Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) between:
Forest City Ratner (Bruce Ratner),
The Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC, Charles Gargano) and the
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC, Daniel Doctoroff, Andrew Alper

February 18, 2005 Public Memorandum of Understanding (MOU 1)

February 18, 2005 Private/Secret Memorandum of Understanding (MOU 2)

NEW YORK, NY–On March 3rd, 2005, the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) publicly released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)Æan agreement and understanding among Forest City Ratner (FCR), the City and State of New York with respect to the development of a sports arena and mixed-use residential, commercial and retail development in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The agreement was dated February 18th, 2005.

What was not released was a second, secret MOU among the same parties, with the same agreement date.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB) spokesperson, Daniel Goldstein, said, "The whole Ratner deal has moved forward over the past two years in backrooms and with great secrecy. This unreleased second MOU raises serious questions about the developer's honesty as well as the transparency of the public parties and officials signed on to the agreementÆthe ESDC and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), represented by Charles Gargano, Daniel Doctoroff and Andrew Alper."

Goldstein continued, "This second MOU lays out plans for an even larger development, and more development rights, for Bruce Ratner than the public MOU. It agrees to a State takeover of this larger development plan, contingent on the approval of the plan outlined in the public MOU. Why has the City agreed to this? Also, if such an important document has been kept under wraps, why should we trust any of the information the public has seen from the developer and the public agencies? Is there any reason to believe the job projections, the revenue projections, the affordable housing claims or any other claims? The answer is no." (*see correction below)

The second MOU, or "MOU 2," allows new development rights for FCR to develop millions more square feet over their Atlantic Center Mall and the PC Richards/Modell's mall (Site 5) at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues. These sites are directly adjacent to the disclosed footprint of Ratner's proposed Brooklyn Atlantic Yards (BAY) project outlined in the public MOU. "MOU 2" also refers to a mysterious previous MOU from May 2004. It also provides for a state takeover of yet more acres in addition to the 21 acres in the public MOU. This would add more than one million square feet to what is already 8 million square feet of development in the BAY plan, and what is already an overburdened traffic intersection and public transportation hub. (*see correction below)

Unlike the MOU on the West Side Stadium, the MTA is not a signatory to the Brooklyn MOU. It is not known if the MTA is aware of "MOU 2."

Goldstein concluded, "We need some answers as to why the already massive Ratner plan has grown in size, and done so in secret agreements among FCR, the City and State. Clearly, much greater scrutiny needs to be brought to the Ratner proposal, by political officials, public interest groups, and the media. Why hasn't this second MOU been made public? What other secret deals have formed behind the scenes? It is this kind of misinformation and secrecy that leads to so much public skepticism about this developer's intentions and this development proposal."

The two documents, the public MOU (MOU 1) and the private MOU (MOU 2) can be found here.

Mayor Bloomberg's press release about MOU 1, which makes no mention of MOU 2, can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/crb2u

*April 12, 2006:
Because these agreements are often complicated for the layperson and experts, there is an error in this press release regarding the meaning of the second or secret MOU which we got only through a Freedom of Information request. The second MOU allows FCR to transfer 328,272 square feet of development rights from its Atlantic Center Mall to the parcel of land, known as Site 5, currently occupied by P.C. Richards, Modell's and a parking lot. This reduce the air rights that FCR already has over the Atlantic Center Mall and transfer those rights to Site 5, increasing the density allowed at that site.

So, insteaad of about 1.6 million square feet of development over the the Atlantic Center Mall–separate and apart from the square footage of the "Atlantic Yards" proposal–there will be approximately 1.25 million square feet of residential and commercial development over the Mall, somtime before 2010 according to FCR. The 328,272 square feet added to Site 5 increases the size of the structure over that parcel to 636,000 square feet of development.

The second MOU also allows for more eminent domain at Site 5, and for Site 5 and Atlantic Center Mall development to take place whether or not "Atlantic Yards" receives approval. One question remains: when and how did FCR get these air rights over Site 5 and the Atlantic Center Mall?

We are sorry for any confusion we may have created.
DDDB.