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Looking at the troubling record of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation: some useful info but more stonewalling (and rubber-stamping); fitful schedule; lack of transparency

The advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), announced in the June 2014 settlement that established a new 2025 deadline for the project's affordable units, should finally meet on Monday, Dec. 13, after a nearly nine-month hiatus. It's supposed to meet quarterly.

(The agenda has been posted, but the presentation was not posted yesterday, which is what I was told would happen. That makes it even tougher to send relevant comments by the deadline, which is 4:30 today--and, of course, a rule requiring comments to be filed before the meeting hampers transparency. I posted some items for discussion.) 

Though hailed in 2014 by local elected officials as part of progress toward accountability, the AY CDC's record is troubling.

Let's look back at the board's checkered history, with links below to my coverage and the official meetings. 

The status quo

Given the changes, delays, and question marks surrounding the project, the AY CDC could play a meaningful role, but, with nine of 14 members appointed by the governor, is set up to uphold the status quo.

Board meetings have occasionally vented useful information, or more likely confirmed that neither the parent Empire State Development (ESD) nor developer Greenland Forest City Partners will be candid. Sometimes misinformation has been promulgated without correction.

The AY CDC has sometimes served as a rubber-stamp, validating changes proposed by the developer, but the one time it didn't--regarding the dubious swap of underground parking for new "recreational" space--the parent ESD board ignored the lack of a recommendation.

Three vacancies, including Chair
It was never taken completely seriously. Board members have cycled on and off, most--according to their questions and comments--bringing limited expertise or understanding of the project. 

The AY CDC's Executive Director was later named ESD's Atlantic Yards Project Director, essentially helping advise herself.

Irregular schedule, transparency issues

It's schedule has been odd. The first meeting was delayed; then the schedule, for a brief period, sped up to try to meet the requirements of quarterly meetings. 

Then the meetings became far more irregular, with the excuse/explanation typically the challenge in getting a quorum. There were five meetings in 2015, four in 2016, three in 2017, two in 2018 (both scheduled hastily), three in 2019 (though one was essentially an extension of a previous meeting), two in 2020, and--assuming next week's meeting goes as scheduled--two in 2021.

The quarterly schedule hasn't been met since 2016. The gap between 2019 and 2020 was nearly a year.

Meetings were twice scheduled at the last minute, in one case for the board to serve as a rubber stamp.

Even before the pandemic suspended in-person meetings, the AY CDC meetings were not transparent. The opportunity for public comment was limited once the meetings, initially held in Brooklyn, convenient to locals, were moved to ESD offices in Manhattan. Of course, daytime meetings bring their own constraints.

At one in-person meeting, attendees were first told that there'd be an opportunity to comment after each agenda item, as long as public comments were limited to that agenda item. Tthen all comments were shunted to a final "Public Comment" agenda item, which assured they'd be seen as more detached from the subject.

The virtual meetings held since the pandemic have been worse. As with the bimonthly Quality of Life meetings, there's no opportunity to see others in attendance, hear them speak, or see their questions posed in chat. Worse, comments must be submitted before the meeting, so there's no opportunity to react to the discussion.

December 2014


Will there be accountability? Waiting for new AYCDC, as project leads to narrowed streets, idling trucks, concert noise, delayed fire trucks. The AY CDC, promised to be active this month, now has its first meeting delayed until January 30.

January 2015

Pending questions about the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.

Atlantic Yards CDC meeting postponed until February 6. Isn't a bit Keystone Kops-like to announce a meeting, with an agenda, then postpone it because some people haven't been appointed yet?

February 2015

ESD: meeting rescheduled for February 6, at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.


Atlantic Yards CDC "clearly not independent": two members overseeing themselves (so how can they criticize failure to review developer's monitor?) “It's a conflict of interest, frankly, somebody who's a decision maker on the oversight board,” commented Fort Greene resident Susan Lerner, who was speaking personally but is a governmental ethics expert in her role heading Common Cause/NY.

March 2015

ESD: meeting scheduled for March 23, at BRIC in Fort Greene.

ESD: meeting scheduled for May 19, at New York State Department of Labor in Downtown Brooklyn.


June 2015

The Atlantic Yards CDC, conflict-of-interest, and the not-so-affordable "model" building. A document released after the AY CDC meeting last month answered--sort of--the question about conflict of interest.

July 2015

ESD: meeting scheduled for July 28, at LIU's Brooklyn Campus.


Changes to open space guidelines seem welcome, but the process was less than transparent. The changes, which reflect more contemporary ideas about park design and less pavement, include:
  • the maximum amount of backless seating will increase to 35% from 25%
  • a passive viewing pond of .3 acre will be replaced by water gardens and other distributed features
  • acreage consumed by walkways will decline from 4.62 acres to 3.65 acres, allowing maximum planted areas to grow to 3.5 acres from 2.6 acres
  • canopy trees will be removed from the main lawn to allow an unobstructed focal point
An AY CDC advisory vote presaged approval by the ESD board, which was left with a somewhat misleading impression that the guidelines themselves had been discussed with the neighborhood.

October 2015 

ESD: meeting scheduled for Oct. 20, at LIU's Brooklyn Campus.



For now, AY CDC's Jaiyesimi wears new hat, taking over ESD Atlantic Yards role from Filler. Tobi Jaiyesimi, who last January was named Executive Director of the AY CDC, now has additional duties.

May 2016

Yes, three buildings will open soon. But they and others are behind previous tentative schedule.

Carlton Avenue residents face bolts falling into front yards, trucks scraping trees on narrow street, paint-like substance drifting in.

November 2016

ESD: meeting scheduled for Nov. 14, at ESD offices in Manhattan.

Perfectly obscure: Greenland Forest City is "fully committed" to Pacific Park (after delays), won't share updated timetable. This has been a pattern.

Despite self-praise from AY CDC exec, residents slam lack of transparency, oversight; developer says no "poor-er floor"; fence might come down.

On video, watch Atlantic Yards CDC ignore its rules on public comment. After an initial promise to welcome public comments after each item is presented, all public comments were relegated to the final agenda item, Public Comment.

March 2017

Atlantic Yards CDC meeting postponed until week of March 27. This will be the first meeting of AY CDC since 11/14/16, or more than four months. It's supposed to meet quarterly.

ESD: meeting scheduled for March 29, at ESD offices in Manhattan.

Atlantic Yards CDC meeting rescheduled for next Wednesday, at ESD office. The change in date means that the meeting can't be held, as scheduled, in Brooklyn at LIU, but rather will be held at home court.

ESD: meeting scheduled for June 6, at LIU's Brooklyn Campus.


At AY CDC meeting, no timetable for new buildings; will green wall be pulled back?

Departing Atlantic Yards CDC member urges more transparency and accountability; new Neighborhood Support Team coming? No, that support team never came. The transparency issue regards the expected plan, not yet enacted, to transfer bulk from the approved B1 (aka "Miss Brooklyn") tower to Site 5.

March 2018


ESD: meeting scheduled for March 27, at ESD offices in Manhattan.

October 2018

November 2018

February 2019

As AY CDC set to finally meet again, a new member, Prospect Heights' Veconi, who's stressed affordability (and helped establish board in 2014). He was a key negotiator with BrooklynSpeaks.

March 2019

ESD: meeting scheduled for March 15, at ESD offices in Manhattan.

Belated meeting of Atlantic Yards CDC finally set for March 15; opportunity to learn more about timetable?

B15 tower is now said to be due in Spring 2022, but the school will be ready in August 2022. That turned out to be wrong, since the B15 tower was built faster, opening in phases starting in October 2021. But the School Construction Authority has pushed back the middle school until 2024.


July 2019

ESD: meeting scheduled for July 22, at ESD offices in Manhattan.


August 2019

ESD: meeting scheduled for Aug. 22, at ESD offices in Manhattan.

When's the next Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation meeting? It only met twice* last year. It's supposed to meet quarterly. The August 2019 meeting was essentially an extension of the previous month's meeting, not a new one.

March 2020


ESD meeting scheduled (virtually) for March 18, then postponed.
  • when will the platform over Block 1120, the railyard block between Sixth and Carlton avenues, start, and how long will it take?
  • what configuration of housing, in terms of percentage of affordability and levels of affordability, is expected?
  • how will the deadline to build 2,250 units of affordable housing be met?
  • what's the progress on condemnation at Site 5, home to P.C. Richard and Modell's (there's a snag)?
July 2020

ESD meeting scheduled (virtually) for July 28.

As Atlantic Yards advisory group finally meets tomorrow, vague agenda, questions about six-month look-ahead. Will all/most coming "affordable" units rent to those earning $100,000+? The answer to the latter question turned out to be yes, though we weren't told at the time.

At uneventful AY CDC teleconference meeting, no updates on platform or affordability, but claimed commitment (amid doubt) regarding affordable housing deadline. No member of the public submitted a public comment by the deadline, the previous afternoon, and there was no opportunity for public comment after the agenda items.

December 2020

ESD meeting scheduled (virtually) for Dec. 10.



December 2021

ESD meeting scheduled (virtually) for December 13.
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