Next "quarterly" Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation March 18, eight months after the last one

Update 3/3/20: yes, it's confirmed.

More than eight months since the last meeting, and more than three month since the last meeting was scheduled but postponed, the board of the advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC)--which is supposed to meet quarterly--should meet on Wednesday, March 18 at 3 pm. But that's not confirmed.

The initial notice came not from the AY CDC or the parent Empire State Development (ESD) but rather from the newsletter of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC), one of whose board members, Gib Veconi, also sits on the AY CDC board.

I got the newsletter on Friday, Feb. 21 (and another a week later). On Tuesday, Feb. 25, I queried ESD asking if the meeting would be on March 18. I was told no announcement was ready. Perhaps we'll get an official announcement soon.

The delay, and the issues

The lack of meetings makes it tough for the board to fulfill even its limited power of oversight. However, this meeting might ventilate some crucial questions that presumably will also be discussed at the next Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Quality of Life meeting tomorrow at 6 pm: 

• what's the timetable to start and finish the platform over the first block (of two) of the Vanderbilt Yard?
• what's the timetable to build the towers over that block, and how will the requirement of 2,250 affordable units be met? 
• will there be 50% and 100% affordable buildings, and what will the range of affordability be?
• what's going on with Site 5?

AY CDC history

As I wrote, the AY CDC was supposed to meet 12/4/19. That meeting was canceled and supposed to be rescheduled. According to ESD records (and my coverage, in the hyperlinks), there have been essentially four meetings in the past two calendar years: 1/17/18, 3/27/18, 3/15/19, and 7/22/19. 

The latter deserves an asterisk, because directors asked for more time to assess two project changes, so they returned for a vote on them 8/12/19. But that was essentially an extension of a meeting, not a new one.

The expected location for the next meeting is the office of the parent Empire State Development, 633 Third Avenue, 37th Floor Conference Room. (They've stopped scheduling meetings in Brooklyn; some had been held at Long Island University.)

RSVP info

Assuming the meeting is on, and once it's confirmed, here's the RSVP info. Due to building procedures, those attending should please RSVP by 5 pm on Tuesday, March 17. RSVP press line (800) 260-7313; RSVP public line (212) 803-3766.

AYCDC's mission is to oversee compliance with the Atlantic Yards project's public commitments, including public benefits and mitigation of project impacts. Members of the public will be given an opportunity to comment. For more information, contact atlanticyards@esd.ny.gov.