Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Unexpected Bid for Atlantic Railyards
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 7, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 7, 2005
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Clearly, the new kind of excitement and titillation in New York City is not downtown or in some underground sex trade - it's at MTA railyard auctions! The Extell Development Company made a surprise bid for the Atlantic Rail Yards where Bruce Ratner wants to build a Frank Gehry-designed Nets arena and skyscraper complex. Extell's bid promises to be a much smaller development: Skyscrapers would be 28 floors, versus the possible 60 floors in Ratner's plan; housing would be for 4,800 people, versus Ratner's housing for a projected 18,000; and there is room for a school, but no sports complex. And this bid doesn't require $200 million in state and city subsidies and would be completed in 2009, two years before the Ratner plan. Extell got involved when community groups opposed to Ratner's plans approached them and the Post notes that the firm is "positioning itself as a community-friendly alternative to Ratner, claiming its bid would not require the seizure of any private real estate, as Ratner's would." That is as community friendly as you can get: "We're not forcing you out of your homes." Neither Extell nor Ratner's Forest City Ratner group will reveal how much their bids were for. Let's say the Extell bid proves successful; what about all the buildings Ratner has purchased in the area? Would Extell need to buy them from him? MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow - you're in the catbird seat once again.
Extell's president Gary Barnett has clashed with Ratner before: He sued the NY Times over land Extell owned at 8th Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets - where Ratner is building the new NY Times building. Extell, with The Carlyle Group, purchased a $1.7 billion piece of West Side land from Donald Trump's group last month.
Tagged
Atlantic Rail Yards
Bruce Ratner
Chairman Peter Kalikow
city
donald trump
downtown
forest city
Forest City Ratner
frank gehry
gary barnett
housing
jen chung
MTA
MTA chairman
MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow
nets
new york
new york city
News: NYC
ny times
ny times building
people
peter kalikow
real estate
sex
sports
trump
west side
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani-backed housing bill will give nonprofits head start on buying NYC apartments
The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act has long been a goal of tenant advocates, but has faced fierce opposition from the real estate industry.
By
David Brand
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET
Fatal motorcycle crash closes upper lanes to NY on George Washington Bridge
Drivers are urged to avoid the bridge Thursday morning.
By
Michael Sol Warren
News
Fatal motorcycle crash closes upper lanes to NY on George Washington Bridge
Drivers are urged to avoid the bridge Thursday morning.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Ballot questions ask NYC voters whether to cut red tape on outdoor dining, bike lanes
By
Walter Wuthmann
The NYPD arrested a mom and took her kids' Christmas gifts. She never got them back.
By
Samantha Max
Retired NYPD detective charged with murder in George Washington Bridge shooting
By
Charles Lane
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .