So, is Atlantic Yards a wise example of cost-cutting (as per Observer)? Not exactly, since new arena cost not much off Gehry-era projections

The 5/14/13 New York Observer's article, PATH/Fail: The Story of the World’s Most Expensive Train Station, addresses the endless cost overruns in the Lower Manhattan project and presents a purported counterpoint:

In the private sector, these things often turn out differently. Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn is one example. Despite Bruce Ratner’s “man crush” on Frank Gehry, in the words of one of his employees, and the nearly $100 million in fees that he paid for the design of the undulating apartment towers and stadium, Mr. Ratner didn’t hesitate to drop the starchitect from Atlantic Yards when the costs got too high—costs that were partly the result of Mr. Gehry’s insistence on designing the interior elements down to minute details like the stadium seats, something that should sound familiar to the Port Authority.

While it's quite possible Ratner would have paid Gehry $100 million for the entire project, I highly doubt Gehry took in $100 million.

Looking more closely

More importantly, Gehry was not dropped mainly because of his fees, or because of his desire to design interiors. The arena was once supposed to be 850,000 square feet, and could've accommodated hockey and basketball equally. It was downsized to 675,000 square feet, and focused on basketball.

Yes, the arena got smaller and thus less expensive. But also significant was Ratner's need to decouple the arena from the four towers planned around it. Once Ratner recognized he couldn't finance and build those towers simultaneously as originally planned, there was no need for all the buildings to share mechanicals with the arena.

Also, the growth in cost of the arena was attributable in part--though not in whole--to the overall growth in construction costs. The entire project went from $2.5 billion to a projected $4.9 billion.

A "billion-dollar arena"?

Gehry's arena was initially $435 million in 2003, then $637.2 million at approval in 2006, and then $950 million in 2008. One factor: the cost of glass needed for security.

So, they shrunk the arena and what do they have? A "billion-dollar arena." Forest City executives call it a $934 million project, which "covers the cost of this building, the transit connection, the site work, etc." Construction of the arena itself cost

As I've written, documents cite $617.3 million in hard costs for arena and transit connection construction, and $192.85 million for soft costs, plus $34.7 million in additional costs. That's nearly $845 million.

How do they get to $934 million? Unclear.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Construction Alert: 40 trucks coming to B2 site on one day; mitigation for pile drilling may be improved ("severe vibrations" "like a constant earthquake")

The latest two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, issued yesterday by Empire State Development after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner, warns that on one (yet unspecified) day during this period, 40 trucks will be delivering concrete to the B2 modular tower site at the corner of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue:

The first mat slab, elevator and sump pit wall pour will be scheduled during this reporting period. Approximately 40 concrete trucks will be delivering to the site during the course of the day of this pour. A separate logistics plan has been submitted and approved by the OEM for this work. Trucks will be unloading the concrete behind the MPT barrier on Dean Street and utilizing the Pacific Street queue area when needed in order to avoid queuing and idling on Dean Street and/or adjacent roadways.

Pile drilling and noise complaints

The alert also states, regarding pile drilling at the railyard site:

Actual pile drilling along and outside the south wall to the yard started on April 22nd and will continue for the next several months. All mitigation devices are in place and are being monitored hourly and daily with respect to noise and dust. As the process progresses and we gain experience with this new drilling equipment, we will actively seek to tweak and try to improve on mitigation.

The latter may be a response to complaints like these (1, 2, 3, 4) on Atlantic Yards Watch:

• Pile driving from Atlantic Yards is causing the mirrors on my walls to shake.
• Construction in Atlantic Yards rail bed is causing my apartment building to shake
• Vibrations from pile-driving on Pacific street rail yards are causing the furniture to shake inside my apartment.
• From 10 am to the present (noon), pile driving on the rail beds is causing the light fixtures and furniture in my apartment to vibrate. The entire building is shaking slightly. I could hear the metal in my wall sconces jiggling out loud. It's like a constant earthquake.

Here's an even longer report:

I live at 560 Dean Street. I have experienced severe vibrations in our building caused by the work they are doing on Pacific. I have actually gone outside during the vibrations to see the cause, and it appears that the vibrations occur when they are using the large drill-like machine on Pacific that is shoring up the wall. These vibrations are occurring every day, sometimes for minutes at a time. I am concerned that these vibrations are causing structural issues with our building and the building around us. We are a block away from the construction, so I assume that the vibrations are even work for the buildings closer to the construction site."

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 5-13-2013

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Alert: adjustments may be made as pile drilling proceeds; new construction fence for B2

According to the latest two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, issued (and dated) yesterday by Empire State Development after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner, there may be adjustments coming on pile drilling at the Vanderbilt Yard:

Actual pile drilling along and outside the south wall to the yard started on April 22nd and will continue for the next several months. All mitigation devices are in place and are being monitored hourly and daily with respect to noise and dust. As the process progresses and we gain experience with this new drilling equipment, we will actively seek to tweak and try to improve on mitigation.

Regarding the modular residential tour known as B2:

Site excavation is expected to be completed within this reporting period. Work will result in the use of 5-10 dump trucks (varies per day, 3 round trips each) and up to 15-30 loads of material to be transported off site per day.

A new fence is going up:

During the week of April 29th a construction fence on the east side of the Dean Street entrance to the arena for the purpose of beginning construction of the transfer foundations for B2. Removal of existing paving in this area will also commence.

Work continues on Saturdays, 7 am to 6 pm.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 4-29-2013

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Alert: pile drilling at railyard was delayed, to start this week

The latest two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, dated 4/15/13 and issued today by Empire State Development after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner, has one intriguing piece of news: planned pile drilling at the Vanderbilt Yard, a likely loud and intrusive process for neighbors on or near Pacific Street between Carlton and Vanderbilt Avenues, has been delayed--but should start this week:

The drill rig components have arrived and are being assembled. Actual pile drilling along and outside the south wall to the yards is now anticipated to begin during the week of 4/15th and continue for several months. Equipment issues caused a delay in the previously anticipated start of pile drilling during the week of 4/8th.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 4-15-2013

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Alert: pile drilling at railyard to begin next Monday; noise barrier installation not yet complete

According to the latest two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, dated 4/1-13 and released today by Empire State Development after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner, there will be continued site excavation at the site of the B2 modular tower, resulting in the use of 4-8 dump trucks per day, with each taking three round trips.

Drilling of support of excavation piles is expected to begin the week of 4/8/2013, which means a slight delay, as it was supposed to begin 3/25/13.

Along Pacific Street, according to the alert, "[n]oise barrier installation, hydrant relocation and lighting relocation have yet to be completed."

The MPT [maintenance and protection of traffic] for the work is projected to be in place for about eight months.

As seen in the photo at right, the equipment has arrived.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 4-1-2013

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

At the B4 site, a caucus of empty chairs where the construction trailers once sat

There were construction trailers for quite a while below grade at the northeast corner of the arena block, the site of the future B4 tower, which is slated to be the third constructed around the Barclays Center, leaving only the flagship office tower at Flatbush and Atlantic to languish.

The trailers were removed last week from the site, at the southwest corner of Atlantic and Sixth avenues. A few chairs were left.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Arena construction monitor: final completion date extended to April 30, facade issues persist

No they're not quite done yet with the arena. Nor are problems with the facade quite fixed.

According to the latest Site Observation Report by Merritt & Harris, the construction monitor for the arena bond trustee, the final completion date, listed (as it had long been) in the previous reports as 2/28/13, has now been nudged forward to 4/30/13.

Punch list work will occur on non-event days. As the screenshot at right indicates, there are 30 workers doing such punch list work.

The new report, dated 3/8/13, was released yesterday. It's based on a site visit 1/29/13, documents received 2/28/13, and an affidavit 3/8/13.

Facade issues

Despite a promise in the previous report that defective bolts would be replaced by 1/11/13, there are still open issues, as detailed in a 2/18/13 Field Observations Report from 2/18/13, including:

• missing anchorage details
• missing hardware
• incompletely torqued bolts
• skewed rod installation

It's not clear from the documents how extensive the problems are and what kind of danger they have posed.

Summary of facade issues

Examples of facade issues

A missing fastener

Construction progress: arena

(Here's last month and the previous progress charts.)

Construction progress: transit connection

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

At B-2 site tomorrow, a welding crew 7 am to 6 pm

According to a Supplemental Report to the two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Update, there will be work tomorrow at the site of the B-2 modular tower, at the corner of Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue:

A welding crew will be working at the B2 tower site this Saturday, March 23rd on the installation of bracing steel as part of the support of excavation system. Work will take place between 7:00am and 6:00pm. All work will be pursuant to Department of Buildings permit.

The notice does not indicate whether this is expected to be particularly noisy.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Better late than never: work that began yesterday at northeast corner of arena block finally announced

After failing to alert people yesterday of additional work at the Atlantic Yards site--the removal of below-grade trailers at the northeast corner of the arena block--Empire State Development late this afternoon issued an after-the-fact Supplemental Report to the two-week Construction Update:

• Arena Subcontractor trailers currently located on the B4 footprint will be removed this week. 
• A crane will be stationed on the B4 footprint and lifting trailers up to trucks staged on street level on 6th Ave Bridge. 
• The truck at street level will be parked pursuant to a lane closure permit, between 9 am and 3 pm, daily. 
• Depending upon weather, trailers will be removed each day, with expected completion by the end of this week.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Downtown Brooklyn booming? Well, with rental towers, at least (but that's not what the rezoning was for)

A couple of major articles describe how Downtown Brooklyn is the site of numerous new housing towers, which suggests that the neighborhood is coming of age as a residential district, with attendant retail, nightlife, and street liveliness.

There's nothing wrong with additional residential density, of course, but the 2004 Downtown Brooklyn rezoning provided property owners and developers huge increases in the value of their land without demanding affordable housing--though some buildings, indeed, will have 20% low-income units.

However much a bustling Downtown Brooklyn is seen as a success, surely Council Members, city officials, and even housing advocates would have to admit a missed opportunity. After all, aren't "jobs" more important than "affordable housing"?

As Council Member and urban planner Brad Lander told City Limits in an 11/30/11 article on the aftermath of the rezoning, "I feel like it was all done with nearly zero attention to those issues of equity and sharing the benefits of development.”

“A certain amount of residential is not just good, but very good,” observed Rob Perris, District Mnager of Community Board 2, who called the Brooklyner rental high-rise a planning mistake, given that it's sited adjacent to MetroTech, a location that could be used for an office tower.

Also, as Atlantic Yards critics have noted, the rate of new towers, and the availability of financing, call into question the Atlantic Yards Development Agreement to which state officials agreed in 2009, allowing Forest City Ratner to build the 16 towers over 25 years rather than the long-promised ten years (and the acknowledged possibility of 15 years).

From The Real Deal

A 3/1/13 feature in The Real Deal, Brooklyn’s building bonanza: Developers in the borough are constructing new (and big) rental towers in force, explained how rental, not condo units, make financial sense:

In Brooklyn, “you buy land for 65 percent less than you could in Manhattan, but the rent [you’re collecting] is not 65 percent less,” explained Andrew Barrocas, CEO of residential and investment sales brokerage MNS. “It might be just 15 or 20 percent less.”
In the recent past, about 70 percent of the city’s new rental development occurred in Manhattan, according to a report by the real estate marketing and consulting firm Nancy Packes Inc. But for projects slated to hit the market in 2013 and 2014, it’s a different story. Indeed, 70 percent of the city’s new rental developments launching this year and next is actually slated for Brooklyn and Queens — with a strong emphasis on Brooklyn.

The Real Deal counts about 100 larger (20+) buildings in "prime Brooklyn neighborhoods," with an estimated 14,000+ units.

Most are in Downtown Brooklyn and Williamsburg, as the chart shows.

Graphic from The Real Deal

Market-rate rents for a Brooklyn one-bedroom in a non-doorman building have gone from $1,924 in 2006 to $2,511 last year, according to one report. Thus REITs and institutional investors have been buying finished, leased rental buildings, "viewing them as a safe haven for capital."

Rental buildings are much faster to lease up than condos are to sell.

There's an interesting quote from developer Ken Copeland of FLAnk: “Also, the city seems to be a little bit more pro-growth [in Brooklyn], allowing for [zoning] variances.”

From Crain's New York Business

A 3/14/13 Crain's New York Business article, headlined A wave of development looms in Downtown Bklyn, states:

In the next two to three years alone, 14 new residential properties with a combined 4,746 units will be completed, according to a study by the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership [DBP]. About half of these projects are already rising, while the other half are currently in the development process. When they are completed, the area's population will rise from a little more than 13,000 to well over 25,000.

...The [DBP] has also noted an increase in the portion of new units that will be affordable—rising to nearly 22% in the latest wave, from about 9% in the previous one. This will push the area's ratio of affordable housing to market-rate to about 15%. Once the current crop of projects are completed, the area will boast more than 1,400 affordable units, according to the partnership's study. 

"When the rezoning was done, people complained it did not do enough for affordable housing, but this shows that's not the case," [the DBP's] Mr. [Tucker Reed said. "The rezoning worked."

As a Brownstoner reader commented:

Here is the beauty of revisionist history: if you repeat it often enough, it becomes true. The 2004 rezoning was never (fundametally) about creating new housing, affordable or otherwise. It was about making Downtown Brooklyn more competitive as a central business district. In the absence of any new office space, people talk over and over about the residential development until everyone forgets that fact. "The rezoning worked." Ha!

City role, arena impact

The article cites two 80/20 projects, with 20% low-income housing: BAM South, a 32-story tower  built by Two Trees Management, with 300 apartments and 50,000 square feet of city-owned cultural space, and 66 Rockwell, which will have 327 apartments built by The Dermot Company.

The money quote praises the arena:

"Before there were lingering questions about the area's attractiveness after work and on weekends, but the successful opening of Barclay's Center, the growing array of first-rate cultural institutions and more interesting retail options have driven up demand," said David Lombino, Two Tree's director of special projects. "More people want to live in Downtown Brooklyn because it's a diverse and vibrant New York neighborhood and the market is responding to that."

Well, maybe not. I think more people want to live in Downtown Brooklyn because it's very convenient:  to transit, to Manhattan, and to the restaurants and neighborhood feel of adjacent lower-rise districts. It's not yet "a diverse and vibrant neighborhood"--that's why the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership's own walking tour (above right) goes pretty far afield into adjacent neighborhoods.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Construction monitor: defective Barclays Center facade bolts were still in place in January, despite report that "final batch" was being replaced in December

The Barclays Center is finished, right, as punch list work was supposed to cease 2/28/13.

But you wouldn't tell by the oddly delayed release of the latest Site Observation Report by Merritt & Harris, the construction monitor for the arena bond trustee. The report, dated 1/31/13 and based on a site visit 1/2/13 and documents received 1/22/13, was released yesterday.

What about the bolts?

Notably, while the New York Times reported 1/2/13 that "[w]orkers in December were replacing the final batch" of defective bolts, that apparently was not accomplished by the time of publication.

As indicated in a 1/9/13 report by an arena consultant summarized at right by Merritt & Harris, there were multiple areas where curtain wall coping installation was incomplete, and "multiple locations... where the one or more [inadequate] 307A bolts had not [been] replaced."

According to the summary, "These locations were discussed" with the facade installer "and marked with a highly visible tape" in a prelude to replacement by 1/11/13.

Presumably that has been accomplished, but the Merritt & Harris report--though it was based on documents received later in January--does not indicate whether the work was done.

Below, a summary of the markings placed on the defective bolts.

36 workers

As indicated in the report, excerpted below, 36 workers in January were performing punch list work.

Arena progress

 Transit connection progress

(Here are the previous progress charts.)

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Alert: site excavation at B2, work at the railyard and adjacent

Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing Atlantic Yards, yesterday sent out the two-week Construction Alert dated Monday, Feb. 18, after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner.

There is site excavation at the site of the B2 tower on Dean Street and Flatbush Avenue, involving "the use of 2-3 dump trucks (3 round trips each), 9 loads of material off site." It's not clear whether that's a daily or cumulative total.

An electric meter, and then start-up of HVAC systems is scheduled at the Dean Street Playground Comfort Station, renovated by Forest City as part of the construction impact mitigation requirements.

And there's various work going on at the LIRR Yard, including the removal of parking and trees from the north side of Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton avenues:

• PT/JV [Posillico Tully/Joing Venture] has removed the boulders and concrete debris in block 1121 and will cut down and level the existing dirt pile accordingly.
• PT/JV will continue work on the drilling of tiebacks on the east end of the south yard. PT/JV will start to mobilize all material needed to install the new MPT on Pacific Street between Carlton and 6th Avenues. The actual implementation of the MPT is currently planned for the week of February 18, 2013.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 2-18-2013 by

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

From the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update: eight-month closure of north sidewalk of Pacific Street; also, work on B-2 modular tower

While I on 1/31/13 reported that Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton avenues perpendicular to the Atlantic Yards arena block would go back to westbound one-way traffic and parking on north side would be eliminated for railyard work, we didn't know the time frame.

According to the latest Atlantic Yards Construction Update (below), released yesterday by Empire State Development after preparation by Forest City Ratner, the duration will be eight month, and will start in two week:

MPT [maintenance and protection of traffic] for the pile drilling along the southern side of the yard on Pacific Street between 6th Avenue and Carlton Avenue is currently planned to be installed during the week of February 18th. The MPT will consist of a construction fence above jersey barriers, creation of a construction logistics/work area on Pacific Street which will result in the closure of the north sidewalk on Pacific and use of a portion of the street bed adjacent to the sidewalk. During the time that the MPT is in place, Pacific Street, between Carlton and 6th Avenues, will become one-way westbound; parking will only be permitted along the south side of Pacific Street. The MPT is projected to be in place for approximately eight (8) months.

Also, the alert announced work on the B-2 modular tower:

• Delivery of additional equipment as required supporting continued excavation.
• Support of Excavation (SOE) piles will continue to be installed and filled with concrete.
• Continue first cut / excavation of site work conditions in coordination with approved SOE and commence 2nd excavation cut down another +/- 8ft.
• Test pile installation complete 1/30/13. Testing procedure to commence. Production drilling installation activities targeted to start 2/11/13.
• Daily cleanup activities of sidewalks and streets as required ongoing.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert 2-4-2013 by

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton to become one-way westbound, as parking on north side removed for railyard work

There are changes planned for Pacific Street between Sixth and Carlton avenues perpendicular to the Atlantic Yards arena block, and they involve less parking, different traffic, and railyard work.

The first clue came in a report (below) from consultant STV, which works for Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing Atlantic Yards.

The report said that the Department of Transportation was considering eliminating street parking on Pacific while Forest City continues to upgrade the Long Island Rail Road's Vanderbilt Yard.

That plan apparently has been modified.

Changes coming next week

A neighborhood resident forwarded me an excerpt from a preview of two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert scheduled to be released on Monday.

Pacific Street, which now has cramped two-way traffic, especially on event nights, will go back to  westbound one-way traffic, thus making it easier to stage construction vehicles for the B2 tower on Pacific Street east of Vanderbilt Avenue, a demapped street adjacent to the arena parking lot.

For perhaps two years, all parking on north side of Pacific will be eliminated until construction is completed. This should cut down on the number of black cars and limos idling on the street. Still, Pacific Street will remain attractive to anyone seeking parking, including construction workers.

All trees on the north side will be removed for construction, but replanted when construction is finished. Construction is not expected to go overnight.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Asbestos work Monday and Tuesday at site of first Atlantic Yards tower

From 7am to 3pm on Monday, January 28 and Tuesday January 29, work crews at the site of the first Atlantic Yards tower, B2, will be removing a newly discovered source of asbestos found buried under ground.

The news came in a Supplemental Report to the previous two-week construction alert issued by Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing Atlantic Yards, after preparation by developer Forest City Ratner.

It's not clear exactly where the buried boiler, source of the asbestos, was found, but the B2 site, at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street adjacent to the Barclays Center arena, was formerly occupied, in part, by both a gas station and a residential building.

The announcement:

During excavation at the site, the foundation contractor uncovered an unknown boiler that was previously buried below ground by others. Samples collected from boiler insulation suspected to be asbestos containing material (ACM) confirmed the presence of asbestos.

An emergency notification was made to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (NYCDEP), and emergency project approval number EN-0098-13 was issued by the NYCDEP.

The abatement of the boiler ACM is scheduled to occur on Monday January 28th and Tuesday January 29th.

Prior to the abatement, the necessary asbestos warning signs will be posted at the site. Properly protected and certified workers will construct a remote decontamination tent in close proximity to the boiler. A tent enclosure equipped with negative pressure ventilation will be constructed around the boiler. The ACM will be removed by wet methods and loaded into bags within the containment tent for proper off-site disposal. Third-party air monitoring will be conducted during and following completion of the abatement activities. All abatement and monitoring procedures will be conducted in accordance with NYCDEP and New York State Department of Labor asbestos regulations. Upon completion of the abatement and prior to final air clearance the enclosure, all tent surfaces shall be wet cleaned, High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuumed, and lightly encapsulated. Following receipt of the clearance from the third party air monitor, the containment tent and decontamination tent will be collapsed and properly disposed with all abated material.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Latest Atlantic Yards Construction Alert: excavation work at site of B2 tower

On Tuesday, Jan. 22, Empire State Development released the periodic two-week Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, dated 1/21/13 and prepared by developer Forest City Ratner.

The alert notes excavation work, as well as drilling, at the site of the modular tower B2, at Flatbush Avenue and Dean Street.

It also indicates that work has been nearly completed at the Dean Street Playground Comfort Station, built by Forest City as "part of the construction impact mitigation requirements." Utilities are expected to be turned on during these two weeks.

The alert mentions "punch list" work at the comfort station and at the Long Island Rail Road yard, but not "punch list" work at the arena site itself. However, such work is expected to continue at the arena until the end of February, according to the construction monitor who reports to the arena bond trustee.

Atlantic Yards Construction Alert, Jan. 21, 2013 by

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Arena construction monitor back with regular reports, says arena is on schedule

The Barclays Center is still on schedule, says Merritt & Harris, construction consultant for the Barclays Center arena bond trustee, which is back to a more regular timetable after skipping two reports in the fall.

The most intriguing element of the Arena Site Observation Report released yesterday, dated 1/16/13 and based on a visit on 11/29/12, was the delayed inclusion of documents regarding belatedly-revealed problems with the arena facade and bolts. (See separate post.)

Nearing completion

The arena is on schedule for final completion of 2/28/13, according to the report, with 102 workers doing punch list work on non-event days.

As of 11/30/12, 97.1% of the budget ($510.7 million) for the arena design/build contract had been spent. Similarly, 97.1% of the budget ($57.9 million) for the transit connection had been spent.

By contrast, only 86.4% of the $3.7 million budget for site work had been spent.

Arena construction progress chart: January 2013 report
(compare with previous charts, based on different elapsed time)

Transit connection construction progress chart: January 2013 report
(compare with previous charts, based on different elapsed time)

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Outside arena, Flatbush Avenue sidewalk rehab (from rust and, likely, cracks)

Remember how the pre-rusted metal exterior of the Barclays Center is still dripping, as reported in November (and reprised this month)?

On 12/18/12, after the groundbreaking ceremony for B2, the first Atlantic Yards tower, at Dean Street off Flatbush Avenue, I walked back along Flatbush to the arena plaza.

There, several pieces of sidewalk were sectioned off for refurbishment. In some cases, there were cracks, but these also were places where rust had dripped. However, the work extended well beyond the perimeter of the oculus, so the issue was more than rust.

If the problem was just cracked sidewalks, then doesn't the remediation suggest there was an easier way to fight blight?

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

Barclays Center opened with defective bolts, not disclosed fully to Department of Buildings; problem hints at why ESD, construction monitor have obscured the issue

The New York Times's scoop today, Problem With Weak Bolts Has Complicated the Barclays Center’s Early Days, reveals that the arena opened even as the developer acknowledged that more than 1700 defective, weak bolts had been used to attach the facade.

The article suggests that the city Department of Buildings (DOB) was not sufficiently informed by developer Forest City Ratner about the bolts, which were half as strong as requested.

Bucket of apparent replacement bolts, Sept. 2012,
photographed outside ASI Limited office on Dean St.

Moreover, unmentioned in the article, neither Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing the arena, nor the construction monitor for bondholders have been fully forthcoming about this issue.

In fact, both have interrupted their regular schedule of reports, for reasons unexplained. The new information could bolster suspicion that the reports were withheld to obscure the problem.

Indeed, the reports that did emerge obscured the problem in their own way, failing in one case to indicate defects and in the other the scope of the defects. It's still unclear how much danger the defective bolts have posed.

The scoop

The Times's Charles Bagli writes:

And lately, iron workers have replaced hundreds of bolts that anchor the panels to the building’s structure. Engineers determined that weaker ones were originally installed, raising concerns about the structure’s integrity.
The incorrect bolts were discovered only a month before the Barclays Center was scheduled to open on Sept. 28. ...
After examining every joint, engineers determined that only 8 percent of the 23,351 weaker bolts needed to be replaced.

Who was told

The DOB says it was not informed:

“The department was not made aware of this issue,” said Anthony Sclafani, a Buildings Department spokesman. “We would expect to be notified in a case like this.”
But Forest City provided a copy of a nine-page letter concerning the bolts that it said had been filed with the Buildings Department on Sept. 14. That was the day the agency issued a temporary certificate of occupancy [TCO] that allowed the arena to open as scheduled.
The letter, from an engineering company, outlined a plan to address the “recent discovery” that incorrect bolts had been used. It did not indicate how many bolts would be replaced, only that a “change out” had begun.

In other words, whatever the DOB was told, it wasn't enough. (The DOB web site indicates multiple outstanding requirements for the current TCO, but I was unable to get any details when I inquired.)

What ESD told the public

The problem was hardly explained to the public by ESD, which issues regular two-week Construction Updates prepared by Forest City Ratner.

While the work has apparently continued since the arena opened--the Times reports that workers last month "were replacing the final batch"--ESD stopped issuing regular updates after mid-October, as the graphic above indicates.

Moreover, the Construction Updates issued 9/24/12 and 10/8/12 did not indicate the scope of the problem, stating merely that facade panels would continue to be installed and replaced. There was no mention of defective bolts.

The 12/3/12 Construction Update made no mention of facade panel installation.

What bondholders were told

Merritt & Harris, the construction monitor that reports to the state, Forest City, and bondholders, also has been obfuscatory.

While the Times reports that an engineering firm discovered the that the "fabricator had sent five-eighths-of-an-inch bolts that were half as strong as those of that size that had been ordered," such detail has not appeared in the Merritt & Harris reports.

First, as I wrote 12/7/12, Merritt & Harris apparently skipped public issuances of two Site Observation Reports, failing to make public #30 and #31.

Second, the information shared in Merritt & Harris's 11/30/12 document contained the exact same text regarding Deficiency Items as in the 4/2/12 document, except that the later document references a later consultant's report.

In other words, while the problem apparently persisted, there was no indication of the extent--except for a failure to reference an expected "sign off of all corrective work" expected "to be made available by the first week of October 2012."

The Merritt & Harris documents, while indicating "defective installation," did not specify defective bolts nor indicate their extent.

From the April Merritt & Harris report

From the November Merritt & Harris report

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.

What's left for the arena? TCO notes 29 requirements, but not easy to suss out; work expected through end of February

On 9/14/12, the city Department of Buildings approved a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) for the Barclays Center arena, expiring 11/14/12. There were 67 "outstanding requirements."

Two days before the arena opening, a 9/26/12 TCO, expiring 12/25/12, reduced the number of outstanding requirements to 29, with only two retail spaces (Metro PCS and Starbucks) approved.

A 9/28/12 TCO, expiring 12/27/12, reduced the number of outstanding requirements to 28, and permitted the Rocawear store. An 11/21/12 TCO, expiring 2/19/03, maintained 28 outstanding requirements. A 12/5/12 TCO, expiring 3/5/03, nudged the outstanding requirements to 29.

What are those outstanding requirements? I couldn't tell from consulting the DOB web site, and a query to the agency wasn't returned.

Work through February

According to the consultant Merritt & Harris, which reports to the arena bond trustee, punch list work on the arena continues through 2/28/13. Presumably after that a Certificate of Occupancy will be issued.

Empire State Development, the state agency overseeing the arena, has long issued two-week construction look-aheads, after preparation by Forest City Ratner. Those updates have been quite sporadic since the arena opened, however.

emergency cash loan

Up To $1500 Quick Loan Online. No Hassle. Fast Instant Approval. Withdraw Your Cash. Get Cash Fast Today!

Rating of emergency cash loan

Get Online Application at online payday loans.