Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

At yesterday's Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet meeting, a bi-monthly meeting of involved agencies and developer Forest City Ratner held at Brooklyn Borough Hall, discussion included not only the timing of construction and jobs/compliance monitor , but ranged over multiple issues. The summary: Empire State Development (aka Empire State Development Corporation) has begun work on a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) regarding the impacts of an extended project buildout In response to noise complaints, Forest City's contractors improved equipment and adjusted schedules to reduce impacts FCR is supervising additional nearby infrastructure work that's not connected to Atlantic Yards but must be done before the arena opens Council Member Letitia James expressed dismay at the lack of public input A transportation demand management plan will arrive slightly later than initially promised Rodent problems persist in some areas near the project site No ...

Patch reports that 150 trash cans will be distributed in Fort Greene, thanks to a joint initiative by Council Member Letitia James and Forest City Ratner. In August, FCR had paid for and distributed numerous cans in a limited area below Atlantic Avenue , assisting residents faced with a plague of rats--exacerbated by Atlantic Yards construction, many believe. However, many people in Fort Greene have filed complaints with James. At the Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet last month, James raised the issue , and Forest City somewhat reluctantly agreed to talk about it. Patch reports that the trash cans would go to "residents of S. Oxford Homes," which is not a formal name I recognize. Possibly it's Atlantic Commons. But it likely does not cover the full area where people were complaining.

Yesterday's bi-monthly Atlantic Yards District Service Cabinet meeting, an interagency working group involving officials representing areas around the project site, covered a lot of ground. What was hinted at--notably, Forest City Ratner's (FCR) plans for modular construction--may have been more important than what was established. A summary of the high points of the meeting, held at Brooklyn Borough Hall: FCR is planning negotiations with labor officials over plans for modular construction The developer is pitching modular as good for the city because it could hasten more affordable housing, as well as cause less disruption at a construction site FCR is quick to assert the number of union jobs would be the same--though not to acknowledge that labor costs and salaries would drop Hurricane Irene caused delays at the project site, especially at the railyard After-hours work is needed to maintain the schedule  Noisy overnight road work is required by the city, but will ...