Items 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

• Revised public authority reform legislation passes Senate, should be signed by Paterson

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  With passage of a revised bill in the Senate, the long legislative effort to reform public authorities has finally come to fruition, with modest changes from the earlier bill that passed the Legislature but was stalled by complaints, notably from Mayor Mike Bloomberg. This bill is expected to be signed [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:28am EST
  by Norman Oder

• On WBAI radio this afternoon: an Atlantic Yards/eminent domain discussion

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  This afternoon, on WBAI radio's Behind the News, host Doug Henwood (also editor of the Left Business Observer), will discuss Atlantic Yards and eminent domain with two guests.They are City Council member Letitia James and Dana Berliner, an attorney with the libertarian Institute for Justice, who worked on the Kelo [...]
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  Posted: December 03, 2009, 2:21am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Nets (Never Ending Terrible Season) lose to Mavericks, set record for futility

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Blown out tonight, 117-101, by the hot-shooting Dallas Mavericks, the Nets are now 0-18 to start the season, setting a National Basketball Association record for futility (at the start of a season) and validating the sign in the audience reading Never Ending Terrible Season.The arena, reports the Times, was "perhaps" [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 9:51pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• AY facts and fiction, from Noticing New York

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Noticing New York blogger Michael D.D. White, in a post headlined Unfair Substitution of Fiction for Fact in the Atlantic Yards Dialogue, writes: A prevailing hallmark of the promotion for Forest City Ratner’s proposed Atlantic Yards Brooklyn real estate mega-monopoly is the extremely unfair way that fiction has been routinely [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 5:53pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Ratings agency Moody's, asked why it assumes 225 events a year at the AY arena, won't discuss it

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Given that a Moody's analyst told the Bond Buyer that its just-above-junk rating for $500 million in Barclays Center PILOT bonds depended in part on 225 events a year, I thought it was worth following up.Noting that the arena sponsors most recently predicted 200 events a year (an 11% difference), [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 9:46am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Ex-Net Jason Kidd 'fesses up: AY is "about a real estate play" (not "doing the right thing")

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Nets point guard Jason Kidd, at an 8/23/06 press conference event before the Empire State Development Corporation's public hearing on the Atlantic Yards Draft Environmental Impact Statement: "Getting to know Brooklyn and getting to know the community has proven to me that [Nets principal owner] Bruce [Ratner] is doing the" [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 8:38am EST
  by Norman Oder

• On blight, the Court of Appeals vs. New York magazine's "Approval Matrix"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From New York magazine's weekly Approval Matrix, locating last week's Court of Appeals decision on eminent domain at the extreme intersection of "Highbrow" and "Despicable." [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 8:05am EST
  by Norman Oder

• How the BALDC seemingly flouts the state Open Meetings Law, and why it probably doesn't scotch the AY bond deal

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  When the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) adopted several resolutions in September--including a predicate to the issuance of tax-exempt arena bonds--without a public meeting, it seemingly violated the state's Open Meetings Law.However, that seeming violation likely had no impact on the issuance of those bonds because another clause in [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 7:51am EST
  by Norman Oder

• The slippery, risky Atlantic Yards bond deal

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Did you notice that the Atlantic Yards financing deal keeps changing and has some very unclear numbers?No infrastructure bondsIn September, the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) agreed that it was willing to authorize up to $400 million in tax-exempt bonds for Atlantic Yards infrastructure. Now that plan is off [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 6:57am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Ratings agency Moody's says its estimates are based on 225 events a year at the Brooklyn arena, but that total's overblown

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  An updated article in the Bond Buyer, headlined Atlantic Yards Debt Gets Rated, quotes a ratings agency analyst explaining why the PILOT bonds for the planned Barclays Center got an investment grade.But the number of arena events is inflated: Out of the 225 days a year the arena is expected [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 6:34am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Paterson meets with Atlantic Yards opponents, promises "objective and fair hearing" (but what does that mean now?)

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  So, as the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) moves forward with Atlantic Yards, can the man in charge of the agency, Governor David Paterson--once a public opponent of eminent domain (as DDDB's Daniel Goldstein reminds us), now a tacit supporter of Atlantic Yards--do anything?Well, at least he's listening. Last night, [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 2:22am EST
  by Norman Oder

• So, are tax-exempt bonds for infrastructure ruled out forever? Where would infrastructure funds come from?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  So, have the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) ruled out the use of tax-exempt bonds for Atlantic Yards infrastructure, though the BALDC is authorized to issue $400 million in such bonds?Well, yes--but not definitely.Scenario not foreseenThe ESDC said Monday that it ultimately "decided" [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 1:57am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Times roundup on bonds, court case adds some important context but gets basic issues wrong

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  A roundup story in the New York Times on arena bonds and more, headlined online New Nets Arena Wins Another Court Challenge, adds some important context--the bond ratings issued yesterday are no different from those assigned to bonds for the Yankees and Mets stadiums this year and in 2006. And [...]
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  Posted: December 02, 2009, 1:54am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Court of Appeals denies appeal in EIS case; no effort to engage Justice Catterson's fiery concurrence criticizing ESDC's Blight Study

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In a decision announced today, the state Court of Appeals denied without comment a motion to appeal the challenge to the Atlantic Yards environmental review. It was another blow to Atlantic Yards opponents, who nonetheless cited new pending suits challenging the project.The challenge to the environmental impact statement (EIS) was [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 5:11pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Tax-exempt bonds rated just above junk, down to $500 million; arena cost confirmed at more than $1 billion

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In another crucial advance for the Brooklyn arena, the tax-exempt bonds for the planned Barclays Center--the cost of which is now estimated at $1.06 billion--have been rated investment-grade, though just above junk.It should be enough to get the bonds sold to major institutional investors, though, as the Bond Buyer notes, [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 4:43pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The "Battle of Brooklyn" funding homestretch and a December 10 screening

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  With some 15 hours to go, the producers of the Battle of Brooklyn documentary say they need about $4500 more to gain $25,000 in matching funds.On December 10, a screening (RSVP required) of the first portion of the film will be followed by a panel discussion about the use and [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 8:23am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Outsourcing government to Forest City Ratner: three examples

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  1. The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) lets developer Forest City Ratner supply the Atlantic Yards Construction Updates sent out under ESDC cover.2. The ESDC, as noted by the Court of Appeals decision in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case, lets the developer [indirectly] pay for a Blight Study by [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 8:02am EST
  by Norman Oder

• If bonds won't be used to build AY infrastructure, there would still be a huge funding gap

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) said yesterday, in response to my report, that, though it "was at one time considering additional tax exempt bonds for infrastructure financing," it ultimately "decided not to pursue that type of financing."(It was the plan as recently as September, given the 9/11/09 date of [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 2:10am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In Bloomberg statement on AY, inflated jobs figures come from FCR; by contrast, ESDC projections are more conservative

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  In his radio address last Friday (transcript, audio), Mayor Mike Bloomberg saluted new infrastructure projects, agreements with construction unions, and new efforts to broaden access to construction trades--and then connected that to Atlantic Yards.He said:And last week, New York State's highest court moved us closer to realizing a major piece [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 2:03am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Post columnist Peyser's dada take on Atlantic Yards

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  Probably the best way to read New York Post columnist Andrea Peyser is to consider it some sort of dada performance, untethered to reality.Yesterday, one section of a larger column, headlined 'Net' result sure beats a nut revolt, concerned Atlantic Yards.She's no longer touting the 10,000 "incontrovertible" office jobs Forest [...]
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  Posted: December 01, 2009, 1:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• ESDC: no tax-exempt bonds for infrastructure will be issued

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC), says the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation is not going to issue tax-exempt bonds for Atlantic Yards infrastructure, as documents prepared in September suggested (as I reported this morning).The ESDC issued a statement:ESDC was at one time considering additional tax exempt bonds for infrastructure [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 8:46pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Lipsky's gyrations on eminent domain: OK for AY, but not for Willets Point

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Eric McClure of NoLandGrab has the analysis of Richard Lipsky's Olympic-style gyrations, in which the AY lobbyist says the Court of Appeals decision on AY eminent domain was fine, but the fallout from the Kelo case in New London means that the courts should back property owners (whom he represents)' [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 10:20am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Revealed: state is prepared to issue up to $400 million in tax-exempt bonds so FCR could save on Atlantic Yards infrastructure

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  According to a previously unrevealed action in September, developer Forest City Ratner could benefit from $400 million in state-authorized tax-exempt bonds for much more than the planned arena.The recently-formed Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) is prepared to authorize up to $400 million in tax-exempt bonds for Atlantic Yards infrastructure, [...]
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  Posted: November 30, 2009, 2:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In error-filled editorial, Crain's says elected officials should reassure arena bond investors

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 2
  In a Crain's New York Business editorial, headlined Affirming Atlantic Yards: In every decision so far, the courts have held for Mr. Ratner, the errors start with the headline.The state eminent domain case case was filed against the Empire State Development Corporation (aka Urban Development Corporation), and the courts have [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 8:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Lawyer for developers: expect a crisis every eight to ten years

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From the Spring 2009 issue of Development magazine, the quarterly publication of NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association:[John W. Waldeck, partner and chair of the Real Estate Group at the Cleveland-based law firm Walter & Haverfield] observed that the commercial real estate industry is in the midst of its [...]
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  Posted: November 29, 2009, 6:00am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Editorializing on AY: Noticing New York's Michael White and the WSJ vs. the New York Daily News editorial

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  There was a method beyond Noticing New York blogger Michael D.D. White's running silent commentary on the Atlantic Yards bond deal Tuesday. Remember, and most importantly, no public comment was allowed. Here's part of White's message:Of course, you should be worrying that these bonds will default and consequently don’t deserve [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 8:41am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Plaintiff Sheets: "welfare kings," "civic masturbation," and the Michigan cases the Court of Appeals ignored

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  At the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn press conference on Tuesday, held after the Court of Appeals upheld the use of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards, plaintiff David Sheets (left), a residential tenant, spoke so softly that only those close in could hear him, but the video below captures his words.In' [...]
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  Posted: November 28, 2009, 6:10am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Atlantic Yards site "blighted"? Some "reasonable difference of opinion"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Libertarian law professor Ilya Somin calls the Atlantic Yards eminent domain decision "the first major state supreme court defeat for property rights on a public use issue since" the controversial 5-4 Supreme Court decision (2005) in Kelo v. New London, in which state courts and legislatures were invited to draw [...]
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  Posted: November 27, 2009, 2:55am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Nets CEO Yormark optimistic about the bond sale, says team will recover from losing streak

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark appeared yesterday on WFAN's Boomer & Carton to talk about the team and Court of Appeals' dismissal of the Atlantic Yards lawsuit."It was a big moment for all of us, especially Bruce Ratner," Yormark said, saluting his boss. "He's been fighting so many battles'" [...]
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  Posted: November 26, 2009, 2:25am EST
  by Norman Oder

• No, Ratner didn't buy the Nets in 2003 to move them in 2009

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From today's Times Sports section, and article headlined Nets Have Dug a Big Hole, but Their Foundation Is in Place :Ratner purchased the franchise in 2003 for $300 million, originally planning to transplant the Nets from New Jersey in time for this season.NoLandGrab's Eric McClure reminds us that the original [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:44pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• From the DDDB press conference: a vow to continue fighting

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  At Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn press conference yesterday outside Freddy's Bar & Backroom, slated for condemnation, DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein was careful to describe Atlantic Yards as a "proposed project" and to say that "the fight against the abusive, corrupt Atlantic Yards development proposal is far from over."He read from [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 10:33am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In column on Goldstein's fight, Daily News's Gonzalez suggests "a slew of politicians" has joined DDDB

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From Juan Gonzalez's column in today's New York Daily News about Daniel Goldstein (lead Atlantic Yards plaintiff and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman) and his family, headlined Brooklyn couple wants Gov. Paterson to stop Ratner's eminent domain win:But Goldstein is still in his condo, living in that dust-filled building.Only, Goldstein' [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:57am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Ratner says team will move mid-season, but Times says June 2012

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Developer Bruce Ratner said yesterday in a statement that "the intent [is] that the Nets will play ball in the Barclays Center in the 2011-2012 NBA Season."The New York Times reported today:The developer expects that it will take about 28 months to build the arena, enabling the Nets to move [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:15am EST
  by Norman Oder

• From the Times: a misleading "Atlantic Yards" photo, a buffing of "tenacious" Ratner, and no rebuttal to claims of benefits

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  There are some unsurprisingly dismaying aspects to the front-page New York Times article today, headlined in print "Atlantic Yards Wins Appeal To Seize Land" and online as Ruling Lets Atlantic Yards Seize Land.First, though the article correctly states that the state would exercise eminent domain, the shorthand headline inaccurately casts [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 7:08am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Arena bonds authorized, underwriter Goldman confident, but questions remain about rating, insurance, market

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The news at the meeting yesterday of the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) was not that the special-purpose LDC was going to approve bonds for the arena, but the numbers and terms surrounding the bonds.And several important aspects of the bond sale remain unresolved.(In photo from video below, BALDC [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:00am EST
  by Norman Oder

• FAQ on the Court of Appeals decision in the Atlantic Yards case

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Why did the Court of Appeals accept the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case, Goldstein vs. ESDC, after it was decided unanimously at the lower court level, the Appellate Division?Well, the Court of Appeals was divided. It seems that Judge Robert Smith, who wrote the dissent, wanted to argue that courts [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 3:37pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• DDDB: new lawsuit coming because court refused to consider revised project

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From a statement from Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn:"We are disappointed, but undeterred. We lost this round, but the legal fight is not over. My clients will continue to resist Ratner's efforts to steal their homes and businesses in the New York courts," said lead attorney Matthew Brinckerhoff of Emery, Celli,' [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 10:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Court of Appeals upholds AY eminent domain 6-1

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 1
  In a decision (PDF) that gives the crucial--but perhaps not final--boost to the Atlantic Yards project, the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, approved the use of eminent domain by a 6-1 margin, saying that it's not the role of the courts to intervene in agency decisions, given the [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 9:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• With decision in eminent domain case possible on same day arena bonds are authorized, it could be an interesting Tuesday

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  By about 9:20 am today, we should know whether the Court of Appeals has ruled in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case.If there's no rulingIf there's no ruling, then the 10 am meeting of the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation to authorize arena bonds should be relatively uneventful--except, of course, [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 2:24am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Is the closure of Fifth Avenue coming?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update, Weeks beginning November 23 and November 30:The traffic and pedestrian safety barriers along the north side of Flatbush Avenue and Block 1118 for sewer installation is complete for the current phase of the work. Additional protection will be installed to modify traffic in [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 2:16am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Montgomery proposes bill to enforce public meeting decorum; why not just simply empower security guards and cops?

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  After regular heckling and outbursts (video) from union workers during the state Senate oversight hearing last May, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery has introduced legislation to curb such behavior, reports Eliot Brown of the Observer.It would bar the employer of anyone disrupting public meetings from bidding on any public contracts for [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 9:23pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• No eminent domain decision today

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The state Court of Appeals issued a list of decisions today, but the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case was not included. Stay tuned for tomorrow. [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 9:20am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Sportswriters blame Nets' 0-13 start mostly on Ratner

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Blame Bruce (mostly), say sportswriters assessing the New Jersey Nets' 0-13 start, which has been exacerbated by injuries to key players.The Record's Al Iannazzone offers 13 reasons:1. Bruce Ratner: Nice man, but his interests were in real estate opportunities and buildings, not building a championship team. He bought a contender' [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 8:04am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Bloomberg architecture critic Russell: "Ratner won’t keep any promises that prove inconvenient"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Yet another architecture critic has slammed the new design for the Atlantic Yards arena and offered some (misplaced) nostalgia for the forsaken Frank Gehry plan.Still, James S. Russell, the critic for Bloomberg, grasps a fundamental issue that has eluded too many observers: "[Developer Bruce] Ratner won’t keep any promises that" [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 6:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Arena bonds authorization coming Tuesday: questions about transparency, PILOTs, and infrastructure spending remain

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  At a meeting Tuesday, the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC) surely will authorize arena bonds--which may not be sold immediately, pending the decision on the eminent domain case (which could come today, Tuesday, or next Tuesday).Meanwhile, it's worth noting some big difference between this process and the recent process [...]
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  Posted: November 23, 2009, 2:30am EST
  by Norman Oder

• On Forest City Ratner's monopolies and "the next great site in Brooklyn"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  To Michael White's very interesting Noticing New York piece on Forest City Ratner's efforts to corner a monopoly on prime Brooklyn land, let me remind readers that Chuck Ratner, CEO of parent Forest City Enterprises, on 9/9/05 told investment analysts:"I will confess that it was less than two or three" [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 7:53am EST
  by Norman Oder

• A collection of writings from Times architecture critic Muschamp omits his Atlantic Yards embarassment

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  The new collection Hearts of the City: The Selected Writings of Herbert Muschamp memorializes the late New York Times architecture critic (who died in 2007) in 912 pages.Guess what: his error-filled, cheerleading 12/11/03 appraisal of Atlantic Yards, headlined Courtside Seats to an Urban Garden, is not included.Credit the book's editors, [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 6:35am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In lawsuit affidavit, the "pay ACORN $500,000 to exit the CBA" myth still has legs

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  From Gib Veconi's affidavit in the case filed by BrooklynSpeaks and allies challenging the Empire State Development Corporation's approval of Atlantic Yards.All organizations participating in the [Community Benefits Agreement] were to receive compensation from [developer Forest City Ratner] to provide various services as a function of the Project. In addition, [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 6:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Exiting magical world of Atlantic Yards, ACORN's Lewis, state Senator Golden diverge on health care policy

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Once upon a time, in the magical world of Atlantic Yards, ACORN CEO Bertha Lewis and Republican State Senator Marty Golden found common cause, with Golden saluting “ACORN, the premier low-income housing organization.” (He had to overlook their divergent stances on housing policy in general.)On health care, though, they look [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 6:26am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Shiffman: It's time for Bloomberg to align all agencies with PlaNYC

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  In a Streetsblog piece headlined In Third Term, Bloomberg Must Align All Agencies With PlaNYC, veteran community planner (and DDDB board member) Ron Shiffman points to Atlantic Yards:Together with private developers, the city's Economic Development Corporation and other quasi-government entities, the planning department has embraced outmoded redevelopment plans for Willets [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:55pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• BrooklynSpeaks attorney Butzel: "ESDC has just handed over the entire keys to the kingdom to Ratner"

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  Though most news reports--and even Forest City Ratner, which erroneously claimed that "opponents who pledged to sue early and often are still suing"--treated yesterday's lawsuit filed by BrooklynSpeaks and allies as more of the same, the biggest news, as I pointed out, was the simple fact of the lawsuit: the [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Newark Mayor Booker again cautious about permanent Nets move, enthusiastic about temporary one

  —Atlantic Yards Report

  Number of comments: 0
  As he did during last month's radio appearance, Newark Mayor Cory Booker last night steered clear of any prognostication about a permanent move of the Nets to Newark but focused on a temporary one.He spoke during his monthly Newark Today with Cory Booker show on WBGO. The discussion (starting about' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:42am EST
  by Norman Oder