Court Says More Environmental Review Needed For Atlantic Yards Project

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A judge says Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards development project must undergo further environmental review.

A judge ruled Wednesday that the Empire State Development Corp. erred in granting approval to developer Bruce Ratner's basketball arena and housing project by not first conducting a thorough environmental review.

In 2006, the state agency approved the use of eminent domain to make way for the project. It re-approved a scaled-back version in 2009.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the judge didn't halt the construction but ordered an environmental review for the second phase of the project.

The arena will be the new home of the Nets. It's set to open next year.

PHOTO GALLERY: Barclays Center Construction

The agency says it believes it complied with all the laws. A Ratner spokesman says the developer disagrees with the decision.

Aside from environmental concerns, residents who live near the site were complaining of an infestation of cat-sized rodents.

One woman said the city has laid out poison but it hasn't eliminated the problem plaguing the area around Dean Street and Sixth Avenue.

"The rats are so city slick, they don't even go by the poison," she told 1010 WINS' John Montone. "They don't eat it."

Others in the neighborhood said the rats are just average-sized and some claim they haven't seen any running around.

A construction worker at the project said he's not sure why people are surprised  by the infestation.

"The same thing happens around your house in the suburbs when you start digging, that's when termites come up, everything starts moving around," he said.

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