Arena Set for Nets
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INSIDE Including The Bensonhurst Paper Baroque music for the holidays Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications at 26 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 © Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages including GO BROOKLYN • Vol.26, No. 50 BRZ • December 15, 2003 • FREE ARENA SET FOR NETS By Deborah Kolben plan, being called Brooklyn At- Heights and is bounded by Flatbush The Brooklyn Papers lantic Yards for the Long Island Avenue, Atlantic Avenue, Vander- Rail Road storage yards it would bilt Avenue and Dean Street. He wants to bring profes- replace, is a bold, glass-enclosed, In addition to the arena, the plans sional basketball to Brooklyn 19,000-seat arena at the nexus of include 2.1 million square feet of and on Wednesday developer Downtown Brooklyn, Boerum Hill, office space, 300,000 square feet of Bruce Ratner unveiled what Park Slope and Prospect Heights. retail space, 4,500 residential units could be the team’s next home Flanked by four sweeping sky- and six acres of open space. — an ultra-modern, glass-and- scrapers and marked with Gehry’s Ratner vowed to include a num- steel arena complex designed wave-like walls and sculptural de- ber of middle-income and afford- by renowned architect Frank sign, the plans also include a able housing units in the mix. Gehry for the corner of rooftop garden and running track Gehry, who is noted for his non-lin- Flatbush and Atlantic avenues. that would be used as an ice skating ear designs and innovative use of rink in the winter. materials, is perhaps the world’s In a press conference at Borough The design is a radical departure most famous living architect. He Hall, Ratner, joined by the mayor, for Ratner, president and CEO of For- designed the Guggenheim Museum borough president, former Knicks est City Ratner, whose previous proj- in Bilbao, Spain, and the Disney and Nets great Bernard King, a ects have included the highly success- Concert Hall in Los Angeles, which Brooklyn native, as well as Gehry ful, if not drab, Metrotech office opened in October. and a potential partner in purchas- campus in Downtown Brooklyn and This project would mark his first ing the New Jersey Nets, rapper the less successful, oddly designed foray into Brooklyn, although the Jay-Z, made public a colossal, $2.5 Atlantic Center mall, across the street world-renowned architect and win- billion plan to convert a swath at from the proposed arena. ner of the prestigious Pritzker the edge of Downtown Brooklyn Between Atlantic Center and Award said he was born in Brook- into an innovative complex of Flatbush avenue, Ratner is nearing lyn and lived on Flatbush Avenue apartments, offices and a state-of- completion on Atlantic Terminal, an and Avenue J in Flatlands. the-art arena. office, retail and transit hub — the Mayor Michael Bloomberg Ratner’s group is among three third largest in the city — with nine called the project the “capstone of bidding to purchase the Nets, subway lines and the Long Island renaissance for Brooklyn” and whose parent company, Yan- Rail Road converging there. Offi- hailed the project as a way to create keeNets, was dissolved Monday, cials said they expect most visitors jobs, housing and attract tourists to paving the way for an imminent to to the Nets arena to arrive by the borough. sale of the team. Ratner’s $275 mil- public transportation. Jay-Z, who was raised in the lion bid is reportedly the highest, Located above the Long Island Marcy Houses in Bedford-Stuy- but also the only one that would Railroad storage yard, Brooklyn At- vesant, has joined Ratner as an in- move the team out of New Jersey. lantic Yards includes roughly six vestor in the project. At the center of Ratner’s arena blocks extending into Prospect Gehry Partners LLP See ARENA on page 8 / Greg Mango / Greg Mango / Greg Mango / Greg The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Bringing pro basketball to Brooklyn was an early goal of World-renowned architect Frank Gehry stands beside his design for an arena that would be constructed atop the Long Island Rail- Brooklyn Developer Bruce Ratner is willing to pay Marty Markowitz, pictured at Wednesday’s announcement. road Terminal at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues in Downtown Brooklyn. $275 million for the New Jersey Nets. EARLY CB10 race DEADLINES To accommodate the holidays, edi- Stolen tree, broken hearts tions of The Brooklyn Papers to be distributed on Thursday, Dec. 18, pits Grimaldi and Friday, Dec. 26, will have early Grinch chops deadlines. • CLASSIFIED ADS: The deadline for both editions will be 5 pm down kids’ Tuesday, Dec. 16. vs. Eaton • DISPLAY ADS: The deadline for blue spruce Dec. 18 release will be 5 pm Mon- day, Dec. 15; for Dec. 26 release, By Jotham Sederstrom 10 am Wednesday, Dec. 17. By Jotham Sederstrom The Brooklyn Papers •WHERETOGO:For The Paper’s The Brooklyn Papers Capping a year that included shuffling membership Calendar of Events, the final Fresh from Thanksgiving opportunity to submit events rolls and the hiring of a new district manager, Com- occurring through Jan. 9 will be break, Lutheran Elementary munity Board 10 members will vote on Monday for a Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 5 pm. Material students returned to school new chairperson. may be faxed to (718) 834-9278. last Monday to find their The election, to be held Dec. 15 at St. Philip’s Episcopal • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: beloved blue spruce chopped Send letters as early as possible. Church Hall on 80th Street and 11th Avenue, will cast Craig To be considered for publication down, just days before it was Eaton against Judie Grimaldi, ideological and political oppo- this year, your letter must be to be dressed in Christmas sites vying for the board’s top-spot. received by Thursday, Dec. 18, at ornaments by kindergartners. One of the two, both of whom were nominated at last 11 am. Letters may be e-mailed to: [email protected]. The spruce presented a clean month’s general meeting, will replace three-term chairman slate each holiday season for the Stephen Harrison, who is prevented by board bylaws from • NEWS: What gets into a particu- elementary-school students to ex- seeking another term as chair. lar edition depends on many fac- tors, including timeliness. Send us press themselves. But beyond The first contested race in recent memory, the election could your news as early as possible. shape the board’s agenda for 2004, a year likely to be a busy Christmas, nearly all of the one for the board’s zoning committee, which is currently school’s 215 students earlier this chaired by Eaton. Since 1990, three of five chairmen, including year tied yellow ribbons to the tree INSIDE THE PAPER to honor soldiers sent to Iraq. Harrison, had previously led the zoning committee. Classifieds . page 7, back page and GO 8 GO Brooklyn 8 pages . follows page 4 “The Grinch took our Christmas Last week, that committee released its three-year, 62-page Mango / Greg preservation zoning study, which calls for an overhaul of out- Home Improvement . GO 7-8 tree,” said Lutheran Elementary Parent . page 5 School Principal Lorraine Tuccil- dated rules that affect Bay Ridge’s small-town feel. Over the Police . page 3 next several months, the board will continue working on a draft Real Estate . back page lo, who discovered the ghastly of zoning changes they would like to see adopted by the city. stump on Thanksgiving morning “The biggest issue is completion of the zoning revue that Online at while driving past the school on we’ve done and that we’ve been working on for three years,” www.BrooklynPapers.com Ovington Avenue between Fourth Papers The Brooklyn Hear our editors and reporters discuss the news and Fifth avenues. Eaton said this week. “We feel that we’re close to a resolution every week in EDITORIAL ROUNDTABLE From left, Anna-Maria Trachuk, Caleb Janusz, Christine Kim, Briana Moses and Christopher Shields surround See CB10 on page 4 See GRINCH on page 3 stump where blue spruce once stood in front of Lutheran Elementary School at 440 Ovington Ave. Soon to be Saturday... See next week’s Paper ©The Brooklyn Papers. Established 1978. Phone 718-834-9350. Celia Weintrob, Publisher (ext 104) • Neil Sloane, Editor (ext 119) • Lisa J. Curtis, GO Brooklyn Editor (ext 131) • Vince DiMiceli, Senior Editor (ext 125) • Ed Weintrob, President (ext 105) 2 AWP THE BROOKLYN PAPERS • WWW.BROOKLYNPAPERS.COM December 15, 2003 Mary Pinkett, 77, Fort Greene’s council member for 28 years By Deborah Kolben worked hard to ease tensions “Brooklyn’s bright future is The Brooklyn Papers and joined a coalition seeking to being built upon the strong restore peace to the community. foundations she laid with her If there’s one thing that In addition to supporting an talent, vision and leadership. friends and family members array of cultural institutions, We mourn her passing.” remember about Mary Pin- Pinkett fought for the revitaliza- When Shirley McRae bought kett, it’s that she knew how to tion of Fort Greene Park, and a house in Fort Greene eight put up a great fight. played an integral role in bring- years ago, she went straight to And it was with that same ing the first tennis courts to Pinkett and asked her how she tenacity, they say, that Pinkett, Bedford-Stuyvesant. should get involved in the com- the first black woman elected to After her retirement, Pinkett munity. the City Council, waged a long remained active in the commu- Before she knew it, McRae battle against stomach cancer.