The Atlantic Yards project cleared a major hurdle yesterday when New York State was granted the right to use eminent domain for the development. The project has had a long political history pitting the developer, Forest City Ratner, against local groups, and an equally interesting design history, moving from an all Frank Gehry development to ceding the design of the Barclays Center/Net’s arena to the firms Ellerbe Becket and SHoP Architects while leaving the rest of the project design open to question.
MaryAnne Gilmartin is Executive Vice-President of Forest City Ratner and the point person on Atlantic Yards. I photographed her in 2008 from a perch overlooking Atlantic Yards for an editorial profile.
