http://www.planNYC.org/ PlanNYC | New York City Planning Information Portal en-us ja3n@earthlink.net http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4547 The latest lawsuit filed to stop the Atlantic Yards project is based off a provision in the New York State Constitution that prohibits subsidies to be used on renewal projects that will only provide affordable residential units. Lawyers and other legal scholars are interested in the argument and what it will mean for the project moving forward. 2008-08-14 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4525 Atlantic Yards project opponent, Develop-Don't Destroy Brooklyn, has filed a lawsuit in New York State Court. The group claims that the developer, Forest City Ratner, is violating the Federal and State Bill of Rights as well as legislative rulings related to eminent domain. 2008-08-06 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4447 The Landmarks Preservation Commission is considering designating a portion of Prospect Heights, Brooklyn as a historic landmarks district. The designation, if it goes through, may have some effect on the Atlantic Yards development, despite the fact that none of the mega-development’s footprint would be in the historic district. Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project, see the landmarking as a way to prevent expansion of the development and further “out-of-scale” building. 2008-07-13 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4426 Opponents of the Atlantic Yards project have filed an appeal to a case dismissed by the New York Supreme Court on January 26, 2008. The case will be brought before the State Appellate Court and calls into question the legitimacy of the environmental impact review of the project. Opponents believe that the preliminary review was faulty and merits a new review regardless because the project has changed a great deal since the original one was written. If the Appellate Court sides with the plaintiffs, the project would need a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and a revote by the Public Authorities Control Board. 2008-07-08 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4369 The Supreme Court of the United States has declined to hear the appeal made by 11 Brooklyn property owners, which claims that the use of eminent domain to acquire their properties for the purpose of economic development in the Atlantic Yards project is unconstitutional. The justices rejected the appeal without comments. The plaintiffs say that they plan to continue their legal battle against the project in New York State Court, despite the setback. Developer Bruce Ratner and Borough President Marty Markowitz both released statements calling the Supreme Court decision a victory for the project, and for Brooklyn. 2008-06-23 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4367 Atlantic Yards opposition group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has asked the state’s Public Authorities Control Board to investigate developer Forest City Ratner’s financing plan for the $4 billion project. The Board, which consists of the governor, house speaker, and senate majority leader, has a “statutory obligation to approve the financing and construction of the project,” says DDDB. The state’s approval of the project in Brooklyn was originally tied to its financial viability. Rising construction costs and a slumping economy have increased cost projections for Atlantic Yards. 2008-06-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4344 Several state and City officials, including State Assembly members Hakeem Jeffries and James Brennan, and City Council members Letitia James and David Yassky, are advocating for the creation of a new entity to provide public oversight for the Atlantic Yards project. The officials say that the state project lacks an effective vehicle for community input and so are campaigning for legislation to allow the creation of the Atlantic Yards Trust. The trust would be comprised of officials appointed by the state and the City and would be advised by a council of local residents. 2008-06-16 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4339 A 2006 ruling by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that restricts the use of tax-exempt bonds for profitable organizations could prevent the completion of three major projects all dependent on tax-exempt bond financing: new stadiums for the Yankee and Mets teams as well as the Barclays Center basketball stadium at Atlantic Yards. City officials, representatives from the Empire State Development Corporation, and developers are petitioning the Treasury Department to reverse the rule change or issue exemptions for projects begun before 2006. The proposed rule change, if agreed to, would bear on tax-exempt bonds issued after February 2007. 2008-06-13 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4314 The Institute for Justice, the law firm that represented homeowners in New London, CT in the Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London, has filed a friend-of-the-court brief to the federal court urging it to hear an appeal brought by residents facing condemnation in Atlantic Yards. The law firm says that it hopes that the court will hear the case in order to clarify the amount of leeway courts have in intervening in eminent domain cases. The Atlantic Yards case claims that elected officials approved the Atlantic Yards development as a personal favor to developer Bruce Ratner and thus the seizure of the Brooklyn residents’ properties was made in "bad faith or for pretextual reasons" and therefore unconstitutional. Lower courts have found that the Kelo decision prevents the courts from prohibiting the use of eminent domain as long as there is some public benefit provided by the project. 2008-06-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4316 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that what seemed like over a thousand people attended the Brooklyn Day celebration and pro-Atlantic Yards rally in downtown Brooklyn on Saturday. Several people in the crowd wore orange and green shirts with pro-Yards slogans on them. The Eagle talked to people who were in attendance, many of whom were construction workers who said that they were there to support the project because of the jobs it would bring. There were also those who came out to celebrate Brooklyn, many of whom were residents at senior centers or other organizations that had organized trips to the rally. 2008-06-09 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4310 A Daily News sports writer called Forest City Ratner’s Brooklyn Day rally, an event organized by the developer as a “celebration” and to garner support for the Atlantic Yards project, a failure. The critique cited a relatively small and unenthusiastic crowd, as well as speakers who seemed frustrated rather than celebratory, in the face of slow-downs in the project, which has been complicated by legal battles, community opposition, and the slowing economy. 2008-06-08 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4304 Several elected officials are said to be showing their support for the Atlantic Yards project at a rally being held today in downtown Brooklyn. Among those slated to speak at the rally are Reverend Al Sharpton and activist Curtis Sliwa. Some officials who oppose the project, such as Council Member Tony Avella, question the motives of the event. Avella suggests that the rally is meant to make the Atlantic Yards project seem like an immediate need in the face of a slowing economy and that the event will be followed by requests for further subsidies for the development. 2008-06-05 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4258 Naming rights for the signature Frank Gehry-designed tower of the Atlantic Yards development, originally named Miss Brooklyn, are now up for grabs. The tower was recently redesigned and renamed "B1." Forest City Ratner (FCR) is still searching for one or two anchor tenants for the building before commencing construction due to the slowing economy. According to a FCR spokesperson, if an appropriate leasing deal is made, the company may have the opportunity to share its name with the building itself. 2008-05-21 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4254 City and school officials confirmed that Brooklyn Technical High School would not be moving from its current Fort Greene location into a new building to be built in the Atlantic Yards development. The original agreement between developer Forest City Ratner and the City included a commitment to work with the City and other agencies to develop a new building for the school, but the City has opted out of that part of the deal and school officials say that any plans to move are not currently being considered. A representative from Forest City Ratner maintains that Atlantic Yards will include a school, whether for Brooklyn Tech or not. The City will have to ask that space be put aside for any school building by 2010. 2008-05-20 00:00:00 http://www.plannyc.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Issues&file=index&catid=1&issueid=5#4205 Two groups on opposite sides of the Atlantic Yards battle demonstrated at the site on Saturday. One was a group, 800-strong, of union construction workers who were there to show their support for the project, saying it would provide them with much-needed jobs. The other group, about 400 in number, were opposing the project. Members of the opponent group said that the union workers should join their cause protesting Ratner, since the developer would no longer be providing the 15,000 union jobs he had originally promised. 2008-05-10 00:00:00