No Land Grab

The Ratner Watch by Henrik Krogius (Krogius@brooklyneagle.net), published online 11-11-2004

Since the euphoria that marked last December’s announcement that Bruce Ratner would bring the Nets basketball team to a new arena built in conjunction with offices and housing at the Atlantic Yards site — all to be designed by the world-renowned Frank Gehry — a steady drumbeat of opposition to the project has been sounded. Some of those who would be uprooted by it have mobilized an insistent campaign, and a free-circulation newspaper outfit known for a generally contrarian editorial approach has made the issue central to the very identity of its publications. A poll conducted by a group affiliated with Pratt Institute has also come up with the unsurprising finding that most of those who currently live or have businesses in the area in or near the project fear its impact. On the other side, the Ratner people have won support among would-be construction workers and others seeing employment opportunities, and a community benefits agreement has been promised.

The view in this corner has been that, if a major sports venue is to be created in Brooklyn, the unbuilt-upon railroad yard and the under-built adjacent area — all served by a remarkable confluence of public transportation lines — make Atlantic Yards the obvious choice for such development. This is a part of Brooklyn that cannot indefinitely remain in its state of low development.

Even the group that calls itself Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn recognizes that change must come, and it has proposed an alternative plan that has points of merit, the only problem being the group’s hopeless insistence that the arena not be a part of it. In the half century since Walter O’Malley’s frustrated (by Robert Moses) attempt to build a new Dodger stadium at this hub, it has been awaiting use as a public focal point for Brooklyn — and, with a culture district now growing around the nearby BAM, the arena is a logical choice for the site.

What worries us are the signs that Forest City Ratner appears still to be clinging to an outmoded model for urban planning and design, with superblocks that eliminate existing streets and are built upon according to the “skyscraper in a park” principle. The experience of the last several decades has been that the ostensible park segments of such development never become effectively regarded as parks, while the loss of streets and shops result in an urban barrenness. The Ratner people have yet to publish an update of the sketch plan issued last December. Unless there is considerable revision of what was shown then, the project should be held up.

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2004