While neighborhood advocate Daniel Goldstein was thought to be the last residential holdout in the Atlantic Yards development’s path, a family was discovered living at 481 Dean Street — and they’re not leaving without a fight, according to the New York Post. The Prospect Heights family, which has yet to be identified by name, has reportedly been offered around $85,000 to relocate but they’re not satisfied with the offering, according to sources close to the family. [more]

Freddy’s Bar has taken to the airwaves once again in protest of the Atlantic Yards development and the city’s use of eminent domain to displace businesses and residents in the neighborhood. This video, produced by ReasonTV, outlines the reasons why residents are riled over the Barclays Center and surrounding Atlantic Yards development, which is set to break ground March 11.
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City Council member Letitia James and a rendering of the Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards

The city is handing over an additional $31 million to assist Bruce Ratner in buying land for his Atlantic Yards project, according to the New York Daily News. The additional funding was granted in an updated funding agreement signed in October, on top of the $100 million that the city already gave the developer. The $31 million, however, won’t come from taxpayers, but will be taken from a separate fund that was originally allocated for infrastructure in the neighborhood surrounding Atlantic Yards. Even so, City Council member Letitia James has called foul, claiming that the city’s allocation of funds is fancy accounting footwork. “It’s a government Ponzi scheme,” James said. “I’m offended because they’re using public funds to seize homes and businesses.”
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From left: Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner Companies and opponent Daniel Goldstein, a spokesperson for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn

Developer Bruce Ratner announced this morning that he has officially closed on the Atlantic Yards project. The closing indicates the issuance of bonds and execution of real estate documents, including leases, financing and purchase agreements, has been completed, according to a press release sent today (see the release after the jump). The company also indicated that the construction on the Barclays Center and parts of the Atlantic Yards project site has begun. “Today, what has long been a vision for the future of Brooklyn becomes a reality,” Ratner said in a written statement. “Six years after we announced our plan for Atlantic Yards we are very pleased to be closing on the project with our public partners,” including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Empire State Development Corporation. Neighborhood advocacy group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, which emerged early on as a key opponent to the project, did not share the Forest City Ratner Companies CEO’s enthusiasm. In a press release sent today, the organization said it plans to fight the removal of residents from their homes through eminent domain and added that there are still legal challenges to the Atlantic Yards development that could still effectively halt the project’s construction. “Ratner’s project will never produce the benefits the developer and the ESDC have lied about for years, and should it go forward the governor and other project supporters will rue this day,” Daniel Goldstein, Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s spokesperson, said in the release. Mayor Michael Bloomberg released a statement later in the day saying he was delighted with the latest development in the Atlantic Yards project. The construction of the facility will create lasting employment opportunities, Bloomberg said in a written statement, something that the neighborhood is in need of during the rough economic climate. “While the rest of the country wrings its hands about the national recession, we’re building our way out of it,” Bloomberg said. “The $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards project — the most extensive development ever undertaken in Brooklyn — is moving forward, bringing thousands of units of housing and thousands of jobs for New York City’s middle class.” TRD

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The State Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit that alleges the Metropolitan Transportation Authority acted inappropriately in its sale of the Vanderbilt rail yard to Bruce Ratner, developer of the controversial Atlantic Yards site. A collection of community advocacy groups, including Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, alleged in the suit that the MTA inappropriately reopened a deal this year with Ratner that was made in 2005 rather than reappraise the arrangement. Daniel Goldstein, a spokesperson for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, said that this constituted favoritism on the part of the MTA, referring to the developer and the MTA’s arrangement as a “sweetheart deal.” The court saw things differently, ruling in favor of the MTA. “If every change were to be viewed as a new plan so as to trigger anew each mandated review process, no development plan could ever reach final approval,” the ruling says. “The MTA had a rational basis for continuing to use the 2005 appraisal rather than ordering a new one in 2009.”

Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov may be closer than ever to achieving his dream of owning an American basketball team. The metal tycoon took to his blog in September to express his desire to become the controlling shareholder of the potential New Jersey Nets. Now, Prokhorov and the Nets ownership have reportedly reached an agreement that would sell 80 percent of the team and 45 percent of the new arena to the Russian billionaire. Prokhorov’s interest in the Atlantic Yards development has drawn ire on both sides of the globe, with high-profile Russian leaders calling his potential investment “unpatriotic” and Atlantic Yards opponents speculating that Prokhorov’s funding suggests fiscal weakness in the Forest City Ratner Companies team. The deal is still subject to approval from the NBA Board of Governors, according to USA Today.

A long, circuitous and, some say, torturous path remains for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner of Forest City Ratner Companies until the project can begin construction. After six years of planning and maneuvers, including ditching starchitect Frank Gehry and snagging funds from an eccentric Russian billionaire with a legendary penchant for basketball, sources say that the developer has already sunk $300 million into the project. The polarizing Ratner told Crain’s that while one of the biggest points of contention on the project is his lack of transparency with his plans, he doesn’t see the need to remedy the situation. “Why should people get to see plans?” Ratner said. “This isn’t a public project. We will follow the guidelines,” such as land use regulations.

With Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov reportedly in talks to purchase the New Jersey Nets — and subsequently help finance Bruce Ratner’s massive Atlantic Yards development — the owners of high-end Brooklyn condos are vying for his attention. The managers of two properties, one the famous $25 million Clock Tower penthouse at One Main Street in Dumbo and the other a $7.5 million Brooklyn Heights penthouse at One Brooklyn Bridge Park, got in touch with Prokhorov’s representatives this week to pitch units to him for purchase, the New York Post reported. The developers of both properties referenced the Russian oligarch’s love of parties as a main selling point for their respective penthouses. “You don’t get any better than a 1,000-square-foot roof deck … to hold parties,” Ian Levine, COO of RAL Companies, which manages the 4,638-square-foot One Brooklyn Bridge Park spot, said. But David Walentas, developer for the Clock Tower spot, said that his place is unrivaled in its party appeal. “The second I heard Prokhorov was buying the Nets, I knew this space was made for him because he’s known for throwing some incredible parties,” Walentas said. There is no word yet on whether Prokhorov has picked a favorite, or if he’s even planning to move to Brooklyn.

A new deal that state development officials are drafting could help Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner avoid meeting an obligation to include affordable housing in the Dumbo development. The Empire State Development Corporation inserted a clause into its lease proposal with Ratner that would allow the developer to bail on the construction of 2,250 affordable units, by claiming that such construction would be “subject to governmental authorities making available…affordable housing subsidies,” the Brooklyn Paper reported. Candace Carponter, a lawyer who works with local advocacy group Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, says that the clause flies in the face of what the community wanted out of the Atlantic Yards development. “ESDC has quietly made the ‘affordable’ housing conditioned upon public subsidies, in contradiction with [the project’s] approval document,” Carponter said. [more]

More Russian property buyers are looking for New York City real estate, according to an analysis of Russian investment trends by the Moscow Times. High-profile investors, such as Mikhail Prokhorov, who has been pursuing a $200 million deal with Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, have reportedly ramped up interest among Russian real estate buyers. The trend has caught some brokers, like Wilbur Gonzalez of Brown Harris Stevens, by surprise. “I expected the Russians to sit out 2009 and 2010, licking their wounds,” Gonzalez said. While some expect real estate prices in New York City to fall further, industry experts say that Russians investors are drawn in by the weak dollar and are viewing New York real estate for its long-term value.