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Politics & Government

A Call For Governor to Step In and End 'Cycle of Litigation' at Atlantic Yards

Community group wants renewed focus on promised affordable housing at the site.

Amidst  over the environmental effects of the timeline of Atlantic Yards development, at least one community group is now asking for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to step in and make affordable housing at the site a priority.

“Brooklyn needs Governor Cuomo to step in to end the cycle of litigation, and get this project to deliver on its promises,” said Deb Howard, executive director of the Pratt Area Community Council. “It’s time to move beyond the past failings of the Empire State Development Corporation, and focus on building the affordable housing and providing the jobs the community so desperately needs—now, not in 25 years.”

The call to Albany coincides with ESDC and Forest City Ratner's  ordering further environmental review of the Atlantic Yards project, and the subsequent legal response taken this weekend by groups like BrooklynSpeaks and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

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Back in 2009, the ESDC approved changes to the Atlantic Yards’ General Project Plan that increased the timeline of construction from 10 to 25 years. Last July, State Supreme Court Justice Marcy Friedman  in approving these changes, blasting ESDC for not looking into the potential impacts of the more-than-doubled construction time.

“ESDC and Forest City Ratner have, in effect, asked the court to believe that when the agency approved increasing the construction duration from 10 to 25 years, it didn’t expect the developer would actually use the extra time,” said Gib Veconi of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council, a petitioner in the newest case.

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In 2010, it was reported that  made on residents despite the extra 15 years of construction.

The judge's order for further environmental review is on hold while Forest City Ratner and ESDC's appeal is heard. 

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