Bloomberg promotes "close to a quarter of a million square feet of new retail space" at Atlantic Yards--except it it could take 25 years

According to Capital New York, Mayor Mike Bloomberg today attended the yearly convention of the International Council of Shopping Centers, a trade group representing the shopping mall industry, in New York City, and Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, in the front row, was credited for getting the mayor to show up.

From the report:

He made a pitch for Downtown Brooklyn, Willets Point, Homeport, Hudson Yards, and, of course, Atlantic Yards.

“Close to a quarter of a million square feet of new retail space is going up at the nearby Atlantic Yards development, Bruce Ratner’s development, and it’s also the future home of Brooklyn’s N.B.A. franchise, the largest private-sector project the borough has ever seen,” said Bloomberg.

He encouraged the crowd to buy Nets tickets while they still can.

"I bought mine," he said, eying Ratner. "Did you send me a bill yet?

How much retail space?

Let's look at the plan for 247,000 square feet. Only 91,000, according to the Final Environmental Impact Statement, would be built in Phase 1, and we have no idea how long it will take to build all five towers. They have 12 years to build Phase 1 before penalties kick in, and the minimum square footage could be accomplished with three or four towers.

The rest would be built over the lifetime of the entire project, which could take 25 years before penalties kick in.