Bruce Ratner will not have to put his Atlantic Yards arena, office tower
and housing development plan through the city’s public review process.
But the three Brooklyn community boards most affected by the sweeping
plan are calling on the real estate developer and the heads of the two
state agencies he depends on to build it to sit down with residents and
discuss the plan.
In a letter sent out this week, Community Boards 2, 6 and 8 — each
of which has a piece of the 21-acre development in Prospect Heights —
are calling on Forest City Ratner, the Empire State Development Corporation,
the likely lead agency on the project, and the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority, from which Ratner must purchase air rights over the Long Island
Rail Road storage yards, to present the project at a public meeting on
Wednesday, Sept. 22.
The community boards invited both MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow and ESDC
chief Charles Gargano.
Until now, the community boards have largely steered clear of issuing
an opinion on the $2.5 billion project, which includes 17 residential
and commercial towers and a professional basketball arena to house Ratner’s
New Jersey Nets.
“We are trying to disseminate information on a topic of great public
interest and are trying to figure out how the community boards might fit
in terms of a planning perspective,” said Craig Hammerman, district
manager of Community Board 6, which includes Park Slope, Red Hook, Carroll
Gardens and a one block portion of the Atlantic Yard’s site.
To build the arena Ratner must either purchase directly or have the state
condemn 11-acres of privately owned land.
The rest of the 21-acre project, which encompasses six blocks in Prospect
Heights stretching east from the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush
avenues, would be built over MTA-owned land.
In addition to the arena, Ratner is seeking to build 4,500 units of housing
and four soaring office towers, including one at Flatbush and Atlantic
avenues that would be the tallest building in the borough.
The community boards first tried to organize the meeting in April, but
put it off when Ratner said he needed more time to complete his plans.
Contacted this week, Deborah Wetzel, a spokeswoman for the Empire State
Development Corporation, said it was too early to reply to the invitation.
“It’s too premature, there’s no formal agreement yet,”
said Wetzel. “Negotiations are still ongoing and we don’t have
a final deal yet.”
An MTA spokesman also said he did not know if the agency would send a
representative.
