ESDC: Whoops, Atlantic Yards IS Shovel-Ready
Last week, the Empire State Development Corporation said that Atlantic Yards was not shovel-ready; now the agency is saying it is ready. I am afraid that my office put out some inaccurate information regarding Atlantic Yards and whether it was shovel-ready,” said ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston. The implication, says Atlantic Yards Report, “is that Atlantic…
Last week, the Empire State Development Corporation said that Atlantic Yards was not shovel-ready; now the agency is saying it is ready. I am afraid that my office put out some inaccurate information regarding Atlantic Yards and whether it was shovel-ready,” said ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston. The implication, says Atlantic Yards Report, “is that Atlantic Yards is in the mix for some sort of stimulus funds–likely to build the railyard that Forest City doesn’t want to pay for,” a notion promoted by Marty Markowitz in New York Post article today: “This project is shovel-ready, and the jobs it would create are needed now,” the Borough President said. Not surprising, Develop Don’t Destroy’s Daniel Goldstein feels otherwise: “It would be obscene to use such funds for an arena and to foster the misuse of eminent domain,” he told the paper.
Photo by Tracy Collins.
forest city >> california
Mr. Joist- I think its a stretch to the point of breakage to think you convinced me of anything re AY. My point is that if its just a hole in the ground you’re worried about, its been there for years and we can afford to wait a bit longer for the right project to come along. But to invest in AY as Ratner has it is just throwing good money after bad and far more detrimental to the neighborhood than present hole in the ground.
Also, Mr. Joist,
No, FCR does not own all the land for this project. Ridiculous! That is simply a dream, so please keep the untruths to a minimum.
Look, there is a below grade “train yard” with tracks…otherwise known as “a hole in the ground” and lots of buildings that are perfectly wonderful…some of which got torn down such as Ward’s Bakery and a number of houses, 1) to give the impression something was happening (for many reasons from many angles) 2) to send a message to those in the community against this and 3) to create blight.
The closing of the Carlton Avenue Bridge was a big “scr*w you!” to the community. I still need to be convinced it needed to be demolished. It was an incredible bad use/misue of resources, seemingly pointless and untimely distruction of infrastructure, and very poor “staging” from a project management perspective. You think you would have things nailed down before such huge demolition.
It was wanton destruction…needless. Are they really doing anything substantial in the area where the bridge was taken down? Was it really necessary? And was it really necessary when the Emminent Domain issue and many other issues are still up in the air/in play. It may very well be the arena (a stadium is open to the elements) cannot be built a the proposed spot at Flatbush and Atlantic.
Heck, you run the risk of getting in to trouble if you don’t file the least little Landmarks/Building permit across the city and this project was an amorphous monster…and a moving target…meanwhile, major work is going on for nothing.
Mr. Joist, who are you really?…
Signed,
Ms. BG (Team Princess)
Mr. Joist,
If the developer is a slimeball as you concede, there is no point in going any further with him. If you’re partnered with the wrong people, tt will always end badly.
Ahah! I see I’ve convinced you!
Also, I think there is a blog rule about saying this:
“…why tear down a whole bunch of perfectly good- and in some cases, perfectly wonderful buildings…”
Followed 35 minutes later by this:
“… There has been a hole in the ground there for years.”
You say “better a hole in the ground with potential than a crappy project” BUT that’s my point! Unless this admittedly slime ball developer gets some more cash (most likely from the Federal government), we will have BOTH a hole in the ground for a long time and THEN a crappy project when the economy improves!
There has been a hole in the gournd there for years. Ratner just made it worse. His costs ballooned- unless you really think the initial handouts would be the last he would get. Not by a long shot.
And no one wants a hole in the ground just to win the oneupmanship fight. But better a hole in the ground with potential than a crappy project that will cost far more to fix before it can be liveable and will damage the area, not improve it.
Fully agree with Boerum Hill and Brooklyngreen. The whole project was over the top and totally ego-driven. And wasteful. Goldstein had real guts to stick it out- why tear down a whole bunch of perfectly good- and in some cases, perfectly wonderful buildings, for a project that should have been designed much better, more fiscally responsible and realistic way?
And don’t get me started on the eminent domain issue.
Gotta’ love someone that starts their post by correcting stadium vs. arena diction with [sic]! Sorry, but that just SCREAMS “I’m a prick.”
Point is, the Carlton Avenue Bridge is GONE and at this point delay will only hurt the outcome of the project, not help it. (Just see what we get if they don’t get Obama funds.)
I agree that the process was faulty and that eminent domain was abused but that bridge has been destroyed … I mean crossed. The guy owns the land and the chances of unscrambling the egg are very low.
Maybe you think Rather will fold and go home and a white knight will make it all better? I think it’s time to support the project before we wind-up with a 10-year hole in the ground. I further think some of the Develop Don’t Destroy crowd would rather have a hole there so they can say “I told you so.”
Mr. Joist,
This developer is not capable of building anything other than a crappy stadium (take a look at his other projects) and has done nothing but bs people since day 1. He’s a dead horse that was never worth riding. Feel free to blame Develop Don’t Destroy, but think hard about where we’d stand if this project had gone ahead as scheduled. It would have been even more of a fiasco. We’d have a developer 1/2 into constrcution on an arena no one needs and on apartment buildings that could never be sold at any price over cost. The pressure would be on the government to provide even bigger subsidies than were originally doled it. This project wasn’t feasible without subsidies at the outset. It’s even less so now.