Fort Greene- AY impact
I am sorry for posting about this if this is old news but I’m really hoping to get some honest insights and info. My husband and I are just starting to consider FG in our home search and I’m trying to learn more about it. I was wondering what people thought about the AY impact…
I am sorry for posting about this if this is old news but I’m really hoping to get some honest insights and info. My husband and I are just starting to consider FG in our home search and I’m trying to learn more about it.
I was wondering what people thought about the AY impact specifically on FG. Even more specifically, I’ve seen that shadow analysis of the shadow AY will cast and I’d love to learn more about this. How much of the day’s direct sunlight do you think will be blocked? Summer vs. winter? It’s hard to get a sense from that map. I realize that part of the day will be shaded over, but does that mean all day?
Any info/advice/insight on the AY impact would be appreciated. I’m not terribly interested in the blanket “AY will destroy FG” type statements but if you really feel that way, I’d love to know concrete reasons as to why.
Thank you!
Hi all, OP here. Thanks for your comments.
We are primarily interested in places that are in the AY footprint b/c that same footprint is the most convenient to the Atlantic Ave subway station, which we’d really like to be close to. My husband works in midtown and commute is very important to us. We strongly considered a house on St. Marks a few months ago and did a thorough AY impact analysis (personalized to us, I mean) and in the end, we decided it was wasn’t going to bother us. However, the FG side of AY is more heavily impacted by lost sunlight and that’s what I’m really trying to understand and evaluate.
I would hate to move to Brooklyn in the hopes of creating a better atmosphere for my young family and then realize that we’re going to lose all access to direct sunlight when we’re at home.
Since I’m not smart enough to understand how many hours a day FG will be in the shade, I was hoping someone else would be able to assess that. I’m trying to understand if, based on the position of the towers, it’s likely that we’ll be in the shade for the majority of the daylight hours all year long. (If that is the case, FG is just not for us, although that doesn’t mean that everyone would feel the same way). Unfortunately I dont have a specific address to assess b/c I don’t have a specific address in mind. I’m just referring to the prime FG area.
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts!
Of course there are restrictions on through trucks on sidestreets. I see them being ticketed all the time.(Okay maybe not all the time!)
The notion that AY will only cause traffic problems along Atlantic and Flatbush doesn’t pass muster with me. The dearth of large trucks and equipment on these streets will push everyone else to the side streets – in a similar manner that BQE traffic led to the gridlocking of Clinton. Plus, there’s no restriction on construction vehicles travelling down side streets themselves – and there’s no restriction on WHEN they’re allowed to barrel down our side streets.
There’ll be many previously beautiful blocks all over Brooklyn that will become rush hour parking lots as soon as this mess starts being built.
“most dense”–sorry. I’m writing with two toddlers on my lap (babysitting, not mine!)
The main issue with this whole Atlantic Yards issue will be the tremendous increase in congestion and people. There will be 15,000 new resident in those three blocks, as well as throngs of visitors for every single Arena event(not just the games, but concerts, etc.) Many reports have said it will be the densest residential area in the country.
This one’s my fave–
http://www.southoxford.com/pages/flightpath.html
Link to Shadow Map–they also have other charts and images (see sidebar):
http://www.southoxford.com/pages/shadows.html
A couple of addenda to the above, which are generally astute and objective:
1. I read the Atlantic Yards Report on a regular basis (despite the fact that I think it is getting less objective, a sad irony that is a whole ‘nother subject.) If you want to understand project impacts, you should familiarize yourself with the environmental impact statement (EIS), even if you think, as I do, that it contains inaccuracies. (btw, Vanderman, it’s ESDC’s study, not Ratner’s.) The EIS is on-line at http://www.empire.state.ny.us/AtlanticYards/FEIS.asp.
2. If you want to imagine the visual impact, I recommend getting a sense of how the existing Bank of New York building (and perhaps other landmarks) relate to the planned buildings, including relative heights. Then, when standing somewhere–the street where you just looked at a listing; the window of what might be your kid’s bedroom–you can extrapolate how the planned project will look from a given location. Whenever I stand on South Portland now, I already “see” Atlantic Yards.
3. Not to diminish the real impacts, bear in mind that shadow impacts change. They move with the sun, both over the course of the day and from season to season. The closer you are to the project, the more frequently a site will be impacted. And don’t forget, the shadows extend to the north. I had to laugh when Community Board 6 complained about shadows in Park Slope. Musn’t be a gardeners on the community board.
East of Washington Avenue is the middle of Clinton Hill, not FG. I would also say that anything north of Greene Ave (rather than Lafayette) will be spared any serious issues due to the construction.
However, it sounds like the questions you are asking is what the effect will be post-construction. I think there are three significant negative issues to consider: (1) Sunlight, (2) Parking, and (3) Subways. I don’t think AY will bring down prices by itself. (Disclosure — I live 4 blocks from the site, but I am not anti-AY, although I loathe aesthically the Gehry design for the arena.)
Sunlight will be something of a bummer for certain areas, especially during the Nov-Jan time period when the sun is at its most southerly and thus most likely to be blocked by the towers. You should look at the sunlight projections and maybe consider hiring a design planner once you have a specifc property in mind.
Parking is going to suck — no two ways about that. OTOH, if the city moves to zone parking as part of the congestion plan, the parking will get only worse rather completely fall apart.
Subways — this is hard to predict, but I would not be keen to start using the Atlantic-Pacific stations. I doubt that it will siginficantly impact G or the C train stations.
In other words, if you are looking at Clermont or Adelphi and DeKalb, no problems. If you are looking at South Portland and Hanson, then put some thought into what you want out of a house or apartment.