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January 5, 2010
Freddy's faithful vow to fight Brooklyn bar's ouster for Atlantic Yards land grab with chains, cuffs
NY Daily News
by Erin Durkin
For six years, the weapons of choice for opponents of Atlantic Yards have been legal briefs.
But in recent weeks, Freddy's Bar and Backroom on Dean St., which faces the wrecking ball for the project, has been rolling out weapons of a different kind - heavy chains and 35 pairs of handcuffs that staff and patrons vowed to use to chain themselves to the bar.
It would sure make for good theater - but would they actually do it?
"Yeah, I would - without a doubt," said manager Donald O'Finn, who took over the Prohibition-era watering hole 15 years ago and turned it into a cult favorite.
"I'm the least political person you can imagine," he said. "I don't want to do this. I just want to . . . run a bar and be left alone, and it makes my job a thousand times more difficult. . . . But sometimes in life, you just land in this position.
The ESDC is threatening the use of force.
Empire State Development Corp. spokeswoman Beth Mitchell said the agency would get the sheriff to "physically remove the occupant[s]" if they refuse to go. "We do not anticipate this happening," she added.
NoLandGrab: "Do not anticipate this happening?" We do.
Posted by eric at January 5, 2010 10:45 AM