BATTLE for BROOKLYN 2,000 Show Up, Only 100 Get a Chance to Speak
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P 7 Korea’s best BROOKLYN’S BEST CYCLONES COVERAGE: P 12 films at BAM Video highlights at www.BrooklynPapers.com BROOKLYN’S REAL NEWSPAPERS Including The Brooklyn Heights Paper, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, DUMBO Paper and the Downtown News Published every Saturday — online all the time — by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington St, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2006 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages •Vol. 29, No. 33 AWP • Saturday, August 26, 2006 • FREE ATLANTIC YARDS HEARING PITS PRO VS. CON IN HISTORIC BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN 2,000 show up, only 100 get a chance to speak By Gersh Kuntzman Markowitz could barely be heard over the and Ariella Cohen boos and cheers. The Brooklyn Papers “Thank you very very much,” he said. “What you just heard was a Brooklyn cheer. It’s OK. I Supporters and opponents of Bruce believe Atlantic Yards is the right project, at the Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-develop- right time, at the right place.” ment clashed loudly and repeatedly during His biggest applause line came when he said Wednesday’s state hearing on the project that Ratner would build his project with “100 — and in doing so put forward two distinct percent union labor!” visions of Brooklyn’s future. But the cheering abruptly stopped when the Seats were in short supply — and so was civility Beep changed gears. — at a NYC Technical College auditorium, as op- “This project needs to be reduced,” he said. “The ponents of the project were roundly jeered by sup- Williamsburgh Savings Bank should remain porters, who, in turn, were booed by opponents. Brooklyn’s tallest building! The height of [the 62- Because the hearing’s modera- story] ‘Miss Brooklyn’ must be tor chose to alternate pro-Atlantic reduced. Next, build a school! Yards speakers and anti-Yards And next, insure public safety. speakers, the visceral chasm be- And get real about traffic and tween the two sides was abundant- parking. Finally, make the open ly on display. space accessible and integrated For every unemployed speak- seamlessly into the neighbor- er begging the state to approve hood.” the project — whose backers pre- After exceeding his allotted dict will create “jobs in the com- three minutes by at least two, he munity” — there was a seeming- Greenhood / Aaron left the podium to a resounding ly more affluent activist ticking chorus of boos, as project support- off the traffic, transit, open space, ers felt betrayed and opponents noise and pollution shortcom- felt that Markowitz’s concerns ings of the project. about the project came “too little, For every Rev. Herbert Daugh- Papers The Brooklyn too late,” as one man yelled out. try, who got $50,000 from Ratner Bruce Ratner on Wednesday As the second speaker of the after he came out in support of the night — state Sen. Marty Golden project, there was a Lee Solomon, a resident of Fort (R-Bay Ridge) — approached the podium, for- Greene, whose opposition to the project has not mer Community Board 8 member Connie Lesold earned her a dime. could not hold her tongue. For every union ironworker making brownie “It’s not right that he should speak,” she said points with his union to testify, there was a com- as she was escorted out. “He’s from the far munity activist hoping to testify quickly so she southern end of Brooklyn. His neighborhood could save on babysitting. hasn’t lost firehouses. This project is a giveaway / Aaron Greenhood / Aaron The see-saw night started before the first to rich corporations!” Greenhood / Aaron speaker even approached the podium in the Klit- A dozen elected officials got to speak at the gord Auditorium on Jay Street, Downtown, with “public hearing” before the public itself, while a request from the moderator for civility — hundreds of people waited their turn or, worse, which was almost immediately ignored as Bor- waited outside just to get into the hearing (see The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn ough President Markowitz, who is the public of- story on page 5). Papers The Brooklyn Opponents of Bruce Ratner’s Atlantic Yards mega-project made their point ficial most identified by his outspoken support of Any politician who supported the project was …while supporters, including this woman holding a “Yes in my back yard” clear at Wednesday night’s seven-hour hearing on the development the project, made the first speech. See BATTLE on page 5 sign, cheered the development as a source of jobs and affordable housing. MORE COVERAGE OF THE ATLANTIC YARDS HEARING IS INSIDE, ON PAGE 5 Towns: Bush needs SHILLARY! to apologize to the Five who changed Hil’s UN for war in Iraq tune on a-park-ments By Dana Rubinstein After the barrage of phone The Brooklyn Papers calls, Clinton sent a letter to By Gersh Kuntzman went to the U.N. and indicated we’d go it alone if Brooklyn Bridge Park Devel- we had to.” The Brooklyn Papers Who got to Hillary? opment Corporation President Only an abject apology, Towns said, would get President Bush needs to beg the nations of That was the question on the Wendy Leventer that suddenly the United Nations to now send peacekeepers to minds of Brooklyn insiders — the world for forgiveness if the United States Iraq — allowing for a complete U.S. pullout. supported the waterfront devel- and conspiracy theorists — af- opment — acknowledging that is going to get out of the “mess” in Iraq. “Number one, we’ll get [back] the $2 billion per ter the New York junior sena- That’s what Rep. Ed Towns (D-Fort Greene) told week that we’re spending [in Iraq], which could go Markowitz her flip-flop came as a result of tor’s stunning flip-flop last “information provided to me.” The Brooklyn Papers this week, in an exclusive in- into education and health care and all these other week from her initial opposi- terview. things that we need to have money for,” said A coincidence? Local oppo- tion to a state plan to build lux- nents to the plan think not. “The president needs to go back to the Towns, who voted against the use of force before ury housing and open space on United Nations and apologize for his the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. “The letter uses the exact the Brooklyn waterfront. phraseology not of Clinton, but behavior,” Towns said. “He A Bush apology, Towns added, would “get the As reported in The Brooklyn of the handlers of this botched was actually pretty arro- United Nations and these other nations to pay, Papers two weeks ago, Clinton plan,” said Judi Francis, the gant when he like we did in Afghanistan.” first came out against the president of the Brooklyn “He needs to go back and say, ‘Look, “housing-in-the-park” scheme, we want your involvement. We understand saying that the plan was “disin- Connor Bridge Park Defense Fund, that this is a mess, I made a mistake, but we genuous” and “yet another lux- which is suing to block the want your help.’ ” ury housing project.” construction of housing in what A reporter reminded Towns that the What followed was “a sense is supposed to be a public park. president has actually been moving further of surprise and confusion The controversial project / Aaron Greenhood / Aaron away from such an apology. Greenhood / Aaron among local electeds,” said one calls for a 1.3-mile waterfront In fact, as Towns was speaking to The source, who asked to remain development and recreation Brooklyn Papers, the president was hold- anonymous. area stretching from DUMBO ing a press conference in Washington, But just one week later, after to Brooklyn Heights that is sounding very unapologetic about the at least five big-time Brooklyn supposed to be self-sustaining war. Millman thanks to fees levied on the res- The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn pols called her, Clinton did a “There are a lot of people in the De- sudden about-face, saying she idents of the luxury housing. mocrat Party who believe that the best supported the park and had Clinton condemned that very course of action is to leave Iraq before come to understand that private aspect of the plan on August 9 at the job is done, period,” Bush said. “And luxury housing was “neces- a campaign stop in Sunset Park. they’re wrong … We’re not going to leave Clock block She questioned the notion of sary.” Iraq before the job is done, and we’ll com- for The Brooklyn Papers Borough President Marko- self-sustainability, and even rec- plete the mission in Iraq. I can’t tell you ex- witz’s office, state Sen. Martin ommended that reporters read actly when it’s going to be done.” Brooklynites better start investing in their own Connor (D-Brooklyn Heights), the autobiography of Nobel That, Towns said, is exactly the prob- timepieces, because that new scaffolding atop the Assemblywoman Joan Mill- DeBlasio Peace Prize winner Wangari lem. Williamsburgh Savings Bank’s famous clock man (D-Park Slope), City Maathai, a Kenyan environmen- “Without him going back to the UN, (above) won’t be going away anytime soon. Councilman Bill DeBlasio (D- talist who fought luxury housing we can’t fix the mess that’s there now,” said Renovations of the historic tower and clock — which Park Slope) and Brooklyn in Nairobi’s Uhuru Park. Towns, who was seeking The Papers’ endorse- began with the enshrouding of the four-faced timepiece last Bridge Park Conservancy pres- After The Brooklyn Papers re- ment in his Sept.