Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
"Atlantic Yards"

Did a Blogger’s Big Scoop Stall “Atlantic Yards?”

NY1 is reporting a rumor that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will not vote to approve Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards development project at tomorrow's three-men-in-a-room meeting of the Public Authorities Control Board. (Amazingly, this one meeting constitutes the only legislative "debate" and vote that this massive project will ever see). NY1 reports:

According to a source briefed on the matter, as of now, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver will not give final approval to the project before January 1st. There's word he still has financial questions about Atlantic Yards, which includes office and apartment towers and a sports arena for the Nets basketball team. Officially, a Silver spokesman says the speaker hasn't decided.

Financial questions about the project have escalated since the discovery by Norman Oder, author of the Atlantic Yards Report, that nearly half a billion dollars in projected public revenues had simply vanished from the Empire State Development Corporation's project plan. Oder reported:

The revised Atlantic Yards General Project Plan (GPP) issued last Friday by the ESDC contains one very significant change from the document released in July. Projected net new tax revenues have plummeted by $456 million. That's almost a one-third decline from the $1.4 billion figure announced five months ago. That's much more than a rounding error.

Oder was the only working journalist in New York City to notice the half billion dollar revision (though, apparently, Brooklyn Papers reporter Ariella Cohen was also working on the story which came out two days after Oder's). His scoop was significant enough that even the New York Times deigned to give the blogger credit. In an article titled "Agency Cuts Atlantic Yards Revenue Estimate," the Times reported:

The new estimate was included in a statement and other documents issued by the development agency on Friday, but the difference went unremarked in both the brief board meeting that preceded the approval vote and the news conference that Charles A. Gargano, the agency's chairman, held shortly afterward. Norman Oder, a journalist who has a blog devoted to the Atlantic Yards project, noticed the change later and wrote about it yesterday.

Granted, DDDB, community organizations and good government groups have been putting lots of pressure on Silver to delay the approval. And they cite a litany of reasons why the project needs a closer look. But you've got to hand it to Oder. If Silver does choose to delay approval of the project, Oder's $456 million scoop may be a reason why.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Citi Bike Adds New Neighborhoods As Negotiations Continue for Larger Expansion

Citi Bike will expand to new areas of Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx and add stations to busy parts of its existing map, Mayor Adams said.

December 13, 2024

Friday’s Headlines: Yes, We’re Still Talking About Congestion Pricing Edition

Our New Year's resolution: Do whatever we can to make sure congestion pricing is implemented on Jan. 5. Plus more news.

December 13, 2024

Patch Job: Hudson River Greenway Uptown Returns Next Week, For Now

The answer to the sinkhole greenway is right there: taking a lane from the Henry Hudson Parkway.

December 13, 2024

America Has A New ‘Friendliest’ State for Cycling

...but even the best of the best isn't doing enough to protect people on two wheels, a top advocacy group warns.

December 12, 2024

Two Council Members Abandon E-Bike Registration Bill After Divisive Hearing

Council members Chi Ossé and Yusef Salaam pulled their support of a City Council bill that seeks to register all e-bikes.

December 12, 2024
See all posts