phndc.org

The Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council

Press conference on suit to reverse approval of modified Atlantic Yards Plan
Start Date: 
November 19, 2009 - 11:00am
Categories
Topic : 
Underhill Playground
Sponsored By: 
Community groups, elected officials (see below)
Location: 
City Hall steps
City Hall park, Manhattan
United States
Description: 

Prominent civic and community development organizations and local elected officials who represent the communities surrounding the Atlantic Yards project will gather on the steps of City Hall on Thursday, November 19th, 11am to announce the joint filing of a lawsuit that will challenge the ESDC’s approval of the Atlantic Yards Modified General Project Plan.
The suit contends that the plan was approved without sufficient study of the impacts of its extended construction schedule and completion risks. It also alleges that the ESDC has illegally delegated to FCRC much of its governmental power to determine the future content and configuration of the Project. Groups and elected officials filing suit include the Atlantic Avenue LDC, the Brooklyn Heights Association, the Boerum Hill Association, the Fifth Avenue Committee, the Park Slope Civic Council, the Pratt Area Community Council, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assemblyman Jim Brennan and City Councilmember Letitia James. Attorney Albert K. Butzel of the Urban Environmental Law Center is representing the plaintiffs.
As sponsors of the BrooklynSpeaks initiative, the organizations have tried for three years to engage the ESDC regarding impacts of the Atlantic Yards project on the surrounding communities. This includes putting forth a thoughtful proposal for the governance of the project which proposed a strong advisory role for local elected officials and community residents currently excluded from any meaningful participation.
“Given the agency’s inability to follow through on commitments to provide transparency and oversight to the largest single-source development project in the City’s history, we have found no alternative than to bring suit in order to require a realistic assessment of the long-term impacts of Atlantic Yards before further irreversible action is taken,” says Jo Anne Simon of the Boerum Hill Association.

Open to: 
General public