NEW YORK, NY May 20, 2005 —The MTA is accepting proposals to purchase the Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. That's where developer Bruce Ratner wants to build an arena, ofices and high-rise apartment buildings. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein reports.

REPORTER: In the back of the business section of the New York Times on Tuesday, the MTA quietly solicited bids for the Atlantic Rail Yards in Brooklyn. It says proposals are due by July 6.

The highly publicized MTA solicitation for HUDSON rail yards, site of the proposed west side stadium, gave just three weeks for bids, and is now the subject of litigation for being unfair.

A Ratner spokesmans says the bidding process is no surprise and the company is prepared to pay market value. Meanwhile, Ratner is promising that fifty percent of the apartments he hopes to build on the complex will be affordable. He'll get a city aid package worth tens of millions of dollars to build the affordable housing.