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October 9, 2006
Spinning around blindly
Sheloquent presents an eloquent description of her experience at yesterday's street fair on Flatbush:
And then there were NBA basketball’s New Jersey Nets…well, now trying to be the Brooklyn Nets. So much so that last year, the current NJ Nets players volunteered at a Brooklyn soup kitchen over the holidays, rather than in their current hometown. For several years now, the developer Ratner is trying to bring the NJ Nets to the section of Brooklyn where I live. Basketball is my drug. Since the age of 12, I have lost myself in it, both playing and watching. To be able to walk to a Nets basketball game? How cool would that be? But, the housing crisis here affects me as much as anyone. And how many are being bought out, booted out, so that a developer can get richer? And what about our peaceful, beautiful, quiet Brooklyn neighborhood, lined by historic brownstones. “Develop – Don’t Destroy” is the cry of Ratner’s opponents and yellow posters adorned with the slogan can be found in most local shop and restaurant windows. And I am torn in this battle Yes, the truth is, should the Nets be in Brooklyn in a few years, I’ll probably be long gone – the cost of housing will have driven me out. Still, I couldn’t help but be excited yesterday when I saw NBA legend [Albert] King and when I had the chance to take 5 free throws that truly were for free.
Posted by amy at October 9, 2006 8:37 AM