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January 10, 2008
Letters to the Editor
The Brooklyn Paper
From the Letters page:
Our Brooklyn (Iowa) coverage earns accolades
...your feature about the 80 people and things to watch in ’08 was great. Thank you for the mentioning BCAT, where Greg Sutton is doing a great job.
Then again, I don’t think Marty Markowitz is going to be mayor — especially as Atlantic Yards continues to blow up.
Steve DeSève, Brooklyn Heights
Some expert
I. Donald Weston’s recent letter to the Editor (“Expert: There is a way to fix Atlantic Yards traffic,” Dec. 22) accused the Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods of a “lack of understanding” — a wrong accusation.
Before criticizing CBN’s understanding of building design, it would behoove Mr. Weston to take a closer look at the Atlantic Yards site and plans. With the planned arena setbacks just 20 feet from both Atlantic and Flatbush avenues, it would not be possible to relocate the “stadium” further from the street, unless the Nets intend to play half-court games or drastically reduce the number of planned seats.
And CBN, of course, understands that better blast-resistant materials exist today, but a glass-walled building still presents significant safety challenges. While we hate to dwell on the potential for terrorism, it does exist, and like structural engineers and their modern materials, terrorists and their weapons are getting more sophisticated, too.
...
In addition to his misunderstanding of CBN’s concerns about security, Mr. Weston offers several traffic “solutions” that are not solutions at all. His proposal to relocate surface parking lots to the less-affluent neighborhoods of Brownsville or East New York smacks of classism, and would make fact the fears that some neighborhoods have about being turned into vast park-and-ride areas by congestion pricing.
...
While Mr. Weston’s intentions appear noble, his suggestions are a dollar short and a day late. Where were Mr. Weston and the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects when the Environmental Impact Statement for the Atlantic Yards project was being developed?Eric McClure
Posted by lumi at January 10, 2008 7:49 PM