For
Immediate Release: September 20, 2005
Mayor
Bloomberg Misleads and Misinforms on Ratner's Atlantic Yards
Grossly Overstates Jobs Promised, Understates Number of Luxury
Apartments
NEW YORK, NY—Mayor Michael Bloomberg is misleading and misinforming
the public regarding Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards development proposal
in Brooklyn. The Mayor's statements last week about jobs and housing
contrast drastically with the official proposal announced by the Empire
State Development Corporation (ESDC) two days later.
Bloomberg said
on September 14 that the project would provide "4,500 apartments
including much-needed affordable housing" and would "also create 8,500
permanent new jobs."
However, a project
description issued on September 16 by the ESDC describes 7,300
residential units, which would include 2,800 market-rate condominiums
along with the 4,500 rentals, half of which would be market-rate,
half “affordable.” That means the total project would include only
31% "affordable housing"--not 50% as announced in May by ACORN, Forest
City Ratner and Mayor Bloomberg, and still touted by the developer
and supporters.
Also, the "affordable" housing would do little to help low-income
Brooklynites. Of the 2,250 "affordable" rentals, 60% would go to middle-income
tenants earning an average of $75,000. Only 900 units, or 12% of the
total units, would go to people earning below $35,000,
Brooklyn's median income.
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman Daniel Goldstein said, "Given
the $1.1 billion in public costs that this project would consume over
30 years, this is a thoroughly inefficient and costly way to provide
affordable housing. By the way, that $1.1
billion figure comes from Ratner; the overall cost would likely
be much higher."
Also, Bloomberg vastly overstated the number of permanent jobs the
project could provide. The proposal would involve 628,000 square feet
of commercial office space. The addition of so-called Site 5 would
add 347,000 square feet of office space. The New York City Economic
Development Corporation says
the standard is 250 square feet of office space per job, so the
two segments of the project would provide space for 2,512 jobs and
1,388 jobs, respectively. The total: space for 3,900 office jobs.
None of those jobs would be guaranteed to local residents, and many
jobs would be recycled from elsewhere (“retained”) rather than new.
There would be a few hundred more permanent jobs in retail, the arena,
and at the proposed hotel. This is a huge drop from the
10,000 permanent office jobs originally promised, and a substantial
decline from 8,500 jobs promised last week by the Mayor.
Goldstein said, "Forest City Ratner has traded office space, and promised
jobs for luxury condominium space, so the company can gain additional
profits at the expense of our communities. Why can't the Mayor and
our other elected officials tell the public the truth about the Ratner
proposal?"
SOURCES:
Bloomberg press statement 9/14/05:
http://tinyurl.com/a8hd6
Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) statement 9/16/05:
http://www.nylovesbiz.com/popup/features.asp?id=41
Housing Memorandum of Understanding (re: 4,500 rental units):
http://www.dddb.net/cba/HousingMou.pdf
Andrew Zimbalist report for Ratner (re $75,000 median income,
office jobs not being new, hotel jobs):
http://www.dddb.net/public/ZimbalistReport2005.pdf
( p. 19, 26, 30)
Ratner VP Jim Stuckey testimony at City Council (re $1.1 billion
public cost, jobs not guaranteed):
http://www.dddb.net/times/ED052605_transcript.pdf
(p. 45-46, 73-74)
NYCEDC memo (250 square feet):
http://www.dddb.net/public/NYEDC_AYardsImpact.pdf
Ratner promise of 10,000 jobs & 400 arena jobs:
http://www.bball.net/documents/pdf/Project%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
Mayor's Affordable housing agreement (50%) press release,
May, 2005:
http://tinyurl.com/77uxe
$35,000 media income:
http://www.dddb.net/public/KimPeebles.pdf,
(p. iii)
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DEVELOP DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN leads a broad-based community coalition
fighting for development that will unite our communities instead
of dividing and destroying them.
Over 4,000 members.
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