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March 8, 2010
It came from the Blogosphere...
Streetsblog, For Pedestrians, Atlantic and Flatbush Could Go From Bad to Worse
This time-lapse film by Tracy Collins at Not Another F*cking Blog is a telling indictment of poor pedestrian conditions at Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. And depending on how Bruce Ratner's new sports arena is built out -- the groundbreaking is set for this week -- things could get much worse.
As exemplified by the crosswalk hogs in the video, this is a terrible environment for pedestrians right now. If and when the arena arrives, two things will happen: thousands of pedestrians will arrive via transit to get to games -- the more the better, but they'll need more space; and more people will be driving here, especially if there's a huge surface parking lot.
Fork in the Road, Freddy's 30-Day Notice a Fake, But Eviction Still Looms; Now Get Ready for Freddy's II
The staff over at Freddy's Bar and Back Room was a little shaken up last week after receiving what appeared to be an eviction notice demanding that they vacate the premises within 30 days. But it appears that their distress was a little premature. Per an email from manager Donald O'Finn, the notice was not valid.
"30-day notice was a head-fake from (developer Bruce) Ratner," writes O'Finn. "Not a legal document at all!"
Not that he can claim to have won his war against the Empire State Development Corporation. Last week, a judge denied the last appeal blocking the bar's seizure under eminent domain. Still, O'Finn is unruffled.
Papermag Word Up!, EIGHT ITEMS OR LESS: THE NATIONAL HEAD TO UNION HALL & PIE MCFLURRIES EXIST!
Though the eviction notice beloved Prospect Heights watering hole Freddy's was served with last week supposedly isn't legit, their closing to make room for Atlantic Yards development is eminent. We don't even want to think about it.
Brownstoner, Freddy's Gets Eviction Letter from Bruce
At the end of the day on Friday, the Village Voice reported that Freddy's Bar & Back Room, which has served as the official watering hole of the anti-Atlantic Yards movement, had received an official eviction notice to vacate the premises within 30 days. A regular, however, clarified the situation in the comments section: "Freddy's got something that was meant to look like an eviction notice. But it was just a trick by the developer. An actual eviction notice is a legal document (last night's letter was not) from the court (this was from Ratner's lawyers) and served by a process server (last night's letter came by courier.)"
The L Magazine, Freddy's, Beloved, Boozy Vessel for All Our Anti-Atlantic Yards Anger, Gets Evicted!
While some news outlets were correcting the record on Freddy's "eviction," others were running behind the curve.
Freddy's, basically the last business still operating in the Atlantic Yards footprint and a recent recipient of an L Magazine bar award, was served its 30-day eviction notice last week.
...Hey, let's all go get drunk and pass out in front of bulldozers!
NY Barfly, Drunk Shopping Time / Strongest Beer in the World
Fork in the Road has a bittersweet interview with Donald O’Finn from Freddy’s Bar and Back Room, which is facing imminent closure by the city due to the Atlantic Yards project. They put up the noble drunken fight, that’s for sure.
Kings County Cinema Society, 3/10: Locally-made docs at Freddy’s
Description: Join us Wednesday March 10th for three homemade docs from Brooklyn filmmakers:
Michael Galinsky will be on hand with interview footage and clips from a rough cut of their investigation into the politics of the massive Atlantic Yards/ Barclays Center development, Battle of Brooklyn
Filmmaker Adam Chadwick and producer Bill Loerch will be on hand to introduce a rough cut of their in-progress doc Fit To Print, about the decline of the newspaper industry in America
Lastly, a screening of A Hole in a Fence (2007, 46min) about a peculiar abandoned lot in Red Hook, BK.
Runnin' Scared, Paterson's Town Hall -- Some Other Moments of Truth, Or As Close As We Can Get
He took some small flak from council member Tish James about both Atlantic Yards and his proposed soda "fat tax" proposal which she said was "regressive." The governor, seated cross-legged in a wooden chair on a platform, said that the decision on the Yards happened on someone else's watch and that he is now just going along with an appeals court decision on it, one that "surprised him."
NoLandGrab: While the Yards were launched two gubernatorial watches ago, and advanced on the last one, it's "happening" on Paterson's watch — and he could have stopped it at any time.
Posted by eric at March 8, 2010 6:25 PM