Weekly Digest: A Quietly Important 2024 for Atlantic Yards; 38 Sixth Ave. Tenants Make Progress in Court
Despite absence of construction, big plans for project surface, with new entrant likely. BSE Global's ambitions, too. "Affordable" tenants push on landlord Avanath.
This 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 and elsewhere.
Longtime readers know I produce a long end-of-year roundup post on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park, with numerous highlights from each month.
In the course of my research—stay tuned for that, as well as a 2025 preview—I recognized that I needed to provide an early summary, because so much did happen, despite the absence of new construction.
Notably, as I wrote, a plan to supersize the six railyard towers emerged, as did a plan—supported by New York State—for two large towers at Site 5, catercorner to the arena. A new joint venture to develop the railyard towers, led by Related Companies, surfaced, though it didn’t get official blessing.
BSE Global, the holding company owned by Joe Tsai, got a 15% investment from the Koch family, known for right-wing politics. Some of that money will help BSE pursue a new Brooklyn media venture and an “ecosystem” of events and retail.
Yes, the New York Liberty won the WNBA title, gaining a parade. But the bigger question, as I see it, is whether the newly enriched BSE Global will be asked by New York State to pay for gaining the huge benefit of a permanent plaza, which would be enshrined by the Site 5 plan.
Stay tuned on that, too.
38 Sixth tenants gain in court
For several months, I’ve covered troubles at 38 Sixth Ave. (B3), one of the two “100% affordable” towers (along with 535 Carlton Ave., B14) built by the joint venture Greenland Forest City Partners and sold to Avanath Capital, a California company that has something of a halo but deserves scrutiny for not delivering for tenants.
In July, City Limits published my article Despite New Owner’s Promised Upgrades, ‘100% Affordable’ Atlantic Yards Building Endures Hot Water Outages, Broken Door, Even Bees.
I didn’t write about the roach problem, but that was getting worse. The 38 Sixth Avenue Tenants’ Association (TA), represented by Take Root Justice, in September went to court, citing "serious building-wide conditions," including "a front door that does not lock, a roach infestation, and repeated boiler outages that deprive tenants of hot water for hours and days at a time."
They also cited a broken intercom system. Separately, the TA and the landlord have been at odds over the condition of the laundry rooms, front-desk staffing, open communications, and the accuracy—and availability—of leases.
By the time the Dec. 17 court hearing date arrived, some things had changed. The roaches persisted, but the hot water had returned, pretty much. While the front door lock has finally been repaired, tenants were frustrated that not all residents had been provided key fobs.
The court date prompted negotiations and a settlement that set deadlines, with fines for noncompliance, to eradicate the roaches and fix the intercoms, and also a process to provide key fobs. The TA called it a “significant victory” but acknowledged that it was hardly a final step on the path to accountability.
A journalism note
Note: 38 Sixth Ave. is one of many buildings that prompt tenant action for hazardous conditions. Most don’t get news coverage.
Here’s one that did, a particularly egregious example, in which New York Attorney General Letitia James Dec. 13 announced a $6.5 million settlement with Lilmor Management “for repeated and egregious lead paint, mold, and housing maintenance code violations,” prompting coverage in the Brooklyn Paper, New York Post, Brooklyn Eagle, and other publications.
Most of that news coverage was prompted by the Attorney General’s press release—in other words, a staffer was paid to produce a document that was adapted by journalists.
But there are many cases that aren’t as egregious and not highlighted by press releases, and they don’t get coverage, because there are too few local publications and local journalists today.
I likely wouldn’t be covering 38 Sixth if it weren’t part of Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park. (Well, if someone wanted to pay me a fair wage as a freelancer, I might.) But I do focus on accountability journalism regarding the project, so I’ve been willing to do the work.
From this newsletter
Dec. 19: In 2024, No New Construction, But a Big Year for Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park.
Along with my reporting, my collaborator Ben Keel produced various valuable infographics, like the one below.
From Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report
Dec. 16: "100% Affordable" 38 Sixth sued by NYC Housing (over hot water, settled), then by Tenants' Association, citing security issues, roaches, and more. Trial tomorrow.
Dec. 17: While NY State's supposed to get a six-month look-ahead, no document supplied because no construction planned January-June 2025. Might there be more to it?
Dec. 18: Barclays Center releases January 2025 calendar: 18 ticketed shows, mainly Brooklyn Nets and Disney on Ice. Is LIU playing at home venue or at arena?
Dec. 20: It's a business: seven weeks after Brooklyn Nets debut an extensive video profile of Dennis Schröder, he gets traded. He’s on the left in the image above. On the right is the also-departed Mikal Bridges.
Dec. 21: Tenants at 38 Sixth Ave. gain "significant victory" in lawsuit vs. landlord Avanath: agreement regarding front door access, roach problem, broken intercoms.
Note: I’ll be publishing on a more limited schedule during the next two weeks, so expect my next digest on Jan. 5.