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August 9, 2006
Rock Gets it Right
The Neighborhood Retail Alliance
Ratner consultant Richard Lipsky has been trying to explain how the "Nets coming to Brooklyn... create(s) a wonderful opportunity for the young people in the borough."
Lipsky offers the words of Tilden HS coach Eric "Rock" Eisenberg as proof that Atlantic Yards will be a "Net" positive for Brooklyn:
8/7/06 Coach Eric 'Rock' Eisenberg: 'I wanted to echo the words of Carlton Screen Sr. about the Nets Clinic that was run on August 31st at Tilden High School. Coach Screen as usual did not take enough credit for helping the Nets fine staff of Jeff Rothberg,Tom Tuffey and Matt Lipsky put together this super event. Besides the basketball lessons taught by the top flight Basketball City coaching staff I saw first hand the message that Mr.Ratner's group wants to bring to Brooklyn. I stopped by my office to get some extra basketballs for the clinic and I overheard a tall gentlemen speaking in a very positive way to a 10 or 11 year old boy. This fine man was telling this aspiring young hoopster to work hard in class,on the court and most importantly with his family, because he had a gift for the game.This high quality coach told this youngster that he should not let the game use him but rather he should use the game to help himself to work towards a better and more meaningful life. I only wish I had thought to ask this fine man his name but I did not want to interrupt his thoughtful conversation. It is moments like these that keep old coaches like me, Ted Gustus and Carlton Screen Sr. around this great game of basketball.'
On another note, NRA (that's "Neighborhood Retail Alliance" not "National Rifle Association") posted a defense of their position in support of Atlantic Yards and an appreciation of the shrill vitriolic namecalling for which Atlantic Yards critics are famous.
Yes, Richard Lipsky is retained by FCRC to represent its interests but wouldn't have done so if he didn't feel that the project's merits warranted it. This feeling emerged from the sheer level of passion and enthusiasm spontaneously exhibited by a diverse array of sports organizations in the borough.
RL got his start writing the definitive work on sports and politics in this country and knows better than most just how instrumental a role a sports can play in a community. So many of the critics, exhibiting a certain level of snobbery, have looked down on this plebian side of this development and, because of this manifest snobbery, missed the potential importance of the sports team for the community.
We emphasize potentially because it can only really occur if the team ownership is enlightened in this regard. Everything we have seen so far indicates that Bruce Ratner gets it. If FCRC and the Brooklyn Nets do not invest in the young people there will not be the kind of fan base that the franchise needs to succeed. It is enlightened self-interest not pure philanthropy, although BR is no slouch in this regard either.
So what do we have from all the critics? Name calling seems to be the hallmark of this opposition and the fish clearly stinks from the head. It all brings to mind the incident that William Buckley has talked about when he had the temerity to criticize Ayn Rand as a fascist. When the vitriolic and threatening letters came in Buckley observed that they "Dotted the i's and crossed the t's of my point."
So all the people who accuse Lipsky (or "Shilsky"-how clever) of being idiotic and morally bankrupt only mange to bring discredit upon what used to be a defensible and reasonable position, one that has long ago ceased to be anything like that because the shrillness of the opposition has sent reason to the showers.
NoLandGrab: Whether or not such descriptions of Atlantic Yards critics as "shrill" and "vitriolic" are fairly applied, they have come up enough in blogs and the mainstream media that they seem to have stuck.
On the other hand, Lipsky ("Shilsky" isn't THAT funny) doesn't seem to apply the same litmus test to Atlantic Yards as he does with other developments throughout the city. This has led to the constant criticism from the "shrill-sky" Ratner critics. [OK, "shrill-sky" isn't funny either.]
Posted by lumi at August 9, 2006 8:09 AM