« Barry Bonds' desperate swing | Main | NBA expands to China, gets local subsidies, (likely) avoids local activism »
October 19, 2008
No bridge to Brooklyn
NY Daily News
Mitch Lawrence joins Mike Lupica in getting in on the Atlantic Yards action. Good thing there is a sports section to take up the important urban planning stories...
Instead of putting a shovel in Brooklyn's soil, they're sprinkling dirt, rather liberally, on Bruce Ratner's dream of moving the Nets to the Atlantic yards.That's good for North Jersey and the 38 fans who still turn out to watch a team that lost whatever relevance it had when Jason Kidd forced his way to Dallas.
But it's bad for Jay-Z when he tries to sell LeBron James on playing in Newark.
Not that there's anything wrong with the Nets heading down Route 21 and settling into the Prudential Center. Becoming co-tenants again with the Devils in their state-of-the-art facility has always made the most sense, even if Ratner continues to hold out hope that Devin Harris will one day run a break in a Frank Gehry-designed building in Brooklyn.
The more Ratner tries to keep his dream alive, the more he finds himself caught between The Rock and a hard place. Having alienated North Jersey fans long ago with his grand plans to bolt the Meadowlands, he has to realize that he's just giving them another reason not to buy tickets. It's not as if they need another one these days. The rotten economy is reason enough to stay home.
...
Ratner always thought he could waltz right into Brooklyn by 2009, but residents never lined Flatbush Ave. to toss roses his way. No matter how much David Stern lent his support to the project, lambasting the antiquated Meadowlands every chance he got, the Nets had about as much chance of settling in Brooklyn as they had of beating the Lakers in the 2002 Finals.Now with Wall Street in chaos, Ratner can't get the financing to make Brooklyn work, so it's status quo, meaning the Nets get to stay in East Rutherford and play before a lot of empty seats.
article
NoLandGrab: In fact, residents did line Flatbush last night, but not to throw roses. Pictures from this year's successful Walk Don't Destroy will be forthcoming!
Posted by amy at October 19, 2008 12:24 PM