Atlantic Yards Opponents Actually Win One
Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project won their first major legal victory yesterday when Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman ruled that the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) hadn’t sufficiently studied the community impact of a construction schedule that is now expected to last closer to 25 years rather than the ten initially put forth. Atlantic…
Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project won their first major legal victory yesterday when Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman ruled that the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) hadn’t sufficiently studied the community impact of a construction schedule that is now expected to last closer to 25 years rather than the ten initially put forth. Atlantic Yards Report explains that while the ruling will not immediately effect construction, it could subject the Atlantic Yards project to further arguments in court. For now, the case has been sent back to ESDC for reconsideration. It requires the ESDC to provide a “detailed, reasoned basis for [its] findings” on environmental impact while taking construction delays into account. “The Court properly found that ESDC misrepresented the facts of the contracts and there were no requirements that FCRC complete the project” says DDDB counsel Jeffrey Baker. “ESDC’s lack of transparency was not just with respect to its own deliberations, but extended to trying to hide material facts from the Court. We are very pleased that Justice Friedman did not tolerate that behavior.”
Justice Friedman Slams ESDC… [Atlantic Yards Report]
Court Slams NY State on AY, Rules in Favor of DDDB [DDDB]
Oh this decision is a perfect metaphor for the whole anti-AY fight:
The court has found that ESDC misled it in a court action brought by DDDB seeking to DELAY the AY project (force a
suplemental enivro impact statement), by not coming clean about known DELAYS in the construction schedule (due in part to prior delaying actions by DDDB); and with this ruling DDDB will now seek to get the project DELAYED.
So whats the impact on this abuse of process and sheer folly -> the arena will get built and the rest of the development will be DELAYED even further; meaning that rather than getting an urban arena in the midst of a residential and office complex, we will get an arena surrounded by emptiness (which will quickly be co-oped into parking). And who will DDDB and its ilk blame for the WORST possible outcome imaginable…why Ratner of course.
Does the “opposition” just want to “win” or do they want whats best for Brooklyn – seems clear to me.
Sad
“The city must grow. We need development in certain places, and we certainly need housing, especially middle class and affordable housing. We’re not likely to see any of that here.”
Tell me, MM…who else was going to build here? Not until Ratner came along did any developer have any intention of doing anything here. This spot was destined to be a wasteland as it’s been for the last 40 years. Ratner did get a sweetheart deal, no question. But how many developers have received similarly favorable deals in NYC? Also, while you and others criticize the cost of the housing that will be built on the site, the housing here will be pretty much in line with the cost of housing in the immediate area, which is NOT inexpensive! There was no low-income housing coming to this location under any scenario I can imagine. Meanwhile the project will bring jobs to the area. Now, you can criticize the wage scale of those jobs, clearly there will be economic activity where it did not previously exist. And as for traffic, this area is actually less dense than the area around Madison Square Garden, which is in the middle of Manhattan, and everyone there seems to survive. Will there be heavy traffic? Yes! But this is NYC, for god’s sake! We handle heavy traffic daily! Furthermore this is the logical place to build the arena – in an area heavily served by subway and commuter rail lines. I am really glad this project is going ahead, and I think it’s great that the picayune objections of folks who I believe have unrealistic views of the area and what is appropriate are being recognized for what they are.
It will get built- sadly. But the other issues remain- the fact that ESDC did not do its job, the sweetheart deals, the lies Ratner told- the arena is only one part of the project. lets see what this means for the rest of it and those illusory “low to middle” income housing that was promised. How much more money will taxpayers lose on this deal and how much more inconvenienced will we be by the construction. The blighting of an up and coming neighborhood, the gifting of the air rights by the MTA – anyone who still thinks the arena or the project is a benefit just isn’t looking at it with their eyes open.
Point of no return. Let ’em build the goddamn arena.
***Bid half off peak comps***
“I honestly cannot imagine the traffic nightmares to come.”
As it stands now, if one lane on the BQE is out near Tillary st. traffic spiderwebs all the way into Carroll Gardens.
“What a work of fiction.”
Perhaps his next project will be a book collaboration with the likes of Jackie Collins – picture it…a novel about snotty rich Brooklyn ladies 🙂
“I sort of feel giddy any time there is any kind of teensy victory against this project and this asshole.”
I agree completely. Snappy’s right, too, there is going to be something there, like it or not, and we’ll be dealing with it, and the ramifications thereof, for a long time.
My best hope is that this entire fiasco is a lesson writ large for future projects in this city. No sane developer would want to go through the mess Ratner did. Very few could afford to. Not that I feel sorry for him, because he is reaping what he sowed. The city must grow. We need development in certain places, and we certainly need housing, especially middle class and affordable housing. We’re not likely to see any of that here. I wish I had saved my pamphlet FCR sent around to everyone in Brooklyn, showing gleaming towers with happy multi-racial parents, kids on shoulders, walking through the AY gardens, and past shops and offices. What a work of fiction.
Will Ratner even be alive when this thing gets finished?
“I think I actually prefer a hole in the ground to an arena.”
Well, I’ve been here all my life, made my living here, and will be here when a lot of you guys have moved on. And I thank God I won’t have to look at the fucking hole anymore.