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October 15, 2009
Brooklynites Bus to Albany to Fight Ratner
The Brooklyn Ink
By Meredith Kennedy
Yesterday, Brooklyn Ink talked to Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn supporters as they waited to board the bus to Albany to hear the oral arguments in the appeal of the Atlantic Yards eminent domain case.
Boerum Hill resident Claudia Massa was the first to arrive outside of the rundown Freddy’s Bar on the corner of 6th Avenue and Dean Street. She waited for the bus to arrive on a bench outside of the bar, where outdated press releases about Atlantic Yards hung in the window - a reminder of the long-simmering opposition.
Massa is a volunteer for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn and has been fighting against Atlantic Yards for the past four years. “I took a day off of work, that’s how important it is to me,” Massa said. While Atlantic Yards development would provide employment, Massa argued, eminent domain “is not the way to get jobs.”
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Michael White, a lawyer and urban planner from Brooklyn Heights, who has worked for New York State governors in the past, thinks that Atlantic Yards should be broken up into multiple projects to create more jobs more quickly. Today White’s concern is that New York’s eminent domain abuse standards are too lax. “If they let the project go forward they are accepting eminent domain,” White said. “They should know the opposition is very rational and very strong.”Blake Morris, a volunteer attorney for Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn’s legal committee, has been working on the Atlantic Yards project since its inception. For Morris, today marks one completion of a litigation arc. Though he forgot to pack his sunglasses on the cool and exceptionally bright fall morning, he was looking forward to filling up the Albany courtroom, which only accommodates 60 people. “We’re going to show homegrown interest and that people are behind this,” Morris said.
For Steve Ettlinger, a local writer who lives a few blocks from Freddy’s bar, a strong public showing in Albany was essential. “Going into the courtroom is like coming up for air,” he said as the crowd began to board the bus.
Posted by lumi at October 15, 2009 5:58 AM