Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

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

Will "Pacific Park" Be Renamed? Housing Surge Would Increase Open Space Deficit ( link ) Back to "Atlantic Yards"? Nah. "Another ocean"? Nope. How about "Brooklyn Central"? You read it here first.

About a year ago, I provided an update ( link ) on the long-running lawsuit by McDonald's, tenant of a drive-through restaurant at the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic avenues, against its landlord Vanderbilt Atlantic Holdings (VAH), which would build an 18-story residential tower at the site--if it could get its tenant out. U.S. District Court Dora Irizarry denied VAH's motion to dismiss and motion for summary judgment, pointing toward a bench trial on whether each party failed to act in good faith in the fair market value appraisal process. More recently, the judge handed McDonald's another procedural victory. In a pre-trial ruling Sept. 30, the court denied the landlord's motion to preclude testimony and documentary evidence related to appraisals conducted prior to April 15, 2019, which is when McDonald's told VAH they couldn't agree on the fair market value.  The court. which earlier cited "credibility concerns" regarding the landlord's condu

Weekly Digest: Related Deal Still Murky; Momentum for Site 5 & Permanent Plaza ( link ) New York State officials, at public meeting, sound cagey. What about the middleman with a criminal record?