Wrecking Ball Gets Rolling on Atlantic Yards
Forest City Ratner is expected to break ground on the Atlantic Yards project today with the demolition of an old bus depot at the eastern end of the the rail yards; this will create a temporary area to store the LIRR trains that are now at the western end. Later this week, FCR is also…
Forest City Ratner is expected to break ground on the Atlantic Yards project today with the demolition of an old bus depot at the eastern end of the the rail yards; this will create a temporary area to store the LIRR trains that are now at the western end. Later this week, FCR is also planning to start demo on the former auto repair shop (above) at 179 Flatbush Avenue to make way for the base of Miss Brooklyn, should the project clear the remaining legal hurdles. Opponents are calling this week’s work “premature” in light of the eminent domain lawsuit.
Developer Gets Ball Rolling on Nets arena [NY Daily News]
Brooklyn Arena Tip-Off [NY Post]
Photo by Gregg Snodgrass for Property Shark
what do you guys think the property value of the mixed use buildings on bordering flatbush will do? or lets say vanderbilt? when all said and done???
And have you read the discussion of the New York Observer article on Olin? Go to atlanticyardsreport.com. Worth a read.
have you all read the article on the guy who is doing the landscape architecture for this project? interesting read….
Uh, he actually believes that this will be a boost for Brooklyn. I know that might seem unthinkable, but it’s actually what he believes.
A piece of the puzzle is still missing for me. Why has Marty Markowitz sold out to the big money? I thought he loved Brooklyn! What’s in it for him? Really, can someone please clue me in.
I think I accidentally posted anonymously — the long post addressed to David above is mine.
David,
There are new condos on Washington and Dean, and there is a new building going up I think on Dean between Carlton and Vanderbilt. Amazingly enough, Ratner didn’t try to buy those very blighted Newswalk condos. You can’t go more than a couple of blocks in Dumbo, all along 4th Ave as far as 20th St., throughout the South Slope, or even in Bed-Stuy without seeing a construction crane. Do you seriously believe that the vacant lots along Dean and Pacific would still be unbuilt in the absense of the Ratner project?
I said that the area has not been built on during the CURRENT Brooklyn building boom because Ratner is holding the properties in anticipation of building a highrise enclave. That part of this area was deemed blighted in the 1960s is irrelevant to my claim. And of course there would be no need to use eminent domain if there weren’t viable businesses and homes within the footprint.
As I said above, I have no problem with building over railyards. Have at it. Just not with massive, undisclosed public subsidies, not by transferring valuable property to a single developer, not by circumventing existing land use processes in order to accomplish both subsidies and property transfers. I’d prefer government to set reasonable parameters for development (appropriate upzoning, affordable housing incentives) and then let the market take over. I would include in that having the City build a platform over the railyards and then inviting competitive bidding.
As it stands, the City has made an UNLIMITED commitment to pay the infrastructure costs for this boondoggle! And what are we getting in return? A park? No. A school? No. A project that knits together existing neighborhoods? No. A “transit-oriented” project? No. Even Marty Markowitz, a relentless AY booster, couldn’t get the ESDC to address his traffic concerns. No to all of those — instead, we are getting demapped streets, superblocks, and a new high rise district, well away from Downtown Brooklyn, that I believe most will come to regret.
As for the geography of the thing, I did read your post and you state that the site is mostly “blocks” from “real” neighborhoods. I think the residents of Carlton between Dean and Flatbush would say different! And you seem really not to understand where the area will be — right across the street from Park Slope.
I am hoping for the best with this, (what else can we do at this point) but I am a little anxious about all of this, since I am close to the northeastern corner of this project. I have heard more than one person articulate McDonnaPoppa’s comments about moving into BedSty to get away from this project’s influence. We’ll see. It will change things, that’s for sure. For now, we’ll have to deal with construction….
SPer, I suggest you read my post(s) more carefully – I did not say that AY was being built mostly on “vacant” land – I said it wasnt being built in the “midst of a neighborhood”.
I am familiar with Prospect Heights which is why I said that AY was “GENERALLY” seperated from neighborhoods by major thoroughfares (Prosepct Heights being the lone exception)
It seems that your knowledge of the area must be very recent, since you make the silly assertion that the reason that the AY site is underutilized is b/c of Ratner, when that area (not including the railyards themselves) has been plaqued by vacancies, and underutilization for decades and has been the subject of redevelopment plans since at least the 60’s (when the cost of building a platform over the railyards scared away Baruch College for one) and was described as blighted when Abe Stark was the boro president.