Weekly Digest: Wondering About the Next "Thing." Plus Absurd "Affordable" Rents
Yes, renderings can deceive. Also, are $5,483 "affordable" 2-BRs violating an agreement, legally beating the system, or something else?
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.
Programming note: I’ll post sporadically on Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report over the next two weeks, but likely won’t send a newsletter until Sunday, Sept. 1.
My newsletter article this week, What Future Atlantic Yards "Thing" Will Be Assessed?, addressed what kind of plans and renderings the public will be offered, once a new plan for the railyard sites emerges.
As I wrote, I asked graphics contributor Ben Keel to produce 1) an image of the approved (as of 2006) plan, to compare it with developer Greenland USA’s 2023 proposal and 2) adapt Greenland’s proposal to portray a larger Site 5 (and also, for clarity, add some text). See below.
I commissioned other alternative renderings of the potential future project. Was that comprehensive? No way. There should be more images, including from street level, in various directions.
The point is: these are “things” to react to. If there’s only one “thing,” then it’s likely to be self-serving. The more “things,” the better.
Not just renderings
In reporting the article published by City Limits (Despite New Owner’s Promised Upgrades, ‘100% Affordable’ Atlantic Yards Building Endures Hot Water Outages, Broken Door, Even Bees), I couldn’t get answers from landlord Avanath to detailed questions about some very curious advertised rent levels/
Are they really seeking $5,483 for an "affordable" 2-BR at the “100% affordable” 38 Sixth Ave. and 535 Carlton Ave.?
"We are dedicated to remaining fully compliant with all federal, state, and local lease regulations," Avanath said.
The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which had more than two months to respond to my query, never did. But some apartment-seekers on Reddit sure are confounded.
From this newsletter
Aug. 14: What Future Atlantic Yards "Thing" Will Be Assessed? The below image is only one potential version, but it’s better than the developer’s rendering.
From Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report
Aug. 13: Greenland Holding Group, parent of Atlantic Yards developer, plunges to #291 (from #205) in Fortune Global 500. Revenues down, losses up. Stock falls.
Aug: 15: A $5,483 "affordable" 2-BR? At 38 Sixth & 535 Carlton, has Avanath legally gamed rent stabilization, violated an agreement, or something else? NYC HPD won't say.
Aug. 16: After huge uptick in ticket sales, Barclays Center reports significant (but lesser) boost in net revenue, pointing to modest profits after years of losses.
Aug. 17: Welcome to the "Pacific Park Campus": School Construction Authority posts new video, plus photos of artwork at new building.