Does the plan contain enough active and passive recreational space for the projected 15, or more new residents as well as the people who already live in the surrounding neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Prospect Heights, and Park Slope? Will the open space, set in between apartment towers, be truly public? And are there plans or mandates in place guaranteeing that the space's management, programming, and maintenance would make it accessible and inviting to the public?
No one disputes that the area surrounding the Atlantic Yards site has an acute lack of both active and passive open space. The city's optimal goal for open space per thousand residents is 2. Anything less than 1. At present, according the Draft Environmental Impact Statement's optimistic calculations of existing public space, there are just. Half of that acreage is for active recreation. The amount of usable parkland is actually much lower than the statement indicates, however, because a third of the Another few acres are asphalt courts, or schoolyards and fields available for limited hours.
The statement mentions other open spaces that it claims mitigate the shortage, such as community gardens, private plazas and public parks not officially within the area analyzed. These include Prospect Park, whose closest entrance is a good half-hour walk from the project site; heavily used Fort Greene Park; the exposed and unappealing plaza outside the Atlantic Terminal shopping mall; and even a few unshaded benches attached to planters at an entrance to the Atlantic Mall.
Atlantic Yards includes seven acres of open space on top of a deck to be constructed over the Vanderbilt rail yards. All of the park space would be in the interior of two large blocks containing ten high-rise residential towers.
The open space plans include two playgrounds, a half basketball court, an active play area for bocce and volleyball, a large oval lawn, and trees, but no baseball or soccer fields. A curving walkway would continue the street grid through the middle of the space. There will be pools that hold water as part of the comprehensive storm water management plan.
In addition to the parkland, the project calls for an "Urban Room," a soaring lobby for the Nets arena that is to double as a community space. The developer originally promised a running track on the roof of the arena, but, said Forest City Ratner spokesman Joe DePlasco in an email, "We decided against sending the public to the roof for safety and design reasons, given how difficult it would be to provide access.
On face value, the amount of open space is respectable. It constitutes almost a third of the project's acre site. But because the towers would have so many residents -- with a projected 15, to 18, residents, it would become the densest census tract in the country -- the area within a half-mile radius would actually end up with a lower ratio of public space per resident that it has now,.
The percentage of active recreational space would drop to. The already fully booked sports fields in Prospect Park and elsewhere in the area would not be able to absorb the overload. Compare that to Battery Park City, which also has about a third of its 92 acres of residential and commercial development set aside as parks and fields. When completely built, it will have about 14, residents, so the ratio of parkland per 1, residents meets the city's goal of 2. At Battery Park City, much of the parkland was put in before construction of the buildings.
At Atlantic Yards, however, no parkland is slated to be constructed until the second building phase, which includes most of the residential towers, estimated to be completed in Following pressure from BrooklynSpeaks a coalition of civic, community, and advocacy groups in , New York State changed the deadline for the completion of all affordable units to Today, two buildings have recently begun construction: B4 18 6th Avenue , adjacent to the arena, and B15, across Sixth Avenue.
The latter will house a new middle school. Two more buildings B12 and B13 are expected to break ground next year at the southeastern block between Carlton and Vanderbilt. He said the developers could build six towers over the two-block-long LIRR railyard east of the arena.
However, in order to do so a platform must be built above the yard, he explained. While work has begun on the platform, it is not known when it will be completed. Oder also noted that the open space promised in the project will not be done until the rest of the project is completed. While a foot building was approved for the site, this building has been delayed due to legal issues.
Bruce Ratner and co. According to Ratner, once the SHoP-designed building gets going there are some serious union fights to get through first 60 percent of the tower will be assembled in a factory while the site is excavated. After that the building's modules, already "outfitted with electric and plumbing lines, kitchens and bathrooms," will be lifted into place by a crane and bolted together on the outside.
The unit building will be about half affordable and half market rate rentals. Of course, for the building to get built Ratner first has to deal with some tough union issues. Like the fact that the new building will use far fewer workers than Ratner originally promised, and for less money.
If only the buildings didn't look so fugly. It isn't like modular construction can't look interesting!
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