By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

BROOKLYN — The out-and-out opposition to Atlantic Yards, now under construction, has diminished considerably, but many local officials and community groups still seek a tighter leash on the construction and management process for the huge arena-based project.

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) has sponsored a bill, A111431, that “authorizes the Urban Development Corporation to create a subsidiary corporation for the purpose of the further planning, design, and oversight of the Atlantic Yards land use improvement and civic project.�

This bill has now passed the Assembly’s Corporations, Authorities and Commissions Committee, according to BrooklynSpeaks, a coalition of civic organizations and advocacy groups in the areas near Atlantic Yards.

State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery has introduced a similar bill (S08193). Both bills direct the ESDC (Empire State Development Corporation) to establish a subsidiary corporation for planning and oversight of Atlantic Yards.

Jim Vogel, a spokesperson for Montgomery, told the Eagle that Atlantic Yards is the only project of that size that the ESDC is sponsoring that does not have an official entity that oversees development, construction and governance. Example of such overseeing bodies Vogel gave include the Battery Park City Authority in Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Corp. in Brooklyn.

Jo Anne Simon, a Boerum Hill attorney and Democratic district leader, said that under the current arrangement, “ESDC gives to Forest City Ratner Companies [the developer of Atlantic Yards] quasi-governmental powers that FCRC is in no position to carry out.� Like Vogel, she said that “any single project of any size� sponsored by the ESDC has an overseeing entity.

She also encouraged Brooklynites who are “concerned about accountability at Atlantic Yards� to sign an petition by Brooklyn Speaks calling for the swift passage of this legislation.

A spokesman for Forest City Ratner told the Eagle that “FCRC does not have a comment on the proposed legislation.�

“We look forward to hearing further details regarding the constitution of the oversight subsidiary in the weeks ahead, and urge both the ESDC and our state legislators to look to the BrooklynSpeaks roadmap for governance reform as a guide to building a platform for informed decision-making on the project,� added Deb Howard, executive director of the Pratt Area Community Council.

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