Atlantic Yards Report

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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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"

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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?

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  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?

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  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

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  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

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  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"

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  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

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  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"

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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

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  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"

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  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

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  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

• Given no 2009 feasibility study of AY after changes, DDDB calls for new PACB review of project financing

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  Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) has sent a letter to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, State Senator Bill Perkins, and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (chairs of the respective committees on public authorities) arguing that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) needs to convene and vote on whether to approve the Atlantic Yards [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:03pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• BrooklynSpeaks, pushed into firm opposition, points in lawsuit to the failure of ESDC and FCR to talk, meet, or bend

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  I'll have much more tomorrow (including video) on the new lawsuit filed by BrooklynSpeaks and allies, but the fact of the lawsuit--BrooklynSpeaks' growing opposition--may be just as important as its contents.The suit in many ways echoes the previous lawsuit filed by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) and allies aiming to' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 5:00pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• An Atlantic Yards koan: how can you anchor "vaportecture"?

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  A caption from Crain's New York Business attached to the image below (click to enlarge):The Nets' new Barclays Center sports complex is an anchor to the planned Atlantic Yards development.Well, how can you anchor "vaportecture"?' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:58pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• DDDB tries to manage expectation ahead of court ruling in eminent domain case

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  In a post headlined Eminent Domain Ruling Expected Soon...What Will it Mean?, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is trying to manage expectations ahead of the anticipated ruling--it could be as early as today, next Monday or Tuesday--by the Court of Appeals in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case.From DDDB:We expect the' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:45am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Daily News: other AY footprint landowners also have been low-balled

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  In today's New York Daily News, a follow-up on the news that Atlantic Yards opponent and eminent domain lead plaintiff Daniel Goldstein received a low-ball $510,000 pre-condemnation offer from the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC):A real-estate broker says "That's way low."Peter Williams said he was offered $432,000 for a one-story [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 7:21am EST
  by Norman Oder

• New market-rate units at FCR's 80 DeKalb building would be cheaper than some AY affordable housing (as of 2006!)

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  In July 2006, Forest City Ratner projected that the most expensive "affordable" studios in the Atlantic Yards project would rent for $1861 a month.That was over market-rate then--and it still is. Forest City Ratner's new 80 DeKalb building in Fort Greene will offer studios at $1795 a month, according to' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Empty luxury condos, government intervention, and AY housing

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  The slogan "the right to the city," formulated in 1968 by the French Marxist Henri Lefebvre to imply a right to housing and other elements of urban life, has lived on in several ways, including a controversial effort to turn empty luxury condos into subsidized housing.The Right to the City-NYC [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 2:34am EST
  by Norman Oder

• New lawsuit challenging AY approval to be announced today by BrooklynSpeaks members, elected officials, others

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  Groups in the BrooklynSpeaks coalition–originally following a “mend-it-don’t-end-it policy”–today will file their first lawsuit, word of which first emerged last month.It will be interesting to see how much this case, which challenges the Empire State Development Corporation's approval of the Modified General Project Plan and failure to pursue a Supplemental [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 1:51am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Testing is under way, at least, at the temporary railyard

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  Photographer Tracy Collins went out to the Vanderbilt Yard today and reports: "It appears that the MTA is at least testing the new 'temporary' rail yard that's being constructed for the proposed Atlantic Yards development."The railyard is in the eastern third of the Vanderbilt Yard, between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 5:38pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Under authority reform bill expected to be passed, below-market land sale by MTA (as in AY?) would be precluded

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  The New York Observer reports that Assemblyman Richard Brodsky and state Senator Bill Perkins have achieved success in their effort to reform public authorities, with apparently only modest pushback from Mayor Mike Bloomberg and others resisting the changes:Brodsky said that the original bill will be signed, and that both legislative [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 5:16pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• NYTimes Sports section salutes Yormark, calls promotion a "modest success" (*) despite failure to come close to 15,000 attendance

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  New York Times sports reporter Ken Belson November 16:Whether the Nets beat Indiana (4-3) is an open question. But the promotion has prompted some fans to act. The team has sold 700 $10 seats so far and expects as many as 15,000 fans to show up for Tuesday’s game, around [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 4:29pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Atlantic Yards is not on the agenda for ESDC board meeting tomorrow

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  The Empire State Development Corporation does have a board meeting tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Yards is not on the wide-ranging agenda, but the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is expected to get $50,000 (via the Assembly) and use it for a marketing campaign of some sort.The authorization for arena bonds, however, [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:56pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• ESDC subsidiary to approve arena bonds on November 24

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  The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) subsidiary Brooklyn Arena Development Corporation (BALDC) will meet on Tuesday, November 24, and authorize arena bonds. (It will also take "related actions," which will be worth a look.)Either the ESDC knows that a favorable decision on the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case will come [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 10:33am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Do the judges on the Court of Appeals read the papers and think about Kelo? If so, they have to think about their legacy

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  With a decision from the New York State Court of Appeals in the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case anticipated anytime within the next week or three--the next possible date is Thursday--you have to wonder: Do the judges read the papers?Do they know the aftermath of the Kelo vs. New London [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:32am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Book on mega-projects offers more reasons for skepticism of Atlantic Yards

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  I wrote yesterday how the 2003 book Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment, authored by Alan Altshuler and David Luberoff, implicitly criticized Atlantic Yards in advising that overrides of local decision making are "very rarely justified" for sports facilities, since they don't serve "urgent regional needs."There's much more' [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 2:22am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Nets hope for 15,000 attendance, draw 11,332

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  From the New York Times, before the Nets played the Indiana Pacers at the Izod Center tonight:But the promotion has prompted some fans to act. The team has sold 700 $10 seats so far and expects as many as 15,000 fans to show up for Tuesday’s game, around the season [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 11:50pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• How to prioritize megaprojects? Avoid state intervention on behalf of local sports facilities

  Number of comments: 1
  At a panel on megaprojects November 7, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer suggested a need to prioritize, given that not all projects could go forward. And he also pointed out that many projects have regional importance.No one tried to prioritize, but I found some guidance--implicitly critical of Atlantic Yards--in the [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:27am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In Markowitz's publication Brooklyn!!, again no mention of Atlantic Yards

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  The Fall 2009 issue of Brooklyn!!, Borough President Marty Markowitz's promotional publication, appeared in my mailbox yesterday, even as we're nearly two-thirds of the way into the season.Likely Markowitz wanted to wait until the results of the November 3 election so he could salute three new Council Members, humbly thank' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:03am EST
  by Norman Oder

• ESDC: "we expect to release bond terms in the next two weeks"

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  OK, last week I reported that the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) might not put Atlantic Yards arena bonds on the agenda until mid-December. The New York Observer's Eliot Brown reported that "the project is running into trouble at the ratings agencies."Now Reuters quotes the ESDC (likely the same source [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 9:10pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Who would've thunk it: the Nets are "my" team

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  Like a lot of people who've bought Nets tickets, I got this email today offering discounts. But I think the only people who can really call a team their own are in Green Bay. (Click on graphic to enlarge.)' [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 8:56pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• No answers to tough questions for NYC EDC's Pinsky on sweet deals on stadiums

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  Last week, Seth Pinsky, the president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYC EDC), answered questions from readers of the New York Times's CityRoom blog about citywide entrepreneurship.Given the circumscribed topic, it's unsurprising that, in his answers (Round 1, Round 2), Pinksy bypassed hard questions on development issues. [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 7:27am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Getting money out of Russia: why Prokhorov might want the Nets no matter where they play

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  The proposed purchase of a majority interest in the Nets by Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's richest man (at a reported $9.5 billion) may seem to be a toy (as per the New York Times) for the oligarch.After all, it would cost him just $200 million down (all borrowed) plus a willingness [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 2:33am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Ghostwritten letters on health care for elected officials make NYTimes front page; FCR's orchestration of letters for MTA bid got no such scrutiny

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  It was front-page news in yesterday's New York Times. The article, headlined In House, Many Spoke With One Voice: Lobbyists’, described how the official record of the House of Representatives's debate on health care contains similar-sounding speeches by many legislators, ghostwritten by lobbyists.A not dissimilar effort in 2005 orchestrated by [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 2:31am EST
  by Norman Oder

• At (up to) 94% discount, Nets try to fill seats with "10 is enough" promotion

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  It would be tough enough to fill seats at the Izod Center for a midweek game against a non-marquee opponent, but the New Jersey Nets are also winless, at 0-10 (albeit coming quite close a couple of times).So Nets CEO Brett Yormark (aka "Yormarketing genius") has devised a "10 is" [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 4:24pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Mystery solved (sort of): LIRR was working late in the Vanderbilt Yard (but how about some real-time info?)

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  At a meeting October 22 of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, as I reported the next day, a resident at Newswalk (700 Pacific Street, adjacent to the Vanderbilt Yard) raised questions about disruptive work late at the yard.That resident the next day told me that on the previous Wednesday [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 6:24am EST
  by Norman Oder

• A defender of eminent domain: it should be a local decision (but what about AY?)

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  Two more commentators have joined the online New York Times discussion (previous coverage) regarding Pfizer's pullout from New London and the aftermath of the Kelo vs. New London eminent domain case.Yale Law School professor Thomas Merrill, a supporter of eminent domain, writes:I do not believe that this sad episode means [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 6:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Gelinas: how the AY Blight Study is about economic development (and how the ESDC has lowballed Goldstein)

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  Given that the justification for eminent domain in the Atlantic Yards case is blight, rather than economic development (as in the Supreme Court's controversial Kelo vs. New London decision, now back in the news), Nicole Gelinas's op-ed in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal is especially timely.It's headlined The Empire State and [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:41pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• ESPN's Stein: Prokhorov wants the Nets no matter what

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  Following up a previous mention, ESPN.com's Marc Stein writes:It is unquestionably true that Mikhail Prokhorov's deal to buy the Nets includes a very crucial clause that enables him to walk away if the Nets' move to Brooklyn falls through. What we've heard, though, is that he's so geeked about the [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:31pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Observer: as delays mount on bond sale, the clock ticks (but Ratner could still pull it off)

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  Yesterday, I pointed out that Bruce Ratner predicted to the New York Observer that bonds for the arena would be rated and sold in mid-October. Now, the Observer's Eliot Brown reminds us that Ratner first predicted an end-of-September date.In today's piece, headlined New Doubts About Atlantic Yards Financing as Deadline [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 2:08pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The final collapse of redevelopment plans in New London leads to new scrutiny of eminent domain for Atlantic Yards

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  The Kelo vs. New London case is experiencing some serious blowback, now that the entire rationale for eminent domain there has unraveled.While the commentary does not directly address Atlantic Yards--where the justification for eminent domain is the removal of blight, not the pursuit of economic development--the experience in New London [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 6:51am EST
  by Norman Oder

• A caution on the alleged Ratner-ACORN conspiracy

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  In a post on the conservative site Big Government, John M. O'Hara connects the dots between Bruce Ratner's Democratic campaign contributions, the Forest City Ratner bailout of ACORN, the FCR lobbying for stimulus funds, and the job of Ratner's nephew at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), concluding that this' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 5:52am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Atlantic Yards, the CBA, and "racialized discourse"

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  So, Atlantic Yards has been analyzed through many lenses, but environmental justice is a new one. This spring, an article published in the Journal of Sport & Social Issues bore the title Sports and Environmental Justice: "Games" of Race, Place, Nostalgia, and Power in Neoliberal New York City and, while [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 2:43am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Arena bonds down to the wire? ESDC likely waiting until mid-December

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  It looks like the sale of tax-exempt bonds for the Atlantic Yards arena would occur, at the earliest, in mid-December, two months after the date once predicted by developer Bruce Ratner.A press release (bottom) from the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) today announced a meeting November 16 of the ESDC's' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 4:10pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Columnist Collins says NYT "apologizes endlessly when we make an error" (nah)

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  I think New York Times op-ed columnist Gail Collins does a generally excellent job, but she unleashed a brutally weird claim in today's column:I work for a paper that rends its garments and apologizes endlessly whenever we make an error. Not. At. All. [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 1:30pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• For the New York Times Sports section, an easy story about the Nets--and two suggested tougher ones

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  In a soft feature today headlined A Net Reaches Out to Fans, Wherever They Are, New York Times sports business writer Richard Sandomir writes about the unusual willingness of guard Devin Harris to meet with fans (in this case in Newark).Easy story. (It also omitted disclosure of the ties between [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:41am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Crime in the footprint: AKRF was either incompetent or lying

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  An altercation spilling out of the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in the Atlantic Terminal (not Center) Mall Tuesday night led to a shooting--and another piece of evidence that high crime in Sector E of the 88th Precinct is related to the malls, not the much-emptier Atlantic Yards footprint.So consultant AKRF, [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:24am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Forest City Ratner's hand--via BUILD and the 77th Precinct Clergy Council--in some supportive comments to the ESDC

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  Just in case you're wondering how so many people commented in favor of Atlantic Yards to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) before the most recent approval in September, well, it didn't happen spontaneously.As the screenshot at right suggests, the Rev. Cecil Henry of Calvary Community Church made sure to [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:21am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Connecting the dots: How a pastor once protested the Coney Island deal but spoke up for Atlantic Yards

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  Those testifying in favor of Atlantic Yards don't necessarily spring up spontaneously.Pastor Guillermo Martino of the Tabernacle of God's Glory Church in Crown Heights, who testified not so coherently on June 22 before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Finance Committee in favor of the Atlantic Yards plan (video below), has a' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 2:17am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Whatever happened to "Tenacious B"?

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  A Crain's New York Business profile of developer Bruce Ratner that emerged Sunday was headlined "Tenacious B," a moniker that drew some criticism and scorn (see AYR, DDDB, Curbed).Now, as the second item indicates, the headline's been changed, and Ratner no longer sounds like a rapper (or comedic rock band). [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:24pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The "bloggiest" claim goes borough-wide, but deserves a big footnote

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  The future of hyperlocal news--and the business models behind it--was the subject of a most interesting conference held today at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. (See coverage on Twitter.)One factoid, however, deserves a big footnote. Introducing the hyperlocal landscape, CUNY's Jeff Jarvis said there are [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 9:08pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• On Coney deal, the government pays more than the 2005 value of land, but with the Vanderbilt Yard, the government accepts less

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  While New York City's plans for the Coney Island amusement area are not directly comparable with developer Forest City Ratner's plans for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard, it's certainly intriguing to learn that the value of land for the former has gone up while the latter has (effectively) gone [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:59pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The Markowitz wish list: Atlantic Yards groundbreaking and bigger Nathan's hot dog

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  A New York Daily News article today, headlined Borough President Marty Markowitz still has a few tricks up his sleeve, woos big companies, highlights Markowitz's efforts to woo Queens-based airline JetBlue, to lure a big overseas manufacturer like Korean electronics giant LG (he says manufacturing would be cheaper here, because [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 7:19am EST
  by Norman Oder

• An academic looks at NYC politics, relies on a New York Times clip file, gets Atlantic Yards mostly wrong

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  Last week’s opportunity to have Bruce Berg, a Fordham University professor of political science, answer questions from readers on the New York Times’s CityRoom blog, sent me to Berg’s January 2008 book New York City Politics: Governing Gotham, a book that treats the West Side Stadium and Atlantic Yards as [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 2:19am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Times columnist Vecsey: Nets should move to Newark

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  New York Times sports columnist George Vecsey, in a column today headlined Memo: Things Aren’t That Great Here, observes that a lot of New York sports teams aren't doing too well.Perhaps the signal example plays hoops in New Jersey:The Nets are trapped in the most dismal sports location in the' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 2:06am EST
  by Norman Oder

• As 475 Dean Street is finally slated for demolition, the question is: why exactly now? Tracy Collins has an answer

  Number of comments: 1
  Way back in March 2007, I wrote that Forest City Ratner planned demolition of 475 Dean Street, a former garment factory turned into artists' lofts. Now, as announced in the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update, workers are planning to remove asbestos on the roof in anticipation of demolition.Photographer Tracy Collins' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 6:34am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Is Atlantic Yards a public project , a private one, or "public-private"? Well, the latter, but Forest City Ratner's in the driver's seat

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  Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is making a big deal over Bruce Ratner's statement to Crain's New York Business that there's no reason to share project plans--which, of course, the developer did regularly before dumping Frank Gehry--because "[t]his isn't a public project."But what exactly is Atlantic Yards? A public project? A [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:45am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Barclays Center promoters invoke borough authenticity ("Brownstone Suites") to "soften" entrance into Brooklyn

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  The Barclays Center Showroom has been re-launched to sell suites and "to further celebrate Brooklyn and the heritage of the NETS basketball team." Among the features: "new floor-to-ceiling graphics evoking Brooklyn and its rich culture, history, and recent resurgence" plus "a historical timeline of sports and entertainment milestones in Brooklyn."And, [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 2:43am EST
  by Norman Oder

• At panel on stalled megaprojects, AY draws implicit skepticism and indirect support (but only if there were infrastructure investment)

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  So, is Atlantic Yards the right kind of megaproject? AY came up only glancingly during a panel on Saturday during the Institute for Urban Design's conference Arrested Development: Do Megaprojects Have a Future?, but panelists' comments, in general, offered much implicit skepticism--though some indirect support--for Brooklyn's most controversial project.Notably, they' [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 9:35am EST
  by Norman Oder

• How Bruce Ratner further undermines the ESDC's dubious AY "economic benefit analysis"

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  The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) has never produced a real cost-benefit analysis for the Atlantic Yards project, because it never bothered to consider costs beyond the direct subsidies.And it never produced an honest "economic impact analysis" or (most recently) "economic benefit analysis" because the analysis was premised on a [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 2:19am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Lupica: Ratner = "Donald Sterling of the Clips on training wheels"

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  Daily News sports columnist Mike Lupica takes a shot at the owner (for now) of the Nets:[NBA Commissioner] David Stern must be awfully proud of the job Bruce Ratner has done with the Nets.You know who Ratner really is?Donald Sterling of the Clips on training wheels.Snap. He's said it before. [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 8:25am EST
  by Norman Oder

• In profile, Crain's calls Ratner "tenacious;" wouldn't "desperate" and "strategic" also apply?

  Number of comments: 2
  A Crain's New York Business profile, headlined Tenacious B: Bruce Ratner must clear yet more do-or-die hurdles at Atlantic Yards, offers a mostly admiring portrait of Forest City Ratner's CEO:The annals of developing large projects in New York City are crammed with tales of the lengthy, torturous paths to completion. [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 7:38am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Flashback, December 2006: video of the ESDC board's pro forma approval of Atlantic Yards

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  I long wished someone had videotaped the Empire State Development Corporation's 12/8/06 board meeting to approve Atlantic Yards and, thanks to the producers behind the Battle of Brooklyn documentary, we now get to see some video. (They're still raising money for the film.)Yes, we know it was rubberstamped, as I' [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 7:01am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Public Use, Robert Moses, and the Atlantic Yards blight fight

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  Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, wrote a column in the 10/26/09 New York Law Journal on the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case, headlined Public Use, Robert Moses and the Fight Over Atlantic Yards.It was apparently written, though not published, before the 10/14/09 oral [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 6:39am EST
  by Norman Oder

• A look at the Atlantic Yards footprint as the clock ticks

  Number of comments: 2
  From photographer Tracy Collins:Flatbush Avenue at Dean StreetProspect HeightsBrooklyn, New YorkUtility upgrade work continues in preparation for the proposed Forest City Ratner Atlantic Yards development, although it's still uncertain if/when Atlantic Yards would be built.The three buildings in the foreground (left to right: 636 Pacific, 475 Dean, 473 Dean) would [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 6:38am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Would Prokhorov buy the Nets even if they don't move (to Brooklyn)? ESPN columnist says yes

  Number of comments: 1
  I suggested two weeks ago that, though a longshot, prospective owner Mikhail Prokhorov might want the Nets even if the Brooklyn move falls through.Mark Stein on ESPN.com discovers a similar sentiment:While it is widely assumed (as noted in Box 1) that the Nets have to end up in Brooklyn to [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 7:15am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Nets: come meet injured players (it was their idea!)

  Number of comments: 1
  The Nets' marketing efforts, which include advertising on practice jerseys and a reversible jersey promotion, have gotten a bit more desperate, which is not surprising, given that they're the National Basketball Association's only winless team and playing in an inaccessible, lame-duck arena.From Julian Garcia in the New York Daily News's' [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 6:58am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Brooklyn Paper offers a to-do list for Bloomberg, omits Atlantic Yards

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  A Brooklyn Paper editorial about Mayor Mike Bloomberg's challenges headlined Mike — fix this already, lists several issues for Brooklyn, which Democratic challenger Bill Thompson won.It cites the Gowanus Canal and then Coney Island, "Bloomberg’s other main Brooklyn re-development plan," which is something of a fudge. While Atlantic Yards may [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 6:07am EST
  by Norman Oder

• On Brian Lehrer, caller asks about "enormous" AY subsidies; Liu says he will ensure benefits; why not look into PILOTs and naming rights?

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  New York City Comptroller-elect John Liu was on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show this morning, and he gave a somewhat vague answer when asked about Atlantic Yards by "Lenore in Brooklyn." The action begins at about 10:20."In these difficult times, how are you going to use your office regarding Atlantic Yards" [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:07pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• If the Gehry premium is 15%, why have estimates for AY condos (sans Gehry) gone up so much rather than been reduced?

  Number of comments: 1
  A Real Deal article, headlined Forest City goes one for two with Gehry: As Atlantic Yards stalls, Beekman Tower skyscraper sprouts, quotes a former Forest City Ratner official as saying, not unreasonably, that residences in buildings designed by starchitect Frank Gehry should command a premium.The article states:Gehry's imprimatur -- which [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 5:06pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• The condemnation process: what might happen if the ESDC wins the eminent domain case

  Number of comments: 2
  So, what might happen if the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) prevails in the pending eminent domain case--decision expected around Thanksgiving, but who knows--and pursues condemnation of properties in the Atlantic Yards footprint.In previous coverage of the ESDC's July 22 community information session, ESDC counsel Joe Petillo offered an outline, [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 2:43am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Paterson calls special session, will include public authority reform

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  Governor David Paterson has called an extraordinary session of the Legislature to begin next Tuesday, November 10, addressing:a deficit reduction plan capping the growth of State government spending providing property tax relief eliminating a statutory inconsistency regarding paroleallowing same-sex civil marriage (the focus of the Times's coverage)enhancing penalties for driving [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 4:04pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Forest City's Gilmartin: Yes, interim surface parking would be made available beyond arena events

  Number of comments: 1
  In my coverage of the July 22 community information session sponsored by the Empire State Development Corporation, I did not report on Forest City Ratner executive MaryAnne Gilmartin's explanation that interim surface parking--including 1044 spaces on the southeast block of the project site--would be extended well beyond arena-goers.Moderator Craig Hammerman [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 7:34am EST
  by Norman Oder

• So, could the IRS deadline for tax-exempt bonds be extended? Unclear

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  Both developer Forest City Ratner and the Empire State Development Corporation, in public statements, have treated December 31 as the final deadline to have bonds issued for the Atlantic Yards arena, which is why we should see a flurry of activity in the coming weeks.That's based on Internal Revenue Service [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 2:15am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Forest City Ratner says AY is not eligible for $55 million in federal tax credits

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  Well, like some other people, I'm still trying to figure out for what Forest City Enterprises got $55 million in federal tax credits, if it wasn't for Atlantic Yards.The New York Daily News today advanced (and muddied) the story today, with an article headlined Forest City Enterprises could get $55M [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 8:36pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Does Marty Markowitz consider the Atlantic Yards arena his legacy? He says no, others say yes

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  While Brooklyn Borough President Marty "can’t wait to get the shovel in the ground" for the Atlantic Yards arena, according to the Courier-Life, he disavows it as his legacy:When asked about his legacy, Markowitz turned reflective, saying there is no legacy and he has no children.“When the lord calls me, [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:37pm EST
  by Norman Oder

• Times columnist sees how Bloomberg alienated Stuy Town residents; could a Thompson focus on AY have had an impact?

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  In a column today headlined What to Make of a Big Deal Gone Sour, New York Times columnist Jim Dwyer finds residents of Stuyvesant Town angry at Mayor Mike Bloomberg for his blase, let-the-market-work attitude toward residents vulnerable to loss of their apartments under new owner Tishman Speyer, whose principal [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 6:37am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Memo to Assemblyman Richard Brodsky: don't ignore PILOTs for the Atlantic Yards arena

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  Not that this will change the mind of Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who looked into the dubious financing scheme for Yankee Stadium after the fact but hasn't seen fit to look into the Atlantic Yards arena before it goes forward, but DDDB's Daniel Goldstein sums up the case for doing so.' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 1:37am EST
  by Norman Oder

• Two views of reality: Bloomberg's (apparent) narrow victory in the Post and the Times online

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  From the New York Times:From the New York Post:From the New York Daily News: [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 10:31pm EST
  by Norman Oder