Electeds Want Review of Atlantic Yards Phase 2

Sen. Velmanette Montgomery

The Barclays Center officially opened its doors on Friday nine years after the plan to build the arena was unveiled in City Hall, but development at the rest of Atlantic Yards remains stalled. Scores of neighborhood activists including state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, Councilwoman Letitia James, and Rev. Clinton Miller urged the state to conduct another environmental review of the second phase of the Atlantic Yards development and bring in multiple developers to help build 2,200 units of affordable housing on the site, wrestling some control from Forest City Ratner, which has two decades to complete the project. The Empire State Development Corporation will hold public hearings later this year to solicit input and participation in a new environmental review examining the impact the Atlantic Yards project has had on the community, but it is unclear whether the state would substantially amend the project.