Atlantic Yards delayed again, and opponents doubt it will ever get built
The lot at 800 Pacific Street where Brooklyn's Ward Bakery once sat is now an empty construction site for the Atlantic Yards. (Photo by Phil S. Kropoth)
By Pete Catapano
This month, ground was supposed to be broken on the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, the biggest development in the borough’s history.
But no symbolic shovels have been dug into the ground — and, opponents say, there may never be.
Although neighborhood residents have seen buildings demolished, coped with a closed bridge, and heard the rumblings of underground construction, the project has hit a wall.
Lawsuits and the economy have thwarted the Atlantic Yards mega-development in Prospect Heights, said Daniel Goldstein, spokesman for opposition group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
“There are not constructing anything,” Goldstein said. “They don’t have the land or the money to build anything.”
The uncertainty of the $4-billion project’s future was punctuated with the news that developer Forest City Ratner has halted work in a 22-acre area of the site that was slated for the New Jersey Nets arena and 16 other buildings. Citing a lawsuit filed over the project’s use of eminent domain, a spokesman for the developer said the project’s preliminary work has progressed as much as possible until the legal action is resolved.
“Once the litigation is resolved we will be well positioned to begin the construction of phase-one of the project, including the Barclays Center," said Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco.
Until that lawsuit is settled - as well as another regarding the project's environmental impact - and other issues are resolved, the developer cannot purchase the land where the Nets arena will sit from the MTA. Goldstein, whose group organized and funded a lawsuit against the Empire State Development Corp. for using eminent domain to take the land for the project, says he doubts it will ever be built.
“I think they don’t have the money,” he said. “The economy is a big obstacle. The bigger obstacle is the litigation. Even if they bought everybody out they still don’t have the money build and they still don’t own all the properties.”
Instead of construction, there’s been only destruction in Prospect Heights; 26 of the 53 building slated to be demolished have been taken down.
The Atlantic Yards project has been an enemy to many residents, wary of the car traffic high rises and an arena will bring, as well as shadows replacing the sunlight they’ve grown accustomed to.
Some residents say the work has been a blight on the neighborhood.
“It’s gotten a lot scarier since they started tearing things down,” said Ellen O’Shea, a bartender at Freddy’s Bar and Backroom, referring to her former apartment on Sixth Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue. “After dark, I’d feel really uncomfortable walking those few blocks now.”
Freddy's is one of the plaintiffs in the suit to stop the project. Developer Bruce Ratner owns the building that houses Freddy’s and will likely tear it down to make room for the arena.
During summer construction at the Dean Street-Sixth Avenue intersection, Freddy’s looked like an “abandoned edifice,” O’Shea said. “You couldn’t even see the front of Freddy’s” from the street until last week, she added.
One small business owner in the area, who only wanted be identified as Joe, seemed perplexed at the kind of work being done in the neighborhood.
“They made a bunch of holes, and then covered them up. They’d do it again and again,” he said.
Despite all the griping, the Atlantic Yards has a big backer in Borough President Marty Markowitz.
“We all knew there would be delays until litigation is finalized, and it is my understanding that should the ruling clear the way, progress will move at a faster pace,” he said yesterday. “There's no question these are challenging times; I still believe the weakening of the American economy underscores the importance of moving ahead with projects like Atlantic Yards.”
Aline Reynolds and Marlene Naanes contributed to this report.
Comments (3)
Marty Markowitz says: “There's no question these are challenging times; I still believe the weakening of the American economy underscores the importance of moving ahead with projects like Atlantic Yards.”
Right, this is the perfect time to throw hundreds of millions of dollars to Bruce Ratner, whose promises for job creation, tax revenues and affordable housing by his Atlantic Yards project were highly suspect even in good economic times.
Marty, I am ashamed of you.
So...we want to close firehouses, but keep Atlantic Yards. I hope the proposed skyscrapers have excellent sprinkler systems...
Not a penny of tax money should go to this disgusting boondoggle.