Governance reform

On Sunday, January 22, State Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Assemblyman Karim Camara held a press conference in front of the Barclays Center, criticizing Atlantic Yards' failure to deliver promised jobs and affordable housing, and calling on the Empire State Development Corporation and Governor Andrew Cuomo to reform oversight of the $5 billion project.

The latest bombshell to drop at the Atlantic Yards project came yesterday with the release of renderings of its first planned residential tower. As reported today by the Wall Street Journal,

Mr. Ratner said Thursday that the existing incentives for developments where half the units are priced for middle- and low-income tenants "don't work for a high-rise building that's union built."

He added that he had "accepted the fact that we're not going to get more subsidy."

Construction of the Barclays Center arena is moving ahead, but the completion of Phase I and all of Phase II of the Atlantic Yards project risks being significantly delayed. Sadly, the promises of jobs, economic vitality for the area, income for the City of New York, affordable housing, and open space all seem unlikely to be realized for decades, if not generations.

BrooklynSpeaks and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn want successful development of the Atlantic Yards site. We want what the State and City want: the economic development, the jobs, and the public benefits that a healthy development can provide—not in the 25 years now understood by all as being likely, but within the next few years as needed.