After firing famed architect Frank Gehry in an effort to cut costs, the developer of the controversial Atlantic Yards project is in talks with the man who designed the Freedom Tower. Architect David Childs told the Brooklyn Paper that Atlantic Yards builder Bruce Ratner asked him to give plans for the proposed basketball arena a "once over," and also discussed hiring him to construct one of the 16 skyscrapers that Ratner wants to build on the site. more ›

To make room for the proposed Atlantic Yards project — which calls for a basketball arena and high-rise buildings at the nexus of Park Slope, Prospect Heights and Fort Greene — the state will permanently close several streets to traffic. According to NY1, starting on or around February 1, Pacific Street between both Vanderbilt and Carlton avenues and Fifth and Sixth avenues will be closed, as well Fifth Avenue between Flatbush and Atlantic avenues. But what will those closures mean for commuters and residents? more ›

Daniel Goldstein — the city's most prominent Atlantic Yards opponent — was low-balled by the state with an eminent domain offer of just $510,000 for a three-bedroom Prospect Heights condo he purchased for $590,000 in 2003. It's also less than half what mega-developer Bruce Ratner offered Goldstein for the home, which, alongside Goldstein's lawsuits, stand in the way of $4.9 billion plan. Goldstein believes the state made such a low offer "to deter people from fighting like we have," but others say it's the real estate downturn, which has put the entire Atlantic Yards project on thin ice. In the coming days, the state's highest court is expected to rule on Goldstein's lawsuit alleging that the state is improperly using eminent domain to seize private property to benefit Ratner's company — not the public. [Via Brownstoner] more ›