That's nonsense.

I don't know a single Atlantic Yards opponent who wants "development pushed outside NYC." In fact, many of us support the alternative, community-developed UNITY Plan, a quite-dense design that's limited to the Vanderbilt Yard -- and eschews the use of eminent domain.

The Atlantic Yards Environmental Impact Statement was a farce, and was most deserving of the lawsuit that still challenges it. It's rife with understated or ignored impacts, not the least of which includes the projects nearly 4,000 parking spaces -- a suburban-style parking allocation if ever there were one.

So let's not equate the EIS of a massively over-scaled, eminent-domain abusing, neighborhood-dividing, zoning-overriding, subsidy-sucking boondoggle with stalling efforts designed to keep automobile traffic flowing through Prospect Park, OK?

The city reformed its EIS process (having to do an EIS in the process for the reform) in the Giuliani Administration. As a result something small relative to the existing development in the surrounding community gets a brief review and a "negative declaration." Reasonable enough.

But that's what I mean about "segmentation." You aren't taking away one space at an intersection. You are taking way 30,000 spaces in the city. Suddenly, a Rob Anderson type sues claiming that rubber stamping a neg dec on each individual step, the city is hiding signficant impacts by segmenting its review.

Ten years later, during which an injunction remains in effect, the city is upheld.

There's just no way the EIS process could have been intended to operate this way when it was created back in the day.

I understand the reservations you have about chance for sidewalk improvements like youm entioned happening anytime soon, but it makes me think of the Bedford Ave Bike Swap in Williamsburg where three cars spots were removed and filled in with bike racks in Williamsburg. I know Teresa Toro, the fantastic hair of CB1 transpo committee orchestrated that whole thign, but I hadn't heard it ever needed to get an EIS done. Any idea? If none was needed, maybe there's some hope of many more of that happening.

Also, when did Obama say he favored those types of short term projects. they're great, I'm just curious where to hear more from him about it.

Does anyone have a favorite neighborhood that was build as 1000 unit projects by progressive developers? My favorite neighborhoods are places like Park Slope and the older parts of Greenwich Village, where the largest "projects" were buildings with a few dozen units.

I would say that both the 1000 unit urban "project" and the 1000 unit suburban subdivision should have an EIS. If you build something that big, it can do a lot of damage if it is not well planned.

On the other hand, I think Robert Moses would have agreed completely with this "progressive developer."

I think you are oversimplifying the opposition to AY. People were most opposed to the scale of the project. 30 stories in a 3-6 story neighborhood is pretty ridiculous. There was also the issue of using eminent domain to clear the site, using public funds to build a private project, and creating new superblocks. Lets not get too hysterical.

@Larry

I'm not aware of what they "want"--other than an end to that project. I personally don't care much what goes up, but I'm very much against billionaire developers getting tax dollars to put up their vanity projects.

Consider this possibility.

As construction workers get laid off and development shuts down, the city decides to extend the sidewalk and take away a parking space at intersections where a parked car obscures the view, and fill the space with bike racks. And it wants to do so next to subway stops also. Finally, it decides to build a few of those bicycle parking garages near areas where many people live beyond walking distance from the subway, like Kings Highway on the Brighton.

Quick, easy projects that are perfect for short term stimulus, right? Not in New York.

Obama wants work to be started right away. In New York, the design (you don' think the consulants will give up their piece do you?) and review process will take months, the litigation if anyone decides to sue (ie. eminent domain for one of those bike garages could take years).

And don't even think that removing a single parking space would get a "negative declaration" and be exempt from environmental review. That's "segmentation."