Bloomberg Lauds Change to Atlantic Yards Arena

NEW YORK CITY-Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday endorsed Forest City Ratner Cos.’ decision to replace architect Frank Gehry on the basketball arena that is intended as the future home of the Nets and the centerpiece of FCRC’s Atlantic Yards project. During his weekly radio show, Bloomberg said that thanks to the lower cost of the Ellerbe Becket plan for the Barclays Center Coliseum, lining up financing for the Brooklyn mega-project would be possible. “It looks like it will go ahead, which is great,” he said.

While acknowledging that the Gehry design is “spectacular,” Bloomberg said that developer Bruce Ratner “came to the conclusion that in this day and age, you just cannot finance something as complex to build as that stadium. They decided to part company because Ratner couldn’t afford to build if the economics didn’t work in today’s market.”

In a statement, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz says Gehry, who reportedly is still master planner on Atlantic Yards, “has been absolutely central to creating the guiding vision for this project, and Ellerbe Becket is one of the best firms in the business. So we can be confident that the Nets and Brooklyn will indeed have a world-class, stunning arena here in Downtown Brooklyn and we will be bringing more affordable housing to those who so desperately need it.”