Press conference on Atlantic Yards governance bill today at 2 pm: Jeffries, Adams, Camara

A press release from BrooklynSpeaks:

State Legislators Call Foul Over Failure of Barclays Arena Developer to Score on Community Givebacks

New York State legislators Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, and Assemblyman Karim Camara will hold a press conference to call for changes in the governance of the Atlantic Yards project, the development that includes the Barclay Arena, future home of the New York Nets.

Many of the community benefits promised by the developers – including job creation, a public safety plan and the inclusion of affordable housing – have failed to materialize. The group will call on Kenneth Adams, President of the Empire State Development Corporation, to implement oversight changes in the Atlantic Yards development project.

At the press conference, the elected officials will announce their plans to introduce legislation that establishes a subsidiary corporation for Atlantic Yards oversight and development. This new body will ensure transparency and accountability to protect public resources invested in the project.

Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012
Time: 2:00 PM
Location: Front of Barclays Center (Corner of Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue)
Presiding: Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Assemblyman Karim Camara

While Jeffries has been out front on this issue periodically, and Adams has sometimes joined on Atlantic Yards issues, Camara is more of a project supporter, for example speaking at a 2008 rally and 2006 public hearing.

Is his role today a significant change in his posture, or a more nuanced one? And, given the state Senate's obduracy toward this bill (it did not come back last summer, as predicted), might Camara's role be part of aiding Jeffries' announced bid for Congress, as well as Adams's potential run for borough president?