Watch Chairman Gargano Talk About Blight and More

We didn't catch the New York Voices on Atlantic Yards on Friday night, being tied down by an Indian meal with one of our oldest friends in the world, so we're going to have to wait until thirteen.org posts it this week. Meantime, there's a clip of Empire State Development Corp. Chairman Charles Gargano spinning his web and putting forth the company line. (Click here to watch.) Both Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and No Land Grab offer links to the clip too. Happy watching and listening. (It is strongly suggested you watch before, rather than after, a large meal.)

BONUS: The New York Metro Chapter of the American Planning Association has raised huge objections to Atlantic Yards in comments about the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Having written things for years for Planning magazine and having talked with hundreds of planners during the course of our career, we can appreciate how big a deal this is. Atlantic Yards Reports notes the comments at length, so we'll simply pass along a snippet of the testimony from NY Metro president Ethel Sheffer: "As planners, we welcome grand visions and ambitious designs to bring higher purpose to underutilized portions of the city and help shape the future of New York. However, this proposal raises serious questions of good planning and design, public process, appropriate scale and density, respect for surrounding neighborhood character, and adequate transportation and infrastructure -- all of which deserve careful study and modification."