Testimony of Richard T. Anderson, President New York Building Congress
before Committee on Economic Development New York City Council on Atlantic Yards/Brooklyn Nets Project

May 4, 2004

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee on Economic Development, the New York Building Congress is pleased to endorse and support Forest City Ratner Company’s Atlantic Yards/Brooklyn Nets project. There are few projects which hold greater promise for New York City’s future. This proposal should be carried forward with strong support of government, business and community leaders.

What is most impressive about this proposal is its comprehensive and balanced plan for a state-of-the-art arena together with housing, commercial office space, retail space and publicly-accessible open space. The site at Flatbush at Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn is one of the most accessible in the City of New York. To do anything less than what is being proposed would not be in the City’s best interests.

As a coalition of the design, construction and real estate industry, the Building Congress is especially concerned with the overall economy of the New York City. By combining so many integrated components within one well-designed project, Forest City Ratner will add considerably to the Borough of Brooklyn and the entire City. This will include $2.5 billion in total development activity, 15,000 union construction jobs, 10,000 permanent jobs, and 4,500 units of badly-needed housing. All of this will generate considerable tax benefits for the City together with an enormous civic boost in an area of New York that has not had comparable investment for many decades.

The Building Congress also is impressed with Forest City Ratner’s commitment to affordable housing, to public participation in the planning and review process, and other steps to make this project a hallmark for the right way to do development. As we see it, the end result truly will be unique and far-reaching.

The Building Congress and its 1,500 individual members urge that every effort be made to support and further this important initiative. All New Yorkers have a stake in this important project. We urge the Committee on Economic Development and the entire City Council to respond enthusiastically and affirmatively and to bring this project to reality as soon as possible.