Advocacy
Since its launch in September of 2006, the BrooklynSpeaks initiative has sought to provide the people of Brooklyn and thier elected representatives a platform from which to demand change to and accountability from the Atlantic Yards project, helping to promote development at the site that works for Brooklyn and New York City.
More information about BrooklynSpeaks' advocacy efforts can be found in the stories that appear below.
Oral arguments scheduled for motion to reconsider decision in suit to reverse approval of 2009 MGPP
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on June 26, 2010 - 8:58am
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On June 29, 2010 at 11 am, New York Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman will hear oral arguments on a motion for reconsideration that was filed by several BrooklynSpeaks sponsors, elected officials and individuals challenging the approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan. The case will be heard in Room 335, 80 Centre Street in Manhattan.
Atlantic Yards reform bill clears key Assembly committee
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on June 23, 2010 - 9:29pm
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BrooklynSpeaks has learned that Assemblymember Hakeem Jeffries’ bill (A11431) reforming Atlantic Yards governance has passed the Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee.
“The BrooklynSpeaks sponsors support the new legislation and are monitoring the legislative progress closely. Today, we are beginning a public campaign to see that the legislation passes both the Assembly and the State Senate and becomes law. For the last three years, BrooklynSpeaks sponsors have advocated for transparency with respect to project governance, as well as for the involvement of the public in the decision-making process. This legislation is an important first step towards those goals,” said Jo Anne Simon, District Leader of the 52nd Assembly District. “We encourage all Brooklynites and New Yorkers concerned about accountability at Atlantic Yards to sign our online petition calling for swift passage of this legislation.”
The BrooklynSpeaks petition is available at http://www.PetitionOnline.com/reformay/petition.html.
“Most livable” and most threatened
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on April 16, 2010 - 12:13pm
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BrooklynSpeaks cites new evidence as it asks court to reconsider MGPP case
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on April 16, 2010 - 11:50am
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On April 8th, a group of BrooklynSpeaks sponsors, elected officials and individual petitioners filed a motion asking that the Court reconsider its decision not to reverse approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan (MGPP). The petitioners are asking Judge Friedman to review new evidence that was not considered when she made her decision.
The new evidence consists of a master development agreement that was executed between the developer, Forest City Ratner (FCR) and other parties in the Atlantic Yards project, after the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) had already agreed to approve the Modified General Project Plan. That agreement was withheld from public disclosure until after the hearing in the case.
BrooklynSpeaks statement regarding Judge’s decision on MGPP legal challenge
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on March 10, 2010 - 4:06pm
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| Contact: | Jo Anne Simon – (917) 685-3747 Linda Gross, LCG Communications – (718) 853-5568; (917) 767-1141 |
The BrooklynSpeaks sponsors are disappointed that the court did not reverse the approval of the Atlantic Yards’ 2009 Modified General Project Plan.
Although Judge Friedman ruled against the community’s petition, she criticized the Empire State Development Corporation’s rationale for continuing to rely on the previously-estimated ten-year build out as "marginally sufficient to survive judicial scrutiny under the limited SEQRA standard," and observed that ESDC’s review of the 2009 Modified General Project Plan "lacked the candor that the public was entitled to expect, particularly in light of the scale of the Project and its impact on the community." We couldn’t agree more.
More traffic for Brooklyn's most dangerous road
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on March 9, 2010 - 10:44pm
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A report released last month by the Tri-State Transportation Campaign named Atlantic Avenue the most dangerous road for pedestrians in Brooklyn with 9 deaths over the three years from 2006 to 2008. Nearby Fourth Avenue ranked third with 6 pedestrian fatalities in the same period. Both roads ranked among the most dangerous in the entire NY/CT/NJ region with Atlantic Avenue ranking third overall. With 20,000 additional car trips a day projected to be generated by the Atlantic Yards project, these numbers may get much worse.
Atlantic Yards then and now: Political theater to public loss
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on March 2, 2010 - 11:59pm
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It’s been six years since the announcement of the Atlantic Yards Project. During that time, the project has been heralded by some as a harbinger of a new Brooklyn renaissance with “historic” benefits for the borough. Others have criticized its design, anticipated environmental impacts, and lack of community involvement.
However, all of the press releases, consultants’ reports, public hearings and board meetings since then were just so much political theater. Nobody beside the project’s developer and a few political appointees really knew what the public was likely to get in exchange for massive subsidies and years of construction. Now that the master closing among the State, the City and Forest City Ratner has taken place, New Yorkers can finally see what we have to look forward to. And it’s not the picture we’ve been promised.
BrooklynSpeaks goes to court for accountability on Atlantic Yards
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on January 18, 2010 - 7:00pm
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| Date/Time: | Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 2:30 PM |
| Location: | NY Supreme Court, 80 Centre Street, Room 328 in Manhattan |
| Contact: | Jo Anne Simon – (917) 685-3747 Linda Gross, LCG Communications – (718) 853-5568; (917) 767-1141 |
On January 19, 2010 at 2:30 PM, New York Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman will hear arguments in a suit filed by several BrooklynSpeaks sponsors, elected officials and individuals challenging the approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan. The case will be heard in Room 328, 80 Centre Street in Manhattan.
MGPP legal challenge: Questions and answers
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on December 16, 2009 - 12:10pm
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On November 19, 2009, several of the BrooklynSpeaks sponsor organizations filed suit against the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) and Forest City Ratner Companies (FCR) seeking to reverse ESDC's approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan (MGPP). Common questions about the suit are asked and answered in this article.
Brooklyn community organizations and elected officials file lawsuit to reverse ESDC’s approval of Atlantic Yards’ MGPP
Submitted by brooklynspeaks on December 10, 2009 - 10:47pm
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Prominent civic and community development organizations and local elected officials who represent the communities surrounding the Atlantic Yards Project, gathered on the steps of City Hall on Thursday, November 19th to announce the joint filing of a lawsuit that challenges the ESDC’s approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan.
The suit contends that the plan was approved without sufficient study of the impacts of its extended construction schedule and completion risks. It also alleges that the ESDC has illegally delegated to FCRC so much of its governmental power to determine the future content and configuration of the project as to have abandoned its obligations under the law.
