Hedging their bets? For 2024, developer Greenland USA downsizes lobbying contract, adds option to terminate.

Judging from recent lobbying reports and the revised lobbying contract (bottom) between Pacific Park Development LLC, owned nearly in full by Greenland USA, and lobbying powerhouse Kasirer LLC, Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park is looking rather tentative. 

The contract is made available via the city's lobbying database, but most of Greenland's lobbying activity has been with representatives of New York State, including Empire State Development (ESD), the gubernatorially controlled state authority that oversee/shepherds the project.

That reflects the uncertain state of the project. The planned platform is stalled and the six sites over the railyard are facing a foreclosure auction Feb. 12.

Past contracts

Consider: starting in 2019, the developer agreed to pay Kasirer $4,000/month for lobbying services. That continued through 2021.

For 2022 and 2023, the developer agreed to pay $6,000/month.

For 2024, however, the monthly fee is $3,750, implying a lower expectation of lobbying activity.

Also, the 2024 agreement includes text not part of previous retainer letters. It states that the contract has been extended through Dec. 31, 2024, unless "earlier terminated by Owner, in which case the date of termination shall be the date terminated by Owner."

Lobbying the state, not the city

According to the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government, Kasirer reported the following monthly activities:

January-February, 2023: Relationship building and General Project Plan (GPP) engagement strategy with ESD's Arden Sokolow, unnamed representatives of the Executive Chamber/Office of the Governor, Hector Garcia of the Long island Rail Road, and Jamie Torres-Sprinter of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).

What's GPP engagement strategy? I can't be sure, but it likely involved/involves changing the guiding GPP to allow the transfer of bulk from the unbuilt tower over the arena plaza, B1, to create a giant two-tower project at Site 5, as I wrote in August.

March-April 2023: State land use relationship building and GPP engagement strategy with ESD's Sokolow, plus unnamed representatives of the Executive Chamber/Office of the Governor.

May-June 2023: Relationship building and GPP engagement strategy with ESD's Sokolow, plus unnamed representatives of the Executive Chamber/Office of the Governor.

July-August 2023: Advocate on GPP development with ESD's Sokolow, plus unnamed representatives of the Executive Chamber/Office of the Governor.

September-October 2023: Advocate on GPP development with ESD's Sokolow.

November-December 2023: Advocate on GPP development with ESD's Sokolow.