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April 21, 2005
Brooklyn neighborhood faces uncertain future
NY Newsday
By Luis Perez
Prospect Heights residents stand to loose their homes to Ratner's wrecking ball. Though Ratner knows of only one holdout, reporter Luis Perez found tenants, homeowners and landowners who want to keep their homes. Most neighborhood folks are concerned about Ratner's proposal and are upset with the Mayor, whose developer-friendly mentality has little concern for the average guy.
Come May 1, Craig Sterritt, 34, will leave his Pacific Street rental loft of 13 years, which Ratner now owns, for a higher-priced place in Harlem.
"The whole thing was put together in backrooom deals, treating the neighborhood as if it was the South Bronx in the late '70s," Sterritt, a medical writer and editor who is a lifelong Brooklynite, said of the arena project.
He scoffs at the thought that his neighborhood, which actually sits in the crossroads of Park Slope, Boerum Hill, Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, needs revamping.
"These megadevelopments strike me as a bad idea for the city," he said. "Particularly this one here, because of the way it literally puts up a wall dividing neighborhoods."
NoLandGrab: We're sorry to see Craig Sterrit go. He should keep his ear to the ground when he moves to Harlem -- Ratner's company has a seat on the 125th St. redevelopment council, the River-to-River Advisory Committee.
Posted by lumi at April 21, 2005 8:15 AM