Brooklyn Ascending everywhere? In complex Atlantic Yards ownership structure, at least ten LLCs have "Brooklyn Ascending" in their name.

I recently wrote: Does anyone, outside of the principals, know the ownership stakes in Brooklyn Ascending Land Co., LLC, the legal entity that apparently owns Atlantic Yards while the “permitted developer,” a team involving funder Cirrus Workforce Housing and the development company LCOR, steer the project?

Well, I haven't been able to drill down on that. But I have found, in both New York State and Delaware databases, a good number of entities that seem to have a role in the project.

In New York

A search of the Division of Corporations of New York State's Department of State turns up three limited liability companies (LLCs) with the name "Brooklyn Ascending" as part of their name.

(For the purpose of acronym avoidance, I'm cutting "LLC" from their formal names.)

Well, Brooklyn Ascending Developer (formed 5/8/25) and Brooklyn Ascending Site 5 Developer (formed 9/9/25)  are both domestic limited liability companies (LLCs). They're represented by the law firm Pryor Cashman, which works for Cirrus, so it's reasonable to suspect they are Cirrus affiliates, though LCOR might be involved.

That suggests that there are different development companies for the Site 5/B1 parcels and the railyard parcels, which makes sense.

Screenshot from NYS Department of State

However, Brooklyn Ascending Owner LLC (formed 7/29/25) is a foreign LLC. 

My bet is that entity is related to Greenland USA, the previous master developer and now a passive owner of some fraction, as Greenland is an arm of Shanghai-based Greenland Holdings Corp.

Many moving parts

In an Oct. 10, 2025 press release, Pryor Cashman Represents Cirrus Real Estate Partners in Major Restructuring of Distressed Assets in Downtown Los Angeles and Brooklyn’s Pacific Park Megaproject, the law firm stated:

Pryor Cashman represented Cirrus Real Estate Partners in a 10-month transaction that combined distressed debt-restructuring, complex joint ventures, loan origination, unique cross collateralization and collateral security structures, bankruptcy and creditors rights issues and negotiation of development and management agreements. Pryor Cashman’s use of its expertise in these varied disciplines culminated in Cirrus gaining control of the remaining high-profile development sites of the Pacific Park project encompassing more than two City blocks adjacent to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, and stabilizing distressed assets in Los Angeles.

The transaction required extensive diligence and sophisticated structuring involving Pryor Cashman’s real estate, financing, joint venture, tax and litigation departments. The firm’s diverse team delivered a unique business solution for multiple counterparties with divergent needs involved in this transaction. This deal is regarded as one of the most important transactions in New York City and among the most complex real estate transactions in the firm’s history.

Note that Cirrus Workforce Housing is the "mission-driven" affiliate of Cirrus Real Estate Partners, which aims “to generate consistent, attractive returns through identifying investments that offer asymmetric risk-return profiles and significant downside protection.” The latter company, as noted above, wrangled the Atlantic Yards deal.

In Delaware

A search of the Division of Corporations of Delaware's Department of State shows numerous entities established this year and last year with "Brooklyn Ascending" in their name.

Only one of the three New York entities seems to be listed in Delaware, as well: Brooklyn Ascending Owner. 

The list includes:

• Brooklyn Ascending Assignee, 9/29/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending Credit, 5/9/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending Equity Owner, 3/27/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending Landco, 10/25/2024
• Brooklyn Ascending Manager, 10/31/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending Mezz, 5/8/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending Owner, 5/8/2025
• Brooklyn Ascending REO JV, 9/10/2024

It's worth noting that the very first LLC formed, even before Brooklyn Ascending Landco (which is apparently the correct spelling) was Brooklyn Ascending REO JV.

According to Investopedia, REO, or Real-Estate Owned, "is the term for a property owned by a lender because it failed to sell in a foreclosure auction after the borrower defaulted on their mortgage." 

So REO JOV may involve the U.S. Immigration Fund and Fortress Investment Group, which held collateral after Greenland defaulted on the EB-5 loans.

Screenshot from Delaware Department of State

Brooklyn Ascending Mezz is an LLC that likely reflects mezzanine financing, which Investopedia calls "a hybrid of debt and equity that allows lenders to convert debt into equity in case of default." It's subordinated to senior debt. So that could be Fortress/USIF.

Looking for clues

It's worth noting that various entities share the same registration agent, which is a sign--if not proof--of overlapping ownership.

The Corporation Trust Company includes Brooklyn Ascending Assignee, Brooklyn Ascending LandCo, and Brooklyn Ascending Owner. So that sounds like Cirrus (and LCOR?)--but maybe also Greenland. Cirrus uses the Corporation Trust Company for other entities.

National Registered Agents, Inc. represents Brooklyn Ascending Credit and Brooklyn Ascending Mezz. Maybe those are USIF/Fortress entities?

Dover Delaware Incorporators represents Brooklyn Ascending Equity Owner, Brooklyn Ascending Manager, and Brooklyn Ascending REO JV. The USIF uses Dover Delaware Incorporators for other entities. But wouldn't the manager be LCOR?

As suggested, a lot of this is guesswork.