To the editor:
[Brooklyn Papers Editor Neil Sloane] was right to ask what Brooklynites 1) A state-of-the-art post office with motivated workers committed to 2) High-speed, Internet-ready arts magnet middle school and high school, 3) Dog walk specific for dogs.
4) Green space, quiet zones.
5) Park space that is large enough for children to play in and adults 6) Pedestrian traffic issue at Atlantic, Flatbush and Fourth avenues must 7) Parking will go the way of the dodo if this is not addressed in a competent, I’ve studied the right of eminent domain and nowhere in it can I There is a well-known technique in “The Art of War” that was The Schermerhorn-Pacific Urban Renewal is something to watch, too, by The borough president, City Planning Commission and City Council all have As for the stadium itself, Downtown Brooklyn Councilman David Yassky and
get out of this massive stadium and adjoining towers [“Brooklyn’s
identity safe without the ‘Jersey Nets,” Jan. 31]. None
of the people who worked on the plan have any connection to the existing
communities, so the only agenda is money, money, money. It’s time
to set an agenda that Brooklyn citizens in adjoining neighborhoods can
get behind. Personally, I’d like to see:
excellence to replace the surly, dysfunctional one on Atlantic Ave.
possibly in the same building complex as the police department. (MS 51
went from barely used to dangerously overcrowded in four years.)
to jog, bike and skate around all year.
be solved to prevent further disasters (pedestrian bridge?) like the one
that happened earlier this winter.
compassionate way.
find why a sports arena constitutes the application that would dispossess
people of their homes. The use has to be a government necessity, and I
don’t see how pro basketball qualifies (I suspect a cynical legal
maneuver that sites rail beds somehow). And 620 feet of tower is so completely
out of scale, it would no doubt serve to dissect the neighborhoods instead
of joining them.
most successfully applied in World War II that comes to mind: divide and
conquer. The first phase of this is already in place because, apparently,
none of the community boards communicate with one another. Since this
vast amount of development falls into quite a few different neighborhoods,
most citizens of Brooklyn that could level a collective, powerful and
organized voice and agenda are already isolated. May I suggest a class-action
lawsuit by the homeowners of Boerum Hill, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights
and Fort Greene that challenges the use (or misuse) of eminent domain?
the way. It’s the largest piece of undeveloped inner city real estate
slated for “urban renewal” in this nation’s history —
larger than downtown Los Angeles, larger than downtown Houston. What hair-brained
scheme is already being concocted for that space which will (no doubt)
be shoved down the community’s throats after the fact? We need to
ask.
a say in what gets designated for “urban(e) development,” so
please visit www. nypirg.org, put in your address to find out relevant
reps and addresses and please write letters against urban renewal and
for maximum accountability.
Assemblywoman Joan Millman have no official position, and letters count
for a lot.
—Sue Montgomery,
Boerum Hill
