Endangered AY
This morning the Times has a couple articles about Atlantic Yards that more or less boil down to the following: Aspects of the mega-project aside from the Nets arena are likely to be delayed or go unrealized; Forest City Ratner has not been able to lure an anchor tenant to Miss Brooklyn, his planned office…
This morning the Times has a couple articles about Atlantic Yards that more or less boil down to the following: Aspects of the mega-project aside from the Nets arena are likely to be delayed or go unrealized; Forest City Ratner has not been able to lure an anchor tenant to Miss Brooklyn, his planned office tower; and Frank Gehry’s overarching vision for AY will be severely compromised if all that’s built is the arena. In one article, Charles Bagli includes snippets of an interview with Bruce Ratner in which the developer concedes that construction of Miss Brooklyn will not begin until a tenant has been secured for the office tower; Bagli also notes that the three residential towers surrounding the arena, which are slated to have 1,000 units of housing—including many affordable units—may not happen anytime soon, since developers are finding financing harder to come by. Ratner still sounds cautiously optimistic about the first phase of AY, though. It’s not going to happen in a nanosecond, he tells the Times. I hope it’s not going to be drawn out. I’d hope that the first residential building will be done within six months of the opening of the arena, and a second one a year after that. In the second article, architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff says the possibility that all we’ll be left with is a Nets arena “feels like a betrayal of the public trust.” Ouroussoff calls on Frank Gehry to walk away from the entire development: “by pulling out he would be expressing a simple truth: At this point the Atlantic Yards development has nothing to do with the project that New Yorkers were promised. Nor does it rise to the standards Mr. Gehry has set for himself during a remarkable career.”
Slow Economy Likely to Stall Atlantic Yards [NY Times]
What Will Be Left of Gehry’s Vision for Brooklyn? [NY Times]
Ratner Admits Major AY Delays, Rising Arena Cost [AY Report]
Miss Brooklyn & Housing to Die as Arena Lives? [GL]
Bullet Points of Bagli Article [No Land Grab]
Photo by threecee.
Actually, 11.12, although I’m sure we agree on many things, you are just plain wrong about combining subsidized with luxury. It can work and does not necessarily discourage market rate people from buying or renting. There are many luxury towers in Manhattan that are 80/20. In those buildings there are very rich people living alongside middle income families. I know a family who was in the “20” and they were treated just like everyone else. Both parents work and they were not Section 8. At one point, Ratner was talking about 2,250 units of “affordable housing” but that was divided into different income levels (“Band Five” families can have income up to 113K for four.)
If people want to spend their money on pop music and spectator sports, that’s their business. But it’s been amply documented that the arenas that host this type of entertainment do not make for good urban neighbors, and government subsidies for them are a money loser for the public.
I’m no cultural elitist but I don’t feel like seeing my tax dollars go to the ego-driven private owner of a basketball team who you don’t even care enough about to go the the meadowlands because- you whine- it’s impossible to get to. So why did you get season tickets? frankly you’re a little touchy about the nets and are making an awful lot of assumptions about me and who I am. Bruce- is that you?? Just so happens I do like sports and concerts and other stuff besides the “cultural elitist” arts- you could use a little in your repertoire by the way- I don’t have a basement, love Springsteen and Merce Cunningham. See- you can have it all artistically speaking- you just don’t know how. Enjoy the Nets- have a nice trip out to Jersey.
Um … this is bad. The arena by itself is going to make the neighborhood go to hell. Visit some areas in New York with stadiums nearby. Desolate at night, dirty, and frequently dangerous. At least if the whole project happened there would have been tons of new residents and businesses to keep the area alive. It would be better to do the whole thing, or not to have started.
Time for your meds, 11:53 (#2).
Who knew they had wi-fi at Bellevue?
“Fools destroy themselves.”
A fitting Ratner epitaph.
and while im at it i would like to post all day im off today and going to watch the NCAA basketball tournament which im sure will never be hosted at the Barclay Center (yes the arena has a name). im sure they will never host it at the Barclay Center except its been hosted at nassau and the Meadowlands. and i’m sure it will have thousands of empty seats….just like the Nets, Radiohead, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z all will too when they play there. go see Merce Cunnigham and the ballet and listen to NPR. And again not that seeing the ballet or listening to NPR is bad its just pretentious NIMBY asshats like yourself and others always think that sports and pop culture suck. This is why america looks at you as “cultural elitists.” Am a liberal and i think the same way about you. go down to your basement and make some crap painting, and you can discuss it at some overpriced brunch place that makes you feel good about yourself.
Daniel Goldstein for Mayor of Prospect Heights!!
DUNG DEAL
YEAH BOYEEEEE!