Atlantic Yards Ombudsman Is Named

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November 27, 2007, 5:37 pm
Atlantic Yards Ombudsman Is Named
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/atlantic-yards-ombudsman-is-named/
By Sewell Chan

The Empire State Development Corporation named an ombudsman today to serve as a public liaison for the contentious Atlantic Yards development near Downtown Brooklyn.

The corporation promised to create and fill the position in May as part of a package of measures intended to improve accountability to the public. With increasing fervor, bloggers and community activists had questioned why no ombudsman had been named more than six months later.

The new ombudsman, Forrest R. Taylor, was chief of staff to Gifford Miller when he was speaker of the City Council from 2002 to 2004.

Previously, Mr. Taylor was a protégé of Marc V. Shaw, a former first deputy mayor who now works for the Extell Development Company, and worked as deputy executive director for operations at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where Mr. Shaw was executive director before he joined the Bloomberg administration. Most recently, Mr. Taylor has been manager of Prowess Initiatives and Analysis, which advises companies on government relations and corporate communications.

Mr. Taylor, 46, a Detroit native who graduated from the University of Michigan in 1981, has his work cut out for him. Atlantic Yards, a large retail, residential and office development that includes a new basketball arena, has been the most debated project ever to rise in the city’s most populous borough.

As the “dedicated project coordinator,” Mr. Taylor will be the liaison from the development corporation to elected officials, community groups and the public.

“Understanding and addressing the community’s concerns are a high priority for this administration,” said Avi Schick, president of the development corporation. “We believe this important development project will help transform Brooklyn by bringing much-needed housing, transit improvements, open space and jobs to the downtown area. Forrest’s background in government, transportation and community affairs makes him ideally suited to provide the public with direct information and direct access to the state and the developer.”

Mr. Taylor started his new job on Monday. His office will be “in the Atlantic Yards project area,” according to a news release. (Readers are encouraged to post their comments for the new ombudsman on the NYTblog.)