MTA leaders say that any transfer of air rights and yard space at the LIRR storage area along Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn will be a sale for market value, not a hand-off to subsidize a new NBA basketball arena and related commercial and residential development.

We argued last week that the developer, Forest City Ratner, should contribute to Brooklyn transit service if studies show the development will create a marked increase in subway and bus ridership.

Testifying at budget hearings in Albany last week, MTA executive director Kathryn Lapp said any transfer of property would be for fair market value, and said the agency had not yet analyzed whether it was possible to move its storage tracks.

Her comments were reiterated by MTA chair Peter Kalikow to reporters. Kalikow told the Daily News that a price had not yet been estimated or negotiated for the space Ratner would require, but that "it’s always been understood that it will be fair market value." 

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