11th hour heroics from Develop Don't Destroy and Extell

In a somewhat shocking development, the anti-Ratner-plan group Develop Don't Destroy have teamed up with Extell Development Company in submitting a competing bid to the Forest City Ratner plan. Bids were to be submitted by 5PM today.

Extell is known for being the investor, along with Carlyle Group, who purchased a large tract of land and buildings in the Upper West Side from a Hong Kong consortium and Donald Trump.

In a memo that was sent out to Historic Ft. Greene members, Develop Don't Destroy had this to say:

From Shabnam Merchant of DDDb:
Dear friends,
As many of you know, during the first 3 weeks after the MTA opened their yards for bidding, DDDb worked furiously to reach out to over 100 developers to bid on the yards.

Today at 5 pm, EXTELL Company submitted a bid to the MTA to develop the Vanderbilt Yards (aka Brooklyn Atlantic Yards)

Extell responded to DDDb's call. We met with them along with Marshall Brown of the AYDWS, and went over the UNITY plan with them. We explained to them why the community was opposed to the Ratner proposal, and urged them to put in a proposal to build as per the community guidelines: http://dddb.net/principles/

We know there are many many questions. What type of bid? How high are they building? How much affordable housing? What process will they go through? How will they work with the community?

Extell will be putting out a Press Release at 5pm today when many of these questions will be answered. Keep in mind that Extell has been in a difficult position of having to bid a high number to try to win, while building low enough to satisfy the community. They have essentially been caught between a rock and a hard place: the MTA suggests an FAR (floor to area ratio) of 10 (Ratner is using about 8.9), while the Community wants an FAR of 6.0. So they are likely being pulled in 2 directions... thanks for nothing MTA!

Extell asked us to keep their interest in the site confidential, which is why we did not disclose it until this time. We trust you understand.

And now.... stay tuned! And please please please get involved in the massive fundraising effort we will soon be launching. The battle is not over. It has only just begun. Many legal battles ahead, and much money needed. This is the core group. We need you to get involved in the fundraising effort.

Stay tuned for more information on the launch of the fundraising effort, and PLEASE get involved in that! We need your help on this to win this fight.

They say that good things happen in 3's
1) The Olympics are not coming to Prospect Heights
2) Extell Company put in a bid
3) ????

Thanks to Steve Ettlinger for helping us do research on Extell, to Irene Van Slyke, Tom Angotti, Simon Bertrang and Marshall Brown for facilitating the drawing up of the community guidelines, and also to the groups to understood the need to sign on to them in a hurry! Thanks to Michael Decker for writing up the cover letter to market the MTA's RFP and the area to send to developers, and to Brooklyn Council of Neighborhoods for giving input into the guidelines, and to all those who helped in our search for bidders.

And of course, we all deserve kudos for putting up a strong fight that created the swell of opposition that forced the MTA to open up the yards for bidding... .yes.. even for their Brooklyn yards.

Shabnam Merchant
Develop--Don't Destroy (BROOKLYN), Inc.
www.developdontdestroy.org