« It came from the Blogosphere... | Main | Delivered vacant? Bricked-up building on Dean Street isn't quite there »
November 14, 2006
Nets Arena May Not Grow in Brooklyn
Sports Central
By Joe Pietaro
An article about the history of the Nets and the possibility of owner Bruce Ratner not being able have his way in Brooklyn has a slightly different version of why the Dodgers split town:
When Bruce Ratner purchased the team, he had full intentions to eventually move to Brooklyn. He was looking to build a basketball arena ironically enough at the same location where Walter O'Malley had visions for a new Ebbett's Field in the 1950s. The hold-up at that time was a wholesale meat distributor that served New York City was in place there and the politicians did not want to uproot them. They called O'Malley's bluff and lost. The Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, and the meat distributor? They ended up moving from their Downtown Brooklyn location a year later.
NoLandGrab: This tale contradicts architect Buckminster Fuller's plans, which site the ballpark across the street from Bruce Ratner's planned arena — where Ratner's Atlantic Center mall now stands. The meat market was eventually cleared as a part of the Atlantic Terminal Urban Renewal Area (ATURA).
In addition, the story doesn't quite square with the account in Roger Kahn's book, "The Boys of Summer," in which Robert Moses turned down the project over concerns that a ballpark located near the intersection of Atlantic, Flatbush and 4th Avenues would create a "China Wall of traffic" (a typical 1950's yuppie complaint?).
Links:
CHINA WALL OF TRAFFIC: the wisdom of Robert Moses?
Brooklyn Views, The Great Man Theory of Architecture
ATURA Animated Timeline
Posted by lumi at November 14, 2006 7:28 AM