With AY CDC meeting postponed indefinitely, and no announcement circulated, questions about NYS government transparency and responsiveness

OK, the official notice for the once-scheduled meeting today of the purportedly (advisory) Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation does now say that the meeting has been postponed--or, as one director put it, canceled--pending rescheduling.

That puts off discussion of key questions facing the project, as well as an update on basic issues, to an unspecified date.

That notice appears on the web site of the parent Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.

But it doesn't appear on the web site of the AY CDC itself. Nor did an announcement of the meeting in the first place.

Nor was the press release circulated, as far as I can tell, though one was posted online. (I and neighbors had previously been sent the press release for and/or an announcement of such meetings.)

That further diminishes transparency.

Also worrying is the suspension of the previous practice of bi-monthly Quality of Life meetings, which allow neighbors to learn about project updates and ask questions of the state and the developer, dominated by Greenland USA. In 2023, there's only been one meeting, in February.

Also consider the apparent suspension of the practice of circulating two-week Construction Updates by email. (Even if there's no new work, it's worth alerting neighbors.)

I'd also say that it's worrying that those Updates, long prepared by the developer, do not seem to be vetted by ESD, but that's a longstanding concern, with demonstrable errors or falsehoods--such as the timing of after-hours work--conveyed.

These are small things, perhaps, but represent a step backwards in minimal government capacity, and transparency toward the public.

Perhaps part of that is due to recent departure of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project manager Tobi Jayesimi, for whom a replacement has not yet been named.

But if the public can't get minimal transparency from the state, how can we expect the state to oversee the developer?