P7 P14 Gere stars in local’s ‘Bee Season’ Game roundup BROOKLYN’S REAL NEWSPAPERS Including The Brooklyn Heights Paper, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, DUMBO Paper, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill 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 • © 2005 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 16 pages BWN •Vol. 28, No. 44 •Saturday, November 12, 2005 • FREE Toxic threat in Carroll Gardens Gas plant’s pollutants may be spreading to Smith St. By Ariella Cohen The Brooklyn Papers Aformer natural gas plant in Carroll Gardens is polluting groundwater winding its way / Tom Callan / Tom beneath the neighborhood with toxic chemicals — and experts don’t know where it’s going or how much of a threat it is. The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn EXCLUSIVE Everybody loves Marty Originated in the marshy ground Borough President Markowitz celebrates his re-election with wife Jamie Tuesday night at Junior’s surrounding the former Citizens Gas Restaurant on DeKalb Avenue, Downtown. “Mr. Brooklyn” captured 208,148 votes (79 percent) to Works (Public Place) site, a former Republican Theodore Alatsas’ 34,016 (13 percent), Green Gloria Mattera’s 17, 976 (7 percent) and gas manufacturing plant on Fifth Libertarian Gary Popkin’s 2,143 (1 percent), according to unofficial tallies. Street at Hoyt Street along the Go- wanus Canal, the polluted ground- water contains poisonous coal tar and other dense runoff associated with industrial manufacturing. The pollutants have also been found in the canal itself. Atlantic Yards ‘is not This week, researchers working for Keyspan Energy — whose pred- ecessor Brooklyn Union Gas pro- cessed and manufactured natural gas at the site for about one-hundred blighted,’ says Green years, and which is responsible for cleaning up the area — began dig- ging up soil along the edge of the “For the record, that neighbor- Councilwoman Letitia James, in 11.5-acre site in hopes of finding out Assemblyman hood is not blighted, said Green. whose district the Atlantic Yards exactly where the sludge is headed. “I repeat, for the record, that lies, said Green’s words, bolstered Brooklyn Union discontinued speaks against neighborhood is not blighted.” by state legislation, could affect operations at the site in the 1960s. “Under the definition of blight, plans for the housing and office de- In 1975, the city took ownership of eminent domain as related to poverty or environ- velopment that would also include about half of the entire oddly mental degradation, this definition a professional basketball arena. shaped parcel, bounded by Fourth By Ariella Cohen is not related to Prospect Heights,” “The admission of [Green] that Street, Hoyt Street, Fifth Street, The Brooklyn Papers Green told The Brooklyn Papers the area is not blighted is wonder- Smith Street, Huntington Place and Mango / Greg Speaking before fellow state afterwards. ful,” said James. “If we can expe- the canal. legislators at a hearing on emi- Opponents said the statement dite the legislative process and a “They know [it] is traveling in nent domain last Friday, assem- by Green — who has been a vocal bill is passed in January or Febru- the Smith Street direction,” said blyman Roger Green challenged supporter of Forest City Ratner’s ary, then it can affect the project.” Keyspan spokeswoman Diana. proposed 21-acre mega-develop- Speaking to The Papers by Found at depths between 10- and Papers The Brooklyn the legality of exercising eminent ment — was a blow to Ratner’s phone, Green reitierated his posi- 150-feet below street level, the con- domain in his Prospect Heights case for eminent domain. tion, while also stating there was taminants run in the groundwater in district, where up to 11 acres “He shot down their argument,” some blight in the area. movements known as plumes, ac- Still Smokin’ could be condemned to accomo- said Patti Hagen, a Prospect Heights “I wanted to get it on the record cording to Keyspan. Former Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier puts a glove on one of his famous fists during a date Forest City Ratner’s Atlantic homeowner and a leader of the op- that it is pretty clear that there are In city study in 1990, inspectors break from signing copies of his new book, “Box Like The Pros,” at the Novel Idea book store, 8415 Yards project. position, who attended the hearing. See BLIGHT on page 13 See TOXIC PLUME on page 13 Third Ave. in Bay Ridge, on Tuesday. MERCURY FOUND IN TOWER Toothy stuff for Magic and condo developers By Ariella Cohen The Brooklyn Papers City inspectors have found dangerous levels of mercury vapor in the Williamsburgh Savings Bank tower, the landmark building at 1 Hanson Place which is being converted into luxury condominium apartments by Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s development company. The building, across the street from the Long Island Rail Road terminal and near the proposed Atlantic Yards mega-development site, is the tallest in Brook- lyn. The Department of Health (DOH) sampled the air inside of the building on June 15, one month before Johnson’s company, Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund, was preparing to demolish the building’s interior to make way for condos. In a former dental office on the eighth floor of the 34-story building, the air sampler recorded 2,300-2,400 nanograms of mercury vapor per cubic meter — more than double the level that would mandate a government-supervised clean- up in a residential unit. Before Johnson’s company teamed with developer Dermot Co., to buy the / Jeff Zelevansky / Jeff tower, many dentists offices were located there. In years past, mercury was a Callan / Tom common ingredient in dental fillings. In one-third of the locations tested by the DOH, dental tenants begat mercu- ry vapor levels that were well above the governmental safety regulations for Associated Press residences: 200-300 nanograms per cubic meter. “Every time someone made a filling, he would take a mortar and pestle and mix up a little bit of mercury,” said Arnold P. Wendroff, the Brooklyn resident Papers File The Brooklyn Just the beginning who, in April, requested the Department of Environmental Protection inspect The Williamsburgh Bank tower near the Atlantic Yards site, which is being New York City Marathon runners rumble across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge en See MERCURY on page 13 converted to condominiums by former NBA star Magic Johnson’s company. route to Bay Ridge and beyond after starting the race in Staten Island on Sunday. 2 AWP THE BROOKLYN PAPERS • WWW.BROOKLYNPAPERS.COM November 12, 2005 At Maimonides, our computers don’t just help save time. They help us save lives. At Maimonides Medical Center, we decided that tals in the nation where physicians and nurses use technology, we were named one of the nation’s 100 one of the best things we could do for our patients computers to enter patient orders, thereby reducing “Most Wired” Hospitals and one of the 25 “Most Wire- was to make a substantial commitment to informa- errors and increasing effi ciency. less,” by Hospitals & Health Networks, a journal of the tion technology. It has proven to be a wise decision. Our single-minded focus is to get our patients American Hospital Association. Maimonides is the One that has helped us with the speed and accuracy back to their normal lives as soon as possible. In fact, only hospital in New York State to receive this dual with which we care for our a recent study* shows that hospitals that have ad- honor...and we’ve done it two years in a row. patients. vanced technology are safer and have lower mortal- Maimonides Medical Center. In an area where sec- Maimonides is among ity rates than hospitals that don’t. onds count, we are second to none! only fi ve percent of hospi- As a result of our long-standing commitment to * Hospitals & Health Networks July 2005 The only New York hospital named to the American Hospital Association’s “100 Most Wired” and “25 Most Wireless” lists. www.maimonidesmed.org (718) 283-6000 November 12, 2005 THE BROOKLYN PAPERS BWN 3 Owning A Home Students Has Never Been Easier! We AppreciateYour Business! rip hotel • Streamlined Application Process CHECK OUR HEATERS • Pre-approvals BLOW-OUT - in 24 hours DeLonghi PAINT SafeHeater curfew • Residential & SECTION $19.99 Commercial Mortgages Was $25.99 New rules at St. George • 1st & 2nd Mortgages Now only $10.99 By Ariella Cohen • Direct Lending The Brooklyn Papers Holmes Quartz Pace University students who dorm at the once-swank • Low or no down Heater Hotel St. George may be old enough to live by themselves payment options CHRISTMAS in New York City — but they’re not beyond a guest curfew. $79.99 Under a policy instituted Oct. 5 at the residence on Henry • Post-bankruptcy & DECORATIONS Street between Pineapple and Clark Streets in Brooklyn Heights, all non-residents must be out the door by midnight during the no credit approvals Bows, week — 2 am on weekends — unless the hotel is provided with Vornado 24 hours advance notice. • No income / Vortex The new rules would put an unceremonious end to last- Heater Lights, minute sleepovers for the 1,200 college students who rent rooms no asset verification there by the semester. $99.99 & More! The old building policy required 48-hours notice for overnight guests, but left more room for exceptions for on-the- spot passes. “The new policy is more regressive then the old one,” said American Housewares Benjamin Stewart, a sophomore sociology and anthropology LIBERTY CAPITAL 10% student speaking to The Brooklyn Papers from the desk of his ––––––––––––––––– 85 Court Street in Downtown Brooklyn part-time job at Pace’s office of student life.