As long expected, it was announced that Forest City Ratner is taking some off the top of their Atlantic Yards proposal, eliminating hundreds of market-rate apartments to bring the height of some buildings down (including, yes, Miss Brooklyn [above]) and calm the fears of those who say the density of the project will make Brooklyn look like Japanese movie monsters are trampling it. Will it calm those fears? Of course not. A 6-8% size reduction doesn't mean much to the anti-AY gang, and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Daniel Goldstein already told the Times, "They could chop Miss Brooklyn in half in terms of the height and that won’t change our position." No response yet from starchitect Frank Gehry, who had previously warned Ratner & Co. not to fuck with his vision. Expect the new designs to be unveiled around September 25.
And speaking of the Atlantic Yards, the Ratner-produced propaganda for the development is turning up in some very interesting places, like?say?your mailbox, or even a seemingly harmless Brooklyn Cyclones game over on Coney Island. Corrupting the innocence of America's pastime, employees handed out free New Jersey Nets bags loaded with pamphlets explaining the virtues of the Atlantic Yards development. If what we see inside is to be believed, apparently the Atlantic Yards will make fathers reconnect with their sons, and young couples in love will frolic in grassy fields, taking camera-phone pictures of their creepy, gigantoid smiles. Play ball!
· Developer Said to Cut Size of Brooklyn Project [NYT]
· Atlantic Yards Public Hearing: Race Card Played [Curbed]