Speaking at a building trades conference in Manhattan Thursday, developer
Bruce Ratner thanked the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Gov.
George Pataki for backing his $2.5 billion Atlantic Yards project.
“The government has been wonderful — the mayor, the governor,
city and state officials, the MTA has been wonderful — in supporting
both projects,” Ratner said, referring to both his plan to build
an arena for the New Jersey Nets near the junction of Flatbush and Atlantic
avenues, and a separate plan to build a football stadium for the New York
Jets on Manhattan’s west side.
Ratner’s statement marks the second time in just over a week that
either Ratner or a spokesman have claimed to have the support of the governor
and the MTA — whose 20-member board Pataki appoints — for the
developer’s Atlantic Yards plan, where towers would reach upwards
of 60 stories on de-mapped mega-blocks.
The support of the MTA, which controls the Long Island Rail Road yards
over which a large portion of the project would be built, is crucial,
as is that of Pataki, whose Empire State Development Corp. would be needed
to condemn 10 acres of private property in order for Ratner to realize
his dream.
Last week, The Brooklyn Papers reported exclusively that Ratner, the Pataki-controlled
Empire State Development Corp. (ESDC) and the MTA were close to an agreement
that would establish the ESDC as the lead governmental agency on the project.
Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe Deplasco confirmed the tripartite agreement,
which he said should be signed in upcoming weeks. The details, he said,
were “still being worked out.”
Ratner made his comments Thursday at a breakfast meeting of the New York
Building Congress, a coalition of contractors, engineers and developers,
at Club 101 on Park Avenue and 40th Street.
Prospect Heights Councilwoman Letitia James, an ardent opponent of the
plan, who attended the breakfast speech, said she didn’t know whether
Ratner was engaging in “hyperbole” or whether the state “as
represented by Mr. [Charles] Gargano was basically engaging in deception.”
Gargano heads the Empire State Development Corp.
“All indications from the MTA are they have not made a decision with
regards to the Atlantic Yards project,” James told The Brooklyn Papers
Thursday evening
“If there are backroom deals, that is a different matter,” she
added.
“I don’t know what he means,” MTA spokesman Tom Kelly said
Friday when asked about Ratner’s comments.
Asked whether the MTA supports Ratner’s plan, Kelly said, “Nothing
has been done formally and we would take whatever steps are necessary
for whoever wants to do anything at the site.”
No formal proposal has been submitted to the MTA, he said, adding that
it is not on the agenda for the next MTA board meeting, scheduled for
March 31.
Gov. Pataki’s office did not respond to calls for comments.
Questions about such deals between the MTA and Ratner were first raised
last year when an MTA spokesman told The Brooklyn Papers on three separate
occasions that Ratner had already purchased the development rights to
build over the rail yards. The spokesman later said that information was
incorrect and apologized, explaining that he had incorrectly assumed that
Ratner held the development rights.
“I did not understand that it was contingent on [Ratner] getting
the team first,” MTA spokesman Tom Kelly told The Papers. “I
put the cart before the horse. If he gets the Nets and wants to develop
that arena he has to come back to us and then we have to go the [MTA]
board.”
But rather than explain that the agency spokesman had simply made a mistake,
MTA Executive Director Katherine Lapp chose to try and cover up the gaff
by deflecting blame to The Brooklyn Papers.
In a letter to Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, chairman of the public authority
committee, who had asked the MTA for a clarification, Lapp said that The
Brooklyn Papers had “incorrectly” reported the story.
“I have to figure out who I believe, Ratner or Gargano,” state
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery said Thursday. Montgomery recently received
letters from both Gargano and Lapp explaining that no decision had been
reached on whether to support the Ratner proposal.
Patti Hagan, a member of the Prospect Heights Action Coalition, said Thursday
that she was not surprised at Ratner’s statements.
“This confirms suspicions that there are dealings going on out of
site of the public,” Hagan said.
“I think it’s a little bit speaking out of school for him to
thank them when their position is that they’re neutral — they
haven’t put their stamp on anything,” she added.
After the meeting, James also lashed out at Ratner for mischaracterizing
the section of Prospect Heights where he plans to build the development.
“He led the industry to believe that this is a blighted area,”
said James.
The three-square-block area includes two recently converted luxury condominiums
and anywhere from 400 to 800 renters and owners.
James accused Ratner of “low-balling” the number of residents
who would be displaced. Those residents have hired civil liberties attorney
Norman Siegel to fight their cause.
Both James and Montgomery are asking that the MTA solicit open bids for
the development of the rail yards. James is holding a workshop Saturday
to solicit alternative plans from the public [see story below].
Asked on Thursday about possibly downscaling the towers, the tallest of
which would reach 620 feet high — 100 feet taller than the Williamsburgh
Bank building, currently the tallest in Brooklyn — Ratner said, “It’s
about the architecture, not the height.”
Frank Gehry, best known for designing the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain,
is designing the 7.7-million-square-foot Atlantic Yards development.
Ratner still needs to finalize his purchase of the New Jersey Nets and
would then need to get the approval of the National Basketball Association
to move the team to Brooklyn
