On November 15, thirteen elected officials representing residents of communities near Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project came together to demand a new agreement for affordable housing at the site as a condition approving Forest City’s proposed sale of a majority interest in the plan to a foreign developer. The representatives called for a court-ordered study of alternatives to be completed to make sure Brooklynites and the people of New York State get the best deal possible for their tax dollars. And they called for representative oversight of the project going forward to make sure this time promises are kept.
Now it’s your turn. Sign this online petition to speak up with more than a dozen local elected officials in demanding Governor Cuomo not allow Forest City to take its money out of Atlantic Yards without real guarantees that the promises it made for hundreds of millions in public subsidies will be kept.
Dear Governor Cuomo:
Forest City Ratner promised the people of Brooklyn 2,250 affordable apartments at the Atlantic Yards project in exchange for hundreds of millions in public subsidies. Then it pushed back completing that housing for 25 years. Now Forest City wants to pull its money out of the project by selling a majority interest to a foreign developer.
That’s an outrage to thousands of families in danger of displacement, and it’s a raw deal for the taxpayers of New York State.
Brooklyn’s elected officials have said the State should allow the sale only if there are new guarantees for affordable housing to be delivered when originally promised and appropriate oversight to make sure they’re enforced. I agree, and call on you to direct the Empire State Development Corporation not to let the deal move forward until those conditions are met.