'Look Both Ways'

PAGE 7-13 Including The Bensonhurst Paper Japan is in season Published every Saturday by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington Street, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2004 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages including GO BROOKLYN • Vol.27, No.5 BRZ • February 7, 2004 • FREE Gentile ‘SOB Marty’ comment brings hush to BRCC luncheon By Jotham Sederstrom A laughing Golden, who hosted the lunch- ton High School. Along the way, the coun- The Brooklyn Papers eon at his 76th Street catering hall, came up to cil has organized political, public and Gentile after and shook his hand. school board forums. Touting Brooklyn as a 2012 Olym- As always, the luncheon attracted Bay “Many organizations together can roar,” pic destination and home to future Ridge’s most active community board mem- said Sacco. national conventions, both Democratic bers, religious leaders, business owners, and Praising the council for “making Brook- and Republican, Borough President elected and appointed officials. Between bites lyn, Brooklyn,” Markowitz named Jan. 31 Marty Markowitz roundly praised of chicken or salmon, the audience applauded “Annual Luncheon Day in Bay Ridge,” a plans to build a professional basketball Ilene Sacco, chairwoman of the Bay Ridge similar honor to the one he bestowed last arena in the Downtown area for the Community Council (BRCC), who spoke of year, when he declared Feb. 1 as Bay Ridge National Basketball Association Nets, the past year’s successes and failures. Community Council Day. during his address at the Bay Ridge “We’ve won some and we’ve lost some,” Markowitz, whose idea it was to lure a Community Council’s annual Pres- said Sacco. “Some of the issues have stayed professional basketball team to Brooklyn, ident’s Luncheon at the Bay Ridge the same — we want good schools and safe spoke with pride of the pending move of Manor Saturday. streets. But other things have changed,” she the New Jersey Nets to Downtown Brook- But it was a pregnant pause by Council- said, referring to the ever present threat of lyn by developer Bruce Ratner. Although man Vincent Gentile, a Democrat, that held terrorism. the proposed Frank Gehry-designed arena, the rapt attention of more than 150 digni- The BRCC, which was formed in 1951 office tower and housing complex to be taries and community leaders attending the to promote issues of importance throughout built at Atlantic and Flatbush avenues has 53rd annual luncheon. Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, is an um- been a bone of contention for residents in brella organization consisting of more than that area, it was hard to gauge whether the / Greg Mango / Greg Playing on his rocky relationship with Marty Golden, the former Republican coun- 100 area organizations. arena was on the hearts and minds of many cilman who in 2002 unseated him as state Among its accomplishments, the BRCC living in Bay Ridge. Mango / Greg senator, Gentile briefly silenced the room helped lead a campaign to save the Fort “I predict that it will be the center of city with a quip that eventually had those in atten- Hamilton Army Base from being closed life,” said Markowitz, noting that the arena dance laughing, or at least sighing in relief. and put the kibosh on plans for a jail to be could one day be included among venues The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn “Ever since he stole my job, Marty’s built in Bay Ridge. As early as 1969, it for the 2012 Olympics if New York is cho- Councilman Vincent Gentile, at the BRCC been a real S-O-B,” Gentile said, pausing fought on behalf of students living east of sen to host the summer games. Papers The Brooklyn luncheon, called state Sen. Marty Gol- before further explaining, “A ‘Senator Of Third Avenue who, because of district zon- “Brooklyn,” he added, “is on the threshold State Sen. Marty Golden is all smiles at Saturday’s Bay Ridge Community den an SOB — “Senator Of Brooklyn.” Brooklyn,’ that is.” ing, were kept from attending Fort Hamil- of getting back the respect it deserves.” Council luncheon in his Bay Ridge Manor on 76th Street at Fifth Avenue. VINCE DIMICELI Ratner’s ‘LOOK BOTH WAYS’ DOT: Illegal trucks hard to prevent suburban By Jotham Sederstrom hicles. And while the Bay Ridge, Dyker management study. could face 15 days in jail. A second of- The Brooklyn Papers Heights and Bensonhurst communities “It’s a matter of enforcement,” said fense, if committed within 18 months of have been pushing for tougher enforce- DOT spokesman Keith Kalb. “I will have the first, will carry fines of between $500 Police issued 11 summonses after ment against truck drivers who veer from the borough commissioner contact the lo- and $1,000 and could include 45 days im- the driver of a private garbage truck the designated routes, there seems to be lit- cal precinct. But our agency doesn’t have prisonment. Repeat offenders with three or struck and killed a 70-year-old Bay tle additional penalty when their actions any way of enforcing that.” more violations within 18 months face nightmare Ridge woman last month, including lead to a fatality. In August, Gov. George Pataki came to fines of up to $2,000 and 90 days in jail. one for straying from designated A city Department of Transportation Bay Ridge to sign the “No Through Truck But the law carries no provision for a fa- HEN it comes to truck routes. spokesman said this week that while the Traffic Bill,” which went into effect on tal accident as a result of a truck driver construction, Brook- NOT JUST NETS The accident marked the second time in agency was taking the issue very seriously, Nov. 1, providing stiffer penalties to truck- straying from his designated route. W lyn needs Bob Vila, just over a month that a Bay Ridge woman short of fines, little could be done to pre- ers who veer off the city’s truck routes. The city currently employs more than not Bruce Ratner. was fatally struck by a truck driving on a vent such an accident from happening Under the new law, truckers will be 1,800 Traffic Enforcement Agents, with 84 For years now, Ratner has street that prohibits large, commercial ve- again until the city completes its own truck fined up to $500 for the first offense and See TRUCKERS on page 14 forced his suburban blight on the Borough of Kings, using Brooklyn as his personal strip mine, ripping out its streets and small buildings to make way for his behemoths that turn their backs on what’s left of the S’Park neighborhoods they invade. It’s been said that Ratner’s plan for Downtown Brooklyn is to Manhattan-ize it — as if the THE NEW BROOKLYN may get skyscrapers he foresees are the only things that define a city. But the fact is Ratner is try- In the meantime, a neighborhood ing to create a new suburbia, smack that was developing just fine on its dab in the middle of the city, by us- new HS own gets condemned. ing suburban ideals to create the I was inside 24 Sixth Ave. on “New Brooklyn.” Saturday. It’s the former Spalding By Jotham Sederstrom Don’t believe me? Take a look at factory, recently turned into condos. The Brooklyn Papers some of his other projects. Close to 100 people live there in •Atlantic Center Mall: The School over-crowding in Bay large studio apartments. One of epitome of the suburban mega-mall Ridge and Dyker Heights will get those residents, Stuart Plesser, gone bad in the middle of the city, some serious attention in the next showed me his plans to add walls complete with parking (for a fee). five to six years, according to a pre- in his 1,500-square-foot, exposed- It’s back is literally turned on Fort liminary expenditure plan released brick and wood-columned apart- Greene, where there are no en- by the Department of Education ment. Those plans are now on hold, trances for local residents, who as he waits to see if his new home Tuesday. have to walk around the complex / Greg Mango will be torn down. Included in the Education Depart- and onto Atlantic Avenue. All this Last year, for his television show ment’s preliminary budget is a new high for the pleasure of shopping at the “Home Again,” Bob Vila showed school for Sunset Park, which would al- Department of Motor Vehicles and how he restored and then converted leviate some of the over-crowding at Bay the Empire State Development The Brooklyn Papers to residential use a former spice fac- Ridge’s Fort Hamilton High and Benson- Corporation, in office space created tory on Water Street in DUMBO, hurst’s New Utrecht High. and paid for with our tax money af- another hot neighborhood which, The plan also calls for eight new ele- ter several mall merchants failed, Bishop DiMarzio honored over the past 10 years, has been re- mentary schools in Bay Ridge and Dyker ostensibly because of Ratner’s poor constructed from the inside out. Borough President Marty Markowitz holds up proclamation in honor of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio (far left) as (from his Heights — four in brand new buildings design and promotion. left) Community Board 10 Chairman Craig Eaton, New York State Conservative Party leader Mike Long and 49th Dis- and four in existing buildings — account- UMBO’s conversion from •Metrotech: A suburban business ing for 5,118 additional seats. manufacturing to both trict Democratic Leader Joseph Bova (at right) give him a hand.

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