Cultivate the Grassroots: A New Development Model

As controversial and lawsuit-ridden as it may be, the proposed Atlantic Yards redevelopment program in downtown Brooklyn has one reliable reply to anyone who criticizes the project on the basis that it creates more rather than less inequality in the world – or at least in Brooklyn. And that is: the solid backing of poor-people’s advocate ACORN. Now, at least two new development proposals in the borough are mirroring that developer-advocacy group relationship, some say, prompting debate over whether other private developers are taking a page from Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards playbook to win helpful grassroots support for their upscale residential ventures – or whether actively seeking that support may lead to genuine discussions that create greater community benefits than would have been generated otherwise. Ever since 2005 when Bertha Lewis, executive director of New York ACORN, joined Mayor Bloomberg and Forest City Ratner Chief Executive Bruce Ratner at a press conference to announce her organization’s support for the $4 billion development plan that includes an arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team along with retail and residential space, the longtime housing activist has played a central role in the effort to rally public backing for the large project. The plan calls for half of its 4,500 rental apartment units (out of 6,430 total units) to be reserved for low- to moderate-income earners with the cost of rent restricted to 30 percent of the household income. "From the start, we planned to have a significant affordable and low-income program because there is a severe housing shortage in Brooklyn and we wanted to address this concern," says Bruce Bender, Forest City Ratner Companies’ executive vice president for community and government affairs, who added that the corporation decided on the number of affordable units to create after having "developed a plan" with ACORN. And while many observers praised the plan’s emphasis on low-income housing, others remain skeptical about the number of affordable units that will ultimately be retained. But the support of ACORN, which has more than two decades of advocacy work under its belt, gave Forest City Ratner some shield from the public outcry that massive development projects often produce. Lewis, who declined to comment, has thus been criticized by some activists for supporting a plan they contend has resulted in displacement and will produce overly concentrated building in a compact area. "ACORN did not serve its core constituency well with what they’ve negotiated with Ratner, and there are a lot of people unhappy about that," said Daniel Goldstein, a spokesman for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which opposes Atlantic Yards. "There’s been an unusual political alignment when it comes to this project." Just to the north of the projected site for the Nets arena at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues lies Williamsburg, where a similar conflict is playing out over support for large development projects. A number of developers emerged with residential proposals that included apartments around the time that City Council passed legislation in 2005 permitting the rezoning of the waterfront in Williamsburg, which has since been extended farther inland. The first venture actually preceded the rezoning in 2004 when developer CPC Resources teamed with Isaac Katan to purchase the Domino Sugar refinery plant. The price was $55.8 million for the facility, still in operation, in an area specifically designated as a manufacturing zone. Another plan that raises questions for some locals is called Williamsburg Terrace, a 24-story tower proposed by Quadriad Realty Partners. Last month, CPC Resources and Katan publicly unveiled plans for the property, including four towers ranging from about 30 to 40 stories tall along the waterfront, plus two other smaller buildings on Kent Avenue. Within the 220,000 square feet of community and retail space, the plan includes 2,200 condominium and apartment units – with about 30 percent designated for middle-income housing. "We plan to add to the community’s strong character," said Susan Pollock, a CPC senior vice president who serves as Domino project manager, calling Williamsburg "fascinating and diverse."

At a public hearing on July 31, the project received support from representatives of Churches United for Fair Housing, which represents about 20 local churches, and El Puente, a Brooklyn social action group. According to Pollock, CPC met with other groups to discuss its proposal, including United Jewish Organizations and Los Sures, a housing community development company. "We’ve made ourselves available and will continue to do so as we move forward. It’s hard to please everyone, but we remain open to as many groups as possible," Pollock says.