Board materials--just meeting minutes--surface for tomorrow's Atlantic Yards Community Development Corp. meeting; two principals from 2022 now gone

OK, some board materials (bottom) have been posted for tomorrow's meeting of the (purportedly) advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), but they're not terribly illuminating.

The agenda includes approval of the minutes of the June 7, 2022 and April 11, 2023 AY CDC meetings, but minutes for just the earlier meeting are provided, as of now. (Will the other minutes surface tomorrow?)

Meanwhile, the project and construction updates--which touch on big questions regarding the project--will be an oral report, perhaps without any slideshow.

Note: as noted in the updated media advisory (bottom), members of the public may submit comments on the Agenda items in writing to AYCDCBdMtg@esd.ny.gov by 10 am on Wednesday--instead of 3 pm today.

June 2022 flashback: affordable housing

Still, it's worth looking at the June 2022 minutes, because they feature the participation of two key figures who've since departed: Scott Solish, developer Greenland USA's Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park point man, and Tobi Jaiyesimi, project director for Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversee/s shepherds the project.

For example, Director Gib Veconi asked if the foundation and footing work for the B5 tower would qualify it for the Affordable New York (aka 421-a) tax break, and the AY CDC asked ESD staff to ask the city to confirm that.

Veconi asked Solish if the project's affordable housing--876 (or 877) units remain to be built--would be completed by May 2025, after which $2,000/month fines for each missing unit kick in. "Mr. Solish explained that Greenland was building a hard and as fast as it could given the conditions in the city and the world," the notes say, though Solish did not identify milestones.

June 2022 flashback: Urban Room

Veconi asked if the deadline for completing the Urban Room--the atrium attached the unbuilt "Miss Brooklyn"--the flagship tower once slated to loom over the arena--had changed and Jaiyesimi replied that project documents had not changed.

Veconi pointed out a $10 million fine for the missing Urban Room. "Jaiyesimi reiterated that since there's been public discussion about memorializing the plaza and also transferring the bulk from what would have been B1 to other sites of the project," the notes state, "there has been no discussion of default under the current documents."

Veconi asked for clarification, given the required damages. Jaiyesimi, according to the notes, "stated she would circle back with the team to review the documents and get some detail." That detail awaits.