SATURDAY • JANUARY 1, 2005 Including The Brooklyn Heights Paper, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, DUMBO Paper, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper and Downtown News Brooklyn’s REAL newspapers Published every Saturday — online all the time — by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington Street, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 • www.BrooklynPapers.com • © 2005 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 14 pages •Vol.28, No. 1 BWN • Saturday, January 1, 2005 • FREE Your Brooklyn Papers are now published every Saturday INSIDE: PAGES 12-18 INSIDE Ed Weintrob / The real story is the land grab, not the Nets That the Nets are coming is ries in Thursday’s edition.) seizure of private property for too good a hub to leave fallow, more than a holding action. Ratner’s architect (sorry, the pay millions for homes in neigh- BROOKLYN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER beside the point. And that is the The real story is that the At- private benefit ever in Brooklyn. and they should have suspected With virtually no public con- media’s been instructed to say borhoods abutting the condemn- real story, a story masterfully lantic Yards project — and its Let’s dispose of the sidebar that Ratner’s early step there — sultation (and no request for “world renowned” architect) ed sites) for many reasons, not buried by developer Bruce Rat- companion Downtown Brook- first: Atlantic Terminal is proba- the ugly, dysfunctional, failed competing proposals), Gov. Pata- Frank Gehry said his intent is to the least of which is it’s not Man- ner and his media shills. (When lyn Plan — is not about the Nets bly the best site in town for a Atlantic Center shopping mall he ki is apparently prepared to con- build a neighborhood from hattan but close to it, and it’s not Brooklyn at the New York Times is your real (whose stadium would occupy a Nets arena, just as it would have opened in the ’90s and his demn enough privately-owned scratch. Brooklyn’s been hot for the kind of sterile, suburban cam- 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 • 18 pages including GO BROOKLYN •Vol.27, No.4 AWP • January 31, 2004 • FREE estate partner, it’s amazing the tiny part of the massive site), it’s been for the Dodgers in the ’50s. takeover of the Manhattan-cen- property to allow a potential a number of years, and not be- pus represented by Ratner’s Met- Sundance Including Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper, The Downtown News, Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper and DUMBO Paper story its pages will tell — more about a land grab by Ratner and The site’s residential neigh- tric, expansionist (in a real estate, build-out of more than 14 million cause there’s nothing here worth rotech which, contrary to popular Where to find than three pages featuring nine his political clients, the largest, bors might not like to hear this, if not an artistic, vein) Brooklyn square feet, the equivalent of sev- preserving. but uninformed opinion, is any- upbeat, luciously illustrated sto- most expensive government but the Flatbush-Atlantic area is Academy of Music — was little en Empire State buildings. People live in Brooklyn (and thing but a smashing success. flamenco Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 55 Washington St, Suite 624, Brooklyn NY 11201. Phone 718-834-9350 AD fax 718-834-1713 • NEWS fax 718-834-9278 © 2004 Brooklyn Paper Publications •14 pages including GO BROOKLYN •Vol.27, No. 1 BWN • January 10, 2004 • FREE INSIDE DUMBO BRUCE ALMIGHTY Condemned land owners steam as ‘Hiroshima’ 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 • 18 pages including GO BROOKLYN •Vol.27, No.3 BWN • January 24, 2004 • FREE NOT JUST NETS in DUMBO HEADACHES Ratner pal’s spared wrecking ball Bridge fix to last decade By Deborah Kolben By Deborah Kolben But as the commercial dis- The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Papers trict becomes increasingly resi- MAPPING THE NEW BROOKLYN dential, with an active civic While developer Bruce To those DUMBO resi- group, residents are itching to Ratner is busy trying to dents who thought an end to see the fences come down and promote a professional bas- construction on the Manhat- have the space beneath the ketball arena for the New tan Bridge was near — guess bridge returned. Jersey Nets in the heart of again. “The Manhattan Bridge is a Brooklyn, some developers E DUMBO While the bridge will reopen gorgeous structure and when are crying foul. IV all four subway tracks late next you have it chainlinked and That’s because if all goes as RATNER NABS NETS S T month for the first time in al- barbwired and a bunch of old planned, the colossal, $2.5 bil- N most 20 years, the bridge reha- trucks and garbage sitting U E lion Atlantic Yards project at L K M Brooklyn bilitation project will extend far around, it’s a blight on the the corner of Atlantic and Flat- P into the decade, a Department neighborhood,” said Nancy C R O EMPIRE STORES Navy Yard bush avenues, extending into B’klyn cheers, trembles as $300M bid accepted WATCHTOWER of Transportation spokesman Webster, president of the X A L SHOPPING Prospect Heights, would dis- P E HIGH-RISES MAKING HEADLINES told The Brooklyn Papers this DUMBO Neighborhood Asso- place their buildings while al- E V One of the loudest support- week. ciation (DNA). By Deborah Kolben E E lowing an exception for one The Brooklyn Papers ers of the plan, Markowitz re- D So while the city celebrates “If you have ever seen [the particular high-powered devel- G L mained collected this week, D A the long-awaited return of the 1984 Sergio Leone gangster Goodbye New Jersey. I oper — Shaya Boymelgreen. maintaining a wait-and-see at- N N and R service over the epic] “Once Upon a Time in In order to construct the R O Hello, Brooklyn. titude until the contracts are I bridge, DUMBO residents will America” you realize what a sweeping, Frank Gehry-de- After months of negotia- B T MAYOR’S EMERGENCY BUNKER signed and final approval giv- A still have to live with the rum- beautiful soaring space that is and signed project, including four tions, developer Bruce Ratner en. N E bling DOT trucks, the blocked what an asset it would be to the soaring office towers and 13 reached a deal this week to Y R Brooklyn Water Street passageway — a neighborhood to have that re- residential and commercial The deal must be approved L C purchase the New Jersey Nets by three-fourths of the NBA E picturesque archway that once opened for our use,” said Web- buildings, Ratner, widely for $300 million. He plans to K -R Heights FEDERAL COURT connected the neighborhoods of ster. team owners. A move of the O L known for the Metrotech office bring the team across two A team to Brooklyn would also I DUMBO and Vinegar Hill — In the film, starring Robert complex in Downtown Brook- Mango / Greg O rivers to the Borough of the approval of NBA owners. C and the unsightly aluminum De Niro and James Woods, lyn, would have to get acres of Kings. R R fences below the iconic 95- viewers can catch a glimpse of privately owned land seized by “I can hardly wait for B E Community Youth Organi- M GENERAL POST OFFICE BQE year-old span. Brooklyn to realize all of the BANKRUPTCY COURT See BRIDGE on page 5 the state under the statute of zation, which owns the team, M F jobs, housing and other bene- Fort eminent domain — a power of agreed to the deal at a meeting O L the government to take private fits that this project will deliv- C A The Brooklyn Papers The Brooklyn Friday morning putting an end Greene property for the public good. er along with Brooklyn’s re- T to the drawn-out bidding war. B The Newswalk condominium (above) at 170 Pacific St. would turn to the national sports Included in that parcel is a “We’re very excited,” said U 20,000-square-foot lot at Carl- not be taken via eminent domain to make way for Bruce Rat- stage,” Markowitz said. ner’s planned Atlantic Yards project while others would. Ratner spokesman Barry S D’town Plan ton Avenue between Pacific Baum. “We have a few issues Until late last week, the Downtown H Clinton and Dean streets owned by Nets owners were also in ne- CRUISE SHIP PIER to work out, but we think it A Hill Henry Weinstein, a major prop- lyn,” Will Kim, the company’s But in addition to building would be great for New York gotiations with New Jersey V erty owner in the area for the real estate developer Jon E director of retail development stars, Boymelgreen might also and great for Brooklyn.” COURT STREET past 30 years. Kushner and U.S. Sen. Jon Callan / Tom . hearing Thurs and marketing, said about the be building his real estate em- Borough President Marty AT AREA HOUSING “If I’ve been there all these proposed arena. pire. Markowitz, who has been Corzine (D-N.J.), who had the LAN years I don’t know why the city “We’re not just getting a sta- “Bruce is not doing this proj- second-highest bid.