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April 14, 2007
Brooklyn Speaks Rally Updates
Rally location changed because of expected bad weather:
Rally Location Changed to Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church April 15, 2007
Due to the likelihood of inclement weather this Sunday, the location of the rally has been moved to the the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church at 85 South Oxford Street. Click here for a map. The nearest subway station is the Lafayette Avenue station on the C line.
Rally speakers announced:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JEFFRIES, MONTGOMERY, ADAMS, JAMES, YASSKY TO SPEAK AT RALLY
This Sunday, Assemblyman Hakeem Jefferies, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, State Senator Eric Adams, Council Member Letitia James and Council Member David Yassky will address the Rally Against Demolition for Parking organized by the sponsors of the BrooklynSpeaks.net campaign.
The Rally is being held to call on the State and the City to rethink their plan to permit Forest City Ratner to demolish two entire city blocks, including the historic Ward Bakery, to create “temporary” parking lots for over 1600 cars. The surface parking lots will occupy approximately 7 acres of the Atlantic Yards site – an area twice the size of Union Square Park. The developer calls the lots “temporary” because they plan to build the second phase of the project on top of them. But members of Forest City Ratner’s own team, including landscape architect Laurie Olin, believe that the second phase might not be built for 15 or 20 years, if it is built at all.
“Once you demolish buildings, you can’t go back. We risk having surface parking and empty lots for over 20 years, just as we had around Atlantic Terminal in the 1980’s.” said Deb Howard, Executive Director of the Pratt Area Council.
“Brooklyn is getting the opposite of what was promised at Atlantic Yards. Seven acres of open space will in fact be seven acres of parking lots. And instead of a transit oriented development, we’re getting a traffic-oriented development.” said Gib Veconi, member of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council.
Joining the elected officials to perform will be the Lafayette Inspirational Gospel Choir, singers Dave Hall and Masauko Chipembere, and jazz musicians Pheeroan Ak Laff and Ned Rotherberg.
Posted by steve at April 14, 2007 7:37 AM