Ratner Wins Another Round of Yards Lawsuits
Despite voicing uneasiness with some aspects of the case, an Appeals Court panel did not find enough evidence of improper conduct on the part of the ESDC to rule in favor of the 26 neighborhood groups challenging the Atlantic Yards project on the basis of the project’s “sham” environmental review. While the court did not…
Despite voicing uneasiness with some aspects of the case, an Appeals Court panel did not find enough evidence of improper conduct on the part of the ESDC to rule in favor of the 26 neighborhood groups challenging the Atlantic Yards project on the basis of the project’s “sham” environmental review. While the court did not find legal grounds to grant the opposition’s petition, it did sympathize with its overall plight:
While we do not agree with petitioners’ legal arguments, we understand those arguments to be made largely as proxies for very legitimate concerns as to the effect of a project of such scale upon the face and social fabric of the area in which it is to be put. Those concerns, however, have relatively little to do with the project’s legality and nearly everything to do with its socio-economic and aesthetic desirability, matters upon which we may not pass. To the extent that the fate of this multi-billion dollar project remains, in an increasingly forbidding economy, a matter of social and political volition, the controlling judgments as to its merits are the province of the policy-making branches of government, not the courts.
Bruce Ratner joined Mayor Bloomberg in celebrating the victory: This project has been reviewed as thoroughly as any in the city and not it is time to put these cases behind us and get to work, he said. An appeal is planned, notes Atlantic Yards Report, though there is a chance that the Court of Appeals could decide not to hear it.
Appellate Court, Despite Some Misgivings, Dismisses EIS Case [AY Report]
Ratner Wins a Big Yards Case [Brooklyn Paper]
Legal Victory for Atlantic Yards Developer [NY Times]
Hey, losers….
Let it go.
Let it be built, already!!1
an entirely unsurprising result.
hey bit**es: if you don’t like it then move to new jersey or similar.
Biff,
I am not a fan of the other stadiums being subsidized either. But that is neither here nor there.
Again I will let the Chicken speak for me: “This whole project has been an undemocratic, ill-conceived boondoggle.”
Bon weekend!
Brooklyn Chicken, no problem. I didn’t see it that way at all. It actually helped me understand where Snark was coming from. Have a great weekend.
Biff, my comments appeared to be picking a fight with you. I apologize. I meant my other questions more rhetorically. It’s frustrating because on the face of it, Atlantic Yards appears to be a good deal: basketball stadium on top of transit hub, development of ugly rail yards, affordable housing. But the devil is in the details.
Werner, GOOD POINT.
fsrq, the legal door is not shut, although it is closing rapidly. More than ever, I wish DDDB and its allies success. This whole project has been an undemocratic, ill-conceived boondoggle.
hey Boerum Hill you dont think Yankee Stadium brings in tourists and people dont go out in the neighborhood before a game. You obviously have never been to Yankee Stadium (or a sports fan). So you obviously hate public subsidies for a sports team (would BAM exist without public money?).
So why dont you do us a favor Boerum Hill and go to a Yankee game and see how many people are on the streets and then report back to us. This does not mean that i agree with sport subsidies as a whole and that they all make economic sense but one should not speculate on something they no nothing about.
And the judge didnt sympathize with the ruling, only that he understood that he understood that they had concerns. Concerns that had nothing to do with the law suit.
Lets face it, (and i dont agree with giving Ratner the money),but regardless Brooklyn will be so much better with the Barclay Center.
The worst thing about this is the Nets would have had Lebron and NIMBYS stopped it.
Snark/Chicken, again my point is strictly in reference to Snark’s comment about subsidizing a stadium – it didn’t mention everything else and I absolutely agree with you both that the overall sweetheart deal Ratner has is abominable. My point is minor. It’s no biggie, was just commenting strictly on a stadium subsidy, but in the context of everything else you mention, it is a travesty.
Steve its a done deal as far as legal challenges, as I indicated it could take decades for the project to actually get partially or fully built. But this decision more or less seals the courthouse door shut to AY opponents – the only redress for opponents is to try and get enough politicians elected to derail the plan through political means.
“Meanwhile, the MTA is in complete budget crisis”
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/02/26/2009-02-26_albanys_sheldon_silver_leans_toward_okay.html