tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-207434592024-03-18T16:20:48.330-04:00Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park ReportThis watchdog blog, by journalist Norman Oder, concerns the $6B project to build the Barclays Center arena & 15-16 towers at a crucial site in Brooklyn. Dubbed Atlantic Yards by developer Forest City Ratner in 2003, it was rebranded Pacific Park Brooklyn in 2014 after the Chinese government-owned Greenland USA bought a 70% stake going forward. In 2018, once the arena & four towers were built, Greenland bought out most of Forest City's stake, then sold three leases to other companies.Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.comBlogger11671125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-14774305428426530812024-03-18T12:11:00.001-04:002024-03-18T12:11:16.753-04:00Would Tainted Funds from a New Part-Owner Spoil the #BrooklynNets' Spirit? (Substack)My latest: Would Tainted Funds from a New Part-Owner Spoil the #BrooklynNets' Spirit? (<a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/would-tainted-funds-from-a-new-part">Link</a>)<div><br />There have been dodgy owners, and a felon sponsor. But the #sportswashing began long ago.<br /><br /></div><div>It <b>would</b> be ironic, though, for the libertarian Kochs to profit from eminent domain, sports subsidies, & NBA "socialism."</div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-60834580251629184912024-03-16T07:00:00.025-04:002024-03-16T07:22:43.267-04:00Is something brewing? Atlantic Yards Community Development Corp. meeting set for Wednesday, two months after previous one. No agenda yet.<p>Is something brewing regarding Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park with Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project?</p><p>Maybe.</p><p>Less than two months after the <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/01/was-esd-asleep-at-watch-at-atlantic.html">previous meeting</a> of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), which is supposed to meet quarterly but has not kept to that schedule, an AY CDC meeting <a href="https://esd.ny.gov/esd-media-center/board-meetings/atlanticyardsdirectorsmeeting-032024">has been set</a> for Wednesday, March 20 at 3 pm.</p><p>No agenda has surfaced yet--I'll follow up when it's posted--so we don't know if this indicates that parent ESD is looking for feedback on, or a rubber stamp for, any project proposals, such as a revised state posture toward the six development parcels scheduled for a foreclosure sale on April 30.</p><p>That means discussion of the $2,000/month liquidated damages due--or not?--for the 876 (or 877) units of affordable housing not delivered by May 2025. </p><p>Or, perhaps, a new project-specific synthetic substitute for the 421-a tax break that has, for example, re-enabled construction in Gowanus.</p><p>Or--total speculation--whether master developer Greenland USA has walked away from the project.</p><p>Or, perhaps, just something boilerplate.</p><p>(I wouldn't imagine that ESD is ready to report back on <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/01/was-esd-asleep-at-watch-at-atlantic.html">its monitoring</a> of EB-5 investments.)</p><p><b>Meeting details</b></p><p>Despite requests that such meetings be held in Brooklyn, where members of the public might attend more easily--even if it's a weekday--the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation Directors Meeting will again be held in Manhattan.</p><p>The location is ESD offices at 633 Third Avenue – 37th Floor Conference Room.</p><p>The meeting is open to the public. <br /><br />Due to (purported) building procedures, those attending in-person should RSVP by 4:30 pm on Tuesday, March 19. Members of the press should call (800) 260-7313; Members of the public should call (212) 803-3795.<br /><br />The public may listen to the meeting via webcast by clicking the <a href="https://esd.ny.gov/esd-media-center/board-meetings/atlanticyardsdirectorsmeeting-032024">link here</a>. <br /><br /><b>Public comment</b><br /><br />Members of the public may submit comments on the Agenda items in writing to <a href="mailto:AYCDCBdMtg@esd.ny.gov">AYCDCBdMtg@esd.ny.gov</a> by 3 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. </p><p>The problem, of course, is that the Agenda doesn't exist yet. </p><p>Even if it surfaces at some time Monday, the beginning of the work week, that leaves little time to contemplate a typically vague agenda and formulate a clairvoyant comment.</p><p>Those attending in person are allowed to comment in real time, however.</p><p>All comments received by the deadline will be distributed to the Directors prior to the meeting and will be posted online.</p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-41314889284397134192024-03-15T07:00:00.115-04:002024-03-15T07:08:36.695-04:00As legislature faces April 1 budget deadline, approval of a successor to 421-a tax break could nudge the future of Atlantic Yards/Pacific ParkFor various reasons, it's not surprising that the foreclosure auction of six Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park development sites has been postponed twice, most recently to <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/atlantic-yardspacific-park-foreclosure.html">April 30</a>.<div><br /></div><div>The most obvious reason is the complexity of a future deal, since the development rights are attached to obligations to build a costly platform as well as obligations to build affordable housing, which come with liquidated damages for units not built by May 2025.</div><div><br /></div><div>That means the parties include not just the debt holders, funds formed with money from EB-5 investor visa borrowers, and future bidders, but also Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project and could clarify/renegotiate/subsidize the obligations. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, the gubernatorially-controlled ESD shouldn't do that without input from elected officials and the public.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The 421-a quandary</b></div><div><br /></div><div>But there's another issue. By April 1, the state budget is due, and should include new policies to support housing construction, including a successor to the now-lapsed 421-a tax break, which representatives of Greenland USA, the master developer that has stalled Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, <a href="https://citylimits.org/2023/08/24/state-weighs-tax-deal-plans-public-engagement-for-atlantic-yards-as-housing-deadline-nears/">have said</a> would be key kind of replacement.</div><div><br /></div><div>So expect public debate. Yesterday, a press release, <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/new-york-state-senate-passes-one-house-budget-resolution">New York State Senate Passes One-House Budget Resolution</a>, detailed varying housing-related items, of which I've selected several:<br /><blockquote>The Senate puts forward a new program entitled the New York Housing Opportunity Corporation, using the $250 million allocated as a part of the NY RUSH program, to expedite and build more long-term affordable housing on available state-owned land throughout NY, as a successor to the Mitchell-Lama program.<br />Protecting Tenants and HomeownersTenant protections that align with the core principles of Good Cause Eviction.<br />Protecting New Yorkers against Deed Theft.<br />Providing the City of New York the authority to override the FAR [Floor Area Ratio] cap.<br />Commercial conversions with more emphasis on affordability.<br />Openness for further discussion on extending the 421-a construction completion deadline for vested projects, as well as the creation of a tax exemption for the construction of multi-family rental housing to replace the expired 421-a program.</blockquote>Note that the reference to 421-a remains vague. State Sen. Brian Kavanagh, the Senate’s chair of the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development, <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/2024/brian-kavanagh/new-york-state-sen-brian-kavanagh-discusses-housing">told</a> Capital Tonight:<br /><blockquote>“In the case of the 421a program, the governor put forth a new proposal but acknowledged it was something of a placeholder,” Kavanagh said. “We are more or less saying the same thing about the details, but the goal is to get a comprehensive deal in the context of a budget.”</blockquote><p>The contour of the 421-a successor is crucial, as well. Would it allow the obligation to deliver "affordable" units be satisfied by building below-market apartments for the middle-class, with higher rents, or would it require more deeply affordable ones, at lower rents and thus in smaller quantities? </p><b>The trade-off</b><br /><br />As the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/nyregion/ny-budget-taxes-housing.html">noted</a>, landlords and developers surely appreciate the proposals to replace 421-a and allow larger buildings by lifting the 12 FAR cap, but there's a bargain implied:<br /><blockquote>But the package comes with one major condition: Senate Democrats say they will not make any deal that does not include protections similar to those in the Good Cause Eviction legislation — a controversial bill that would limit landlords’ ability to evict tenants or raise their rent above 3 percent in times of low inflation.<br /><br />The Assembly’s proposal also includes incentives for office conversions and for building new housing on state-owned land. And while it makes reference to protecting tenants from “capricious rent increases and unreasonable evictions,” it makes no mention of the tenant protection legislation...</blockquote>City Limits reported, in <a href="https://citylimits.org/2024/03/13/second-times-the-charm-ny-legislature-angles-for-broad-housing-deal/">Second Time’s the Charm? NY Legislature Angles For Broad Housing Deal</a>:<br /><blockquote>With the state’s annual spending plan due in less than three weeks, the Senate and Assembly called this week for a housing deal that both incentivizes development and protects tenants. But Hochul, who has substantial leverage in budget negotiations, has insisted that these topics should be addressed separately. </blockquote><div><b>State-owned sites?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>From City Limits:</div><blockquote>The Senate and Assembly also put forward ideas for building housing on state-owned land. The former proposed $250 million for a New York Housing Opportunity Corporation, billed as Mitchell-Lama 2.0, while the Assembly pitched $500 million for Foundations for Futures, a limited-equity co-op plan it tried for last year. </blockquote><blockquote>Hochul’s plan includes $500 million for housing development on state-owned land, which she estimates could produce 15,000 housing units. </blockquote>Technically, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is a state-owned site, but... the cost of construction, including the platform over the railyard, ensures that any state funding for new construction would go to more shovel-ready sites.<br /><br /></div><div><b>Drilling down on 421-a</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/the-sad-saga-of-new-york-housing-policy">The Sad Saga of New York Housing Policy: Governor Hochul Is Still Searching for a Pro-Growth Consensus</a>, former city planner Eric Kober of the right-leaning Manhattan Institute observed:<br /><blockquote>Taken purely as a technical exercise, of identifying the appropriate locations for the right amount of housing, the downstate housing supply crisis is solvable. NYC’s “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” proposal would, if enacted and supported with the needed state legislation, give the city a meaningful increase in housing production.[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/the-sad-saga-of-new-york-housing-policy#notes">1</a>] An analysis for the New York Times found locations for Mayor Eric Adams’s full “moonshot” goal of 500,000 new housing units over 10 years “without radically changing the character of the city’s neighborhoods or altering its historic districts.”[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/the-sad-saga-of-new-york-housing-policy#notes">2</a>] In the suburbs, finding low-impact building sites is even easier. For example, in a 2021 report, I focused on the housing potential of commercial areas near commuter rail stations and along arterial roads.[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/the-sad-saga-of-new-york-housing-policy#notes">3</a>] A 2017 Regional Plan Association study found the potential for as many as 250,000 new housing units on commuter rail parking lots in the NYC region.[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/the-sad-saga-of-new-york-housing-policy#notes">4</a>] </blockquote><blockquote>The problem, of course, is politics.</blockquote><div>Regarding 421-a, he noted:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>In a recent <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/rebooting-the-new-york-housing-compact-legislative-options-in-2024">report</a>, I suggested that Hochul should propose legislation simply authorizing the city to create a property tax exemption program for new mixed-income rental housing, by local law. My argument was that state control of 421a had led repeatedly to costly and ineffective program designs and that the mayor and the city council were better positioned to determine how much city tax revenue should be given away, to whom, and under what conditions. The mayor and the city council would then be accountable to voters for the consequences, in a way that the state legislature is not.</div><br />Hochul’s actual proposal is an unwieldy contraption that combines state mandates, outsourcing of public policy to private interests, and local flexibility in a manner that seems unlikely to produce a good outcome. First, the legislation specifies that eligible rental projects shall receive a 35-year tax benefit and eligible homeownership projects, a 40-year tax benefit. It also specifies the amount of property tax exempted for each year of the term. However, the legislation doesn’t specify what an eligible project is. Thus it creates, in effect, a piñata stuffed with NYC property tax revenues for interested parties to fight over.</blockquote>Indeed, Kober's <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/rebooting-the-new-york-housing-compact-legislative-options-in-2024">report</a> noted:<br /><blockquote>Moreover, reauthorizations of the program are done through secretive negotiations, which often come at the city’s fiscal expense. In the last go-round in 2016, for example, the negotiations created the widely used Option C,[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/rebooting-the-new-york-housing-compact-legislative-options-in-2024#notes">30</a>] which provides a 35-year, 100% post-construction tax exemption, applicable in most of the city, in exchange for “affordability” conditions requiring units to be rented at, or close to, market rates in many neighborhoods.[<a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/rebooting-the-new-york-housing-compact-legislative-options-in-2024#notes">31</a>] It is an ineffective system and a colossal backdoor cash drain on the city.</blockquote></div><div>That means units at 130% of Area Median Income (AMI), which, as noted, in many neighborhoods is close to market-rate. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unlike applicants for low-income units, who face long odds, those pursuing such middle-income units often <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2022/02/applicants-for-130-ami-middle-income.html">get selected</a> for several lotteries.</div><div><br /></div><div>With Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, 130% AMI units are well below market-rate in the same buildings, but nevertheless aimed at middle-class households, most earning <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/06/lottery-for-240-affordable-units-at-595.html">at least six figures</a>, hardly those who marched for "affordable" housing.<br /></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-66709029946523211192024-03-14T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-14T09:08:55.220-04:00Account of Downtown Brooklyn luxury living ignores failure to require affordability in upzoning. Serhant swivels from promoting "park" to in-building lifestyle.<div>So, check out <a href="https://www.curbed.com/article/whos-moving-to-downtown-brooklyn.html">Settling, in Downtown Brooklyn</a>, published three days ago by New York magazine's Curbed, quoting wealthy people who've moved to the new amenity-rich high-rises in Downtown Brooklyn, happy to have gym, laundry, roof deck all within their residence.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the article:</div><div><blockquote>Downtown Brooklyn’s rise as a luxury-living destination happened almost despite itself. In the 20 years since its rezoning, 22,000 new apartments have been built with 8,000 more on the way, and each luxury tower seems to function as a self-contained little universe for its contented inhabitants. </blockquote><p>The benefit is price compared to Manhattan, with a quick commute, as well as a relatively short walk, depending on location, to Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, or Barclays and BAM. So, while the Williamsburg and Greenpoint waterfronts offer great views and green space, they're far from the subway.</p><p>It's interesting to hear Ryan Serhant, the real-estate agent whose firm markets Brooklyn Point, saying, “You have an amazing view, a 25-year tax abatement, low monthlies, two pools. You’re like, ‘You know what? This is actually okay.’ Everyone has a checklist. And more people chose quality of life inside their apartment than ever before.’” </p></div><div><b>The AY/PP contrast</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, when Serhant was marketing 550 Vanderbilt, the amenity-rich sole condo tower in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, the <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2022/05/last-unit-penthouse-again-up-for-sale.html">pitch</a> was different: "Through the masterful vision of COOKFOX, 550 Vanderbilt offers the inaugural opportunity to live and own in New Yorks [sic] newest park."</div><div><br /></div><div>If and when Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is finally built out, the publicly accessible, privately managed green space should help with marketing. But that buildout is very much uncertain and, if it comes, construction might be less than pleasant.</div><div><br /></div><div>For now, the newest rental towers, like 595 Dean, are amenity-rich themselves,</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Downtown Brooklyn down the memory hole</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Downtown Brooklyn’s rise as a luxury-living destination" happened because the city's 2004 rezoning was aimed to encourage new office towers, but allowed landowners and developers to instead build residential--and with no requirement for below-market affordable housing.<br /><br />So this latest article could've quoted from New York's profile last year of former Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff:<br /><blockquote> Rezoning Downtown Brooklyn did not produce the new office district that he insisted New York needed in order to compete. It did create a high-rise residential neighborhood but whiffed the opportunity to include abundant affordable housing.</blockquote></div><div>As I <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/08/what-builder-built-profile-of.html">commented</a>, not simply "whiffed" but actively resisted, since the Bloomberg administration was too focused on growth to require such affordability when it rezoned Downtown Brooklyn and Fourth Avenue.</div><div><br /><b>Treading lightly on DTB</b><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>From the article:</div><div><blockquote>But the neighborhood still feels, in the words of one of the few residents who has lived there since the late ’90s, “unformed.” People queue up for social services on Schermerhorn Street a half-block from Chelsea Piers, where memberships run around $300 a month. It’s a maze of construction fences, and the dining scene is dominated by fast-food franchises...</blockquote><blockquote>Fulton Street Mall is one of the city’s busiest shopping areas. And while there have been successive attempts to make it wealthier and whiter since the 1960s, it has always been a thriving retail district, says Meredith TenHoor, an architectural and urban historian at Pratt, who co-wrote Street Value, a book about the area.</blockquote><p>Well, that's because buses and trains bring workers, shoppers, and social services clients from all over Brooklyn, notably working-class Black neighborhoods. </p></div><div>One commenter said she missed the "people I got to know from being an active member of the community... But to lock yourself away in an Ivory Tower and only concern yourself with your roof deck and salt water pool-well to me that misses the whole point of living in Brooklyn and New York City."</div><div><br /></div><div>Another wrote:</div><div><blockquote>schermerhorn & bond is a nexus that includes the goodwill store and that pricey hotel. there's a tower where there used to be a homeless intake shelter. they built their luxury where the most desperate people came for help.<br /></blockquote></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-58121368731771108872024-03-13T09:30:00.011-04:002024-03-13T09:35:06.180-04:00From the latest Construction Update: nothing's happening, so delayed info delivery not crucialOn Friday, March 8, at 4:35 pm, those on Empire State Development's (ESD) email list for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park got an email stating:<br /><blockquote>Attached for your information is the March 4, 2024 and March 11, 2024 Atlantic Yards Project construction activity update. As a reminder, please be advised that construction alert emails will be sent once a month until there is a change in construction activity. Bi-weekly construction alerts will continue to update on the Atlantic Yards website: <a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fesd.ny.gov%2Fatlantic-yards-community-development-corporation-1&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cfaa5662b6fe54062ae1e08dc3fb79906%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638455305135027142%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=kczUOsPF540cETcdjvcZmpCZZdJxCt9%2BX%2FxV8GbnA7k%3D&reserved=0">https://esd.ny.gov/atlantic-yards-community-development-corporation-1</a>.</blockquote>Note that a document that was supposed to be delivered before the first of two work weeks began was instead delivered at the end of that first work week.<div><br /></div><div>Then again, since nothing's happening, such slacking is not particularly irresponsible.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was on vacation when I got the document. Had it disclosed anything important, I would have written about it promptly. Instead, I slacked, too.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>What is pending: the school</b></div><div><br /></div><div>That said, ESD, the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, is not in charge of school construction and operations.</div><div><br /></div><div>The upcoming September 2024 <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/yes-schools-approved-for-491-dean-at.html">opening of a school</a>--containing a high school, junior high school, and special needs program--in the base of B15 (662 Pacific, or 491 Dean) is surely of interest to neighbors, and deserves discussion.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Waiting until...?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It could be a while until anything develops regarding the overall fate of the project, given the twice-postponed (now to April 30) foreclosure auction of developer Greenland USA's rights to six development sites over the Vanderbilt Yard. </div><div><br /></div><div>My guess is that the auction won't go forward until a grand bargain is negotiated regarding the connected obligations to build the platform over the railyard, crucial to vertical construction, and pay (or not?) liquidated damages for affordable housing not delivered by the May 2025 deadline.</div><div><br /></div>
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Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-23951838555241325932024-03-02T06:00:00.001-05:002024-03-02T06:25:19.020-05:00Now FBI raids Bronx homes of Winnie Greco, longtime Brooklyn BP liaison to Chinese community, more recently an aide to Mayor Adams<div>Drip, drip drip.</div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that a person who looked pretty dubious a decade ago (!) may indeed be pretty dubious. (Another one too, albeit with a shorter horizon--see bottom.)<div><br /></div><div>As The CITY reported two days ago, <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2024/02/29/winnie-greco-fbi-raid/">FBI Raids Homes of Mayoral Aide Winnie Greco and New World Mall, Site of Eric Adams Campaign Operations</a>:<br /><blockquote>FBI agents raided two Bronx homes owned by a top aide to Mayor Eric Adams early Thursday morning, along with the offices of a Queens mall that hosted Adams campaign operations. <br /><br /><a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/08/18/eric-adams-straw-donors-new-world-mall/">THE CITY previously uncovered</a> strong evidence of potentially illegal straw donations tied to the mall. <br /><br />The aide, Adams’ director of Asian affairs <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/11/15/winnie-greco-adams-liaison-big-money-questions/">Winnie Greco</a>, was deeply involved in eight separate fundraising events at the New World Mall that generated tens of thousands of dollars for Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign... </blockquote><blockquote>Greco, who is paid $100,000 a year for her City Hall job, is already being probed by the city’s Department of Investigation in the aftermath of <a href="https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/11/15/winnie-greco-adams-liaison-big-money-questions/">another story</a> by THE CITY detailing allegations of ethical improprieties against her. One business executive alleged to THE CITY that Greco solicited a $10,000 donation for a nonprofit she had founded as a condition for attending an event at Gracie Mansion with Adams honoring the Chinese community. A former Adams campaign volunteer who obtained a city government job with Greco’s help told THE CITY that Greco demanded he supervise renovations at one of her houses for no pay.</blockquote>As I <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/11/finally-scrutiny-for-winnie-greco.html">wrote</a> last November, Greco, a longtime Bronx resident who somehow served as the liaison (<a href="https://twitter.com/BKBoroHall/status/433035981554343938">link</a>) to Brooklyn Chinese community for Brooklyn Borough Presidents Marty Markowitz and Eric Adams, and now serves as an aide and close advisor to Mayor Adams--close to him at his swearing-in ceremony and <a href="https://documentedny.com/2023/10/23/east-broadway-mall-chinatown/">traveling</a> with Adams’ son, Jordan Coleman--has long <a href="https://twitter.com/AYReport/status/1469488425271279617">struck me</a> as deserving of scrutiny, given her dubious and nontransparent roles.</div><div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l8FPQbjJj3M/VABnaNitAlI/AAAAAAAAddE/rN-AtJr-kw4/s1018/AdamsJingGreco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="1018" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l8FPQbjJj3M/VABnaNitAlI/AAAAAAAAddE/rN-AtJr-kw4/s320/AdamsJingGreco.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">In Brooklyn, (l.-r.) Borough President Adams,</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">Greenland's Xu Jing, Borough Hall Liaison Greco</span></td></tr></tbody></table>She had then just been the subject of two tough pieces of journalism, from the New York Post and, especially, The City.<br /><br /><b>Flashback, 2014</b></div><div><br /></div><div>That led me to recall my report in 2014 on Greco, which followed up, in part on reporting in the New York Post on Greco. </div><div><br /></div><div>One contributor to the latter was Yoav Gonen, now one of the reporters on the Greco trail for The CITY.<br /><br />As I <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2014/09/getting-closer-to-greenland-brooklyn-bp.html">reported</a> in September 2014, Greco, who claimed on one web site that she was "director of China-US affair in Brooklyn," helped organize Adams's trip earlier that year to China, aiming "to mutually promote economic development and tourism," including discussions with government officials about bringing a friendship arch to Sunset Park, Brooklyn's Chinatown.</div><div><br />Original Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner, as I reported, pushed hard to get Adams to meet with incoming project majority owner Greenland Holding Corp., parent of Greenland USA (buying 70% of the project going forward), on his trip and supplied talking points for him. <br /><br />The Borough President's team, including Greco, tried to make it work, though it ultimately didn't come to fruition. Ultimately, Greenland met with Adams in Brooklyn, with Greco present.<br /><br />International travel, including lodging in Hong Kong and Beijing, was paid for by Greco's Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association Corp., with costs in other locations paid for by the host local governments.<br /><br />However, the New York Post <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/06/23/nonprofit-paid-for-brooklyn-borough-presidents-trip-to-china/">reported</a> that the Archway organization, which spent nearly $7,000 on trip expenses for Adams and Deputy BP Diana Reyna, had no discernible institutional history. Also, one of the organization's three directors said he had no idea how it paid for the trip.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Looking back</b></div><div><br /></div><div>I remember telling some people over the years that a news organization with a budget and some Chinese speakers should investigate Greco. It finally happened, but not until her patron became Mayor. </div><div><br /></div><div>Would a more robust press have told us more about Mayor-to-be Adams? Surely.</div><div><br /></div><div>Heck, I didn't even put Greco in my August 2018 op-ed for City & State, <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2018/08/eric-adams-has-faced-less-scrutiny-than-he-deserves/178198/">Eric Adams has faced less scrutiny than he deserves</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I did write:</div><blockquote>Similarly, you might expect Adams to steer clear of Bishop Lamor Whitehead (referenced in court documents as Lamar Whitehead), who was <a href="http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2011/2011_04288.htm">convicted</a> of identity theft and attempted grand larceny in 2008, but since his 2013 release from prison he’s become a religious figure with connections to the hip-hop world. Instead, Adams has joined Whitehead at numerous public events, <a href="https://nypost.com/2016/11/02/eric-adams-stands-by-ex-con-who-pushed-bogus-youth-program-claims/">telling</a> the New York Post that “because people embraced me when I was arrested, I embrace Lamor Whitehead.”<br /><br />But Adams was arrested at 15 after a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/17/nyregion/longtime-critic-of-police-policies-basks-in-a-de-blasio-moment.html">neighborhood break-in</a>, not imprisoned as an adult; meanwhile Whitehead’s bogus claim that the Kings County district attorney was cooperating with his organization prompted the DA to <a href="https://nypost.com/2016/10/17/ex-con-using-eric-adams-ties-to-push-bogus-claims-over-youth-program/">send a cease-and-desist letter in 2014</a>. Whitehead has already filed to run for Brooklyn borough president.</blockquote>And we know how that's turned out. He's in federal court, <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/02/27/bling-bishop-lamor-whitehead-asked-god-to-take-vengeance-on-victims-son-tesimony/">fighting charges</a> of wire fraud, attempted extortion and lying to the FBI. Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-63370968753231130892024-03-01T08:00:00.011-05:002024-03-01T08:13:40.115-05:00Barclays Center releases March 2024 event calendar: 23 ticketed events over 20 days, including two basketball tourneys and six concerts<p>The Barclays Center yesterday released its March 2024 event calendar, with 23 ticketed events over 20 days: six Brooklyn Nets games, seven Atlantic 10 men's basketball events over five days, three NCAA March Madness tournament events over two days, six concerts, and one comedy show.</p><p>That's a boost from <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/03/barclays-center-releases-march-2023.html">March 2023</a>, which had 17 ticketed events over 15 days, with just three concerns and no March Madness. </p><p>Could this be credited, at least in part, to the role of Ticketmaster (linked with promoter Live Nation) as ticket provider, to which the arena returned <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/07/with-seatgeek-gone-barclays-center.html">last year</a> after a stint with SeatGeek?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmZTUXDvmGSeRQsC9RGoF0eZFZ2rCGa3zu1a_MDVAgj3d-YwjPfEmYjR6_Dyp2mW_b0muLwybm8gcHoH_EMNfAIb898rw-MXhwmfo8_qV8YmYz9kdHqxc4Gl-qQeSoo8oFEmJALS8fpqMeTuYk6-4y12ktJ26hdMxh7uOxjyZtbvJ0_ERlPmB_w/s640/Barclays%20Center%20March%202024%20event%20calendar%20Medium.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="640" height="538" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLmZTUXDvmGSeRQsC9RGoF0eZFZ2rCGa3zu1a_MDVAgj3d-YwjPfEmYjR6_Dyp2mW_b0muLwybm8gcHoH_EMNfAIb898rw-MXhwmfo8_qV8YmYz9kdHqxc4Gl-qQeSoo8oFEmJALS8fpqMeTuYk6-4y12ktJ26hdMxh7uOxjyZtbvJ0_ERlPmB_w/w640-h538/Barclays%20Center%20March%202024%20event%20calendar%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><b>March 2023</b><br /><p>Note that last year, during the Atlantic 10 Basketball Tournament, the arena expected a large number of attendees arriving via bus, but no such warning was part of this year's notice.</p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZFKXNfnTEcxTcSA48WFZ5z-ho5MkeockbG7rmNs-U2OPsR4CtGSnN2JiUEwXmTAa-pQnvg9JdGHXheTimMODRQpzx0lY1x3diBnp2-o9fSfZ841PFSFJ055Ypts63IWhkeeWsdQs-PjyUjtrvDdfjrBgH0yAZZ8RjDkbZaNL4PL9qyfJzfc/s898/Barclays%20Center%20calendar%20March%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="898" height="534" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvZFKXNfnTEcxTcSA48WFZ5z-ho5MkeockbG7rmNs-U2OPsR4CtGSnN2JiUEwXmTAa-pQnvg9JdGHXheTimMODRQpzx0lY1x3diBnp2-o9fSfZ841PFSFJ055Ypts63IWhkeeWsdQs-PjyUjtrvDdfjrBgH0yAZZ8RjDkbZaNL4PL9qyfJzfc/w640-h534/Barclays%20Center%20calendar%20March%202023.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-51493561546054279052024-02-29T07:30:00.008-05:002024-02-29T07:48:40.312-05:00Yes, schools approved for 491 Dean, at base of B15 tower across from arena block. Enthusiasm, plus a warning about dangerous Atlantic Ave. nearby.The relocation in September of a middle-school and a high school, plus a special needs program, to the base of 662 Pacific Street (aka B15 or Plank Road), was approved <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/with-vote-for-relocation-of-schools.html">as expected</a> Feb. 27 by the Department of Education's <a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy">Panel for Educational Policy</a> (PEP). The school address is 491 Dean Street.<div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPL4bmwjZ-s9VuEoJEREaya4xjdb9LfBjCpiaK_nCFrWbODY1gGrIHzCA_NM2-NEbz_fiTKkkBJi7imqb3n7deFnjR-ffXHFRoc9oRgN97FLvqpdO3aIcIGGdotwMEqGE4_88QSxlUJd73zSlIcbrymxszQbEzq7ZkzV1g59ZbgM4Q5gWdLyOXg/s640/School%20exterior%20pointing%20north%20Medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBPL4bmwjZ-s9VuEoJEREaya4xjdb9LfBjCpiaK_nCFrWbODY1gGrIHzCA_NM2-NEbz_fiTKkkBJi7imqb3n7deFnjR-ffXHFRoc9oRgN97FLvqpdO3aIcIGGdotwMEqGE4_88QSxlUJd73zSlIcbrymxszQbEzq7ZkzV1g59ZbgM4Q5gWdLyOXg/w320-h240/School%20exterior%20pointing%20north%20Medium.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the school from 6th Ave./Norman Oder</td></tr></tbody></table><div>The vote was unanimous, as it was for other proposals the PEP was considering. Here's <a href="https://learndoe.org/pep/archive-pep-feb27-2024/">the video</a>.</div><div><br />The building is just across Sixth Avenue from the arena block, and one block from busy, sometimes dangerous Atlantic Avenue. So, despite the general enthusiasm about this new school space, one speaker voiced concerns about pupil safety, crossing Atlantic.<div><br /></div><div>(As I've written, immediate neighbors have concerns about staff parking, student pick-ups, and other operations in the tight space near police and fire stations. There should be a public meeting to address that closer to the school opening.)<br /><br />The DOE <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/with-vote-for-relocation-of-schools.html">sees</a> the 806-seat K653 it as not just a solution to a small, crowded existing intermediate school (<a href="https://www.ms915brooklyn.org/">M.S. 915; Bridges: a School of Exploration and Equity</a>) in Downtown Brooklyn, but more so the permanent home of the new <a href="https://www.designworkshs.org/">Design Works High School</a>, which for its launch was temporarily sited into a Downtown Brooklyn space intended for an elementary school.<br /><br />The move also include space for a small program for middle-school students with special needs, P369K@K915.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDGY8f6FvyzZeGaq5VxtnRzWz18yg3-V3bdFfUfrCEUsG1LQzRR_3mkbsXsTSVni5tg0ACTQuxvSVKCV9_Stq0HIG3Zh_TAHRB-nD_gjISW1ndsjkpp4-Vp_dbkv_8HhK0DVWalG8oemd4EXN2jav2LG8S9jICvrGzjGeXH1haMywLdosFbFBCA/s640/School%20ext%20from%20NW%20corner%20Medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEDGY8f6FvyzZeGaq5VxtnRzWz18yg3-V3bdFfUfrCEUsG1LQzRR_3mkbsXsTSVni5tg0ACTQuxvSVKCV9_Stq0HIG3Zh_TAHRB-nD_gjISW1ndsjkpp4-Vp_dbkv_8HhK0DVWalG8oemd4EXN2jav2LG8S9jICvrGzjGeXH1haMywLdosFbFBCA/w320-h240/School%20ext%20from%20NW%20corner%20Medium.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This better shows the fifth-floor outdoor space</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><b>CM Restler's enthusiasm</b><br /><br />Council Member Lincoln Restler, who represents Downtown Brooklyn among other neighborhood, called the move "a great solution for District 13 students and for Brooklynites," noting that his colleague Crystal Hudson, in whose district the school sits, and other elected officials joined in a letter praising the plan.</div><div><br /></div><div>The two schools being relocated are currently in his district, he noted, but are constrained by space. </div><div><br /></div><div>M.S. 915, for example, lacks both an auditorium and a gymnasium. Design Works, a partnership between the Pratt Institute and the Bank Street College of Education could "bring many more diverse young people, especially Brooklynites, into design professions," Restler said.<br /><br /><b>Atlantic Avenue concerns</b><br /><br /><a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy">Jessamyn Lee</a>, a parent member on the PEP, commended the move, saying, "I am really excited to see one of these development deals actually produce a school." She cited Greenpoint Landing and the Domino project in north Brooklyn as other expected locations. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Some Prospect Heights residents remember when the school at B15 was once <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2020/12/schedule-creep-now-middle-school-at-b15.html">due in 2018</a>, so it's six years late.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Referencing the Department of Transportation's Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Keith Bray, she added, "We need to do something about Atlantic Avenue because what we are doing infrastructurally is putting kids in harm's way. Atlantic Avenue is now the new 'Boulevard of Death' when it comes to pedestrian safety, and we need to work, agency to agency, in collaboration to ensure kids can actually get to school and actually get from school without getting killed... We're going to putting a couple of hundred kids there, and they're going to need to cross the street."</div><div><br /></div><div>That's worth consideration, but that might not be the only issue, given the site's complicated location. Stay tuned.<br /><p><b>At ground level</b></p><p><span>Below, the view looking northwest from Dean Street just east of Sixth Avenue, at the northeast corner. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpGbjlWpXlsFG0OUk0NYV_jis_1k8vMYSGJdX2u16dbpvAIW0RIHkVa5lM38f6T0ruKHjC70tVtL0K-1y3KwOJYhuzbeCLeT6Rs2s9jok6tq-AcqOfb_bdmLmHcOTotSx_zzTVLqYMKBsSgdRV2Z-ZOx5oeu6lKCZV87EcacdCZYegitfZAovEg/s640/School%20lower%20level%20exterior%20Medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpGbjlWpXlsFG0OUk0NYV_jis_1k8vMYSGJdX2u16dbpvAIW0RIHkVa5lM38f6T0ruKHjC70tVtL0K-1y3KwOJYhuzbeCLeT6Rs2s9jok6tq-AcqOfb_bdmLmHcOTotSx_zzTVLqYMKBsSgdRV2Z-ZOx5oeu6lKCZV87EcacdCZYegitfZAovEg/w640-h480/School%20lower%20level%20exterior%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>Below, a photo of the inside of that below-grade cafeteria (?) space, taken from a spot where the construction paper does not completely cover the window.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zXRjRPUaOTorYO-791CQgz6nF54I3GvJNVFUU-tFB8K1c-NKd3lsu603TiUz3cyPc5vFoItdUmahamIple3z9xnV2F1YhRwJRF18tXx0QNXt0z-FcXr1eBiWh4n3yi_e3zMYgjY9utcuKyrt1Rib7ekClmRqN5QmR8pEUo9Shd8-wQoeiDPR7g/s640/School%20lower%20level%20interior%20Medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zXRjRPUaOTorYO-791CQgz6nF54I3GvJNVFUU-tFB8K1c-NKd3lsu603TiUz3cyPc5vFoItdUmahamIple3z9xnV2F1YhRwJRF18tXx0QNXt0z-FcXr1eBiWh4n3yi_e3zMYgjY9utcuKyrt1Rib7ekClmRqN5QmR8pEUo9Shd8-wQoeiDPR7g/w640-h480/School%20lower%20level%20interior%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span><br /></span><p></p></div></div></div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-36454632327931630092024-02-28T09:00:00.012-05:002024-02-28T09:13:32.368-05:00Signage now for Life Cafe, part of LifeTime Fitness, coming in April at 18 Sixth Ave. near Atlantic Ave. in base of B4 (aka Brooklyn Crossing)<p>It shouldn't be surprising, I suppose. You can't build a fitness center without an associated cafe.</p><p>So the new Chelsea Piers, on Dean Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt avenues, comes with a <a href="https://fitness.chelseapiers.com/canteen">Canteen</a>, as at its other locations.</p><p>And now signage is up at 18 Sixth Avenue below Atlantic Avenue, in B4 (aka Brooklyn Crossing), for not just Life Time fitness center, a <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/01/coming-to-18-sixth-ave-brooklyn.html">"crazy luxe" gym</a> (or a self-described <a href="https://www.lifetime.life/">"athletic country club"</a>), but the associated Life Cafe. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTQ0PABKVokjjxMpTDpCeclq8a1ecBmzlBrofexy0q5qtU6nG82qxtZEXc-7vIR5htKqmKh7GNRF_qBvTMWCnSuTHBL9i-oIvHVANHP2_OM1LBJhwowZM7r8IlZVeoUN9WzgVtDGJQJRB51yspcplB0oTvjmz3x6HoIQVldf_UlRZS-O8RunEPw/s640/Life%20Cafe%20at%20LifeTime%20Fitness%20Medium.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="640" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTQ0PABKVokjjxMpTDpCeclq8a1ecBmzlBrofexy0q5qtU6nG82qxtZEXc-7vIR5htKqmKh7GNRF_qBvTMWCnSuTHBL9i-oIvHVANHP2_OM1LBJhwowZM7r8IlZVeoUN9WzgVtDGJQJRB51yspcplB0oTvjmz3x6HoIQVldf_UlRZS-O8RunEPw/w640-h464/Life%20Cafe%20at%20LifeTime%20Fitness%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I doubt that Life Cafe, from a company based in Minnesota, has any reference to the <a href="https://blogs.shu.edu/nyc-history/2017/12/06/the-life-cafe/">East Village and <i>Rent</i></a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The club, designated <a href="https://www.lifetime.life/locations/ny/atlantic-avenue.html">Life Time Atlantic Avenue</a>, is scheduled to open in April. The capsule description:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><blockquote>Our second destination in Brooklyn features three stories and over 37,000 square feet of premium amenities. Boutique-style training areas and five studios for unique group fitness formats as well as cedarwood saunas, recovery services, and a juice bar.</blockquote></div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-59465216983125272332024-02-27T07:30:00.002-05:002024-02-27T07:37:21.198-05:00With vote for relocation of schools tonight to 491 Dean (B15), public comment analysis shows few concerns, no changes, and no issues from neighbors.Following up <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/vote-on-new-is-653-in-b15-building-at.html">my post</a> from three days ago, there's a likely pro forma vote tonight by the Department of Education's (DOE) Panel for Educational Policy to approve the proposed re-siting of two schools to what was once expected to be I.S. 653, the school at the base of 662 Pacific Street (aka B15), with the school address 491 Dean Street.<br /><br />The DOE now sees the 806-seat K653 it as not just a solution to a small, crowded existing intermediate school (<a href="https://www.ms915brooklyn.org/">M.S. 915; Bridges: a School of Exploration and Equity</a>) in Downtown Brooklyn, but more so the permanent home of the new <a href="https://www.designworkshs.org/">Design Works High School</a>, which for its launch was temporarily sited into a Downtown Brooklyn space intended for an elementary school.<div><br /></div><div>That move, which would also include space for a small program for middle-school students with special needs, P369K@K915, is planned for September.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Public comments</b></div><div><br /></div><div>According to a public comment analysis <a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy/2023-2024-pages/february-27-2024-school-utilization-proposals">posted</a> last night by the DOE (also at bottom), beyond the overwhelmingly positive comments received at the public hearing, relatively few comments were received afterward in writing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Beyond the general support, the main questions raised regarded issues of diversity and equity, such as a desire for more space for M.S. 915.</div><div><br />No changes were made to the proposals as a result of public comments received.<br /><br /><b>Neighbors' questions</b><br /><br />I would note that neighbors in Prospect Heights have raised questions about staffers' parking, school dropoffs, and the operation of the schools in light of the nearby police and fire stations, as well as the Barclays Center not far across Sixth Avenue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Such questions should be addressed at a Quality of Life meeting sponsored by Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, at least if such meetings, once bi-monthly but on hold as the project has generally stalled, resume.</div><div> <iframe height="905" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox" src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/24442377-public-comment-analysis-k653-design-works/?embed=1&responsive=1&title=1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px); width: 100%;" title="Public Comment Analysis K653 (Design Works) (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700"></iframe>
<iframe height="905" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-forms allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox" src="https://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/24442378-public-comment-analysis-k653-ms-915-and-p369kk915/?embed=1&responsive=1&title=1" style="border: 1px solid #aaa; height: 800px; height: calc(100vh - 100px); width: 100%;" title="Public Comment Analysis K653 (M.S. 915 and P369K@K915) (Hosted by DocumentCloud)" width="700"></iframe></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-76271925632438408382024-02-26T15:03:00.001-05:002024-02-26T15:03:39.129-05:00The Philadelphia 76ers' Arena Gambit (from Substack)<p>The Brooklyn Nets may sell a slice of the team. A (contested) new arena could also boost the Sixers. More <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/the-philadelphia-76ers-arena-gambit">here</a>.</p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-90241028474683990162024-02-25T07:08:00.001-05:002024-02-25T07:08:26.787-05:00Weekly Digest #11: Big Payday Looms for Nets Owner Tsai (from Substack)<p> Here's my weekly roundup (<a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/weekly-digest-11-big-payday-looms">link</a>) of this week's coverage.</p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-31345678663271570272024-02-24T08:00:00.016-05:002024-02-27T05:12:08.812-05:00Vote on new I.S. 653 (in B15 building) at meeting Tuesday. School Construction Authority finally estimates September 2024 opening.As I wrote (<a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/01/at-brief-public-hearing-on-moving.html">link</a>), there was a low-key public hearing Jan. 22 for the proposed re-siting of two schools to what was once expected to be I.S. 653, the school at the base of 662 Pacific Street (aka B15), with the school address 491 Dean Street.<br /><br />The Department of Education (DOE) now sees the 806-seat K653 it as not just a solution to a small, crowded existing intermediate school (<a href="https://www.ms915brooklyn.org/">M.S. 915; Bridges: a School of Exploration and Equity</a>) in Downtown Brooklyn, but more so the permanent home of the new <a href="https://www.designworkshs.org/">Design Works High School</a>, which for its launch was temporarily sited into a Downtown Brooklyn space intended for an elementary school.<br /><br />That move, which would also include space for a small program for middle-school students with special needs, would happen in September 2024, assuming approval by schools officials. And that seems on its way.<br /><br /><b>Vote Tuesday</b><br /><br />The changes are likely to be approved Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the <a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy">Panel for Educational Policy</a> (PEP) meeting at 6 p.m. at Prospect Heights Educational Campus, at 883 Classon Avenue. <a href="https://learndoe.org/pep/feb27/">Online access</a> to the meeting will open up at 5:30 pm. Speaker sign-up in-person will run from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.<div><p>The PEP will consider <a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy/2023-2024-pages/february-27-2024-school-utilization-proposals">eight proposals</a> regarding Brooklyn schools, with two of them part of the 491 Dean building. In its January meeting, the PEP <a href="https://nycdoe.sharepoint.com/sites/PEPArchive/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?ga=1&id=%2Fsites%2FPEPArchive%2FShared%20Documents%2FPEP%2F2023%2D2024%2FFebruary%2027%2C%202024%20Panel%20for%20Educational%20Policy%20Meeting%2FMinutes%20of%20Action%2FPEP%20Meeting%201%2E31%2E24%20Minutes%20of%20Action%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FPEPArchive%2FShared%20Documents%2FPEP%2F2023%2D2024%2FFebruary%2027%2C%202024%20Panel%20for%20Educational%20Policy%20Meeting%2FMinutes%20of%20Action">unanimously approved</a> all four proposals it was considering.</p>All comments received by at by 6 pm on Monday Feb. 26--24 hours before the meeting--will be included in the Public Comment Analysis, to be made available on the DOE website (presumably <a href="https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/panel-for-education-policy/2023-2024-pages/february-27-2024-school-utilization-proposals">here</a>?) after 6 pm on Feb. 26.<br /><br /><b>Timing question</b><br /><p>I recently checked the School Construction Authority's latest Capital Plan updates.</p><p>If you start <a href="http://www.nycsca.org/Community/Capital-Plan-Reports-Data#Overview-66">here</a>, looking at the Quarterly Status of Projects in Process, the associated <a href="https://dnnhh5cc1.blob.core.windows.net/portals/0/Capital_Plan/Management_Reports/cc_qr04_by_geodist.pdf?sv=2017-04-17&sr=b&si=DNNFileManagerPolicy&sig=DdA2hF2U%2B4EBthOR5zmXJ6%2BXQuMoqCIkbXXP4G04BCs%3D">document</a>, for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2023, oddly suggests that the planned completion date is Sept. 3, 2025, as shown in the screenshot below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaojCpzuFz7OD3KEsFcOS__moZF31Cut2HLRetCNH82ULIE2a3zacRuoaUHV2sGBnDzCXuAmkNSLp63J5TOFiEMrms-rtTA_e5eiuBG-FMezzc-wyDmoqy7TsE41XoQa2cYGFbEyEFvePvjEqA-HQZvf34rPgkyYZ1PnSSPomfeE8wH8NcmzI6Q/s640/SCA%20update%20on%20I.S.%20653%20Dec.%2031,%202023.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="640" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaojCpzuFz7OD3KEsFcOS__moZF31Cut2HLRetCNH82ULIE2a3zacRuoaUHV2sGBnDzCXuAmkNSLp63J5TOFiEMrms-rtTA_e5eiuBG-FMezzc-wyDmoqy7TsE41XoQa2cYGFbEyEFvePvjEqA-HQZvf34rPgkyYZ1PnSSPomfeE8wH8NcmzI6Q/w640-h306/SCA%20update%20on%20I.S.%20653%20Dec.%2031,%202023.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>But the schools mentioned above are supposed to move to the new building this September. </p><p>Indeed, the SCA's <a href="http://www.nycsca.org/Community/Capital-Plan-Reports-Data#Capital-Plan-67">Five-Year Capital Plan</a> page links to the <a href="https://dnnhh5cc1.blob.core.windows.net/portals/0/Capital_Plan/Capital_plans/02012024_25_29_CapitalPlan.pdf?sv=2017-04-17&sr=b&si=DNNFileManagerPolicy&sig=ExyJ25yWw4Gt5zwwG%2F%2F9rdA14929cO%2Ba%2FMb0vAWq7Gw%3D">FY 2025-2029 Proposed Five-Year Capital Plan</a>, dated February 2024, which cites I.S. 653 as one of several schools opening this year.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQO241R4E7uXDrAtdd3ztlU3N4oNjcO69m07La1FqGy544GImO7f-5QJM8B7mBjQiolSbdrtdAE3FCx90zDc1hYbvYwLmosRwOFSy4in2y_pby-CRyLCM1uv2bZXxd5_SFBab3s57tZUDvwOhaBIJHbRvP8Q7FtelFhNBpLlySZk6jzWBiseltw/s640/I.S.%20653%20Five-Year%20capital%20plan%20Medium.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="640" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguQO241R4E7uXDrAtdd3ztlU3N4oNjcO69m07La1FqGy544GImO7f-5QJM8B7mBjQiolSbdrtdAE3FCx90zDc1hYbvYwLmosRwOFSy4in2y_pby-CRyLCM1uv2bZXxd5_SFBab3s57tZUDvwOhaBIJHbRvP8Q7FtelFhNBpLlySZk6jzWBiseltw/w640-h434/I.S.%20653%20Five-Year%20capital%20plan%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-74236264975225991702024-02-23T07:30:00.003-05:002024-02-23T07:52:11.890-05:00Members of notorious (David) Koch family said to be seeking 10%-15% of Brooklyn Nets & arena company. If valuation is $4.8B, then Joe Tsai will have scored.Joe Tsai, owner of the Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center operating company, finally might cash out from the continued rise in value of the team-plus-arena-company--and without having to sell the team or lose control.<div><br /></div><div>And if he can sell a 10%--or maybe-15%--stake in those BSE Global holdings at a valuation of $4.8 billion, that would not only mark an astonishing rise in value, most recently <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/12/in-sporticos-latest-nba-valuations.html">estimated</a> at under $4 billion, that $480-$720 million would more than make up for some of the losses he's absorbed running the arena (and the team).</div><div><br /></div><div><div>As I <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/10/barclays-center-operating-company-in-fy.html">reported</a> in October, for the last fiscal year, Tsai had to put up $18 million to bolster the arena's finances, while he contributed <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2022/10/barclays-center-operating-company-still.html">$38 million</a> in FY 2022 and <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2021/10/barclays-center-operating-company-after.html">$52 million</a> in FY 2021.</div><div><br /></div><div>In FY 2022, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/30/nets-barclays-centers-losses-are-costing-joe-tsai-millions/">said</a> the combined loss, on the arena and team, was between $50 million and $100 million combined. The overall loss on the Nets is more murky.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What's it worth?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Sportico in December <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/12/in-sporticos-latest-nba-valuations.html">valued</a> the team and arena company at $3.98 billion, a significant gain over the estimated $3.3 billion that Tsai paid, but noted a relatively modest rise since the Nets lost their superstars. But the NBA as a whole will gain from media rights and other growth.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkhWHo577mMzXf9f1ktGD7s5oRAGFIOul2Sc7lBF_tkXiRX19ouYKoJtBV5L1xkwyVUkhx1zyOEuG2BmJi5nBQbGDMpOmaTFUi_IwBlBv7g6izwEvGj1JISTrEEsvI_HPNXM3mUrCrr3VValkgdv_s4bXaKaaDrLGg6YaSEz1-cWK65Ly5vOm4A/s640/Sportico%20Nets%20valuation%20Medium.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="317" data-original-width="640" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhkhWHo577mMzXf9f1ktGD7s5oRAGFIOul2Sc7lBF_tkXiRX19ouYKoJtBV5L1xkwyVUkhx1zyOEuG2BmJi5nBQbGDMpOmaTFUi_IwBlBv7g6izwEvGj1JISTrEEsvI_HPNXM3mUrCrr3VValkgdv_s4bXaKaaDrLGg6YaSEz1-cWK65Ly5vOm4A/w640-h318/Sportico%20Nets%20valuation%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Note: the Nets owner doesn't own the arena outright but rather the operating company. It's a common but <a href="https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2018/04/no-mikhail-prokhorov-doesnt-own-the-barclays-center/178550/">erroneous shorthand</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tainted owners?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>It's no shock that the reported new stakeholder, like the team's current and previous owners, might not just want to make money, but also hope sports team ownership helps cleanse a less-than-pristine reputation. (More fodder for TrueHoop's periodic coverage of NBA billionaires?)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Reports yesterday from Bloomberg. <a href="https://www.sportico.com/business/team-sales/2024/nets-julia-koch-bse-global-stake-sale-1234767855/">Sportico</a>, and the <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/22/sports/billionaire-koch-family-eyeing-nets-ownership-stake">New York Post</a> (see NetsDaily <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/22/24080075/bloomberg-koch-family-in-talks-to-buy-stake-in-brooklyn-nets">roundup</a>) indicate talks with the family of billionaire Julia Koch, widow of David Koch, whose fortune, more than $60 billion, derives from the privately owned conglomerate Koch Industries, which has an extensive oil and gas business, and produces consumer goods.</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: none of those reports have attribution, so they also could be leaked to help with negotiations.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Koch brothers also became notorious for funding right-wing causes, though David Koch's philanthropy in New York City and elsewhere surely kept them viable in elite circles. (Their name is pronounced "Coke," and they're not related to former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.)</div><div><br /></div><div>This would be part of a trend in which minority investors--remember, sports teams are a scarce commodity--help bolster the fortunes of owners. As ESPN <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35192442/the-hoop-collective-sovereign-wealth-funds-signal-new-era-nba-ownership">reported</a> in December 2022:"</div><blockquote>A few weeks ago, the [NBA] Board of Governors approved a rule change that allows sovereign wealth funds to buy stakes in teams in addition to other institutional funds, such as endowments and pension funds, a change first reported by Sportico and confirmed by ESPN. </blockquote><div><b>Tainted funds?</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div>David Koch, Jr., just 25 and a big basketball fan, is reportedly the impetus behind the family investment vehicle's pursuit of the Nets.</div><div><br /></div><div>As the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/sports/who-is-david-koch-jr-meet-soon-to-be-nets-minority-owner/">reported</a>, "A 2021 Duke grad with a BA in political science and government, Koch Jr. actually worked under Jim Dolan as a Membership Experience Executive for Madison Square Garden Sports."<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>He's not his dad, who with brother Charles seeded the Tea Party, libertarian movements, and created a network of right-wing funders.</div><div><br /></div></div><div>But the money surely has some taint. As the New Yorker's Jane Mayer wrote in an <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/30/covert-operations">August 2010 profile</a> of the brothers:</div><div><blockquote>The Kochs are longtime libertarians who believe in drastically lower personal and corporate taxes, minimal social services for the needy, and much less oversight of industry—especially environmental regulation. These views dovetail with the brothers’ corporate interests.</blockquote></div>In the Nation, Jasmin Banks of UnKoch the Campus wrote in August 2021,<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/charles-koch-crt-backlash/">The Radical Capitalist Behind the Critical Race Theory Furor</a>:<br /><blockquote>Why is the Koch network so dedicated to this cause? It is a prime example of how the network has built up an alliance between the three pillars of the right wing: the Republican Party, rich corporate elites, and conservative white and evangelical voters opposed to racial progress.</blockquote><div><b>Some fan dismay</b></div><div><br /></div><div>On <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/22/24080075/bloomberg-koch-family-in-talks-to-buy-stake-in-brooklyn-nets">NetsDaily</a>, some Nets fans reacted with dismay, while others pointed to hypocrisies.</div><div><br />One wrote:<br /><blockquote>Basically sounds like the following:<br />"The current circumstances are mostly Tsai's fault, he's a terrible owner. We need a new owner."<br />"Well not THAT new owner!"<br />Lol.</blockquote>Another:<br /><blockquote>What a stinking piece of news to read. It's almost a middle finger to the borough of Brooklyn, which is one of the bastions of anti-conservatism in the country, to have the Kochs come in, buy a big stake in the team, and piss on the fans with a smile.</blockquote></div><div>Another:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>[Mikhail]Prokorov buys team with Russian blood money: OK</div><div>Tsai buys the team with Chinese blood money: OK<br />Koch buys the team with American blood money: UNACCEPTABLE!<br />I root for the Nets. The rest is just noise.</div></blockquote><p>Then again:</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Nets continue rolling out a line up of Bond villains in the ownership box:<br /><br />* Real estate mogul using the team to claim eminent domain<br />* Russian oligarch who forgot where he parked his yacht<br />* Chinese tech billionaire with shady business ties<br />* The literal fucking Koch family <a href="https://t.co/9qoNOxhqzg">https://t.co/9qoNOxhqzg</a></p>— Russell And Fro (@RussellAndFro) <a href="https://twitter.com/RussellAndFro/status/1760666221840662611?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p></p><p><b>Philanthropy and more</b></p><div>From Sportico:</div><div><blockquote>Koch and her family are worth $60.6 billion, according to Forbes, making her one of the wealthiest women in the world. The family inherited 42% of Koch Industries when David Koch, brother of Charles and Bill Koch, died in 2019. She runs the Julia Koch Family Foundation and has become a prominent philanthropist. Earlier this month, the foundation donated <a href="https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/westpb/2024/02/21/julia-koch-gives-75m-for-nyu-langone-medical-center-in-west-palm-beach/72617495007/#:~:text=After%20his%20death%2C%20Julia%20Koch,Center%20in%20West%20Palm%20Beach.">$75 million</a> to NYU Langone Health to build a medical office tower in West Palm Beach.</blockquote><div>In the New Yorker, Mayer was a little skeptical about David Koch's "spectacularly large donations to the arts and sciences," given that, while "casting himself as a champion in the fight against cancer, Koch Industries has been lobbying to prevent the E.P.A. from classifying formaldehyde, which the company produces in great quantities, as a 'known carcinogen' in humans."<br /><br />Moreover, the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, offered a message skeptical of climate change, with ideas that "uncannily echo the Koch message."<br /><br /></div><div>"The Kochs have long depended on the public’s not knowing all the details about them," observed Mayer. Owning a sports team might be fun--owners' box!--and supply a partial halo, but it also might increase scrutiny.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Path to full ownership?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Does this mean that the Koch family could someday fully own the Nets and the arena company?</div><div><br /></div><div>The New York Post's Brian Lewis <a href="https://twitter.com/NYPost_Lewis/status/1760832617958560039?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1760832617958560039%7Ctwgr%5Ed7fdbe4fb5d3a103c14d1daf405da61de4164d07%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netsdaily.com%2F2024%2F2%2F22%2F24080075%2Fbloomberg-koch-family-in-talks-to-buy-stake-in-brooklyn-nets">tweeted</a> that sources said the potential Koch investment does not leave a path to majority control.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the Kochs have a lot of money, and surely could afford to pay Tsai a premium.</div><div><br /></div><div>And "projects change, markets change" is a famous part of the Atlantic Yards <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2008/01/atlantic-yards-lexicon-and-more.html">lexicon</a>.</div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-46902028620236830922024-02-22T10:30:00.023-05:002024-02-22T10:37:01.989-05:00Years later, reflections on an EB-5 scam in Vermont, once promoted as a model. "The whole program, it turned out, lent itself to dishonesty."A recent New Yorker article (described below) recounting the scandalous saga of Jay Peak Resort in Vermont, site of a major fraud related to the EB-5 investor visa program, reminded me how Jay Peak was once ballyhooed as a model--and how I was among the skeptics.<div><br /></div><div>Here's December 2011 <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2011/12/senators-show-enthusiasm-for-eb-5.htmlBill Stenger ">coverage </a>of a Senate hearing, where Jay Peak promoter Bill Stenger was introduced as a personal friend of Sen. Pat Leahy.</div><div><br />“The EB-5 Program is a win-win-win program for all involved,” Stenger asserted, citing benefits to Jay Peak, to local workers in an area of high unemployment, and to foreign investors seeking green cards.<br /><br />Here's March 2012 <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2012/03/blow-to-eb-5-immigration-investment.html">coverage</a> of growing industry skepticism about Jay Peak.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's April 2012 <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2012/04/vermont-newspaper-takes-close-look-at.html">coverage</a>, from Seven Days Vermont, which questions whether it was shady business, and quoted me on a larger question, “There’s almost no one looking out for the public interest, to ensure that not only the letter but the spirit of the law is being met in terms of creating jobs.”<br /><br />Here's September 2014 <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2014/09/despite-vermonts-model-eb-5-program.html">coverage</a>, citing VTDigger as saying some immigrant investors "are incensed."</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's October 2018 coverage <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2018/10/in-wake-of-staten-island-wheels-failure.html">rounding up</a> a VTDigger article describing how Vermont officials failed to investigate "financial improprieties and self-dealing" related to Jay Peak.</div><div><div><br /></div><div><b>From the New Yorker</b></div><div><br />The New Yorker article posted Jan. 29, <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/02/05/the-rural-ski-slope-caught-up-in-an-international-scam">The Rural Ski Slope Caught Up in an International Scam</a>, is subtitled "A federal program promised to bring foreign investment to remote parts of the country. It soon became rife with fraud."<div><br /></div><div>Here's a key paragraph:</div><div><blockquote>But, in the early two-thousands, Stenger developed a scheme to expand the resort and create jobs. He raised money using the EB-5 visa program, which aimed to channel foreign investments into businesses that created jobs for Americans, especially in rural or economically depressed parts of the country. For five hundred thousand dollars (the amount has since risen to nine hundred thousand), foreign investors and their families became eligible for green cards, so long as that money succeeded in creating at least ten jobs. “On balance, it’s a good program,” Stephen Yale-Loehr, a law professor at Cornell, said, “in that projects that couldn’t find traditional bank financing have been able to use EB-5 money to get their projects off the ground.”</blockquote>That's an unfortunate summary, because Yale-Loehr is no neutral academic expert. While he does teach at Cornell, his <a href="https://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/faculty-research/faculty-directory/stephen-yale-loehr/">biography</a> acknowledges he "is of counsel at Miller Mayer in Ithaca, New York. He also founded and was the original executive director of Invest In the USA, a trade association of EB-5 immigrant investor regional centers."</div><div><div><br /></div><div>In other words, he makes and made money from EB-5 investment. Miller Mayor, as I <a href=" https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2010/12/conflict-of-interest-law-firm-works-for.html">wrote</a>, was involved in the first Atlantic Yards EB-5 fundraising (among many others), and its performance--representing both the middleman regional center and investors--raised questions about a conflict of interest.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>The EB-5 boom</b></div><div><br /></div><div>That said, much of the New Yorker article is savvier, describing the fraud, the history of the EB-5 program, and why it became popular:</div><div><blockquote>Congress allowed for pooled investments—the combining of funds to finance larger, potentially more lucrative developments. It also made the job-creation requirement more flexible: a foreign investor could now claim that jobs were created “indirectly” because of the money. After the 2008 financial crisis, banks and other institutions pulled back on their lending, leaving entrepreneurs desperate for cash. Those familiar with the EB-5 program saw this as an opportunity. An army of middlemen—legal advisers and brokers—began scouting for projects in need of funding, recruiting foreign investors, and, when the deals went through, earning finders’ fees amounting to tens of thousands of dollars per investor on a given project.</blockquote></div>There were some worthy projects, but there was a lot of gerrymandering so-called Targeted Employment Areas to ensure that the project was purportedly in a high-unemployment zone.</div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GNy-KF6BsEc/TuCsF2iqH0I/AAAAAAAAMwU/fDV-AUI4Y0Q/s320/ishot-3444.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="320" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GNy-KF6BsEc/TuCsF2iqH0I/AAAAAAAAMwU/fDV-AUI4Y0Q/s320/ishot-3444.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bed-Stuy Boomerang." Graphic: Abby Weissman</td></tr></tbody></table>Remember the <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2011/12/bed-stuy-boomerang-how-state-officials.html">"Bed-Stuy Boomerang,"</a> used to qualify the first (of three) EB-5 investment in Atlantic Yards, linking high-unemployment census tracts to the Atlantic Yards site in Prospect Heights?<br /><br /><b>The big picture</b></div><div><br />After recounting the convoluted Jay Peak saga, complete with state officials bending over backwards to help, New Yorker writer Sheelah Kolhatkar reaches a conclusion:<br /><blockquote><b>The whole program, it turned out, lent itself to dishonesty. </b>Faraway investors were desperate to get to the U.S., and didn’t keep close track of where their money was going. The lawyers and brokers got large transaction fees and had little incentive to point out potential wrongdoing. “Everybody was making millions of dollars, but very few people wanted to speak the truth about the riskiness of these investments,” [Michael] Gibson, the EB-5 adviser, said. There was almost no governmental oversight built in. Although regional centers were supposed to monitor spending, there was no mechanism to insure that they were doing it. Moulton, the former commerce secretary, said, “As one who’s worked with a lot of federally funded programs, this was probably the loosest and least regulated federal program I’d ever encountered.”</blockquote>(Emphasis added)</div><div><br /></div><div>That dishonesty was evident in Brooklyn from the start, in 2010. See my <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2010/12/anatomy-of-shady-deal-faq-and.html">"Anatomy of a Shady Deal"</a> series regarding the first round of EB-5 funding for Atlantic Yards.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, investors in the second and third rounds of EB-5 funding for Atlantic Yards are seeing the consequences, as is developer Greenland USA, which is poised to lose control of the project pending a foreclosure sale in its interest in six towers over the railyard.</div><div><br /></div><div>So too are the residents of Brooklyn and the city and state officials who encouraged EB-5 investments but did too little, if anything, to keep watch.</div><div><br /></div><div>Atlantic Yards likely wasn't fraudulent in the same way. The money wasn't misappropriated for other projects. But evidence suggests, as I've written <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/developer-certified-that-eb-5-spending">here</a> and <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/no-surprise-atlantic-yards-iii-also">here</a>, that the money was improperly spent.</div></div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-14523917300718090762024-02-21T08:30:00.001-05:002024-02-21T08:51:48.594-05:00Floundering Nets fire Coach Vaughn, but now GM Marks is on the hot seat, with maybe one more chance to right the franchise.Just three days after the New York Post's Brian Lewis warned, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/16/sports/jacque-vaughn-and-nets-stars-need-to-be-on-same-page/">Jacque Vaughn and Nets stars need to be on same page</a>, the 21-33 Brooklyn Nets fired the coach, with GM Sean Marks <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/19/24077297/jacque-vaughn-out-as-nets-coach">stating</a>, "This was an incredibly difficult decision, but one we feel is in the best interest of the team going forward."<div><br /></div><div>Yes,Vaughn, who was elevated after the firing last season of Steve Nash and saw the departure of stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, had made some criticized coaching decisions, and according to some <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/19/24077297/jacque-vaughn-out-as-nets-coach">reports</a>, had lost the confidence of some players.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the firing also makes it look like the team is doing something to respond to fans' frustrations. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>What about the GM?</b></div><div><br /></div><div>And, as the tabloids indicated, Marks too is responsible, for assembling the team, and hiring--and firing--a series of coaches.</div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers: back page edition. <a href="https://t.co/atl6s0iQzN">pic.twitter.com/atl6s0iQzN</a></p>— Robert Shields (@rshields37) <a href="https://twitter.com/rshields37/status/1759929661419606316?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
</div><div>That suggests that the next management change might be with Marks, though he reportedly has the confidence of team owner Joe Tsai. <br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://nypost.com/2024/02/19/sports/what-will-it-take-for-the-nets-to-finally-fire-sean-marks/">What will it take for the Nets to finally fire Sean Marks?</a>, asked New York Post columnist Mike Vaccaro, crediting the GM for first building the team's culture, thanks to savvy trades and player development, to the point where it would attract superstars, then letting it all slide.</div><div><br /></div><div>After Marks spoke to the press, NetsDaily <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/20/24078798/sean-marks-talks-job-security-at-brooklyn-nets-practice-he-has-it">noted</a> that, while the GM took some accountability--after eight years and one playoff series win--he remained confident, saying owner Joe Tsai and he "have always been in complete partnership."</div><div><br /></div><div>In his Substack newsletter, journalist Steve Lichtenstein offered <a href="https://stevelichtenstein.substack.com/p/a-nuanced-look-at-why-marks-still">A Nuanced Look At Why Marks Still Has Nets GM Job—And Why He Is Running Out Of Rope</a>, criticizing Marks for failing to construct a balanced roster, trading for the irregular Ben Simmons, and hiring inexperienced coaches.<br /></div><br />But given that Marks previously did manage a masterful franchise turnaround, Lichtenstein suggested, he'll have one more chance to do it again.Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-18648051491331584982024-02-20T13:11:00.001-05:002024-02-20T13:11:08.834-05:00From Substack: Did EB-5 Funds Help Build the Barclays Center? Despite promoters' hype and even a governmental report about investor visas, the answer is no--and the reality more troubling. The link <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/did-eb-5-funds-help-build-the-barclays">is here</a>.Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-86365020103699309502024-02-18T10:16:00.001-05:002024-02-18T10:16:54.123-05:00Weekly Digest #10: More Evidence EB-5 Spending Was Not for "Permitted Uses." (from Substack)<p> Here's my latest weekly digest (<a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/weekly-digest-10-more-evidence-eb">link</a>) of posts from this blog and my Substack newsletter.</p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-48098804509150337472024-02-17T08:00:00.015-05:002024-02-17T08:12:02.404-05:00"For Brooklyn, By Brooklyn." The floundering Nets' latest ticket promotion has no stars for fallback.<p>Quoting <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pound_the_table">Wikipedia</a>, "There's an old legal aphorism that goes, 'If you have the facts on your side, pound the facts. If you have the law on your side, pound the law. If you have neither on your side, pound the table.'"</p><p>I was reminded of that when I saw the latest Brooklyn Nets tickets mailing, titled "For Brooklyn, By Brooklyn," which recalled promotions from the debut years of the team, when they emphasized local identity.</p><p>The sports adaptation of the adage is, "If you have stars, promote the stars. If you don't, lean on Brooklyn." Today, they have no stars, and are stuck in mediocrity.</p><p>(And what if they can't lean on Brooklyn? Well, Brooklyn will always be there, but if there are diminishing returns, we might see more discounts and promotional bundles, such as food or gear.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjI1zVjrNE5OmwELQpvriryB8Gqo46ZH3F29iVnL4ZKvwxUkYLITQuw9Y5r112gmV9WOtQZWte6wrN8tuDl9k3qURA4xG7XSCB4Kb2Lk8vHbd60Qhdw90mtilbOJ8STDU2JG_AsYdmWhM5P3yenur1FX1tCgSjwAQpX7ZRVmeD3I7h1e4wENb5HQ/s1800/For%20Brooklyn%20Nets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjI1zVjrNE5OmwELQpvriryB8Gqo46ZH3F29iVnL4ZKvwxUkYLITQuw9Y5r112gmV9WOtQZWte6wrN8tuDl9k3qURA4xG7XSCB4Kb2Lk8vHbd60Qhdw90mtilbOJ8STDU2JG_AsYdmWhM5P3yenur1FX1tCgSjwAQpX7ZRVmeD3I7h1e4wENb5HQ/w426-h640/For%20Brooklyn%20Nets.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div><b>Bad times</b></div><div><br /></div>After all, it's getting bad. NetsDaily <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/2/16/24074842/fans-riled-up-at-mikal-bridges-comment-on-friends-podcast-but-does-it-mean-anything">reports</a> on a podcast in which Nets semi-star Mikal Bridges (on the right in the image above) joined two college teammates from Villanova (and now on the New York Knicks) for a podcast recalling a Knicks win at the Barclays Center:<br /><blockquote>“It felt like an away game when they made their run,” said Bridges, post-game. “It’s not fun when you feel like you’re in an away game at home. That’s for any person sitting in here, any person alive; it’s not fun.”<br /><br />Moreover, while the Knicks crowd that night was an extreme example, virtually every home game at Barclays Center lately, whether it’s against the <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a>, Warriors, Heat or Raptors, has been an embarrassment, pure and simple. Nets fans aren’t showing, their tickets sold to fans wearing colors other than black-and-white. And there is no way to fix that other than winning some games.</blockquote><div><div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-18537197934059094052024-02-16T09:00:00.019-05:002024-02-16T09:32:57.704-05:00No, modular construction start-up didn't build high-rise in a day. Assembly OSM has ties to Forest City's B2 modular tower, now seen as "hairy, crazy idea."A Real Deal article yesterday dubiously headlined <a href="https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2024/02/15/modular-construction-startup-builds-prototype-in-brooklyn">How this modular construction startup stacks a high-rise in one day</a>, has in its URL the more accurate "Modular construction startup builds prototype in Brooklyn."<br /><br />Still, the building of eight modules into a modest three-story building in Fort Greene was a promising pilot for the company <a href="https://www.assemblyosm.com/">Assembly OSM</a>, which has several links to the ill-fated B2 modular tower (461 Dean Street) in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.<div><br /></div><div>(Note: a passage regarding "significant problems" at B2 links to a blog called Construction Junkie, <a href="https://www.constructionjunkie.com/blog/2016/11/22/worlds-tallest-modular-building-opens-in-new-york-but-not-without-challenges">World’s Tallest Modular Building Opens in New York, But Not Without Challenges</a>, which relies on an investigation I did for <a href="http://citylimits.org/2015/08/31/documents-reveal-woes-at-pioneering-atlantic-yards-building/">City Limits</a>. Kind of petty not to link to the original.)</div><div><br /></div><div><div>From the article:</div><div><blockquote>Assembly calls its construction method “post-modular” because it is more akin to a car or aircraft assembly line than a traditional modular build-out, where the structure is put together on a single factory floor.</blockquote>The proof will be in the pudding, since modular construction, as we've learned, is complicated. Assembly aims to save a year in constructing a 15-story tower in Harlem, the kind of promise made with B2.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Forest City connections</b><br /><div><br /></div><div>CEO Andrew Staniforth worked at B2 developer Forest City Ratner and the company was founded by architects Bill and Chris Sharples, principals at SHoP Architects, which designed B2. Chief engineer Brian Sweeney also worked at SHoP.</div><div><br /></div><div>They've already raised $60 million and generated a lot of buzz, including coverage I've chronicled <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2020/09/ok-so-shop-principals-are-back-with-new.html">here</a> and <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2021/12/another-holy-grail-and-slippery.html">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Past enthusiasm</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Also see a January 2022 article from the Commercial Observer, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20221001172519/https://commercialobserver.com/2022/01/andrew-staniforth-and-maryanne-gilmartin-plotting-a-modular-empire-with-assembly-osm/">Andrew Staniforth and MaryAnne Gilmartin Plotting a Modular Empire with Assembly OSM</a>, which focuses on the former Forest City CEO, founder and head of MAG Partners, a Staniforth mentor who serves as an adviser to Assembly.<br /><br />“We don’t want to make people think about prisons and dormitories when we think modular,” Gilmartin said. “We want to go back to [architect, inventor and futurist] Buckminster Fuller, and recognize that when you have controlled environments, you can deliver unbelievable beauty."</div><div><br /></div><div>Wait, that's the kind of thing they said about B2.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the article:<br /><blockquote>Assembly buildings are delivered in about half the time and allow developers to reduce both interest and carrying costs, and hold less contingencies, all of which result in an overall less expensive building. Thanks to the cutting-edge technology utilized in their prefabrication, Assembly buildings are also higher quality and more sustainable, making it a win-win for both the developer and the end user.</blockquote>Well, that will work if the manufacturing and technology work as hoped.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another quote from Gilmartin:<br /><blockquote>“We started at Forest City with an idea, and it was a hairy, crazy idea that was a jumpstart on this whole idea of doing things better, faster and more progressively in the built environment,” Gilmartin said. “For me, it’s deeply gratifying to see that very early idea turned into something as sophisticated and as promising as what Assembly has put together today.”</blockquote>While the Commercial Observer quipped "that’s pretty OSM," some may remember that Forest City had claimed it "cracked the code" with modular." Now it's simply a "hairy, crazy idea."</div></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-1685450287207899822024-02-15T10:00:00.026-05:002024-02-15T11:06:22.286-05:00Darcy Stacom, Queen of the Skyscrapers and broker of Atlantic Yards to Greenland USA, leaves CBRE.<p><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6ce02e17-e917-4f95-af39-514b47e63e11">‘Skyscraper queen’ leaves CBRE as New York property crisis deepens</a>, the Financial Times reported Feb. 5:</p><blockquote>Darcy Stacom, one of the most powerful figures in New York City real estate, is leaving brokerage firm CBRE after 22 years in a further sign of the crisis upending commercial property. Stacom, dubbed the Queen of the Skyscrapers for her record-breaking sales of Manhattan towers, is starting a boutique advisory firm, Stacom CRE, to guide clients through a real estate market that is now in turmoil after a generation of rising valuations.</blockquote>The move implies she's winding down a career that includes the sale of the General Motors Building and Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town. <div><br /></div><div>Real estate observer Hiten Samtani <a href="https://twitter.com/hitsamty/status/1754686621755277426">called it</a> an "unceremonious exit," adding "Still has a fabulous Rolodex and knowledge and can pull off a big deal here and there, but at least for now chatter is that it won't be a real player in the space."<br /><br /><b>About Atlantic Yards</b><div><br /></div><div>Unmentioned in that article--or any of the subsequent coverage--is that Stacom in 2013 brokered the sale of 70% of Atlantic Yards going forward--excepting the arena and the B2 tower--from Forest City Enterprises to Greenland USA, the new arm of Shanghai-based Greenland Holding Corp.</div><div><br />"Well, Greenland is building 300 buildings a year, and I think something like 50 of them are over 50 stories, a bunch of them are over 100, so this is an incredibly sophisticated developer," Stacom said in an early 2014 interview with Crain's New York Business, as I <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2014/02/cbre-vice-chair-stacom-on-greenland.html">reported</a>. "And we looked at who were major players globally and who were major builders globally, that could look at the size and scale of this project, and say This is of interest to me."<br /><br />"They came in for their first visit. I actually happened to take them out for the tour in Brooklyn and by the time they got done, they said, We'd like to have dinner with Bruce Ratner. Tonight?" she recalled, chuckling. "Actually, MaryAnne Gilmartin, the president, came in, and it just built from there. They were quick, they were decisive. I think they were disappointed it was only 6 and a half million feet." </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Greenland's risks</b><br /><br />Asked if Chinese investors might be wary of investing based on Japanese investors' ill-fated foray into New York in the 1990s, Stacom said it was a matter of a short-term focus. "If you invest for the long term," she said, "this market always comes up with new highs."<br /><br />At the time, I quipped: and now they can take advantage of EB-5 financing, too!</div><div><br /></div><div>It turns out that even that low-cost financing didn't help, and Greenland USA has run aground, facing foreclosure of its interest in six railyard sites, the collateral in its loans from EB-5 investors. (Greenland in 2014 renamed the project Pacific Park and in 2018 took over all but 5% of Forest City's remaining stake.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Greenland clearly had a flawed crystal ball. That was evident in a November 2013 Wall Street Journal report quoting Greenland Chairman, Zhang Yuliang, who <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2013/11/4/10179800/atlantic-yards-investor-expects-to-build-two-towers-a-year">claimed</a>--absurdly, in retrospect--before the Forest City deal closed that they could finish the project in eight years.<br /><br />Maybe Stacom's right that, in the long term, the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park site will be valuable. In the short term, the cost of the platform and paying for railyard development rights, especially in the absence of a successor to the 421-a tax break, has stymied progress.<br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div>But who knows--maybe her new <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stacom-leaving-cbre-long-time-000201280.html">Stacom CRE</a> will get involved in the project's future, helping find new buyers in the foreclosure auction, or maybe its aftermath.</div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-49329488970894137302024-02-14T09:00:00.014-05:002024-02-14T09:27:00.975-05:00CM Ossé's viral YIMBY video generates praise, but the Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan debate is over affordability, not whether to increase supply. A simplistic mini-explainer (sort of) on housing--build more and we'll stave off displacement--from the young-and-hip 36th District Council Member Chi Ossé has generated nearly 700,000 on Twitter/X (and more on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@chi4nyc/video/7324723620410936619">TikTok</a>) and predictable hosannas from real-estate boosters and YIMBYs.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">People are being priced out because we don’t have enough housing. Let’s fix that. <a href="https://t.co/HY66MASVMD">pic.twitter.com/HY66MASVMD</a></p>— Chi Ossé (@OsseChi) <a href="https://twitter.com/OsseChi/status/1747285845898387785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div>But the video itself, and nearly all the online response, show a notable lack of context, starting with the failure to mention the details of--and debates about--the pending <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/planning/plans/atlantic-avenue-mixed-use/atlantic-avenue-mixed-use-overview.page">Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan</a> (AAMUP), which he alludes to without naming.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's virtually no debate about whether the rezoning of 13 blocks around Atlantic Avenue, just east of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park footprint, should deliver more housing: an <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/09/is-big-news-that-atlantic-ave-mixed-use.html">estimated 4,000 apartments</a>--housing perhaps 9,000 people over 8+ years--with perhaps 1,150 to 1,550 of them below-market "affordable" units.</div><div><br /></div><div>The questions revolve around the level of affordability required, and how and whether job-creating space should be mandated.</div><div><br /></div><div>As to whether that increase in supply might relieve the general gentrification pressures by diverting some who'd otherwise compete for existing supply, well, somewhat--but it's unclear how much.</div><div><br /></div><div>The AAMUP, actually, is slated for a far larger piece of Crystal Hudson's 35th District, and Hudson, not Ossé, has taken the lead on the rezoning. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Beyond that, Hudson might have reason to be peeved with Ossé, who says in the video that he reps "Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights," though Hudson has most of the latter.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>From the video</b></div><div><br /></div><div>"Bedford-Stuyvesant lost more than 22,000 Black residents while gaining more than 30,000 white residents," Ossé states, quoting <a href="https://patch.com/new-york/bed-stuy/bed-stuy-lost-22k-black-residents-gained-30k-whites-decade">statistics</a> from the 2020 census.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not all of that, though, can simply be blamed on gentrification. A lot of not-so-affluent, white Hasidim moved into the northwest section of Bed-Stuy after getting <a href="https://observer.com/2013/03/weapons-of-mass-construction-satmars-secret-to-keeping-housing-prices-low/">formerly industrial blocks rezoned</a> to add housing. (Hasidim, the original YIMBYs!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Nor can it be solved by rezoning a relatively modest area.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nor does providing more housing necessarily guarantee that Black residents, especially, will benefit.</div><div><br /></div><div>"One solution? Build more housing," Ossé states. "Today we're on Atlantic Avenue in my district. This long stretch of tire shops and gas stations wastes valuable space." He points upward, to the future.</div><div><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWOWXcdfDhTqVW3gqH7YaK1wod4HefdRW7q8ycPe2o4WE1f7jvT-ECEtGKYiLHuHvXuWh7G6_GXotRe9S5K2z83pRhhTUpf3D0QxUDj4dD106D-_wnjcXraUd5LhD0XvxaZJUv8LErxtonJ4JV0jr1z0Z2YLKWUcTx4PMMvFFxOs05N2-wrowYg/s640/Boundaries%2035th%20&%2036th%20District%20Medium.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="404" data-original-width="640" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWWOWXcdfDhTqVW3gqH7YaK1wod4HefdRW7q8ycPe2o4WE1f7jvT-ECEtGKYiLHuHvXuWh7G6_GXotRe9S5K2z83pRhhTUpf3D0QxUDj4dD106D-_wnjcXraUd5LhD0XvxaZJUv8LErxtonJ4JV0jr1z0Z2YLKWUcTx4PMMvFFxOs05N2-wrowYg/w320-h202/Boundaries%2035th%20&%2036th%20District%20Medium.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The <a href="https://council.nyc.gov/map-widget/">36th District</a>, above Atlantic Ave., starts at<br />Classon Ave. Below Atlantic, it starts at Bedford.</td></tr></tbody></table><div>"Soon we're putting out a plan to fill that empty space with housing, for working New Yorkers," he continues. "Thousands of homes for thousands of people, so that you don't get priced out and there's room for everyone."</div><div><br /></div><div>"This is a complex issue, and I barely brushed the surface," he says in closing," promising to deliver some follow-ups.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Drilling down</b></div><br />A look at the map of the AAMUP, outlined in orange, below, suggests a few ironies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Only a small fraction of the study area is in Ossé's district: the entire (small) portion north of Atlantic Avenue, which starts at Classon Avenue, and only the final block below Atlantic, east of Bedford Avenue.</div><div><br /></div><div>Everything else is in Hudson's 35th District. She has faced the majority of the applications for one-off spot rezonings, which one reason she, with her colleague, asked for the neighborhood study to address broader needs.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12MMkYApBfzeMIcvXAJub5axAcCyL_eFX6MqRj11SJvyotIb4aPg59zzzKkdF1WNDko1JNnEPmESesl_5mARwvxcMvB1vUIoUXYFSpaGT4YJEoOQFU0X6i-BHl9t9Lk_xaQ1Id18rLqH4_Mngpi8I7j6uO9xeqJ5uwQCqmMOCJK1GKhCkfDnaBA/s800/AAMUP%20kickoff-base-map%20Large.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="800" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg12MMkYApBfzeMIcvXAJub5axAcCyL_eFX6MqRj11SJvyotIb4aPg59zzzKkdF1WNDko1JNnEPmESesl_5mARwvxcMvB1vUIoUXYFSpaGT4YJEoOQFU0X6i-BHl9t9Lk_xaQ1Id18rLqH4_Mngpi8I7j6uO9xeqJ5uwQCqmMOCJK1GKhCkfDnaBA/w640-h392/AAMUP%20kickoff-base-map%20Large.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /><b>The reaction</b><br /><br /><a href="https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2024/01/18/council-member-chi-osse-makes-case-for-thousands-more-homes/">Ossé, can you see? Council member preps for high-stakes housing fight</a>, The Real Deal's Erik Engquist wrote Jan. 18, declaring that the "real estate industry was wrong about" him;<br /><blockquote>But now Ossé has posted a <a href="https://x.com/OsseChi/status/1747285845898387785?s=20">brilliant video</a> that explains — better than real estate people ever could — why a crucial area of Brooklyn must be redeveloped. That’s a bigger issue because unlike the broker fee bill, it will almost certainly be voted on by the City Council.<br /><br />Not only do his words and images make a compelling case for change in just one minute and 11 seconds, but Ossé is a credible messenger. He is a local person of color who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/nyregion/housing-market-nyc-chi-osse.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">searched desperately for housing</a> in the area.</blockquote>At least Engquist acknowledges that Hudson spurred the AAMUP plan, and that both Council Members "will surely tweak to show they are responding to feedback."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">But everyone who lauds this video--and many do--are ignoring that the dispute is not between building and not building. Pretty much everyone gets that.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>On NY 1</b></div><br />NY 1 reported Jan. 22, in <a href="https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/mornings-on-1/2024/01/22/councilman-turns-to-social-media-to-press-for-action-on-affordable-housing?cid=app_share#">Councilman turns to social media to press for action on affordable housing</a>:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>In a recent social media post, Ossé toured a section of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, predominantly occupied by tire shops and gas stations. He pointed out that these establishments "waste valuable space" and unveiled a plan to repurpose the area for housing.</div><div><br />“When we look at large strips of land like Atlantic Avenue, we can advocate for a larger rezoning and fight for more monies to go towards truly affordable housing,” Ossé said.</div></blockquote><p>The interview was accompanied by a bizarre illustration that did not come close to capturing the scope of the AAMUP rezoning area, since it highlighted just one block.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYOGTO_wpDkKenUvthVfxrxYL0fecjHEW5mCJCH1CbpJtWDlSJaw30pT-HsBeFdCDTrN279OwANJ0EEHvmwyhBZC77MBYh9RQAeTEHsi5AJB1q6gHbHbnu9sKji2batigPS4sID2PVENLuMQ7JM4lxkDdqwC8bIKUiymU5Ey_NntFRkgYmfoW-Q/s640/NY1%20Osse%20illustration%20Medium.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="640" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYOGTO_wpDkKenUvthVfxrxYL0fecjHEW5mCJCH1CbpJtWDlSJaw30pT-HsBeFdCDTrN279OwANJ0EEHvmwyhBZC77MBYh9RQAeTEHsi5AJB1q6gHbHbnu9sKji2batigPS4sID2PVENLuMQ7JM4lxkDdqwC8bIKUiymU5Ey_NntFRkgYmfoW-Q/w640-h368/NY1%20Osse%20illustration%20Medium.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Note how the chyron, "Brooklyn Councilman calls for thousands of new housing units," frames the issue.</p><b>How much affordability?</b><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The question is how much to ask, in return, for giving property owners an enormous increase in land value. One benchmark, I've <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2023/09/is-big-news-that-atlantic-ave-mixed-use.html">suggested</a>, is the previous upzonings.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">After all, if Hudson could negotiate 35% affordable housing, at a blended average of 54% of AMI in <a href="https://citylimits.org/2022/12/08/seven-months-after-contested-atlantic-ave-upzonings-details-finally-emerge2/">two spot rezonings</a> in 2022 along Atlantic Avenue, why couldn't the city demand more--especially when it's contemplating allowing developers the same bulk (C6-3A zoning) those <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23689729-870-888-atlantic-avenue-agreement">spot</a> <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23689730-1034-1042-atlantic-avenue-agreement">rezonings</a> got?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div>Among the critics of the draft zoning proposed was Community Board 8's Gib Veconi, who led the M-CROWN initiative that preceded the AAMUP, noted that the Department of City Planning contemplates Mandatory Inclusionary House (MIH) Option 2, which means 30% of the units at an average of 80% of Area Median Income (AMI).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarnjtcsKBOOaJbC3-c-G2XDAkDF8RAkZWgb17Kkcu9bkRZOKp1pgrYoVU76l-DFA1X_b1_ySOw9znJYMcuiItp0y4lj_hFkPGjtjxe3YTDTioUaB2HtdVCtWQ9ngPF7eK0oxjo7MeC1mV9ECD-SqrslVBQ3_SAeJPTzyz9AHBsC2EVJ2XKCrofQ/s1124/DCP%20Draft%20Zoning%20Proposal%20Large.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1124" height="364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarnjtcsKBOOaJbC3-c-G2XDAkDF8RAkZWgb17Kkcu9bkRZOKp1pgrYoVU76l-DFA1X_b1_ySOw9znJYMcuiItp0y4lj_hFkPGjtjxe3YTDTioUaB2HtdVCtWQ9ngPF7eK0oxjo7MeC1mV9ECD-SqrslVBQ3_SAeJPTzyz9AHBsC2EVJ2XKCrofQ/w640-h364/DCP%20Draft%20Zoning%20Proposal%20Large.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>"Deeper affordability levels would require citywide reform to MIH," City Limits quoted Sarit Platkin of the Department of Housing and Preservation Development. OK, but the city hasn't yet engaged with the clear community preference for deeper affordability or to use recent spot rezonings as a benchmark.</div><div><br /></div><div>This, of course, goes way beyond Ossé's brief video.</div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>Some reaction</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">A small but notable set of responses were critical:<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/jmassengale"></a></div><blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://twitter.com/jmassengale">John Massengale AIA CNU <br /></a>Thank you, <a href="https://twitter.com/OsseChi">@OsseChi</a> -- I hope you will address the issue that Mayor Adams and the City of Yes are not addressing -- who will build housing that the lower 80% can afford? <br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/TanyaEverywhere">@TanyaEverywhere</a><br />Have you considered the impacts of 120 AMI “affordable housing” in your formerly Black district is responsible for the formerly part?<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://twitter.com/DR0DRIGUEZ">@DR0DRIGUEZ</a><br />Sorry <a href="https://twitter.com/CMChiOsse">@CMChiOsse</a> it’s not as simple as supply & demand & build more housing. These are the talking points of YIMBY’s that have long seized housing policy in NYC & have caused gentrification of our black & brown communities. It matters what TYPE of housing we build.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PublicHousing?src=hashtag_click">#PublicHousing</a><br /><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/sylvia_nyc">@sylvia_nyc</a><br />it's funny that everyone is championing this video as clear and effective policy messaging when it's actually about a very specific rezoning proposal in his district that he alludes to but barely explains<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://twitter.com/TayXLamar">@TayXLamar</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Uhhh <a href="https://twitter.com/OsseChi">@OsseChi</a>, I’m disappointed with your logic. There has been so much housing built in Bed-Stuy yet the rents are higher than what the black residents of the neighborhood can afford (AMI) which is a leading proponent of gentrification.</div></blockquote><p><b>Ossé's follow-up</b></p><p>His Feb. 5 follow-up video, on Good Cause Eviction, has only 27,000 views on Twitter/X so far, likely because real-estate boosters do not support it.</p><p>
</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">There is no silver bullet for the housing crisis. We need to implement many solutions. Today, we’re talking about the urgency of Good Cause Eviction. <a href="https://t.co/gGIklRH5qD">pic.twitter.com/gGIklRH5qD</a></p>— Chi Ossé (@OsseChi) <a href="https://twitter.com/OsseChi/status/1754588335622799507?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><p></p></div>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-83509131986415713352024-02-13T10:00:00.002-05:002024-02-13T10:26:14.783-05:00From Substack: No Surprise: "Atlantic Yards III" Also Involved Construction of Ineligible Tower(s)<p>Here's (<a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/no-surprise-atlantic-yards-iii-also">link</a>) my latest newsletter, No Surprise: "Atlantic Yards III" Also Involved Construction of Ineligible Tower(s).</p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-36982055376471789032024-02-12T07:00:00.011-05:002024-02-12T19:02:35.529-05:00Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park foreclosure auction postponed a second time, to April 30<p>Two days ago, I wrote (<a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/02/will-there-be-foreclosure-auction-of.html">link</a>) that it was unclear that the foreclosure auction of developer Greenland USA's rights to six development sites over the Vanderbilt Yard, <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/01/will-future-of-atlantic-yardspacific.html">announced</a> for Jan. 11 and <a href="https://atlanticyardsreport.blogspot.com/2024/01/foreclosure-auction-of-six-development.html">postponed</a> until today, would actually happen.</p><p>After all, there are many reasons for any potential bidder to wonder about all the variables, and to seek negotiation with Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, over various complex issues.</p><p>Today, an ESD rep told me the state authority--which is not managing the foreclosure--learned that the auction has been postponed until April 30.</p><p>That's more than two and half months, so that offers some time for discussions among private parties, and public parties. The question is how much transparency we'll see.</p><p><i>By the way, in case you're wondering about this week's new article in my weekly <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/">newsletter</a> (here's last week's <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/developer-certified-that-eb-5-spending">version</a>), it'll be sent tomorrow.</i></p>Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20743459.post-57854276106688738692024-02-11T20:00:00.001-05:002024-02-12T07:49:16.553-05:00From Substack: Weekly Digest #9: Evidence Shows Developer Ignored State Restrictions on EB-5 SpendingFrom Substack: <a href="https://normanoder.substack.com/p/weekly-digest-9-evidence-shows-developer">Weekly Digest #9: Evidence Shows Developer Ignored State Restrictions on EB-5 Spending</a><br /><br />Norman Oderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07618087999719667586noreply@blogger.com0