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May 21, 2005
LETTER: The NY Times, Brooklyn Arena Plan Calls for Many Subsidized Units
Re: Brooklyn Arena Plan Calls for Many Subsidized Units
To the Editor:
Your headline regarding the proposed Atlantic Yards development underlines that Billionaire Bruce Ratner is asking for even more subsidies. However, his controversial proposal will provide only 20% of the rental apartments for low-income families, which is standard for the city. Your comment about his political opponents being residents of the area that are being displaced is simply wrong. His opponents, myself included, come from across the city because they object to the public cost of the project (now going well over $1 billion) as well as the scale and the increased stress it will put on our school, sanitation, transportation, fire, and police services. Until Ratner addresses these issues by scaling down the whole project, it is a losing proposition for the city-- just refer to your article on the Budget Office's dire report on deficits, right on the same page. This is not a neighborhood issue.
Steve Ettlinger
Posted by lumi at May 21, 2005 07:19 AM