Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

OK, there will finally be a forum to hear community concerns about Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, and the Barclays Center.  As I wrote Oct. 5 ( link ), officials at Empire State Development, the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, said they would soon schedule a  Quality of Life meeting , the first since February 2023. The meetings slacked when vertical construction finished, and also, I suspect, because ESD personnel had departed.  However, the reason for such meetings, with ESD having the ability to bring representatives from various agencies and companies to field question, has not waned. "This meeting is a forum for the community to receive updates and engage Empire State Development, Barclays Center operators, and other project partners in the Atlantic Yards Project regarding issues affecting the quality of life for residents and businesses in close proximity to the project site," the notice stated. I'll publish an update before the meeting about some

Penn Case Study: Atlantic Yards Lacked Edge Hudson Yards Had ( link ) Easier transaction, more density, transport subsidy. But researchers ignored Hudson Yards' huge EB-5 fundraising and impact of Downtown Brooklyn rezoning. Sloppy, too.

There's a quote I remember from former Forest City Ratner CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, in one observer's paraphrase , don't "get too attached to the brick and mortar.” So the 36-story 80 DeKalb tower, Forest City's first Brooklyn residential tower, claimed to test the market for Atlantic Yards when it opened in 2009, has been sold yet again, in a third transaction, at a modest profit. Let's back up. As reported in June 2018, Forest City Realty Trust--the successor to Forest City Enterprises, parent of Forest City Ratner/Forest City New York--along with Madison International Realty bought out the 49% owned by National Real Estate Advisors. The transaction valued National's share of the property at a total of $93.5 million, including assumption of debt, suggesting the total project value of $190.8 million.  Then, as reported in July 2022, Forest City's successor, Brookfield sold the tower for $190 million to the partnership of KKR and Dalan Management. Not m

Weekly Digest: Will Pacific Park Be Renamed? I'd Bet Yes. ( link ) C'mon, wouldn't a new developer want a reboot? Also: WNBA Finals.

Yes, this is a very niche topic, but a recent fact-checking exercise prompted me to explore the question: how big is/was the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's three-block Vanderbilt Yard, used to store and service Long Island Rail Road trains and, years ago, store obsolete MTA buses? Was it 8.5 acres, a shorthand I've typically used and which I've seen in various   press reports? What about 8.3 acres, according to a  2005 report  and a  2009 report  from the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO)? Or was it "approximately nine acres," as estimated in numerous documents from Empire State Development (ESD, fka Empire State Development Corporation), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project? Was it 8.6 acres, as seen in one  academic study ? Via NoLandGrab How about 8.4 acres, the figure used by Wikipedia (without a footnote), and some press coverage ? Drilling down Well, the latter answer is closest to accuracy.   Thanks to NoLandG

Less than three weeks ago a lawsuit surfaced, from the CEO of Related Companies, Jeff Blau against seven Chinese investors under the EB-5 investor visa program who he claimed were harassing him at home. My headline was  Some EB-5 investors furious about failure to get their $500K repaid now sued for harassing Related CEO. How ethical is Related's business practice? As I wrote, the lawsuit describes some indefensible behavior, disavowed by other investors, and, if corroborated, worthy of some sanction. Still, it--and an article based on it in the real-estate publication The Real Deal--downplayed the triggering issue, in which Related gained $500,000 each from more than 2,000 Chinese investors under  EB-5 starting in 2014 and apparently has paid little of the money back. That kind of business practice, though apparently legal thanks to a contractual structure that advantages a sophisticated party (Related) against some far less sophisticated people (the Chinese investors), is hard

According to an update circulated yesterday by the Barclays Center, the arena will host at least two WNBA Finals game, with the New York Liberty hosting the Minnesota Lynx. Tonight, the game is at 8 pm, with amplified sound on Ticketmaster Plaza 6-8 pm. On Sunday, October 13, the game is at 3 pm, with amplified sound on the plaza 1-3 pm. Also, the arena disclosed something it could have disclosed when the calendar was first circulated . On Sunday, October 27, prior to the Brooklyn Nets' season-opener against the Milwaukee Bucks, "there will be an event on the Plaza from 11 am-6 pm with amplified sound." This is updated with the information in today's article Interestingly enough, though the Liberty are the top seed and the Lynx lost two games in the semi-finals, the Lynx won the series this season with the Liberty. Asked to make predictions, experts at ESPN were split : one picked the Liberty in 4 games and another picked the Liberty in 5, while two picked the Lynx in