Atlantic Yards Project Timeline Questioned

New York, NY —

Opponents of the Atlantic Yards development project are saying that a new agreement makes it impossible for developer Bruce Ratner to finish the entire project in 10 years. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

REPORTER: Ratner maintains he can build the project in 10 years, and the state's adopted that timeline in order to measure its economic benefits and environmental impacts.

But an attorney for the project's opponents, Jeff Baker, argued in a recent letter to state officials that the timeline is a fiction. Over lengthy negotiations, Ratner just got the MTA this summer to agree to sell him the train yard in pieces.

But Ratner's not allowed to start building on each parcel until he pays for it. And according to the schedule of payments, he won't finish paying for the last parcel until the year 2030 meaning the full project won't be done until some time after that.

The Empire State Development Corporation is expected to approve the revised plan Thursday morning. For WNYC, I'm Matthew Schuerman.

HOST: A spokesman for Ratner says the MTA schedule includes a cushion.