Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Regarding yesterday's brief meeting of the (purportedly advisory) Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), I wrote separately about discussion of platform construction and potential less affordable housing. A few other issues were discussed. Presenter Tobi Jaiyesimi, who serves as the parent Empire State Development's (ESD) Atlantic Yards Project Director as well as AY CDC Executive Director,  said , regarding the planned middle school, the last update she received from the School Construction Authority is that it's expected to open for academic year 2024. Well maybe, maybe not. The SCA's latest  five-year Capital Plan , updated in February 2022, indicates that the school should open in March 2025. That is the 2024-25 academic year, but it's well past the halfway mark. So either Jaiyesimi's estimate is wrong or the SCA's Capital Plan is too conservative. Budget questions, staff mystery Upon approval of the entity's budget, Jaiyesimi wa...

This is the fourth of five articles regarding the 3/15/19 meeting of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation (AY CDC), set up to advise the parent Empire State Development (ESD). The first article concerned the expected 2022 completion date for the middle school. The second article concerned the board's inability to hire independent consultants. The third article concerned updates from the AY CDC President and from developer Greenland USA. The fifth article analyzed the likelihood of building all railyard towers by 2025. The looming question regarding Atlantic Yards regards how the promised 2,250 units of affordable housing will be delivered by the  May 2025  deadline. Though some updated information about affordable housing was disclosed at the meeting, notably some totals and percentages in upcoming buildings, the overall question remained unanswered. And the AY CDC board, by a narrow margin, showed itself unwilling to challenge developer Greenland F...

It's a rather astounding footnote to the $493.7 million refinancing last August of bonds for the Barclays Center, which are paid off by the arena operating company, now owned by Mikhail Prokhorov's Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment (BSE). A New York State official said publicly that refinancing at a lower interest rate didn't benefit Prokhorov, because the savings get put into a separate fund for arena maintenance and capital improvements. Not quite. That lowers Prokhorov's obligation. Everyone else reported the refinancing as a benefit, as noted in the Bloomberg headline above right, "Barclays Center Refinancing Saves $90 Million for Prokhorov." After all, according to the  arena lease  between the state landlord, the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corporation (BALDC), and tenant Brooklyn Events Center (parent of the arena operating company), the tenant must pay for operations and maintenance (O&M). Operating & maintenance over the p...

An interesting piece of news emerged at the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Community Update meeting last Wednesday. Tobi Jaiyesimi, who last January was named Executive Director of the Atlantic Yards Community Development Corporation, an advisory body that's a subsidiary of Empire State Development (ESD), the state agency overseeing/shepherding the project, now has additional duties. "I wanted to let you know a slight staffing change on our end. Sam Filler is currently still at ESD. He has transitioned roles, and he will no longer working directly on this project," Jaiyesimi said. " I will be taking on some of his responsibilities as relates to this project specifically." This needs an update Does she have a new title, I asked. "No, I like Director of the AY CDC," she said, adding that things are still in transition. Indeed, they'll have to update the Welcome message (right) on the ESD's Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park page , at least...