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August 12, 2009
…And What About Jo Anne Simon? Atlantic Yards & Beyond
Real Reform Brooklyn
In Brooklyn politics, every yin has a yang. Yesterday, we posted a link to The Brooklyn Rail's flattering interview with City Council candidate Jo Anne Simon. But anonymous/pseudonymous blogger realreformbrooklyn is a critic.
So what does that all mean, exactly? Well, it appears to mean that she has gone to a lot of meetings, submitted written testimony at public hearings, and nothing really beyond that. For instance, and perhaps the best example, on Atlantic Yards, Simon claimed strenuously this evening to have been an “early vocal opponent of the use of eminent domain.” But her “Testimony to the Empire State Development Corporation on the General Project Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Condemnation of Real Property and terms for the proposed acquisition and conveyance of the Atlantic Yards Project Site”, dated August 23, 2006, never even mentions, let alone objects, to the use of eminent domain or condemnation. Her August 25, 2006 letter to the head of the Empire State Development Corporation about the project also make no mention whatsoever about the use of eminent domain. How vocal is that? It’s not. In reality, Simon is most identified with BrooklynSpeaks and its “mend-it-don’t-end-it” stance on Atlantic Yards.
Simon’s track record is even more troubling, however, because of who she is — a purportedly talented civil rights lawyer. The simple fact is that she has never lifted a legal finger to help litigate the numerous Atlantic Yard eminent domain cases. By way of sterling example, Develop Don’t Destroy has an active volunteer legal team that has worked pro bono for years against that project. Simon’s contribution to the effort: nothing.
NoLandGrab: While Ms. Simon has not volunteered her legal expertise to DDDB, she has certainly been engaged in the battle over Atlantic Yards. However, BrooklynSpeaks's push for an Atlantic Yards governance structure presupposes the project getting built, and the project won't get built without the eminent domain takings.
Posted by eric at August 12, 2009 7:01 PM