Office of the Comptroller
City of New York
1 Centre Street
New York, NY 10007

Dear Comptroller Thompson:

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, a coalition of 42 community organizations, is writing to you on behalf of our combined membership of over 3,500 residents of Central Brooklyn. We are very concerned with recent news reports that work on the MTA’s Vanderbilt Railyards has been halted by Forest City Ratner Corporation. The MTA said this work was vital for the development of a new rail yard and was central in their selection of FCRC as the developer for the Atlantic Yards Development Project. The ESDC, the state Authority charged with oversight for the Development project, has referred all questions to FCRC and has stated that the developer is setting the schedule, not the state. The developer has also made similar public statements.

Forest City Ratner Corporation has severely blighted the neighborhood with the destruction of valuable housing stock, and buildings that housed light manufacturing, and local industry. Hundreds of residents have been displaced. The Carlton Avenue bridge, a major connection between Prospect Heights and Fort Greene, has been closed in preparation for replacement and now has no date for re-opening. This closure is not only inconveniencing and isolating two sister communities, it is endangering Brooklyn residents by adding up to ten minutes to the response time of the fire station that serves those communities which relied on that bridge.

When it was learned last week that Forest City Ratner had halted all work on the project, the ESDC was contacted and asked when the Carlton Avenue Bridge would be returned to the public road grid. Amazingly, the ESDC said it was not their responsibility. They replied to a local resident, “The responsibility for work to construct a new Carlton Avenue Bridge is Forest City Ratner's. No work is being done on the bridge now. Beyond that, I will have to refer you to FCRC on all of your other questions." There have been no transferences of public property to the developer so their disposition is still a public responsibility, yet the Public Authority charged with oversight of this project defers to the private developer.

Most disappointingly, Forest City Ratner has done this damage with the extraordinary monetary support of New York City and New York State.

Therefore, the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhood formally requests a complete audit and reporting of all public monies allocated to the Atlantic Yards Development Project by the City of New York, either directly, via any City agency or through any other channel. We request a complete report of the status of the Atlantic Yards Development Project and oversight of the public expenditures for the Project.

We look forward to your speedy response to this urgent request regarding this troubled and clearly stalled Project which has involved the public purse in its destructive process.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

Sincerely,

Candace Carponter                                         Therese Urban

Co-Chairpersons

Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods

cc: Mayor Michael Bloomberg

     Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum

     NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn

     NYC Councilwoman Letitia James

     NYC Councilman Bill DeBlasio

     NYC Councilman David Yassky