For my workout one sunny day, I decided to go for a run down Flatbush Avenue. As I run I always take notice of my surroundings whether its people, buildings, cars, or nature. I love running outside because then I can see all the beautiful things that make up the community I live in or near by. While running I constantly need to weave in and out of large crowds of people walking on the sidewalk. This area is always busy with people hanging out, shopping, working, or traveling. As I start to approach Atlantic Avenue I find myself gazing at shopping complexes that have stores that I love to shop at. Also, there are some delicious restaurants too. A main subway stop for several trains is Atlantic Terminal because many people come to this area to shop, go home, or take the LI Rail Road. When I turn left off Flatbush and onto Atlantic Avenue the shopping center continues showing some more amazing stores. As I continue running I can see a lot of apartment buildings, which make me realize this is also a residential area too. I love running in this area because I feel I get to see part of Downtown Brooklyn and some unique residential areas at the same time.
However as I turn my head to the other side of Atlantic Avenue I see a large gated, messy construction area. This area starts at Flatbush Avenue and ends at Vanderbilt Avenue. I cross the street so I can run along the fence to try and see what is going on behind it. I can see some rail road tracks with some MTA workers and security guards walking around, but as I come closer to Vanderbilt I can see construction workers and equipment digging up the ground. Eventually as I keep running I see a sign posted on the fence, which says “Atlantic Yards.”
The Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue intersection is a very booming place. This location is very busy with pedestrians and vehicular traffic at all different times throughout the entire day. Behind the shopping center is the Williamsburg Savings Bank building, which can be seen from all throughout Brooklyn because it is the tallest building in the area. It may be taller than all the other buildings in the area, but it still blends in to this location because of its architecture. The Atlantic Terminal subway station is underneath the Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue intersection. About fifty percent of all subway trains stop at Atlantic Terminal. There are also smaller businesses across from the Atlantic Center, which have been located there for years such as bodegas, a computer repair store, and a few clothes stores.
The apartment buildings that are part of the residential area by Atlantic Avenue house all different classes of people. The majority of people who reside in this area are middle and lower middle classes. New apartment studio buildings are being constructed all along Flatbush Avenue and they are making their way down towards Atlantic Avenue too. Very few people in this area will be able to afford such housing. For more than a decade gentrification has been taking place throughout Brooklyn and is now especially occurring along Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue. The Atlantic Yards project is a very controversial issue within this Brooklyn community and there are two major groups in dispute about what should be done with the property, Forest City Ratner Companies and Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn.
Forest City Ratner Companies:
In the middle of all these different communities along Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues is a large amount of land that is gated and referred to as “Atlantic Yards.” Currently the area looks like an eyesore because of the gated fence, graffiti, trash, and mounds of dirt surrounding it. Inside the gate are some railroad tracks, cars, and some MTA workers walking around; on the other half of the lot is the beginning of some form of construction. Construction workers with heavy duty equipment are digging into the ground to lay the foundation for the Atlantic Yards project.
The Atlantic Yards project is supposed to bring a new vision to downtown Brooklyn and create a home for Brooklyn’s NBA franchise, the Brooklyn Nets. This project is said to be one of the most important developments in Brooklyn’s history. Not only does it consist of an entertainment arena, but also a mix of affordable, middle-income and market rate housing, commercial offices, retail establishments, a hotel, and a beautiful landscape of public accessible open space according to Forest City Ratner Companies. This project will greatly benefit the thriving borough of Brooklyn. The Atlantic Yards is a project of the developer of Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC). There are two different people overseeing the designs of this development project, architect Frank Gehry and landscape architect Lauise Olin (FCRC).
The Atlantic Yards project is located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenue and is bounded by Pacific and Dean Streets and Vanderbilt Avenue. This area is on top of the MTA and LI RR’s Vanderbilt rail yards. This project is a $4 billion investment in Brooklyn’s future. The developers say that it should open many opportunities to the people of Brooklyn, such as new homes, jobs, community resources, and an entertainment site (FCRC). These twenty-two acres are going to become filled with seventeen different buildings including the basketball arena. The breakdown of development is, mostly residential space, and then the next largest amount of space is reserved for a sports and entertainment arena, and half of the amount of space will be used for offices. The remainder of the space will be used for retail, a hotel, and open space for the public (FCRC). These buildings are going to be designed to fit in with the surrounding communities. They are supposed to fit in scale with the low rise majority of buildings in the nearby neighborhoods.
Forest City Ratner Companies say that this development project will spur a lot of economic growth for the borough and city because there will be union construction jobs and permanent jobs available. It is estimated that $5.6 billion will be generated in tax revenue for the city and state over about thirty years (FCRC). Also, they say that the project will create opportunities for new business and encourage economic growth for the existing local businesses. The project is promised to not only be an investment for today, but also for Brooklyn’s future (FCRC).
The population of Brooklyn is growing rapidly and Atlantic Yards addresses this issue of the need for housing. It will help solve this problem by adding over 6,000 units of mixed-income housing, so that all different classes of people will be able to afford a unit. The housing will be divided into market rate condominiums and rental units. Of these rental units, 50 percent will be reserved for middle and low-income families (FCRC). The non profit group, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) is responsible for the housing division plan. They agreed to help build a percentage of affordable ownership units that would be for low income families located on or off the site (FCRC). Atlantic Yards development promises to bring together different Brooklyn communities. Forest City Ratner Companies say that they are working closely with local community organizations and leaders to discuss any community concerns about this upcoming development. This company has attended several community hearings and meetings to try and answer any questions or concerns from community members. Forest City Ratner Companies promises to continue to support local community events, non profit cultural organizations, and amateur athletics throughout Brooklyn (FCRC).
Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn:
The Atlantic Yards development project designed by Forest City Ratner Companies is opposed by a group called Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB). They were founded in February of 2004 and are a volunteer run and community funded non-profit corporation (DDDB). This group leads a community partnership fighting for development that will bring the communities of Brooklyn together instead of dividing and destroying them. They oppose the “Atlantic Yards” development proposal for the Nets arena and high rise apartments throughout Brooklyn by Forest City Ratner Companies. Fifty-one community organizations are opposed to Atlantic Yards and twenty-one of those organizations are fighting against Ratner’s plan (DDDB). They all feel that Brooklyn needs change, but it needs to be achieved in a way that will show the borough as a diverse, exciting city with pride.
This organization says that the Atlantic Yards project will use at least $1.6 billion in public money and would use the state’s power of eminent domain, which will take private property from one owner to give a private entity for a private use, instead of public. Atlantic Yards is going to use eminent domain to take private properties, houses, and businesses to give them to Forest City Ratner Companies to destroy and build upon. It is said that eminent domain has been called unconstitutional and is being challenged in the New York Supreme Court (DDDB). They feel that development deals that give the developer all power of everything should not be agreed upon because then the communities’ input will not be taken into consideration. They say that the Ratner plan is 90 percent skyscraper construction that will rise up at least fifty three stories high, which is higher than the Williamsburg Savings Bank. This would create a tremendous problem for Brooklyn because a gigantic shadow would be cast over Dekalb Avenue and Fort Greene. This project will crowd up this location even more and make it extremely dense with loads of traffic all day long. Atlantic and Flatbush Avenue is already a crowded area. Instead of this development schools, hospitals, police and fire stations should be built or the public transportation should be improved. Only 12 percent of the housing will be for people making less than $31,000 per year (DDDB).
The Atlantic Yards project is one of the biggest developments ever proposed in Brooklyn and there is absolutely no input from the local community and there will be no oversight from the city council, community boards, or any state legislature because the majority disagree with Ratner’s project. This organization is going to fight against this development because it does not support the growth of MTA’s Vanderbilt Rail Yards, affordable housing, and career creation. Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn wants development projects to respect the surrounding quality of life of the neighborhoods, existing businesses, scale of local architecture and health of nearby residents, and input of affected communities by the project (DDDB). They will not support Atlantic Yards because they want responsible development in Brooklyn to benefit the communities. This organization says that there are other groups who wanted and offered to build over the rails; however, Ratner was the only company to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, massive subsidies, and guaranteed zoning (DDDB). Forest City Ratner Companies is said to be selling Atlantic Yards as an affordable housing project, but it is only accelerating the process of gentrification.
Community’s Opinion:
These two groups have completely different perspectives on the plans to develop the Atlantic Yards, so I wanted to see what local people in Brooklyn think of it. A woman who lives close by the Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue intersection had many concerns about the Atlantic Yards Project. She explained to me that she visits this area quite often either while shopping for clothes or food, traveling by public transportation, or car, walking or hanging around, or while running. She comes here because she enjoys it and feels that it gives off a pleasant and welcoming vibe. She feels there is already a lot of traffic and overcrowding in this area and that if the Atlantic Yards Project is followed through with it is only going to get ten times worse. The project makes her think that there will be an influx of people causing more traffic and pollution problems. She feels that this area needs development such as more schools or a hospital, but not big businesses to take over the existing local smaller businesses. She thinks money is being put towards something that will not better any community, except for the company building it. She feels that if the Atlantic Yards Project is completed, communities will be negatively affected and will take years to recover. She has lived in Brooklyn for four years and has noticed how the development has drastically changed the borough over the years.
Also, I have several friends who live in the communities surrounding Atlantic Yards and they explained to me how they are scared they will not be able to afford rent and be kicked out of their apartment in the next few years. They have noticed how their community has been changing because people in other apartment buildings have already been removed and new residents have been moving in who can afford the monthly rent. My friends stressed the idea that they wish their community would go back to the way it was because everything is becoming different and unaffordable.
My Opinion:
The Flatbush and Atlantic Avenue community is already an amazing place that does not need the Atlantic Yards Project to create a new identity of Brooklyn. If this project is completed then the Brooklyn that once was will be forgotten and lost because of this development. Brooklyn is such a unique place because of all the diverse and exceptional communities that make it up. This area is already full of businesses, retail stores, and restaurants that help boost economic growth that it does not need any more businesses. The Atlantic and Flatbush Avenue intersection is a place that brings diverse people together and creates neighborhoods that better community life. The people are always content and are happy that they are able to support their families in this community.
If people do not join the fight against the Ratner Project with Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn then they will regret it later after Atlantic Yards is complete. They will realize that from this project their community will now be dark and gloomy from the shadow that is cast over them from all the skyscrapers that are going to be built, they will have to leave earlier for work because of all the traffic of cars and public transportation, there will be an overcrowding issue from all the new apartments being built, and their community will be forced to change and be different and lost forever from the Atlantic Yards project. The community will change from all the development taken place and their daily lives will be affected. This area will be unrecognizable after this project is completed and every thing in the area will revolve around Atlantic Yards and not any local communities. Also, many people will be kicked out of their houses because they will be taken away from them through Ratner’s exercise of eminent domain. They may not know it, but their houses are going to be destroyed. Many people’s rents will skyrocket because of all the construction in their community, too. The communities of Brooklyn need to come together and protest Ratner’s plan of “Atlantic Yards.”
I am a newcomer to Brooklyn from Exton, Pennsylvania. I moved to Brooklyn to study and play Division One soccer at Long Island University. Brooklyn has been my new home for about three semesters now and I have loved every second of it. When I moved to downtown Brooklyn I realized how convenient the area was because everything that I needed was in walking distance or only a subway trip away. The area was not too big and overwhelming for a suburban girl, but it felt just right. I did not learn the area overnight; it took me about a year. However if Brooklyn continues to develop so quickly it will be difficult for newcomers to become used to the location and maybe even push them away. Coming from a fairly newcomer to Brooklyn I feel that the Atlantic Yards project is a bad idea because it will make downtown too intimidating.
Also with being a student at Long Island University I disagree with Ratner’s plan of “Atlantic Yards.” First, the shadows cast from all the gigantic skyscrapers will fall directly on the LIU campus. This will directly affect me as a soccer player because my team trains at the turf field on campus and these shadows will cause the field to be dark and depressing. As a student walking from class to class on campus the area will not be bright and exciting, but make me dread going to class because it will always seem like a dim and cloudy day. I make a decision to study in Brooklyn because I enjoyed the community and felt comfortable, but now the community is transforming into a 34th Street and Madison Square Garden type of place. If I wanted to study in that type of community then I would have gone to a university in Manhattan. Overall, I miss the community I lived in about a year ago and if Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” is completed the community will continue to change negatively.
Works Citied
"About DDDB/Ratner Plan." Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. 13 Nov 2008. Develop
Don't Destroy Brooklyn. 03 Nov 2008
"Overview." Atlantic Yards. 13 Nov 2008. Forest City Ratner Companies. 03 Nov 2008
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