John Petro

Atlantic Yards and the Shrinking Public Benefits

Could someone please explain to me how Atlantic Yards, which was a dubious project to begin with, is good for Brooklyn or New York City?

The project, according to the IBO, is now estimated to be a money loser for the city. Now that there are no immediate plans for any office towers, the tax revenue generated from the commercial space will not materialize. The world class design of Frank Gerhy, whatever you may think of his designs, is gone. The affordable housing is also on hold. If the developer, Forest City Ratner, is fighting tooth and nail to get the financing for just the arena, what makes anyone think that Forest City will be able to finance affordable housing any time soon?

What about jobs? The delayed build out of the project means that many of the temporary construction jobs would be spread out over 12-plus years. Most of the jobs at the arena would be part-time and low wage. With the first commercial tower on hold, there won't be any new white collar jobs at Atlantic Yards for the foreseeable future.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority, who was expecting a new rail yard out of the deal, has said that it will settle for less; less money and less rail yard. There is a good chance that the promised open space will be replaced with parking lost for many years to come.

Even if the project had all gone as planned, it would have likely had a negative impact on the area. I'm not suggesting that the current state of the site, with open rail yards, is ideal. However, there is nothing from the site plan to suggest that the development would have been anything other than a sterile master-planned community. The plan created vitality-sucking superblocks that would have discouraged pedestrian activity. The 2570 planned underground parking spots would have encouraged more automobile use, flying in the face of the goals of PlaNYC. The arena would have sit unused most nights, especially since the New York Times is already reporting an arena glut in the metropolitan area.

It is still uncertain that the project will move forward. The state's highest court has agreed to hear an appeal on the eminent domain ruling. Mayor Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, the Empire State Development Corporation and the NYC Economic Development Corporation all insist that the project is still good for New York. They are acting as if the benefits promised in 2006 still exist. They don't.

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Posted at 11:27 AM, Jul 02, 2009 in Urban Affairs
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