November 24, 2009
Today, the New York State Court of Appeals has ruled that the Empire State Development Corporation (continuing its long-running role as the tool of Forest City Ratner, developer of the proposed Atlantic Yards development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn) is well within its rights to use eminent domain to force the transfer of private property from their current owners to the developer because the area is “blighted” and Atlantic Yards would be a “public benefit” to New Yorkers.
Although expected, I’m still very disappointed. I suppose we’ll all have to learn this lesson, again, the hard way. Maybe New London has some wisdom to offer us?
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Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, ESDC, New York, New York City, Prospect Heights, Ratner, criminals, crooks, fraud, idiots, law, thieves | Tagged: Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, Bruce Ratner, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, eminent domain, New York, New York City, Prospect Heights Brooklyn | 
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Posted by threecee
November 23, 2009
A neighbor emailed me a tip that these posters had recently been put up on the edge of the Vanderbilt rail yard. By the time I snapped this photo, a couple of possibilities for the future of Atlantic Yards had been offered. I suspect that the empty blanks won’t last long. (Anyone know who put them up? I think it’s a clever concept.)
The New York State Court of Appeals should soon announce their ruling in Goldstein v. ESDC, the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case. They could announce their ruling as soon as tomorrow, November 24, and certainly by mid December.
Although widely believed that the court would rule against the plaintiffs (Goldstein), there is more than an outside chance (however unlikely) that the judges would rule against the ESDC and developer Forest City Ratner (FCR). New York is currently one of only 7 states that have not amended their eminent domain law following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Kelo v. City of New London ruling in 2005.
If the court rules against the developer, Atlantic Yards would be dead. FCR has never detailed a Plan B.
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Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, New York, New York City, Prospect Heights, Ratner, eminent domain, law | Tagged: architecture, Atlantic Yards, Bruce Ratner, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, eminent domain, ESDC, Forest City Ratner, New York, New York City, Prospect Heights Brooklyn | 
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Posted by threecee
November 10, 2009
After reading the latest “ATLANTIC YARDS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE” from the ESDC, the state agency puppet on the end of Forest City Ratner’s string, I might have described my state as apoplectic. Why would such a typically non-informative bureaucratic publication drive me to the edge of derangement? It’s not like this most recent pronouncement of “construction” (which usually details mostly destruction and demolition) was markedly different than those before.
What really drove up my blood pressure was the following:
Demolition
- The Abatement contractor will install scaffolding in preparation for the removal of asbestos at the roof at 475 Dean Street.
Why? Why are they now preparing to demolish this building (in the photo above)? 475 Dean used to be the home of many and the place of business for others, until Forest City Ratner (FCR) bought the building (with our taxpayer money) and cleared it out. It’s been sitting vacant for years. Why, now, are they preparing to destroy an inhabitable building, in the midst of a housing crisis? Why, when there’s no guarantee that Atlantic Yards will actually happen? Can’t they wait until the Court of Appeals rules in the next few weeks? It doesn’t make any business sense to me. Granted, I’m not in the eminent domain and public subsidy development business like FCR, but it just seems like a calculated, strategic move at this point in time.
I suspect that they, FCR, made the strategic decision to convey in the strongest terms possible that Atlantic Yards is a DONE DEAL, that it is happening, that there is no Plan B, that it’s inevitable. They must act this way in order for the all so crucial sale of hundreds of millions in bonds before year end. They must keep up appearances for the bond rating agencies, for investors, for the markets, for politicians who’ve hitched their wagons to the train wreck in slow motion that is Atlantic Yards. They can’t afford to blink, to give even the slightest hint of doubt or uncertainty, as blinking now could prove fatal to the whole charade.
Much like the demolition of the historic Ward Bread Bakery building last year, FCR cannot afford the possibility of optional uses for the site. As long as a building stands, there’s the possibility of reuse, there’s the possibility of an alternate, there’s the possibility of something other than Atlantic Yards.
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Atlantic Yards, ESDC, New York City, Prospect Heights, architecture, word of the day | Tagged: architecture, Atlantic Yards, Brooklyn, ESDC, Forest City Ratner, New York City, Prospect Heights Brooklyn | 
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Posted by threecee
