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January 6, 2010
Public Security in Brooklyn: A Systemic Failure of Common Sense
The Huffington Post
by Alan Rosner and Daniel Goldstein
Has New York State Governor David Paterson thought at all about the potential security nightmare posed by the planned Atlantic Yards basketball arena?
Still, blight and eminent domain abuse are not the only issues that make Atlantic Yards the Governor's headache...there is also the matter of public security. None of these issues were addressed in the Governor's State of the State Address today, but none will go away without his attention.
In the aftermath of the failed suicide bomb attack on a jet liner over Detroit, worldwide security arrangements were immediately thrown into turmoil. Institutions jumped into action, supported by elected and unelected officials alike. By way of example, Governor Paterson added his name in support of controversial body scan technology at airports, saying "...that for the time being, we're just going to have to live with some very inconvenient security measures.... It's the only way to guarantee that an airplane with 300 passengers will reach its destination."
For Brooklyn residents, flying or grounded, there is a question as to where our Governor has been on the issue of Bruce Ratner building an 18,000 seat basketball arena that both Mayor Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly call a potential terrorist target.
Should the Atlantic Yards arena get built and Governor Paterson get elected in his own right, will his words of comfort to Brooklyn be that shutting down lanes on Flatbush and Atlantic avenues is something "we're just going to have to live with."
...What he needs do is direct his own State Office of Homeland Security to conduct a full study once complete plans are made available but before irreversible construction starts. Right now the only security plan that exists for the arena is a five-inch curb and some cameras to take pictures with.
...Bottom line, what Brooklyn community groups really fear, and have for years now, is not an actual terrorist event here in the borough, but what happens when institutions wake up and decide they have to impose security measures where none had ever been planned. Before that happens we need adult leadership from our elected officials that doesn't pretend - as the ESDC did in court - that it would not be "reasonable" to consider terrorism when planning a sports venue next to an existing, previously targeted transportation hub. Governor Paterson should make sure that this time our predictions prove incorrect, by doing the right thing.
Posted by eric at January 6, 2010 3:25 PM