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October 8, 2009
Greetings from Scott Turner: Walk the Walk
via Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn
Okay, any mention of a walkathon is gonna elicit a Proclaimers reference. Or Nancy Sinatra. Some things are automatic, like crying at the end of Old Yeller or that gag reflex whenever another Mike for Mayor ad comes on the t.v.
It won't be 500 miles, but two-and-a-quarter miles. It's the fifth annual Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn Walkathon, colloquially named Walk Don't Destroy 5.
I'm walking in it this year. You know the drill -- Ratner, lousy development project, sixteen skyscrapers, a basketball arena, a Russian oligarch team owner, billions of taxpayer dollars wasted, no appreciable numbers of affordable housing or newly-created jobs, overwhelming traffic, exploitation of Brooklyn Dodger mythology, environmental and health concerns, blighted wasteland created by Ratner and not time, lack of democratic process, eminent domain abuse.
Wow..that's the shortest I've ever summed it up.
Stopping Ratner's boondoggle and replacing it with a project that makes sense for the surrounding communities. This is a crucial time -- the project will either proceed after New Year's 2010 or it'll be a goner.
Whether you've followed this from afar or heard me talk about it up close, you know what's at stake. DDDB's legal bill are hefty. Along with dozens of other community groups, DDDB has been fighting the Atlantic Yards for six years. Six years.
The Walkathon is what DDDB does to keep going. Walkathons...bake sales...benefit concerts...the passing of many hats...small checks from concerned citizens. DDDB has never had the hundreds of millions of private and government money available to Forest City Ratner for their endless p.r. assault. The money raised at this year's Walkathon goes to DDDB's legal fight.
Posted by eric at October 8, 2009 3:42 PM