Something's brewing. (A new permitted developer?) State sets July 15 for meeting of advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation.
Note: despite initial conflicting information, the meeting will start at 3 pm, not 3:30 pm.
More than six weeks state officials suspended a deadline to enforce $2,000/month penalties for each of the remaining 876 (of 2,250) required Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park affordable housing units, saying they wanted to see a new proposal from a new development team, a moment of (perhaps limited) transparency may emerge.
No agenda has been released; such agendas are typically opaque and released closer to the meeting date. The meeting will be:
I had asked both ESD and the MTA about the June deadline and what approval refers to:
Empire State Development (ESD), the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project, has set a July 15 meeting of the (purportedly) advisory Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC) at a Brooklyn location, thus more accessible for Brooklynites, though it is during the workday.
No agenda has been released; such agendas are typically opaque and released closer to the meeting date. The meeting will be:
- Shirley A. Chisholm State Office Building, 55 Hanson Place – 3rd Floor Conference Room, Brooklyn,
- Tuesday, July 15, 3
:30pm
Due to purported building procedures, members of the public and press attending in-person should RSVP by 4:30 pm July 14. The press should call (800) 260-7313 and the public should call (212) 803-3795. The public may listen to the meeting via webcast.
While those attending the meeting may comment publication, public comment on Agenda items, such comments require clairvoyance, as they must be sent to AYCDCBdMtg@esd.ny.gov by 3 pm on July 14.
ESD said that involves “approval and transfer of development rights to a new team by August” and “a robust community engagement plan and project framework to be guided by a community engagement process by December.”
ESD didn’t mention the players, they involve Cirrus Real Estate Partners, a company that surfaced on Jan. 31, Fortress Investment Group, an affiliate of the U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF, the EB-5 intermediary), and, likely, LCOR, a firm that surfaced in late May.
The liquidated damages are supposed to go to the New York City Housing Trust Fund, administered by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and to support affordable housing nearby, according to a 2014 settlement, negotiated by the coalition BrooklynSpeaks, that set the new 2025 deadline.
While those attending the meeting may comment publication, public comment on Agenda items, such comments require clairvoyance, as they must be sent to AYCDCBdMtg@esd.ny.gov by 3 pm on July 14.
What's going on?
While I wouldn't suspect the AY CDC--which at one point was supposed to meet in late May, before the deadline--will be told of a new Atlantic Yards plan, with new timetables, new obligations, and new public concessions, it's more likely they'll be told that ESD has approved a new permitted developer, a team that includes a company with at least ten years of experience in large projects.
(Or they'll be told the deal has dissolved?)
While the AY CDC is supposed to advise the parent ESD, it's often been a rubber stamp or kept in the dark, though a few members have pressed with questions.
Given the failure to meet deadlines or enforce penalties, it's hard to see how any new, renegotiated plan could gain public trust, even if it has political momentum from a gubernatorially controlled state agency. (Maybe put up a performance bond?)
The process
Development rights to six large towers over the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard, held by developer Greenland USA, have been threatened with foreclosure since November 2023, once Greenland defaulted on $286 million in loans from EB-5 investors, who offer low-cost loans in exchange for green cards. Those six sites were offered as collateral.
“In an effort to move this process forward, ESD has set up an updated schedule of deliverable target deadlines for the development team while retaining all rights to issue liquidated damages,” ESD said in May.
The process
Development rights to six large towers over the MTA's Vanderbilt Yard, held by developer Greenland USA, have been threatened with foreclosure since November 2023, once Greenland defaulted on $286 million in loans from EB-5 investors, who offer low-cost loans in exchange for green cards. Those six sites were offered as collateral.
“In an effort to move this process forward, ESD has set up an updated schedule of deliverable target deadlines for the development team while retaining all rights to issue liquidated damages,” ESD said in May.
ESD said that involves “approval and transfer of development rights to a new team by August” and “a robust community engagement plan and project framework to be guided by a community engagement process by December.”
ESD didn’t mention the players, they involve Cirrus Real Estate Partners, a company that surfaced on Jan. 31, Fortress Investment Group, an affiliate of the U.S. Immigration Fund (USIF, the EB-5 intermediary), and, likely, LCOR, a firm that surfaced in late May.
The liquidated damages are supposed to go to the New York City Housing Trust Fund, administered by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and to support affordable housing nearby, according to a 2014 settlement, negotiated by the coalition BrooklynSpeaks, that set the new 2025 deadline.
A June 30 milestone?
Speaking to the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC) in early June, Gib Veconi (of both PHNDC and BrooklynSpeaks), who's also a member of the AY CDC, said that ESD had asked the Cirrus joint venture to receive approval by the MTA by June 30.
Speaking to the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council (PHNDC) in early June, Gib Veconi (of both PHNDC and BrooklynSpeaks), who's also a member of the AY CDC, said that ESD had asked the Cirrus joint venture to receive approval by the MTA by June 30.
 |
| From presentation to PHNDC |
I had asked both ESD and the MTA about the June deadline and what approval refers to:
- taking over the current payment schedule for air rights, which was the province of Greenland, at least until USIF affiliates paid in 2024?
- renegotiating the schedule, which could mean delays and/or increased cumulative payments, or even additional payments for development rights?
- gaining approval to build the platform, key to the six towers?
- something else?
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