Last November we learned that development rights to six development sites within Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, used as collateral for two loans to immigrant investors, were scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction in January.
That auction has been postponed twice, and it's unclear if it will proceed as scheduled on April 30. After all, the towers can't be built without an expensive platform over two blocks of the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard.
And it's not clear whether a new developer, which would presumably take over from Greenland USA, would be liable for the $2,000/month fines for each of the 876 affordable housing units not built by May 2025.
When did they know?
In January, I filed a Freedom of Information Law request with Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project:
I seek documents that explain how and whether ESD was informed of this foreclosure possibility by developer Greenland USA or other sources, and whether and how ESD provided information and guidance to Greenland and/or potential bidders regarding the foreclosure.I was told ESD had "no responsive documents to your request."
That doesn't mean there's no communication.
At the least, ESD has been in contact with representatives of the U.S. Immigration Fund, the "regional center," or middleman, that recruited the investors and, apparently, controls the auction.
At a meeting last month of the (purportedly) advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, ESD official Joel Kolkman stated, "When we get into very high level conversations with the lender"--actually, the middleman representative of the lender--"they do say they're going to present us with somebody," meaning a future developer.
So, are they just using the phone, or text?
Pending questions
It's still worth knowing how and whether ESD got the news.
Going forward, if and when a future bidder, or new developer, is presented to ESD, it will be worth knowing whether and how ESD has provided any guidance.
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