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May 22, 2006
Brooklyn Papers, Letters:
Ratner's fix fails to please critics
In reference to your recent article on Frank Gehry's new Atlantic Yards design ("Meet Miss Brooklyn," May 13), maybe we really should comment Gehry. After all, he said his new designs were the result of listening to the body language of Brooklyn.
No wonder his tower looks like someone giving the arena the finger!
— Deb Goldstein, Sunset Park
Words to live by
I recently received Ratner's 12-page flyer ("Ratner's glossy fantasyland," May 6) and am sending the "reply card" to you rather than to Ratner because, I suspect, you will pay it more attention than he will.
— Howard Klang, Brooklyn Heights
As for Marty...
Here's an open letter to Borough President Markowitz:
When I spoke with you some time ago, at the march to save the historic view corridor between the statue of Minerva in Brooklyn's Greenwood Cemetery and the Statue of Liberty (to refresh your memory: I was the guy in the "Yo Markowitz: It's the Community, Stupid!" traffic-sign t-shirt), you had just made a great little speech about the importance of protecting the human-scale quality of low-rise Brooklyn.
In this speech, it sounded as if you had swiped your talking points from Dan Goldstein [of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn]. But your words so contradicted your position on the hugely non-contextual Atlantic Yards project that I had to confront you with the disparity.
First, you claimed that the area in which Ratner had staked his greedy claim was not residential, as opposed to the outlying "suburban" areas of Brooklyn — Bay Ridge, etc. — which, you said, should be protected from out-of-scale overdevelopment. That, of course, is an absurd assertion. Prospect Heights is largely residential.
If you'd bother to walk around the neighborhood with your eyes even half open, you'd see that most of it is low-rise, livable, lovable Brooklyn.
Second, you told me to just wait and see. You suggested that Ratnerville would be scaled back considerably. But last week's unveiling of architect Frank Ghery's slightly revised design puts the lie to that claim as well.
This thing is still huge! It's even larger than the original plan—which is the one you and I had been discussion.
Yes, this new plan is a tad smaller than the previously unveiled "Vegas" version, but still bigger than the horrendous original.
To say that it's scaled back is to engage in the same kind of flim-flammery that unscrupulous retailers do when they mark-up prices before a sale, and then offer a small percentage off the previously hiked price.
— Gavin Smith, Park Slope
Posted by lumi at May 22, 2006 10:13 AM