LETTERS:

They’re dead wrong.

If Brooklyn is going to have a Wal-Mart, Downtown is precisely the place
for it to be. And Wal-Mart is probably savvy enough to do just what one
of the naysayers said: “Significantly change their business model”
to take advantage of Downtown Brooklyn assets to develop a new form for
its last urban frontier.

They’re obviously smart enough to know that in an area where abundant
cost-conscious customers don’t own cars, it makes sense to change
a model designed for America’s heartland.

Why should they be as foolish as Ikea going to a remote site [Red Hook],
difficult to reach even by auto, when Downtown Brooklyn rezoning has just
provided the floor plate they need — a million walk-in weekday customers
and night and weekend parking capacity that taxpayers are paying for?

And why would anyone think Wal-Mart would be so wedded to a stand-alone
store plan that it would waste valuable zoning rights to build offices
overhead, putting customers in their lap?

From whence EDC’s new criteria of retailers having to be “appropriate
to the plan” — a concept foreign to the rezoning EIS, except
for the assumption that the block-size storefronts are not suited to the
little guys being displaced by eminent domain and by escalating rents.

Surely these born-again Wal-Mart foes cannot be concerned about traffic
— they were confident throughout the rezoning process that 100,000
more cars and trucks a day can be handled on local streets.

Community vision has been the creative force behind Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Public planning sessions, town-hall meetings, public commentary and a
vast array of other processes have led us to the current design scheme,
which brings us significantly closer to making the Park a reality. A myriad
of detailed design decisions have yet to be made about the Park, and the
public will continue to influence the park’s evolution and development.

We have always known that Brooklyn Bridge Park must be financially self-sustaining.
Without this principle, we would never have gotten the public commitment
and dollars to build the park. Now, after nearly six months of work by
the Brooklyn Bridge Development Corporation, we have a thorough analysis
of the yearly operations and maintenance costs.

Of all the options to cover these costs, housing is the optimal choice,
not only because it has the ability to generate significant revenue while
taking up only a relatively small footprint, but because it brings life,
activity, security and advocacy to the park. Far from privatizing the
park, well-planned housing brings a built-in constituency to public space
and enhances the overall park experience. Waterfront parks around the
world have reaped enormous benefits by having housing adjacent to or within
the park boundaries.

By transforming abandoned, unused property into a premiere public space,
Brooklyn Bridge Park is poised to become a treasured urban oasis and a
legacy for generations. Five acres of commercial space is a decidedly
small price to pay for this rare opportunity. We must seize the opportunity
and make Brooklyn Bridge Park happen now.