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April 27, 2006
A Brooklyn Activist Fights Eminent Domain Abuse
Castle Watch (Newsletter for the Institute of Justice's Castle Coalition)
Patti Hagan has been fighting the eminent domain-addicted Bruce Ratner since the Atlantic Yards project was first announced. While Bruce says the neighborhood needs his plan to prosper, Patti tells a different story:
“When I came to this neighborhood in 1979, people were abandoning buildings, houses were boarded up, and there were drugs and crime,” she said. “But people began to buy buildings and fix them up with their own sweat, and one by one, the buildings and the mom-and-pop storefronts began to strengthen. We built a solid neighborhood, one that is a true success story. We don’t need this supposed engine of economic development. This is a thriving, successful neighborhood.”
Posted by lumi at April 27, 2006 8:19 AM