September 17, 2005
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CRUISE WINNERS IN BACK PAGES BROOKLYN’S REAL NEWSPAPERS Including The Brooklyn Heights Paper, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, DUMBO Paper, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper and Downtown News Published every Saturday — online all the time — by Brooklyn Paper Publications, 55 Washington St, Ste 624, Brooklyn 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • ©• 18 pages •Vol.28, No. 37 BWN •Saturday, Sept. 17, 2005 • FREE CB6 rips RATNER GETS SITE ‘park’ By Jess Wisloski With MTA’s blessing, Bruce leaves The Brooklyn Papers Following a public hearing on the proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park on Monday, Community Board 6 called the state’s draft environmental impact study inadequate and asked for the planners to scale back planned private condo- $10 million deposit on rail yards minium development on the waterfront and provide more analysis of alternate active uses, transportation and parking. Two days later, the full board ratified the motion drafted By Jess Wisloski by its executive committee, calling for further review of the current plan — which depends for most of its revenue on the The Brooklyn Papers construction of 1,200 luxury condominium apartments — The cash-strapped Metropolitan Trans- while still advocating portation Authority on Wednesday accept- N “the concept of a ed developer Bruce Ratner’s $100 million W park.” bid for the development rights over 8.5 O The bulk of the con- Hearing acres of train yards at the cusp of Down- D dos would be created town Brooklyn. in a 30-story tower and on Mon. The Ratner bid was less than half the val- % two lower buildings at ue of the real estate determined by an MTA 0 the Atlantic Avenue A public hearing on appraiser, and $50 million less than a rival 1 end of the planned wa- the Draft Environmental developer’s bid. T terfront development, Impact Statement for the And Ratner — who seeks to build four S which abuts CB6. Brooklyn Bridge Park plan soaring skyscrapers and 13 other high-rises During last Mon- is this Monday, Sept. 19, U from 5 pm to 9 pm, at as well as an arena for the New Jersey Nets day’s public hearing, J Polytechnic University’s basketball team on a platform over the prop- Councilman David erty and on contiguous land — only has to Dibner Auditorium, 6 Yassky, whose district Metrotech Center in come up with a $10 million down-payment. encompasses neighbor- The balance of would be payable upon the Downtown Brooklyn. hoods that would bor- Oral testimony is limit- project’s approval by state authorities. der the park — Brook- An MTA appraisal that estimated the land ed to 3 minutes. Written lyn Heights and also a testimony may be submit- to be worth $214.5 million was cast aside as portion of DUMBO, the cash-strapped agency accepted the 10 ted up to 30 days after Vinegar Hill and Cob- the public hearing. percent down, roughly the cost of 10 sub- ble Hill — announced way cars or 20 city buses. his unwavering support The bid by Ratner’s development compa- for the park plan, and discouraged constituents from seeking ny, Forest City Ratner, also offers to reno- to delay the process of its construction any longer. vate the Atlantic Avenue subway terminal, The Sept. 12 hearing, at Long Island College Hospital, build temporary and rebuild permanent rail yards due to the need to move the Vanderbilt was held to offer a platform to community members, many of whom have raised issue with the park’s current design. Yards at Atlantic Avenue for the project, and Callan / Tom construct a pedestrian passageway from the The current plan, announced last December, presents a radi- subway to the new arena. cally altered development — along the waterfront between The approval was voted 10-1 by the Jay Street and Pier 6 at Atlantic Avenue — from the original MTA Board of Directors, which is largely plan, which had included public input gathered at numerous appointed by Gov. George Pataki, a law planning sessions held throughout 2001. school classmate of Bruce Ratner. Over the course of two hours of testimony, it became The vote followed hours of public testi- Papers File The Brooklyn clear that the majority of the 75-member audience had prob- mony at the Sept. 14 hearing in Manhattan, Developer Bruce Ratner’s bid of $100 million for the rights to build part of his proposed Atlantic Yards project over the rail yards east of Flatbush lems with the plan. See RATNER on page 12 Avenue was accepted by the MTA Tuesday. Ratner is required to put down just 10 percent, or $10 million, until the full project is approved. See ‘PARK’ on page 2 Mayor WATCH YOUR TANK heralds Gas siphoning on the rise By Jess Wisloski toriety during the gas crunch- the gas caps, the locking George Davis, a manager a new The Brooklyn Papers es of the mid-’70s. ones,” said Flores August, as- for another of Strauss’ region- In New York City, where sistant store manager for al stores, on Atlantic Avenue One of the less-remem- prices at $3.27 a gallon on Strauss Discount Auto, at 527 in Prospect Heights, said he’d bered trends of the 1970s is average over Labor Day Fourth Ave. in Park Slope. seen as much demand rising back and reportedly rampant weekend ranked as the na- “They sold out since last for the siphons and cans as Coney / Rebecca Cetta on the streets of Brooklyn tion’s highest, according to week, and we are having a for the locking caps. — gasoline siphoning. the U.S. Department of Ener- shortage at the warehouse in “People were in demand In response to astronomi- gy, the new petit larceny has New Jersey,” she said. “We for [caps] and gas cans,” By Ajla Grozdanic cal gas prices, a new breed of also created a renewed de- have about 20 people coming Davis said. “Normally, we for The Brooklyn Papers thieves has taken to stealing mand in automotive stores for to pick up gas caps next week.” would keep two [cans] on Coney Island will be restored to its gas from unsuspecting car both locking gas caps and In addition, August said, stock at a time, but the day The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn former glory within the next few years, owners using a length of hose portable gasoline cans. she has had people come in the prices went up — that day Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Portable gasoline cans, like these lining the shelves at a Pep Boys at 354 Fourth Ave., and a portable gas can, recall- “When people are coming asking for gas siphoning de- and the next day — we went Wednesday. are more popular lately due to an increase in gas siphoning, say experts. ing a practice that gained no- here, people are looking for vices like hoses and gas cans. See GAS CAN on page 5 On the boardwalk at West 15th Street, the mayor announced a plan to turn the seaside neighborhood into a year-round tourist attraction, complete with a re- vamped amusement park and board- walk, diverse new businesses and a Met’tech to the rescue more developed residential community He pledged an additional $50 million in city funding on top of $23 million By Jess Wisloski a new plan, adopted by the mayor and disaster recovery capacity.” previously promised. Borough President The Brooklyn Papers and included in the citywide state- Central to the project, which is part Marty Markowitz has committed $7 mil- ment of needs for FY 2006-07. of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s / Greg Mango / Greg lion and Rep. Jerrold Nadler committed The city is consolidating the call The site, which will include reno- Emergency Communications Trans- $3.2 million in federal funds. dispatch centers for emergency re- vation of the existing 47,000-square- formation Program, is the consolida- Councilman Domenic Recchia, Dep- sponders in all five boroughs — in- foot Public Safety Answering Center tion of the call-taking and dispatch fa- uty Mayor for Economic Development cluding fire, police and EMS — to a (PCAS) will be at 11 Metrotech cilities, the needs statement reported. and Rebuilding Daniel Doctoroff, Coney two-floor office space in Metrotech, Plaza, and the new construction of a The project will drastically re- Island Development Corporation (CIDC) The Brooklyn Papers has learned. redundant Public Safety Answering vamp the city’s archaic 911 network, Papers The Brooklyn Chairman Joshua Sirefman, Assembly- The mayor’s office, the Fire De- Center (PSAC2) will require room which currently suffers from over- Rep. Anthony Weiner (right) outside his childhood woman Adele Cohen, Community Board partment and the Office of Emer- enough for a 410,000-square-foot of- lapping or missed signals, and a re- home on Sixth Street in Park Slope, where he an- Mango / Greg 13 and CIDC member Sheryl Robinson gency Management (OEM) all con- fice space in “strategic location to sulting delayed response time. nounced Wednesday he would not seek a runoff and Dick Zigun, the unofficial mayor of firmed this week that responsibility PSAC1 at Metrotech Center, Brook- Introduced by Bloomberg in ear- against Fernando Ferrer. Above, Mayor Mike Coney Island and founder of the non- for telephone dispatch respondents lyn” according to the statement of ly 2002, the plan has been stepped Bloomberg stole some of the Democrats’ primary profit Coney Island USA, which is dedi- will be centralized in the Downtown needs, to create a “unified structure to up since the August 2003 citywide day spotlight, partying at the Brooklyn Marriott Tues- See CONEY on page 13 Brooklyn office campus in line with improve emergency response ability See MET’TECH on page 13 day night despite facing no Republican challenger.