Please silence your Blackberry
Note to government officials: When trying to at least feign interest in participatory democracy, shut off your Blackberry.
Critics of the plan to erect luxury condos inside Brooklyn Bridge Park would probably have more confidence that Parks Department officials are taking their concerns seriously this week had Commissioner Adrian Benepe not been caught “Blackberry-ing” while being addressed during a public forum at LICH on Monday night.
“It would be great if you weren’t Blackberrying when I’m talking to you,” sniped one angry resident who had risen to question Benepe and two other city officials about features of the Brooklyn Bridge Park plan.
“Yeah, I’m listening to you,” a sheepish Benepe tried.
The Parks Commissioner knew he was addressing a packed house of passionate park advocates at the outset of the meeting, commenting that it was “like being in the Globe Theater.”
Alas, while many may have left the meeting feeling there might be something rotten in the borough of Brooklyn, Benepe and his associates did manage to escape relatively unscathed – or as one critic reminded him, “At least they didn’t throw a shoe at you.”
