September 6, 2006
Develop, Don’t Delay BrooklynEditorial: New York Daily News
BROOKLYN, New York — News that Nets basketball team owner and developer Bruce Ratner will scale down the $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project— potentially chopping 7% of nearly 7,000 apartments and condos planned for Prospect Heights, Brooklyn—comes as no surprise in a city where too many economic development decisions are based on politics rather than merit.
Ratner promises that even a shrunken Atlantic Yards will include 2,250 apartments for low- and middle-income tenants. Nine hundred units will be set aside for families of four who earn $21,270 to $35,450 a year. An additional 1,300 apartments will be aimed at middle-income New Yorkers—like teachers, cops and sanitation workers—making between $42,540 and $113,400 for a family of four.
This boon to working families must be maintained, along with the thousands of jobs the project will create. For the good of the city and the borough, Ratner should make no further trims to his project.
Ever since Ratner unveiled plans to build a world-class arena for his Nets—plus housing and commercial space—in an area dominated by empty lots and an MTA railyard, opponents have tried to kill the project by arguing that it’s “out of scale” with the neighborhood. Now, they say no concession—not even a 50% reduction in the size of the buildings—will halt efforts to mire it in lawsuits.
Still, the project is a hit with New Yorkers: A poll by Charney Research shows that 71% of Gotham residents view Atlantic Yards favorably or very favorably, and 86% see its affordable housing and construction jobs for local residents as an important benefit. All the more reason for Ratner to ignore the naysayers and deal instead with reasonable concerns of elected officials. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, who with Gov. Pataki will control approval of the project, have been quietly advising a small reduction in its scale, and the City Planning Commission is expected to make a similar recommendation in a few weeks.
Those concerns must be addressed. Meanwhile, Ratner should take care not to imagine that any changes to his plan, big or small, will placate a vocal minority that seems bent on blocking jobs, housing and the economic coup of bringing a New Jersey team to Brooklyn.
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