Brooklyn Republicans voted by a wide margin to support development of
Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards basketball arena, office towers and
housing complex this week. At the same time many raised concerns over
the use of the state’s power of eminent domain to condemn private
property.
The May 24 meeting at Marine Park Intermediate School on Fillmore Avenue
drew more than 500 members of the Kings County Republican County Committee.
Nearly 400 of those GOP loyalists voted in support of the pro-arena resolution,
which was championed before the vote by Bay Ridge state Sen. Marty Golden.
The vote carries little influence, but nonetheless decides the official
stance of Kings County Republicans, most of whom reside outside of Prospect
Heights, where the proposed 21-acre plan would be built.
The resolution calls for development of the project, which, it states,
“would enable Brooklynites to view a major league sports team without
having to leave Brooklyn.” It also applauds the construction of 4,500
residential units and four office towers.
A contrary resolution, which received just over 100 votes, condemns the
project because, the resolution reads, it “would displace countless
Brooklynites from their homes” while raising serious traffic and
parking issues.
“Many doors will swing right open when it finally becomes reality,”
said John Quaglione, a spokesman for Golden, who cited the positive economic
impact the senator believes the project will bring to the area. He acknowledged,
however, that aside from “more cars on the Gowanus [Expressway],”
the project would have little effect on Golden’s 22nd Senate District,
which runs from Bay Ridge to Gerritsen Beach in southern Brooklyn.
Kevin Breslin, a Republican district leader whose 52nd Assembly District
includes the proposed development, said that he voted in support of the
resolution, but nonetheless is “deadly opposed to eminent domain.”
He believes, however, that residents facing dislocation on Dean Street
between Flatbush and Sixth avenues would be fairly compensated by developer
Bruce Ratner. In recent weeks, many condominium owners in the Atlantic
Art Building at 636 Pacific St. have been offered up to double what they
paid for the luxury apartments.
“It’s hard to argue with someone who could lose their home.
But as time goes by, and they get some sweet offers, suddenly it doesn’t
look so bad,” said Breslin.
Frank Voyticky, district leader of the 57th AD for all but three years
since 1970, said that his support for the project was drawn from his nostalgia
for the Brooklyn Dodgers, who left the borough for Los Angeles after the
1957 season. Echoing several other district leaders who cited fond distant
memories as their reason for throwing support toward the project, he said
that a professional basketball team would be a point of pride for Brooklynites.
Voyticky acknowledged, however, that 17 residential and commercial towers,
the tallest of which would rise 620 feet, were less than desirable in
the relatively low-rise neighborhoods to the east of Downtown Brooklyn.
“Housing of the one- and two-family variety are probably more desirable
than the high-rises, but the fact is, in a community that’s overpopulated,
larger apartment buildings may be the only way to go,” said Voyticky,
who lives in Prospect Heights.
“There isn’t any vacant land left in our community,” he
added.
Last June, Voyticky visited some of the residents who are now being faced
with dislocation. He promised to help them if possible, he said, but when
asked if he had spoken to them since last June, he said he had not.
“They didn’t seem too concerned about whether they stayed here
or moved somewhere else,” he recalled.
The Kings County Democratic Committee, in contrast, has not taken a collective
position on the project, nor do its committee members vote on such resolutions,
said Bob Liff, a spokesman for the Brooklyn Democrats.
Chaired by Hy Singer, who declined to comment, the Brooklyn Republicans
voted on a ballot of 16 separate resolutions, including one in support
of the proposed West Side Stadium for the New York Jets football team.
That resolution received 68 percent of the vote compared to Ratner’s
Atlantic Yards project, which garnered 75 percent of the 525 members who
cast ballots.
“Obviously, we’re very appreciative of their support,”
said Joe Deplasco, a Ratner spokesman. “We strongly believe the Atlantic
Yards project will create thousands of needed jobs for Brooklynites. We’ve
also put together what we believe is an historic housing initiative that
will attract people of diverse incomes throughout the borough and the
city.”
