Municipal Arts Society Says Atlantic Yards Will "Overwhelm" Surrounding Nabes and Calls for Changes

The Municipal Arts Society, which is a significant presence in the world of New York City architecture and design, is criticizing plans for the Atlantic Yards development. Its critique was presented at a meeting last night in Fort Greene. The group, in effect, agreed with opponents who say the project will dwarf adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods and swamp them with traffic. Specifically, it notes:

While the Atlantic Yards site is right for development, the Forest City Ratner plan threatens Brooklyn’s special qualities. It would overwhelm surrounding neighborhoods with enormous towers. It would eliminate streets to create deadening superblocks that don’t work anywhere in New York City. It would create a private-feeling enclave of a park on what is now public land. And it would add 40,000 new vehicular trips every day with no plan to avoid gridlock.

Does this change anything? Who knows. When known project opponents say you stink, however, you can always accuse them of being biased against your cologne. When the Municipal Arts Society says you smell like a skunk, it's time to take a serious whiff of yourself and see if you have a stripe running down your back. As the plans currently stand, Forest City Ratner would bring 8.7 million square feet of residential, office and arena space to the parcel at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.

"Does this project work for Brooklyn?" asked Kent Barwick, the society's president. "As it currently stands, we don't think it does." The MAS presented "five principles" for improving the plan. They include avoiding the elimination of streets and making park space more available.

As always, there is extensive coverage of the meeting and the MAS critique at Atlantic Yards Report.