Items by Norman Oder

• Bloomberg salutes AY progress, continues to ignore IBO findings on loss to the city

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A statement from the mayor:STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON PROGRESS OF ATLANTIC YARDS DEVELOPMENT“While the rest of the country wrings its hands about the national recession, we’re building our way out of it. The $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project - the most extensive development ever undertaken in Brooklyn [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2009, 10:37pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Perkins to Cuomo: issue an opinion as to whether AY bond process was legal

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, if state Senator Bill Perkins can't get a written statement from Governor David Paterson's office regarding the Atlantic Yards bond deal, maybe Attorney General Andrew Cuomo will weigh in.Perkins, as he promised, sent a letter to Cuomo yesterday:I write to request your opinion of the recent bond issuance on' [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2009, 7:18pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• After master closing, Ratner crows, installs "branded signage"; DDDB says new lawsuit coming, likely against ESDC/BALDC

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  After the master closing for Atlantic Yards was concluded today, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) chose not to send out a press release, but--as seen in the press releases below--Forest City Ratner expressed satisfaction and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn asserted that the seeming final governmental step was by no' [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2009, 2:03pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• As master closing proceeds, with filing of condemnation, Perkins says governor's response unacceptable; is lawsuit coming?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  No one has a written statement responding to questions raised by state Senator Bill Perkins about irregularities in the issuance of arena bonds, but the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) yesterday said it expected the Atlantic Yards project to proceed through final approvals today, with the final contracts signed and [...]
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  Posted: December 23, 2009, 2:43am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Did the ESDC board fully consider the changed terms and revised timetable of the MTA deal? Despite responses in pending lawsuit, the record says no

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  While some of the lawsuits challenging Atlantic Yards have been dismissed but face possible appeals, one extant lawsuit has not yet faced a judge and, as a "master closing" looms tomorrow, we shouldn't forget the serious allegations in that lawsuit.The plaintiffs, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and several other community groups, [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2009, 8:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Still waiting for the ESDC to comment on the BALDC questions, but something's percolating

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So yesterday I asked the Empire State Development Corporation if they had any comment on the questions raised by state Senator Bill Perkins about the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), but I got no answer. Rich Calder of the New York Post was similarly ignored.(The BALDC is the Issuer [...]
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  Posted: December 22, 2009, 6:12am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Markowitz basks in Barclays/Nets photo op

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  That's Borough President Marty Markowitz at a media event--as opposed to, say, the much quieter announcement of the lawsuit that helped him raise the money for his new home--in which his favorite developer brought holiday toys to Brooklyn children. To his left is Forest City Ratner's Scott Cantone; to his [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2009, 8:59pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• About that fire yesterday in the footprint: a close call

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Yesterday, not long before the "chains of justice" protest/media event at Freddy's Bar & Backroom, a fire began in an apartment just doors away along Dean Street, in a 131-old row house scheduled to be demolished for the Atlantic Yards arena block.(Photos and set by Tracy Collins)Only two people live [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2009, 8:51pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Alphabet soup: if the UDC aims to offers Sports Stadium Assistance, why was the BALDC created by the JDA (which finances machinery and equipment)?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  The text on the web page of the Bond Program offered by the state's economic development agency compounds questions raised by state Senator Bill Perkins about the legitimacy of the bonds issued for the Atlantic Yards arena.It states:Empire State Development is the parent organization for New York’s two principal economic [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2009, 3:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• As Perkins pushes for reform of eminent domain laws, Paterson stands ground, backs ESDC's appeal in Columbia case

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  How things have changed. A little more four years ago, state Senator David Paterson and Council Member Bill Perkins were of the same mind on eminent domain, especially concerned about Columbia University's planned expansion in West Harlem, an area in their districts.They called for a moratorium on the use of [...]
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  Posted: December 21, 2009, 3:16am EST
  by Norman Oder

• At Freddy's the "chains of justice" are installed

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Today was the installation of the "chains of justice" at Freddy's Bar & Backroom, so regulars can, in protest, chain themselves to the bar if condemnation proceeds.I couldn't make it but photographer Tracy Collins shot a set of photos, including the response of the fire department to a fire down [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2009, 10:32pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Waiting for a follow-up on the BALDC (and more evidence of Paterson inattention)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, I know that the daily newspapers are aware of the letter from state Senator Bill Perkins raising serious questions about the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC).Since there's no follow-up today, I'd look for a response tomorrow. I suspect some lawyers for the state are busy doing some research' [...]
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  Posted: December 20, 2009, 6:05am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Hail Mary or silver bullet: Perkins, raising questions of fraud in arena bond sale, asks Paterson to put Atlantic Yards on hold

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Suggesting that bonds for the Brooklyn arena were issued improperly, state Senator Bill Perkins yesterday asked Governor David Paterson to halt the "master closing" for the project scheduled for Wednesday and to stay condemnation proceedings until "serious questions... are addressed."Had the bonds been issued by an Empire State Development Corporation [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 5:12pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Bernard King, off Ratner's payroll, now hopes Knicks sign LeBron James

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  See update belowBrooklyn-born basketball star Bernard King, a three-year Net and six-year Knick, was once a paid booster of the Nets' Brooklyn move, but was dropped after he was accused of spousal abuse. (He avoided jail time and battery charges by agreeing to counseling.)Now, he tells FanHouse:King doesn't work for [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 7:03am EST
  by Norman Oder

• NYC EDC's Pinsky: "increased competition for bids almost always means better rates for the public"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In the latest edition of City Hall News, Seth Pinsky, president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) pens a piece headlined During A Crisis, Construction Spending Can Buoy New York's Economy.The key passage: While, of course, the primary goal of our capital spending is to renew [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 6:33am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Coming Sunday: chains installed at Freddy's in the event of eminent domain

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  At noon tomorrow at Freddy’s Bar & Backroom, "chains of justice" will be installed:An overwhelming number of Freddy's Bar patrons plan on chaining themselves to the bar if Scrooge Ratner and Grinch Paterson's Atlantic Yards Project attempts to shutdown and demolish Freddy's Bar and Backroom. This Sunday, December 20th, we [...]
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  Posted: December 19, 2009, 5:48am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Crain's Greg David: "Daniel Goldstein... had better start packing his bags"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 4
  On WNYC Radio's Financial 411 earlier today, the ever-confident Greg David of CUNY Journalism School and Crain's New York Business (editorial director) misrepresented Atlantic Yards opponents and missed an opportunity to make an important parallel."Too big to fail"First, David was asked about financial regulations: "But more importantly, the big issue" [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 10:05pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Senator Perkins hosts public meeting on eminent domain Saturday, schedules public hearing for January 5

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Tomorrow, state Senator Bill Perkins will hold a Community Meeting on Eminent Domain at Manhattan Pentecostal Church, 541 W. 1245th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam; map), from 9:30 am to 12 noon.He will discuss the recent Appellate Division ruling which blocked the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) from using eminent [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 3:39pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Master closing scheduled for December 23, but ESDC won't release deal documents (penalties, incentives) for at least a week

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A master closing involving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), and developer Forest City Ratner is expected to be held next Wednesday, December 23.But the ESDC tells me that the documents won't be made publicly available until a week or two after the closing.That's backwards, isn't it?Fine [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 2:40am EST
  by Norman Oder

• What about the AY fiscal impact analysis promised by the NYC EDC? It's a trade secret

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, whatever happened to the Atlantic Yards fiscal impact analysis promised by the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC) last June?It's a trade secret, given that the agency rejected my Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request. And that's odd, because the NYC EDC cited the document in an [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 2:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• On Brian Lehrer Show, DDDB's Goldstein points to Paterson, but the governor hasn't spoken out on his AY pledge

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, maybe it's up to Gov. David Paterson now.At about 16:30 of yesterday's Brian Lehrer segment, Recent Developments, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein was the guest. He said that, while legal strategies remain, only Paterson can stop the planned "master closing" of contracts regarding Atlantic Yards scheduled for' [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 1:53am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Newark Mayor Booker: deal to move Nets to Newark isn't dead

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Yesterday, I wrote that, while the deal to move the New Jersey Nets temporarily to Newark seemed to have fallen apart, these deals are negotiable.Indeed, in an interview last night on WBGO's Newark Today with Cory Booker, the mayor said the deal is not dead and "the conversation is still" [...]
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  Posted: December 18, 2009, 1:52am EST
  by Norman Oder

• When Markowitz played poor at the affordable housing information session, he and his wife had a down payment in hand

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  There's more than one sour note regarding Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz's purchase of a home in Windsor Terrace.As the Daily News reported, Markowitz used his chief of staff, Carlo Scissura, as a lawyer for the deal, even though city lawyers can't represent their public official bosses in private legal' [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 5:53pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Judge, deferring to MTA version of the case, dimisses lawsuit challenging revision of Vanderbilt Yard deal

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  As I wrote last week, the case challenging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revision of the Vanderbilt Yard deal with Forest City Ratner was an uphill battle for the plaintiffs, given that the legal standard are highly deferential to the agency.State Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman, in a ruling issued yesterday, [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 7:41am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Daily News editorial claims "city will reap substantial benefits" from "fallow" tract

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 3
  From a New York Daily News editorial today headlined Bonding with the Nets:Because, assuming the NBA approves, the city will reap substantial benefits from the opening of a major arena in Brooklyn, along with the arrival of a sports franchise. (LeBron! LeBron! LeBron!)Even more important, the Atlantic Yards plan calls [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 7:00am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Due diligence on the BALDC leads down a rabbit hole, while other state agencies are more transparent than ESDC/JDA/BALDC

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) was omitted from most press coverage of the arena bond sale, with some reports claiming that Bruce Ratner sold the bonds himself and others acknowledging the role of an unnamed "local development corporation," or LDC.It's enough to leave readers wondering, perhaps to wonder [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 2:24am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Gehry blames Atlantic Yards debacle on opponents, not developer's ambition

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From The Independent of London, a profile headlined Frank Gehry: 'Don't call me a starchitect': New York, where he lived for many years, is another city in which you might expect to see more of Gehry's singular style. His relatively orthodox Beekman Tower, a 76-storey residential skyscraper, is due to' [...]
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  Posted: December 17, 2009, 1:53am EST
  by Norman Oder

• As interim move to Newark falls apart (for now), Prokhorov agreement to buy Nets moves ahead

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From the AP: Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov moved a step closer to becoming the NBA's first non-North American owner on Wednesday. Prokhorov's Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings and the company that owns the Nets announced they completed their agreement to create a partnership that would own the NBA team and [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 9:44pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Curious omissions of the BALDC in most press coverage of the arena bond sale

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  There was a curious omission in most of the press coverage of the sale Tuesday of bonds for the Atlantic Yards arena: the issuing agency, the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), an entity that deserves a lot more scrutiny.The press release didn't claim that Forest City made the sale,' [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 8:11pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The Times backs into acknowledging the much-reduced Barclays naming rights deal

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Tacked on to the end of the New York Times print edition article today. headlined $500 Million in Bonds Sold in 2 Hours for Nets’ Arena, is this: Barclays agreed to pay $10 million a year for 20 years for the naming rights under a deal that has been revised [...]
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  Posted: December 16, 2009, 1:08am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Court of Appeals smacks down ESDC in FOIL case related to Columbia expansion

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Another court--this time the state's highest court--has expressed skepticism about the operations of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), this time regarding its responsiveness to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request regarding the Columbia University expansion in West Harlem.The Court of Appeals still must hear an appeal by the ESDC [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 9:41pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• After bond sale, plan to to detour traffic on Fifth Avenue and Pacific Street announced

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Get ready for a lot more traffic on Sixth Avenue between Atlantic and Flatbush avenue.A notice and detour map issued by the Empire State Development Corporation and Forest City Ratner--issued just after bonds were sold for the Atlantic Yards arena--indicates that directional changes on two streets will begin on Monday, [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 8:22pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Russianoff on MTA land sales: "they decided that it was a higher value to help the mayor and the governor"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From today's Brian Lehrer Show, in a segment on MTA cuts, Gene Russianoff, staff attorney at NYPIRG Straphangers campaign, at about 11:50, described how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can use capital funds funds to stave off service cuts. (The Regional Plan Association disagrees.)"The MTA is pretty resistant to this idea." [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 5:50pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Arena bonds sell briskly; BALDC somehow forgotten

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, with the sale of tax-exempt bonds and a planned "master closing" next week, the Atlantic Yards arena is coming ever closer to construction.From a New York Times CityRoom post headlined Bonds for Nets’ Arena in Brooklyn Sell Briskly:Almost six years after he bought the New Jersey Nets with plans [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 3:22pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Senate Majority Leader Espada: "We did not confer upon [MTA] to be a house of real estate"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada may be widely and legitimately criticized for his self-interested behavior, like switching parties and throwing the Senate into gridlock, but sometimes he does make sense.During an interview on yesterday's Brian Lehrer Show, at about 18:45, host Lehrer asked Espada how the Metropolitan Transportation Authority [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 7:29am EST
  by Norman Oder

• "Junkyard Bonds" get tossed in garbage truck, but are state officials listening? What about the "loophole" allowing the BALDC to avoid scrutiny?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, it was a very clever idea for a demonstration: dump Forest City Ratner's "Junkyard Bonds"--illustrated with images of developer Bruce Ratner and Governor David Paterson, plus the corporate logos of bond ratings agencies and the underwriter--into a garbage truck to illustrate their questionable quality and the many doubts about [...]
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  Posted: December 15, 2009, 6:59am EST
  by Norman Oder

• For FCE, are commercial mortgage loan defaults vexing--or just playing chicken?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From Crain's Cleveland Business, in an article headlined Commercial mortgage loan defaults vexing: One of the nation's realty titans, Forest City Enterprises Inc. in Cleveland, talks about negotiations with lenders over debts in such a way that it sounds like a game of who blinks first. The multibillion-dollar property owner [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 6:02pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Municipal bond buyer on arena bonds: "there’s definitely demand" but "a lot of analysis" is required

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A Bloomberg News article about the planned sale of $500 million in tax-exempt bonds for the Barclays Center arena suggests the interest rate would be 7%, the same as the interest rate for the second (and much smaller) phase of Yankee Stadium bonds and slightly above the 6.45% interest rate [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 8:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Times editorial on eminent domain: ESDC's determination of blight in Columbia case "thoroughly defensible"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The key thing to understand about today's New York Times editorial, Eminent Domain in New York, is that, as editorial writer Carolyn Curiel has stated, "We are reasoned, in how we come to opinion. But no, it's not a democracy; it's reflective of the spirit of the Times."So "the spirit" [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 7:37am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Limited seating capacity, spoken-for suite revenue, Goldman Sachs statement all cast doubt on major league hockey in Brooklyn

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, how could major league hockey fit into the planned Atlantic Yards arena? Michael D.D. White, in his Noticing New York blog, suggests it would be a stretch.I agree, given a likely low seating capacity that would disadvantage it relative to other arenas with National Hockey League (NHL) teams and [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 2:30am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Demonstration today against Ratner's bonds targets not the underwriter but the ratings agencies (which need reform)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a DDDB press release: Join Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn in a Demonstration to Protest the extremely risky tax-exempt bonds New York State is preparing to sell for Ratner's arena. We will highlight S&P and Moody’s questionable bond ratings. Lacking in normal due diligence, the bond ratings were set just [...]
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  Posted: December 14, 2009, 2:22am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Crain's, unsurprisingly, calls for Columbia eminent domain decision to be reversed

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a Crain's New York Business editorial supporting the Columbia University expansion, headlined Law should be eminently clear: The public benefit issue especially needs rethinking (also at NLG): In the Atlantic Yards case, the Court of Appeals ruled that long-established precedents allowed the use of eminent domain to aid a' [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 8:28am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Brutally weird Schumer flashback: "But you know what really enervates me abut this? 10,000 jobs."

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Perhaps the most brutally weird moment in the trailer (below) for the documentary-in-progress Battle of Brooklyn comes at about 2:48."This is a great project," declares Sen. Chuck Schumer, at the 2004 State of the Borough address, which, as the Brooklyn Paper reported, focused on Atlantic Yards. "But you know what" [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 6:36am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Yards foes "real land-grabbers" (back in 1967)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From the notorious Stephen Witt, in the Courier-Life, May 2008: Anthony Taylor sat on a metal folding chair in the St. Bartholomew's Church cafeteria, 1227 Pacific Street, and recalled the days when several buildings in the Atlantic Yards footprint held jobs, "We lost 40,000 jobs back there. We lost the" [...]
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  Posted: December 13, 2009, 6:21am EST
  by Norman Oder

• New York Magazine on Gehry's departure: "Widely hated project now even more widely hated."

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From A Smattering of Important Cultural Moments in New York Magazine's The 00's Issue: June 4 [2009] : Frank Gehry is off the Atlantic Yards development, six years after his plan was unveiled. Widely hated project now even more widely hated. [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 4:07pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Public authorities reform bill signed; why is Assemblyman Brodsky not mentioning the BALDC?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a press release from Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who spearheaded the reform of public authorities: "Over the past decade the Legislature and the Governor unintentionally created a shadow government, a fourth branch outside the control of our democratic institutions. The result was over 700 Soviet style bureaucracies. They were often" [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 8:11am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Learning from Willets Point, Part 1: an open market for "coveted" land deemed "blighted" (and what about that MTA deal?)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  On Thursday night, Bob McNamara, an attorney for the libertarian Institute for Justice, suggested that, in New York, loose blight standards foster the state's use of eminent domain: "The proper word for what these properties are is not blighted. The proper word is coveted."So it seems is the case in [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 6:11am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Learning from Willets Point, Part 2: is the Attorney General still investigating lobbying by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Just this past week we were reminded of an investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into the questionable lobbying by the Flushing-Willets Point-Corona Local Development Corporation (FWPCLDC), paid by the city to lobby for the Willets Point urban renewal plan before the City Council.Willets Point United, a group of business [...]
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  Posted: December 12, 2009, 6:10am EST
  by Norman Oder

• So, the other arena bonds really are junk: $146.8 million issuance rated "B" by S&P, interest rate could hit 14%

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  After $500 million in tax-exempt arena bonds earned a Baa3/BBB- rating, one notch above junk, from the ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's, the latter has rated the $146.8 million in taxable bonds B, which is considered "very speculative."The interest rate can go up to 14%.From the report, which' [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 2:41pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Battle of Brooklyn film prompts discussion of fighting eminent domain, New York's unfair laws, and "strange bedfellows" in the struggle

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  If last night was an example, the Atlantic Yards documentary Battle of Brooklyn is sure to spark a lot of discussion. A screening of just a half-hour of the film-in-progress was held last night at New York University’s Cantor Center, and the audience—a mix of those interested in Atlantic Yards, [...]
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  Posted: December 11, 2009, 9:07am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Plaintiffs in Atlantic Yards eminent domain lawsuit ask Court of Appeals to reopen case given appeal in similar Columbia case

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In an unusual, long-shot effort to reopen a case seemingly closed, attorneys for the plaintiffs--nine residential and commercial property owners and tenants--in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain litigation are asking the Court of Appeals to take a second look.Why? A lower court's ruling against the use of eminent domain case [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 5:11pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• FCE executives say Atlantic Yards is on schedule, bond details, sale next week

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  In a conference call today (webcast) with investment analysts, Chuck Ratner, CEO of Forest City Enterprises, parent of Forest City Ratner, expressed optimism about the Atlantic Yards project and said more details on the terms for the arena bonds would emerge “by the end of next week.” Another executive said [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 2:27pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• ESDC responds to Perkins letter on eminent domain: Appellate Division was wrong on Columbia, appeal will continue, AY not impacted

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Governor David Paterson's office says that it defers to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to respond to state Senator Bill Perkins' call for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain, and the ESDC says its response remains the same as last week:ESDC believes the decision of the Appellate' [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 8:29am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Temporary (at least) move of Nets to Newark gets closer, as Izod-Rock deal emerges

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The New York Times reports, in an article headlined Possible Truce Between New Jersey Arenas Could Come at a Cost to Fans: New Jersey sports and music fans could soon have to pay a surcharge to see Devils and Nets games and concerts. A complex deal is being brokered to [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 7:27am EST
  by Norman Oder

• A minimum of 10 community events vs. a maximum of 10 events; how FCR frames the same arena pledge differently for community groups and bond buyers

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  When it comes to making the Atlantic Yards arena available to community groups, Forest City Ratner has promised those groups at least ten events a year, but it has told potential bond buyers that ten times is a maximum.Also, in a seeming contradiction, it has told community groups the arena [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 3:15am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Forbes: Nets value keeps declining, 5200 free tickets a game distributed

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The value of the Nets keeps declining, and an astonishing number of free tickets are being distributed.From Forbes's The Business Of Basketball: Several franchises are reeling from bad management more than a sour economy.... Then there's the New Jersey Nets, whose owner, Bruce Ratner, made the brilliant announcement after he [...]
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  Posted: December 10, 2009, 2:52am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Perkins asks Paterson for moratorium on eminent domain, not to appeal Columbia case

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  (Update: The Empire State Development Corporation says it's undeterred.)State Senator Bill Perkins, who represents West Harlem and in September 2008 held a hearing on reform of emiment domain, has asked Governor David Paterson "to forego an appeal" of the Appellate Division decision blocking the use of eminent domain for the' [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 2:47pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• As challenge to MTA deal awaits a judge, did Forest City Ratner really have the MTA over a barrel, or was it the other way around?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  All the legal papers have been filed in the case challenging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's revision of the Vanderbilt Yard deal with Forest City Ratner. As we await a decision by the judge--no oral argument is expected, and a decision could take weeks--two things must be kept in mind.First, as [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 9:05am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Pro hockey at the Atlantic Yards arena? It looks doubtful

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In a long post on his Noticing New York blog, Michael D. D. White makes a strong case that the Ellerbe Becket arena design could not accommodate professional hockey and that any intimation in the bond offering that the Atlantic Yards arena could host the New York Islanders is a [...]
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  Posted: December 09, 2009, 7:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• FCE anticipates "groundbreaking in the fourth quarter" (could be January); AY mortgage delayed (hard bargain or cash-flow problem?)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Forest City Enterprises (FCE) , parent of Forest City Ratner, today announced third quarter earnings--up 24% from the same period of time last year--and decreased losses--$0.03 per share, compared with $0.19 per share in the third quarter last year.There were two statements asserting that Atlantic Yards was on track, citing [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 5:31pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The Barclays naming right deal may not be a record, after all; will the revised agreement get noticed by the Times, which puffed it?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The most important issue regarding naming rights for the Atlantic Yards arena is why the state simply gave them away--because they were part of arena financing, an Empire State Development Corporation official said not-so-convincingly last July.That deserves coverage. But also deserving of coverage. especially in the New York Times, is [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 7:38am EST
  by Norman Oder

• According to bond deal, Nets in Brooklyn could only give 15% of the tickets away (without paying a larger license fee)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Well, we all know the Nets paper the house at the Izod Center in New Jersey, but now we know how many tickets the team could reasonably give away in a new Brooklyn arena: 15%.From the Barclays Center Arena Preliminary Official Statement (prepared by Goldman Sachs):Except as otherwise described, New [...]
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  Posted: December 08, 2009, 2:00am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Manhattan Institute's Malanga: two basic reforms needed in state eminent domain laws

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In a New York Post op-ed today headlined When can't New York take your land, Steven Malanga. senior editor of the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, points out that New York lags behind nearly all other states in addressing eminent domain, and suggests some hardly-radical reforms:* A stricter definition of "blight"' [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 8:24pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Willets Point United's fight against eminent domain again causes its lobbyist to gyrate

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  From a press release from Willets Point United:Willets Point United, Inc. – a group of more than 20 property owners in Queens, NY, fighting to keep their land despite the city’s desire to condemn it and turn it over to a yet-to-be-named private developer – believes the NYC Economic Development [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 7:48pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Coney Island site attracts 50 interested bidders; how was the Vanderbilt Yard different?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a New York Daily News article today headlined Coney Island redevelopment plan attracts 50 amusement park companies from seven countries: The competition to build a new amusement park at the faded seaside mecca has reached a fever pitch as a who's who of amusement operators work to put together [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 5:46pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Yeah, what's blight? The editor of Next American City is skeptical of the Atlantic Yards decision

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From Next American City, a progressive publication on urban affairs, editor-in-chief Diana Lind writes Eminent Domain: Can We Define Blighted? about the 2005 Kelo vs. New London case and its aftermath:It is a rare moment when I agree with [Supreme Court Justice] Clarence Thomas. And 43 states have now taken [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 5:30pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• NYPD, 2007: no bollards around arena; Goldman Sachs, 2009: bollards needed

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In November 2007, faced with public concerns about security procedures at the Atlantic Yards arena, just 20 feet from the street (the same distance that led to the closing of streets in Newark), a New York Police Department spokesman said the department doesn’t foresee any street or land closures, sidewalk [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 7:48am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Daily News editorial endorses court decision in Columbia case, doesn't grapple with AY similarities

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a New York Daily News editorial today, headlined Total condemnation: State botched eminent domain for new Columbia campus:New York State's supposed economic development geniuses have only themselves to blame for the scathing court ruling that barred the use of eminent domain to spur Columbia University's $6.3 billion expansion plan.The [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 7:26am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Did Planning Commissioner Burden leak the "hangar" rendering? FOIL request stymied

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, was it really Amanda Burden, chairperson of the New York City Planning Commission, who leaked images of the Ellerbe Becket arena design (aka "hangar") of the Brooklyn arena to the New York Times?The leak led to a scathing review by architecture critic Nicolai Ouroussoff and the subsequent hiring of [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 2:41am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Comparing the Gehry arena outline/orientation with its successor, thanks to an Ellerbe Becket interior design

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, how has the planned Atlantic Yards arena changed?No rendering of the interior of Frank Gehry's Atlantic Yards arena design was ever released, to my knowledge, but we did get a schematic of the arena block, via the Design Guidelines attached to the 2006 Modified General Project Plan. (Click on [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 2:40am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Families in homeless shelter in AY fooprint told they'll have to leave by January 15

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Residents in a two-building shelter for homeless families in the Atlantic Yards footprint just got some not-so-sunny holiday greetings, as the facility is slated to be closed by January 15.A mandatory meeting at Pacific Dean will be held tonight "to provide details and help you through the transition," according to [...]
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  Posted: December 07, 2009, 2:26am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Yassky's waterfront lesson: make sure neighborhood commitments in development plans are done up front

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From an 11/23/09 New York Observer article headlined Yassky's Bargain: A Departing Councilman in Search of a Quo for His Quid, concerning "the parks the city promised Yassky in exchange for a sweeping 2005 rezoning of the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfront."The Observer reports:There wasn't much else to see and as' [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 6:52am EST
  by Norman Oder

• The Brooklyn Paper's curious choices when it comes to front-page treatment of Atlantic Yards

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Curiously enough, this week's Brooklyn Paper (right) includes a front-page story on Atlantic Yards, while last week's issue (below left) did not, though the front-page did point readers to an article on p. 2.(Click on graphics to enlarge)Let's compare. This week's front-page news concerns the newspaper's effort, via the Freedom [...]
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  Posted: December 06, 2009, 6:51am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Abatement: the simple way to remove blight

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  Urban design expert David Sucher, commenting on the Appellate Division decision blocking the state's use of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion, observes:If you are really concerned with blight, “abate” itThere is another tool which government has to control “blight.” It doesn’t cost nearly as much as purchasing the [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 7:49am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Manifest destiny, in West Harlem and Prospect Heights

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a New York Times profile today of Nick Sprayregen, the winning (so far) main plaintiff in the challenge to eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion:He pulled out a copy of the inaugural address by Columbia’s president, Lee C. Bollinger, in 2002, and read several passages. In one, Mr. [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 7:05am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Law professor Salkin: "messy situation" on eminent domain may lead to new legislation clarifying blight (cracked sidewalks!)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 3
  So, how to sort out the tension between an Appellate Division decision denying the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) use of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion and a Court of Appeals decision enabling the ESDC's use of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards?"We have a little bit of a" [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 6:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Has FCR "refuted" the claim that the naming-rights deal was cut in half?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  According to Sports Business Daily, the Nets Refute Claim That Barclays Naming-Rights Deal Cut In Half, as I and others reported yesterday.The rest of the story is subscription-only, but yesterday Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco claimed that the agreement includes "the arena, team and hospitality assets."Maybe it hasn't been' [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 6:56am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Bloomberg: the public has a right to know about public monies (when it comes to the DA's office)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Mayor Mike Bloomberg is very concerned about transparency regarding public funds when it comes to the District Attorney's office.On yesterday's Live from City Hall with Mayor Mike and John Gambling (starting about 22:40), Bloomberg expressed concern about the $80-million plus in "hidden bank accounts" held by the office of Manhattan [...]
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  Posted: December 05, 2009, 6:22am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Neil deMause: gaps in bond offering statement add skepticism regarding returns for arena project and Nets

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In a Village Voice piece headlined As Atlantic Yards Gets Pricier, How Much Red Ink Can Ratner Absorb?, Neil deMause suggests that the bond offering document released by Goldman Sachs suggests reasons to be concerned about the profitability of the arena project.He notes some gaps: [I]t doesn't account for the' [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 5:22pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Uninformed Bloomberg, defending eminent domain for Columbia plan, claims city pursued eminent domain for Atlantic Yards

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Brutally weird. Mayor Mike Bloomberg in a radio interview today, asserted erroneously that, while the state pursued eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion, the city was overseeing eminent domain for Atlantic Yards.Actually, in both cases, it's the work of the Empire State Development Corporation, whose dubious findings of blight [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 5:08pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Paterson publicly endorsed Columbia expansion (and thus eminent domain), but was quiet about AY; what about that "objective and fair hearing"?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  I haven't met too many people who think that Gov. David Paterson's pledge this week to provide Atlantic Yards opponents with "an objective and fair hearing" would amount to much.Then again, Paterson basically had been silent regarding the project, with no quotes from him in official press releases issued by' [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 5:07pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Lawyer who won Columbia case "cautiously optimistic" about surviving appeal, says creation of record key to win

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  So, can yesterday's surprising 3-2 Appellate Division decision blocking the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) pursuit of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion plan be upheld at the Court of Appeals?"I'm cautiously optimistic," plaintiffs' attorney Norman Siegel said in an interview last night, mindful that Justice James Catterson's opinion [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 9:09am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Can decision in Columbia eminent domain case reopen AY case? DDDB is trying, but there are both similarities and contrasts (and also precedent)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Based on the surprising 3-2 Appellate Division decision yesterday blocking the the Empire State Development Corporation's use of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, organizer and funder of the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case, hopes that it can succeed in the rare step of reopening' [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 7:28am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Brooklynites says Nets in Brooklyn must win; guess who are the two most positive

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The New York Daily News today, in an article headlined Brooklyn basketball fans warn New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner not to bring losing team to borough, queries a not-so-random selection of basketball fans, several of whom say they don't want a losing Nets team coming to Brooklyn.But a team' [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 6:37am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Market analysis (commissioned by Ratner) suggests arena would have no trouble attracting events, might even host hockey

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A Plano, TX-based consultant, Convention, Sports, and Leisure International (CSL International) has concluded that there's a healthy market for the planned Brooklyn Arena, given the large local population, the base of potential sponsors and advertisers, and the enthusiasm of promoters.Notably, it even suggests that the arena, though downsized to the [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:55am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Is the city kicking in an extra $31 million for property acquisition? It may look like that, but no confirmation is available

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  Update: "The $131 million referenced is part of the total original commitment (not new money) and will go to FCR for site acquisition and infrastructure work," says New York City Economic Development Corporation spokesman David Lombino.The below was written earlier today.Has New York City contributed an additional $31 million subsidy [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:51am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Just to be clear: Ellerbe Becket is the arena architect; SHoP is merely the façade architect

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In September, Forest City Ratner announced "that the award-winning architectural firms Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects will collaborate on the design of the Barclays Center."New York Times architecture critic Nicolai Ourossoff wrote that "Ratner quickly hired Shop Architects, a young New York firm, to spiff up the arena." (SHoP exterior [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:34am EST
  by Norman Oder

• If the arena is built as a green building, it'll cost every visitor a buick

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a October 2008 Atlantic Yards brochure from Forest City Ratner:Every building in Atlantic Yards will achieve LEED certification, with a goal of Silver.From the Empire State Development Corporation's June 2009 Modified General Project Plan: the Project aims, through this comprehensive and cohesive plan, to provide for the following public [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:09am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Why the arena would cost about $900 million--and why the Carlton Avenue Bridge job hasn't been paid for yet

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In the Empire State Development Corporation's 2009 Modified General Project Plan, the Atlantic Yards arena was to cost $772 million, but there was also $717 million for project infrastructure as a whole.Now, according to the Barclays Center Arena Preliminary Official Statement (prepared by Goldman Sachs) states, the arena would cost [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 2:07am EST
  by Norman Oder

• The plans for arena transactions and PILOTs; see if they make sense to you

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Wondering how the Atlantic Yards arena deal would work? The Barclays Center Arena Preliminary Official Statement (prepared by Goldman Sachs) offers some charts on the deal structure and the payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs).Click on graphics to enlarge.The deal structureThe collection and application of PILOTs [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 1:50am EST
  by Norman Oder

• The temporary Vanderbilt Yard is already in operation

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The temporary Vanderbilt Yard is already in operation.From the Barclays Center Arena Preliminary Official Statement (prepared by Goldman Sachs):As of the date of this Official Statement, LIRR has moved operations into the completed Temporary Yard, has de-energized the existing tracks within the Arena premises, and has signed an agreement with [...]
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  Posted: December 04, 2009, 1:48am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Nah, the Nets won't play in Brooklyn in the 2011-12 season

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  I wrote earlier today that the arena might open in April 2012, giving the Nets just a few games in Brooklyn.Nah.A market study attached to the Barclays Center Arena Preliminary Official Statement (prepared by Goldman Sachs) states, "It is assumed that the arena will open in May of 2012. As" [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 3:20pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• At entrance to the arena, "Urban Room" becomes "urban plaza" becomes (interim) "Urban Experience"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Once there was supposed to be a soaring Urban Room serving as entrance to the Atlantic Yards arena. With the absence of Building 1, in which the Urban Room was to be incorporated, Forest City Ratner representatives started talking about an "urban plaza."No more. Now it's an "Urban Experience," not [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:14pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Appellate Division overturns ESDC's use of eminent domain for Columbia expansion; how different is it from AY?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From the majority opinion in the Appellate Division's 3-2 overturning of the Empire State Development Corporation's (ESDC) planned use of eminent domain for the Columbia University expansion: It is recognized that Kelo, as described below, did not concern an area characterized as "blighted." However, the blight designation in the instant [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 1:22pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• After two renegotiations, Barclays naming rights agreement is $10 million a year (not $20 million, never formally confirmed)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Maybe it was never $20 million. Or maybe it was, but that changed after renegotiation. I suggested Tuesday that the Barclays Capital naming rights agreement for the Atlantic Yards arena--unspecified in ratings agency reports--may well have been renegotiated after the project was delayed and marquee architect Frank Gehry left the [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 12:15pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• When it comes to tax-exempt bonds (for BALDC and WTC), the ESDC shows inconsistent transparency

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  The New York Liberty Development Corporation, another special-purpose subsidiary (more or less) of the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), is having a meeting today at 9 am (webcast) regarding $2.6 billion in tax-free bonds for the use of World Trade Center (WTC) developer Larry Silverstein.Except the bonds were already approved [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 7:38am EST
  by Norman Oder

• At the Izod Center, an "End Ratner’s Reign of Error!” sign is squelched

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From columnist Steve Politi of the Newark Star-Ledger, reporting on the game in which the Nets set a record for season-starting futility:The sign was a simple protest, scrawled on a white poster board in black Magic Marker. It did not contain any naughty words. It was, as these things go [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 6:43am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Could Prokhorov become majority owner of the arena, too? If he buys the subordinated bonds and they fail, so it seems

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Could Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov control not just the majority of the Nets (of which he would buy 80%) but also the Atlantic Yards arena (of which he's slated to own a 45% stake)?Maybe, but two not-at-all assured things have to happen: 1) he buys the riskier subordinated bonds and [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:45am EST
  by Norman Oder

• The mysteries of the $131 million in New York City equity and the number of arena events

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  As I wrote yesterday, the bond ratings agency Moody's counts $131 million from New York City as an substantial equity component, but that doesn't make sense.If Moody's is counting city funding for land and infrastructure--and considering the "project" the arena plus infrastructure--it should also count at least some portion of' [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:31am EST
  by Norman Oder

• If all goes well, the Nets might play in Brooklyn for the last games in 2012

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A tidbit in the Standard & Poor's report rating tax-exempt bonds for the planned Brooklyn arena: "construction is expected to be completed by April 1, 2012."If the Nets aim to play ball, as Bruce Ratner asserts, "in the 2011-2012 NBA Season," that would mean--extrapolating from the current schedule--that the team [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:30am EST
  by Norman Oder