No Land Grab

“10,000 more riders a day will overwhelm that station, it can’t handle that kind of influx” said Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn (DDDb) spokesperson Daniel Goldstein.

Yesterday’s reminder of the vulnerability of the city's second largest transportation hub points to political apathy towards the risks to Brooklyn and the city of placing a sports arena exactly at the site of a 1997 foiled terrorist bomb plot against the city's subways.

Goldstein added, “It is time for those who support this project to address the issue of security and safety. This examination must also include who will pick up the cost of terrorism insurance, for such a large project, once existing federal insurance lapses later this year. It is also time to have a reasoned debate about the other risks that this oversized development brings to our city. Not only is the location of the arena irresponsible, the very design of the associated 17 high-rises must also be considered risky. It is a target that cannot be defended adequately, without causing economically damaging gridlock and havoc at the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush and 4th Avenue, site of the proposed development. Brooklyn should not become the site of the city's first fortress community.”