Ratner's Yards Bonds Rated 'Barely' Investment Grade
On the heels of last week’s eminent domain ruling, Forest City Ratner took another step towards realizing its vision for a basketball arena in Brooklyn when Moody’s Investor Service gave the $500 million in tax free bonds being used to finance the Barclays Center a crucial investment-grade rating. According to a largely positive story in…
On the heels of last week’s eminent domain ruling, Forest City Ratner took another step towards realizing its vision for a basketball arena in Brooklyn when Moody’s Investor Service gave the $500 million in tax free bonds being used to finance the Barclays Center a crucial investment-grade rating. According to a largely positive story in Crain’s yesterday afternoon, “the Baa3 rating reflects several factors, including the strength of New York City as a media market, existing sponsorship support for the team, the large amount of equity the developer and its partner are putting in the project and strong reserve funds.” And check out this quote in The Times from a vice president at Moody’s: The lawsuits are not an issue as far as the rating is concerned. The rating assumes that the lawsuits will be settled and that the project will move forward.” A more skeptical article in the New York Observer noted that while technically investement-grade, the bond rating was only one step above junk level, reflecting significant risk factors like relocation, weak team finances and “uncertain demand for premium seating.” And Atlantic Yards Report points out that the Moody’s rating assumes 225 events per year but Ratner’s on record as predicting only 200. Crain’s says that bond sales are expected to begin sometime this week.
New Nets Arena Wins Another Court Challenge [NY Times]
Moody’s Gives $500M in Nets Bonds Thumbs Up [Crain’s]
Nets Arena Wins Needed Bond Rating, Mostly [Observer]
Atlantic Yards Debt Gets Rated [The Bond Buyer]
“Some city and ruban specialists have said that it makes more sense to spread out density across the transit system, rather than concentrate it right over a hub.”
Can you cite a credible source for that?
Oh and At/Pac is not “near capacity”, (and certainly not more so than any of the individual feeder lines) And most importantly if we ever do add capacity, the most logical and efficient place to do so is at the hubs.
A mass transit hub that is close to peak operation during rush hour, and they can’t add mopre trains to the lines as it is. Some city and ruban specialists have said that it makes more sense to spread out density across the transit system, rather than concentrate it right over a hub.
Environmentally intelligent =/ scaled back
This is next to one of the largest mass transit hubs in the nation (by lines) – environmentally intelligent = density
Also DDDB has stated numerous times that ANY PLAN that involved an arena would be fought
On the other hand, if Ratner had come up with a more reasonable, environmentally intelligent and appropriately scaled plan and actually paid what the Yards were actually worth, instead of depending on abatements, public funding, and eminent domain the community probably would not have fought him. Ratner is to blame for this mess.
nice work, be_rude. count me in your corner. while i’ll admit to occasional chuckles, the act is rather tiresome. different day, different thread, sos.
Anti AY people should really stop mentioning Gehry. It was the delay in ongoing lawsuits that brought a 2006 proposition into a budgeted 2010 reality. If even one dispute against the arena was won in court I can understand the dozens of lawsuits but with such a losing streak, any promises or dreams that do not come into fruition because of the economy can 100% be blamed on the DDDB.
sarâ‹…casm
  /ˈsɑrkæzəm/ [sahr-kaz-uhm]
–noun
1. harsh or bitter derision or irony.
2. a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.
Origin:
1570–80; < LL sarcasmus < Gk sarkasmós, deriv. of sarkázein to rend (flesh), sneer; see sarco-
Synonyms:
1. sardonicism, bitterness, ridicule. See irony 1 . 2. jeer.
I most sincerely apologize if I’ve offended your delicate sensibilities, snark. Perhaps your chosen alias, and the general provocative nature of your postings, led me to the erroneous belief that you had the backbone to take some of your own snarky medicine when it is due.
be_rude,
You should take a cue from benson. He is far more polite when telling someone to STFU.
TTFN.