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Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park infographics: what's built/what's coming/what's missing, who's responsible, + project FAQ/timeline (pinned post)

Pencil in Nov. 29 for Atlantic Yards CDC meeting. Otherwise, not much progress reported at recent QoL meeting.

Update: see PowerPoint at bottom.

As expected, there was not a lot of news at the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting held two nights ago, 11/13/18, since the previous meeting was held just five weeks earlier.

Nor (because of technical difficulties) was there even a PowerPoint regarding the steady but not easy to grasp progress in work at the railyard. Work at the project's East Portal should be finished "hopefully end of March," said Greenland USA's Scott Solish, as should demolition of the "bump buildings" that jut out into the railyard from Atlantic Avenue.

Solish also made the surprise announcement--based on a late-breaking request--that a crane would be working in the railyard for four hours that night, beginning at midnight, to remove a Long Island Rail Road substation.

AY CDC 

Perhaps the most notable thing was that the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) might actually have its third meeting of the year, with a tentative date of Nov. 29. "We're very, very close," said Tobi Jaiyesimi, executive director of the AY CDC and the Atlantic Yards Project Manager for Empire State Development.

(The advisory body, which is mostly toothless but sometimes ventilates project-related issues, is supposed to meet four times a year.)

The problem is that they need a quorum, which at this point means five out of the eight members.

Currently, the 14-member body has six vacancies; Jaiyesimi said two gubernatorial appointees were going through the appointment process, but wasn't sure about the progress regarding those nominated by the state Assembly, City Council, and Mayor's Office. (There's apparently a third gubernatorial appointee, as well.)

Pending, pending

The deals between Greenland Forest City Partners (owned 95% by Greenland) and TF Cornerstone and the Brodsky Organization--"subcontractors," Solish said--to develop three project parcels (B12, B13, B15) haven't closed yet but "hopefully by end of year," Solish said.

The transactions do not require ESD approval, as there are no changes to project documents. "We have vetted the entities [and] ensured they can provide completion guarantees," said Jaiyesimi.

Some other issues raised, like concerns about rats or illegal parking during arena events were deflected with promises regarding passing on concerns to the appropriate parties.



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