August 13, 2006
Senator Clinton Join Widening Chorus For Reasonable Review Period
Senator Clinton Join Widening Chorus For Reasonable Review Period
Senator Hillary Clinton and the Municipal Art Society (MAS) have joined Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Councilmember Letitia James, Assemblymembers Jim Brennan, Joan Millman, and Roger Green in calling for the ESDC and its Chairman Charles Gargano to provide a reasonable and fair amount of time for the public to provide comment on the 2,400 pages of the "Atlantic Yards" Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and General Project Plan (GPP), as well as the eminent domain hearing, which have all been combined into an egregiously and inexplicably expidited time period.
Posted by klowy at 11:37 AM | Comments (0)
August 01, 2006
Community Board Atlantic Yards Hearings
Thursday August 3rd, 2006
All hearings are from 6 to 8 pm. Please bring your comments on the Atlantic Yards DEIS.
Brookyln Community Board 2:
Long Island University
Health Sciences Center, Room 119
Brookyln Community Board 6:
Long Island College Hospital
339 Hicks Street, Conference Rooms F&G
Brooklyn Community Board 8:
Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation 520 Prospect Place
Posted by klowy at 11:42 AM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2006
Develop Don't Detroy Brooklyn Rally
Some pictures from Sunday's rally. It was hot, and as you can clearly see, there were a lot of people there. The second picture are people in the shade. The last picture, Concilwoman Tish James speaking.
Posted by klowy at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)
July 14, 2006
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Rally
Posted by klowy at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2006
Fundraiser for Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Dan Zanes and Brooklyn Friends
Tickets on sale in a mom-n-pop shop near you
Tickets on sale at these locations:
Acorn: 323 Atlantic Ave., 718-522-3760
Boing Boing: 204 6th Ave., 718-398-0251
Green Onion: 274 Smith St., 718-246-2804
LuLu's Cuts and Toys: 48 Fifth Ave. (between Bergen & Dean), 718-832-3732
Mini Jake: 242 Wythe Ave., 718-782-2005
Heights Kids: 85 Pineapple Walk, 718-222-4271
Posted by klowy at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2006
NY Times report on eminent domain & the Yards
From the New York Times
Bloomberg Says Power to Seize Private Land Is Vital to Cities
By DIANE CARDWELL
Published: May 3, 2006
"The vast, overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to using eminent domain," said Dana Berliner, a senior lawyer at the Institute for Justice, a leading advocate for curtailing its use.
"The only people who are really supporting it are government, planners and the developers that take advantage of eminent domain," she said.
In New York, for example, the proposed use of eminent domain by the developer Forest City Ratner to bring a basketball arena and a swath of residential, office and commercial towers to the Atlantic Terminal area touched off fierce opposition, especially in surrounding neighborhoods.
The concept, though, proved unpopular elsewhere as well. A New York Times poll in April 2004 found that only 18 percent of city residents favored the construction of a new basketball arena in Brooklyn if it required the demolition of homes and businesses."
Posted by klowy at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
April 01, 2006
State gives Ratner $33M Cash for prep work on still- unapproved $3.5B project
Ariella Cohen writes in this weeks Brooklyn Papers:
Legislators in Albany have handed developer Bruce Ratner his first public subsidy for his Atlantic Yards project, allocating $33 million for the still-unapproved mega-development.
Three weeks after Ratner dispatched his troops to Albany to lobby for a $100-million handout, state officials this week earmarked one-third that amount for his $3.5-billion project in Prospect Heights.
But more money may be on the way, several Assemblymembers told The Brooklyn Papers
“The money will be going towards extraordinary infrastructure for the arena,” said Assemblyman Roger Green (D-Prospect Heights). “You have to think about the community benefits.”
(editors note: I believe what Roger Green meant to say was "fantasize about the community benefits".)
Posted by klowy at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2006
Community forum on Atlantic Yards Project: Thurs. March 23rd
On Thursday, March 23rd, at 6:30 p.m., Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn invites you to Brooklyn Heights for a community forum on Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic Yards project. The evening’s agenda will feature:
• speakers including Brooklyn historian Francis Morrone & South Brooklyn Legal Services
• up-to-the-minute news on the proposed project, legal action and community concerns
• information on volunteer opportunities
• a community Q&A and discussion session
The meeting will take place at the
First Unitarian Congregational Society
50 Monroe Place (corner of Pierrepont Street) in Brooklyn Heights.
All are welcome.
For mass transit access, please use the following subways:
• 2/3 to Borough Hall or Clark Street
• 4/5 to Borough Hall
• A/C to High Street or Jay Street/Borough Hall
• F to Jay Street/Borough Hall
• M/R to Court Street
• or the #25. 26, 38, 41, 51 or 52 Buses
For more information, please visit www.dddb.net or call (718) 362-4784.
Posted by klowy at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2006
Atlantic Yards - Scary Pictures
This image is a sneak peak of what has been billed as the coolest Google Map hack to date (and it also looks like something out of a Residents nightmare).
On Monday, March 6th, 2006, OnNYTurf, will launch a clickable Google map that offers wide-angle shots around the footprint of the proposed Atlantic Yards Development with renderings of the Gehry-designed megalopolis, and architecturally interesting places that make this neighborhood worth fighting for.
Posted by klowy at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2006
Owens, Montgomery & James Join Lawsuit
From the Daily News:
Three Brooklyn elected officials yesterday (February 8, 2006) joined a high-profile lawsuit to bar Bruce Ratner from demolishing six buildings in the proposed Atlantic Yards site.
"My colleagues and I stand 100% with the plaintiffs," said Councilwoman Letitia James, who filed the supporting brief with Rep. Major Owens (D-Crown Heights) and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery (D-Fort Greene).
The move comes a day after South Brooklyn Legal Services joined the suit filed by Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn and other community groups Jan.18.
The suit also charges that the same well-connected Manhattan lawyer, David Paget, first represented Ratner, then moved to the state agency overseeing the project, where he signed off on the demolition.
Written by Elizabeth Hays (Daily News)
Posted by klowy at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)
March 26, 2005
Atlantic Yards Poll (partial transcript)
Patti Hagen is an activist in Propect Heights. Patti has been fighting to kill the Atlantic Yards project since it was announced (or soon thereafter). Some of her objections have merit. I don't agree with everything Patti says, but this transcript was too funny to miss. Funny because the person calling (for the polling company) had no idea who he had just called. Below are a few of the questions and responses. For the full transcript, surf over to the Brooklyn Papers.
Pollster: As you may know there is talk of moving the Nets basketball team from New York to Brooklyn. The new owner of the team is proposing …
Hagan: No, from New Jersey. I believe it’s from New Jersey …
Pollster: Yeah, New Jersey. I’m sorry ma’am. Yeah, New Jersey. The new owner of the team is proposing to build a sports and entertainment arena for the Nets in Downtown Brooklyn at the intersection of Flatbush and Atlantic avenues.
Generally speaking, are you inclined to favor or oppose plans to build a sports team for the Nets basketball team at this site in Brooklyn?
Hagan: OK, could you start that question again? Because you sort of messed up on it.
(The pollster repeats the question.)
Hagan: I absolutely oppose it! And I am the leader of the opposition. I started the fight to stop this boondoggle.
Pollster: Supporters of the project say that no taxpayer money will be used to build the arena or the surrounding complex. The only taxpayer money involved will be to cover the cost — what are known as infrastructure improvements — which are things like fixing roads, improving subway stations and putting new sewer lines in and around the arena complex. The cost of the arena and the other buildings themselves will be entirely funded by the developers of this project and would not require any taxpayer money.
Does hearing this information make you more likely to support this arena project, somewhat more likely to support it, or does it not change your opinion of the project?
Hagan: That is a damn lie! The whole thing. It doesn’t change one bit of information that I have about it. I have facts about it. This developer is looking for more than $1.3 billion in public subsidies. It’s absolutely outrageous!
There's a lot more, but you have to wonder what the pollster was thinking when he asked these questions and got Patti's responses.
As I have written before, this project is simply too big. The current infrastucture cannot support it. And the MTA has no plans to build any more subway lines. And if you're waiting for the 2nd Avenue Subway, as the old saying goes, "I have a bridge I'd like to sell you..."
Posted by klowy at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2005
Atlantic Yards (opinion)
Recently someone I respect was overheard saying that I was Marty Markowitz's chief nemesis. This statement surprised me because I have always treated Marty with respect. While it's true I don't agree with everything he does, I don't recall ever saying anything negative about him. But it was brought to my attention that I have stated that I am opposed to the Atlantic Yards project. This also surprised me because, like most of our local elected officials, I have no firm position on a plan whose scope and detail I don't know. In fact, no one does as far as I know. And I have asked a lot of people and all our elected officials.
At a recent meeting at IND, Mayoral candidate and City Council Speaker Gifford Miller commented that he had not taken a position on the Atlantic Yards Project because he has not seen it. He also stated that he has asked to see it.
Here is what I have said publicly about the Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning Plan.
"If you add 500 cars to Flatbush Ave. at the height of rush hour, how much longer would your trip take? The answer is 3 seconds. That was the answer I received when I asked one of the planners of the Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning Plan that question. The answer was then, and is now, laughable. The person who gave me that answer was Philip Habib. The same person who will be doing a traffic analysis for Brooklyn Bridge Park.
If the Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning Plan is completely built out there will be an additional 854 inbound trips during the morning rush hour, and over a thousand outbound trips in the evening. We’re taking about cars, and lots of them. The intersection of Adams and Tillary Street will have four unmitigated impacts in the morning rush hour. The last time I went through that intersection, it only had four corners. Atlantic and Fourth Avenue will have two unmitigated impacts in the evening. If you’ve ever gone through that intersection after 4 pm, you know that it is currently almost impassable. Just imagine what another few hundred cars an hour will do. There is no mention of spillover - but we all know what happens when traffic starts backing up and it’s not a 3 second delay.
The planners write that the project will be the “third largest business district after Midtown and Downtown Manhattan”. The question they have not asked is if Downtown Brooklyn can support a project this large or more importantly, if the residents want it. From reading through the Executive Summary, it is clear that the project is too large. On page 37 they state that to avoid the unmitigated impacts the overall program size would have to be “reduced by approximately 95%”!"
That's what I said at Boro Hall. I stand by those comments. What I have said about the Atlantic Yards project is that if they cannot find a way to mitigate the problems caused by the Rezoning Plan, then what can we expect from the Atlantic Yards? Filling the streets with cars is not what the people of Brooklyn want. Filing every subway car to capacity is not healthy, fun or realistic. All I ask is that if you plan something, you do it correctly. I have not seen the full plan for the Atlantic Yards. But I know that the MTA is broke and not expanding subway service in Brooklyn. So where does that leave us?
And I still have nothing against Marty Markowitz.
Posted by klowy at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)