Ratnerville to shrink?

NY Times
September 5, 2006
Developer Is Expected to Snip Away at High-Rise Project in Brooklyn
By CHARLES V. BAGLI and DIANE CARDWELL
Facing mounting criticism of its $4.2 billion Atlantic Yards project, the developer Forest City Ratner plans to reduce the size of the complex by 6 to 8 percent, eliminating hundreds of apartments from what would be the largest development project in the city, according to government officials and executives working with the developer.

Forest City is also considering reducing the height of the project’s tallest tower, which is known as Miss Brooklyn, to get it under the height of the borough’s tallest building, the nearby Williamsburgh Savings Bank, according to real estate executives.

The Atlantic Yards project, which includes a Frank Gehry-designed arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, more than 6,000 apartments, high-rise towers and a hotel on 22 acres near Downtown Brooklyn, has drawn a torrent of criticism as it nears the end of its public approval process. Critics fear that it would overwhelm the nearby brownstone neighborhoods and clog an already congested area with traffic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/05/nyregion/05yards.html?ei=5094&en=ad12caa66b189625&hp=&ex=1157428800&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print