As developer Bruce Ratner moves forward with plans to build his Atlantic
Yards development, the City Council has scheduled the first official public
hearing on the 21-acre proposal.
The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 4, at 10 am inside the
council chambers at City Hall.
Both opponents and proponents of the plan are invited to testify.
The sweeping, $2.5 billion commercial and retail development includes
a 19,000-seat professional basketball arena, four soaring office towers
and 4,500 units of housing.
While Ratner has the support of high-ranking officials including Mayor
Michael Bloomberg and Gov. George Pataki, he still faces opposition from
residents in the footprint and surrounding neighborhoods.
As part of the plan, Ratner is asking the state to use its power of eminent
domain to condemn more than two square blocks of privately owned land.
The MTA has said that it has not yet agreed to sell Ratner the air rights
to build over the 11-acre Long Island Rail Road storage yards.
The project will likely be co-sponsored by a state agency, such as the
Empire State Development Corp., and will therefore not be required to
pass the city’s stringent land use review process.
