The Eminent Domain

The “Impossible Dream” of Rental Development (NY Sun)

Unions Tie Rezoning to Pay Rules (Crains)

Geography of the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Plan (Gotham Gazette)

Ratner Kills Mr. Brooklyn (The Brooklyn Paper)

Groceries Grow Elusive for Many in New York City: With Rents Soaring, Stores are Being Demolished for Condos (The Washington Post)

Good Jobs NY Questions Subsidies, Calls for Community Process for Harlem Park (Community Based Planning)

Resident Input Sought on Fordham Road Shopping District Spruce-Up (NY Daily News)

The Municipal Art Society and the Campaign for Community-Based Planning host the first in a series of forums called “Creating the City we all Want: A Roadmap.”

Forum 1: “Elected Officials Respond to Communities That Plan for Themselves”

Monday, March 24 at 6pm

Municipal Art Society’s Urban Center, 457 Madison Avenue

Organization: Museum of the City of New York

Location: Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Time: 6:30p

Contact Info: For reservations and program information, visit www.mcny.org or call (212) 534-1672, ext. 3395.

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With the city’s investment banks in despair and the economy threatening to go into a downward spiral, New York’s working-class neighborhoods have already been reeling from the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis. How far will the effects spread, and what are the long-term implications for homeowners and neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs? Join Gretchen Morgenson, business columnist at The New York Times, for an informative discussion about the present and future state of New York’s real estate market. She will be joined by Vicki Been, Director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy; Shaun Donovan, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development; and Juan González, columnist, New York Daily News. Reservations required.

$9 for non-members of the Museum; $5 for members, seniors, and students.

Organization: Women in Housing and Finance, Inc.

Location: NYU Furman Center, Lester Pollack Colloquium Room, 245 Sullivan St. (between Washington Sq. South and West 3rd St.)

Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Time: 6:00p – 8:00p

Contact Info: RSVP by sending a check made out to “WHF” to: Women in Housing and Finance, PO Box 281, Canal Street Station, New York, NY 10013. You may also RSVP by sending email with contact information to: whfnyc@gmail.com. Reservations will be confirmed by WHF.

Moderator: Pamela Patenaude, Exec. Director of the Urban Land Institute’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing.

Panelists:
Daniel McGrain: Director of Fund Management, Enterprise Community Investment;
Marcie Cohen: Sr. VP, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust;
Ralph Raciti: Managing Director, Urban Private Equity Funds, Phoenix Realty Group;
Charles Brass: Executive VP, Atlantic Development Group.

COST: WHF Members: $30; Non-Members: $40; Students: $20

Refreshments will be served.

Organization: Museum of the City of New York 

Location: Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street

Date: Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Time: 6:30p

Contact Info: For reservations and program information, visit www.mcny.org or call (212) 534-1672, ext. 3395.

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Coney Island, which achieved near-mythic status in the 20th century as the quintessential amusement park and a New York seashore accessible to millions, is today a neighborhood in transition. A coalition of city agencies and the Coney Island Development Corporation (CIDC) are planning to transform the area into a year-round entertainment complex featuring dozens of new attractions, restaurants, and hotels. Lynn Kelly, President of the CIDC, will present the latest proposal for the area and join a panel discussion moderated by Brad Lander, Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. Additional panelists include David Gratt, Managing Director, Coney Island USA, Domenic Recchia, representative to the City Council from the 47th District, and Chuck Reichenthal, District Manager of Community Board 13. Reservations required. $9 for non-members of the Museum; $5 for members, seniors, and students.

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods) is sponsoring a workshop by the Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development to further the community based planning process for the area around the Vanderbilt rail yards. The area is currently proposed to house the Atlantic Yards development but with the global credit crisis there is a very strong possibility that project will never happen.

Community members and elected officials will participate.

Date/Time: Saturday, March 1, 2008, 10 am to 2 pm

Location: St. Cyril’s Belarusian Cathedral
                 401 Atlantic Avenue (at Bond Street)
                 Brooklyn, NY 11217

RSVP: Hunter College CCPD
             212-650-3328
             ccpd@hunter.cuny.edu

Background Information: What if our community was given a voice in planning redevelopment over and around the Vanderbilt rail yards?  What’s your vision for our neighborhood’s future?

The original UNITY Plan, the community-created alternative to Forest City Ratner’s “Atlantic Yards” project, covered only the publicly owned Vanderbilt rail yards.

FCR has since taken control of and blighted or torn down many properties around the rail yards. But now the financing for “Atlantic Yards” is in doubt, even according to the developer – the bond financing for the arena and the affordable housing may not be
feasible! What happens next?

Join your neighbors, elected officials and expert planners for a public workshop devoted to creating a community plan for the entire area – now that the global credit crisis threatens to scuttle “Atlantic Yards.”

Contact Information:
Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods
201 Dekalb Avenue
Brooklyn, NY  11205
www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com, cbrooklynneighborhoods@hotmail.com

Hunter College Center for Community Planning and Development
212-650-3328
ccpd@hunter.cuny.edu

The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, Inc. is a coalition of community groups formed to provide a community voice in the scoping and review of the Environmental Impact process as it pertains to the development of the Vanderbilt Yards in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. All block associations, church, community and business groups regardless of their position toward any proposed development are invited to join CBN and are  encouraged to attend and participate in CBN’s bi-monthly meetings. A calendar and all CBN documents can be found at www.cbrooklynneighborhoods.homestead.com.

City of Water: A Short Documentary about the Future of New York’s Waterfront

Screening and panel discussion. CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, Recital Hall. Free; no reservations accepted. Sponsored by Gotham Center and Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance. For more information: www.gothamcenter.org or 212-817- 847.

Department of City Planning presentation on Sunset Park zoning study.
Community Board 7, 4201 4th Ave, 6:30 p.m. Please RSVP: 718-854-0003 or communityboard7@yahoo.com

St. Francis College, 180 Remsen Street at Clinton