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November 25, 2009
Brooklyn couple wants Gov. Paterson to stop Ratner's eminent domain win
NY Daily News
by Juan Gonzalez
For the past six years, a perfectly habitable eight-story condo building has stood virtually empty on Pacific St. in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights.
Only one of the building's 31 apartments has been occupied in that time - this in a city with thousands of homeless people and tens of thousands of families doubled up in overcrowded housing.
That lone unit is the home of Dan Goldstein, a thin, 40-year-old graphic designer who has become a hero of this country's property rights movement.
Ever since 2003, Goldstein has doggedly resisted efforts by City Hall, the state government and one of the biggest real estate developers in New York, Bruce Ratner, to seize his home through eminent domain for a huge private development project.
...They spoke only hours after the Court of Appeals rejected a suit to halt the project. Some rushed to claim the fight is over, that Ratner has won. Goldstein said he was disappointed, but not about to give up.
Several suits remain, and officials have to go through hearings before they can get a court order to seize properties.
"When Gov. Paterson was a state senator, he called for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain," Goldstein said yesterday. "We're calling on the governor now to stand by his words."
Related coverage...
Atlantic Yards Report, In column on Goldstein's fight, Daily News's Gonzalez suggests "a slew of politicians" has joined DDDB
From Juan Gonzalez's column in today's New York Daily News about Daniel Goldstein (lead Atlantic Yards plaintiff and Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn spokesman) and his family, headlined Brooklyn couple wants Gov. Paterson to stop Ratner's eminent domain win:
But Goldstein is still in his condo, living in that dust-filled building.
Only, Goldstein is no longer alone. Thousands of neighborhood residents and a slew of local politicians have joined the nonprofit group he launched to fight Atlantic Yards. The group, Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, has become one of the most effective grass-roots efforts this town has seen in a long time.
It's true that DDDB has become an exemplary grass-roots effort, in significant part to Goldstein and his willingness to organize a media strategy.
Local politicians?
But "a slew of local politicians"? Nah. The only local elected officials that have consistently stood with DDDB are City Council Member Letitia James and State Senator Velmanette Montgomery.
Other politicians, including Assemblymen Jim Brennan and Hakeem Jeffries, yesterday expressed dismay and opposition to the eminent domain ruling. But they haven't steadily joined DDDB but instead have often kept a wary distance.
Posted by eric at November 25, 2009 1:09 PM