April 07, 2008

Ratner: We want more arena subsidies

It's been hard to put a precise number on New Jersey Nets owner Bruce Ratner's planned Brooklyn arena project, thanks to the confusing list of tax breaks and such the project is slated to get, and the fact that it's hard to say what money is going toward the arena and what the other parts of the Atlantic Yards project that may now never get built. Thanks to a report this morning by Atlantic Yards Report's inveterate blogger Norman Oder, though, we can put an adjective on the subsidies - "more":

"We still need more" subsidies, Chuck Ratner, president of parent Forest City Enterprises (FCE) told investment analysts in a conference call last Wednesday. It confirms the clue, as noted in the most recent 10-K filing, that the developer seeks more public support before proceeding with the project.

Chuck Ratner's full quote, according to the official transcript:

Just in these past six or eight months, we got the various governmental agencies, state, city, bureau in New York to increase their commitments to Atlantic Yards by $105 million on top of the $200 they had committed. We still need more.

As Oder notes in a phone conversation with FoS, the $305 million Ratner mentions is all direct cash outlays, implying that the Ratners are seeking more up-front money, not tax breaks for affordable housing or the like. Given that the rest of the project is on the brink of collapse and the arena cost is up to a staggering $950 million, it wouldn't be exactly surprising. Stay tuned for further developments.