Atlantic Yards slipped in just above junk bond status today, when Moody’s gave the project an Baa3 rating, the lowest rung of investment-grade bonds.
That’s probably not as high as Bruce Ratner had hoped, but given the uncertainty surrounding the long-stalled development, it’s better than it could have been. Mr. Ratner now has exactly one month to sell $500 million dollars in bonds if he wants to qualify for an I.R.S. deadline on the tax-free debt, which has long been seen as the last significant hurdle facing the project–though there are at least three outstanding lawsuits that could still derail it.
Consider it a rare win for the Nets, who just tied an N.B.A. record with 17 losses to open their season.
