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October 25, 2006
Re-Imagining Downtown Brooklyn
...and other opportunities for the outer boroughs.
Project for Public Spaces
While Brooklyn may have great neighborhoods and destinations, Project for Public Spaces explains that "the inner core of Brooklyn is not performing anywhere near its potential."
The PPS newsletter directs sharp criticism at Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards, a project that promises "yet more concessions to traffic and carte blanche for the architect's ego:"
The Forest City Ratner proposal for the Atlantic Yards site has many weaknesses (which we'll address shortly), but the truth is that no development--even one much stronger than what's on the table now--can truly succeed there without also addressing the area around the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush, and Fourth Avenue. This intersection should be an iconic space--a source of pride for Brooklyn as a whole. Not only is it a gateway to major assets such as the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Downtown Brooklyn, and even the cultural institutions near Grand Army Plaza, but it is also the threshold to many of Brooklyn's great neighborhoods. Done the right way, development here could transform the intersection into the "Crossroads of Brooklyn."
If this major intersection is ever to become important to Brooklyn, the first priority must be to define it as a great destination. Right now it is dominated by vehicles -- it's just a place to drive through. The pedestrian experience is a nightmare, and there is no plan to deal with this major obstacle. Any development on any portion of this intersection will be a failure if surface transportation issues are not dealt with.
Posted by lumi at October 25, 2006 8:32 AM