Field of Schemes: Brooklyn land bids: The winner is...?

July 24, 2005

Brooklyn land bids: The winner is...?

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has released details of the competing bids for its Brooklyn rail yards site - and if you're hoping to understand what they mean, for godsakes don't read the local newspapers:

The Daily News has New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner coming in at $50 million in cash, "but other planned extras balloon the bid to an estimated value of $369 million"; rival Extell Development, meanwhile, "is offering the MTA $150 million in cash while also planning to use up to $150 million in public funds." Ratner, reports the News, would require $200 million in city and state cash subsidies.
The New York Times, meanwhile, counts only the cash bids, reporting that Extell's $150 million is "three times the amount Mr. Ratner bid for the property." The Times also notes that a law passed by the state legislature last month requires the MTA to take the highest offer for its land, and that while it hasn't yet taken effect, Richard Brodsky, chair of the state assembly's public authorities committee, says the MTA "ought to live by the law."

What's going on here? One possible explanation comes from neighborhood arena opponents Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, who indicate that those "extras" promised by Ratner are really just expenses that other developers, such as Extell, would pay out of their project budget. DDDb further observes that Ratner's memorandum of understanding with the state and city indicates further subsidies towards "extraordinary infrastructure costs" - though, as the MOU just says that the public "will consider making additional contributions" toward these costs, it's hard to determine just what this means. More on this as things become clearer, if they ever do.

Meanwhile, revisiting the wreckage of the MTA's last attempted land sale, the New York Jets have missed a deadline to put up a deposit on the West Side rail yards; the team could have its purchase rescinded at the same Wednesday MTA board meeting that will consider the Brooklyn bids. Not that the Jets probably care much: They just settled their lawsuit with the state of New Jersey over rent at Giants Stadium, possibly clearing the way for a new stadium-sharing plan with the Giants.

COMMENTS

well, Neil, who do you think has the higher bid?
Posted by: ratnerville at July 24, 2005 01:55 AM

I don't have enough information to answer that.
Posted by: Neil at July 24, 2005 09:22 AM

Yeah, but neither does the MTA, do they?
Posted by: extellland at July 24, 2005 06:35 PM

Good riddance to the Jets, if the MTA does on Wednesday what it should have done a long time ago and throws their bid into the trashcan. Now that the Olympic frenzy is a distant memory and Doctoroff is off planning the next great land grab, maybe we can get some intelligently designed proposals that make good use of this prime piece of waterfront property. Not to mention bids that actually meet the MTA appraiser's $1 billion plus value assessment. BTW, does anyone else think that both Ratner's and Extell's designs for the Atlantic Yards look plain ugly and completely uninspired?
Posted by: Guy B. Jones at July 25, 2005 07:03 AM