FCR/ACORN Agreement

Housing Deal on Atlantic Yards
A Good Start, But Not Nearly Enough
“Affordable Housing” Does Not Lessen Destructiveness
of Ratner’s Taxpayer-Subsidized Sweetheart Deal

BROOKLYN—Forest City Ratner’s and Mayor Bloomberg's announcement today that the City will finance so-called "affordable" housing does not allay myriad concerns about the wasteful and destructive Atlantic Yards proposal, according to Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.

“Ratner’s $1.5 billion subsidy has just gone higher,” said DDDB spokesperson Daniel Goldstein. “Clearly, Ratner is moving in the right direction—thanks to community opposition and ACORN’s negotiating—but low-income, working families get very little out of this so-called ‘affordable’ housing, and Ratner’s wasteful plan is still an insult to the taxpayers of New York City and State.”

The housing deal announced today by ACORN and Mayor Bloomberg stands on shaky financing ground and unknown market forces. The New York Housing Development Corporation and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development made special exceptions for Forest City Ratner beyond any subsidy they have ever offered any other developer. With the public subsidy for Ratner’s project already at $1.5 billion or more, the housing subsidy will push the public contribution closer to $2 billion. With a Brooklyn median household income of $32,000, most of the housing announced by the Mayor today does not provide nearly enough relief for the working families of Brooklyn. A housing agreement for the Ratner proposal jumps the gun as Mr. Ratner has neither acquired all the property he seeks, including the 11-acre MTA Atlantic rail yards, nor has his proposal started the state mandated approval process.

Daniel Goldstein added, "A small bone of ‘affordable' housing thrown to Brooklynites is far from enough to make Ratner’s plan acceptable. Ratner's demanding that the public waste its money on the most expensive sports arena ever proposed, huge skyscrapers in a low-rise community, unmitigable traffic jams and environmental hazards, and a shady local development corporation. All of this without any city oversight or community input, while fire, police, and schools go begging.”

"Achieving ‘affordable' housing does not require all of the destructiveness, and wastefulness that Ratner’s plan does. Yet our officials are telling Ratner, 'Have some free money! And you don't even have to provide real jobs or truly affordable housing!' That's why there's community opposition to this project from Greenpoint to Bensonhurst.”

Goldstein concluded, “This sweetheart deal is still a turkey, even if it now has some trimmings.”

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

Subject: Very Good News

I am very pleased that over 50% of the units in the proposed Atlantic Yards development will be reserved for affordable housing. Especially that 900 of the units will be reserved for families making less than $31,400 annually. Ratner has offered significantly more affordable housing units than most other real estate developments under construction (usually developers only set aside 20% for affordable units).

"30 percent of the apartments, 1,350 units, would be reserved for families with incomes from $37,680 to $100,480 for a four-person household paying 30 percent of its income in rent. An additional 20 percent of the apartments, 900 units, would be reserved for families making less than $31,400 a year. Of that group, 136 units would be reserved for families making less than $25,120 a year. The other half of the units could be rented at market rate."

ACORN should be applauded for brokering this deal it's much better than what I've seen offered by other developers in Brooklyn such as David Walentas/Two Trees Management.

The true number will be even higher as these income levels are based on a family of 4, not the 1 or 2 occupants Jack mentions.