Atlantic Yards Opposition

The Atlantic Yards development project was publicly announced for the first time in December 2003. Since then, architects and financiers have come and gone and multiple proposals and renderings have been announced. At this point, the final product remains elusive.  Local journalists, community activists, and other opponents have criticized many iterations of the planned development.

The Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighborhoods are predominantly characterized by three-to five-story brownstone row houses. Myrtle Avenue and Fulton Street are the neighborhood's major commercial corridors and are generally characterized by three/four-story apartment buildings with ground-level retail.  Much of the opposition is due to the mismatch in scale and character of the proposed Atlantic Yards development. 

Bloggers such as author Will James point out the 'developer's blight' and impact on neighborhood vibrancy of the planned development at Atlantic Yards.

"What I hope to show...is the character of the streets both to the north and the south of the railyards. These are overwhelmingly vibrant and beautiful areas...There are some empty and run down buildings here and there around the site, but the vast majority of these are actually owned and kept empty by Bruce Ratner himself."

Source: developdontdestroy.org   
DEVELOP DON'T DESTROY BROOKLYN (DDDB), a non-profit corporation founded in February 2004 opposed to Forest City Ratner's 8 million square foot "Atlantic Yards" development. 

"If you live in Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Park Slope, Clinton Hill, Boerum Hill, Crown Heights, or Bedford-Stuyvesant, get ready to kiss your neighborhood goodbye. (Everyone else get ready to see your tax dollars given to a developer instead of your schools. " (DDDB)