]
Perhaps Ratner will build in Prospect Heights some day, but I believe that if he doesn’t get something built this year, the State can cancel the project. That would mean an end to the instant upzoning this State project would provide.
Ratner won’t build on this land because FCR is all but broke and he doesn’t have the money to build on this land.
He’ll start building only when the politicians give him more of our money to build with. The land itself was purchased with $50 million in taxpayer funds that was earmarked for affordable housing. Granted, a lot of that $50 mill went to PR for the project itself.
babs – you can fight till you’re 100 – it wont matter – Ratner owns most of the footprint, he has a contract with the MTA and the State and he will build on this site – what and when are still a question but Ratner’s track record speaks for itself….
I agree as to context – Of course I assume you are referring to the Williamsburg Savings Bank and 483 Carlton Ave in terms of the context of the area…..
Ahh and thanks for mentioning Wards Bakery – another example of the Anti-AY crowd’s favorite tactic – strawman
No one cared about the Wards Bakery before AY (rightfully so since it was a non-descriptive factory building of which there are hundreds all over the city) and noone would have cared – but for Ratner and AY
Lets just put some projects up in this area. Will that make everyone happy and provide enough “affordable housing” – hey, maybe even Frank Gehry can design them. Then all the Park Slope organics can be happy for helping out those less fortunate and maybe buy some good weed from them while their at it.
Not to worry, fsrq, no-one is giving up. We will continue to fight FCR on every front until this is truly gone, and then will continue to work for some true, in-context, and actually affordable housing in its place. And ED has not been used yet, and hopefully will never be permitted.
Added to the list of abandoned Brooklyn construction sites should be the horror that FCR has wrought in demolishing as much as possible with no plans or ability to actually build anything.
Ward’s Bakery RIP.
In fact I think the average favela has a cleaner ‘design.’
This Gehry design just looks like, “Umm, I’m really busy so I’ll just slap some random squares together and the dumb schmucks will be amazing because I did it. Who cares if it will leak like a sieve in a couple years like all of my other “funky” buildings… that’s not my problem. They hired me for my supposed expertise and the need to add a painfully predictable Ghery building to the cityscape.”
“Those buildings are constructed using recycled shipping containers, right?”
… so I’m not the only one who thinks the Gehry design looked like a favela?
tybur6 –
Please do not be so naive – virtually none of the anti-AY folks gave 2 $hits about Eminent Domain before AY; and they wont after. In fact 99% of them would likely support Eminent Domain for any number of their own ‘pet projects’ BUT
the anti-AY people did not want an Arena or tall buildings (mostly an Arena) so they latched onto ED as their cause. Trust me – after AY gets built (or not) you wont here a peep out of anyone about “ED abuse”
The [very few] people who were “forced out” made more money on their apartments then virtually anyone in this boom and far from losing their family homestead, they sold a new condo that they had barely lived in for a year or two. Even the renters in hindsight ended up with a pretty good deal.
ED – is, was and will always be a strawman argument for the Anti-AY crowd.
JamesBong–
It’s not the big empty hole… I don’t think anyone has a problem building over the rail yard. It’s the homes and businesses that were taken through eminent domain. I’m don’t have particularly strong feelings about this topic myself, but I do understand where the uproar comes from.
BUT, to be clear, it’s not because of the hole in the ground or the otherwise derelict properties around it… it’s about the active businesses and homes that were affected.
(If someone has a problem with building a big building for no other reason than it’s big… then, yeah, that’s not a very position to begin with, but that’s not what the “problems” with the project were about.)