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Tomb raters! Commuters think those bollards are for the birds, too

By Barry Shifrin
The Brooklyn Paper

The Long Island Rail Road is cutting the ribbon today on its new terminal near the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues, but commuters we talked to weren’t too impressed by a main feature of the design: the massive, tomb-like bollards deployed like a Satanic blast fence around the new building.

The Brooklyn Paper / Barry Shifrin
“I was wondering which ancient pharaoh’s burial ground was here. When is the King Tut tour coming through again? Besides keeping out the evil terrorists and their taxicabs, I don’t see any purpose to them. They’re funny looking.”
Mark Scarola, Fort Greene

The Brooklyn Paper / Barry Shifrin
“When I’m drunk, I guess I’ll have a place to lay down. They’re big, bulky and ugly.”
Rae Guy, Flatbush

The Brooklyn Paper / Barry Shifrin
“I don’t know why they’re here. I thought they were going to remove them after construction ended. I’m not sure exactly what they’re for.”
Jay Rivera, Bedford-Stuyvesant

The Brooklyn Paper / Barry Shifrin
“Definitely not the most attractive choice. They should’ve used something a little more complementary and reflective of the building.”
Ann Marie, Park Slope

The Brooklyn Paper / Barry Shifrin
“It looks like a Greek ritual ground. It seems like it’s just taking up space for no reason.”
Jason Russell, East New York

©2010 Community Newspaper Group

←Williamsburg Waterfront: The Domino does not fall as city begins review of $1.2B project
→Crime: Here they are — your Police Blotters

Reader Feedback

John from Park Slope says:
Did anyone ever consider that the possible "reason" for the security overkill(at least in the minds of those who imposed it)may be that Atlantic Yards is right across the intersection from the largest Arab/Muslim enclave in the city(& that this area has been "host" to several radical Muslim preachers-& that some of the literature distributed in several grocery stores there is more than a little radical)? Ratner is Jewish-& you must admit,a bit of paranoia about Muslim terrorists does come with being Jewish. I'm not saying any of this is right-I'm just suggesing a possible reason behind their thinking(& something that may be a bit too sensitive to admit or even discuss openly).
March 1, 2010, 9:22 am

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