Stimulus Funds SHOULD NOT aid the ATLANTIC YARDS! Sign this petition.

"No Stimulus Money for Atlantic Yards!"

New York State Governor David Paterson will soon be making decisions about where to allocate an approximately $25 billion in stimulus aid from the Federal government. Some of the money will go to restore budget cuts to schools. Some will go to shoring up the state Medicaid program. Some will go to desperately- needed projects in transportation, energy and the environment.

But there's one project that shouldn't be considered for stimulus funds--Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards development. With credit tight and construction costs increasing, FCR has hired former Senator Alfonse D'Amato to lobby for a cut of New York's stimulus funds. Atlantic Yards has already received hundreds of millions in direct aid from the City and the State, and billions in tax breaks. FCR committed to building its arena with private funds, and pledged to pay for the renovation of the MTA Vanderbilt Yards. Now they're looking for the public to bail them out of those commitments.

The problem is, there's no way to hold FCR responsible for how stimulus money would be used if it were allocated to Atlantic Yards. There's no guarantee when the promised affordable housing, open space or community facilities will be built. Nobody even seems to be sure what the project will look like anymore.

Sign on to the online petition to tell Governor Paterson that you're against granting stimulus funds to Atlantic Yards. Help make sure New York's share of the Federal stimulus program gets to projects that really deserve it. And let the Governor know it's time Atlantic Yards was held accountable to the public.

Sign petition here.