Synchronicity is a funny thing; I was just about to write a blog item urging everyone to go to the Brooklyn Heights Cinema to catch the last few showings of a movie about the Atlantic Yards debacle, called Battle for Brooklyn (not to be confused with the actual Revolutionary War Battle of Brooklyn). When...pop!... into my email falls a press release so excited it nearly jumped off the cyber page, announcing a 9th inning change of fortune for Atlantic Yard community activists.
In a nutshell, a NY State Judge ordered a new environmental impact review of Goliath's, that is, Forest City Ratner's, controversial plans to built a dense mini-city of high rises near the Barclay Stadium. And, this review will offer a chance for public hearings. (The stadium won't be affected. This is about "phase 2" development, which was originally slated to be for housing but, post-recession, may just be one massive parking lot.)
So, if you haven't been following this complex saga, here's the link to both Forest City Ratner's website and the community-based group, Develop Don't Destroy.
Or, hop on over to the Heights to see the Battle for Brooklyn, an advocacy-style documentary about the Atlantic Yards.
Meanwhile, hats off to the ever-tenacious David in the story, AKA Develop Don't Destroy community activists. IMHO, what they want is, simply, transparency, democracy, and a say in how a hugely powerful developer transforms their little neighborhood. With all the big bucks flowing into Brooklyn these days, the Atlantic Yards controversy, and the precedent it sets, impacts us all.
(Full disclosure: Forest City Ratner was the developer of a new building for The New York Times, which owns About.com. The above opinions are this writer's.)
- Where: Brooklyn Heights Cinema
- When: Every Wednesday summer-long, 7:15 p.m. (Usually followed by Q&A)
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