The Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not violate New York laws when it agreed to sell the development rights over rail yards in Brooklyn to Forest City Ratner Cos., a state Supreme Court judge ruled last week.
The Vanderbilt rail yards constitute a large part of the planned $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards mega-development that would include a basketball arena, housing, and commercial space.
In October, four state lawmakers, a transit advocacy group, and a group opposed to the development sought to annul the sale. Their key argument was that the MTA violated the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 by not having a new property appraisal when the terms of the sale were modified this year.
In 2005, Forest City Ratner agreed to pay the MTA $100 million up front and to make improvements at the rail yards. Earlier this year the pact was modified so that the developer would pay $20 million up front and then $80 million at net-present value in installments over 22 years. The developer would also scale back promised improvements to the rail yards to $150 million from $250 million.
Judge Michael Stallman dismissed the plaintiff's argument that the change in terms required a new appraisal. "If every change was to be viewed as a new plan so as to trigger anew each mandated review process, no development plan could ever reach final approvement — let alone ultimate completion," he wrote.
The decision came the day after the Brooklyn Arena Local Development Corp. priced $511 million of payment in lieu of taxes arena revenue bonds.
