NEW YORK, NY June 27, 2005 —Mayor Bloomberg, developer Bruce Ratner, and several Brooklyn community leaders signed an agreement today to create affordable housing in Ratner's basketball arena development project in Prospect Heights.

Under the Community Benefits Agreement, Ratner pledged half of the 45-hundred apartments he plans to build for middle and low income residents, and promised to set aside 45 percent of the project's construction jobs for minorities and women.

Bloomberg says Ratner's a man of his word, who's done a lot of good things for Brooklyn. But the group, Develop Don't Destroy, says agreement is weak, because its eight signers have supported the project from the beginning.