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November 17, 2006
Reverend Billy and the Coming Shopocalypse
Brooklyn Downtown Star
A profile of "Irreverend" Billy recalls the bizarre public smackdown at this summer's Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn rally:
In taking on the hyper-development that is sweeping through Brooklyn and replacing mom-and-pop stores with franchise shops and luxury condo, Reverend Billy encapsulates the proposed skyscraper village of Atlantic Yards as "20,000 28-year-old stockbrokers driving SUVs."
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At the rally against Atlantic Yards this past July in Grand Army Plaza, Reverend Billy's fiery, holy-rolling speech was called out by City Councilman Charles Barron and community activist Bob Law as dangerously mocking African American evangelical preachers."There were many types of people of all ages, all dress types, and all backgrounds there that day who were laughing along and clapping" to Reverend Billy, said Michael O'Neil when asked about the incident. He argued that humor, satire, and the element of surprise that Reverend Billy brings to the public is merely "a different way of connecting with people, even with those who are not part of the choir, as it were."
Posted by lumi at November 17, 2006 6:50 AM