CC: "Let's get down to the bottom line. You're not moving to Brooklyn."

BY: "We are moving to Brooklyn."

CC: "You're not moving to Brooklyn."

BY: "We're moving to Brooklyn."

CC: "Why can't you come clean and just be honest. How are you moving to Brooklyn? They haven't put a shovel in the ground yet... Give me a realistic time frame."

(This was before it emerged that work has stopped at the Vanderbilt Yard.)

BY: "A realistic time frame is in Brooklyn, operating in the summer of 2011, being there for the 11-12 season."

CC: "So three years from this season... and you will bounce a basketball in an arena in Brooklyn in three years?"

BY: "Absolutely. Convinced of it."
...

CC: "I've been told as a fact that you have accepted a job to go work for the Miami Dolphins."

BY: "I'm committed to the Nets... I'm committed to the long haul."

CC: "Have the Dolphins called you?"

BY: "No, they have not.

CC: "Brett, don't lie to me... Don't turn around six months and go, after telling me you ain't going."

BY: "You guys will be sitting next to me on opening night in Brooklyn."

As work stops at the Vanderbilt Yard, ESDC blames lawsuits--but that doesn't wash

Anyone ambling around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Vanderbilt Yard would notice. So would sharp-eyed readers (like DDDB) of the Empire State Development Corporation's semi-monthly Atlantic Yards Construction Update.

Work by developer Forest City Ratner's subcontractors on the railyard has stopped.

The question is why.

"The latest I have is that they’ve done all the preliminary work they can complete until the lawsuits are taken care of," ESDC spokesman Warner Johnston said yesterday. "The work will resume when litigation is resolved." His source: "our people who work with FCR."

FCR's contradiction

However, that explanation doesn't wash, leading me to speculate that Forest City Ratner might be hedging its bets on completing the work or having cash-flow difficulties.

After all, in sworn affidavits, then-FCR executive Jim Stuckey and his successor MaryAnne Gilmartin both committed to working on the railyard while litigation was continuing.

In an April 2007 affidavit, Stuckey stated:
The current work is proceeding in accordance with an intricate schedule that is intended to allow the new arena to be completed in time for the Nets to relocate there for the 2009-10 National Basketball Association season. FCRC’s construction schedule has been carefully drawn to allow the arena to be ready for the 2009-10 season by commencing work now on vacant properties that are owned by FCRC, the MTA and the City, with work on properties that are owned or occupied by other parties deferred until the pending judicial challenges to the Project have proceeded to a point where ESDC is in a position to actually use its powers of eminent domain to acquire title to and possession of those properties.
(Emphases added)

In a January 2008 affidavit, Gilmartin said essentially the same thing.

Contrasting construction updates

According to the ESDC's latest Construction Update, there's no more work being done at the railyard.

Note the contrast with the previous Construction Update, issued for the weeks of November 17 and November 24, which stated:
Long Island Rail Road/Vanderbilt Yard Work
Continue construction and debris removal from Block 1121.
Continue hauling soil from Blocks 1120 and 1121.
Continue sloping soil, Block 1121.
Continue installing gabion wall, Block 1121.
Complete east abutment.
Continue assembly of temporary train trestle/bridge on Block 1121.
(Emphasis added)

Note that the word "complete" is used for only one of those actions. For example, has all the construction and debris been removed from Block 1121?

Who does ESDC represent?

This episode puts the tensions facing the ESDC in sharper relief. Is its role to be a partner with the developer, thus in this case (apparently) colluding in a fib? Or is its role to be accountable to the public?

WORK HALTED
According to the Atlantic Yards Construction Update, all work on the railyards has ceased.
...
Conventional wisdom is that Ratner is strapped for cash.

ACORN BAILOUT REPORTED IN THE BLOGOSPHERE
Which leads us to the next item — Anita MonCrief, a former ACORN insider, reported that Forest City Ratner gave Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) signatory ACORN a $500,000 "grant" and a $1,000,000 low-interest loan.

So all the signatories of the Atlantic Yards CBA have received financial support from the developer, what's the big deal? The deal is that these groups are supposed to represent the COMMUNITY. This makes it look like the signatories were just in it for themselves.

Norman Oder mentions that neither organization promoted their new partnership. Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn expects that ACORN "will continue to support and promote the Atlantic Yards project no matter how putrid it becomes."

Despite the fact that Norman Oder posted his article about Ratner's loan and gift to ACORN yesterday afternoon, so far, no mainstream media organizations have picked up the story.

NETS NEWS
Nets CEO Brett Yormark is denying rumors that he is being courted by the Miami Dolphins and still insists that the Nets are moving to Brooklyn for the 2011-12 season, even though all work on the non-litigation-encumbered portion of the Atlantic Yards project has been halted without a realistic explanation. Yormark should take the Miami deal and jump the sinking ship before things get worse.

Things have just gotten worse — Sports Business News reports that a survey ranked Ratner's NJ Nets as the third worst brand in professional sports...

DEATHWATCH
In case you're wondering, the Atlantic Yards Deathwatch clock has counted "1820 Days, 01 Hours, 44 Minutes, 56 Seconds SINCE THE ATLANTIC YARDS PROPOSAL WAS UNVEILED TO THE PUBLIC, AND IS STILL NOT UNDER CONSTRUCTION." In dog years, that's like... a long time.

What is really intriguing about this whole Atlantic Yards mess is that Forest City Ratner has begun layoff s while at the same time bailing out their old friends Bertha Lewis and ACORN. I wonder if those unemployed workers know about the $1.5 Million bailout loan to ACORN by the company. At the East Regional Meeting in August of this year, ACORN leadership stated that

“Big NY ally Forest City Ratner agreed to loan us $1M at 2% and grant us $500k to pay back health fund and to use for other transition costs. Board will decide how much to allocate to IRS payment and how much to allocate to lawyers.”

With $1.5M grant/loan, FCR bails out national ACORN, parent of major CBA partner

...With a grant and (low-interest) loan worth $1.5 million, developer Forest City Ratner this summer helped rescue the embattled advocacy organization ACORN, which represents low- and moderate-income people on housing and other issues—and whose New York affiliate, the developer’s lead partner in the Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), has supplied vigorous support at public hearings regarding the project.

In doing so, FCR has helped stabilize an organization reeling from the revelations that not only did the brother of ACORN’s founder embezzle nearly $1 million in 2000 but also, as the New York Times reported September 10, that the news was “concealed by senior executives until a whistle-blower told a foundation leader about it in May.”...

While Forest City Ratner is quick to trumpet its support for local community events, it has not publicly announced its gift to ACORN.

ATLANTIC YARDS CONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Weeks beginning December 1, 2008 and December 8, 2008

In an effort to keep the Atlantic Yards Community aware of upcoming construction activities, ESD and Forest City Ratner provide the following outline of anticipated upcoming construction activities.

Please note: the scope and nature of activities are subject to change based upon field conditions. All work has been approved by appropriate City and State agencies where required.

In addition to the activities described below noise attenuation and vibration monitoring measures are underway in connection with the Memorandum of Environmental Commitments dated 12/08/06.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our project Ombudsperson at: 212-803-3233 or AtlanticYards@empire.state.ny.us

Abatement and Demolition Work

All work described below will comply with the additional oversight and protocols by the Department of Buildings (DOB) that were established on April 30th, 2007.

• Demolition is underway at 800 Pacific Street (block 1129, lot 25) and will continue throughout this two week period.

• Demolition will continue at 489 Dean Street (block 1128, lot 88).

• Demolition will continue at 487 Dean Street (block 1128, lot 89).

Private Utility Work

The work described below is managed and contracted by the respective private utility companies, as indicated.

• Verizon will be splicing cable on Pacific Street between Flatbush and 6th Avenues and removing cable at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.

City Pressed Hard for Use of Yankee Luxury Suite

The Bloomberg administration was so intent on obtaining a free luxury suite for its own use at the new Yankee Stadium, newly released e-mail messages show, that the mayor’s aides pushed for a larger suite and free food, and eventually gave the Yankees 250 additional parking spaces in exchange.

Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky questions whether taxpayers were adequately protected in the city’s deal with the team.The parking spaces were given to the team for the private use of Yankees officials, players and others; the spaces were originally planned for public parking. The city also turned over the rights to three new billboards along the Major Deegan Expressway, and whatever revenue they generate, as part of the deal.

The e-mail messages between the aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Yankees executives were obtained and released by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, Democrat of Westchester, who questions whether taxpayers were adequately protected in the city’s deal with the team.

Mr. Brodsky said what emerges from the e-mail correspondence is a sense of entitlement ingrained in Bloomberg officials. He said that the city appeared to be pushing for use of the suite for not just regular-season games, but for the playoffs and the World Series, and for special events like concerts, too.

“There’s this ‘Alice in Wonderland’ quality to the question of, what is the public interest here and who’s protecting it?” said Mr. Brodsky, who conducted a hearing on the issue of public financing of sports stadiums this summer. “We can’t find the money for the M.T.A., or schools, or hospitals, and these folks are used to the perks and good things of life, and expect them.”
...

The blog, the nba from the cheap seats, evaluates the Jersey Nets chances of winning the 2010 LeBron James sweepstakes. Ratner's last place team doesn't fare well:

It's a Two-Team Race for LeBron James in 2010

-- FORGET ABOUT IT --

The New Jersey Nets
...

Why They Could Get LeBron: Bruce Ratner, the majority stakeholder of the Nets, wants to move the team to Brooklyn, the hometown of Jay-Z, a minority stakeholder of the Nets and a close friend of LeBron's. Brooklyn gives LeBron access to New York City, the biggest media market in the NBA. He has even said his favorite city in the world is New York, but his favorite borough is Brooklyn, not Manhattan.

Why They Won't Get LeBron: Because everything in the preceding paragraph is a big, steaming pile of crap. The Atlantic Yards project is so mired in legal problems that it'll be lucky to begin construction in 2010. The eminent domain case against Atlantic Yards, filed by the residents of Brooklyn, won't reach a decision until March 2009, at which point the petitioners will of course appeal and drag out the process even more months. Moreover, Bruce Ratner is a real estate mogul, not a sports owner. He cares a lot more about making sure his $4 billion real estate project is completed than he does about putting LeBron in a Brooklyn Nets uniform. In fact, he has been trying to sell the Nets for the past year due to the mountain of financial losses the team takes every year.
...

And Jay-Z? How many times has he been at Madison Square Garden for the Knicks this year? He probably has season tickets. Now when was the last time you saw Jay-Z at the Izod Center watching the Nets? 2006? 2005? The New Jersey Nets are not moving to Brooklyn. If anywhere, they're much more likely to move into the Prudential Center with the Devils in Newark. Even if Ratner does keep them, they're not going to have an arena ready until 2012. If Jay-Z won't go into Jersey to watch his own team, why would LeBron waste two years in the swamp?

Full article

The Host Committee and the Members of Families United for Racial & Economic Equality (FUREE) invites you to

Consider the many ways you can help FUREE to empower our communities, fight displacement and promote inclusive neighborhoods by lending your support:

...Talks are also continuing with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

One of these days [NBA] Commissioner [David] Stern needs to figure out where the [New Jersey] Nets are going to be playing in a few years if they're not playing in Brooklyn.

Sane Development. This state and city has a bad habit of pouring money into ill conceived development projects with little oversight. They do this largely based on promises of affordable housing. Yet there are few guarantees that these promises will ever be carried out. Bruce Ratner is merely the most obvious and egregious example, using his connections and family donations to Pataki, Bloomberg, Vito Lopez, etc. to get massive amounts of tax money from the people of NYC and NY State. Yet he is now saying he will largely back out of all promises regarding affordable housing. In the end, these development projects become more about patronage and political donations than about improving our city, and taxpayer money is wasted with little return for the community. The job creation is anaemic, the affordable housing non-existant or not affordable, and the only people to benefit are the developer and his political cronies. I am for devlopment if it is sane development, and I am for giving tax breaks to developers if they make enforceable promises and are held accountable if they don't keep them. But this habit of giving development projects to a low bidder, paying for his land purchase anyway, pouring tax money into his pockets, then getting nothing out of it is a huge waste of our time and money.

"We remain particularly concerned about the effect the weak and uncertain capital and real estate markets may have on the company's ability to close, finance, lease, and ultimately profitably complete the high-profile Atlantic Yards mixed-use project."

``We have no money. This isn't a legal issue; this is a fiscal issue,'' Bloomberg said at a Brooklyn news conference today. ``Obviously, we're not going to send out checks, and we'll have to find a way to balance the budget.''

A television mini-series focuses on the paucity of news media coverage on the Atlantic Yards project, with a mission to tell “a half-told story that’s failed to serve the public interest.” [The Real Estate]

Bruce Ratner has been talking for years about "breaking ground" on his Atlantic Yards project.
He can talk all he wants, but we're on a deathwatch...

I'm not sure I buy the concept of the Atlantic Yards Deathwatch. Maybe it should be the Atlantic Yards Delay-watch. But it is worth remembering that, when the project was announced in December 2003, the arena was supposed to open in October 2006.

Remember, Chuck Ratner of parent Forest City Enterprises (FCE) said in March 2007, "We are terrible, and we’ve been a developer for 50 years, on these big multi-use, public private urban developments, to be able to predict when it will go from idea to reality."

Then again, if FCE stock continues to plummet--down 16.27% yesterday, to a new 52-week low, as DDDB pointed out--Atlantic Yards can't survive.

Atlantic Yards Deathwatch Watch
Though we doubt that the folks at Forest City Enterprises have changed their homepages to the Atlantic Yards Deathwatch, the site made a ripple in the blogosphere...