Empire State Development Corporation (Finally!) Appoints Atlantic Yards Ombudsman

(November 29, 2007) The ESDC announced last week that, after an inordinately long search, Forrest Taylor has been hired as the official Atlantic Yards Ombudsman.

CBN issued the following statement in response to the announcement of Mr. Taylor’s appointment:

"We're pleased, and relieved, that the ESDC has, after more than 200 days, finally filled the position of Atlantic Yards Ombudsman. We hope that Mr. Taylor is worth the wait, and that he's a quick study, so that it doesn't take another 200 days for him to get up to speed on the many complex issues surrounding the Atlantic Yards project.

"We also hope that his appointment is a sign that the ESDC will follow through on all the promises it has made to the public regarding oversight of the Atlantic Yards project, and that Mr. Taylor will be not only a disseminator of information to the public, but an advocate for community concerns.

"We extend an invitation to Mr. Taylor to attend CBN's next general meeting, on January 8th, but we hope and expect that well before that, he can provide our community and our elected representatives with answers to the critical questions about security and public safety that Forest City Ratner, the ESDC and the NYPD have so far failed to address among many other long-standing issues."

The ESDC will establish an office for Mr. Taylor somewhere in or near the footprint of the Atlantic Yards project. In the interim, he can be reached by telephone at (212) 803-3123 or by email

Click here to read The Brooklyn Paper’s coverage of Mr. Taylor’s hiring