Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

OK, the New York Police Department and the Barclays Center have a plan to manage the large (?) crowds expected for a non-ticketed June 11 event involving traditional Jews protesting apparent plans to expand the Israel draft to encompass more religious school students. Or, rather, they have a plan for a plan. At last night's 78th Precinct Community Council meeting, the commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Frank DiGiacomo, said that precinct officials will meet Monday with arena operators regarding plans for the 6 pm event. "We're going to tell them they cannot have buses" at the same level of the May 2015 event , a weekday memorial, that brought numerous religious students on buses that lingered in the neighborhood rather than wait, as planned, in a Red Hook staging area. "If they do have buses, they have to stage them," said DiGiacomo, indicating that buses violating the law will be ticketed (which didn't happen two years ago). Then again, the...

"Nassau must be wary about plans for Coliseum," I wrote in Newsday 5/21/15, concluding, "Ratner revised the Brooklyn deal several times. Expect more in Nassau." Well, yes. Newsday reported tonight, No Islanders regular season games at Nassau Coliseum next season : The New York Islanders will not play four regular season games at the renovated Nassau Coliseum next season, despite an agreement to do so by developer Bruce Ratner in his 2013 lease with the county, according to National Hockey League Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. There might be one preseason game, though the lease calls for two. Newsday notes that the promise of Islanders games helped Ratner win the bid to renovate the Coliseum. (His team also offered more than Madison Square Garden.) Now the arena operators will have to pay $1 million a year to Nassau County, according to the lease, but indicted Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, who wants the Islanders to become the Coliseum's anchor ...

At right is a photo of a poster spotted in Hasidic Williamsburg right. Clearly there's an event scheduled at the Barclays Center aimed at the Haredi  Jewish community (strict Orthodox Jews who reject secular culture), but the lack of English text makes it cryptic. The website Matzav.com explains, Protest Against Israeli Draft of Bnei Yeshiva Rescheduled for Barclays Center : A large asifa to protest the drafting of bnei yeshiva in Eretz Yisroel into the Israeli army that had been set to take place this month will instead be held on Sunday, 17 Sivan/June 11, at the Barclays Center in Downtown Brooklyn, NY. So attendees at a big gathering  will protest an apparent change of policy that will make it much more difficult for traditional Orthodox Jewish students--both Hasidic (who follow a rebbe) and non-Hasidic (who don't)--to get deferments from the draft. Comments on the Yeshiva World  website  explain some of the debate. The logistical questions What's uncle...

Catching up on some 2011-12 eminent domain reading... The Fordham Urban Law Journal hosted a debate between NYU Professor Roderick Hills and Ilya Somin on the eminent domain decisions by the New York Court of Appeals in the cases of Atlantic Yards (aka Goldstein ) and Columbia University (aka Kaur ). Somin's 2011 article   “Let there Be Blight” , which I covered here and here , argued that these takings violated both the New York state and federal constitutions, especially, he said , because of the contrast between the court’s broad definition of  blight and the state constitutional provision limiting blight condemnations to “substandard and unsanitary areas.” Hills responded with  a critique  and Somin posted a  reply . Somin's argument I quoted Somin's argument: the New York Court of Appeals erred badly, by allowing highly abusive blight condemnations and defining pretextual takings so narrowly as to essentially read the concept out of existenc...

The renovation of the Paramount Theatre, at Long Island University and the DeKalb Avenue subway stop in Brooklyn, is moving ahead. (And, as I've observed, that's bad news for the renovated Kings Theatre deeper in Flatbush, which lacks such a good transit connection. The 5/22/17 press release from Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment didn't mention a budget, previously said to be $50 million paid by BSE, or the financial arrangement between BSE & LIU (two years ago the university wouldn't specify rent to be paid): LIU BROOKLYN PARAMOUNT THEATRE RENOVATION SET TO BEGIN THIS FALL Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment to Restore Legendary Theatre to its Former Glory in Partnership with LIU Brooklyn BROOKLYN – The renovation and revival of the LIU Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, located at the Northeast corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Aves. in downtown Brooklyn, is set to begin this fall, with an anticipated opening before 2019 . The construction process will restore the...

The next meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation is coming in ten days. I'm not sure what the agenda will be--there's not much dramatic going on with the project, not that's surfaced publicly--but the most recent meeting, on 3/29/17, was brief and mostly uneventful.  A media advisory sent out at 2:25 yesterday from Empire State Development: What: Meeting of the Directors of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, an ESD subsidiary.  When: Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 3:00 p.m.  Where: Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University Library Learning Center – 515 Conference Room (5th Floor) One University Plaza (at Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues) Brooklyn, New York 11201  This meeting is open to the public. Web casting of the meeting will be available here .  Due to building procedures, those attending should please RSVP by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 5, 2017. RSVP press line (800) 260-7313; RSVP public line (212) 803-3766.

Four nights ago, as I reported , neighbors near the intersection of Atlantic and Sixth avenues reported noisy, disturbing late night work on the West Portal of the Vanderbilt Yard. That work had not been announced, and there was no hotline to call with concern. (There should be.) I sent a query the next morning to Empire State Development, the state authority overseeing/shepherding the overall Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project. Can you let me know, I asked: what was going on and how long it lasted? whether it will continue? whether it was noticed and, if not, why not? I got a response late yesterday that did not address the lack of notice. The concrete work on the new West Portal tunnel roof was originally scheduled to occur during the day, but was shifted to evening because of a last-minute request from the Long Island Rail Road, so it wouldn't conflict with train operations. That work--I was told yesterday--was again scheduled for Wednesday, May 24 and Thursday, May 2...

One huge, unmentioned irony hung over the presentation last Thursday by the New York City Department of Transportation about upcoming safety improvements to chaotic, perilous Times Plaza--notably new pedestrian islands and concrete neckdowns for those crossing Atlantic and Flatbush avenues--and the subsequent upgrading of the triangular public space. The initial justification for the plan--first presented as a public space upgrade, then augmented with safety improvements after much public pushback--is to offset an  open space deficit  for workers in the area, as identified in the 2014 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. (That open space deficit is a moving target, if new office towers and thus workers arrive.) And not only did members of Brooklyn Community Board 2's Transportation Committee and attendees look skeptically at the city's plan for that open space, Emily Weindenhof, Director of the DOT's Public Space Unit, acknowled...

Remember the "Bed-Stuy Boomerang" I uncovered in 2011 , which was used to gerrymander an area of high unemployment to enable cheap EB-5 financing from immigrant investors for Atlantic Yards? Well, such gerrymandering continues, and in my essay in City & State, I explain how that was done for a couple of very high-profile EB-5 projects, those involving the Kushner Companies in Jersey City, one branded as Trump Bay Street: HOW JERSEY CITY UNEMPLOYMENT WAS GERRYMANDERED TO HELP KUSHNER PITCH INVESTOR VISAS : It shouldn't be a surprise. Like some other real estate developers, the Kushner Companies, builders of two luxury apartment projects in Jersey City and owned by the family of President Trump’s aide and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have gamed the EB-5 investor visa system, getting their buildings officially located in zones of high unemployment – thanks to creative mapmaking. These maps, previously unreported, connect Kushner's 65 Bay Street project, marketed a...

All publicity is good publicity, especially when your building comes first in a roundup, but there's a certain incoherence to Curbed's roundup yesterday, headlined In New York’s cutthroat residential market, experiences are the new must-have amenity , and subtitled "Perks like a fitness room and a lounge are no longer enough to lure prospective tenants." Price drops indicated by downward arrow; click to enlarge Notably, 550 Vanderbilt is a condo building, not a rental. (One other building in Curbed's roundup is a condo; the rest are rentals.) While 550 Vanderbilt residents might appreciate a "Neighborhood Partner Program" involving local businesses, like gardening classes and "an on-demand sommelier," it's doubtful that the condo buyers who put down deposits two years ago give a fig. Remember, sales are "slower than anticipated," the developer acknowledged , confirming  the obvious . Moreover, the recent price drops for ...

According to the latest Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Construction Update (bottom), covering the two weeks beginning May 22 and circulated yesterday at 3:45 pm (a bit late) by Empire State Development after preparation by Greenland Forest City Partners, there's not much new work, but some progress in infrastructure for the long-term buildout. Drilling of foundation piles in the area of B5--in the Vanderbilt Yard just east of Sixth Avenue--should be completed during these two weeks. After that, drilling foundation piles in the area of B7 will begin. These are two large sites once projected to start vertical construction in 2023 and 2019, respectively. Also, the site access ramp to the railyard. may be relocated to the western end of the block. An evening disruption Photo at about 11 pm last night Also, unmentioned in the update, two project neighbors last night reported noisy, disruptive night work going on at the West Portal site, with jackhammering and klieg lights at...

I previously reported on how the Church of the Redeemer, on Fourth Avenue catercorner to Site 5 of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, sold for $20 million and was demolished . Now, the Real Deal reported 5/17/17, the developer Adam America is "in talks" to buy the site and build a 72-unit, 12-story condo building with commercial space on the ground floor. Does a 12-story building "normalize" the transition from Site 5 to the neighborhood directly south? Somewhat. That said, the already approved Site 5 building, 250 feet tall, would be twice the height of the condo building said to be planned for the church site. The unofficially proposed massive two-tower project at Site 5 , involving a shift of bulk from the arena block and a new state plan, could stretch 785 feet, a much more dramatic transition. But expect any new development in that area, including the proposed 80 Flatbush plan to the north, to be used as an argument for something bigger at Site 5.

I've written before about puff pieces for the 550 Vanderbilt rooftop farm, and here's another, from Modern Farmer,   Brooklyn’s Newest Condo Amenity: Rooftop Agricultural Plots , complete with some glaring distortions: But here’s one we haven’t seen much of: Rooftop gardens. That’s right: one gigantic new-construction condominium building in the heart of Brooklyn is making urban agriculture a fundamental part of its pitch. 550 Vanderbilt is a huge 278-unit building in what was formerly called, and probably still best known as, the Atlantic Yards, a massive public works project to t ransform a defunct train terminal into a commercial and residential zone anchored by the Barclays Center, home of the NBA-worst Brooklyn Nets. ... Because the building is so big , there are plenty of nooks and crannies to tuck fun stuff throughout its 17 stories, and what the designers came up with is a whopping 520 square-foot gardening space on a huge eighth floor terrace. (Emphases added) ...

Kushner family's reps in China were using Trump's name for months to guarantee green cards to investors. Our story: https://t.co/pD18tyDfNZ — Javier C. Hernández (@HernandezJavier) May 19, 2017 This seems either unrealistic or v sloppy. Big developers w/ EB-5 a) know Chinese firms exaggerate b) see material https://t.co/NduhvT3WST pic.twitter.com/cZkx6Eqazy — Eliot Brown (@eliotwb) May 20, 2017 @JesseDrucker Too bad NYT didn't get 2undermining of #EB5 premise. Middleman Nick M sed his projects don't need$. Thus no new jobs https://t.co/4nWpH0uvN8 — Norman Oder (@AYReport) May 19, 2017 #EB5 investigation #EB5IsARacket +Here's my coverage of shady Qiao Wai aka Qiaowai https://t.co/7Psf5tq38D #AtlanticYads https://t.co/WvbeNtUHuF — Norman Oder (@AYReport) May 13, 2017

Last night, reports of gunshots at the Barclays Center at the end of a show by the rapper Future sparked a real and social media panic, as fans stampeded out, some reportedly bloody. There were no gunshots, the arena and the police said, but there was widespread alarm and dismay among attendees. The Daily News reported, in  Loud noise sparks wild stampede at Barclays Center in Brooklyn , "NYPD and FDNY officials said there were no reports of gunfire and no injuries reported." The actual cause of the noise wasn't reported. Some attendees didn't believe all the official story. Later, Vibe reported a slightly more comprehensive explanation: NYPD Lieutenant Tarik Sheppard shared a statement via email with VIBE on Friday night’s incident: “The concert ended around 11 p.m. As people were exiting the Barclays Center, there was music playing over the PA system. The song that was playing had the sound of gunshots at the end. In addition, the stage was lowered and it came...

The fate of a potential massive project at Site 5-- floated , but not officially proposed--is again delayed, thanks to an extension of time in the litigation between P.C. Richard, owner of a building on the site, and Forest City Ratner. The electronics store last year sued to stall the planned eminent domain proceeding regarding its store at Site 5, across from the Barclays Center, claiming that original project developer Forest City Ratner promised the company space in the replacement building.  Greenland Forest City Partners, now the joint venture developer of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, was not sued, but the separate LLC representing Greenland independent of Forest City has been served with a subpoena for a depositions and documents. According to a document filed this week in New York State Supreme Court, the final date for all parties to disclose experts in the litigation was to have been 5/15/17, this past Monday. The parties have agreed to extensions, and now the dead...

Tonight, at a 6 pm meeting of the Community Board 2 Transportation Committee--see poster at right--the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) will discuss a proposal for changes in the design of Times Plaza and safety improvement at the fraught intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue. The meeting will be held at the second floor gallery of the YWCA, at 30 Third Avenue , just north of Atlantic Avenue. The DOT's portal for the project is here . The area under study is part of Mayor de Blasio's Vision Zero initiative to end traffic deaths and injuries. One proposed change, for example, involves a new crosswalk from Flatbush Avenue to the Barclays Center The changes involve not only access to the arena block, but to the planned--but yet unresolved-- major construction at Site 5 , part of Pacific Park, and the separate proposed project at 80 Flatbush Avenue . New pedestrian refuge As shown in the graphic below, in January 2017, DOT reported installing a rub...

Along Atlantic Avenue If 10,000-plus people come to the Barclays Center and no one from the arena announces it, does anyone notice? Yes, they do. On Sunday, May 14, more than 10,000 "practitioners of Falun Dafa, a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline," as described by  the Epoch Times , attended the group's annual conference in New York. It culminated at the Barclays Center to hear founder Li Hongzhi, the founder of the group, also known as Falun Gong. Besides the crowd, numerous buses idled outside the arena, on Atlantic and Flatbush avenue, some in bus stops, as described by the neighbor who sent me the pictures. There was also a small counter-protest, I'm told, presumably representing the perspective of the Chinese government, which represses Falun Gong and its members. Not in the calendar Along Flatbush Avenue The event was unmentioned in the Barclays Center calendar circulated to neighbors, though a previous policy was to mention such ...

Um, it's half a mile away! Definition: chutzpah https://t.co/5ZDSSkSNoV — Norman Oder (@AYReport) May 17, 2017

OK, the largest number of affordable studio apartments in 100% affordable 535 Carlton will rent for $2,137 a month . One market-rate unit in 461 Dean actually dipped below that threshold, after price cuts, as I wrote in December , and now market-rate units in 550 Vanderbilt, because of the glut, are getting closer: rent for one studio , as shown on StreetEasy, has gone from $2,500 to $2,200.

The Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD) has produced an updated 2017 version of its Area Median Income (AMI) Cheat Sheet, below, which explains, for each AMI (for a four-person household): A monthly rent for that apartment A household income amount The % of New Yorkers at each AMI level The context, for watchers of Atlantic Yard/Pacific Park, is that 50% of the units in two "100% affordable" towers, 535 Carlton and 38 Sixth , is directed to upper middle-income households. Notably, the largest chunk of two-bedroom units at 535 Carlton would rent for $3,223 and at 38 Sixth would rent for $3,206. Both of those are the top half of the middle-income cohort, representing a mere 5% of city population and very close to what the cheat sheet labels "high income." No wonder such a small fraction of those entering the lottery for affordable units at 535 Carlton sought the middle-income ones. (Here's my coverage of the 2015 Cheat Sheet.) A...

Last September, I wrote  about the low-ball offer of $15.1 million that Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority overseeing/shepherding Atlantic Yards, made in February to P.C. Richard, which owns one of the two buildings at Site 5, across Flatbush Avenue from the Barclays Center. That's well below the value of stated development rights, much less what is currently permitted (or might be permitted in the future) on the property. Of course, as I wrote, in New York eminent domain cases, the condemnor often low-balls owners of the subject property as a way to nudge them into negotiation and a presumably higher payment. Consider: that site is 25,000 square feet, and a site in Downtown Brooklyn little more than half that just was sold for $68 million. As YIMBY reported two days ago, in  Mixed-Use Development Site Expanded at 625 Fulton Street, Downtown Brooklyn , the 12,415-square-feet three story commercial building at 635 Fulton Street and Rockwell Pl...

Writing yesterday,  MAP: Who Owns All the Property Along the Gowanus Canal , DNAinfo's Leslie Albrecht lays out the positioning of various real estate players along the Gowanus Canal, a Superfund site: As the city considers whether to rezone Gowanus and, perhaps, morph the gritty low-rise industrial area into a hot new neighborhood of residential towers (albeit at a fraction of the height of Manhattan's supertall buildings), DNAinfo reviewed property records along the canal to find out who stands to benefit most from the changes. Investors have poured at least $440 million into buying land on the polluted waterway and more than a third of the properties have changed hands in the past decade, according to an examination of records for the nearly 130 properties along the 1.8-mile canal. While the single largest landowner is developer Property Markets Group, other landowners include Kushner Companies, Alloy Development, Two Trees, and Forest City New York. Forest City's p...

Finally, thanks to the high-profile and very dubious effort by the Kushner Companies to raise EB-5 funds in China for One Journal Square, we're getting a flurry of reporting on and commentary regarding the investor visa program. Everyone's piling on, though a few months ago, few in the media were interested--and problems with EB-5 have been evident for years. There have been cycles of brief attention, but nothing sustained. The media attention is important, because typical coverage--see this pre-Kushner article in the Commercial Observer--concerns a narrow range of industry players, interested perhaps in belated reforms but not the fundamental nature of the program. Given EB-5's concentrated benefits and diffuse costs, few represent the public interest, so media attention helps right the balance. A Times editorial From a lead editorial from the New York Times on Tuesday, 5/9/17,  The Kushners and Their Golden Visas : [Kushner sister] Ms. [Nicole] Meyer’s dis...