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August 8, 2006
DDDB Press Release: Jim Bouton, Former Yankee Star, Author and Activist Joins the Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Advisory Board
BROOKLYN, NY — Jim Bouton, former major-league pitcher and author of the seminal baseball book, Ball Four, has joined the Advisory Board of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn (DDDB).
Bouton, whose battle in Pittsfield (Massachusetts) to save historic Wahconah Park from politically-connected developers and local and state officials is documented in his book Foul Ball, will lend his expertise and eloquence to DDDB's efforts against Bruce Ratner's 16-skyscraper and arena development at Brooklyn's Vanderbilt rail yards and its surrounding 14 acres.
"As Pittsfield goes, so goes Brooklyn? A few years ago, a handful of politically connected power brokers blocked our privately financed $1.5 million plan to restore an old ballpark in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Why? Because our plan would have put a stake in the heart of their proposed $19 million publicly financed stadium - a stadium that the citizens of Pittsfield had voted against three different times!" says Bouton. "What is it with sports arenas, or are they just the deals we know more about? Now we have the Steinbrenner and Ratner projects, trampling on neighborhoods, ignoring citizens, and giving public subsidies to millionaires at the expense of schools, hospitals and fire departments.
"And I think to myself that when we're finished bringing democracy to the Middle East, we can bring it to Pittsfield. And the Bronx. And Brooklyn."
Bouton, a ten-season veteran, mostly with the New York Yankees, pitched in two World Series and was an All-Star in 1963. His account of his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots and Houston Astros, Ball Four, has been called one of the great baseball books of all time. It generated controversy for peeling back the storied veneer of baseball and exposing readers to the real lives of major league ballplayers.
After his baseball career ended, Bouton worked as a television newscaster, actor, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and, with the Wahconah Park venture, a baseball preservationist.
“Jim Bouton is not a newcomer in opposing Forest City Ratner's plan, he spoke out against the Ratner plan in January 2004, right here in Brooklyn, before DDDB was even formed. So we are proud and fortunate now to have Jim join our Advisory Board," said DDDB spokesman Daniel Goldstein. "Jim Bouton is a straight-shooting man who cares deeply about both community and sports. Something that we know is possible, despite Forest City Ratner’s attempt to tear communities apart by exploiting sports. We look forward to working with Mr. Bouton over the next phase of the struggle against inappropriate development.”
Posted by lumi at August 8, 2006 3:57 PM