PACB Gives Ratner What He Wants
After an Oscar-worthy head fake on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, along with the two other members of the Public Authorities Control Board, George Pataki and Joseph Bruno, gave the thumbs up to Bruce Ratner’s vision for Atlantic Yards. “I am pleased the developer is committed to addressing numerous community concerns through several specific actions…
After an Oscar-worthy head fake on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, along with the two other members of the Public Authorities Control Board, George Pataki and Joseph Bruno, gave the thumbs up to Bruce Ratner’s vision for Atlantic Yards. “I am pleased the developer is committed to addressing numerous community concerns through several specific actions that will result in significant neighborhood improvements,” said Silver. Last time we checked, traffic congestion, overcrowded schools and a surfeit of chain stores didn’t exactly qualify as improvements (though there were some last minute changes, including 200 more units of affordable housing and $3 million more for improvements to neighboring parks) but then again, pols who live upstate must have a better grasp of what’s better for Brooklyn than the four assembly members closest to the site. So where does this leave those who oppose the project? Eminent domain lawsuits, scale negotiations and a guy named Spitzer. From the beginning, the project has been a public-private partnership in which the public has not been represented, said Kent Barwick, president of the Municipal Art Society. The vote today reflected a process that simply did not allow New Yorkers to shape the project, and the result is a plan that will not work for Brooklyn.
State Approves Major Complex for Brooklyn [NY Times]
NY Board Approves Atlantic Yards Plan [Bloomberg]
The Nets Win! [NY Post]
Photo by f.trainer
Everything is connected. AY, the Downtown Brooklyn Plan, the redevelopment of the Westside, the rebuilding of Yankee and Shea Stadiums, the LIRR-Grand Central spur, the 2nd Ave line, Ground Zero etc etc. Some of this will be great for the city; some of it disastrous.
But right now the political cabal at City Hall and in Albany (Bloomberg, Doctoroff, Spitzer, Silver etc) are looking back to history and the dubious legacy of Robert Moses. They want a new “master builder” and an over-arching plan to accomodate the growth in the city that Bloomberg has been trumpeting in recent weeks. Certainly NYC desperately needs a new vision of urban planning but what these politicos have in mind will erase local input (from either the public or elected officials) and hand control over to the private sector: FCR, Toll Brothers, etc etc.
If you think the Moses analogy is far-fetched just consider that Kate Levin, commissioner of the Dept of Cultural Affairs, is currently promoting not one but 3 public events aimed at erasing his reputation as an autocrat who elevated cars above people, and destroyed working class communities in Red Hook and the Bronx, to a visionary who points the way to the future. One of the events is even entitled “Slum Clearance and the Superblock Solution.”
Perhaps we’re at a similar growth point to what happened with the demolition of Penn Station — that battle was lost but a new urban preservation movement rose from the ashes. The fight to change AY is not over yet but Brooklynites need to reach out to other groups in the city — both grassroots and institutional — to explore the possibility of creating a new coalition that will insure more oversight and public input for these huge projects that will reshape our city in the coming years.
I agree, that’s why if you are in clinton hill, part slope or other such nabes a bit further away, you’ll be insulated from the construction madness and resulting property value issues during those years.
I live in Prospect Heights, two blocks from the proposed AY site, and there’s no question that this development will adversely affect property values. I’ve already seen houses in the immediate vicinity sell for 20% less than two years ago — that’s WAY more than can be attributed to the slowing of the market. Be real, everything else being equal, why would any buyer choose to expose themselves to 20 years of construction madness?! (FCR says it’ll take 10-15 years to build out; they also said Metrotech would take 5 years and it ended up taking 14.)
“Atlantic Yards sounds like a penitentiary. Ratnerville sounds like name of bad movie. ”
In that case, both terms are entirely appropriate.
I think need to change name of project.
Atlantic Yards sounds like a penitentiary. Ratnerville sounds like name of bad movie.
I’m all up for suggestions.
Guess which fatcat Fort Greene realtor is on Ratner’s payroll?
False. There’s never just one factor that determines property values. One thing’s for sure, though: being situated close to a gigantic eyesore is a very potent factor when it comes to driving down property values.
The idea that the majority of Brooklynites would rather live in Manhattan is absurd, based on my unscientific survey. I have lived in Brooklyn for my entire 19 years in NYC. I had many opportunities to live in Manhattan (West Village, East Village, UWS) but I, and many of my neighbors, prefer the scale, quiet, and pace of Brooklyn. The idea that Brooklyn is a borough of wannabe-Manhattanites too poor to live their dreams is some sort of deluded fable.
The general housing market for NYC will be the determining factor in future ‘values’ or properties in surrounding areas – rather than this project – for better or worse.