The Atlantic Yards project was conceived and shaped by the developer and public officials behind closed doors with no significant input from New Yorkers.

Because the project is being built partly on state land, the project is going through the state land use approval process rather than the New York City land use approval process, known as ULURP. The city’s process requires participation by the City’s Community Boards, Borough Presidents, Planning Commission and City Council, who make the final decision on projects.

By contrast, no city official votes in the state approval process. Projects going through the state process need only be approved by the state development agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, which is controlled by the Governor, and the state Public Authority Control Board, that includes the State Assembly Speaker and the Majority Leader of the State Senate.

The sponsors of BrooklynSpeaks believe that the public process for Atlantic Yards is deeply troubling. By failing to involve New Yorkers before the environmental review, the process for developing the plan has resulted in a flawed proposal and many of the concerns expressed by the public, including the design and scale of the project, its transportation impacts, and the potential use of eminent domain. To find out why the plan is flawed, click here.

We believe that the process for making decisions about Atlantic Yards must be drastically improved. The state and city should:

• Redesign the project with public input
• Create a subsidiary with local representation to manage future decision-making and an ongoing public process for the site