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May 2, 2007
AKRF’s Attempt to Demolish Abolitionist Homes Reveals Vast Brooklyn Network
Lapdog of developers inadvertently bites master’s hand
UndergroundRailroadSafeHouses.org
By Raul Rothblatt
This is the only comprehensive "gavel-to-gavel" report we've come across from yesterday's Underground Railroad Duffield Street hearing of the City's Landmarks Committee.
Homes on Duffield St. are under threat of eminent domain condemnation despite mounting evidence that they were part of Brooklyn's Underground Railroad network.
There is a firm called AKRF which has 25 years experience in squelching opposition to big development projects. They recently undertook their longest venture in historical analysis: Two and a half years devoted to trying to deny the claims that Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn was part of the Underground Railroad of the Civil War era. They failed spectacularly. Abolitionists who walked the streets of Downtown Brooklyn would be proud.
The New York City Council Landmarks Subcommittee held an evidentiary hearing on May 1, 2007, chaired by Leroy Comrie. The day started at 10 am. City Council Member Charles Barron held a press conference before the hearing, and he was the first to denounce the findings, but almost every City Council representative present had harsh questions for the NYC Economic Development Corporation and their hired gun, AKRF.
In addition, Rothblatt had a conversation with NYC Comptroller William Thompson, which he reported to us thusly:
I ran into Bill Thompson. He said that he spoke to two reporters who said that there is no convincing proof of Underground Railroad activity. He added that one was African-American.
I said, "If it was Errol Louis, he was falling asleep during the hearing."
Thompson said "I'm not naming names!"
Posted by lumi at May 2, 2007 11:36 AM