Weekly Digest #3: An Uncertain Year
A lot didn't happen, ominously, with Atlantic Yards. Part of "Pacific Park" did emerge.
Programming note: I aim to publish a new, bigger-picture article every week, on Mondays. But tomorrow’s a holiday, so I’ll send it on Tuesday.
This weekly digest offers a way for people to keep up with my Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report blog, as well as my other coverage in this newsletter.
The links this week include my Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park 2023 roundup/recap. It was an uncertain year.
The platform never started; key staff at developer Greenland USA and Empire State Development (the state authority that oversees/shepherds the project) left without replacement; and a foreclosure action was announced for Greenland’s interest in six future development parcels.
Oh, the three-acre "Pacific Park" emerged on the southeast block. Remember, the open space is supposed to be eight acres, but requires the platform, in two phases, which would support the completion of six towers.
From: Learning from Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park (Substack)
Dec. 26: A "Garden of Eden"? Revisiting a New York Times Rave for the 2003 Atlantic Yards Debut. Herbert Muschamp got so much wrong, including the frame.
From: Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report
Dec. 27: Is a proposed new city financing program for 70% affordable housing a way forward for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park? Probably not, but it shows that policymakers are seeking solutions.
Dec. 28: My Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park 2023 roundup/recap.
Dec. 29: Next spring is start of combined sewer installation on Dean Street, especially near the project’s southeast block. The work will take until November 2025. Keep watch for traffic snags.
Dec. 30: At the 535 Carlton parking garage (aka 585 Dean), users grouse (in reviews) about understaffing and delays. That was even before the garage expanded—and the coming sewer installation. Again, keep watch for traffic snags.
Dec. 31: A New York Times package regarding new places to build housing offers curious treatment of Atlantic Yards, as some sites were ignored.
The full Block 1120 and Block 1121 should be included, but I think I know what happened.